High mileage MHs

[Sopworth]

Hi all,

Whilst my wife and I continue to look and view MH's when possible, we have come across a few vehicles that are cheaper due to high mileage. When I'm talking high, I am talking 80-95k miles on MH's registered in 14/15.

We haven't looked at these because they were sometimes beyond our price range but it has me thinking that perhaps I could stretch to a much newer vehicle and accept the high miles? If we end up keeping it for 4 or 5 years and don't pile on the miles (I doubt we would), the mileage won't seem extortionately high when we come to sell/px.

Given the chassis on which MH's are built, am I potentially missing a trick buying a cheaper - high mileage one? I think the obvious questions to ask is if it has a full S/H and all paperwork, but if that is the case, what other pitfalls should I be looking for? Am i right in thinking high miles doesn't equate to high wear and tear in the living spaces?

Thank you.

 

[John Barrett]

You are buying what is essentially a small truck. Do not worry about miles...
John

 

[Boringfrog]

Could be hire vehicles....

 

[Ivory55]

This is high mileage, haha

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[Yorkshire Puds]

What you’ve to remember is a motorhome with high miles is likely to be mostly motorway miles, so not as much as an issue as a van with high miles that has been driving around town every day like a parcel van.

For example, my trusty old work Transit is a 58 plate with 160 thousand motorway miles on the clock, full service history and still starts first time and drives like a train. Never letting me down.

Im confident that I could jump in any time and drive to Lands End then turn round and drive it to John O Groats.

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[Sopworth]

Thanks for all the replies. I guess, having seen most MH's advertised with average or below average miles I wasn't sure what to make of it when a dealer suggested a 2014 model with 96k on the clock. Put me off but having thought about it, I'm not so sure.

When buying a car we are all pretty guarded when it comes to mileage - unless you are a handy mechanic - which I'm not!

 

[Boringfrog]

Thanks for all the replies. I guess, having seen most MH's advertised with average or below average miles I wasn't sure what to make of it when a dealer suggested a 2014 model with 96k on the clock. Put me off but having thought about it, I'm not so sure.

When buying a car we are all pretty guarded when it comes to mileage - unless you are a handy mechanic - which I'm not!

Any links to said van, I reckon dealer will be desperate to sell it. If you keep it a couple of years and put 5K on per year you would also struggle to sell.

 

[Just smiffy]

Motorhomes are built on commercial chassis and a 5-8y delivery van could have 200k on average, they are designed to do 500k...

I and I think most on here would rather buy a motorhome that’s been driving around rather then sat in a storage field standing idle...

take this nice example for instance ...

Hymer B544 2012 Comfortmatic

An excellent opportunity to acquire a well sought after motorhome with the layout and accessories for full time living or long periods away with all the facilities onboard for self sufficiency. Hymer B544 Left hand drive 3 berth 2012 6.5m long 2.35m wide 2.9m high. Fiat Ducato Maxi Al-ko...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

 

[Garfields]

Im confident that I could jump in any time and drive to Lands End then turn round and drive it to John O Groats.

I'm not confident you would get to John O Groats at present
Perhaps in July

 

[Minxy]

Hi Soppy

It depends on how it's been used, it the overall condition that would be more important to me such as how well it has been looked after, serviced etc, do the internals (furniture, equipment etc) show signs of extreme wear/damage especially if its been badly driven so cabinets are creaking, not fitting properly. If not then having a higher than average mileage shouldn't be a massive concern especially if you do low mileages yourself as you will help balance it out to a more 'normal' level for a motorhome.

In contrast a lower than average mileage motorhome can be worse than a high mileage one, as it may not have travelled as extensively but been stood for months on end on someone's drive, or on a campsite being used daily by the previous owners causing a lot of wear and tear to the hab area.

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[Yorkshire Puds]

I'm not confident you would get to John O Groats at present
Perhaps in July

 

[M-J]

5 ish year old vans with that sort of mileage are likely to be ex rental.

 

[Minxy]

5 ish year old vans with that sort of mileage are likely to be ex rental.

That's my thought too.

 

[Billylyne5]

We viewed some today 2014/15 plate with 70k+ on the clock and they were very tatty inside. Pretty sure they were ex rental and we weren’t impressed with the state of them considering they wanted 28k for a two birth

 

[pappajohn]

When buying a car we are all pretty guarded when it comes to mileage

My current car had 40000 miles on it at 20 months old..... And an ex-hire car to boot.
I've had two sets of alloy wheels under warranty and that's it.

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[Landy Andy]

Wouldn’t touch one personally. Yes the van is fine to do the milage but high miles, is high use of all the accommodation part, and I wouldn’t want a not stop list of items failing, falling off, or causing issues each time I used the Moho. Any rental van, if that is where it’s from, will have been abused. Corners smashed, clutch slipped, and god knows what else. The high mileage isn’t from people just driving it around for fun, they will be using it.

 

[BobtheBass]

95k road miles probably isn't a problem for the vehicle side of the unit but if you average out each trip at say 100 miles that means the bed has been slept in 950 times, the toilet used say 2,000 times, the heater used 425 times, the curtains and blinds opened and closed 950 times etc. You can see where I'm going with this. Probably propulsion unit = OK, habitation unit = tired, saggy and well used. Avoid.

 

[Minxy]

Another thing to consider, some insurers ask if a MH has ever been used for hire ... no idea why but it may impact the cost.

 

[Garfields]

I wouldn't rule out a high mileager
All down to condition versus price
I think even on a good one you will have a few things to put right
If you buy the wrong low mileage one you could still end up with repairs to do
Most people will end up with some modifications to get them how they want
Best if you can DIY
Or if you're Mel you will rebuild it

 

[jongood]

Mileage is irrelevant, Quality and condition in my book, every single time.

There are plenty of larger MH's out there that live in storage in somewhere like Malaga/Valencia/Alicante whatever - the owners fly down and park on one of the big sites, low mileage but faded and really well worn.

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[Minxy]

Most people will end up with some modifications to get them how they want
Best if you can DIY
Or if you're Mel you will rebuild it

Are you trying to say my 'fettling' is a bit OTT?

 

[Sopworth]

Some great comments, thank you.
We aren’t actively looking to save money by buying a cheaper, high mileage model, it was just a question I was wondering having been suggested one at a dealership. I didn’t even look in it as the mileage put me off but I wish I had now - out of interest.

Back to the search for a MH anyway!

 

[DangerMousy]

I wonder how many people on this thread commenting on this thread about watching out in case its an ex-rental MH have actually ever owned one? Yes some of them are abused by the renters, but not all of them.

Our previous MH was an ex-hire - we bought it from the rental company when it was 2 years old and had almost 30k on the clock and the interior condition was immaculate. The engine had been well looked after and perfectly and the habitation systems had no problems either. In fact the only repairs we had to have done were a new burner for the fridge when we found on our first holiday it didn't work very well on gas (possibly that may have been caused by it being used on gas when parked up out of level. Or it might not have been, who can tell?) and new pump for the toilet flush (don't think we can blame one on abuse by previous hirers!)

Would I buy another ex-hire vehicle? Absolutely yes ! If the price and condition are right then I'd have no problem with it.
The only thing you do need to watch out for in relation to ex-hire motorhomes is the manufacturer's warranty - often it doesn't come with one.

 

[Garfields]

Are you trying to say my 'fettling' is a bit OTT?

No no just enthusiastic