belanda.net

To buy, or not to buy

Since arriving in Melbourne I have been spending quite a bit of time in McDonald's. Not because I like their food (on very rare occasions do I eat a McDonald's meal), but because they were the most convenient place for free internet access. Well, free together with a small purchase. So I have been enjoying quite a few McDonald's Chocolate Sundaes and Cappuccinos… And to be honest, they make a reasonable cappuccino, so it wasn't all bad.

My main reason for hanging out where I could get internet was so I could check out gumtree. I had started out planning this trip thinking I would buy a camper and then sell it at the end of my stay. Reading up on what would be required I thought better of it and decided to just rent. Also, the idea of not being able to sell it at the end weighed heavily.

But somewhere on the way I came upon another site that basically said, "you're crazy if you rent". So I reconsidered. And studied some more. And found a workable solution. That solution is to only look at Western Australia registered campers. The information online is sometimes contradictory, but about WA rego they all agree: easy, cheap, doable.

So, by the time I got to Melbourne, I was back to thinking I'd buy. Ergo, my many visits to the McD.

Before the weekend I had sent out a number of mails and texts (using my pre–paid, local mobile number) and had managed to make a viewing appointment for a camper van that looked promising.

So, the viewing appointment was Monday, 1 pm. Turned out Candy from gumtree was Candice and her boyfriend, two nice and friendly young people that were selling the van because they were being kicked out of the parking garage where they had stashed it. They were open and forthright about the van, showing me the engine, the papers, how to setup the sleeping area. It was looking good.

And, of course, I asked for a test–drive. No problem, was expected. So out we went. I let the guy drive out of the garage (they had let out a little air to be able to fit through and even then, at the exit we scraped the roof with the back of the van a little) and to a little less busy part of Melbourne before taking over.

This was the first time since the previous summer that I drove in a RHD vehicle on the left side (last time was a short visit to England for the trashhh in 2014 where I drove to the location in a rental car) and Melbourne has some weird crossings for right turns, so I was a bit nervous driving. And because the wheels were a bit flat, turning was pretty heavy, especially going slow.

But all in all, it felt okay. It's an old vehicle with a lot of kilometres already on it, and that was apparent in the way it drove, but nothing stood out that was telling me this was a lemon. So, after asking if I could think about it a little, I went my own way to meet up with Sam. He said he had another viewer directly after me, so he asked me to come back with an answer quickly.

While Sam and I were enjoying a cappuccino and a cheese cake I was thinking if I should do it. It took me a while, but after asking through SMS if we could do the sale on Wednesday (I had a little cash flow problem with one bank not letting me get money from the ATM and the other limiting the amount per day) and if he could sweeten the price a little (yes, he could drop $200), I was just on the verge of texting him "yes" when I got a text from him saying sorry, the next viewer had bought it.

Crap.

He texted me he thought I might be relieved by that news, because I had been nervous. Well, yes, I'd been nervous, but that was from the traffic and the left–hand driving right off the bat in an old not–mine vehicle that was heavy on the steering…

But, oh well. Nothing to do about it. I immediately fell back to my old plan, renting, because by now it was too late to setup other potential camper van sellers. We had to get to Brisbane by Sunday, so we had to leave Tuesday or maybe Wednesday at the latest to have a stress–free journey.

I called Jucy campers, and luckily they had enough campers in Melbourne for us to pick one up the next day.

And so…

Hunting for a camper

After updating the blog this morning using the free wifi of the local McDonalds I went to the city center to collect my Formula One race ticket.

Anyway, I got my F1 ticket. Tomorrow around 12:30 the first free practice session is scheduled (I think, need to check the schedule—another visit to McD), so I think I'll go and check where I can get a reasonable view. I only have general access, so I won't be able to sit in one of the grand–stands. Which is fine.

Then later in the afternoon, at 3 o'clock, I have an appointment with a guy to view his camper he's selling on gumtree. It's an old 4x4 Mitsubishi camper van. Not a problem if it's still in reasonable repair. I thought it had registration until next year, forgetting for a moment that it's already 2015. That could be a bit of a problem. So I'm not so sure about it. I'll go see and if it's really looking good I might be tempted. But at least I would have to have a test–drive. Which is unlikely if it's not registered.

Anyway, another reason to re–visit the McD, as I have a few other potential camper van ads I want to check out further. I was in a cafe with wifi, but it just works better with a laptop instead of a mobile.

And, of course, I need to upload this piece…