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surely you got an extra zero in there rabbitboy... unless you bank with coutts, perchance?

Well, I drove the Renault Traffic auto sleeper down to my trusted mechanic who does our car to get his opinion. I must say that I really 'bonded' with it - what a difference no power steering makes - you feel like you're really driving! I even managed two 3 point turns and to park it twice, perfectly.

Our mechanic said that there was loads of rust and bits of welding underneath and that it was leaking oil from somewhere (not dripping, just wet). It also needed new tyre and breakpads. Apart from that, engine seemed OK and he said that Renault vans were reliable and parts not expensive... He said that as it might well cost £500 to get it through the MOT in April, if we paid £1500 (instead of £2,400 which is what they are asking) then it would be worth it. He even said that if it passed its MOT in a couple of years time, we may recoup most of our money as auto sleepers are desireable.

We had already decided that this would be our first 'practice' campervan and that we would have it for a year or two, see how much we use/love it and after that decide to either sell it and not get another OR sell it and the family car and get a really good T4 to replace both. So have made the Kiwi boys who own the renault the offer and they are discussing it amongst themselves tonight and we'll just have to wait and see what they say.

Deep breath.

Glad that you've found something that you like(...See! we told you a Vdub would've been to small  )

Obviously,the more you can get off the asking price the better...but you could pay 3-4 times that amount for a vehicle and still end up having to shell out a few hundred for tyres/exhaust and general mechanical "fettling" etc

Goodluck..keep us informed  

Yes, sorry got a bit happy with the 0's 

Well done with the research and taking your time.  As you say you dont' have to keep the van you buy forever, you can always sell if it's not right for you.

FIngers crossed for you

The Kiwi boys said yes to our cash offer of £1500! Picking up Lance (his name, bless) on Wed! So excited! Will be buying my mechanic a bottle of whiskey for his trouble, he has saved us a lot of money (I hope).

Thank you ALL for your kind advice and endless patience with my dithering. No doubt I will be posting again in the near future about awnings, rust, LPG conversion etc etc but just wanted to say how much I appreciated all your help.

..1500 Quid..!?  That's great ! 

Have fun...