Dealership asking prices versus private sale asking prices

[rattay]

I guess this question is similar to, "how long is a piece of string" in some ways, but hopefully may give me a vague idea!

I am looking to buy a Motorhome on a limited budget of £15000 but could push to £17000 if absolutely required.

I have seen a unit being sold at the asking price of £19950 by a dealer and wondered what dealers would consider dropping to, to sell. I understand there is lot of circumstances that affect the bottom line but on an 'average' how much would you expect to get a reduction down to?

We know there's a mark up involved from Dealer to a private sale so my other question is, if a unit has a dealer sale price of £19950 as the above, what would a private seller be asking for the same van with realistic expectations for a quick sale?

Thanks
rattay

 

[rattay]

Like you Gordon been camping since childhood mainly Motorbike and tent, apart from as a single parent when the daughter was growing up in a car and large tent One camp 10 days in Cornwall mid summer rained non stop, not too bad with electric hook up and blow heater on 24/7!. On the bike, the tents were getting bigger as I was getting older and ended up with one you can stand up in, about the largest able to be carried on a bike with no passenger seat space left on the bike at all!

Years of that, camping for a month at a time in Spain and Portugal and lots of Biker rally weekends in the UK.

So yes the double fixed bed for me is not required (probably for a few years!)
I would like to carry a small 125cc bike inside the van (no one to answer to!) if at all possible. Fridge and cooker a necessity, electric mains plug-in and also LPG gas though I guess some of these can be added or replaced for better quality afterwards. Good engine, no damp and not too many advisories that will need eventually addressing.

 

[Dutch 68]

Always remain conscious that when buying privately, you will not have any legal recourse under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Some people don’t fully understand the statutory rights they have when buying from a dealer if/when things go wrong / buying a lemon. Its one of the reasons why dealers will charge much more than private, because they factor in any repair charges they may be legally obligated to sort out (especially on a MH). On the other hand, it is also a point of negotiation with a private seller if they are advertising their MH at the same as dealer prices - its surprising how many private sellers do this, but don’t take into consideration the considerable risk the buyer is taking.

Having said that, I recently purchased a LHD 2018 Hymer B534 from a private seller based in France.

How did that go with import duties and paperwork?

 

[Rapido925M]

Have you visited a m/cycle race event? Several competitors will have vans with garage/workshop in the back and living quarters upfront: they often spend all weekend there. They may know of some for sale.

Last year my daughter bought an old (05) converted ambulance on a Maxus chassis for under £10k. It has large doors at the rear and a sliding door on the UK nearside. It also has a double passenger seat in the cab, so is ideal for her husband and child. Are you capable of removing a passenger seat and building some sort of storage unit, to free up space at the rear if you found a similar vehicle?

My preference would be for RHdrive but sliding door behind the driver: I could then fit a bed along the "passenger" wall. It could be at floor level and use the footwell, mid-height if I could reconfigure the dashboard, or quite high with underbed storage and a 4ft custom mattress, surmounted by a full-length mattress topper which also sits on top of the dashboard for my feet. Paying tolls in Europe might be a problem. Perhaps the passenger door could be adapted to have a sliding window?

Perhaps the door could be replaced with a stable door, with the bottom half giving access to a gas locker (needs to be sealed from the living quarters?). That might also be a suitable location for a water tank.

Anything is possible with a bit of imagination and some will-power.

Gordon