Should You Buy a New or Used Motorhome?

[arkwright]

I'm having to buy new as have been looking for 2 years and can't find what we want used!

 

[Catpirate]

Mine is a used Burstner, now 19yrs young. Still runs strong only thing that is difficult is setting up the brakes, and rembering to grease the axles(tag axle). I added many mods over the years including fitting special seating and the addition of a hoist for my disabled daughter. Used to lift her in myself but she has grown. Not really sure that I could find a new one to my spec and the value is still strong.
Ps bought it used, my brother who has an autotrail calls mine "a proper motorhome"

 

[PrettyandFluffy]

I thought this article was less helpful than the others in the series, perhaps a bit less factual - some discussion of depreciation of new vehicles and maintenance costs of older ones would have enhanced it for me.At the end of the day it comes down to personal preference and budget. Replacing all the soft furnishings - really? Steam clean them if you feel it necessary but if you've ever stayed in a hotel you've slept in a bed, used a towel/shower/toilet that other have used and you're still here to tell the tale!

 

[suavecarve]

Purchased new for 40K in 2016
Sold for 40K in December and dealerput it up for 47K
Purchased new again for 55K and about 4K of necessities, worth more now than i have put into it

Would never have dreamed of buying new but happy to pounce when the deals are available

 

[Spriddler]

I wouldn't buy new. It's not a question of affordability. I'm not a 'Motorhomer' and don't have a 'Pride and Joy'. Twelve years ago I bought my motorhome (now 27 years old - one previous owner) for £13K, purely as a piece of equipment that reliably provides the opportunity to adventure abroad to wherever and whenever I want and experience places and events that interest me, with a comfortable bed, cooker, bathroom .............and my slippers.

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[Jim]

I thought this article was less helpful than the others in the series,

Hey don't get yourself too excited about theses beginners tips , some tips are going to be really simple; like the benefits of carrying a watering can!

Replacing all the soft furnishings - really?

As for the really? Yes really.

Here's one. Every bit of soft furnishing replaced.

Our Motorhome Reupholstered

We bought our RV back in March, while it was only registered in late 2010 the previous owners had driven it to Spain, parked it up for 3 years and flew down to it living it in for a month at a time. So while our new van had only 4000 miles on the clock, one look at the tired interior and you'd...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

 

[PrettyandFluffy]

Hey don't get yourself too excited about theses beginners tips , some tips are going to be really simple; like the benefits of carrying a watering can!



As for the really? Yes really.

Here's one. Every bit of soft furnishing replaced.

Our Motorhome Reupholstered

We bought our RV back in March, while it was only registered in late 2010 the previous owners had driven it to Spain, parked it up for 3 years and flew down to it living it in for a month at a time. So while our new van had only 4000 miles on the clock, one look at the tired interior and you'd...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

Only my opinion!

 

[Jim]

Only my opinion!

And I thank you for it

 

[claude et maude]

Hey don't get yourself too excited about theses beginners tips , some tips are going to be really simple; like the benefits of carrying a watering can!



As for the really? Yes really.

Here's one. Every bit of soft furnishing replaced.

Our Motorhome Reupholstered

We bought our RV back in March, while it was only registered in late 2010 the previous owners had driven it to Spain, parked it up for 3 years and flew down to it living it in for a month at a time. So while our new van had only 4000 miles on the clock, one look at the tired interior and you'd...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

The watering can tip is probably one of the best…it makes it so much easier when pouring my gin.

 

[Reallyretired]

Even if I won the lottery I would not buy new. I am far too impatient and old to wait months for something. Buying used I can have it more or less straight away.
I have only once bought a new car and that was through unavailability of the one I wanted. It needed two repairs under warranty in the first few weeks, something I have never had with my many used ones.

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[Steve and Denise]

Had 2 new ones Autotrail + Hymer the Autotrail was less trouble than the Hymer, and 2 used ones 1 private from a fun member one 2 1/2 year old one from a dealer with no warranty as such (premium Doncaster) anyway all sorted now, so for my vote used private sale if possible
Only from my experience

 

[carolyn]

Our first PVC was 2nd hand because it was all we could afford. We went from talking about maybe buying one when we retired in a few years to owning one within a month having done no research at all. Definitely not the way to do it but fortunately it worked out OK. The things that went wrong brought us to MotorhomeFun.

Our next two have been brand new because finances were good and we knew exactly what we wanted, we’ve learnt so much from MHF. Number 3 van is just an Automatic version of number 2 van due to Nick’s arthritic knees! You rarely see IH’s 2nd hand, they’re like marmite I know.

I know Nick is already muttering about the full 9 speed “proper” Automatic gear box on the Fiat rather than the Comformatic which is a bit of a pain so once things return to normalish I expect we’ll buy another new one but not until the waits are short.

