Costs of outfits today
I've just been reading the Feb edition of the club magazine and I don't know if I'm getting out of touch with the real world or if they're not in touch with their membership and readers 😳
This month features a motorhome for £51k, they test drive a VW for £72k and have an advert for a Volvo car for £54k. Am I really that out of touch?? Who on earth, as a 'normal' working/retired person can buy a car for £72k....or even £54k??
I know camping has become more expensive in the last few years but at this rate you'd be better off buying a few houses around the country to stay in than go away in a caravan.
I don't want this thread to become a competition of 'how much you've spent' but just a general feel - do you think the magazine is a little out of touch and should maybe have a feature on good, preloved affordable tow cars and Motorhomes for the masses??
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a few years ago (early 1990,s) I was advised by the principal of my dealership to stop buying new caravans every 18 months to 2 years.Buy pre-owned and save the vat and initial depreciation he said.We have been good friends ever since although both now retired.I have not bought a new car or caravan since 1991!
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I tend to agree with you, although in fairness to the magazine I think they also have a section each month on secondhand caravans, often highlighting very tidy secondhand caravans often well under £10k.
And as you say, and any private buyer knows, a preloved or even possibly a new but pre registered car that would make a perfectly good tow car can be had for under £20k .
Road tests of £72k cars are just a jolly for the tester, and the manufacturer is often supplying a top of the range model for the test just to showcase their wares. On my estate most of the expensive cars my neighbours drive are company cars. I can't imagine any private buyer wanting to take the depreciation hit on a £72k VW.
But the expensive VW & Volvo's will be a year or two old soon enough and worth half those prices. If you like the car, save your pennies for two years and then buy one!
Perhaps the club could replicate the secondhand van theme as you suggest, by highlighting a good £15k tow car each month....
(That'll be just about any diesel then......
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We've never bought a brand new car and our first caravan was a pre owned one ,which I loved but once kids no longer wanted to come with us I decided a different lay out would suit us better. We procrastinated for over a year before going to look at some pre owned fixed bed models at our local dealership. We were almost set on buying a 3 year old pre owned one when my husband spotted a brand new entry level Sprite FB Major for not much more than we'd been about to pay for the used van. We suddenly became very excited at the thought of buying a brand new van (with an unused bed😊) for £16000. (An investment policy I had taken out years before had just paid out and the money was originally for a new kitchen........). We bought it and I still love it: which is just as well because we'll be keeping it until it falls apart! We go away every month all year round and love our van. For us the cost was a definite consideration and we just can't justify spending much more than we did on a caravan. Previously before we discovered caravanning we probably spent around £3-£4000 each year on family holidays in the school holidays, so as we don't do this any more we feel we can justify our initial outlay😁.
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I've always bought new caravans, but haven't bought a new car since we've been caravanning. The thing that upsets me most about new caravans is, having shelled out all that money for a new unit, owners are subject to so many minor warranty issues and some major ones too - including the infamous dropped axles on more modern vans (especially, but not exclusively, Bailey Unicorn 3 caravans). If caravan manufacturers increase prices they should at least ensure that we have a substantial product.
David
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In answer to the original post, he who sells very expensive vans and vehicles has proportionally large advertising budget!
And lets face the truth, we would all like a tarty van towed by an overpriced car or a motorhome with backlit crystal wine rack with matching glasses and marble veneered lav.
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It is an interesting post. One of the reasons we changed to a motorhome was the upcoming need to buy a new tow car. We had of course been thinking about the change to a motorhome for some time but like many probably thought that it was not possible. When I started to look for a replacement for my Sorento it soon became obvious that I could pay another £10000 and have a motorhome!!! I appreciate that not everyone wants to change to a motorhome but when you do the sums it not such a large bridge to cross.
The reasons always given for testing expensive cars is that in a year or two secondhand they would be more affordable. I find it disappointing that the Club does not test more "value" cars if they exist.
