Hello there and also a Hymer question

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sproutley

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Dec 2, 2023
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Hi there I just joined this lovely forum so hello to all, we have a VW California Ocean which we love but we are toying with getting a new 6 metre van so we have the fixed bed and the toilet sink and hot water and we are thinking of the Sven Hedin or thr Hymer free 600 Campus we are looking at new but the main problem is I can't get my head around is the cost!

The Sven is £92,000 and a 2024 Hymer Campus specced up with things you need like an extra leisure battery is coming in at £95,000 do these vans have good residuals or has the pricing gone totally crazy on them? Or is this just how things are now :) any thoughts much appreciated, I am 63 now and hopefully be leaving work in a year or so.

Thanks

Andy
 
:welco:
Yep pricing is crazy now but theumy ain't going to go down.
You can save a lot by fitting extracts yoursefl rather than having them factory fitted, second battery is normally a real rip off.
 
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Hi Lenny thanks for that is the umy the Hymer :) I'm new here so I don't know, I am not good at diy so I wouldn't be able to do that and as my California has two leisure batteries I thought the Hymer would need two as well.

I love the look of it and hopefully being a Mercedes it will be good quality I just don't want to spend that kind of money for the residuals to plummet but yet there aren't many of these around so it's the old supply and demand isn't it. Am I right in thinking Hymer is a quality brand?
 
Suggest you think about what you think you will do with the motorhome. For example, might you touring on campsites or in the wild, going skiing, touring in Europe or into beyond? How you use the van will determine whether you need more than one battery and solar panels. How many miles over how many years will you travel - Fiats are the most used for motorhome and are cheaper than Mercs. Almost most ambulances now run on Fiats. Mercs are used by supermarkets and parcel firms for delivering shopping etc and do it well. Think whether a Merc is worthwhile. Think is a narrow van will be better than a wider coachbuilt.

As for cost of motorhome, I bought my 6m Hymer A-class new in 2013 for c£70,000. Now a similar van would be c£93,000 based on inflation over ten years - 2021, 2022 and 2023 were killers. To keep down cost, buy abroad or buy second hand - the Hymer dealer in Stafford does up nearly new vans, they call it Elevation X.

One thing to think about is how long you have to wait/willing for a new van.
 
Aspenshaw said:
Suggest you think about what you think you will do with the motorhome. For example, might you touring on campsites or in the wild, going skiing, touring in Europe or into beyond? How you use the van will determine whether you need more than one battery and solar panels. How many miles over how many years will you travel - Fiats are the most used for motorhome and are cheaper than Mercs. Almost most ambulances now run on Fiats. Mercs are used by supermarkets and parcel firms for delivering shopping etc and do it well. Think whether a Merc is worthwhile. Think is a narrow van will be better than a wider coachbuilt.

As for cost of motorhome, I bought my 6m Hymer A-class new in 2013 for c£70,000. Now a similar van would be c£93,000 based on inflation over ten years - 2021, 2022 and 2023 were killers. To keep down cost, buy abroad or buy second hand - the Hymer dealer in Stafford does up nearly new vans, they call it Elevation X.

One thing to think about is how long you have to wait/willing for a new van.
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Hi there thanks for your thoughts I think we will mostly be on campsites but there is a chance if we visit the Scottish Islands such as Arran we might park up overnight in authorised stops I just thought as our California has two leisure batteries maybe the new one needs that as well. I am planning to finish work in around a year or so and the dealers I have contacted have the new 2024 Sprinter Campus coming in late next year I looked at Elevation x but they just have coach built models and I just don't like the look of those at all as for the Fiat they don't seem much cheaper at all and I just don't like the Fiat dashboard etc and I assume the Mercedes will drive better but I know the Fiat is popular and has a bit more room in it. I was also looking at the MAN TGE Sven Hedin as well but my wife Linda prefers the more modern white interior of the Sprinter. Thanks for telling me what you paid in 2013 it was still a lot then wasn't it I know the last 3 years has seen prices rise, as for second hand you just don't see many around as I want a newish van, do you reckon at the new prices they would still have good residuals?

Andy
 
Aspenshaw said:
Suggest you think about what you think you will do with the motorhome. For example, might you touring on campsites or in the wild, going skiing, touring in Europe or into beyond? How you use the van will determine whether you need more than one battery and solar panels. How many miles over how many years will you travel - Fiats are the most used for motorhome and are cheaper than Mercs. Almost most ambulances now run on Fiats. Mercs are used by supermarkets and parcel firms for delivering shopping etc and do it well. Think whether a Merc is worthwhile. Think is a narrow van will be better than a wider coachbuilt.

As for cost of motorhome, I bought my 6m Hymer A-class new in 2013 for c£70,000. Now a similar van would be c£93,000 based on inflation over ten years - 2021, 2022 and 2023 were killers. To keep down cost, buy abroad or buy second hand - the Hymer dealer in Stafford does up nearly new vans, they call it Elevation X.

One thing to think about is how long you have to wait/willing for a new van.
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Oops I forgot to say if you look at the new prices on Campersales site the Fiat is a very similar price to the Sprinter.
 
Personally I'd buy second hand.
As a rule of thumb the older the Hymer the better the quality of construction
I have a 2017 van, I looked at the 2023/24 version of my van at the NEC show as was appalled at the quality compared to mine.

I'd be looking for a pre-2020 Mercedes based Hymers.

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Who know what values will be when you want to sell.

The first three motorhomes we had were exchanged over 5 years. The reason we were changing was down to safety developments, for 2 children and the dog, in the market. 1995 - 2000 with no more than c5% loss for each van.​
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The fourth (Niesmann & Bischoff Arto) we kept for 5 years until our remaining child ceased coming with us, celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary, and increased safety for the passenger was needed. Loss 40%.​
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We had the 5th one for 8 years. We would have kept that much longer, it was a Hymer 544 new at £54,000, had my wife not had back issues. Loss 46%​
​
We have kept our current Hymer 504 for over 10 years - the wife is comfortable in it. For what is it worth I estimated depreciation in the first 6 years of this van was £30,000 on £70,000. The next 5 years to 2014 I expect £20,000 depreciation bringing the value of my van down to £20,000 in 2024 assuming the motorhome market stabilises.​

Buy the right van, keep it if you can, and with luck you will think it's a bargain!
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sproutley said:
Am I right in thinking Hymer is a quality brand?
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Just a mid range brand that has been hyped in the UK but better than anything the Brits can produce.
Had 3 Hymer but now have a Carthago on order I wanted something of better quality.
Not so much difference with PVC's.

How do you intend to use the van?
For the cost Hymer charge for a second battery you could fit a Lithium much better for off grid use.
 
sproutley said:
Am I right in thinking Hymer is a quality brand?
Click to expand...
There may be a little bias.;)

Modern Hymers are good, upper middle of the range.
The older ones (and there are many over 40 years old still in regular use) were built like tanks.
The new ones are slightly lower quality year on year.
I'd say looking at the 2023 models, Hymer are now lower middle range by German standards.

That said, like most German vans they are winterised and made far better than almost any British built motorhome

When we were looking, we had spreadsheets with makes and models.
We eventually realised that the answer was to look at German vans only.
And if you are going German on top, it make sense to go German below, which means Mercedes (or MAN)

We then excluded the top and bottom of the manufacturers.
We also excluded the smaller companies, and those without a UK presence (for spares etc)
This left a small core of about 4 manufacturers, we then started to look and models at that point.
 

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