Renting - try before you buy.

[Taran_Las]

A friend has asked me for advice regarding renting a motorhome prior to buying. As I have never rented a van I can't really offer him any relevant information. I'd be grateful for anyone who has rented if they would offer their experiences along the lines of which company they used (and those they wouldn't), experiences during their rental and any pitfalls they encountered. He and his wife are located in North Wales though I should imagine where the rental company is based is less of an issue than using one with a bad reputation.

Thanks for any advice/help you can offer.

Phil.

 

[Lenny HB]

We rented a couple of times before buying. We rented from Hymer dealers as we wanted to rent the vans we were thinking of buying not the cheapest option but we found out if you rented in Germany it was half the price of the UK (exchange rates were favorable at the time). If renting in the UK some companies charge very high additional premiums if you want to take the van abroad.
One pitfall we found with Hymer rental is you get a van and that's it, luckily there was an Ikea next door to the dealer to get some cheap crockery, frying pan etc.

 

[Mikey RV]

I think it’s a great idea if your unsure. To buy one outright is a lot of money so to spend out on hiring one for a weekend or a week is giving you a good idea if you are going to like it or not. And also the layout, what works for you and what doesn’t. That way if you decide to go ahead and buy one you have an idea of what you want, not what the salesman thinks you want.

 

[scotzsue]

We hired twice but fairly local to us in Hull. So can't help on the hire firm.
First was a coachbuilt, the van we had booked had missed a ferry and wasn't available so we were given a larger van. Next we tried a PVC went out o order a pvc came back having bought a new coachbuilt, same layout as the one we had hired but a different manufacturer, changed 4 and a bit years later to get one with a garage.

 

[Ernesto]

We rented through Bunk Campers - they have depots in London, Leeds and Birmingham and a reasonably large fleet to choose. As a company, not bad.
Negatives - the gas regulator gummed up on our first night and then every other night as well probably due to the very cold overnight temperatures (although it was April, it was getting down to 0 deg overnight in the New Forest). On reporting it when we got back, seems they dont maintain them, just wait for them to get bunged up, throw them away and replace with a new one. We got £10 a night compensation - but had to cook breakfast on the BBQ each morning (not a disaster) - but we did have EHU for heating otherwise would have been completely stuffed
Bathroom door handle fell off first night, but again not a disaster and they weren't overly picky on the checks when we got back - they seem to acknowledge these vans get a hard life from novice campers
Positives - Staff at the Heathrow depot were very friendly and helpful.

Overall I'd recommend them. And the few days we spent in the hire van were invaluable in making the final decision

PS Another positive - we were able to leave our car at Heathrow depot whilst away - no charge.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[The Wino]

If I were trying before buying I would try to think of the most likely layout and rent as close to that as possible in fact if possible the same make too.

 

[nicholsong]

Well it sounds as though Taran Las friend has already decided to rent, but I chose to put my time and money before buying into research and viewing MHs and it has paid off, as I bought my first (secondhand) MH 11 years ago and I am still well pleased with it.

Geoff

 

[paddymcc]

We rented a Hymer from Hire a Hymer near Silverstone. Definitely helped us decide on the layout that would suit us (no to French bed yes to garage). Also helped us decide that an A class was fine to drive. They were a reasonable price but only do older Hymer s I think. Had no problems with the van but they weren't picky as far as we could tell regarding checking it over -ie diesel level etc.

 

[glenn2926]

We rented a Hymer from Hire a Hymer near Silverstone. Definitely helped us decide on the layout that would suit us (no to French bed yes to garage). Also helped us decide that an A class was fine to drive. They were a reasonable price but only do older Hymer s I think. Had no problems with the van but they weren't picky as far as we could tell regarding checking it over -ie diesel level etc.

We rented also it made us realise no to garage yes to island bed. It just shows we all want different things in our motorhome.

 

[Lenny HB]

Had no problems with the van but they weren't picky as far as we could tell regarding checking it over -ie diesel level etc.

