Newbie Depreceation Question (1 Viewer)

[Ben12]

Hi All,

We are looking into buying our first motorhome. Probably a 2 birth under 6m, low profile. We do have the cash to buy new but I'm thinking used may be a better option for testing the water. We are planning on buying the unit, using it for a year or two and then upgrading to a new one if the bug bites.

Can anyone give me an idea as to what I would lose on depreciation on a 2008 Elldis unit if I paid 22,000 and kept it two years. I know there are no definate answers but I really am new and just don't have a clue. I'm asking as part of me says don't have the hassle of buying used and just take the plunge on a new van.

Cheers

Ben

 

[Paul and Kate]

Maybe you'll get more problems buying new as any problems will have been sorted
Rough idea is look how much an identical 2006 version of the elddis your looking at is fetching

 

[Manxcat]

Talked to a friend a few months ago. They sold their old Van as it went getting used much. Sold it for more than they paid for it.

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[MC 55 FUN]

It's probably not possible to exactly quantify, but as an example, our ex 2010 Elddis 145 cost us £25k in Feb' 2016 & we received a trade in value of £23k when we part exchanged it in June 2017.

 

[Podney]

Call the midwife

 

[Mickey1]

Mickey.

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[gus-lopez]

 

[Puddleduck]

An older van for your first van is the way to go I think. How much you will lose (or even gain) when you sell or trade in is an imponderable question. Our experience for what it is worth is below, we are on our 4th van in over 20 years and the van we have now is the first one we have bought new.

The first van went for scrap when we had finished with it - we could no longer get parts at a realistic price for the mechanical side of things. We still have (and still use) quite a lot of the habitation things.

The second van was sold for more than we paid for it even after several years and thousands of miles on it. (It was a Hymer and after the initial couple of years depreciation they tend to hold their value).

The last van (Chaussson) we bought from a dealer, three years old and we traded it in last year for slightly less than we paid (they sold it on within a week for what we had paid for it). We were happy with the deal as we'd had lots of great holidays, basically for almost free. I think "what would be the cost of a cruise and how many days" when considering depreciation on leisure vehicles.

What you get for a van when you sell it on or trade it in depends on so many things, obviously you want a popular layout and make, it has to be in good condition mechanically and on the
habitation side, serviced (again cab and hab), and someone has to want it!

Good luck with your purchase, if you need someone who knows about motorhomes to check out potential problems (damp damp damp) then I am sure if you ask someone local to you would chum you for a nosey

 

[Ben12]

Hi All,

Thanks for the comments and the welcome.

Paul, I've been looking at prices for units of the age I would be looking to part ex, but they seemed quite high, I guess motorhomes hold their value.

MH, that trade in price is great, very reassuring.

Cheers

Rob

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[chaser]

Thing is make sure you don't pay to much in the first place, get someone who knows about such things and find a good private second hand one, probably even older than you are looking at, the older ones were a lot stronger than they are now so last better.

 

[TerryL]

If you do your research properly to make sure what you buy the first time is right for you, you can often be better off. We spent a long time deciding what we wanted, including a couple of hires, then bought a van 2 years old which came with every extra available, no problems and a low mileage to boot - it was absolutely in mint condition. And was considerably cheaper than buying new - we were actually asking the new price when we lucked out as the dealer had taken in exactly what we wanted half an hour ealier! (Okay you may not be THAT lucky). Saved £10k.

When you read on here the problems folk have with new vans, you wonder if it's really worth it! But there again you never hear from people who have NO problems do you?

 

[peterc10]

It seems to me that with motorhoming getting more and more popular they are holding their values much better than cars.

I bought a 2008 Adria back in 2013 for £30k after negotiating a 10% or so discount from the dealer. Got £28k for it in p/x two and a half years later after putting in 15k more mileage on it. Dealer put it on his forecourt for about £33k from memory and sold it reasonably quickly.

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[Ben12]

Cheers for all the responses, I really do feel confident I want lose to much if I sell or px in a couple of years.

I said to my other half; if we don't like motorhoming it's tuff as this is our holidays for the next two years. I'm sure we will like it though as we always holiday in the UK due to my fear of flying.

 

[The Wino]

I would go along with the advice to find a good privately sold one and sell privately when you move on the dealers seem to want to make about 8k on every deal.

 

[bigtwin]

I'm sure we will like it though as we always holiday in the UK due to my fear of flying.

That's the beauty of motorhoming, no more airports. Once you get your motorhome, don't leave it too long before you head to France as they are so much more accommodating over there. Motorhoming in the UK seems to need more planning and that's not what motorhoming is about.

We're in France at the moment and were talking to a caravanner of 40 years. It was his first time in France and he couldn't believe how much easier it was in France (and they're even more accommodating for motorhomers!).

