MOTORHOME SALES BOOMING!!! (1 Viewer)

[Cheshirecat57]

Ad a dealer its bloody hard when Mr Smith turns up with his 3 year old van expecting to part exchange it for £1000 less than he paid for it, thinking because he has bought a Safari room and a TV aerial for his van its obviously worth more than the brand new one on the forecourt.......

I really sympathise, unfortunately, PROFIT MARGIN seems to be sadly misunderstood and DEPRECIATION is a cause for denial

 

[Cheshirecat57]

And the quote I responded to said 'these days'...

It did,

 

[sallylillian]

yes , that's the way YOU do it in 2020
Not the way I belueve it will be available to do in , say, 2030

Don't tell me you paid full price for that crystal ball

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[Coolcats]

I beg to differ, the future is “thats the price, click your mouse, you get it tomorrow, its £xxx a month including insurance /tax/maintenance“

i grant not aimed at our generation, but the spenders that are to come

Bartering will be a thing of the past, hard to believe now, but have a close look at where the car job has moved to in a few short years
You walk into a car showroom these days, they punch your reg into the compoter, and the “computer” tells you what the car is worth in swap......END of conversation

Possibly, possibly not, I do not wait for a computer at a dealer to say what the price is, Glass's and Parkers are on-line your vehicle will fall into the Good, Bad Ugly category, no whilst MoHo's may be slightly different there will be times when a dealer will be happy to move stock in quite times, now that does not mean you will get more for your 2nd hand vehicle but there is always margins in one they are selling.

So the approach is be realistic do your research on what you expect for your vehicle, regarding either a new vehicle or second hand there will always be movement. Be polite and respectful to the sales person they have to make a living and put shopping in thier basket at the end of the week. Vehicle before last when I was negotiating, I said to the salesman I suspect there is a little left to negotiate, he smiled I asked how much he said £50 and the deal was done. Buying and selling is as old as the hills as a buyer take your time do your research treat it as a game.....its not persona, but everyone (seller and buyer) needs to feel they have a good deall.

I just purchased a new pre registered VW Transporter (10 miles on the clock),I couldn't get a deal I wanted in Essex there was another of the same spec and money with 12,000 miles on the clock in Kent, the dealer wouldn't budge so I went Norf to do the deal and saved well over 25% on the list price.

Here is a thought, whilst Apple do not discount (in the main) you can go to some retailers who will be applying a small discount and zero % interest so I am not sure the future is as fixed as you may suggest but the buyer may have to put in a little more footwork.

 

[Coolcats]

I really sympathise, unfortunately, PROFIT MARGIN seems to be sadly misunderstood and DEPRECIATION is a cause for denial

Regarding depreciation, the previous car I purchased, I had for 5 years at the end of 5 years I sold it, it had depreciated by £1,000 the best bit was it was paid for out of the company car allowance.

Oh I understand profit margin and markup which are two different things..........turnover is vanity.......profit is sanity

 

[Cheshirecat57]

Possibly, possibly not, I do not wait for a computer at a dealer to say what the price is, Glass's and Parkers are on-line your vehicle will fall into the Good, Bad Ugly category, no whilst MoHo's may be slightly different there will be times when a dealer will be happy to move stock in quite times, now that does not mean you will get more for your 2nd hand vehicle but there is always margins in one they are selling.

So the approach is be realistic do your research on what you expect for your vehicle, regarding either a new vehicle or second hand there will always be movement. Be polite and respectful to the sales person they have to make a living and put shopping in thier basket at the end of the week. Vehicle before last when I was negotiating, I said to the salesman I suspect there is a little left to negotiate, he smiled I asked how much he said £50 and the deal was done. Buying and selling is as old as the hills as a buyer take your time do your research treat it as a game.....its not persona, but everyone (seller and buyer) needs to feel they have a good deall.

I just purchased a new pre registered VW Transporter (10 miles on the clock),I couldn't get a deal I wanted in Essex there was another of the same spec and money with 12,000 miles on the clock in Kent, the dealer wouldn't budge so I went Norf to do the deal and saved well over 25% on the list price.