You want picky, the 2nd van we hired in Germany the guy tried to keep our €1000 deposit because the van was dirty - 3 blades of grass in the garage.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Coolcats]

A friend has asked me for advice regarding renting a motorhome prior to buying. As I have never rented a van I can't really offer him any relevant information. I'd be grateful for anyone who has rented if they would offer their experiences along the lines of which company they used (and those they wouldn't), experiences during their rental and any pitfalls they encountered. He and his wife are located in North Wales though I should imagine where the rental company is based is less of an issue than using one with a bad reputation.

Thanks for any advice/help you can offer.

Phil.

Before buying a T5 a few years back we tried one and then brought one, living longish term we found its foibles. We rented a Hymer in Iceland and that spoilt us, we now have a HymerCar as it fits between a Transporter and Larger MoHo its 5.4 Meter long and good enough for multiple weeks away. If we were going away for months then a larger MoHo may be more beneficial but not essential

Haven't used these guys but looks interesting https://www.rent-easy.co.uk

This Finish couple have a great Blog and give a realistic overview of what's available and why they chose a PVC to live in full time

 

[westhamman]

I purchased our van from a company called Justgo, they had a hundred+ Van's to rent of all shapes and sizes.They were a very professional setup, lots of rules with regards to condition van had to be in on return. Believe they have a couple of locations in the uk.

 

[TerryL]

Hired private (through an agency) locally to us to decide if we liked motorhoming, van was close to what we thought we wanted, but not quite. Next time with Abacus in the New Forest 'cos they had exact model we were eventually looking at and it turned out to be the right one.

No issues with either hire

 

[maison]

Don’t know if it still the case but many years ago West Country Motorhomes, I think, had such a scheme.

We bought several motorhomes from them and had superb service all around. Friendly, knowledgeable and helpful, including their workshops talking us through “hidden menus” on control panels to avoid the necessity to travel to them to fix a problem.

 

[Brains]

We hired before we bought.

Germany is the place to hire vans, a LOT cheaper than the UK and far better quality.
Having heard lots of stories about smaller companies, we deliberately picked the biggest one DRM they have bases all around the borders of Germany, the closest to Hook of Holland is Dusseldorf.

Having rented one it told us that French beds are not a good idea (for us)
And that the biggest garage possible is essential.
We also found out that over 7m means problems

Having worked out what we wanted/did not want, we pinned it down to one manufacturer and a couple of models, we then hired one from a major UK dealer, which they had added to their rental fleet as it was the ex-demo vehicle, we were the only hires, as it was the end of the season, we bought it from the company.

In short I'd very defiantly recommend hiring, even hiring a few times, to work out what you want.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Brains]

Read the small print before arriving to find out what the company supplies and does not supply as standard, and what they may supply at extra cost.

DRM in Germany, which is the country to hire motorhome from, can supply a TV, sat nav, crockery, cooking equipment, bedding, towels, toiletries and even stock the fridge, but it's all at a not inconsiderable extra cost.

We found it cheaper to fill the car up with the lot and drive to the rental base that was closest to where we wanted to go.

Note:
In Germany the vehicles are supplied empty of fuel, water etc. and you return them empty of fuel and water.
I wish we had taken a couple of meters of garden hose to siphon out half a tank of diesel into the car!
(No refunds given for most of a tank of fuel)

They also expect the vehicles to be returned squeaky clean on the inside, if they have to do more than just inspect the inside, then you pay for additional cleaning.
Therefore allow enough time to deliver back internally clean (and empty).

 

[Ernesto]

All good advice ....hiring costs are irrelevant when compared to the cost of getting it wrong with buying the wrong motorhome/campervan.

1st hire ....20 minutes into driving our first rental motorhome I knew I couldn't do a coachbuilt....jeez the noise, the vibration and the complete lack of any handling ...but no reviews talk about this, you have to experience it.

2nd hire...By the 3rd time I smashed my head on the bulkhead of the PVC cab, I knew I had to have something with more headroom ...or no bulkhead.... and so we have what (I think) suits us perfectly.

