STAYCATIONS BOOST UK CAMPER VALUES
And experts are saying that it’s not just VWS that are in demand
The continued growth in UK staycations is fuelling an appetite for classic camper vans, market experts have said this week.
While the removal of lockdown restrictions during the pandemic has led to an increase in foreign holiday bookings, auction experts have said that the number of campers being bought and sold at auctions for strong prices has continued to increase, with buyers using them for Uk-based breaks and – in some cases – as spaces to work flexibly.
Historics’ senior car specialist, Matthew Priddy, said: ‘The T1 became a hippie icon in the flower power era, cementing its lasting legacy of cool, but such is the breadth of ownership today that newer classic campers are also in strong demand.
‘Arguably the wide realm of the VW camper captures the rational versus emotional motive for buying better than any classic – from being super-cool on the one hand to being hugely practical and functional on the other. Consequently values are robust and there’s definitely bragging rights to ownership now as staycations continue to grow in popularity.’
Classic Car Auctions’ sales manager, Gary Dunne, said: ‘We had a couple of Transits in our last sale and one in our next. Is there a shift from VWS as we’re being offered other makes, too?
‘It’s likely that people will buy one, improve it and sell it on again after using it for a bit.’
Volkswagen models are the most commonplace, from the T1 ‘splitties’ to early-1990s Transporter models. At its most recent sale Brightwells offered a 1978 T2 and a 1992 Transporter. By contrast, Ford Transit campers, from Mkis to the 1990s ‘smiley’ face types are few and far between in classic auctions.
Sam Grangebailey, of
Cheshire-based classic specialist Southern Cars, told Classic Car Weekly: ‘I personally like the more quirky examples like the Austin A60 that was in a recent Manor Park sale, or even something like a Fiat 850 Amigo.
‘If they’re solid and have a history file then to me they’re always well worth a punt.’
Richard Barnett