New or Secondhand

Gixer

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I have asked a few questions and been very grateful for the responses, now I am wondering whether to go new or secondhand for a motorhome. I have looked around and been to the show - new prices [that I can afford] mean I can get a decent one for about £50k, and secondhand I am looking at about £25k, my logic is that if I buy new, over 10 years I would lose about 50%, and similar with secondhand so the overall loss would be new - £25k, or secondhand - £12k so not a massive difference over that time period, plus newer and more economical engine and generally lower running costs as wouldn't need any work doing straight away.

Any thoughts ?

PS - off to morocco for a week so may not respond to any advice but thanks in anticipation
 
You can do a lot of travelling for that £12k though.
Unless you have very specific requirements, that you won't find on the secondhand market, I'd be looking newest of the secondhand ones. Being Euro 6 would certainly be high on my list if I'm putting a load of money into a van.
 
We had the same thoughts as yourselves, we got what felt like a really good deal to us on our one 6 months ago, so decided to go new.
 
I bought new but only because what I bought fitted our requirement better than anything we had seen used. I had intended to buy used, about 2 yrs old and well looked after. My thinking was I would let the previous owner deal with teething troubles and I would not be paying a huge ant of VAT.I did see some very good used for around 35/40K but bought new for the above reasons at 52k. I did have teething problems but nothing that was not easily put right. That was 10 years ago. I still have the same van at 78k on the clock and have really had a great time using it all over the UK and Europe. I don't regret buying it new but at the time I could afford it. The equivilent van now would be not far short of £70k which I don't have so I will stick with my present van. I expect if sold privately I might get £25k for it so for the use it has had I have had a great deal.

I think If I were you I would first look at a very good used van with FSH that had obviously been well looked after perhaps 2/3 yrs old. I would take look around dealers but only buy if they are a good one (if you can find one) thaving singled out a few vans that you like why not look for a private deal at perhaps £6k less than a dealer. You won't get warranty but you will have funds left for anything unforeseen and meeting the seller will give you a chance to size them up which might indicate how they have looked after the van. Good Luck.
 
I bought mine 6 years ago secondhand.

£54k new

£35k paid

It was 14 months old and sub 4k miles.

I’m sure my way was the right one. This time.
 
If you can find the right van then buying secondhand can be a good decision as there are a lot of vans that get bought & for various reasons people decide it was the wrong idea. So lots of low mileage vans can be found, if you're prepared to take the chance buying privately can be a good way of getting a bargain especially if you're a cash buyer. Should follow my own advice but tend to buy new vans so wasted a lot of money. Sold one van through Motorhomedepot, advantage is they do all the advertising & you get the cash before they take the van, they can offer warranties as well so the buyer has some guarantee. Worth looking on their site & Autotrader to get ideas of prices. Would tend to look at vans up to 5 years old myself as think that the price drops quite quickly for the first few years after that it tapers off. Advantage of buying secondhand is you can get a lot of extras fitted, people can be desperate to sell, lost count of the number of people we've met who think they made the wrong decision & motorhoming isn't for them.
 
Always used for me,let others take the vat and dep loss,many folk buy and then find its not for them or dont use much or find to old to drive and store,relatives sell it when they hit the old folks home as they just want quick money to spend.
 
as it was my third van i knew exactly what van i wanted a hymer b544 new market price 3 years ago was 92k i got a deal on an import from bundesvan of 50k for a 2.5 year old van 17k mileage all registrations adaptions & solar fitted in that price same vehicle still fetching above that so well pleased , good vans of almost 20 years of age year 2000 hymer’s still fetching almost their original price so good deals ,
 
I bought new 7 years ago, similar vans still sell for what I paid then. It’s really a matter of what you buy when it comes to depreciation, there are great variations between marques.
 
With New you should be guaranteed "GOOD" but not always
Personally I would go for good nearly new secondhand on the assumption it suits you.
Over a long period the relative depreciation factor is minimal and that points to getting new !
If you are planning to use it a lot again new has advantages.. I will not repeat other posts.

The crucial factor is the layout and payload
Coachbuilt or A Class
We have had our vehicle since 2010 (2006 registered) and used it "full-time" for 6 months every summer since 2014
 
We bought our Autocruise Forte when it was 6 mths old, privately, as it was exactly what we needed as opposed to a new Select 184 with all the bits & bobs on. Bizarrely didn't make a huge saving but the fridge in the Forte swung it lol

Col
 
abmnw said:
We bought our Autocruise Forte when it was 6 mths old, privately, as it was exactly what we needed as opposed to a new Select 184 with all the bits & bobs on. Bizarrely didn't make a huge saving but the fridge in the Forte swung it lol

Col
Click to expand...
Cool customer then.
 
Lot of sense in buying nearly new , make sure all the warranty are transferable some charge a hefty transfer fee .
 
They are only new the the day you buy them next day it’s lost at least 10% to 20%. New only works out if you want a specific model and lay out that’s hard to find second hand or you want to keep it for about 10 years after that they don’t depreciate much Best of luck hope you find what you’re looking for.
 
Wully said:
They are only new the the day you buy them next day it’s lost at least 10% to 20%. New only works out if you want a specific model and lay out that’s hard to find second hand or you want to keep it for about 10 years after that they don’t depreciate much Best of luck hope you find what you’re looking for.
Click to expand...

Have to agree with this one 100%. Most buy new based on layout/model, but you also see the one's that say "sod-it" and have one bespoke built or self-build. There has certainly been a rise of Self-built/bespoke M/H on the scene of late that's for sure.
Out of the 5 vans I have owned (which Ive averaged 4 years a piece), 3 have been self-built and 2 branded but used (as wife was happy with layouts at the time). Danger is...……………………….you never stop looking around even when you think you have the perfect one!!!!
 
Thanks for all the advice, one little question - when did Euro 6 come into play ?
 
We’ve bought 2 new vans in the last 6 years because Mrs A won’t entertain a used toilet!
Seriously though, both times we couldn’t find a layout we wanted on the used market and we bought our latest van after compiling a list of things we wanted that were essential. Again, we couldn’t find a used one that had all we wanted.
Plus, that new van smell............
 
we bought an ex demonstrator which suited our requirements. it had only been used as a show vehicle by the manufacturer, but it ticked all the boxes with the remainder of the warranties on both conversion and vehicle
 
snapster said:
We’ve bought 2 new vans in the last 6 years because Mrs A won’t entertain a used toilet!
Seriously though, both times we couldn’t find a layout we wanted on the used market and we bought our latest van after compiling a list of things we wanted that were essential. Again, we couldn’t find a used one that had all we wanted.
Plus, that new van smell............
Click to expand...

Buy used, and a new toilet. Save 25 grand.

I'm pretty sure no matter how much money I had I wouldn't buy new, it's such a waste of money. All IMO of course!
 
We bought an 8 year old Euramobil. Why ? Well after looking at numerous lightly built brand new motorhomes that had every luxury uou could want we just happened to step into a Euramobile Profilla 670. Immediately we were impressed with how robustly it was built. Our criteria were. NOT having to make up beds every day. At least 4 berths ALL forward facing seats have seatbelts. Also large garage. We decided to save £25000 and buy it. Bonus items....Gaslow refillable system, solar panel, 240 invertor., wind out awning. Another thing was although RH drive the accommodation door is on right so very good on continent. A friend with a very fancy MH less than a year old has had numerous loose fittings plastic items cracking etc. Loads of amazing second hand out there and may be you could be very fortunate and find your own "find". We had no warranty buying privately but exhaustively checked it out. If an owner us not going to let you test everything and give a test drive.....walk away... Good luck
 
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