Renting vs Buying a Campervan Australia: Which Is Cheaper?

The question everyone asks before a long trip

You're planning three months — or maybe a full year — driving around Australia. Someone at a hostel, or a well-meaning uncle, tells you: "Just buy a van. It's way cheaper than hiring." It sounds logical. But is it actually true once you factor in every cost? The honest answer is: it depends heavily on trip length, your risk tolerance, and how much you value your time. This guide does the real maths so you can decide with clear eyes.

We'll look at three scenarios — a 3-month trip, a 6-month trip, and a 12-month trip — and compare long-term campervan hire against buying a second-hand van and reselling it at the end. All figures are indicative AUD ranges based on typical 2024–2025 market conditions. Prices shift, so treat these as a framework rather than a quote.

What long-term campervan hire actually costs

The big operators — Apollo, Britz, Maui, Jucy, Travellers Autobarn, Camperman, Mighty, Cheapa Campa, Star RV, Lets Go — all offer discounted rates for bookings of 21 days or more, and rates drop further beyond 60 or 90 days. A basic two-berth campervan (think a Jucy Condo or a Cheapa Campa two-berth) might run $80–$120 per day at peak season in a short hire, but on a 90-day booking in the shoulder season you can often bring that down to $55–$80 per day. Larger, self-contained motorhomes from Maui or Star RV sit higher — $100–$160 per day on long-term deals.

For a practical deep-dive on how to structure a booking and which operators suit which trip lengths, the Long-Term Campervan Hire Australia: 1 to 12 Month Guide covers the mechanics in detail. And if you want to squeeze the rate down further, How to Get the Cheapest Campervan Hire in Australia & NZ (2026) has practical tactics including relocation deals and off-peak timing.

What's included in a hire rate matters enormously. You get:

• Comprehensive insurance (with an excess, typically $3,000–$5,500 unless you pay a daily reduction fee of $25–$45)
• 24/7 roadside assistance
• Routine maintenance — if the engine dies, it's the operator's problem
• No registration headaches
• A vehicle that's been serviced and safety-checked

What's not included: kilometres beyond any free allowance (some operators cap at 100–200 km/day on long-term deals, others offer unlimited — check carefully), camping fees, fuel, and any damage excess if you have an incident.

What buying and reselling actually costs

The buy-and-resell route is popular with backpackers doing the east coast — Sydney to Cairns via Melbourne and Brisbane — or the full lap. Here's where people underestimate the costs.

Purchase price

A roadworthy, insured, registered second-hand campervan in Australia typically costs $8,000–$20,000 depending on age, condition and fit-out. A basic converted Toyota HiAce or Mitsubishi Express with a bed and a camp stove: $8,000–$12,000. A proper self-contained setup with a fridge, solar and a shower: $14,000–$22,000. Anything under $7,000 is a gamble — budget for repairs from day one.

Registration and compulsory third party insurance

If you buy a van already registered in, say, New South Wales, you inherit that rego until it expires. Transferring rego between states costs $50–$200 in admin fees. If rego lapses during your trip, renewing it costs $400–$900 per year depending on the state and vehicle weight, plus CTP (compulsory third party) insurance which is bundled into rego in most states. Budget $500–$900 per year for rego and CTP combined.

Comprehensive insurance

This is the one that surprises people. Insuring a privately owned campervan comprehensively costs $1,200–$2,500 per year for a standard policy. If you're under 25, expect the higher end or outright refusals from some insurers — worth reading the Campervan Hire Under 21: The Young Driver Guide (2026) for context on how age affects your options across both hire and ownership.

Maintenance and repairs

This is the wildcard. A service every 10,000 km costs $200–$400. Drive 15,000 km over three months and you'll need at least one. Tyres on a HiAce: $150–$220 each, and if you're doing outback tracks, you may chew through them faster. A blown head gasket, a failed alternator, or a cracked radiator can cost $800–$2,500 and strand you in Coober Pedy or Tennant Creek for three days. Budget a minimum of $800–$1,500 for maintenance on a 3-month trip, $1,500–$3,500 for six months, and $2,500–$5,000+ for a full year — more if the van is older.

Depreciation and resale risk

This is the number that kills the "buying is cheaper" argument for shorter trips. A van you buy for $12,000 might resell for $9,000–$10,500 if you're lucky, patient, and sell in a city with a strong backpacker market (Sydney's Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace, Melbourne's Travellers Car Market on McEvoy Street, or the Cairns hostel noticeboards). That's a $1,500–$3,000 loss before you've paid for anything else. Sell in a hurry — because your flight home is in a week — and you might take $7,500. Sell in Darwin in the wet season and you might struggle to find a buyer at all. Resale risk is real and it's asymmetric: the upside is limited, the downside is significant.

