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Topics - Lorrelau

#1
Hi everyone! I'm am preparing a 6 month trip through Europe and I have been looking for a van for quite some weeks now. I'm based in the Netherlands and 10.000 euros in my bank saved up. It's very hard finding a van within this price range (I know, this country is crazy expensive!). It needs to be a van which is already fully converted because of tax regulations and such (so no awesome conversion by myself I'm afraid).
Within my budget I either find old not so well kept vans (T3s, T4s and other brands such as Ford, Mercedes etc.) OR bit newer vans from dealers, already fixed up and ready with some months warranty.

Problem is, if I buy the fixed up van... all my savings are gone... no space for any other fixes.
BUT if I buy an older fixer upper it gives me some space to fix things myself or on the road... but what if the whole thing breaks down? Then I still lose everything. Both dealers and private sellers can be real scams, so still hoping to find a reliable person.
It's a scary decision for sure, especially since I'm far from being a mechanic, although very willing to learn to do small fixes myself.

What to do?

Thank you for your time responding :)
#2
I'm planning on travelling Europe, starting in the Netherlands.
Together with my dog Amber.

I'm at the stage now where I am planning on selling my small polo and buying a bigger vehicle. But.... The Netherlands is one of the most expensive countries for owning a motor vehicle.
Road taxes are based on weight and type of petrol.
Owning a van on diesel is very expensive, so I have been considering getting a smaller, less comfortable car to live in to save costs.
But then... I will not be on the Dutch roads... So I called the tax office, but since I am signed in in the Netherlands, I will have to pay road taxes. They do not understand the concept of living and travelling in a van, so couldn't advice me further on this.
How do you guys do this?
What if I buy a van in a country, such as Germany, where road taxes are much lower?
Will that work?

Thanks for the help! :)

I hope I'll be on the road this spring!