MOTORHOME SALES BOOMING!!!

We have been looking for a while for a replacement to our Euramobil we sold last year and noticed a lot of ads on Autotrader either go really quickly or sit around for a while but we have seen some we discounted back in Winter are now starting to shift. I suspect if sites re-open without full facilities there will be some disappointed customers or those that find after a couple of trips its not for them and back on the market. There are also a lot of new ads with some very optimistic pricing on some very old units.
 
phroco said:
I am a recent purchaser who is hopefully going to pick up our van later this week, definitely one of the 'nocies' referred to above. As I posted in my intro thread we have done things backwards by putting a deposit down before really knowing what we were looking for and doing the research afterwards. We viewed several vans (in person) and found one we liked and it's a refundable deposit so that has given us some breathing space to check we've done the right thing. So a couple of weeks of digging on this forum and others has been very useful and we're still happy with what we're getting and what to look out for when we go to collect. You have to start somewhere!

I'm not keen on the hassle of flying at the best of times and certainly not for the next few months. We've done some camping but usually rent cottages. We've gone for a MH to give us some more flexibility with weekends and spur of the moment trips through out the year (and to avoid changeover days). We've not really got it to take abroad, though it would be nice in the future if we're not about to see the end of quick and easy channel crossings. We've got it really just to go to places in this country that we'd otherwise probably never visit.
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Enjoy.
 
phroco said:
I am a recent purchaser who is hopefully going to pick up our van later this week, definitely one of the 'nocies' referred to above. As I posted in my intro thread we have done things backwards by putting a deposit down before really knowing what we were looking for and doing the research afterwards. We viewed several vans (in person) and found one we liked and it's a refundable deposit so that has given us some breathing space to check we've done the right thing. So a couple of weeks of digging on this forum and others has been very useful and we're still happy with what we're getting and what to look out for when we go to collect. You have to start somewhere!

I'm not keen on the hassle of flying at the best of times and certainly not for the next few months. We've done some camping but usually rent cottages. We've gone for a MH to give us some more flexibility with weekends and spur of the moment trips through out the year (and to avoid changeover days). We've not really got it to take abroad, though it would be nice in the future if we're not about to see the end of quick and easy channel crossings. We've got it really just to go to places in this country that we'd otherwise probably never visit.
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welcome to the forum , it’s a new adventure , that’s what life’s all about , enjoy
 
Bluemanc100 said:
Everybody was a novice once....
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There are novices and informed novices. I, and others, had done lots of research on MHs so maybe that is why I still have my first MH 11 years later.

As for 'on the road' many of first time MHomers have driven larger trucks before.

But those who have done neither of the above are the real novices and likely to make mistakes.
 
So here's the story in Car Dealer magazine.

Investigation: Staycation boom sees motorhome and caravan used prices rocket as dealers report sales surge

cardealermagazine.co.uk

Investigation: Staycation boom sees motorhome and caravan used prices rocket as dealers report sales surge - Car Dealer Magazine

Campervan and caravan dealers are reporting booming sales as one area of the motor trade rides a wave of post-lockdown activity – with prices rising sharply. Motorhome dealers, classified advertising websites and manufacturers have all told Car Dealer Magazine that coronavirus killing off the...
cardealermagazine.co.uk

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nicholsong said:
There are novices and informed novices. I, and others, had done lots of research on MHs so maybe that is why I still have my first MH 11 years later.

As for 'on the road' many of first time MHomers have driven larger trucks before.

But those who have done neither of the above are the real novices and likely to make mistakes.
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I drove all type of vehicles in my time in the military as a motor mechanic.. Driving the MH is not rocket science and I feel quite liberated when doing so as there is absolutely no rush to get where you are going hence it is pretty therapeutic, for me anyway. The only thing I was wary of was the rear overhang when visiting a petrol station...
 
Bluemanc100 said:
The only thing I was wary of was the rear overhang when visiting a petrol station...
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Pray, do tell.........did you clonk something, or just being ultra-careful.......?

:giggler:
 
We're picking up our MH this Thursday. The dealer, Campirama in Belgium, says the 3 months of lock-down have been a blow but now they are selling like never before. Twice as much as last year.