Here is a thought, whilst Apple do not discount (in the main) you can go to some retailers who will be applying a small discount and zero % interest so I am not sure the future is as fixed as you may suggest but the buyer may have to put in a little more footwork.

I hope that that the dealers are even there for you to shop-around
Im not being the prophet of doom here, Its just that the money-men will take over the asylum and showrooms, very few and far between, may well be just that....for “show” with transactions all moved on line

dont get me wrong, I love to see the whites of eyes when dealing, just saying that may well get phased out

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[Cheshirecat57]

Just an observation, back on message of OP, I went to Spinney today ( my local ) they have a used ‘van I wanted to check layout on, and the sales chart ( which was not really for my eyes) showed 40 plus sales so far in the 12days of June.........

 

[Coolcats]

I hope that that the dealers are even there for you to shop-around
Im not being the prophet of doom here, Its just that the money-men will take over the asylum and showrooms, very few and far between, may well be just that....for “show” with transactions all moved on line

dont get me wrong, I love to see the whites of eyes when dealing, just saying that may well get phased out

Ah the Tesla way of selling......maybe lets hope not someone has to have a job otherwise no one will buy anything

 

[Coolcats]

Just an observation, back on message of OP, I went to Spinney today ( my local ) they have a used ‘van I wanted to check layout on, and the sales chart ( which was not really for my eyes) showed 40 plus sales so far in the 12days of June.........

A sellers Market I guess at the moment

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[Snoopy]

I am a recent purchaser who is hopefully going to pick up our van later this week, definitely one of the 'nocies' referred to above. As I posted in my intro thread we have done things backwards by putting a deposit down before really knowing what we were looking for and doing the research afterwards. We viewed several vans (in person) and found one we liked and it's a refundable deposit so that has given us some breathing space to check we've done the right thing. So a couple of weeks of digging on this forum and others has been very useful and we're still happy with what we're getting and what to look out for when we go to collect. You have to start somewhere!

I'm not keen on the hassle of flying at the best of times and certainly not for the next few months. We've done some camping but usually rent cottages. We've gone for a MH to give us some more flexibility with weekends and spur of the moment trips through out the year (and to avoid changeover days). We've not really got it to take abroad, though it would be nice in the future if we're not about to see the end of quick and easy channel crossings. We've got it really just to go to places in this country that we'd otherwise probably never visit.

Spot on, nothing like knowing can just plan and go, or just go, when we can that is!

 

[gus-lopez]

but have a close look at where the car job has moved to in a few short years

Yes and the great majority are on pcp deals ,what are forecast to be the next disaster to befall the Uk after the "tripleA" mortgage"bonds" .Ok whilst you have a job. My mate delivers new cars bought solely online & 95% are pcpdeals with the rest being sales.

 

[Cheshirecat57]

Yes and the great majority are on pcp deals ,what are forecast to be the next disaster to befall the Uk after the "tripleA" mortgage"bonds" .Ok whilst you have a job. My mate delivers new cars bought solely online & 95% are pcpdeals with the rest being sales.

Nail on head
Remember Chris Rea’s Road to hell from ‘89.....“the roads jam up with credit”

The trouble is, it happens when you are “sleeping”, that’s how a tiny online book seller becomes an instigator of 1/4 billion parcel deliveries in UK alone per year.

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[Sphgmo]

Re the "Door Knockers"
We had a few callers asking if our van was for sale.
One very pushy.
Another time one left "we buy motorhome flyers" around the van.
When I traced the company they were path layers.
Police advised that we fitted CCTV which we did.

 

[Captain Yoghurtpot]

Re the "Door Knockers"
We had a few callers asking if our van was for sale.
One very pushy.
Another time one left "we buy motorhome flyers" around the van.
When I traced the company they were path layers.
Police advised that we fitted CCTV which we did.

Very delicately put.
We've had the same issues with the "Path Layers" and them chancing their arm on us selling our van on the knock.
Same advice to us and more CCTV installed.

 

[Wabs]

It's going to be fun out there with so many novices on the road.

