Hymer prices

[BusyBuilder]

Whilst looking to change our 2012 B544 for a newer model, I looked for ages to find another B544 later than 2016 as we wanted euro 6 . But couldn't find one anywhere later than 2015, which wasn't worth doing.

We found a 2017 B543 DL at £75k which suits us, the cost nearly gave me palpitations, but we got more for our B544 than I was expecting. We also considered a Frankia 640, but it was just a step too far in terms of cost.

Whilst looking at used prices, I looked on the Travelworld site at new/nearly Hymer A (B) class vans. I was shocked at the prices for similar build and size to my B534 DL, even used.


And Lenny keeps telling us Hymers are mid range. Just how are people affording these prices ?

 

[funflair]

A used Hymer at £176k yes a lot of money, makes a Morelo look like a bargain and I don't say or even think that very often, how do people afford them? well the simple answer is some can and some can't and there again some can but won't.

 

[Gerry77]

I am just buying a 2014 Exsis and I am paying only £10k less than when new and its 10 yrs old.

 

[Brains]

A quick glance at Autotrader shows a Hymer like mine but one year newer and slightly lower mileage.
They are asking £26k more than I paid for mine 5 years ago.

The one for sale is a slightly lower spec, but is one of the first on the 'new' Mercedes Sprinter base, whereas as mine is the last on the 'old' Mercedes Sprinter base vehicles.

It means that mine is still worth considerably more than I paid for it, so I've had 5 years of 'free' use.
Zero depreciation is very rare on vehicles.

 

[RowleyBirkinQC]

Do you think these pricing levels will continue or be subject to some form of normalisation? Might have a look what they’re asking for the Hymer we bought new in 2019 now…

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[ontheroadagain]

It will be interesting to see how the current situation develops over the next few years. Eventually all motorhomes are worthless (scrap). If there has been no depreciation in the last 5 years, when is it going to happen? It has to depreciate at some point.

 

[gpat]

I think prices has levelled but they haven't dropped. They are still silly. We paid £55k for ours brand new carado (hymers budget brand) in 2019. Now the same model is over £75k. This pushes up the second hand values yes, but the cost to change has gone up. Ours is probably worth the same as we paid new (retail) but current new prices are stretched too far. Surely production costs have not risen that much, if at all.

We were thinking of changing this year but the current T339 is pretty much just the same as ours and we have only done 13k miles. So we are staying put and seeing what develops.

 

[Lenny HB]

And Lenny keeps telling us Hymers are mid range. Just how are people affording these prices ?

We streatch ourselves to limit used all our cash reserves buying the new Carthago but we use it a fair bit and don't waste our money on other things. Might as well enjoy our last few years.

Hymers have been hyped in this country and people think they are a top range van having had 3 of them I wouldn't agree but they are good compared to a lot of other vans.
As for prices a budget van like a Roller Team will set you back £70k then you will probably add £10k of extras that makes Hymers look cheap for the difference in quality.
We got got £5k less than what we paid for our Hymer 7 years ago as a trade in, Dealer put it up for £3k more than they gave us and sold it in a couple of weeks.

 

[Gaston aires]

A used Hymer at £176k yes a lot of money, makes a Morelo look like a bargain and I don't say or even think that very often, how do people afford them? well the simple answer is some can and some can't and there again some can but won't.

Or some can’t but will
Keep chuggin
Phil

 

[AJM2]

There’s a world of difference quality wise between makes and clearly Hymer have managed to maintain a reputation which keeps second hand prices buoyant. Interestingly a friend of mine swapped one for a new Carthago and swapped back after 3 months because he felt it was a step down in quality. Each to their own but anyone who has bought one a few years ago won’t be seeing much, if any depreciation. At a recent show I was amazed to overhear conversations between couples talking about remortgaging the house, other borrowing etc and pushing themselves to the limit to buy something they’d seen. I’ve been told so many times by people seeing the MH that it’s their dream to have a MH. Whilst that continues the market will always be buoyant.

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[lorger]

I think there’s a big difference in quality across the Hymer range itself, whereas before I think all Hymers were of the same quality.

 

[Lenny HB]

Interestingly a friend of mine swapped one for a new Carthago and swapped back after 3 months because he felt it was a step down in quality.

I find that hard to believe, we have had 3 Hymers and now a Carthago. The difference in build quality and quality of fittings is in a different league, far superior to Hymer.

 

[Brains]

I find that hard to believe, we have had 3 Hymers and now a Carthago. The difference in build quality and quality of fittings is in a different league, far superior to Hymer.

We have a 2016-2018 model Hymer.
I had a look at the 2023-25 model of our van at the NEC.

I was appalled at the build quality!
Where we have solid wood, the new model was flimsy ply!
Where we have quality metal door furniture, the new one had plastic!