 

[Tombola]

Went New once, had all sorts of issues that were more than snagging.
Now will always do used 1-2 years old.
Most snagging fixed, and couple of quid saved

 

[Christy]

I thought this article was less helpful than the others in the series, perhaps a bit less factual - some discussion of depreciation of new vehicles and maintenance costs of older ones

So provide us with that enlightened discussion then please.

 

[Neckender]

I bought. 2 used vans and 4 new ones in 16 years and now own a new VW T6.1 Transporter Kombi converted to a day van and keeps the original 6 seats.

John.

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[pampam]

3used and 1new id buy used for my next van in the future .the vat was annoying and the upholstery etc wasnt as good as the older vans and it seemed flimsy

 

[Dochie]

I have had three new motorhomes in the last ten years but I now have a 28 year old motorhome and it is great.
It has zero electronics and no turbo, cat, dpf, ad blue or any other modern hassles. It doesn't need main dealer servicing or habitation checks and I can fix it with spanners.
I love it

 

[hymermick]

For me its new because when we bought our first motorhome in 1986 we could not find a second hand one that was good enough. We started at 5k and kept going up. We looked at loads of motorhomes that were advertised as in immaculate condition but were far from it.
We then went to Autohomes open day in Poole and bought a new Camelot for 11k. Since then we have bought 6 more new motorhomes.

 

[Spriddler]

I have had three new motorhomes in the last ten years but I now have a 28 year old motorhome and it is great.
It has zero electronics and no turbo, cat, dpf, ad blue or any other modern hassles. It doesn't need main dealer servicing or habitation checks and I can fix it with spanners.
I love it

Totally agree with all of that. Mine's 27 years old and I've had it for 11 years; solidly constructed good quality furnishings and units, sublimely comfortable interior sprung bench/bed mattresses, all hinges and catches work perfectly and all the domestic equipment and associated pipework is accessible without having to dismantle stuff. It's a shame they don't make 'em like that any more.

 

[Lenny HB]

3used and 1new id buy used for my next van in the future .the vat was annoying and the upholstery etc wasnt as good as the older vans and it seemed flimsy

Why? You pay vat on any item you buy all part of the price.

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[PrettyandFluffy]

So provide us with that enlightened discussion then I would have found that helpful/informative, if you don't

 

[PDrill]

Our previous (2) have been used, and from them we learned what we want and what we need. And as I've never seen 'one like that' on sale new nor used so the only way was to tick the boxes on the order form and wait. And it will be perfect (for us).

 

[138go]

We've had four new ones. A Swift, a Pilote, a Laika and now a Carthago. We saved the best until last. There's something about brand new that really appeals, as everything is pristine. I guess we're fortunate that we've been able to afford new but we have no regrets on spending the kid's inheritance.

 

[GMLS]

Currently waiting for our 4th new motorhome.Prefer new as life has enough stress without the extra risk of 2nd hand. All those I sold had issues of one description or another which the many that are happy to buy 2nd hand thinking they are all sorted, had to sort

 

[Northernraider]

Why? You pay vat on any item you buy all part of the price.

Not if you buy private. Ive never payed vat on any of my motors. Bar the 2 i bought from Arnold clark.

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[nicholsong]

Not if you buy private. Ive never payed vat on any of my motors. Bar the 2 i bought from Arnold clark.

And you only pay VAT on the dealer's 'Added value' i.e. the difference between his buying and selling prices.

 

[tonyidle]

Second-hand every time for me. We tend to set a budget then look around for the best within that budget. The one I have now was bought at 3 years old, had done 3500miles, had never been lived / slept / cooked in, and saved us £30K over new price. Bought from dealer.

 

[Just smiffy]

The only time I would buy new is if I could get it converted to my own specs, then I’d have to win the lottery to do that…

 

[rod_vw]

The only time I would buy new is if I could get it converted to my own specs, then I’d have to win the lottery to do that…

See my post above https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/foru...y-a-new-or-used-motorhome.266846/post-5145960

We searched for the van that we wanted back in about 2001 but couldn't find it so we bought a second hand van and had it converted to our spec.
Following that when I took early retirement in 2004 we converted a new (dealer pre reg) van and have done the same on four more until 2016. Now as age and the lack of enthusiasm to start with a totally new design discourage me from another selfbuild the MAN TGE that's on order will go to a converter to be built to our spec.
A point to note, a selfbuild is no cheaper than a ready built one if you add all the items that you want, it's only cheaper if you cut corners! BUT you do get exactly what you want and if it's wrong you've only one person to blame! Added to that you should always know how to fix any problems that come up in use.

PS The current VW LWB T6 is the one in my avatar.