On a similar note, one of my neighbours is the manager of Mini for Luxembourg. Same story, lock-down bad but the recovery is nearly instant, they have now sold more this year than last year same date.
 
This boom seems to be increasing the number of scam adverts on eBay too. I spotted a couple of early 2000 coach built vans being advertised for prices closer to 1990's vans.

eBay aren't always quick to take them down either, leaving teh scammers ample opportunity to take deposits & run.
 
Why do we feel we’ve been lucky? Ordered ours in January, delivery September (but waiting for an update on that), and got a deal we were happy with.

If I was looking now I think I’d be postponing my purchase until the madness settles down.
 
GMLS said:
Yes but it's the amateurs who, realising they are not going to go abroad this year, by their cheap camping starter pack from Halfords, pitch up next to us, get rained on and/or blown about during the night and then knock on the door looking for shelter I'm worried about! Going to be looking for sites without facilities to reduce the risk!
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I doubt you'll have that problem this year!. Campsites, whether club or privately owned, are very unlikely to open facility blocks and won't therefore take tenters, only units with own facilities.

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If there is the apparent massive growth in motorhome/caravan ownership then one has to assume that there will be a section of those that are not uk stay at home holidaymakers and have bought it to access europe, because of flight worries ,which is where they usually go on holiday.
Maybe benidorm is about to get inundated with new uk motorhomers that have never driven over there, that could be fun!!!
 
colyboy said:
As we were bored over the weekend, we thought that we would visit a few local MH dealers.

First one we visited was a large dealer of good quality second hand MHs.
Met by a salesman who asked us to use gloves etc, my comment to him was is how are things going with this Corona virus, his comment was that they had only been open for one week and had SOLD 30 in that week!. I thought to myself that’s a bit of salesman licence, but when I spoke to one of the bosses he said ,best week ever we have sold 29.

Second one was a major dealer with several major brands. Salesman comment from them was is that we cannot keep up with demand we have sold over the last few days 40 vans.

Third visit was once again a major dealers again with some major brands. Comment from the boss I met was that “that I have been in the business for over thirty years and have NEVER sold so many MHS in such I short time”

There is going to be a lot of MHS on the road when all this is over!

Colyboy
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Sounds fantastic for the sales guys, I suspect when foreign travel / flights picks up there could well be a surplus of MoHo’s on the market but that may take 4-5 years.
 
busbuddy said:
If there is the apparent massive growth in motorhome/caravan ownership then one has to assume that there will be a section of those that are not uk stay at home holidaymakers and have bought it to access europe, because of flight worries ,which is where they usually go on holiday.
Maybe benidorm is about to get inundated with new uk motorhomers that have never driven over there, that could be fun!!!
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When I left Benidorm area in march most sites were booked fully from the summer until early 2021 this may well change but I doubt many will get a pitch. Driving in Europe is easier for a novice than the UK just my opinion.
 
busbuddy said:
Maybe benidorm is about to get inundated with new uk motorhomers
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The council are staggering beach access times via age , access is only from the official time & there is a 'closure' time also, along with 3 daily cleaning periods when you can't be on the beach, I was reading at the weekend.
 
Jim said:
Didn't surprise me, a dealer I know from LinkedIn has been in business over 20 years and had their busiest sales week ever, right in the middle of lockdown, people buying sight unseen from a website. Another small dealer I know normally sells 2 or 3 vans a week and is now selling two every day.
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So Jim, Jim would it be impertinent to ask if your web traffic can shed some light on the possible "boom". One would assume that your statistics would be able to support an up-tick in searches and thread/post views on motorhoming concepts which indicate maybe unknown new visitors or long term lurkers. Or is that commercially sensitive?
Michael
 
There is a lot of leisure outlets reporting a big uptake Biicycles, Kayak, inflatable Kayaks, stand up paddle boards etc the leisure industry is seeing bog increases in activity. you see more runners and walkers out and about.
 
sallylillian said:
So Jim, Jim would it be impertinent to ask if your web traffic can shed some light on the possible "boom". One would assume that your statistics would be able to support an up-tick in searches and thread/post views on motorhoming concepts which indicate maybe unknown new visitors or long term lurkers. Or is that commercially sensitive?
Michael
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Web traffic to the site has doubled. You do not have to register to view most of the site. Right now for instance before 9am we have 500 members logged in, but over 1000 guests reading. These are not robots, we count those separately, these are real people reading about motorhomes. If they are moved to register, then they must be really interested.

