VW Beach Sell Or Keep?

[PhilSut1]

I've got a dilemma about whether to sell or keep our Beach and would appreciate any perspectives. We've got a 2017 Beach we've had since new and have used it for many great family holidays to Europe and camping weekends. Now our sons are mid teens they are less keen on long trips away in the van and with GCSEs and A Levels coming up, weekend camping trips will be few and far between. By the time they've both left home in 5 years or so I will be nearing retirement and looking to upgrade the Beach to an Ocean or Motorhome for retirement trips with my wife. Currently, we also use the Beach as our family car. My dilemma is whether to sell the Beach and buy a car for 5 or so years until we buy a new camper van / motorhome or whether to keep the Beach and use it mostly as a car but also very occasional camping trips. Will I actually lose more money on depreciation in the end if I sell the Beach and buy a car than if I just keep the Beach to use as a car?

 

[secret lemonade drinker]

Buy a small hatchback (one the kids can learn to drive in(and you can use)), and buy a motorhome to tow the hatchback on Holidays
A 2017 Beach is worth about £30K on trade in at present.....mine was

 

[WelshGas]

I've got a dilemma about whether to sell or keep our Beach and would appreciate any perspectives. We've got a 2017 Beach we've had since new and have used it for many great family holidays to Europe and camping weekends. Now our sons are mid teens they are less keen on long trips away in the van and with GCSEs and A Levels coming up, weekend camping trips will be few and far between. By the time they've both left home in 5 years or so I will be nearing retirement and looking to upgrade the Beach to an Ocean or Motorhome for retirement trips with my wife. Currently, we also use the Beach as our family car. My dilemma is whether to sell the Beach and buy a car for 5 or so years until we buy a new camper van / motorhome or whether to keep the Beach and use it mostly as a car but also very occasional camping trips. Will I actually lose more money on depreciation in the end if I sell the Beach and buy a car than if I just keep the Beach to use as a car?

Personally I would keep it unless it's only going to be used for short runs to the shops or school run. Depreciation on a new vehicle is bound to be greater over 5 yrs than on the Beach over next 5 yrs.

 

[The Little Red Cali]

I've got a dilemma about whether to sell or keep our Beach and would appreciate any perspectives. We've got a 2017 Beach we've had since new and have used it for many great family holidays to Europe and camping weekends. Now our sons are mid teens they are less keen on long trips away in the van and with GCSEs and A Levels coming up, weekend camping trips will be few and far between. By the time they've both left home in 5 years or so I will be nearing retirement and looking to upgrade the Beach to an Ocean or Motorhome for retirement trips with my wife. Currently, we also use the Beach as our family car. My dilemma is whether to sell the Beach and buy a car for 5 or so years until we buy a new camper van / motorhome or whether to keep the Beach and use it mostly as a car but also very occasional camping trips. Will I actually lose more money on depreciation in the end if I sell the Beach and buy a car than if I just keep the Beach to use as a car?

If its running well with no problems then I’d keep it. Cali’s are brilliant as a daily and so versatile. You’ll probably miss it if you sold it.

 

[Mehdime]

I've got a dilemma about whether to sell or keep our Beach and would appreciate any perspectives. We've got a 2017 Beach we've had since new and have used it for many great family holidays to Europe and camping weekends. Now our sons are mid teens they are less keen on long trips away in the van and with GCSEs and A Levels coming up, weekend camping trips will be few and far between. By the time they've both left home in 5 years or so I will be nearing retirement and looking to upgrade the Beach to an Ocean or Motorhome for retirement trips with my wife. Currently, we also use the Beach as our family car. My dilemma is whether to sell the Beach and buy a car for 5 or so years until we buy a new camper van / motorhome or whether to keep the Beach and use it mostly as a car but also very occasional camping trips. Will I actually lose more money on depreciation in the end if I sell the Beach and buy a car than if I just keep the Beach to use as a car?

It’s easy to see what you’ll loose by selling the Beach and getting a small car. But I’m not quite sure what you’ll gain. Is it just about saving a bit on running cost by having a lighter, more economical vehicle? Is this really worth sacrificing all the flexibility the Beach gives you?

I assume the Beach is paid off by now. So it’s “free” so to speak. Unless there’s some kind of significant quality-of-life benefit to swapping it for a small car, I’m a bit puzzled at why you would want to get rid of it seeing as you’re still using it as a camper. The fact that the kids have outgrown their “camping trips with the parents” phase will only make the beach even more comfortable as you won’t have to deal with the kids being here too.

 

[Ch1pbutty]

Keep it, depreciation slows as camper vans get older. Any car will depreciate at a far greater rate.

 

[Kayleigh]

If you plan to get an Ocean, now is a good time to purchase a new stock one with the 0% finance deals people have spoken about on here. And in 5 years time the bellows saga should be well behind us!

 

[2into1]

Largely depends how you would do the buying and selling. If you do all the selling and buying privately, it may be worth the chopping and changing. If you plan to use dealers for all the transactions to make life easier, it will cost £thousands and you'll be effectively going backwards. Best to keep the poorly used Beach in that case as the additional running costs (over a car) will be negligible Vs the margin the dealers would have taken from you.

 

[Ch1pbutty]

If you plan to get an Ocean, now is a good time to purchase a new stock one with the 0% finance deals people have spoken about on here. And in 5 years time the bellows saga should be well behind us!