Ian

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[mitzimad]

That's the beauty of motorhoming, no more airports. Once you get your motorhome, don't leave it too long before you head to France as they are so much more accommodating over there. Motorhoming in the UK seems to need more planning and that's not what motorhoming is about.

We're in France at the moment and were talking to a caravanner of 40 years. It was his first time in France and he couldn't believe how much easier it was in France (and they're even more accommodating for motorhomers!).

Ian

i would agree with that motor homing abroad is how you imagine it should be. In uk its sometimes hard to find a place for the night unless you plan it and book ahead or your a mamber of all the clubs

 

[mike mcglynn]

Hello, Speaking from my own previous experiences buying and selling from dealers and private sales, I reckon depreceation runs at a grand a year regardless of mileage and various extras that you have put on .

 

[TerryL]

I would go along with the advice to find a good privately sold one and sell privately when you move on the dealers seem to want to make about 8k on every deal.

In their defence, mind, they've got to make a profit or there wouldn't BE any dealers. Consider their overheads, VAT on the price difference, having to bring the vehicle back to as near new, and saleable, as possible then a contingency for after-sales warranty or repairs. Private sellers don't have those problems, but then again, you have little fall back if anything does go wrong.

I'm not saying you should always buy from a dealer, but remember why there is such a price difference. We got what we paid for, but it isn't always so.

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[The Wino]

In their defence, mind, they've got to make a profit or there wouldn't BE any dealers. Consider their overheads, VAT on the price difference, having to bring the vehicle back to as near new, and saleable, as possible then a contingency for after-sales warranty or repairs. Private sellers don't have those problems, but then again, you have little fall back if anything does go wrong.

I'm not saying you should always buy from a dealer, but remember why there is such a price difference. We got what we paid for, but it isn't always so.

I asked about a trade in price recently at Lowdhams 14 plate chausson flash 10 they offered 25k I recon it would fetch well over 30 privately look at the ads at dealers you would get one a lot older at 25k. Yes they have to make a profit but how much given it was against buying a new van and there was a profit on that too!!!

 

[WynandJean]

We are in the process of changing ours. A Eura Mobil which we bought privately 6 years ago for £23,000. We are putting it in as part ex. and the dealer is giving us £23,000. As said it's not like car trading. Don't bother getting bogged down with mileages, either. The mileage done by the majority of motorhomes is tiny compared with the expectations of a white van man's vehicle on the same chasis, or an average car.

Wyn

 

[Wagoneer]

Whether you buy new or secondhand, consider the whole life cost of ownership. Most importantly, how easy will it be to sell when the time comes? Will it be attractive to the private buyer, where you can normally get a better resale price compared to a dealer.

My previous van, a new Hymer B544, depreciated by only 40% over a period of 10 years (4% per annum) - so not bad !!!

I would suggest that your first van should tick the following boxes:
1) buy a van which is manufactured by a popular reputable Motorhome converter.
2) choose a workable internal layout for just 2 people. MH's with bunk beds for families are a niche market and are more difficult to resell.
3) avoid Motorhome converters who have a history (or perceived history) of damp problems.
4) if purchasing a coachbuilt MH, look for the one's with mainly woodfree construction.

I've driven LHD MH's for the past 15 years as we mainly visit mainland Europe. So, our choice of vehicle is mainly limited to continental models, which seem to be pretty reliable in terms of build quality and resilient to damp issues, in general.

If you mainly intend to tour UK only, then I'm sure there are many British MH converters who have a good reputation and where damp issues won't be a problem. At the end of the day, it's how resellable your purchase is (as perceived by the potential purchaser) when you want to eventually move on.

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[two]

As they get older the cost of ownership arises more from maintenance than depreciation. If you can do that yourself, you'll save a packet. Also try to avoid "little" upgrades unless really essential. Love and care will help to sell in two years time but may not enhance the price much.

 

[Bepto]

How does RHD vs LHD affect resale values & is it as easy to sell a LHD model?

 

[Spriddler]

How does RHD vs LHD affect resale values & is it as easy to sell a LHD model?

If I was doing most of my touring in U.K. I wouldn't buy an LHD since the position of the habitation door means that vulnerable passengers viz. children, dogs, (Mother in Law ) will exit into the traffic flow in U.K. rather than onto a pavement.
I have a RHD and even though 90% of my considerable mileage is solo and abroad I don't have any desire for LHD. When abroad I don't rush about, use motorways, or overtake constantly, and due to the height of eye in a m/h I can see over most vehicles in front.
In any case when the times comes to sell it I will be doing so in the U.K. where there is surely a bigger market for RHD than LHD since I guess that there are more owners who tour mostly in U.K. than those who tour mostly abroad.
'Chacun..........', so forth.