New to MH's - Looking for Newbie advice (1 Viewer)

[SteveSign]

Hi to all on the forum...

On the cusp of buying a new MotorHome...

Family of four, 2 Adults, 2 kids (Aged 10), looking for a MH era 2006-2008 Model, 4 / 5 berth.

Was initially looking at Bessacarr / Swift type British made models, but since weeks of research, have now decided to purchase a Hymer C, or maybe even a Burstner make.

My question is that we have seen a few, circa £25k / £26k on 2006 / 2007 plates, all very nice, excellent condition, but should we be worrying about mileage, they all seem to be the same price bracket, some have <20k miles, some have <50k miles, should we be worried about the ones that have 50k on the clock ?

Does it effect the resale value much ? We intend to add only 3k miles per year, and maybe upgrade after a few years of motoring.

Any thoughts / suggestions most welcome.

Thanks in advance.

Steve

 

[f6c]

Welcome aboard

 

[hilldweller]

Doing such a low mileage the vehicle is actually improving while you own it.

50K is just nothing for a modern vehicle.

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[Stealaway]

I have German van because I think the quality is higher and they seem to suffer water leaks a lot less. 50,000 miles is not a lot, these are commercial vans designed to be used hard for month's on end with an odd service. They will all go to 150000 with good reliability. You might get a discount for higher mileage but its not a deal breaker.

 

[ambulancekidd]

 

[wigster]

Dont worry to much about the mileage .

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[Howard H]

And

 

[Rosemary1]

HelloWe bought an Autotrail Scout 2 years ago with an automatic Mercedes engine which was a 2002 with 36,000 on the clock - if anything we were concerned the mileage was too low as they need to be getting out and about and the engine running. Definitely wouldn't be concerned about the mileage

 

[Rosemary1]

Ps where do you all get your fab welcome add ons? Mine looks very poor in comparison

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[Hymie835]

Make sure cam belt and clutch are not due and do not worry about the mileage. In my experience the 2.8L fiat engine is great but the newer the van the less economical it gets. My old 1999 Hymer 26mpg my newer 2005 Hymer 22mpg same engine same weight.

 

[TheBig1]

I have German van because I think the quality is higher and they seem to suffer water leaks a lot less. 50,000 miles is not a lot, these are commercial vans designed to be used hard for month's on end with an odd service. They will all go to 150000 with good reliability. You might get a discount for higher mileage but its not a deal breaker.

150k? that is nothing to what couriers or royal mail etc do with the same base vehicles. think 500k and more in 3 years. they are driven hard 24/7 365 days a year. if they were not able to do that the companies would not order more each year

50k on a 10 year old van is only 5k a year so nothing at all on the scale of what they are capable of. too low a mileage indicates that they have sat around rusting and seizing up which costs in maintenance and repairs. more important is the condition of the mechanics and the conversion

 

[Riverbankannie]

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[GeriatricWanderer]

A good service record is more important than mileage.

 

[Riverbankannie]

Ps where do you all get your fab welcome add ons? Mine looks very poor in comparison

Some are in the same place you found the sad face emoji, just on a different tab.
Mine is uploaded from my photo files as a thumbnail gif.

Actually, I cannot see that sad face emoji in the list of forum smilies so maybe you got it from your own keyboard. If you click on the smiley face button on the bar at the top of your post, you will get smiley options and then select the welcome smiley tab.

 

[The Dudess]

Ps where do you all get your fab welcome add ons? Mine looks very poor in comparison

Just type welcome emoticons in Google search bar and you will get a whole load of choices. Then save the one you want for future use.

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[SteveSign]

Thank you all for the replies. Very helpful indeed.

 

[Mickey1]

Mickey.

 

[Rosemary1]

Thank you - found them - I was using my own keyboard emojis. Better late than never.

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[davidbaldam]

Hi and welcome to FUN.

 

[EX51SSS]

 

[mitzimad]

service history more important than milage be sure to check the payload as four of you need a fair bit of stuff

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[Madeinengland]

Hello

 

[Madcaravanner]

Welcome aboard

We too are new here (although we have caravanned for 20 years) we are taking delivery of our new to us Motorhome in 9 days
So we are up to speed on searching for a suitable M/H

Make a list of what you THINK you want
Make a list of what you think you NEED

Now go on as many motorhome sites and find which one meets your need at this point ignore Badges find your ideal layout and kit levels
an extra 2 berths can help with living space just think of a nasty rainy day when you will all be inside together (Can't you tell we have grandkids all 9 of them)

Now find some dealers near to you with a good reputation and look at their stock
check out service history just as you would a car
check out damp tests on the habitation checks just as you would on a caravan
make sure everything that should work does

What did we get
a 2007 Lunar Roadstar 800 on a fiat chassis with a three litre engine 55000 on the clock full service annually new brake s last year and it has a chain instead of a timing belt which I always prefer
we have actually spoken to the previous owner who is wishing he hadn't sold it having now bought two other M/H since he sold it
it has 150W solar panel we are fitting three 110 A/hr batteries so off grid /wilding should be no problem
we are having a three bike carry rack fitted
and we are planning a lot further than 3000 miles - in fact a lot more than 9000 if we can make it we are planning France Spain Portugal possibly twice

 

[gus-lopez]