Buying an alphard - advice

[Kerryn]

5 hours ago, pipsyp said:

Welcome Kerryn and enjoy!

Thanks pipsyp! We are very happy with it. We had our first day out in it with the kids today and it was very successful. The rear kitchen layout is fantastic and give so much space.

 

I'm also really pleased with it as a car. I fits nicely in car park spaces and very easy to manoeuvre. I'm also very pleased I held out for a 3.0, it's so smooth and surprisingly quick.

 

Overall it's a really nice package and would recommend it to anyone considering one. I will start a thread on it in the camping section so you can can find further updates there.

[Kerryn]

1 hour ago, big_boz said:

Yeah seen plenty of em, I am a dubber (air-cooled) so i see alot of camper chat, I can't square the value proposition on the Alphard S10, I get why they are converted, base van price is cheap if you are importing them, they aren't big so you can get a huge conversion in so the profit margin must be super if you are converting to sell on with such high retail prices.

 

 

 

 

This was how I felt about them originally and I dismissed them completely along with elgrands and bongos.

 

Our situation is we go away 8-10 times a year and want to up this. We do a mix of camping and holiday lets in the country but wanted to do more one night stays and touring. We both work part time so can get away whenever the kids aren't at school including weekends.

 

So our requirements were:

 

Fit in a carpark space as this is my main car.

Sleeps 4 as we have two young kids.

 

Originally we were looking at VWs, then we released vivaros and transits were better value. However we didn't like the layout of any of these and all our stuff just wouldn't fit as they don't have any large storage space, also the seats weren't safe enough for the kids apart from some very expensive conversions.

 

Then we came back to the alphards and realised they offered a better package for us. They drive better than a van, have better insulation, have better engines and, crucially for us, have a layout that is really great for us with the rear kitchen. As soon as we saw one we knew it was for us.

 

The value is all relative and I guess it depends on what's it's worth to you. That amount of money was no real concern to us as we could have easily spend that on a new car anyway as mine needed replacing either way. I guess the value will be dictated by how much we use it and what it allows us to do.

 

At one point we were considering a much larger camper but wait until we have a house with a driveway that would easily fit 4 plus cars. However the kids will grow up fast and we want to start doing the campervan thing with them as soon as we can. 

 

Anyway, I suppose the point I'm trying to make is on one level I agree that they are objectively very expensive. However when you considered what the package offers and compare that to the competition I think they are a bargain and would have gladly paid a lot more if that had have been required.

 

 

[ThuMentaliss]

15 hours ago, big_boz said:

Yeah seen plenty of em, I am a dubber (air-cooled) so i see alot of camper chat, I can't square the value proposition on the Alphard S10, I get why they are converted, base van price is cheap if you are importing them, they aren't big so you can get a huge conversion in so the profit margin must be super if you are converting to sell on with such high retail prices.

 

 

 

 

     Yeah, the space inside once the seats, runners etc are removed is in fact only slightly bigger than a Mazda Bongo the depth of the Alphard floor to ceiling is misleading from when the vehicle is (viewed from outside) my point is the so called converters are making a nice healthy profit.

[Rojie]

1 hour ago, ThuMentaliss said:

     Yeah, the space inside once the seats, runners etc are removed is in fact only slightly bigger than a Mazda Bongo the depth of the Alphard floor to ceiling is misleading from when the vehicle is (viewed from outside) my point is the so called converters are making a nice healthy profit.

 

I agree about the profit, but don't forget 20% goes straight to the Taxman.