The comparison: 3, 6 and 12 months side by side

Cost item	Hire — 3 months	Buy/sell — 3 months	Hire — 6 months	Buy/sell — 6 months	Hire — 12 months	Buy/sell — 12 months
Base vehicle cost / hire rate	$5,400–$7,200	$8,000–$14,000 purchase	$9,900–$14,400	$8,000–$14,000 purchase	$18,000–$28,800	$8,000–$14,000 purchase
Insurance	Included (excess risk only)	$300–$625	Included	$600–$1,250	Included	$1,200–$2,500
Rego / CTP	Included	$125–$225 (pro-rata)	Included	$250–$450	Included	$500–$900
Maintenance / repairs	Included	$800–$1,500	Included	$1,500–$3,500	Included	$2,500–$5,000
Depreciation / resale loss	None	$1,500–$3,500	None	$2,000–$4,500	None	$2,500–$5,500
Estimated total vehicle cost	$5,400–$7,200	$10,725–$19,850	$9,900–$14,400	$12,350–$23,700	$18,000–$28,800	$14,700–$27,900

Hire rates based on a basic two-berth campervan at long-term discounted rates of $60–$80/day. Buy/sell figures assume a $10,000–$14,000 purchase and best-case resale. All figures are indicative ranges only.

The table tells a clear story. For a 3-month trip, hiring is almost certainly cheaper once you account for all the hidden costs of ownership. For 6 months, hiring is still competitive and carries far less risk. At 12 months, the numbers start to converge — and if you buy a reliable van, negotiate a good purchase price, and sell well, you might come out slightly ahead. But "might" is doing a lot of work in that sentence.

Where buying can make sense

There are genuine scenarios where buying wins:

• You're travelling for 12+ months and have the mechanical knowledge (or a good mechanic contact) to handle repairs yourself.
• You want total flexibility — no kilometre caps, no operator drop-off locations to worry about, freedom to take unsealed roads without voiding an insurance policy.
• You're travelling as a couple or group and can split the ownership costs, reducing the per-person burden significantly.
• You find an exceptional deal — a well-maintained van from a private seller who's emigrating, priced $3,000–$4,000 below market.
• You're comfortable with resale risk and have flexibility on your departure date so you're not forced to sell cheap.

If you do go down the buying path, think carefully about what type of vehicle suits your trip. The Campervan vs Motorhome in Australia: Which Should You Hire? (2026 Comparison) guide applies equally well to buying decisions — the trade-offs between driveability, fuel economy and living space are the same whether you hire or own.

The hidden costs people forget on both sides

On the hire side

• One-way fees: Dropping a van in a different city to where you picked it up can add $200–$600. Plan your route to avoid this, or use relocation deals.
• Excess reduction: Paying $30/day to reduce your excess from $5,000 to $0 adds $2,700 over 90 days. Decide whether that's worth it based on your driving confidence and the terrain you're covering.
• Kilometre overages: If your operator caps you at 150 km/day and you're driving the Nullarbor or the Gibb River Road, you'll blow past that. Overages typically cost $0.24–$0.35 per km.

On the buy side

• Pre-purchase inspection: Always pay $150–$250 for an independent mechanical inspection before buying. Skipping this is how people end up with a $10,000 van that needs a $3,000 gearbox.
• PPSR check: A $2 Personal Property Securities Register check tells you if the van has finance owing or has been written off. Non-negotiable.
• Roadworthy certificate: Required for private sales in Victoria and Queensland. Budget $150–$300 if the seller doesn't have one.
• Time cost: Finding, inspecting, buying, insuring and eventually selling a van takes real time — often a week at each end of your trip. That's time you're not on the road.

Camping costs: the same either way

One thing that doesn't change based on hire vs buy is what you spend on camping. Powered sites at holiday parks run $35–$65 per night for two people. Free camping on public land, national park campgrounds and rest areas can bring that to near zero — but there are rules, and they vary by state. The Free Camping vs Holiday Parks in Australia: The 2026 Cost & Legality Guide is worth reading before you assume you can free camp everywhere. Note that some hire operators restrict free camping or require you to stay in powered sites — check your agreement.

International visitors: extra considerations

If you're visiting from the UK, Europe or North America, buying a van adds layers of complexity: you'll need an Australian bank account to register a vehicle in most states, you may struggle to get comprehensive insurance without a local address, and selling before you fly home creates real time pressure. For most international visitors on working holiday visas doing trips under 9 months, hiring from an established operator is the lower-stress, often lower-cost option. The Campervan Hire in Australia: The Complete Guide for UK Travellers covers the licensing, insurance and practical logistics in detail.

Licensing requirements also matter — some overseas licences are valid in Australia, some need an International Driving Permit, and the rules differ by state. The Complete 2026 Guide to Campervan Licensing in Australia has the full breakdown.

How to compare hire operators properly

If you decide hiring is the right call, the rate you see advertised is rarely the full picture. Excess amounts, kilometre inclusions, one-way fees and what's actually in the van vary significantly between Apollo, Britz, Travellers Autobarn, Camperman and the rest. Using CamperCompare to filter and compare operators side by side on a long-term booking saves you the hours of clicking between individual operator sites — and often surfaces deals on less-marketed fleet that suits long trips well.

The verdict

For most people doing trips of 3 to 6 months, long-term campervan hire is cheaper than buying once you account for all the real costs — and it's significantly lower risk. The "just buy a van" advice sounds savvy but it ignores depreciation, repair bills, insurance complexity and resale timing pressure. At 12 months, the gap narrows and buying becomes a genuine option — but only if you go in with realistic numbers, a mechanical contingency budget, and flexibility on when you sell. Whatever you decide, do the maths for your specific trip length, route and risk appetite before committing either way.