Cost Of New Motorhomes

dazzer

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Jul 30, 2007
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41
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Having just sold the RV :cry: i thought id go and have a look at what the European dealers had on offer. :Eeek:

Ive just spent a facinating 2 hours wandering round Brownpiles in Preston and been totally ignored by the entire sales team (no great loss as I only wanted to be nosey anyway. I obviously didnt fit into the grey haired typical customer profile :BigGrin:).

Now before I start i want to make it clear that im not a very big fan of European motorhomes. I wont go into a huge rant about it, i simply dont think that a lot of them are fit for purpose and been built to a weight has to many strings and compromises attached for my liking. :Angry:

THIS THREAD IS NOT A RV VERSUS EURO MOTORHOME SLAGGING MATCH :thumb:

Anyway after looking round about 60-70 vehicles and reading the prices with tears in my eyes i sat back in my car and wondered how on Earth do the dealers justify the prices??

Lets start with a C class. Simple van chassis with a caravan bolted on top and the van cab then joined to the caravan at the pointy end. I know this a very simplistic way of looking at it but in essence that is what a C class is.

Cost of Fiat Chassis Cab £ 12000.00 ish
Cost of top of the range caravan of similar size to C class £ 11000.00ish

Total is £23kish. The cheapest i saw today was £34K :Eeek: I know every business has to make a profit and that there is a bit of work in grafting the body onto the cab and fitting water/waste tanks etc, but motorhome manufactures dont need to supply the running gear and brakes/heavy chassis that caravan manufacturers do but £11K difference and they wont even give you a bloody spare wheel :Eeek::Eeek:

The same goes for the A class except the price differential is double :Eeek:.

I then looked at a van conversion £33K :Rofl1::Rofl1::Rofl1: for a standard van with a caravan interior, are they serious :Eeek:

I understand you can buy a lot of models available in the UK considerably cheaper on the continent (even right hand drive) which only leads me to the point of this thread. :Blush:

I know we all live in "RIP OFF BRITAIN" but please can someone tell me and the rest of the folks on here how motorhome manufacturers get away with charging the ludicrous prices for their vehicles :Eek!:. And more to the point why do we the eversuffering British public let them??

Unfortunately we dont plan on replacing the RV anytime soon (but i do miss it and it only went yesterday :cry:) due to a lack of time to use it, but if and when we decide the time is right to replace it we wont be heading for our local dealers...........we will be heading for the airport and a Boeing 747 back to the USA :thumb: where even after paying a huge amount of shipping and tax to the Treasury we will end up with a vehicle that is twice anything i saw today for a lot less and where we wont be ignored when we walk into the dealers to have a look around. :thumb:

Come on people if you are in the market for a new motorhome ask the dealers to justify the costs to you. Im sure it will have a lot of salespeople squirming :Rofl1::Rofl1:
 
Cummon Dazzer,

There is NO comparison between a MH built on a Fiat chassis/cab and an AMERICAN (monster in the nicest way possible)

Its chalk and cheese!

Peter
 
Cummon Dazzer,

There is NO comparison between a MH built on a Fiat chassis/cab and an AMERICAN (monster in the nicest way possible)

Its chalk and cheese!

Peter

Hi Peter

Im not comparing the 2 products only the cost.........as you say chalk and cheese :thumb:

Im simply asking how the manufacturers can justfy the cost of European motorhomes which are a lot simpler, lighter and fitted with less "kit".

Why can USA manufacturers build them considerably cheaper, bigger and to a higher spec on a heavier duty engine/transmission and chassis than their European counterparts?

Its a simple, fair question dont you think??
 
i think its because most euro buyers are brainwashed into accepting the price (myself included) and are prepared to pay without question 'cos "thats what they cost":Angry:

same with any 'special' product.

how can rolls royce justify £250,000 for, what is at the end of the day, a car......because the folks that can afford them dont question the price but its the equivelant to a dozen family cars :Wink:
 
I think it is a fair and decent question.

Don't really have the answer other than its the old adage of supply and demand.

You build a MH, you then sell a dream for as much as you can possibly get away with. result is the british punter does his normal and pays well over the top compared to his european cousins.

HOWEVER- there is a catch, the ammount they charge is dictated too by the market. The market is shrinking massively due to the current fat cat crisis. With a shrinking market comes a battle to sell hence lower prices.

Of course thats only good if you dont have a px.

