2. How we chose our van: the honest story of buying our first campervan

Two test drives, one deposit we got cold feet about, a dealer who hated us, and the phone call that changed everything. What we learned so you don't have to find out the hard way.

We're Kate and Charlie — mid-50s, one anxious dog called Huffle, one fifteen-year-old van called Brigitte, and absolutely learning as we go. If you're new to campervan or motorhome adventures or just thinking about it, come with us. New here? Start with our About page.

IN A HURRY? THE SHORT VERSION 

The key learnings from our van buying journey:

(1) Hire a van before you buy one - spend at least two nights in it.

(2) A bespoke conversion sounds wonderful but can cost a lot - factor in the waiting list too.

(3) A Peugeot Boxer, Fiat Ducato and Citroen Relay are the same van with different badges.

(4) Watch out for broker fees on private sales.

(5) Bad customer service at a dealership is a sign - trust your gut and walk away.

(6) Factory-converted vans from specialists are almost always built better than a single custom conversion.

(7) Something better will come along. Try and be patient.

The research phase - possessed

When we decide to research something, we do not do it casually. We set up Autotrader alerts. eBay alerts. Facebook Marketplace alerts. We watched hundreds of YouTube videos, read forums, joined Facebook groups, and spent evenings going down rabbit holes about habitation checks, leisure batteries, split-charge relays and the relative merits of different heating systems. We became, in a relatively short space of time, the kind of people who have opinions about overcab storage solutions but also felt totally overwhelmed by all the information out there.

One of our early decisions was that we wanted a Peugeot Boxer. The reasoning was practical: we knew our first big trip would be to France, and having a French van in France seemed sensible from a parts and servicing perspective. If something went wrong, a Peugeot dealer would not be hard to find.

Kettle & Keys tip:  Here is something worth knowing before you start looking: a Peugeot Boxer, a Fiat Ducato and a Citroen Relay are the same van. Same chassis, same engine, same basic architecture - just different badges. When you are searching for vans, search all three. You will find more options and the prices vary more than you might expect between the same base vehicle wearing different branding. Peugeot Boxers also tend to be among the widest vans in their category, which matters for the habitation space inside.

Test drive one - The one that got away

The first van we test drove we genuinely loved. The layout felt right, the condition was good, it drove well and we got really excited and wanted it.

The price was a little above what we felt comfortable with. We tried to negotiate. The seller would not move - and explained why: he was selling through a broker, and the broker's commission was baked into the price. The buyer, in effect, was being asked to fund the selling agent's fee. We found this difficult to swallow.

We walked away. It was disappointing but we also think it was the right call.

Key learning:  Be aware of broker fees when buying privately. Some sellers use intermediary services that take a commission, and that cost can find its way into the asking price. Ask directly how the sale is structured before you get emotionally attached to a van you may end up overpaying for.

Test drive two - the deposit we got cold feet about

The second van we drove we also liked - though not quite as much as the first. It showed its age in small ways: bits coming away from the interior trim, the kind of accumulated wear that a van can accumulate over years of use. Not a dealbreaker, and honestly at that point we were so keen to have a van that we were prepared to overlook a great deal.

We drove it. We liked it well enough. We put down a deposit, fearful that we would lose the van otherwise.

And then, a few days later, we had a frank conversation with ourselves. We could not really afford it. We had nowhere to park a van. And - the detail that eventually carried the most weight - we had never actually spent a night in a campervan. We had researched obsessively. We had test driven. We had put down money. And we had no idea whether we would actually enjoy sleeping in one. Sounds bonkers doesn’t it?

Thankfully we got the deposit back. We took a step back. We hired a van as soon as we could.

This was the best decision we made in the entire buying process. One hired weekend in a van told us more than months of research. It confirmed what we wanted, clarified what we did not, and meant that when we eventually bought, we bought with actual knowledge rather than well-researched guesswork.

Key learning:  Do not buy a campervan before you have spent at least two nights in one. Hire first. It is genuinely the best money you will spend in the whole process. One weekend will tell you whether you want barn doors or a tailgate, a fixed bed or a converting sofa, a transverse layout or a longitudinal one. These things are very hard to know from a YouTube video.

The hired van - what we learned

We found a Peugeot Boxer available to hire near us in Cornwall for the August bank holiday weekend. We drove it down to a campsite overlooking Prussia Cove. Two nights. Perfect weather. The best possible conditions for falling completely in love with the whole idea.

Which we did. But we also learned specific things that shaped everything that followed.

The van had a fixed bed that you slept across ways. We knew almost immediately that this was not what we wanted. We wanted bench seating for during the day/evening that converted into a bed that would allow us to sleep longways - proper sleeping, head to toe, the full length of your body. Sleeping across a van is fine for shorter people or shorter trips. For us it was not right.

The van had barn doors at the back. We knew we wanted this. There is something about sitting with the barn doors open on a morning or evening, looking out at wherever you have parked, that felt for us essential rather than optional. Many vans have showers or kitchens at the back meaning you lose that potentially lovely view.

The van was large. Initially alarming, then entirely manageable, then something we could not imagine shrinking. We had briefly considered a smaller panel van conversion. After a weekend in a proper Boxer we abandoned that idea entirely.

