Why Do People Sell So Soon After Buying (1 Viewer)

Fergus

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Just looking at adverts for motor homes and I am struck by how quickly people sell their motor home and what few miles they do. Made me think, what are the reasons people sell after 12-18 months. Why do some MHs have 3 previous owners when they are only 2-3 years old.
Do people just go off the idea. Once they have done some of UK and a bit of Europe do people lose the urge, can be bothered, done that looking for something new?
What do people here think?
 
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Robert Clark

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We're selling our van at 12 months old as we want to upgrade to a model with a different layout and spec
I suspect other buyers do a similar thing rather than spending too much on their first MH

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its a known fact that most people take a few buys before they arrive at the layout that best suits their needs.

hence the moost important factor in selecting your new toy
 
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DuxDeluxe

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For some, the lifestyle appears to be attractive but they soon find that it isn't all roses and they sell. A lot of really good nearly new vans around for this reason.

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etap

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Just done that, after caravanning for 37 years bought a new MH 2 years ago and sold it privately, bought another new one a couple of months ago because we wanted a different layout, suppose it takes a try at it before you know exactly what you want, can't have it all its a compromise.
Etap
 
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Glandwr

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It does need a fairly strong relationship to stand long periods stuck together in a tin can.
I suspect that it is not for all, but they do not find out until too late and have to sell.

Dick

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MattR

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I guess that some people have dreams of what they will do when they retire, get the mh and find that they can't fulfil their dreams; some because their partners can't retire at the same time, get ill etc. but some friends have found that their children start making extra demands on them once they retire and expect free babysitting etc on a regular basis, so curtailing the travel plans that they had. If the van is sold quickly, the losses may be reduced.
 
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Deleted member 29692

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We sold our first one after less than a year. Wrong layout :doh:

This one seems right so isn't being changed anytime soon
 
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Puddleduck

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We are on our third in (about) 20 years. Each was the ideal layout at the time we had it..... Might change again in a couple of years depending on finance but we love the van we have now :)
 
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DBK

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Just looking at adverts for motor homes and I am struck by how quickly people sell their motor home and what few miles they do. Made me think, what are the reasons people sell after 12-18 months. Why do some MHs have 3 previous owners when they are only 2-3 years old.
Do people just go off the idea. Once they have done some of UK and a bit of Europe do people lose the urge, can be bothered, done that looking for something new?
What do people here think?
All of the above replies I think!

For us, we have had a caravan and camped a lot including in wierd places like Jordan and Saudi Arabia so we were pretty sure what we wanted when we bought a MH. Had it two years and if we ever sold it we would buy something similar.

If I could make a suggestion, folk need to work out what they want to do with their MH before they buy one. If I was going to spend six months in Spain every winter (nothing wrong with that) we would have a very different vehicle to what we have now.
 
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Wildman

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As already said life changes layout and size requirements. We are on our 14th van since 1969 and looking for another all the time. If this one had a fixed bed it would be ideal.

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TheBig1

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some say it takes 3 to 5 vans before you find "the one"
 
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Our first suited us with the three teenagers in tow. We got it right first time with having caravans . So new what layout suited.
We sold to another family , now members again on here.
We would have kept it if Ralph hadn't decided to build our own. We are so glad he did.
We know we've got it right this time too , as he's built Pug just how we wanted it. We're narrower and don't have the big Luton on now , so we will be able to get to the more out of the way places we love to explore.
I think the idea is , don't rush in and buy . Try try try.
Then you don't waste loads of money getting it wrong.
 
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Aug 18, 2014
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. but some friends have found that their children start making extra demands on them once they retire and expect free babysitting etc on a regular basis, .

We found moving to another country helped solve that one & then encourage them to emigrate to the other side of the world.:LOL:

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Puddleduck

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If I could make a suggestion, folk need to work out what they want to do with their MH before they buy one. If I was going to spend six months in Spain every winter (nothing wrong with that) we would have a very different vehicle to what we have now.

And you need to reach a compromise with your other half (if any) as one person's idea of paradise might be the other's vision of hell.......

If we were to spend a longish time in Spain in the winter we would want an awning!!!! With life being as it is going overseas for any length of time is not on the cards for quite a while.
 
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Fergus

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Wow, what a lot of replies and very quickly. Perhaps I can ask your thoughts on a couple of things mentioned.
1. What is the ideal layout? Obviously will be different for different people, but assume it is for a married couple. It would be interesting to find out what did not work, what did work and why.
2. Someone mentioned downsizing. There is a great temptation to buy big, afterall even the big ones are only about the size of an average lounge. Do people make the mistake of buying too big first time?

Great replies so far. Thanks to everyone.
 
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D

Deleted member 29692

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Wow, what a lot of replies and very quickly. Perhaps I can ask your thoughts on a couple of things mentioned.
1. What is the ideal layout? Obviously will be different for different people, but assume it is for a married couple. It would be interesting to find out what did not work, what did work and why.
2. Someone mentioned downsizing. There is a great temptation to buy big, afterall even the big ones are only about the size of an average lounge. Do people make the mistake of buying too big first time?

Great replies so far. Thanks to everyone.