The only other thing I would say, is having seen the quality of some of the Yank vans against the Euros, Im amazed at the difference. Im sure Yanks have there probs too but surely not to the extnt you read about on euro vans.

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I have a european MH and although nice I wouldn't want an American one, however there's no doubt the yanks charge a lot less, and usually have as standard a lot of 'options' which will cost another fortune on a European one:Cool:
 
Hi guys

Its not really a question about American versus European, Its about value for money.

Its all a personnel choice.

My opinion is that its a no brainer. The new European rv's/motorhomes look the business, however so to do the US ones.

The US RV'S have a better quality of build, are far more reliable and at the moment are far less expensive than the European builds. (In my opinion)

This honestly isn't a wind up to provoke some reaction. As I say its a personnel choice and thats what traveling is all about.

Happy Days and Cheers

Jim

:thumb:
 
Cummon Dazzer,

There is NO comparison between a MH built on a Fiat chassis/cab and an AMERICAN (monster in the nicest way possible)

Its chalk and cheese!

Peter

I have a class c American rv. Its not a monster its a thing of beauty.
 
hi dazzler i agree £ for£ you cant beat the yank mine has been very problematic when we did use it it was only slightly more expensive than our European to run its on lpg we've had 5 European vans inc c class and a class vans the million dollar question would i have another yank or European the answer is in the question $ yank wins hands down next time it will be second hand though let someone else sort any problems out before i get it
 
hi dazzler i agree £ for£ you cant beat the yank mine has been very problematic when we did use it it was only slightly more expensive than our European to run its on lpg we've had 5 European vans inc c class and a class vans the million dollar question would i have another yank or European the answer is in the question $ yank wins hands down next time it will be second hand though let someone else sort any problems out before i get it

Spot on. Surf the web, the bargains are there

Cheers

Jim

:thumb:

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Ive been having a look round the manufactures websites and looking at costs etc.

I cant believe the prices of "extras" they offer on the Eurovan all of which are fitted as standard on RVs. Ive put a list below with prices. If you bought a "fully loaded" Eurovan with all the toys you would be paying an extra £ 13500.00 :Eeek: on top of the purchase price :Eeek:. All of the kit listed below is fitted as standard to most of their USA counterparts.

Engine Upgrade :Eeek: (more power.....why dont they just fit an engine man enough for the job in the first place :Doh:???) £ 1400.00
Roof mounted Air Con £ 1600.00
Automatic Transmission £ 1200.00
Levelling Jacks £ 2000.00
Generator £ 1200.00
Tow Package £ 500.00
Slide Out Room £ 5000.00 (only available from 1 German manufacturer)
TV/ DVD/ Surround £ 1000.00
Flushing Toilet £ 600.00
Electric Step £ 300.00
Microwave Oven £ 200.00

That £13k :cry: now if you buy your RV and spend £3000 on an LPG conversion you are still £10k better off and driving a bigger, better built machine. I think buyers of new vehicles should be asking the manufacturers/dealers some very hard questions about costs. :Blush:

The 1 thing i hear all the time is that the RVs are to big for UK use but this is simply not true. Winnebago do a superb 23 foot long RV built on a Mercedes Sprinter chassis and it is a stunningly beautiful vehicle. :BigGrin:

I know its all about supply and demand but the deeper you dig and compare costs the more apparant it is that the manufacturers of Eurovans are seriously kicking the arse :Angry: of their customers at every level.
 
:Rofl1: only my opinion,yanks pay half price for almost everything compaired to us poor europeans ie what we buy in £ they pay= in $ except fuel that they pay about a quarter :Rofl1: This would make a 30k euro van in the states about say 15k (if they wanted to sell any:Rofl1:)Since the base vehicle is about 15k ish and the cost of stuff to put in it is around 6k to 9k then wages to convert bringing it to around 24k plus wages say 4k total 28k :Rofl1: good value or rip off ?On the plus side euro vans are made for our tiny rds and can more or less park up almost anywhere-ish compared to the large yanks.(not to say no big E/Vans):Rofl1: Yanks are great for long term occupation,but for 2 / 3 week stays do you need all that room ?inconveince ? luxuary ?:BigGrin::Rofl1:
Economy of scale we build say 20,000 vans yanks are probably 200,000
Happy in my v/comfy smallish (20ft) van for 2 :Rofl1::Rofl1:
terry
WHAT PRICE IS 23 foot long RV built on a Mercedes Sprinter chassis ???
 
