Motorhome prices are still nuts! (1 Viewer)

[Googlebot]

Our 2013 van is coming up to 5 years of being owned by us.

Out of interest, I put a search in to see how much they were now and managed to find an identical model for mileage and age.

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I originally expected to lose about 3k a year in depreciation, which was acceptable based on the fact we use it so much and love having it.

So, how much have we actually lost?

The answer is nothing as it’s the same price as when we bought it.

That’s nuts!

I know Covid didn’t help, but how can a vehicle depreciate so little? The prices must drop soon surely?

 

[M-J]

Prices are starting to make their way back down to the pre covid norm, I would think by the end of the year it’ll be much more sensible. The amount of MHs currently for sale says it all really.

 

[Onemanandhisdog]

I've had mine 10 years and it's now 24 years old, gone up 25% in my ownership

 

[Googlebot]

Prices are starting to make their way back down to the pre covid norm, I would think by the end of the year it’ll be much more sensible. The amount of MHs currently for sale says it all really.

I keep thinking that, but they haven’t so far. I keep saying it to friends who have expressed an interest in Motorhomes but they seem to be holding their own.

 

[JimmE]

We bought our van almost 3 years ago, and accepted we were perhaps paying a small premium buying during the COVID surge.

However, checking on values this week for our upcoming insurance renewal, there are currently none of our model for sale on Autotrader for less than we paid for ours (except one which either has issues, is a scam or is mispriced by at least £10k!) - so ours has held its value or possibly even increased by £4-£5k!

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[Soycd]

The LHD Challenger Vany we bought in December 2018 (6 month old ex-rental) sold in September 2023 for quite a bit more than we paid. Even the PX prices we were offered were more. Th price of new motorhomes/vans has gone bonkers since Covid. Consequently so have older ones.

 

[VXman]

Watched an interesting video on this subject the other day...

 

[bigtree]

Watched an interesting video on this subject the other day...

That video has been out for a while and might be the trade trying to talk the prices down, just look at current forecourt prices and see how things are going.

 

[starquake]

We only got ours last summer, and at moment the (2) examples on sale are £5k more than we paid, and arguably worse specified as missing many upgrades the previous owner had made on ours (and some which we got as part of the deal).

I don't mind a £5k paper increase in 9 months, we expected to lose ~10-15K over the next 3 years min.

 

[VXman]

That video has been out for a while and might be the trade trying to talk the prices down, just look at current forecourt prices and see how how things are going.

I think you are confusimg it with something else. That video was published/released on 6th may (2 days ago) and it is not talking prices down - it confirms what we are saying - motorhome prices are strong and staying strong. (Anyway, why would the trade try to talk prices down?)

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[bigtree]

I think you are confusimg it with something else. That video was published/released on 6th may (2 days ago) and it is not talking prices down - it confirms what we are saying - motorhome prices are strong and staying strong. (Anyway, why would the trade try to talk prices down?)

I didn’t watch much of it but looked like a video I had saw before which talked down the rising trend of motorhoming.

 

[Coastal Cruiser.]

All immaterial to what a van is worth now I think the best way to look at how much it’s lost is to see how much it cost to buy a new one.
My van is probably worth what I paid over 3 years ago but if I wanted a new one I would have to find over a £100k so £30k a year
Only time you win is when you are selling and not buying another van I think

 

[lorger]

Our van is coming up for 4 years old, we bought just before Covid although couldn’t collect due to first lockdown. Someone has the same van but 2 years older with less extras than our advertised for £2k more than we paid for ours, the new model however has gone up by over £20K so I think that’s why the secondhand ones are up.

 

[Harrogate motorhomer]

All immaterial to what a van is worth now I think the best way to look at how much it’s lost is to see how much it cost to buy a new one.
My van is probably worth what I paid over 3 years ago but if I wanted a new one I would have to find over a £100k so £30k a year
Only time you win is when you are selling and not buying another van I think

Spot on, after 40 odd years in the motor trade one thing held good which was no matter how much you offered them in px it was the price to change that either made the deal or not.

 

[martin west dorset]

The important thing to remember is the motorhomes you are comparing yours with is the advertised price, the most relevant factor is these motorhomes are still for sale & not sold yet, the price realised when sold is the important factor.

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[dunnah01]

Driving past Brownhills the other day you can put any price you want on a Moho but none are selling

 

[Saucer]

Just short of 12,000 on Autotrader at the moment. I’m keeping an eye on them and can see the ones that have what a lot of people want, e.g. 9 speed auto seem to sell quite quickly. A lot of vans have been on there over months.
It is true that new prices have continued to rise, above high inflation, and that must affect the second hand market. But I do think prices are beginning to plateau, at least I hope so, for our sake

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

A dealer won't give you the market price as a trade in though. He checks what you paid for it and will offer you lower.

 

[Saucer]

Interesting video above (I don’t know how to quote ).What he ignores is inflation, albeit the rises have eclipsed that overall.

 

[WESTY66]

A dealer won't give you the market price as a trade in though. He checks what you paid for it and will offer you lower.

If you’re not trading in to the same dealer, just don’t tell em

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[oldiesontour]

Spot on, after 40 odd years in the motor trade one thing held good which was no matter how much you offered them in px it was the price to change that either made the deal or not.

Even if you're not buying you still lose as the money you end up with won't have the same real value as a result of inflation and loss of interest/investment return you would have earnt bottom line a MH is a depreciating asset
(often quite substantially) So it's costing you to own it Just try and get the best value by using it,as much as possible before the government tax ICE vehicles off the road

 

[MichaelT]

A dealer won't give you the market price as a trade in though. He checks what you paid for it and will offer you lower.

