Getting F**ked Without Being KissedGetting F**ked Without Being KissedA note of interest for those hardy souls who have the adventurous spirit and the time to make that great road trip to see the world… fuel costs have rose dramatically over the last couple of years, but even though they have come down it is still very expensive. To give you an idea: a VW camper gets about 30 US miles to the gallon. Most of the newer VW campers (post`89) run on diesel… great, no? Well, a couple of years ago yes, but diesel now sells at about the same price as gasoline in Europe.
1 US gallon (3.785 liters per gallon) will cost you, using today's exchange rate, an average of $6.43. Using per 30 miles per gallon (the best fuel mileage attained at 56 miles per hour in average highway driving conditions, driving between Amsterdam and Madrid ... no stop & go street driving at all), highway fuel costs are about 21¢ per mile to travel in Europe in the most economical diesel fueled VW camper van available! These numbers were updated on December 16, 2011. Now, include the loss of value on a buy-back camper, expensive European toll roads, commercial vehicle camper insurance, maintainance & repairs, etc. and the true cost of this once affordable way of experiencing Europe comes into sobering focus. It is a great lifetime's journey and I highly recommend it, but with eyes open.
Any hopes of seeing the dollar to euro exchange shift anytime soon have been dashed by the US's poor economic news... currently one dollar equals 67 centimos - or to put it another way - one dollar has only 67% of it's purchasing power in Europe. Last year there was some thought this might change, but it has in fact only worsened... and the next few years do not look any brighter.
I originally was directed to BW Campers in Amsterdam by a book about caravanning in Europe. I haven't bothered to look the book up since my camper was sold, but I want to convey a remaining impression. The book painted a wonderful but occasionally cautionary picture about buying and selling a camper in Europe. It seems to me that it went sort like this: this is one great adventure, don't miss out on doing it, and it's "buyer beware" just as it is in any used car market. And, then a few pages later I came across a full page ad for BW Campers. My radar for "something fishy here" should have set off alarm bells, but I took this ad placement as an endorsement of BW Campers.
About a year after I bought a camper from BW Campers, I was in their repair facility - a small 3 camper van garage with outdoor parking for maybe 10 or 15 more campers - and I saw this absolutely perfectly detailed caravan. I liked it so much that I asked about it. René, the owner of BW Camper, told me that it was being prepped for the authors of the book, who were very special clients, and was being stocked with some very nice gourmet foods. I made some comment and the comeback was "you wish you were taken care of like that".
It seems to me, a consumer cannot say they have made an informed choice if an author/expert does not give a full disclosure of their relationship with who/what they are recommending to the consumer. There is absolutely nothing unethical about BW Campers reserving their best camper & then stocking it with the favorite foods of a writer for that writer. But, when the author/expert fails to disclose this relationship, then their recommendation can be tainted. Tainted by receiving preferential services that those who follow their advice/consul will not receive. It is called quid pro quo (from the Latin meaning "something for something"). If the writer had even the slightest clue they were getting special treatment, then I would have wished for a declaration that this was so, and oh yes - we still recommend BW Campers.