New, but “really” old

[NVsmb]

It has been a long time since our 2012 Nissan SMB (penthouse) turned 50k and last post. Been awhile since it turned 100k. (Old login no longer functioned.) Did get twice weekly email, however.

Brief history. 30 NVs converted at SMB West. (Only seen 1 in the wild.) Added larger water tank and flat plate. Kept it stock like our ‘83 Westy. No issues with Nissan or conversion.

Main reason for post is different take on van resale gleaned from a story, Unencumbered, the future of adventure is lighter by Stephen Casimiro in Adventure Journal. “Instead of lamenting the sunk cost of an object,” think of it as paid rent. In other words, sell it for future use not profit. When it is time, we would love to pass our van on to a younger couple at a price they can afford. Maybe the old formula of the current value of the van and 1/2 the conversion still comes close.

 

[kbeefy]

Welcome back!

Being a true SMB conversion should help with the value, but it's really dependent upon finding the right buyer. There are alot more van conversions on the road now days than there used to be, even just 5 years ago.

 

[NVsmb]

Thanks.

I think the point of the article is don’t worry about what you paid for that now unused tandem bike, sea kayak etc when it is time to sell or give it away. Granted a van is different. We bought ours to use and didn’t factor in selling it. 12 years later, we are still using it but not as much as before. We’re aging faster than the van.

A young, outdoor active couple may not have the means to afford a $30-44k van. (Our ‘83 Westy was a stretch for us.) So why not sell it at an affordable price? What is our loss? Nothing really. We paid $67k but using it for 12+ years ran $100k+.

 

[kbeefy]

I don't count usage, repairs or maintenance towards the value of a vehicle, thats just cost of ownership.
I think your on the right track.

 

[NVsmb]

Agree that “usage” doesn’t factor into value of vehicle. For us, it was the acceptable cost of traveling to places we would not have. The van is simply the means.

 

[NVsmb]

Couldn’t figure out how to edit last post to add: Enuf said.

See you again in another 50k.

 

[timwakefield]

Good points. Our 1995 SMB is starting to show its age and we recently passed it on to our daughter and family. My son-in-law is a maintenance manager at an aprtment complex and is quite handy, he can do the kinds of things I used to do myself. Now well into my 8th decade, and mobility challenged, I'm happy to let them get the remaining years of its life. It's a Dodge B350 rear dinette layout with fixed raised roof and dropped floor, giving 6' of standing room. We paid $14k for it back in 2008 so we feel we have really gotten our money's worth out of it, less than $1k per year. Lots of trips out to Montana when my daughter lived out there, and numerous trips up to Lake Superior's north shore.
Tim