Key learning:  Use the hired van as a checklist. Fixed bed or converting? Barn doors or side doors? Shower room or wet room or no room? Seating for how many? Which way do you sleep? Write all of this down before you hand the keys back. Then search specifically for what you know you want.

The bespoke conversion dream - and why we abandoned it

We came home from that first weekend convinced we knew exactly what we wanted. We drew layouts. We measured. We had opinions about the position of the kitchen relative to the doors and the height of the overhead storage. We were going to buy a base van and have it converted to our exact specification.

We spoke to three conversion companies.

The first told us the waiting list for work to begin was six months. The second said the same. The third was slightly faster but the quote for the conversion alone - before the cost of the base van - was forty thousand pounds. Forty thousand pounds. For the conversion. On top of whatever the van cost.

We scrubbed that idea entirely.

And then we thought about it properly. Autocruise, who made our van Brigitte, have been building campervans for decades. They have done this thousands of times. Every layout decision they make is informed by years of feedback from people who actually live in these vehicles. The idea that we, having spent one weekend in a hired van, were going to design something better than a company with that depth of experience was - on reflection - ridiculous.

A bespoke conversion sounds wonderful and sometimes it is. But a factory-converted van from a specialist manufacturer who builds hundreds of these a year has almost certainly solved problems you have not yet thought of. Do not dismiss the factory conversion in favour of the custom build unless you have a very specific requirement, a significant budget and several months to spare.

The rude dealership with folded arms

On the way to my mum's memorial service in Sussex we stopped at a large motorhome dealership. We had not phoned ahead. We arrived as customers who wanted to buy a van.

The salesman who we went inside the building to speak to had the demeanour of someone who had been personally inconvenienced by our arrival. Arms folded. Minimal eye contact. He walked us over to the van for sale and stood silently with his arms folded again. He offered up no information about the van. When we asked what could he tell us, he said: depends what you want to know. When we asked to see another van we had spotted on their website, he told us it was in the service area having paint touched up. Could we see it from outside? A flat no.

We left. Feeling deflated, and then cross, and then - as the miles went by - clearer. We would never buy a van from someone who could not be bothered to sell us one. Whatever commission that man was not earning that day, he deserved not to earn. Charlie described him as a ‘sales prevention officer’

Key learning:  Pay attention to how a dealer treats you before you buy. The attitude you encounter during the sales process is a preview of the attitude you will encounter afterwards if something goes wrong. A dealer who cannot be bothered to show you around a van is a dealer who will not be enthusiastic about helping you when you need them. Walk away without guilt.

The call from Somerset - the morning of the memorial

The morning of my mum's memorial service, Charlie's phone rang. It was Somerset Motorhomes. A Peugeot Boxer Autocruise had come in that morning. Brand new to them. Twenty-seven thousand miles on the clock. Pristine condition. The layout we had been looking for. Would we like a video before they listed it?

The video arrived. Champagne in colour - what Autocruise ‘Champagne Rhythm’. A special edition, apparently. The name is terrible. The van was gorgeous. This felt a nice distraction from the sadness we were feeling that morning.

The contrast with the folded-arms experience could not have been more complete. The Somerset Motorhomes team were warm, knowledgeable and genuinely interested in matching us with the right van rather than simply selling us whatever they had. They asked what we wanted. They listened. They showed us what they thought would suit us. They were, in the best sense, human.

After the memorial - which was wonderful and hard and full of love - we drove to Somerset. Still in our memorial clothes. Still full of the complicated feeling of a day like that. We looked at the van. We sat in it. We opened the barn doors and looked out from the back. It was everything we had been looking for. The perfect layout. In pristine condition, very few miles on the clock.

We bought it.

The right van, with the right people, at the right moment. We could not have planned it. We just had to be patient enough for the conditions to be right.

What we would tell anyone starting this search

Hire first. This is the one we feel most strongly about. Two nights in a hired van is worth more than watching hundreds of YouTube videos.

Know your layout requirements before you start seriously looking. Fixed bed or converting sofa? Which way do you sleep? Barn doors or not? Shower room or not? These are not minor details - they determine which vans work for you and which ones you are wasting your time viewing.

Do not panic. The right van will come. We nearly bought the wrong one because we were over excited and impatient. The deposit we got back and the weekend we spent in a hired van were the best things that happened to our search, even though saying no to that van didn’t feel completely good at the time.

Pay attention to the dealer. The way they treat you before you buy tells you everything about how they will treat you after. Walk away from the folded-arms dealer without a second thought.

And when someone calls you on a difficult morning with the right van at the right price - say yes.

The key learnings - in one place

1.  Hire before you buy. Spend at least two nights in a campervan before you commit to purchasing one.

2.  A Peugeot Boxer, Fiat Ducato and Citroen Relay are the same van with different badges. Search all three.

3.  Bespoke conversions are wonderful in theory. Factor in a six-month waiting list and around forty thousand pounds before you get carried away.

4.  Watch out for broker fees in private sales. Ask how the sale is structured before you negotiate.

5.  Bad dealer attitude before the sale is a warning. Walk away without guilt.

6.  Trust your gut. If something doesn't feel right - the price, the van, the dealer - it probably isn't right.

7.  Be patient. Something better will come along. It did for us.

Kate, Charlie, Huffle & Brigitte

Kettle & Keys - comfort, wherever you park up.