High Milage (1 Viewer)

E

europeduo

Deleted User
Hi,

I'm a newbie to this forum and motorhomes in general and could do with some advice. My wife and I are going to take a long trip to europe and will be buying a motorhome next month.

I'm looking a motorhome just now that is 2 years old, has 30k on the clock, but on sale for under 20,000 (which suits our budget). I'm probable going to sell my motorhome when we come back from europe, would approx 45k on a 3 year old motorhome make this too difficult for me?

Thanks for any advice,

Europeduo
 

madbluemad

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Jan 26, 2008
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Hi
Its not the mileage that is the prime factor. Most mh engines will run for ever (nearly) and there are a lot of people who don't do a lot of mileage at all. Its what type of mh it is, the condition that its in and any added extras etc that may be in the mh.

30K in two years is going some for a mh. There wont be too many folks that do that sought of mileage in a year.

I'm sure others with more knowledge will be along to correct me.

Cheers

Jim :Smile:
 

haganap

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I would be highly suspicious that this MAY have been used as a hire vechile. You never know of course, 15k per year is no that difficult as we rack up about 9-10 per year. The best thing is to look at wear and tear. A van with high milage is no problem but a van with many nights occupancy may be.

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hilldweller

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30K in two years is going some for a mh. There wont be too many folks that do that sought of mileage in a year.Jim :Smile:

We bought a 4YO one with 4000 miles on the clock, despite doing Scotland, Paris, Venice and loads of UK all separately in the last year it's still only 14K miles.

So 15K a year is going some. Hire vehicle ?

45K is nothing to a well loved modern diesel but as said, condition is *everything*.

Europeduo would get better advice if they posted the make/model.



Brian.
 

Douglas

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My only advice is don't buy anything that comes from the Swift group, as you will be full timing for 3 years you want something that is strong enough to stand up to constant use and in my experience from owning 2 Swift vans I have found them just not good enough.

Good luck, Doug...
 

bevo

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buy on condition, you can get a feeling of how a motorhome has been treated just by looking at the condition, look at the beds make shure they work ok and the condition of the seats and condition of the foam.
check everything works as it should. if you get it cheap enough you won't loose too much.
modern van diesel engines are made to take abuse and should do 200k miles no problem.
bur definitely buy on condition.

live long and prosper :Smile:::bigsmile:

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Sep 27, 2007
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High mileage

As said, buy on condition.

We have a Swift E760, now just three years old, its given us execellent service as full timers, over the three years, and has 23K miles on the clock.

Our service centre, and Swift agent, says it is high mileage for its year, when compared with other three year olds!!! The point is 30K is very high for two years.

My advice would be to try and find a smaller dealer, family business, were you deal with the boss, if you have any issues, you can go straight to the top for satisfaction.


Good luck, you will enjoy the experience


Nomadic
 

bevo

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yo
i forgot to mention one very very important point is to have the motorhome H P I 'd.
it will show up any history in the motorhome, if it's been in an accident or other insurance issues, whether there is any outstanding finance on it.
ask the owner how long he has owned the vehicle, be suspicious if he has only had it a short time.
if you buy from a dealer they H P I them as a matter of course, ask to see it.
don't be in any hurry to buy, unless it's a bargain.

when you buy it enjoy

live long and prosper:Smile:::bigsmile:
 

Road Runner

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But it really come down to is the interior OK and everything working inside and out as its nought to the chassis.

You will see vans in Europe with hundreds of thousand kilometres on them and still going strong and traded freely.

If this van is OK the mileage should be reflected in the price.

At least the are upfront about the mileage, many people will be interested in a keenly priced motorhome when you come to sell it:winky:

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Last edited:

pappajohn

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high mileage can have an effect on some people, "its only got 1200mls on it" but it could have been thrashed from day one and the bonnets never been up.
but as Jim (madbluemad) said.....'it not the mileage that is the prime factor'....its the overall condition.
true, a high miles van will have had a lot more use, wear and tear wise, but if its in reasonable condition the miles dont matter.

i bought my 05 scooter this year with 39k on the clock, under normal circustances this is a rediculous mileage for a 3 year old bike, but it had been looked after with regular servicing ect and the price was good.
 

