First Motor Home - New or Used

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Scubadude59

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Would you buy a New Motor Home or buy a used one, this will be our first Motor Home

Looking on the lines of a Autotrail Tracker FB - will be touring all Europe

Going to the NEC show in October - so any advice really appreciated
 
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For winter touring it is wise to understand that some of the continental MH's have water tanks and systems within the heated and insulated volumes of the MH to prevent freezing of these.

There is mention on the Tracker FB page of water heaters but I prefer the idea of the whole water system being insulated, this is achieved by having a double-decker floor system and the water systems sit in the space between the bottom floor and the floor that you actually walk on.

Most MH's have good internal heating systems so don't worry about that.

Additionally, some motorhomes are designed and authorised to travel in some countries with gas heating systems running, again this means that everything can be toasty warm when you get to your destination.
 
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Choosing a motorhome is more difficult than any other vehicle because there are so many variants. The purceived wisdom is that you get it right on your third try! We were lucky in that our second motorhome is our keeper. That was because the first one taught us valuable lessons about how we want to use it and what was wrong and right for us.

Given that I would recommend you buy secondhand first time as you will probably lose less money when you change. That is what we did and it worked. We bought the first one for £30k and got £28k in px after 2.5 years and 15,000 miles of use.
 
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First van was an ex-rental, 2yrs old and with 30k on the clock. Full of marks here and there but it was enough to test the water and suck us in to the murky waters of Motorhoming 🫣

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Motorhomes owned 3. All from new.
Cars owned 14 only one new, but loads of new company cars.
Houses owned. 8. Only 3 new.

Frankly I don't buy the bit about stuff already being sorted with s/h. Too many bodge jobs found. :confused:
 
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"Frankly I don't buy the bit about stuff already being sorted with s/h. Too many bodge jobs found."

I agree, there are loads of poor quality jobs done on motorhomes, I always end up re-doing jobs that bodgers have carried out, but I don't want to spend £150K on a new MH !!
 
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If you can’t afford a good quality new one then I’d recommend you go for second hand. New but cheap will just be old and cheaper in a few years. If you can afford it then I’d just recommend you go good quality second hand anyway.
 
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Scubadude59 said:
See as many as you can. Only you know what suits you and what feels right. I've bought used and new and been lucky as I've never had any issues, but that may not be common. A few thoughts tho. Base vehicles have become much better in recent years, quieter and more refined, which makes a big difference over long journeys. It might seem tempting to buy the biggest you can, but think carefully. The larger you go the more restrictive your choice of locations and routes becomes. Width also a factor (some makes e.g. Hymer do narrower versions), it makes a difference. I bought LHD when I knew I'd be using it in Europe, didn't regret it for a moment, and it's easier to be on the correct side when you're on unfamiliar roads, and using tolls (tho you'll have a toll tag I'd imagine). Check the thickness of the walls - anything built like a caravan will creak, rattle and leak. Make sure you have enough payload, this is a big deal now, if you're travelling extensively you'll have a lot of stuff with you, the van will drive better if you have a good reserve. If buying new add as many windows and hatches as you can, campers can get hot if you don't have good ventilation. I'd invest in solar, power management is important if you're not on site all the time. Good luck!
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Scubadude59 said:
Would you buy a New Motor Home or buy a used one, this will be our first Motor Home

Looking on the lines of a Autotrail Tracker FB - will be touring all Europe

Going to the NEC show in October - so any advice really appreciated
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meanders said:
Frankly I don't buy the bit about stuff already being sorted with s/h. Too many bodge jobs found. :confused:
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Too true see some really bad bodges in secondhand vans.
Much rather buy new and know what I'm getting.

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One question - have you tried one yet? For longer than a weekend? It's an expensive luxury and worth taking your time.
We took nearly three years, a ton of research, three motorhome shows and 3 months renting (in New Zealand) before we made a decision on the make We joined a Facebook group for that particular make and bombarded them with questions, mostly about reliability and customer service to start with.

