buy brand new van or with 40000 miles & a better conversion???

B

bumblebee camper

New Member
Hi I'm new here. currently have a t25 and have managed some wonderful trips but have had some hairy moments too & I'm looking for something a bit more sturdy and reliable to travel further a bit further field.

I have some savingss and can get a loan so looking to spend up to £50 000 - possibly a bit more if needed.

So far I have looked at Denby campervans and can get a brand new van from them with everything I want for £54000 - or a van with 40 000 miles from Revolution campervans. Or spend an extra £10 000 to get a new van from them!

Revolution campers seem to do a higher spec conversion and reviews seem more positive overall but also some very good reviews of Denby online & they seemed very professional when I saw their set up. I have seen the negative review here too though!

Will 40 000 miles make much of a difference? I would probably do 10-15 000 a year at most.

Have Denby upped their game in the last year or so?

Is an extra £10 000 on conversion worth it ?

thanks for your help All!
 
Keep well away from Denby campervans would be my personal advise. We have still lots of flaws and issues with our used T6 van conversion we purchased October 2021. Only a day old due to poor weather on the day we picked our van up so it wasn’t under cover to fully inspect as you would normally do! Obviously very excited on collection day.
We found rear reflectors cracked, front grill broken, rear reverse sensors faulty, due to bumper respray, sliding door not closing and door handle doesn’t open first time, damaged alloy wheel, front seats all stained, roof dents where rivets to internal raising bars have been over tightened, bed frame all chipped, leak to coolant found by VW dealer as luckily still under warranty, plus our van has had a full respray not to our knowledge was we advised of this during conversion? so very unhappy customer and when you flag these to Denby your made to feel that it’s your fault? Special trip on 26th October to have some of the above rectified promised a new bench seat but instead just valet it again? Think we have been very naive and mugged off to be honest. Other people may have had good experiences with them we certainly haven’t and it’s still on going?
Sorry for ranting but people need to know how this company treats its customers.
Thank you.
 
Matha65 said:
Keep well away from Denby campervans would be my personal advise. We have still lots of flaws and issues with our used T6 van conversion we purchased October 2021. Only a day old due to poor weather on the day we picked our van up so it wasn’t under cover to fully inspect as you would normally do! Obviously very excited on collection day.
We found rear reflectors cracked, front grill broken, rear reverse sensors faulty, due to bumper respray, sliding door not closing and door handle doesn’t open first time, damaged alloy wheel, front seats all stained, roof dents where rivets to internal raising bars have been over tightened, bed frame all chipped, leak to coolant found by VW dealer as luckily still under warranty, plus our van has had a full respray not to our knowledge was we advised of this during conversion? so very unhappy customer and when you flag these to Denby your made to feel that it’s your fault? Special trip on 26th October to have some of the above rectified promised a new bench seat but instead just valet it again? Think we have been very naive and mugged off to be honest. Other people may have had good experiences with them we certainly haven’t and it’s still on going?
Sorry for ranting but people need to know how this company treats its customers.
Thank you.
Click to expand...
Good on you for calling out crappy service
 
If you can afford it....New van every time.
40000 miles might not seem alot,but if it's had the shit kicked out of it.....
 
Matha65 said:
Keep well away from Denby campervans would be my personal advise. We have still lots of flaws and issues with our used T6 van conversion we purchased October 2021. Only a day old due to poor weather on the day we picked our van up so it wasn’t under cover to fully inspect as you would normally do! Obviously very excited on collection day.
We found rear reflectors cracked, front grill broken, rear reverse sensors faulty, due to bumper respray, sliding door not closing and door handle doesn’t open first time, damaged alloy wheel, front seats all stained, roof dents where rivets to internal raising bars have been over tightened, bed frame all chipped, leak to coolant found by VW dealer as luckily still under warranty, plus our van has had a full respray not to our knowledge was we advised of this during conversion? so very unhappy customer and when you flag these to Denby your made to feel that it’s your fault? Special trip on 26th October to have some of the above rectified promised a new bench seat but instead just valet it again? Think we have been very naive and mugged off to be honest. Other people may have had good experiences with them we certainly haven’t and it’s still on going?
Sorry for ranting but people need to know how this company treats its customers.
Thank you.
Click to expand...
I’ve had similar experience to the above. I wouldn’t go near them either
 
