Trading in caravan for motorhome
Hi everyone.
After much thought and discussion we have decided to change from a caravan to a motorhome. We've happily caravanned for many years but now with children grown we want to move to a motorhome (something we've always thought about).
2 questions - how would you go about this? Sell caravan privately? Or trade in caravan for motorhome? Trade in car+caravan for motorhome? Do dealers trade in car+caravan for a motorhome? We've asked at one place and they advised selling the caravan privately first.
We've got our caravan up for sale through the Club and also Autrotrader but nothing doing yet - is it the wrong time of year?
Our caravan is insured for £9k so we are asking for just under that with all equipment - is this a good price?
We are not in a hurry but having made the decision are rather keen to get on with it!!
Any thoughts/advice welcome.
Comments
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I can’t comment on the price of your caravan as you’ve given no details of it but in any case, the world of LV sales has gone mad, although the bubble may be bursting. All you can do is base the price on other private sales, not dealer prices. You could ring a couple of 'we buy anything' types to see what they offer as a guide.
Twice we have traded in car+caravan at a MH dealer with no trouble at all. We found the p/ex prices acceptable in view of the simplicity of doing the deal. A word of warning - don't let them have your outfit until the day of collecting the MH or you could find yourself without an LV and car if the MH doesn’t arrive on time.
Good luck.
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Give it some proper consideration, especially around size of MH. Too small, and you might not feel comfortable. Too large and you might end up sacrificing vehicle mobility, have serious parking issues, and find yourself very reliant upon public transport, walking or cycling everywhere. It all depends on what sort of holidays you like.
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I couldn’t agree more. Most people (me included) make the mistake of trying to replicate the space they had in their caravan with the result that they end up with a big unwieldy MH and need auxiliary transport. Buy something as small as you feel you can comfortably live with is my advice👍🏻
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Mostly because of OHs disability,we have bought a very old PVC ,and kept for now ,our caravan,and now tow a trailer to save much loading and boff loading the kit we have
To see how it fits with what the future holds,one thing to remember to get a Motor caravan with the space of your caravan ,it will normally need to be about 5ft_6ft longer when you consider the cab
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we have gone from motorhome to caravan, we found it was getting hard to park when visiting towns as width wise between the lines and length, they are good if touring about and handy for stopping for teabreaks, but the caravan now suits our needs, we solld motorhome for what we paid, and purchased the caravan and money back in account,
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When we first changed to a motorhome (2013) the dealer took the caravan in part exchange for quite a good price as they also have a separate caravan dealership So it was all in the family so to speak. We kept the tow car as it was the only one we had and traded that in later for a smaller model. Having said that, if you already have a second car you could always ask about that as part of the trade in package. As TW suggests I wonder if the "buyers market" is coming to an end. Not sure about caravans but I have seen a lot of nearly new motorhomes going up for sale on Facebook Groups. So are these the people who purchased at the top of the market and have now realised that its not what they thought it was? Facebook is a good source of information on pricing either through Marketplace or through Groups dedicated to the brand of caravan you own. As to whether its the wrong time of year, its difficult to tell. Unless somebody wants a caravan fairly quickly for the school holidays I imagine there is less demand as we go into the second half of the year. Perhaps I am lazy but if you get a trade in offer which you are happy with it will be a lot simpler to do it that way.
David
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It doesn’t surprise me that there might be more MHs now going up for sale. It’s a lifestyle not for everyone, and I am sure there will have been some unwise spur of moment purchases. That’s why even if you are coming from a caravan background, it still pays to do a bit of research and reflection on pros and cons. Had Cornwall still been our prime, every year destination, and circumstances allowed us to do what we used to do, I think we would have stayed a lot longer with a caravan. We still have the option, but I have to say that for spur of the moment, very easy getaways, our little MH has been perfect. Brilliant for safe days out during a pandemic as well👍
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I think it is too early to judge the market yet and don't forget inflation is going to effect prices.
