What Motorhome (1 Viewer)

V

Viking

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Hi all ,,,,, I do not have a motorhome yet, but been looking for the last 6 mths.

I'm looking for some advice please.

I have £30k to spend, I want a 6 berth, 7m+ in length

New = Elddis / Compass 180 ??

Pros = New van, full warrenty, not been abused, feel good factor

Cons = Entry level van, need to spend to get the extras we all want , large depreciation

2nd hand =

Pros = Get high quality van, someone else has had the depreciation, someone else has bourght the extras

Cons = Shorter warrenty, older van, possibly 4 or 5 years old, has it been abused,

2nd hand from Germany =

Pros = very good quality van, the same in britain 5 or 6k more expensive, large choice of vans, if using the continent already LHD

Cons = Almost no warrenty , the pain of travelling getting the van and viewing, LHD when you come to sell

What are your ideas on this, I'm hopefully buying the van we chose in the spring of 2009, but you never know if you lose your heart while looking

Viking
 

JockandRita

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Hi Viking,
Although we didn't buy from Europe, we did by a Hymer, and it's a left hooker. Having spent many months and travelled many miles looking at MH's there wasn't anything British that came close to the build quality. If we were to do it again, We would go out to Germany.

I am assuming that you have looked at Link Removed

We found three models the same as ours only last week with low mileage.
We didn't have any problems with it being LHD, and I don't think that this would affect the resale value. The UK dealers will want you to think that it does. :Angry:

HTH,

Jock.
 

Wildman

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Hi all ,,,,, I do not have a motorhome yet, but been looking for the last 6 mths.

I'm hopefully buying the van we chose in the spring of 2009, but you never know if you lose your heart while looking

Viking

welcome to the site, you chose the right vehicle, well you know that all ready don't you, as a time traveller you have been into the future and seen what you ended up with so no comment here could really help could it.
 

ourcampersbeentrashed

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Hi Viking

Spending that amount of money, your decision is a very important one and you need to be sure you will be happy with your purchase.

Have you thought about hiring one or two of the types you specifically like to see if the layouts, driving positions etc physically work for you.

We havent spent anywhere near as much as you, but having been forced to buy another mh as our old one was trashed, we spent a long time hunting for what we wanted within our budget.

Simple tips, like make sure you really try out the bed

Does the kitchen have what you need? Some people need an oven others dont, Some people need an onboard safe and others dont as two examples.

It does vary.

Have you also bought The Motorhome Fun Checklist book. Has great things in it which may also assist you. Jim I know has a checklist for buying a motorhome double check with him too. You can pm him. (email him privately if you want).

Good luck hope whatever you get is exactly what you want xxxx
 

Bulletguy

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Having £30k to spend on a mh i would really have to think very carefully about buying from outside the UK, even though the currency exchange with the euro is not so brilliant at the moment.

No idea of what savings you can make on importing a mh, but i know you can make huge savings buying a new car outside the UK. I'd say it's well worth considering and would certainly look into it.
 

motoroamin

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OK, so we are aware of your budget, what about layout?

This is crucial because unless you get this right, that 30k will become alot more if you can't live with it.

You mention Elddis 180, which is rear lounge, but there aren't that many german layouts like it. How many people are going and childrens ages? Are you wanting to take alot of gear? Do you intend using the motorhome all year round?

Answers to questions like these might lead you to a higher spec/build quality/alternative layout Used, rather than an entry level New.
 

Motoberg

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Jul 25, 2008
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This is actually a brilliant Q with quality replies
I have changed my desires about 43 times after browsing this forum.
All I ever wanted was a VW campervan for me, Mrs Motoberg and junior Berg
We figured out pretty quickly that any more than a grand long weekend in the uk in said van would drive us nuts, so we virtually upsized, the more we thought about stuff the bigger the thing got, now we're either on a T25 westfalia or a 96 foot long winni ! ( and every size inbetween ) We've rented 'shhhuge' RV's 3 times so far in Canada and the US and Mrs Berg struggles to concede you can do this in anything less than the size of the USS Nimitz on wheels, which I think we'll struggle to get round the high roads in Scotland where we'll spend 80% of our time

We'll be spending similar dosh when we get off the fence so I'm watching this thread with interest, so good luck on your potential purchase !