Let’s hope they all did their homework,,I spent years and months doing mine,,lol

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[Cheshirecat57]

Don't tell me you paid full price for that crystal ball

It was half price, but is only half clear

 

[nicholsong]

Yes and the great majority are on pcp deals ,what are forecast to be the next disaster to befall the Uk after the "tripleA" mortgage"bonds" .Ok whilst you have a job. My mate delivers new cars bought solely online & 95% are pcpdeals with the rest being sales.

I had never heard os PCP deals before, so had to Google it.

Now I know why I had never heard of it - I have never had to borrow to buy anything, even at age 21 buying my new Mini.

Even when I bought my first house I took out an old-style endowment policy which guaranteed to pay off the mortgage(it paid £15k more) and included life insurance, so my debt was covered.

These finance houses are pushing up inflation on cars, MHs, houses, everything. Central Banks are doing nothing to stop it.

When the bubble bursts I still have all my assets paid for and the rest is in cash.

Geoff

 

[Wellington]

I don’t use it myself, but it’s definitely the norm to pay monthly for things now, rather than save up and buy outright. Even things like Netflix or my online craft workshops have moved to a monthly sub model, where you get everything while you are subscribed and nothing when you stop, rather than buying things one at time and owning if for life (like audible). I prefer to the own the things, even if I have to wait for them, in part because I don’t get paid monthly. The MH finance is the only non-mortgage debt I have, and I don’t like that. I have a cheap, old car. It’s not very shiny, but it’s all mine!

I would possibly consider PCP, if I were paid on a monthly basis though, because you have the maintenance covered. I loathe the additional stuff to do with cars and having to make decisions about repairs and so on, so idea of having them deal with the whole cost (services, repairs, maintenance. Even tax and insurance I’m some cases) and just handing over a fixed sum each month does appeal. A friend has her car on it, and if it needs a service or goes wrong, they just ring her up and tell her when, bring her out another car at 8am, take it away, do whatever needs doing and bring it back when they’ve finished. No ghastly decisions about what options the mechanic has, how likely they are to fix the problem and what they might cost!

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[Rodneyplonker]

Having sold our Motorhome privately last year because we wanted to change to a different layout and also downsize a little and had also planned to visit Australia and N Z for 3 months until the end of February this year. With this in mind we went to the NEC last October and came away after the second day knowing more or less exactly which make and model we wanted. However, we saw no point in purchasing then - rather than wait until our return and shop around then. Needless to say, we had hardly returned from our trip down under when a little while later lockdown happened. Meanwhile, we discovered that Fiat had announced their new 9 speed auto gearbox and we decided that was something we wanted, if possible.
During lockdown I kept checking Bürstner dealers websites that had that very spec in stock to see if there were any panic reductions on the 2020 models. For a few weeks nothing happened and I was beginning to think "greedy so and so's".... not going to happen! From my days dealing in stocks I always remembered the mantra, 'The time to buy is when everyone is fearful and blood is running in the streets!' Not literally, of course!
In a mad moment I texted a dealer with what I even thought was a ridiculous offer... all the while thinking they would not even reply - never mind accept! I got a text back saying my offer was very low... so I texted back with a raised offer of an extra 1k. They accepted it! I then texted back asking for a second battery... after a few minutes they agreed. I saved a little over 8k on a 2020 model that had only arrived in the U.K a few weeks before lockdown and yes, it had the latest 9 speed auto box. Naturally, they wanted a small deposit which I agreed to.... providing they sent me a video of the inside and outside against the background of their company premises and Logo and subject to seeing it in the flesh when lockdown was lifted, which is what happened. It still had wrappers on seats and other areas when we were allowed to travel to see it. Naturally, we did all relevant checks before departing with any dosh...including a copy of the registration application and reg number!
We are now waiting to get the V5 back from DVLA and can't wait to collect it. We now know that would not have happened - even 3 weeks ago. We even noticed a week or so ago, that dealers were still asking a few thousand more than we paid and that was for 2019 models with the old auto gearbox! So, feeling a little bit pleased! Even dealers have their fears...especially when the sound of the tills ringing in their ears is but a distant memory!

 

[gus-lopez]

but it’s definitely the norm to pay monthly for things now, rather than save up and buy outright.

All good whilst you have an income. As many are going to find out now with lay offs,redundancies etc; the pcp still has to be paid.