Last edited:
Very nice too :thumb:88,000$ = about 47,000£ :thumb: Some v nice euro vans at that price,then put on import duty plus VAT and we are up to around 65 k plus the tv will not work and if I read right the genny needs a motor? probably now nearer 70k :thumb: on top of all that you cannot make a slice of toast :Rofl1::Rofl1:
terry
SEE EVEN THE YANKS are ripping us off :Rofl1::Rofl1:
 
Hi Dazzer its good to see you have sold your coachman mine is getting better and better now theres a few miles on the clock, the only problem I have is when traveling with friends keep losing them on the hills just came up france and we seemed to use less fuel than a autotrail cheiftan travelling with me
paul

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Dazzer

I think you will find 'price comparison' of europe build vs. USA build has a lot to do with the strength of the currency. GB£ to US$ is very good....at the moment $1.77 to the £, whereas the £ is only 1.28 euro.

No idea what manual labour average rates are in the US but i would imagine extremely low and very poor in comparison to say Germany.

UK has long been known for its excessive taxation, high prices, coupled with poor average labour rates. Because of this we have lost huge chunks of both manual and skilled labour. Engineering and motor vehicle industries being just a couple of classic examples.

Pricing in the US is reflected by the low labour cost, where in the UK we have low labour costs with excessive profit margins.
 
Brisey got there before me - I had a look around the Winnebago view and it really is nice, but very expensive even in Houston. I've spent (wasted salesman's time) many hours nosing around American RV's on my regular trips to USA.

It probably does not cost that much more to convert/build a large RV than a smaller van in terms of material and mancosts, making smaller vans suitable for UK roads not the bargain that the bigger ones are.
 
One thing thats been overlooked is that no-one in the USA pays the sticker MRSP price. 27 to 30 percent discount is given without even haggling.

In June in Florida I was offered a new 2009 spec RV, MRSP $120k for $70k. It was stunning with 3 slides, diesel engine and at 29ft long & 8ft wide very useable in the UK or Europe.
That same model RV is £85k in the Uk today.
Rip off Britain I think so
 
Hi Dazzer its good to see you have sold your coachman mine is getting better and better now theres a few miles on the clock, the only problem I have is when traveling with friends keep losing them on the hills just came up france and we seemed to use less fuel than a autotrail cheiftan travelling with me
paul

Hi Paul

There was a tear in my eye :cry: when it drove away and ive been asking myself for the last 2 days if we have done the right thing :Eeek:

I feel like im in mourning :Eeek:. But it was just sitting their collecting dust and getting older and wasnt going to get used for the next 12 months so it had to go :Sad:.

Know what you mean about the hills though :Rofl1::Rofl1:

Keep on truckin!!!!:thumb::Rofl1:
 
Dazzer

I think you will find 'price comparison' of europe build vs. USA build has a lot to do with the strength of the currency. GB£ to US$ is very good....at the moment $1.77 to the £, whereas the £ is only 1.28 euro.

No idea what manual labour average rates are in the US but i would imagine extremely low and very poor in comparison to say Germany.

UK has long been known for its excessive taxation, high prices, coupled with poor average labour rates. Because of this we have lost huge chunks of both manual and skilled labour. Engineering and motor vehicle industries being just a couple of classic examples.

Pricing in the US is reflected by the low labour cost, where in the UK we have low labour costs with excessive profit margins.


I think thats about the size of it!!!!:Doh:

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Very nice too :thumb:88,000$ = about 47,000£ :thumb: Some v nice euro vans at that price,then put on import duty plus VAT and we are up to around 65 k plus the tv will not work and if I read right the genny needs a motor? probably now nearer 70k :thumb: on top of all that you cannot make a slice of toast :Rofl1::Rofl1:
terry
SEE EVEN THE YANKS are ripping us off :Rofl1::Rofl1:

As previously said no-one pays the MSRP. TV works with a £45 convertor and a £20 Freeview box. Generator needs no modification but you do need to fit a transformer and fit some UK sockets. Why cant you make toast????
 
:Rofl1:Could not see a grill :Rofl1::Rofl1:
At the end of the day it is going to cost abot 8 k in parts (new) to kit out a van,be that in a second hand one or a new one :thumb:so given the cost of a van plus 8 k vans are pretty good value :Eek!:The biggest RIP off in my mind is the new front roof lites that steal away a very big overhead locker,and save the converter loads by not having to put in said locker.They may look nice but when space is at a premeum ?:Rofl1::Rofl1:like already said chaulk & cheese
terry
 

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