How do you shop for a MH? (1 Viewer)

[Wizbangs]

Do you go to shows like the NEC and look at models you can afford, or look at higher specced models and search for a used one which costs much the same?

 

[scotjimland]

on my income..

eBay

seriously.. never been in the position to buy a brand spanking new van.. and why I've never been to a motorhome/caravan exhibition.. no point in looking at what I can't afford..

am I unhappy or jealous ?

.. certainly not, I've had more pleasure from buying old and doing up and doing my own conversions than any new van could ever give me ..

If I won the lottery I'd probably do the same..

 

[Taran_Las]

Autotrader (Online). I find the model which has the internal layout I "think" I like (using the photos and specification). Then I go to dealerships who have one in stock and peruse to my heart's content. Then I use the internet to locate the one I want to buy.:thumb:



PS - Not an expert, I've only bought one so far

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[GJH]

When we bought our first van we had a couple of looks at a number of local dealers and chose what we thought suited us. Knowing nowt that was partly for the wrong reasons but it worked out OK and the van suited us for 5 and a half years.

With the second van, because we knew more, we made a list of essential and desirable items, went round local dealers again, and matched vans we saw to the lists. Because if the circumstances (first van written off) we didn't have chance to look round shows but probably would do so in future.

Both vans have been second hand, though we did look at some new ones the second time and even short listed one. I'm a bit put off new by tales of having to wait, initial faults and the loss you take when you drive off the forecourt - but never say never

 

[Geo]

You start Link Removed:thumb:
And finish Link Removed

 

[Snowbird]

Have never been to a motorhome show in my life other than funsters events. Even then have never looked at dealers vans. On the odd occasion I have visited the odd dealers, usually to buy parts and having time to kill have had a look round there offerings, I must say have not really been impressed with what's generally on offer and certainly not impressed by there prices.
Almost every van I have owned has been imported by myself from Germany, France, Spain and Holland.
Except for my forays into American RVs they have almost all been German makes except two horrendous mistakes years ago with Elddis of which I prefer to forget.

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[peterpan44]

Go to a large dealership first that has around 100 campervans for sale.
We looked round the one at Newark even though its 100 miles away.
This gave us a good idea of what layout we wanted but more importantly the quality difference between the different makes.

I then spent 4 months looking on Ebay every few hours at every motorhome that came up in my price range.

For me it had to be at the best possible price. About 20% cheaper than what a dealer was charging for the same make and model.
I found one after 4 months being sold by a private seller who had purchased it 12 months before from a dealership (on a 07 plate not new)
We purchased it in March and I have not seen one come up for sale cheaper and I still look on ebay every few days at motorhomes.

I thought I had missed all the bargains waiting until the end of March to purchase but I was wrong and have seen some very good value motorhomes sell on Ebay throughout the summer months

 

[Jaws]

For us ( and I think a good many others ) it is just down to lay out..
You can view all the plans on line but that is actually a pretty poor way of accessing what each model / make 'feels' like

When we was looking for our present van, we trolled round every show there was ( apart from the NEC cos everything there is always priced in the region of 'silly !!' ) to get an idea of what we actually wanted

In the end, I happened to be passing one of the local dealers and went in for a nose..

Saw the van and instantly said yes.. Went and collected woman who, upon seeing it felt the same way ( now THERE is a first !! LOL )

So what am I advising ?

go look at as many as you can.. You will KNOW when you find the one you want.. You can either grab it there and then or at least go and start looking for the same van at a better deal :thumb:

 

[Wizbangs]

I think actually seeing them makes a difference and going to a big dealership is a good one. I have spent hours wading through brochures and exploring at shows. I almost need to live in a cut and shut MH. The front of one, middle of another, bedroom layout of another. So far none combine into the ideal and as it will be a long term purchase I don't want to comprise too much. Still part of the fun is the search. Hubby is ready to strangle me though.

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[Hayleylulu]

With a bloody big shopping bag

 

[camocam1]

we went round various dealers (not a lot in scotland) and few down south many many times looking for what the "boss" wanted, 4 berth end lounge etc etc. One day I was passing the local caravan dealer who had taken in a MH in from an old couple to sell for them, 07 plate 15k miles so when and got the "boss" who came down and after being in it for a good hour she said I like this. It was a front dinner with Luton so NOT what she had originally wanted !!! BUT the cooker had never been used (trays still wrapped in poythene) the shower room & toilet had never been used ( i had to undo the cable ties on the shower hose to use it first time out) The only down side was the outside looked grubby (as old couple not able to clean it )but dealer said he would have it looking like new and he did.
Sorry to go on and on but keep an open mind and keep looking till you see the one that says YES i want you.
happy shopping
PS went to the nec last week and saw some nice and some not so nice vans but all with Sky high prices

 

[Xoxoc]

I would look at ebay and the dealers websites for second hand models.