 

[SpeedyDux]

Re the "Door Knockers"
We had a few callers asking if our van was for sale.
One very pushy.
Another time one left "we buy motorhome flyers" around the van.
When I traced the company they were path layers.
Police advised that we fitted CCTV which we did.

I had one of those last week. He offered to clean my drive. I said wasn't interested. The discussion turned to my PVC and he asked if I wanted to sell it. A definite NO from me. Anyway I have his flyer with name and address. As Travellers go he seemed more straight than most. He thinks this is the right time to start buying and selling motorhomes, and he can operate out of his cousin's storage barn near Cheddar. Good luck to him.

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[Nasher]

I don’t use it myself, but it’s definitely the norm to pay monthly for things now, rather than save up and buy outright

I agree with paying outright, especially for luxury items like motorhomes/motorbikes/etc

But if you think back, 50 odd years ago, people purchased things on the 'never never' many people purchased through catalogues for a weekly payment, it wasn't unusual for clothes, furnishings, electrical goods to be purchased via store cards (at horrendous interest rates) Hire Purchase for cars etc. etc.

So nothing new really

Having (pre lockdown) spent (invested) 2 years of my state pension on a new motorbike to add to my collection, I explained to the Salesman that it could take up to 2 weeks for me to move my money in the right place. They weren't concerned, but did offer to give me 80% finance on 4 years interest free credit - I declined

As it turns out, releasing my invested funds means that they didn't get hit so hard by the CV19 crash - result (ish)

 

[gus-lopez]

people purchased things on the 'never never'

Yes but at the end they actually owned something.With pcp you are just renting it normally for 3 years & back it goes.

 

[Nasher]

Yes but at the end they actually owned something.With pcp you are just renting it normally for 3 years & back it goes.

I thought most have the option of either a final payment or they just 'trade in' for another vehicle & another PCP deal?

I the sixties, if you bought an Austin 1100 on 3 years HP it probably wouldn't have lasted that long

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[Ivory55]

Yes but at the end they actually owned something.With pcp you are just renting it normally for 3 years & back it goes.

If it’s anything like trucks 3 years is about when all the electronics start going wrong, that’s why they only want them for 3 years.

 

[gus-lopez]

they just 'trade in' for another vehicle

The Mercs my friend delivers can be purchased with the 'balloon' payment but rarely does anyone do it. They rent it for 3 years then it is returned .There is no value in the vehicle to the customer against another one. They either put another 'upfront' payment down on another new one & rent for another 3 years or they pay more per month with no upfront payment.

 

[RidersofRohan]

If this boom in sales is also reflected in other big ticket items such as cars then the economy will get an immediate boost so perhaps protecting jobs and production. It will justify the government action on the economy much to the disappointment of the Media who were euphoric when announcing the 20% higher than expected drop in the figures. Yes imports will increase but some economists say that’s also a good thing.

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[Cheshirecat57]

The Mercs my friend delivers can be purchased with the 'balloon' payment but rarely does anyone do it. They rent it for 3 years then it is returned .There is no value in the vehicle to the customer against another one. They either put another 'upfront' payment down on another new one & rent for another 3 years or they pay more per month with no upfront payment.

I wonder if that is because they have to inflate the price at 3 years old to get the monthly rental attractive at the front end
After the 3 years, the “purchaser” is hooked on £275 a month (say) for a new 30k car that they cant really afford
So they are psychologically forced ( bit of a strong word but you get my drift) to renew, or take a reality check and go “down” to a car they CAN afford

 

[McLouis]

Bought my new van just before lock down, as value of everything was tumbling thought it was an error. Noticed this week that price on my old van went up by £3k and now sold. New one up by a bit more. Strange times. I think staying over night should be OK come July 4th. Just hope r value drops a bit so m/h ers will not be treated like lepers.

 

[Haitchjay]

We visited a dealer at the weekend. Considering we had to book a day and time slot in advance and were looking at one specific Motorhome, I was amazed at how busy they were. Apart from everyone wearing masks and gloves, it was like a normal busy weekend. The sales guy said that sales were going mad and lots of first time Motorhomers purchasing. Majority of the ones we’ve looked at online are now sold too.

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