The lower quality may have been to try to get an extra 100 kg of payload on a 3500kg vehicle.
(Ours is plated at 3850kg, which every year removes another large percentage of potential buyers)

With Hymers, even within the same model, the year of construction matters!

That said, after 6 years use, I could still sell our one for substantially more that I paid for it.

 

[Hettie's Crew]

I find that hard to believe, we have had 3 Hymers and now a Carthago. The difference in build quality and quality of fittings is in a different league, far superior to Hymer.

Thought you only ever had Exsis and DL, never a proper B class quality van.

 

[BusyBuilder]

The difference between our previous 4150kg B544 (2012) and our current 3850kg 2017 B534DL, is on many levels.

The B544 had thicker doors/cupboards, metal handles and hinges, 2.3 130bhp manual engine on fiat heavy chassis, which struggled on our hills. Grill ontop of fridge not so good, and fridge locks kept breaking, also drawer catches kept breaking. Overall though, we thought it a good quality van, and looked for a much newer one, which we couldn't find.

The B534DL, on Alko chassis, bit longer with a garage, bit narrower (easier to manoeuvre onto our drive) but more headroom inside, I'm 6'5" tall and can easily stand up inside. Cupboards are a bit thinner (not much though) handles and some hinges are plastic, not so good. Bed is better too.
But touch sensitive interior lights are way better, night lights for going to bathroom are great. separate shower, bigger water tank, much nicer interior fittings with soft close drawers/cupboards. And has a proper oven/hob which is much better than a grill stuck ontop of the fridge. Has 150/auto which so far has proved to be much better on our hilly roads. Access to electrics and Truma boiler is much better. Gas cupboard inside. Newer Truma control (no dials) .So far we like it.
At 7 years old, the only problem I forsee is the electric bed....wondering if we can ditch the electronics and make it manual ????

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[AJM2]

Thought you only ever had Exsis and DL, never a proper B class quality van.

That might explain it Only going on what my friend said, never actually travelled with him in it but I do know it was seriously expensive when he bought it and he was pretty fed up when he felt he’d fallen for the hype

 

[DavidG58]

We have now had our Hymer S800 for 11 years, bought it 3 years old but hardly used (only 2K miles) it was built in 07 as the first of the new S class new body shape

Apparently priced at £120K in 2007 went unsold through the financial crash and bought for unknown sum in 2009 by first owner

He nearly cried when I bought it off him for £78K in 2013, he was asking £80K (no offers) but let slip he really needed to sell it

I don’t think we have done badly depreciation wise but wouldnt expect to get more than £35K

But can’t replace it with anything near the spec for less than £100K to move up to compliant engine which is our main concern

It’s a keeper for us, spending spare cash making home good for our dotage

 

[mitzimad]

We have now had our Hymer S800 for 11 years, bought it 3 years old but hardly used (only 2K miles) it was built in 07 as the first of the new S class new body shape

Apparently priced at £120K in 2007 went unsold through the financial crash and bought for unknown sum in 2009 by first owner

He nearly cried when I bought it off him for £78K in 2013, he was asking £80K (no offers) but let slip he really needed to sell it

I don’t think we have done badly depreciation wise but wouldnt expect to get more than £35K

But can’t replace it with anything near the spec for less than £100K to move up to compliant engine which is our main concern

It’s a keeper for us, spending spare cash making home good for our dotage

Much like us david choicewas much newer van or a loft conversion we decided the loft would probsbly do us for more years

 

[bellabee]

We've had our B588DL for 7 years, from new.
In that time we've done 45,000 miles, spending six months of each year living in the van, both home and abroad.

We've had a few niggles - replaced Reich kitchen tap, broken springs in Hartal door catches, new control panel needed on Dometic fridge, chrome drawer handles replaced with stainless steel ones from Screwfix.

We find the van comfortable and spacious enough for 2 people + dog, but narrow enough to drive on narrow roads.
We like the the decor and find it pleasant to live in. Beds are seats are comfortable and upholstery is of good quality.

So far, there have been no leaks or body-work problems .

In common with DavidG58 and mitzimad , we're perfectly happy with what we've got and don't think changing the van would improve our enjoyment of motorhoming.

We too prefer to spend our money on our home - complete new central heating system and new bathroom this year have definitely added to our quality of life.

We're all have differing priorities.

 

[bellabee]

....and, importantly, while currently plated at 3850, we know we know we could run at 3500 in the event of C1 problems.
We'd have to ditch the electric bikes but we don't use them a lot because of the dog.

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[LithiumConvert]

Thought you only ever had Exsis, never a proper B class quality van.

The difference in build quality and quality of fittings is in a different league, far superior to Hymer.

I disagree. We only changed our previous Exsis-i bcause I wanted an automatic.

But having changed, we are very pleased with the build quality of our new Exsis-i. I do not see us ever changing again. It has everything we need for a van plated at 3500 Kg.