  • Wow
Reactions: JOG
Hi Everyone obviously we are very upset and wished we knew about this forum last year. We have paid out a lot of money for this van conversion just wished we had walked away from these cowboys. Good luck bumblebee camper. .
 
Matha65 said:
Hi Everyone obviously we are very upset and wished we knew about this forum last year. We have paid out a lot of money for this van conversion just wished we had walked away from these cowboys. Good luck bumblebee camper. .
Click to expand...
Sorry to hear about your bad experience. Have you managed to sort the issues out yourself?

It's always disheartening to feel ripped off, l think we've all been there before with one thing or another.

I always try to treat any mistakes as a learning experience to avoid making a similar one again.

The forum is a wonderful resource for all things Transporter related and even though I'm not as hands on as some here, it's been fantastic in steering me to the right company to use or place to buy from.

Anyway, I'll stop waffling on now and just say that I hope you're all sorted now and get to enjoy your van.
 
JiMsHaDY69 said:
Sorry to hear about your bad experience. Have you managed to sort the issues out yourself?

It's always disheartening to feel ripped off, l think we've all been there before with one thing or another.

I always try to treat any mistakes as a learning experience to avoid making a similar one again.

The forum is a wonderful resource for all things Transporter related and even though I'm not as hands on as some here, it's been fantastic in steering me to the right company to use or place to buy from.

Anyway, I'll stop waffling on now and just say that I hope you're all sorted now and get to enjoy your van.
Click to expand...
Washing my van is as “hands-on” as I get, but this forum is my “go to place” if I have an issue….there is always someone who can help/guide
 
Definitely look closely at the base vehicle spec, particularly the power & load rating

I ended up getting my own base van & then picking a converter as some finished vehicles looked really good but had a very basic van spec.

I kept that in mind for my current van too, even tho I've not done any work.
 
Jay586 said:
Definitely look closely at the base vehicle spec, particularly the power & load rating

I ended up getting my own base van & then picking a converter as some finished vehicles looked really good but had a very basic van spec.

I kept that in mind for my current van too, even tho I've not done any work.
Click to expand...
Absolutely. But it is easy for an innocent first-timer to be dazzled by snazzy-looking gimmicks on a conversion.
 
As others have said, go new if you can. More peace of mind and it also means you can have the style and fit out of conversion that best suits you. You’d be surprised how many variables there can be and designing something that is exactly what you want/need can be a great experience - and easier to live with. If you plan on having it for a good while, that’s the approach I’d take.

Budget sounds workable to do this, but even if your ideal design is going to come in a bit over that, you can always partially convert, and complete it when funds allow. Many converters are used to this approach and will happily accommodate as much or as little conversion as you want/can fund.

So bottom line for me would be go new, and find a converter and style that you really like.
 
Ozi said:
As others have said, go new if you can. More peace of mind and it also means you can have the style and fit out of conversion that best suits you. You’d be surprised how many variables there can be and designing something that is exactly what you want/need can be a great experience - and easier to live with. If you plan on having it for a good while, that’s the approach I’d take.

Budget sounds workable to do this, but even if your ideal design is going to come in a bit over that, you can always partially convert, and complete it when funds allow. Many converters are used to this approach and will happily accommodate as much or as little conversion as you want/can fund.

So bottom line for me would be go new, and find a converter and style that you really like.
Click to expand...
Great advice
 
We're buying a new van because the very few used vans on sale were thrashed with small discount to new and/or were listed above list price. There's now only 2/3 available countrywide through the dealer network as they've been discontinued.
 
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