Motorhome running costs
Probably been asked a hundred times before, we are thinking about changing from caravan to motorhome and appreciate the pro's and con's of both but would like to know what the running costs are for a motorhome before looking at whats for sale although we have looked on line and like a small coach built and Hi top van conversion. Grateful for any advice in advance.
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I think you will have to look at specific models to get any idea of insurance and mileage, plus depends how you use it, holidays only, or as a run around as well. Kept at home or stored in a compound. Service and maintain some things yourself, or totally reliant upon a garage/dealer. Lots of variables.🤔😁
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As TDA said, there are many variables. As a rough guide, I reckon our Peugeot Euro6 is probably cheaper to run than our previous Shogun towcar in terms of MPG, road tax and servicing. Insurance is about the same but there’s no caravan insurance to pay - only the one policy.
I believe I'm right in saying there’s a major dealer about 10 miles east of you - it’s where we bought ours. I'd recommend going to have a look at what's on offer and have a chat with them but remember they are salesmen!
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Assuming that you are not getting rid of your existing vehicles then you have to add on the annual costs for an extra vehicle, so, depending on age - road tax, MOT, vehicle service, habitation service. About £800 total if you need a full service on the vehicle.
Depreciation will vary depending on the age but, like a car, new ones depreciate very quickly.
Insurance should not be excessive and storage the same as a caravan if needed.
Diesel consumption not much different to a tow car.
Of course, you may not need your tow vehicle or you may downsize if you need a car so there are savings there.
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When we changed in 2013 we saved some money but spent more elsewhere. When we towed we only had one vehicle which was the tow car so changing to a motorhome required us to buy an additional vehicle which of course adds to the total costs. You may already have a second car so it might not be so noticeable? In terms of direct comparisons between the costs of running a caravan and a motorhome. The habitation service costs are about the same, we also found that to be the case with insurance. We actually saved money on VED as even adding the road tax of small car and motorhome together came out less than our original tow car. You will have to pay extra for a cab service on the motorhome but depending on model that might only be every two years. It's not a precise science as we don't know enough about your current arrangements but it should be reasonably easy to work out one slight bonus was that the motorhome was more economic to run than the towcar.
David
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don't forget the latest VED changes for new vans over £40k....ouch!
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I kept a record of running costs of the first motorhome I owned from 2001 to 2011. Here were my conclusions which i posted on my web site.
Cost of ownership
For those who maybe wondering what the total costs are to own a motorhome, excluding tax, insurance and depreciation, the costs of maintaining and repairing our Autotrail Mohican over 10 years of use have averaged £650 per annum. Insurance and tax costs averaged £513 per annum. Total running costs all depend on how much you use it, the more you use it the more benefit you get. As at the end of 2011, our total average annual expenditure was £4,860 for on average 100 days use a year. We rarely wild camp and have averaged 7200 miles a year with an average night stop cost of £10. Fuel consumption averaged 23.6 mpg which included towing a car..In terms of cost per mile and nightly costs, this works out at 67p a mile or £48 per night but, if you include depreciation, this rises to 98p a mile or £68 per night. Costs of extra equipment, are not included in these figures. Not as cheap as some might think but still thoroughly enjoyable and good value for money.
I never had any major repair bills in the 10 years.
My current motorhome is larger and is costing more to run. For safety, and after 8 years use, I have had to recently replace all 6 tyres and renew the front brake pads, a major expense not included in the figures below. I have lost some of the cost records due to computer problems but for the first 6 years (2012 to 2017 inclusive) I worked out :
Insurance of the higher value motorhome is nearly double that of the Mohican and fuel consumption is 20 percent higher averaging 19.6 m.p.g. The cost of ownership after the first 6 years and nearly 37,000 miles of use is working out at £56 per night away or £1 per mile.
Two years on, I have since done a further 10,000 miles and still average about 100 days away each year..
My guess is at todays prices costs or running a typical motorhome would be somewhere between £48 to £56 per day or 67p to £1 per mile?
peedee
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These are great replies thank you. If I could ask one specific question, how much do you pay for road tax ? coupling that with Peedee's comprehensive break down would give me the full picture.
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Don't forget you also gain about 2 hours holiday time whenever you arrive at a site! Pitch, level if necessary, plug in, put the kettle on!