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Adria 5

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hi good points by motoromin:thumb: also how many traveling in the motorhome
so seatbelts ! so a forward facing dinette gives you 4 x 3 point seat belts
2 cab seats and two on the dinette. another consideration is storage inside and out also do you want to tow !so a good size engine i would consider hiring one to iron out your wants:winky: best off luck!! the swift range offer a good package!! but its horses for coarses the holy grail the perfect motorhome::bigsmile:

ray

ps welcome to the forum:thumb:
 

hotrod91

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Well you have decided on your specs, thing is this....make sure you buy one at the right money or you will be crying into your breakfast when you have done 10 grand as you drive it away and then realise you dont want it.
Stick to UK models and RHD, very few people want LHD or imported stuff unless they are paying very little for it, i should know i sell cars, imagine having the very same car that you want but its LHD sot no service books and says import on the log book. It dont look good and turns people away.
On my local forecourt there was a Swift Sundance Suntor 630L 07 done 2,000 miles and was up for £36,995 - I bought EXACTLY the same vehicle last month for £28,000. HPI clear and ready to go, slightly more miles and one or two things that didnt work but hey what a saving. I can get that money back for it today....at 37k i was on 9 grand losses.
Shop around, winter is coming, people are skint, so hold out and there is no need to panic now for one till next March so chill out and bid everyone hard and you only need to come lucky 1 time dont you?
 

JockandRita

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Well you have decided on your specs, thing is this....make sure you buy one at the right money or you will be crying into your breakfast when you have done 10 grand as you drive it away and then realise you dont want it.
Stick to UK models and RHD, very few people want LHD or imported stuff unless they are paying very little for it, i should know i sell cars, imagine having the very same car that you want but its LHD sot no service books and says import on the log book. It dont look good and turns people away.
On my local forecourt there was a Swift Sundance Suntor 630L 07 done 2,000 miles and was up for £36,995 - I bought EXACTLY the same vehicle last month for £28,000. HPI clear and ready to go, slightly more miles and one or two things that didnt work but hey what a saving. I can get that money back for it today....at 37k i was on 9 grand losses.
Shop around, winter is coming, people are skint, so hold out and there is no need to panic now for one till next March so chill out and bid everyone hard and you only need to come lucky 1 time dont you?

Hi Hotrod91,

Whilst you have made some good points, I have to differ on that which concerns LHD. Many MH'ers plan to tour abroad, and as a result, many buy LHD. Our V5 logbook does not show "import" and there is service history from new, from the initial dealer Camperama, and subsequent servicing agents here in the UK.

LHD cars may not be popular with the British public in general, however, MH's are a different ball game.
What we paid privately for ours 3.5 years ago, is now the going rate for the same year model from the German dealers, listed in previous posts above.

Regards,

Jock.

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haganap

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Well you have decided on your specs, thing is this....make sure you buy one at the right money or you will be crying into your breakfast when you have done 10 grand as you drive it away and then realise you dont want it.
Stick to UK models and RHD, very few people want LHD or imported stuff unless they are paying very little for it, i should know i sell cars, imagine having the very same car that you want but its LHD sot no service books and says import on the log book. It dont look good and turns people away.
On my local forecourt there was a Swift Sundance Suntor 630L 07 done 2,000 miles and was up for £36,995 - I bought EXACTLY the same vehicle last month for £28,000. HPI clear and ready to go, slightly more miles and one or two things that didnt work but hey what a saving. I can get that money back for it today....at 37k i was on 9 grand losses.
Shop around, winter is coming, people are skint, so hold out and there is no need to panic now for one till next March so chill out and bid everyone hard and you only need to come lucky 1 time dont you?

Although some good points hotrod, I too disagree with the LHD quote. Selling cars, understandable that most would want RHD. With Mhs many tour abroad, and many only get used for a little time in this country for weekends and meets etc. If the saving was good I would have LHD with no problems.

In answer to the original poster, the number one priority is to get your layout right. The autoquest is a budjet MH that I could not grow to like. It has little storage space and IMO looks dated. Having said that it's very good value which is why it sells so well. If you want new there are other budjet MHs about like the mooveo. Not the best quality again but new.

The advantage of your second point is that you will get a better quality of van but then need to make sure the running gear is up to scratch. Some vans have extremely low milage and this is not always a good thing as things do perish if left doing nothing for very long periods of time. You do however get that extra quality. For some thats very important, however having now had a budget van ourselves for 3 years or more I can understand why people want that little more quality, although our does exactly what it says on the tin, and fortunately (touch wood) we have had no major problems with our CI.

your 3rd option is a good option but only if you have the time to explore a little in to Germany to look at what your getting. a few pictures can not always give you the feel for a van so it may mean a few wasted joutneys to Germany untill you find what you want. If you are anything like me, you will plan to see a few and then when get there be thinking you have to buy one because you have travelled to see.