…or keep the older van with the watertight roof, and more cash in your pocket.

 

[tobyprivett]

Or keep the beach so it’s there for a spontaneous trip!

 

[PhilSut1]

Thanks for all the comments everyone. This forum is really helpful

 

[Mountain Beach]

It is personal choice…. A smaller, cheaper car will cost less to run, but costs might depend on the mileage you do and if any mechanicals. If you get a bigger newish car, then it will likely cost much more than the Beach and cost the same/more to run but perhaps not be as practical. Depreciation is also likely to be more if it is newer. I’d forget all that, however, and imagine how you’d feel watching your Beach drive off with its new owner for new adventures and knowing that you can’t do that anymore….

 

[Perfectos]

Ask yourself a question.

Could I replace the Beach like for like for what I sell it for ?
(in the near future )

 

[Borris]

Just don't do it. You'll only regret it.

A Beach will do anything you want it to as well as hold it's value like nothing else. Buying a new car to replace the Beach would loose you a small fortune. Whereas keeping the Beach would not.

Instead, if you think that you might need a small car then buy cheap to run second hand example to run as well. I'd wager that even after all costs are taken into account you'd still be well in pocket and still have your Beach.

We have a 2019 Beach which we have owned from new. We intend to hang on to it for as long as possible. We also run a 2017 Skoda Yeti 2.0 diesel. Both are brilliant vehicles and both are holding their values well. Of course I could always sell them both and buy a shiny new motor instead. However, I'd likey lose tens of thousands as soon as I drove it off the forecourt.

 

[Lambeth Cali]

We have owned our California since 2009 and it’s difficult to imagine selling. The kids would see it as like moving house! Our kids are similar age to yours, perhaps a bit younger. We go to AirBnBs twice a year and the van is vital for that. Need the luggage space. We have also just started driving to the Alps in it to Ski.

We do a lot of v short journeys and I currently drive to work so last year we sold our 2008 Golf Gti and I bought a 5 yr old electric BMW i3. It’s been brilliant. I kept the Golf 15 years, have owned the Cali for 15 and I plan to own the i3 for at least 10. I love it as much as the Cali. It’s like a Fiesta crossed with the Enterprise!

Greetings from West Dulwich btw.

 

[Gavinskii]

With kids potentially going to and from uni in the future - firstly there is no better load lugger. Also as others have said, you are just going into a new phase where the kids dont join you for every trip. Embrace your new freedom and the sort of trips that you will be able to do guilt free without the risk of boring your kids!

 

[PhilSut1]

We have owned our California since 2009 and it’s difficult to imagine selling. The kids would see it as like moving house! Our kids are similar age to yours, perhaps a bit younger. We go to AirBnBs twice a year and the van is vital for that. Need the luggage space. We have also just started driving to the Alps in it to Ski.

We do a lot of v short journeys and I currently drive to work so last year we sold our 2008 Golf Gti and I bought a 5 yr old electric BMW i3. It’s been brilliant. I kept the Golf 15 years, have owned the Cali for 15 and I plan to own the i3 for at least 10. I love it as much as the Cali. It’s like a Fiesta crossed with the Enterprise!

Greetings from West Dulwich btw.

Hello from Herne Hill! Thanks for the advice. As I work from home and my wife gets the train to work, we don't use the van much day to day. However, having just been up to Lancashire to sort out my late mum's house, it made me realise how useful the Beach is even when not used for camping - the space, storage room and comfort on long trips would be missed!

 

[PhilSut1]

Thanks everyone, you've convinced us. We're keeping the Beach

 

[hirsty]

I’ve had similar thoughts, but can’t bear the idea of not having ‘The Van’ - if I swapped it out for a Golf or similar the running costs would be little better & depreciation worse.

I was all up for a new T7 Ocean til I realised it’d delay my early retirement by at least a year, likely two. Maybe one day we’ll have a Sprinter-based Hymer & a Yaris, but for now any changes are just throwing money away.

 

[gandalfthegrey]

I've got a dilemma about whether to sell or keep our Beach and would appreciate any perspectives. We've got a 2017 Beach we've had since new and have used it for many great family holidays to Europe and camping weekends. Now our sons are mid teens they are less keen on long trips away in the van and with GCSEs and A Levels coming up, weekend camping trips will be few and far between. By the time they've both left home in 5 years or so I will be nearing retirement and looking to upgrade the Beach to an Ocean or Motorhome for retirement trips with my wife. Currently, we also use the Beach as our family car. My dilemma is whether to sell the Beach and buy a car for 5 or so years until we buy a new camper van / motorhome or whether to keep the Beach and use it mostly as a car but also very occasional camping trips. Will I actually lose more money on depreciation in the end if I sell the Beach and buy a car than if I just keep the Beach to use as a car?

Force them to go on long trips still.
They'll thank you one day. And that time together will be so precious for you. Maybe get them more involved in the planning. Include activities they want to do. Get them individual pop tents for independence. Don't stop.

 

[Dave70]

Buy a cheap c1 for the kids put yourself as a named driver and split your mileage across the 2 vehicles. When the kids can drive you sell the C1 for the same price you bought it.

You’ll probably be cost neutral with the mileage and insurance reduction on the beach plus you get to keep it.