Then we bought second-hand but through the actual converter, where it had been hab-checked every year since it was bought new 5 years before.
The van we bought is perfect. We will only need to change it if it dies, or one of us does and the other wants something smaller for solo travel.

In the last three years, the customer service has been outstanding, from sending us a new fuse for the electric step and a new water drain tap, with no charge, to covering the cost of a new ECU when the battery failed and killed it after 6 months, even though the battery was 5 years old already. Plus making the little additions we requested - a shelf here, a USB point there, and that's not to mention all the little extras they have done at every hab check, renewing sealant, new bathroom tap, and so on.

If you buy new, be sure to get all the extras you want at the time of ordering, and that the company has the flexibility to make changes.

So this rather rambling post basically says check that whoever you're buying it from is reliable and highly recommended by previous customers!
 
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I'm a firm believer in always buying used if it's your first of anything, whether it's a mountain bike, kayak, camera, 4x4, whatever - because you will learn what you like, what you hate, what's possible and what's not. Then you can make a much better, more informed decision when you buy new.

Having said that our first motorroam was new, but we'd been tuggers for 30+ years so we had firm ideas of what we wanted. Our second m/h was the updated version of our first; we got it right first time. (Downsized s/h for the current Hymer)

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I bought my first one new and it lasted a year as I didn't know enough about layout etc. Your first one is never the one you settle on for any length of time in my experience.
So bearing in mind you will lose more in the first year on a new one than a second hand one. I would go cheap for the first one or two then once you have learned and know what you need/prefer in layout etc you can go and buy a new one.
 
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Nigel Crompton said:
I'm a firm believer in always buying used if it's your first of anything, whether it's a mountain bike, kayak, camera, 4x4, whatever
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I used to think that until the scarring incident when getting condoms for the first time, I’m still seeing a therapist!

When I was looking for my first motorhome I went to a number of dealers who had large and varied stock of MH’s. Each time I would do a walk through each MH noting things that I couldn’t live with. This gave me a shortlist so I then went back to the MH’s on the shortlist and took loads of photos. During the week I would read reviews of those on the shortlist, check comments against my photos and shorten the list even further. I did this over and over again for months until only one MH remained on the list. Six or seven years later I still have that MH and despite it being a money pit I love going away in it and I’m really happy with it….no third MH rule for me.
 
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We have bought new last two vans, each time thinking depreciation is so low on mohos why not go new? We sold the first for £5k more than we paid five years before in 2022. Snags on new are a major pain, I recently bought a Swift and now wish we’d gone German. Much free as I’m a practically competent retired engineer, I despair at the build quality, indifference of the manufacturer and distributor.
Bear in mind the big distributors might have you wait 4-12 weeks to book you in for a repair, if you can’t fix it yourself. I carry a very comprehensive tool kit in mine that I’ve used frequently, most trips it comes out. Our current tour of SW Scotland for example, significant water leak under our sink from push in fitting. There seems to be a general acceptance that you buy a new Moho for Monopoly money and spend a few months sorting out snags. Excused it seems by the fact that they are low volume production but I don’t hear this about German vans! I’d say don’t buy at a motor show either, find out what you like but don’t buy on the back of a 10 minute glance around the van, go to a reputable dealer after the event and take your time evaluating storage space and general layout etc, then look around for the best deal.
 
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Why not try a Hire van to see how you get on with regards 1.The layout. 2 The driving experience .3 The power unit .The NEC a great day out to check all the different layouts available but try not to be sucked in to an instant purchase decision. In all seriousness a good 2nd hand European conversion will last longer that a UK product (60years experience and our current Italian conversion on a Mercedes chassis now owned 18yrs)
 
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Don't know if anyone's said this but many say it's worth hiring one for a weekend to get the feeling of the layout that suits you.
We didn't and bought new . That was fourteen years ago and we've still got it and love the layout.
The only other thing is to get it near home, whether it's new or second hand, if you possibly can. We met a lady in Cornwall a couple of years ago who was having to take her brand new one back to Hull for repairs under warranty and she'd only had it two weeks!
 