I would only buy from a dealer if that was the only place that I could get what I wanted or if I wanted to part-ex my current vehicle.

I did try part-ex'ing one of my motorhomes with a different van at a dealers once. I wasn't impressed...

Yes, the part-ex price was lower than I wanted but the dealer had the motorhome I wanted so I was still considering it...what surprised me was the way the dealer operated.

He said that to take my motorhome in part-ex I had to supply it with 12 months MOT (it had 9 but that was not enough).

He went on to explain that all they do with the part-ex motorhomes is wash them and put them in the showroom. Then when they sell it they know it will pass another MOT and other than that they will then put any issues right that the purchaser notifies them of.
So basically they wash it, store it, show it, sell it - and if the new purchaser spots an issue, they fix it - otherwise you get it as the last owner left it.
(The one I was looking at had loose handles, missing handles, loose seat bolts etc.)

I was less than impressed to say the least - I also had a problem with the fact that I had to MOT it before they would take it.

Due to the fact that the vehicle they had that I wanted was rarely for sale second hand I decided to go for it and got my motorhome MOT'd within 4 days. When I rang the salesman he informed me that he had sold the other motorhome the previous day.

Anyway, rant over

I personally would use ebay every time :thumb:

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[Philcott]

anyone use Gumtree? They seem to have some good deals at times. Some so cheap I wonder what's wrong with them.

 

[clf86ha]

if we can sell our caravan, we want a motorhome. We've been around the dealers and one of the first motorhomes we went into was an older (as thats all we can afford) Auto-trail Mohican. Nothing we have seen since has come close to that for us, we even went to the NEC and didn't even like any of the new ones (we went to see build quality etc between the makes).
So I guess it's true what you say, you'll know it when you see it.......just need to sell the caravan first :Sad:

 

[Wizbangs]

One concern for me about ebay and gumtree is no redress for problems. At least dealers want to protect their reputation. For me it will be a dealership as and when I find the right Mh.

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[Peter JohnsCross MH]

There are deals on Gumtree that are far to low to be believable.

Not neccessarily MH's but if it is too cheap, beware you will get ripped off and nothing to show for it, loads of scammers on there I think

Peter

 

[DesRes]

There is so much to choose from and such a variation that I am sure you will eventually find what you are after. The idea of a cheap deal is no doubt appealing and I'm sure we've all picked up an odd bargain from e-bay. I couldn't do it for a motorhome though, not unless you really know what you are buying and are pretty handy at fixing stuff up. Only the safety net of a reputable dealer for me, preferably a local one at that. I was lucky enough to pick up a good deal on a new one, been back twice so far to sort a few niggles, absolute pleasure to go back there and not really got my hands dirty yet...

 

[Philcott]

There are deals on Gumtree that are far to low to be believable.

Not neccessarily MH's but if it is too cheap, beware you will get ripped off and nothing to show for it, loads of scammers on there I think

Peter

That's what I thought! But trying to sort the scammers from the real deals is making me scratch my head! Can't afford to buy from a dealer, so it's going to have to private and an older MH. Still old is better than none!

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[mid4did]

Some good ideas on here so here goes my experiences thus so far.
I,d looked on ebay,Autotrader(yes they do motorhomes)Gumtree and because I wanted left hand drive went to some german sites,one i look at now because its so easy to look around at and put in your options of what you,re looking for is mobile.de Link Removed
I bought one off there.
On gumtree i,ve found some good bargains,mainly because its free to advertise and to buy so you get to haggle the price :thumb:

 

[Wizbangs]

I have 3 or 4 dealerships from this forum's help and recommendation and once I KNOW what I want, they will be contacted. I know dealers can outsource and always have turnover of stock.

 

[camocam1]

have you tried buy my motorhome ?? dont know anything about them but believe those that need to sell go to them and are offered a low price then they sell on to you. Others may be able to comment further but may be worth a look if not already done so

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[peterpan44]

One concern for me about ebay and gumtree is no redress for problems. At least dealers want to protect their reputation. For me it will be a dealership as and when I find the right Mh.

It depends on how much time you have to do research into what you are buying and the sellers themselves. If you found a motorhome owned by a couple that has looked after it well, owned it for only 12 months and they bought it from a dealer but for some genuine reason have to sell it then the 20% saving compared to one on a dealers forecourt would be justified in my opinion.

On a £30,000 motorhome at a dealership thats a saving of £6000 which should cover any problems in the first 12 months. Especially if it had been sold by a dealer just 12 months ago.
The motorhome we purchased was similar to the example above but was £38,000. The cheapest one that has come up for sale in the last 6 months had a price tag of £45,500. We have travelled 4000 miles in it without any problems.
If you have the money sorted before viewing the motorhome you plan to buy its helps when the seller would like a quick sale.
We looked at taking out a private warranty on it which is also another option if you buy private