Buying From Conversion Companies

[Malcyb]

Hi,
We’re off to visit a couple of the conversion companies at the top of our list over the next few days. Maybe with a bit of luck we’ll find what we want at the right price, though we plan to hire a Campervan for a few days before parting with any cash.
One question I couldn’t see mentioned here. I’m used to negotiating with car dealers and never paying the list price on a new car. But what have people done with Campervan conversion companies? Have you found there’s scope for negotiation?

 

[Roadrunner]

That would be interesting to see, I doubt they would wantto let any profit go.

 

[Peatey]

i think you'll find that if they are booked up months in advance like a lot are there will be little room to haggle, but with a bit of negotiation you might get the odd freebie

 

[Dale]

The better companies are better for a reason and from my experiece they know their worth. That said there's always a deal to be had if one times it right.
For sure not all converters are the same so pick well

 

[Malcyb]

I know that the best companies have a waiting list for a good reason, and that doesn’t scare me off. I just don’t know how this market operates; I’d accept the long waiting list on a new VW car, but the dealer would still have a margin you could negotiate with. Is it not the same with converters?

 

[Salty Spuds]

I know that the best companies have a waiting list for a good reason, and that doesn’t scare me off. I just don’t know how this market operates; I’d accept the long waiting list on a new VW car, but the dealer would still have a margin you could negotiate with. Is it not the same with converters?

I tried in my best tight-fisted Yorkshireman way to get a discount, no way. The converter had a 6months wait & the show season was coming up. I managed to wriggle some odds & ends in, but nothing significant. The thing with going to a VW dealer & negotiating a price, is that there is a VW dealer on every street corner all selling exactly the same vehicle. Conversion companies are selling a bespoke product, the quality of which varies vastly. I’d be very wary of a converter that offered short lead times & discounts.

 

[Davenjo]

The big conversion companies know exactly how much it costs them to do one of their standard conversions and what their mark up will be so not a lot of room for movement when they have overflowing order books. As above, one way you can save a bit with them is via getting them to include extras such as bike racks, tow bars, solar panels, etc., which they may be willing to do at cost and/or include free fitting.

The biggest saving you will get from the big boys is via the links they have for purchasing new and/or factory order vans - chances are their starting point is a lot lower than you would be able to negotiate yourself. Might be worth looking at the ticket price of a converted van you like, identifying what the base van spec is and then looking at VW prices to get a feel for the cost of the conversion - you may be surprised at what you are getting for the money on top of what it would cost you to source your own van and getting someone to convert.

 

[Malcyb]

Thanks, confirming what I thought. Yes I’d realised that some converters can get good prices on the base van, I’d vaguely investigated the alternative of getting a nearly new one myself but didn’t really seem to be worth it.

 

[Roadrunner]

I don't know how much your thiking of spending with a coversion company but you would have more chance getting a discount on a Cali

 

[Ian28]

I got a much better discount on my new base vehicle via referral from my conversion company than I would have been able to achieve myself. Makes the cost of a quality conversion more palatable. I suspect the converters have tighter margins and less wriggle room than the commercial dealers.

 

[Bargy62]

As said before source your own base vehicle then sort out a decent converter that will do what YOU want
not we only do this
When I got mine done the converter reckoned the same camper if he had supplied the same van would have been 8k more

 

[Davenjo]

As said before source your own base vehicle then sort out a decent converter that will do what YOU want
not we only do this
When I got mine done the converter reckoned the same camper if he had supplied the same van would have been 8k more

I guess that depends on the size of the conversion company and the links they have into VW and/or dealers; there is no way I could have sourced the van myself from VW and had such a quality conversion with high end components (RIB, SCA, Waeco, Eberspacher, etc.) for the all in price I paid to Hillside.

 

[Bargy62]

From what I saw with most converters is the vehicle is a startline 84 or 102
Yes they can get you better spec vans from them but that starts bumping the price up
Most converters I looked at And I did a lot of research I would have paid 50k
For what I have and to be honest I never had 50k
So had to punt around to get the best deal I could
So I could have the base van I wanted
The conversion was no deals to be had
The only thing I found was any extras they didn't seem to charge a fortune for them in fact very reasonable