These are the years daily registrations. all pretty normal til just before lockdown.

1591775551383.png


None of those are spammer registrations. For the last three years I have manually approved every single registration.
 
Jim said:
Web traffic to the site has doubled. You do not have to register to view most of the site. Right now for instance before 9am we have 500 members logged in, but over 1000 guests reading. These are not robots, we count those separately, these are real people reading about motorhomes. If they are moved to register, then they must be really interested.

These are the years daily registrations. all pretty normal til just before lockdown.

View attachment 395138

None of those are spammer registrations. For the last three years I have manually approved every single registration.
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Interesting stuff. Do you have figures for sleepers and leavers? Our Model Engineer forum has 6000 registered members but about 5700 are asleep!
John
 
Jim said:
Web traffic to the site has doubled. You do not have to register to view most of the site. Right now for instance before 9am we have 500 members logged in, but over 1000 guests reading. These are not robots, we count those separately, these are real people reading about motorhomes. If they are moved to register, then they must be really interested.

These are the years daily registrations. all pretty normal til just before lockdown.

View attachment 395138

None of those are spammer registrations. For the last three years I have manually approved every single registration.
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Interesting. Lends support to the other reported views. Thanks. What will be interesting is reviewing the spike in registrations 1 year hence to see if their is a corresponding drop in renewals?

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My oldest daughter expressed an interest in buying a MH in May, so I looked on websites of local dealers.

I revisited the same sites yesterday:

Greentrees (Dereham) 4 suitable vans, all still present, all same price.
Broadland Leisure (Acle) 4 suitable vans, all still present, all same price.
Becks (Rollesby) 6 suitable vans, 4 now sold, 1 same price, 1 £3k cheaper
Simpsons (Lowestoft) 4 suitable vans, 2 now sold, 1 same price, 1 £4k cheaper.
Brownhills (Newark) 3 suitable vans selected leaving loads of others, all 3 now sold

Draw your own conclusions - Gordon

After seeing the prices she asked about caravans, so I researched them for her. Yesterday's check revealed a similar pattern.
 
sallylillian said:
What will be interesting is reviewing the spike in registrations 1 year hence to see if their is a corresponding drop in renewals?
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You don't have to renew a registration. If you are thinking subscriptions, then they've not noticeably gone up at all, maybe that number will go up if these people doing the research turn into owners.
 
Jim said:
You don't have to renew a registration. If you are thinking subscriptions, then they've not noticeably gone up at all, maybe that number will go up if these people doing the research turn into owners.
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Sorry my misunderstanding. Nevertheless a very interesting set of statistics. It will be good to track the level of fervour over the coming months once the air bridges are open. Maybe we can get you a slot on No10's daily briefing for a positive slant to the future. And persuade the buggers to open campsites and motorhome travel?
 
Rapido925M said:
My oldest daughter expressed an interest in buying a MH in May, so I looked on websites of local dealers.

I revisited the same sites yesterday:

Greentrees (Dereham) 4 suitable vans, all still present, all same price.
Broadland Leisure (Acle) 4 suitable vans, all still present, all same price.
Becks (Rollesby) 6 suitable vans, 4 now sold, 1 same price, 1 £3k cheaper
Simpsons (Lowestoft) 4 suitable vans, 2 now sold, 1 same price, 1 £4k cheaper.
Brownhills (Newark) 3 suitable vans selected leaving loads of others, all 3 now sold

Draw your own conclusions - Gordon

After seeing the prices she asked about caravans, so I researched them for her. Yesterday's check revealed a similar pattern.
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Completely unscientific, but my neighbour wants to have a m/h and sold his caravan on Sunday within two hours of advertising it on eBay and it was paid for and collected the same day. For whatever reason (he didn't say) he said he's having such difficulty finding a suitable m/h that he wishes he'd kept it.
My m/h is in my drive and in the past 10 days I've had two callers knocking to ask if I want to sell it. They seemed to be dealers looking for a bargain to resell.

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