There is of course a couple more big shows coming up in the next few weeks. With the season ending there could be some good bargains to have, failing that you will be able to trawl through 100s of vans to have a good look at the type of layouts you prefer. You could then be sure that this was going to be right for you and then get looking here or abroad for the same model.

lastly, it might help if you cam eback and gave some more info. ie how many traveling, where do you intend on traveling, will you want stationary weeks or mainly touring. do you want to have to make beds up every night or would a fixed bed/bunks for kids be preferable?

What ever you decide to do good luck with your hunting, and check back in sometime to let us all know how it goes.
Paul:thumb:
 
OP
OP
V

Viking

Deleted User
Sorry I've not replied to some of your comments but I've been away from the computer for a couple of days.

Bit of backgroud, we have owned caravans of all sizes for 23 years, but have been without one for the past 3 years. This is because the children stopped coming with us and the youngest lad plays professional rugby league (look at sign on name to work out who he plays for) and this is a summer sport so we found our selves not using the caravan. But the draw to get back into travelling with your own home is just to strong.

Most of the time it will be just the 2 of use using the motorhome, but at times my daughter, husband and grandaughter will be with us.

Don't want a fixed bed, I've always seen this as a waste of space, if it is only the 2 of us in the van then you can leave the back bed made up, but if others are with you the extra sitting space is great.

As with the caravans once you buy them they seem to shrink so buy the biggest you can handle

Buying new is like what most people have pointed out financially not the smartest move with the VAT to pay, premium of the new van, adding upto large depreciation

2nd hand from Germany, there does seem to be savings , but like someone said how many times do you travel to germany looking for the right van (costs and time), engine falls to pieces no come back

So it does look like it will be 2nd hand in this country, we have travelled around the dealers in the north west and seen 1 or 2 good looking vans, but disapointiingly inspected a lot of rubbish for strong money.

On a slightly different thing, most of the motorhomes we are looking at are on the fiat platform, I know there has been some strong views on the recent Fiats, with quality issues, with watergetting into the engine area, and more worrying gearbox issues. What my question is are these issues only aimed at the new platforms or are there issues with Fiats from a couple of years ago and what are the best motorhome platorms to look at, eg. Ford, Mercs, Fiats, ect.

Again thanks for all your replys and advice,
 

motoroamin

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Fiat gearbox problems mostly on pre '03, particulary when stood for long periods. The 5th gear is in a housing outside of the main gearbox and oil drains away when stood and takes some time to get back up there again.

Generally, Fiat engines are very solid, particularly the 2.8 which was superceded by the 3.0 in '07. The new ones '07 on have some gripes but the performance and driveablilty is superb.

Fiat/Citroen/Peugeot share the same platform so there will be few differences between them.

Ford is well regarded too, although older models not as refined as Fiat and have floor mounted gearchange, which can get in the way. Ford Durashift Auto can be slow.

Mercs attract a premium price and have good solid engines but are not guaranteed to be 100% reliable. Ride can be a bit wallowy too. Again, best go for manual.

As well as layout, look for sufficient payload for 5 people. Many 5/6 motorhomes simply do not have the capacity for carrying groups of people and their stuff. Any 5/6 berth coachbuilt at 3500kg all up needs checking out - Ideally you would want at least 500kg payload after fully fuelled, gassed and watered.

If you are concerned about possible repair bills there is nothing to stop you buying a mechanical breakdown policy such as MB & G (one of the better ones). Check any Used motorhome warranty carefully as some dealers take the cheapest cover possible which may not be up to much. If you take the New route you will have the benefit of the manufacturers guarantee which in most cases will be 3 years so long as you comply with service conditions.

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Kon tiki

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Another small point to consider if you buy new from Germany is that if the price includes VAT the German rate is 19% but if you are importing to the UK you only need to pay the UK rate of 17.5% (ask what the netto price is). Some German dealers will try to make you pay or leave the 19% German vat then refund it after you have paid the UK vat.
We bought a new quality A class from Germay in 2006 & sold it after 18 months for a nice profit. We have a problem now that we want to buy another van but the Euro - Pound exchange rate increasing to almost 20% since we last bought has made the possible savings possibly not worth the trouble.
I'd be interested to know if anybody thinks they are making any sort of significant saving from buying in Germany?
 

dazzer

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Oh for heavens sake stop messing around and as your looking for a left hooker anyway, get an RV, automatic transmission, power everything, on board generator, air con, slide outs, huge payload, loads of power similar MPG if you get an LPG converted model and all the mod cons you could wish for :thumb:

You know it makes sense:winky::thumb:
 
K

kayzee bounder

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Confusion over then !

Dazzer mate, took the words right out of my head:thumb:

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