I personally think it is getting easier to park larger motorhomes as councils/organisations realise there is in an income to be made by offering spaces.
Go for it Homlesgang,, get what you feel comfortable with.
peedee
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We were mightily impressed with Dumfries and Galloway in terms of parking PD, there were some very big MHs parked up with us.
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Agree with peedee "I think it is too early to judge the market yet and don't forget inflation is going to effect prices."
Lots of good advice. Maybe also consider the weight of your future LV and the possible effect with regards to driving licence when reaching age 70.
Do be aware there are scams out there. Good Luck
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Thanks everyone.
We are wanting to more 'touring' - just stopping a couple of nights and then moving on (north of Scotland, for instance). Also more weekends away or just a night or two in the Lake District (we live in the north east) - a bit more spontaneous if you like? The caravan was wonderful with a family but we have never used it at short notice and hubby now finds the motion of the car when towing uncomfortable as he has a long-standing back problem.
We've always looked longingly at motorhomes but with hubby commuting we'd have needed another car and that was never affordable. However now hubby has taken early retirement so that is no longer an issue.
We have a 2 berth Baily Pegasus with end bathroom which is really spacious but know we don't want a really big MH - 6.5m is our max as we want to be able to park it on our drive and also drive around the more minor roads. Ironically, when the caravan was new-to-us last year (we had traded in our older 5 berth for this newer 2 berth) we had someone knock on our door twice asking if we'd sell!!
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When considering the ease of parking, quite apart from narrow country lanes, you will find width more of an issue than length. If you stick to a max of 6.5m, you can often find a parking space 'on the edge' where you can hang your back end off the end of the bay. As an example, I managed to wriggle in to the 'Discovery' car park in Dundee last summer. Try not to go over 2.2m for width. The wider vans give you more space but parking gets a whole lot trickier.
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We originally did a part ex with our caravan, then another part ex with a second motorhome. It was a smooth process as we just wanted to get on with things. We've stayed within size limits never wanting anything large or too small either! We gladly said goodbye to a tow car that was expensive to run and maintain. Good luck with your plans.
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Some years ago we sold our caravan using a small dealer’s brokerage services. The charged a fix fee of £500 to present, advertise the van etc.. I indicated my expectation of the vans value and everything proceeded smoothly. The van sold within one month and I didn’t have to risk the myriad of scammers. After paying our fee we made about 45% more than our part exchange offer
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Given that very few new motorhomes are available and 2023 order books are filling up you will find it increasingly difficult to buy a new motorhome at a reasonable price. Second hand prices have also increased but some vans are available.
Visit a few dealers to get a feel for things. Read MMM magazine. Visit one of the Warners Shows if you can (look up Out & About Live web site it's free at the moment and has a wealth of advice). https://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/motorhomes
You need to determine why you want a motorhome and at what price. Motorhomes are a very expensive if you buy the wrong one.
A dealer which retails caravans and motorhomes will be more interested in a part exchange excluding the car.
Good luck. With planning and deep pockets, you can make the change. I did.
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They may even be interested in the car, Thornsett, as they sell them on to motor dealers. Marquis certainly took ours, twice, as I said.
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We have swapped from one to the other a couple of times. Always as a result of family changes and needs. Currently have a MH. Have sold privately and part exchanged in the past too. The only advice I offer would be to do the research and consider the pros and cons. The PX route in my opinion is the easiest and for the risk averse, the private sale though may be a little more financially productive. I must stress though that these comments come from my own past fortunate experiences in these matters. Never have tried the brokerage route mind, if time allows that may be worth a consideration.
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the van we had was 6.25meters long just wide (bailey) we had trouble slotting into parking areas if i had parked in the supermarket and someone had parked opposite then i wouldn't have been able to get the van out. if you want to go down narrow lanes make sure the driver is good at reversing, if you really fancy one why not hire for a few days they are getting expensive and then if you like the lifestyle then buy one.
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