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A significant cost difference between you and us PD would be fuel. Our MH is not particularly small at 6.94 metres, however on our September tour would have cost another £244 on your consumption figures. Although that pales into insignificance when I consider the depreciation in the first year. Hopefully we will get many years usage to help even that figure out.😀
Just renewed our one year old Hymer 3.5 t and it was £265. However, if you were buying a new one this year as BB put above it would be much, much more.
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Our 2017 Peugeot PVC also is £265 but heavier/bigger vans are cheaper and new at £40k+ are an arm and a leg.
PS. Something else to put in the cost equation - a lot of modern vans have two year service intervals👍
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My road tax for both vehicles owned has been at the over 3.5tons HGV rate and for this year was £165p.a.
It maybe worth noting that my average overnight cost paid last year including Club membership was £18.80. Thats nearly twice what it was over the first 10 years of motorhome ownership. I think overnight costs have risen far faster than any of the other costs of ownership.
peedee
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My MH costs are about another 75 pa VED and an additional £200pa on servicing. Consumption is about the same as towing with my Kuga was. Because of the nature of the type of touring done with a MH, mileage tends to be a bit lower as you don't retrace your steps as much. The other upside is the ability to use cheaper/free stopovers so there is probably not much difference in overall running costs.
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I make what I feel is a fair assumption that as Frank is currently a caravanner the cost of sites will be similar whether its a motorhome or caravan, especially in this country? OK there could be a cost saving if motorhome aires were used if Frank is intending to abroad. The real cost differences will revolve around how many vehicles you run as a motorhomer compared to being a caravanner, but even then it's only going to be and extra one lot of VED and a cab service?
David
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No, because he won’t have a caravan to insure.
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You’ve misunderstood DK's point.
If the vehicle fleet is increased by one (a MH) and decreased by one (a caravan) it will only incur a net extra cost of one VED and one mechanical service.
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I can't say we are more or less well off running a motorhome compared with previously running a caravan but the mpg is much better in the van than the tow car with caravan. The engine service is every two years now. The depreciation isn't too bad having bought a one year old van for a good price, buying new we would have lost out.
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Again many thanks, that has answered a lot of questions. So it seems there is not a lot of difference on costs just a personal choice as to how people use their chosen leisure vehicle.
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I reckon you are kidding yourself on the outcome of buying a Motorhome and saying there will be very little difference in costs.
Other than using a tent I can't believe there is any cheaper way to tour than with my 13 year old Eriba Caravan - depreciating at only £500 a year, so simple that it needs minimal occasional servicing, stored free of charge in a shed at home, and towed with my everyday car which I would still need to keep even if I bought a Motorhome.
If I had the money I would spend £50,000 on a Motorhome like the lovely one Tinwheeler has, but I wouldn't kid myself that it wasn't costing me.
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Thankyou.
In my experience MHs don't suffer from the same heavy rate of depreciation as cars and (most) caravans do. Perhaps, because they’re so popular at present🤷🏻♂️.
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Frank, allow me to offer up a different scenario. Why buy new? Great if you can afford it, don’t mind being tied into dealer servicing and happy to take a huge depreciation hit.
But with careful research, you might just drop on a little used example, with low mileage, a decent warranty. Not being tied into dealer servicing does have its merits as we have found. Lots of folks make huge mistakes choosing a MH, and there are some nearly new cast offs at a fraction of the price of brand new. Worth considering, unless you are desperate to be that first owner. 😁
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Again thanks for your replies. Unfortunately my pockets are not deep enough for a new motorhome and appreciate the depreciation that goes with owning any vehicle.
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Frank, have you ever looked at Martins of Exeter or Eden MHs at Scorrier? Both could be worth checking out.
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Although perhaps buying secondhand tends to lessen the depreciation element of ownership a bit?
David
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I think it depends what you buy. We have so far been lucky in terms of depreciation as far as I can see, our little niche model is currently holding its own. However, we bought it to keep and to use, and in truth don’t give the depreciation that much thought. We won’t be trading it in for something else should we ever decide to get something different, but would sell it privately. It’s serviced, and maintained regularly, all documents logged. We never buy new, prefer to let someone else take the hit. But that’s our choice, probably won’t suit others.
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Update. I've just discovered that Marquis took over Martin's last month.
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getting too much like some others on here before posting ,(into naughty corner, and lines "do not get like them
)