So we traded in at the NEC in October for new van we are picking up next Friday (fingers crossed). Before show we had agreed a trade in price, at the show we went thru the configuration and I told the dealer how much I had to spend to change which is the most important thing. He said have a walk round and he will talk to the manufacturer about what they can do along with what he can do. Deal includes extras on the van from maker plus alarm, tracker, solar and a few other things from dealer.

Upshot is we gout 6k less on trade in than we paid 5 years ago and nearly 7k off new van. We were/are happy with deal as whatever we got it didn't matter as he (just about) matched what amount I told him we had to spend to change.

 

[chaser]

I know I am dealing with a different end of the market to you guys, but looking at the prices being asked for similar vehicles to ours, bought in 2017 it is roughly double the price we paid now.

 

[IRHP]

The prices can't stay high for ever. The big drop used to be in the first 3 years, you lost 10k as soon as you drove off the forecourt. Then there was a gradual depreciation. That hasn't happened on vans bought new 5 or 6 years ago so when will the big drop come? When a van is reaching the end of its life its worth nothing. The depreciation curve on these vans is going to look interesting.

 

[ontheroadagain]

A few weeks ago I was talking to the owner of a campsite that has quite a few static caravans.
He said the market for second hand statics had crashed, and quite a few families who purchased during Covid were now selling up due to lack of use.
He said they were getting a huge shock, as some were expecting to get their money back but were now taking a major hit with depreciation.
I expect second hand motorhomes will go the same way over the next year.
A five year old motorhome selling for more than what it cost new is not a normal situation.
As IRHP said, at the end of their life they are worthless, so when will the big depreciation happen?
It has to happen sometime.

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[starquake]

A few weeks ago I was talking to the owner of a campsite that has quite a few static caravans.
He said the market for second hand statics had crashed, and quite a few families who purchased during Covid were now selling up due to lack of use.
He said they were getting a huge shock, as some were expecting to get their money back but were now taking a major hit with depreciation.
I expect second hand motorhomes will go the same way over the next year.
A five year old motorhome selling for more than what it cost new is not a normal situation.
As IRHP said, at the end of their life they are worthless, so when will the big depreciation happen?
It has to happen sometime.

I think statics are different, the ground rent is so crippling for some that people are genuinely leaving due to the ground rent.

Example the in-laws site up near Brid has gone from 4K a year in 2019 to 7K in 2024. Thats a lot if you only use it weekends as many owners do. The in-laws practically live there and it's their gym membership, pool, entertainment, and golf club so for them the benefits are not bad.

However on the owners forum theres a "distressed" van being sold for 20K-40K each week, when new the owner paid 80-150.

 

[TDub49]

Our 2013 van is coming up to 5 years of being owned by us.

Out of interest, I put a search in to see how much they were now and managed to find an identical model for mileage and age.

Freewheel Leisure

Find the perfect vehicle for your next adventure

freewheelleisure.co.uk

I originally expected to lose about 3k a year in depreciation, which was acceptable based on the fact we use it so much and love having it.

So, how much have we actually lost?

The answer is nothing as it’s the same price as when we bought it.

That’s nuts!

I know Covid didn’t help, but how can a vehicle depreciate so little? The prices must drop soon surely?

What something is advertised for and what it actually sells for are two different things as I am sure you are aware. That said, it may be that the Bailey Alliance has a dedicated fanbase that helps to keep prices up whilst other motor homes may be depreciating. Predicting market direction on the basis of one make and model is a little tricky methinks . . . . . That said our Ace Siena seems to be holding the pre-Covid price we paid for it (on there basis of the few that are advertised) so maybe the downward trend in prices is fairly slow.

 

[starquake]

What something is advertised for and what it actually sells for are two different things as I am sure you are aware. That said, it may be that the Bailey Alliance has a dedicated fanbase that helps to keep prices up whilst other motor homes may be depreciating. Predicting market direction on the basis of one make and model is a little tricky methinks . . . . . That said our Ace Siena seems to be holding the pre-Covid price we paid for it (on there basis of the few that are advertised) so maybe the downward trend in prices is fairly slow.

I think the issue is the lack of supply on the "new" side. I know we certainally ruled out a New model (we had the money) due to the 1-2 year wait. We still don't disagree with that decision having used the motorhome every other weekend minimum since ownership, and the entire 3 week Christmas break. We're to point we are putting near as many miles on the motorhome as our "daily driver".

 

[ontheroadagain]

Here is another example of how crazy the current prices are.
We purchased one of these new in Dec 2016 for less than £39,000.
Here we have a 2016 model (now 8 years old) and the asking price is £42,995!!!

www.autotrader.co.uk/motorhome-search?advertising-location=at_motorhomes&make=ELDDIS&model=ACCORDO%20120&postcode=BT63%205BX&sort=most-recent&year-from=2016&year-to=2016

 

[Coolcats]

Our 2013 van is coming up to 5 years of being owned by us.

Out of interest, I put a search in to see how much they were now and managed to find an identical model for mileage and age.

Freewheel Leisure

Find the perfect vehicle for your next adventure

freewheelleisure.co.uk

I originally expected to lose about 3k a year in depreciation, which was acceptable based on the fact we use it so much and love having it.

So, how much have we actually lost?

The answer is nothing as it’s the same price as when we bought it.

That’s nuts!

I know Covid didn’t help, but how can a vehicle depreciate so little? The prices must drop soon surely?

Your Motorhome will have dropped in value against a new vehicle, so if you paid £50k five years ago a new model will probably be £90-£100k therefore your MoHo has devalued by 50%

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