1. You can only answer that for yourself. What works for someone else won't work for you. Best advice I think is to go to one of the big shows or to several of the big dealers and look at and poke around in as many different layouts as you can. Then when you think you know what layout you want hire one for a weekend and find out if you're right.
For us, for what it's worth just as an example, we discovered, when we hired a van the first time, that an overcab bed is not for us ever, and I don't like the idea of messing around setting a bed up from a lounge. So for us it's got to be a fixed rear bed.

2. To a certain extent the size will be governed by the layout you choose but obviously the bigger the vehicle the more space you have. As long as you're comfortable driving it don't worry too much about it.

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Apr 11, 2015
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Wow, what a lot of replies and very quickly. Perhaps I can ask your thoughts on a couple of things mentioned.
1. What is the ideal layout? Obviously will be different for different people, but assume it is for a married couple. It would be interesting to find out what did not work, what did work and why.
2. Someone mentioned downsizing. There is a great temptation to buy big, afterall even the big ones are only about the size of an average lounge. Do people make the mistake of buying too big first time?

Great replies so far. Thanks to everyone.

the ideal layout is what is best for you, and how you want to use your motorhome. Do you need more than 2 seatbelts, would you prefer a low profile? Garage for a bike, only you will know.
Bought our first van together in 2009 just before we retired. i had previously had small vans 1st van for John. We hired a couple of times too. 1st van was an escape 686 which we loved great for taking the grandchildren away, and 'me and you' space. Would still have it if John had not decided that taking his new motorbike would be great.
Didn't downsize, upsized vehicle size wise to incorporate a garage, but now have a 4 berth as opposed to 6. I struggled to really take to it, but this weekend we swapped beds, J slept in the overcab as the 12v socket is next to it and I used the over-garage one, success, can now see how the van will work for us.
Think a lot of people do too little research before buying, we went to shows and dealers for years, literally, before taking the plunge.
Having said that, we set off to buy a 4 berth PVC :rolleyes: had a bad experience with the manufacturer, thankfully, and got the right first van for us.
 
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We chose our van because it was 6m with a large lounge, fixed bed and end bathroom. After having it a year we still love it. I think if i ever changed it would be for a new Hymer, now that will not happen as the cost mega but maybe when we retire. :)

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gibbon

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I think it's a balancing act between what you can afford & what compromises your willing to make.
In our case we were pretty sure what we wanted, a seperate enclosed wash room was a must, we were willing to consider most layouts except a Pullman dinette.
We ended up with a U shaped lounge at the rear & are very happy with it considering our limited budget.
We feel very lucky to have the opportunity to travel Europe in great comfort for an initial outlay of less than 15 grand.
 
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Gin Palace

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We chose a fixed bed with a duvalay mattress so comfy and a spacious end bathroom I liked the idea of having a shower and being able to get dressed etc all in one room. Definitely buy an awning so you can escape the snoring!:winky:
 
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Allanm

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This is our 4th van in almost 30 years, but our needs changed every time we bought a van. It's all a compromise for most, and our new van is no different. We knew exactly what we wanted after looking at loads of vans this time, however, to get precisely what we want we would have to build it ourselves. I wasn't going to do that so we bought the closest to our ideal, and I guess most people do that.
Our main priorities were a fixed bed, plenty of room to lounge around and no corridors, no fixed table / dinette and no over cab bed. We wanted a big fridge and a normal sized cooker in a van no longer than 7.5 metres so it would easily fit on the drive and take us where we wanted to go. It had to be put together well and feel solid, no flimsy furniture or shower screens, air con in the cab ( and for reasons only known to Mrs A, a microwave and a toilet that hadn't been used before ( so, it had to be a new van!)
And here we are in it now, lounging in bed wondering when we are going to get up and sit outside in the sunshine....

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Theonlysue

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On my 4th van, wanted fixed bed as didn't want to make up every night. Some think it's a waste of space. Big fridge freezer, oven, separate shower rather than wet room and sofas, in 7 metre van.
But may change again lol
It really is individual choice.
But I think most folk change their first van. You don't know what you need until you get one and see what suits you.
Whatever you get, leave stuff in the van, so all you need to to put in us a few clothes and food, and use it! :)
 
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Jul 5, 2013
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There is no such thing as an "ideal layout", otherwise we would all have the same one. Choosing a motorhome is a compromise between the size inside (big as possible) and the size outside (small as possible). It is also a compromise between having a large lounge, a large bedroom, a large kitchen, a large shower/toilet, and a large amount of storage. You can't have it all so we have to choose where we compromise.

And all of this is further complicated by the fact that often buying can be more about the heart than the head. I knew exactly what I wanted when we were looking for our first motorhome, but we bought something entirely different!! Luckily, 2 years on, we still think we made the right choice. And if we were to buy again we would probably look for the same layout again. But, with our record, we would probably buy something different.
 
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eddie

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What do you think happens to all of those ones that have 164 faults the first time they get used? Lol

We bought our first Motorhome when I was 28. Collected it from the dealer brand new and shiny, absolutely in love with it. Drove it to Italy with Lyn and the boys and had the best family holiday anyone could have imagined

Decided whilst we we in Italy, that we loved the lifestyle with a young family, but had seriously underestimated what we thought we would need/what we wanted on a Motorhome

Came home and swapped the van within a few weeks, and have loved it every since.

Have had a lot of vans though!:(
 
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