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Hi all. When it comes to cars, I would always buy second hand. The depreciation as you drive it off the forecourt on a new car is just too much. I would always go a little earlier and buy the top of the range, and keep a good wedge left to sort out the problems. With Motorhomes, the depreciation does not count, as others have said. So buy new and hold the dealer’s feet to the fire to fix any issues. In the same way as any big purchase, do your homework. Make sure you have worked out exactly what you want and what you are willing to pay for. For example, if you want a reliable car that will get you from A to B, get a cheap Japanese one. But if you want to pay for a posh badge, you need to understand what you are doing - they cost money and recognise you are paying for the name.
the other thing to remember is, once you have your list of features, colours, layouts and all the rest, you will either have to wait a long time or travel to buy it.
Finally- have fun doing it. The homework, the thinking, the anticipation and the final purchase worries are all part of the fun.
One thing we have all learned over the last few years, you never know way is coming so grab life by the throat and enjoy it. There ain’t no pockets in a shroud
 
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What ever you buy be careful, lots of mistakes on forecourts, we have liked certain New Motorhomes and then found, setout was not what we could work with, also some you could not sit up on bed without hitting your head, in saying this when we have finished at Malvern Hills show we are taking ours back to factory ( boy am I annoyed.)
 
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I think it depends on what sort of person you are.

Do you buy new or sh cars?

Do you like modding?

I am still precious of my 24year old Rapido, but happy to drill a few holes for lighting wires or extra hooks etc. If she was new, I would be scared shirtless of any little scratch or mark.

Think the idea of renting a couple of different vans will help you discover what you actually want, so will save you money in the longer term.
 
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Phil Spectrum said:
I think it depends on what sort of person you are.

Do you buy new or sh cars?

Do you like modding?

I am still precious of my 24year old Rapido, but happy to drill a few holes for lighting wires or extra hooks etc. If she was new, I would be scared shirtless of any little scratch or mark.

Think the idea of renting a couple of different vans will help you discover what you actually want, so will save you money in the longer term.
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I agree .

Less worry about doing mods to an older van

And if you buy old enough they no longer depreciate they gain

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The van we have now is our first one and bought new from Germany.
Nice to have something new and if you take time and find a good dealer there shouldn’t be to much trouble having issues fixed.
Plenty of older vans have issues still!!

Good luck.
 
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We bought new. We had caravanned for over 30 years, but then lockdown came. We also downsized our house, so we had a caravan to trade in & some spare cash, otherwise it would have been secondhand. In the past we bought secondhand caravans & one in particular I had the loose seat cushions recovered & new carpets to spruce it up, which didn’t cost a fortune. A tip here is to use throws to cover the seats, the reason being that trousers & in particular jeans with the little studs in will mark and spoil the upholstery.
 
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we had no choice, could not affordable new one, took our time and looked at lots, settled on a 6 year old Autotrail, now in our 11th year, had no problems, hubby is a retired coach builder so knows what to look for and how to repair, had no problems, put a few extras in, replaced all the skylights this year, got fed up with the wind up gears, now have push up bars much better, it will do another 10years.
 
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An amusing post. How many on here I wonder had the luxury of that particular conundrum for their 1st camper…. :)

My first real one was a 1978 Bedford CF pop top with a 2.3 Vauxhall Victor slant block (with the death rattle..) bought for £400 in 1994.
 
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Mclouis700 said:
Why not try a Hire van to see how you get on with regards 1.The layout. 2 The driving experience .3 The power unit .The NEC a great day out to check all the different layouts available but try not to be sucked in to an instant purchase decision. In all seriousness a good 2nd hand European conversion will last longer that a UK product (60years experience and our current Italian conversion on a Mercedes chassis now owned 18yrs)
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So you’re saying British built Motorhomes are s—t

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