Advice on selling

sheila shinn
sheila shinn Forum Participant Posts: 2
edited January 2017 in Caravan & Motorhome Chat #1

Hi All,    we are looking to sell our caravan and replace it with a motorhome we would like to know if its best to sell the van privately or to part ex towards the motorhome. We would be grateful for any advice on the hows and whys on which is the best way to go also any pitfalls.

 

thank you in advance

 

regards  Sheila

Comments

  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Posts: 23,147 ✭✭✭
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    edited January 2017 #2

    It's by far the easiest option to p/ex for the MH. Selling a cvan privately can be a minefield and there are scammers aplenty out there waiting for the unwary seller.

    Only you can decide after investigating the options with the MH dealer, the private ad situation, dealers who might sell on commission and so on.

  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited January 2017 #3

    When we "tried" the "dark side" we exchanged via a dealer who did both and got for us a deal we were satisfied with,and when we realised after 7yrs, that the downside of m/vans, for us, far outwayed the upside of c/vans,we got a decent sized cheque  and new caravan from the same dealer for the m/van

  • Pippah45
    Pippah45 Forum Participant Posts: 2,452
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    edited January 2017 #4

    I sold a caravan via Gumtree - Preloved might help too.  I got the price from the dealer - and added some "negotiating" room - buyer paid the full whack smile  (Dealer wouldn't p/ex as the caravan I bought was deemed a "private sale" for some obscure reason - but p/ex would be my preferred method) 

  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Posts: 23,147 ✭✭✭
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    edited January 2017 #6

    Wise words, Husky. If any fault should show up after the van is subsequently sold on, it becomes the dealer's problem to sort with no comeback on the original seller. 

  • KjellNN
    KjellNN Club Member Posts: 8,670 ✭✭✭
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    edited January 2017 #7

    We have considered a MH recently, looked at dozens, got a P/X price against a new Hymer.......it was derisory, to put it politely.  

    At least £2500 less than we could have sold the van for ourselves, but all dealers are not the same.  Some will offer you a better price.

    Last time we changed (2008) our dealer gave us a price for the old  van, but advised us that our van would be easy to sell privately, and if we did then they would give us 15%  off the new van.

    So we decided we would try to do just that.  Having checked the price for a private sale,we advertised it at just over that (room for negotiation) and did sell it for a good prcice via Preloved, and got the good discount on the new van.

    If you can negotiate a similar deal, I would go for it, try to sell it and have the fall-back position.

  • Oneputt
    Oneputt Club Member Posts: 9,145 ✭✭✭
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    edited January 2017 #8

    I had a local independent dealer sell my last van.  For a fixed fee we made  a lot more than part exchange.  No hassle, no chancers, no fraudsters and sold within a month.  Then as a cash buyer got a pretty good deal on new van.  Win, win all roundlaughing

  • Wildwood
    Wildwood Club Member Posts: 3,582 ✭✭✭✭
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    edited January 2017 #9

    For us part exchange is safer and easier. You will probably get a bit more with a private sale and a discount on what you are buying but there can be a lot of hassle and you have to watch for a number of frauds.

    Selling by a dealer on commission looks good but a number have disappeared with the money over the years so check them out thoroughly.

  • sheila shinn
    sheila shinn Forum Participant Posts: 2
    edited January 2017 #10

    Thanks for the input everyone its all helpful stuff. We are going to investigate all avenues suggested before rushing in. Thanks again

     

    regards Sheila

  • hitchglitch
    hitchglitch Forum Participant Posts: 3,007
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    edited January 2017 #11

    When we bought our last caravan we negotiated an excellent deal but the downside was that the trade-in value was just book value.  Our excellent dealer then said that we could sell our van privately any time up to paying for the new van.  We sold it on Autotrader and ended up about £1k better off.

    When we bought our new motorhome we had a Bailey Valencia which had twice suffered from damp and been back to the factory.  We could not sell it privately but accepted a fair trade-in price.  When we collected the motorhome the dealer, Marquis, said that they had got a bit more than expected for my caravan so gave us a higher trade-in.  Now that's what I call good service!

  • DIJ Wilson
    DIJ Wilson Forum Participant Posts: 34
    edited January 2017 #12

    I find if the dealer wants to sell you the Motorhome he will offer you the right price for your trade in. All dealers have wiggle room in both selling and buying price. I always find I tell them what I have to spend including trade in then let them decide if they would like my business 

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