David
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Our van was around £50k when we bought it 3 years ago... We are "normal retired people" , but inherited a pot of money from a will.. it happens. The purchase went something like, what's the trade in price for our tow car, and our caravan, and how much cash is needed to make up the difference ? As luck would have it the inherited pot was enough to fill that gap and a bit to spare. Happy days.
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I have been "retired" from my full time employment since 1994,my post as was is still in position last year,the person now holding it,when speaking to him,with a salery over three times what i was paid , and has now two "assistants", and when speaking to him the workload has not changed very much,
So if that as seems when looking at the salaries being paid is what has happened in the jobs market, then prices for LAs and sites has still to catch up
Plus there is a huge ( it seems)market out there of people releasing equity from their properties and useing cash from pension pots
But then the debt mountain bubble is still growing as well
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I always buy new for two main reasons, one it give me a great deal of pleasure and pride, secondly I am always put off buying non new cars, caravans, (and stuff like cameras/lenses) is that I don't know how they have been mistreated in the past. Also why they are up for sale, it could be they are changing/upgrading but it could be there are problems and not happy.
Back to the OP, maybe a look around club sites will give an idea if the magazine is out of touch?
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I've only ever bought one new car, back in 1972. Since then they've been a mixture of auction/dealers at about 1-2 years old. All my caravans have been s/h as is my current MH. Like most, I like to get "bang for my buck". I remember being surprised on my first visit to the NEC to see a MH with a six figure price tag. There's obviously someone with a few bob.
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Many of our purchases have been a year old or in the case of cars they have been pre-registered and we've let the previous owners take the hit on depreciation. Our motorhome was a year old when we bought it, it has held it's value very well. There's no way we're going to make this type of holiday even more expensive than it need be.
Strangely we've had van purchases where previous owners have never used the oven or the shower. So I would like to thank all those who buy new and hand them on in pristine condition with all the niggles sorted.
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As per the OP ... there must be a lot of people in debt up to their eyeballs or they earn a very pretty penny. I'd like to think I don't do too bad pay wise but wouldn't like that amount of debt.
I'm trying to get my head around buying another car soon-ish that will be more than I paid for my first house .... 🤔
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We generally buy new as the second hand purchases we made in the past did not work out so well, however we usually manage to negotiate a decent discount and we do keep our vehicles for quite a while, if they prove reliable.
Current van is now 11 years old, got a good discount as we sold our previous, 10 year old van, privately, on the advice of our dealer.
Current tow car is a pre reg, £10k discount on it and only 14 miles on the clock, would have considered it out of our range it at the full price.
Previous tow car we had for almost 10 years but was proving unreliable so we decided to ditch it. Bought it when I retired, no trade in so a good discount negotiated.
We looked seriously at MHs before going for the new tow car, but everything we liked was beyond the budget, and we are happy with the caravan, it was only the car that had to go.
This will likely be our last van, have considered downsizing but we like the space and now have a grandson to take away occasionally. Looked at new vans but prices are silly now, plus we have not seen anything we like.
Even if we stop caravanning, we will keep the tow car, or pass it on to our daughter, she is driving a 17 year old car at present, that too used to be ours.
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New caravan, second hand car.
Caravan, well we dont want to sleep in other peoples muck!
Cars, well the thing is, with folk signing up for PCP, the used cars nowadays are superb, it's in the sales contract. So I take full advantage, fool not to. I can find a car with the spec I want, the colour too, lots of low mileage vehicles out there too.
Current car was £36500. new after discounts, bought a 7 yes 7 month old exactly the same for £18500. It had high mileage, 16k, but I'm a low mileage user, I cycle to work, walk most other places, I've had it over 4 years and it's a now low mileage for its age. Due to go in November this year, but I could very well keep it.
We have also thought about motorhomes, but they just dont fit with what we do with our sort of leisure time, and then theres lolling room, I like to spread out, MH's seem a bit restrictive, confined.
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