Braunston

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Hi,

When we were looking we saw quiet a few with low mileage but the wear and tear on the caravan section was just like they had been driven to the nearest campsite and then lived in full time (not that there is any problem with living full time is just a way of expressing that they were well worn), and some of those we saw with higher mileage were in far better condition in the living areas one of them was like new with 21k in 18 months.

My personal opinion i would totally ignore the mileage as long as its been serviced and pay far more importance to caravan section and make sure that is in good condition as after all that is where the main value is when compared to a normal vehicle

and of course get a HPI check

hope that helps
 
Apr 27, 2008
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I once looked at a motorhome (Swift Kontiki) which was ex hire. The hire company, presumably a large one, had a special specification with many goodies missing (presumably those they thought would get broken) such as no blower on the heater, no ladder..... If it is ex hire, which it could be with such high mileage (I beleive the average for a motorhome is only around 5-8k ayear) then it may well have had rough usage and near constant occupation.
A friend bought a ex hire, in which the foam mattresses had been worn out. Mind you the price paid allowed a complete re-upholstery job and still a bargain.:thumb:

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haganap

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The only other thing I would say is what ever you get make sure anything like milage/condidtion is reflected in the asking price.
Go with a ridiculous offer and state the milage as the sticking point.
No matter whats been said, one thing for sure is that your group of people to sell the van on too in the future will all be narrowed by its milage, Many will not consider a high milage van (wrongly in my opinion) but your van will be going up against other vans with far fewer miles on when you attempt to sell.


One further thing that always makes me laugh if the van is from a dealer.

When buying a van with these miles on, the dealer will say "Not even run in yet guv!! these diesels are built ot go round te world 5 times over):winky:

Try and sell him/px him a van with more than average miles and his answer will be " oooohhh lotta miles that kid, time bomb these engines, give me hell of a job to sell it on":ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:


Dealers, you gotta love em, you and all JC:ROFLMAO:
 

Pikey Pete

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I've done 17k this year. What's the point in buying a MH if you ain't gonna use it.
The chassis/cab is after all built for commercial use and designed for high mileage and therefore fairly bullet proof.
A full service history and all reciepts should be the first thing to look at. Including habitation checks. If these are not present don"t touch it.
Check the habitation area, looking for wear and tear, and have a good sniff, in all the lockers. If it looks well worn and neglected or smells funny, walk away.
IMO, continental vans are built for high usage and tend to wear better than UK built one's.
Pete:Cool:
 

Bulletguy

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30k mileage on a decent modern diesel engine means it's hardly been run in yet.....it's nothing! Good for another 200k if properly maintained.

What you really need to pay attention to is vehicle condition as a high percentage of motorhomes and rv's spend a good part of their life parked up outside simply rusting away. Yes the bodywork always looks pretty as most of it is plastic......but ignore that and look underneath where all the important metal is! Chassis crossmembers etc are very important!

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Terry

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Hi the best advise I can give is spend the next few weeks studying prices on Auto trader and ebay to get a feel of what price to pay :thumb::thumb: Try ringing a few to see if they are still for sale :thumb: the right priced ones will have sold and the wrong priced will still be for sale :Sad: so bare this in mind :thumb: IF you buy at the right price (and time -within next 2/3 mths) then you may well be able to use it and sell it on without loss :thumb:another year down the line.Recovering the soft furnishing is not too dear and can make the van look new
terry
 
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europeduo

Deleted User
Hi all,

Thanks for all the replies. I've went for a 2006 Swift 590RL with 11k on the clock. Condition was good and even had some manufactuers warrenty left on it (which was a nice safety net).

I decided against the high milage one as I agree that it's probably ex-hire, and when I asked the seller about it I got short abrubt answer (so that ended that conversation).

Thanks again,

europeduo
 

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