I read all the reviews but those two hire weeks were the best decision ever made

 

[Taran_Las]

Thanks for all the replies so far.

Any other opinions before I report back?​

 

[SpeedyDux]

If you hire from a dealer on a "try before you buy" deal, check that their terms of hire include deducting the hire cost from the MH price if you decide to buy it at the end of the hire period.

 

[Fraggle 22]

We hired before buying. Company i think called Motorhomehire. They did a special offer on Groupon. Seemed cheap but then it was plus,plus,plus on the price. Took us quite a time to get the £1000 deposit back. Saying that the van was fine though the layout not what we wanted at all. Worth doing.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[TheBig1]

Beware the damage claim scammers that want to keep your deposit for pre=existing damage. There are loads who have been caught by this. And one or two who had minor mishaps and not only did the hire company keep the £1000 deposit for damage that would cost £100 to fix, they demanded more as the van would be off hire, losing them money

The only place I can recommend is @johns_cross_motorhomes a long way from north wales but they are excellent and did knock the hire fee off the price if you then purchased from them

edit, is Peter no longer a member?

 

[cornish boy]

Know they are not in the right area but four years ago when we were thinking of selling the boat and buying a motorhome, we rented from Abacus Motorhome Hire in Andover. Can't recomend them enough, very easy to deal with, good selection of layouts, plenty of advice, shown around the vehicle, everything clearly explained and most importantly, the deposit was back in my account within 24 hours of returning the motorhome.

 

[dunnah01]

I purchased our van from a company called Justgo, they had a hundred+ Van's to rent of all shapes and sizes.They were a very professional setup, lots of rules with regards to condition van had to be in on return. Believe they have a couple of locations in the uk.

+1 for JustGo in Luton. We hired from them twice prior to first purchase. They were excellent all round except for quite a wait to check in for the vans, but it was a busy day each time. vans were virtually brand new and clean, everything behaved faultlessly and we had a full tour of how everything works. It gave us a really good idea of what we wanted and what we didn't want in our moho.
There's a really good deal with them where you effectively collect a brand new van from the Roller Team factory in Sienna around March time and drive it back to their Luton depot for the new summer hire - if days allow it's worth a look at.

 

[Brains]

We hired before buying. Company i think called Motorhomehire. They did a special offer on Groupon. Seemed cheap but then it was plus,plus,plus on the price. Took us quite a time to get the £1000 deposit back. Saying that the van was fine though the layout not what we wanted at all. Worth doing.

Be careful, very careful, which company you chose to hire with.
We very deliberately only went with large companies, with a track record, and we looked at reviews

Motorholme Hire for example, who operated under a number of different names have gone bust, 30+ motorhomes that belong to private investors and were leased to the company have 'gone missing'

 

[DerryW]

Having been told this by so many fellow tuggers "A MH is a completely different type of holiday compared to a caravan, and they're not cheap to buy, if you find you don't like it" . Based on that we decided to hire. We hired from Just Go near Luton, we had an almost brand new 1 month old Roller Team 740, we toured france and northern Spain for 3 weeks. Turned out to be the best £1k we've ever spent. within 2 months of returning home we had purchased our own MH and are loving every minute of it. So in summary I would always recommend hiring first.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Reallyretired]

Beware the damage claim scammers that want to keep your deposit for pre=existing damage. There are loads who have been caught by this. And one or two who had minor mishaps and not only did the hire company keep the £1000 deposit for damage that would cost £100 to fix, they demanded more as the van would be off hire, losing them money

The only place I can recommend is @johns_cross_motorhomes a long way from north wales but they are excellent and did knock the hire fee off the price if you then purchased from them

edit, is Peter no longer a member?

I had the problem of charging for a
trivial scuff with Marquis years ago.

 

[Decker]

We hired before we bought.

Germany is the place to hire vans, a LOT cheaper than the UK and far better quality.
Having heard lots of stories about smaller companies, we deliberately picked the biggest one DRM they have bases all around the borders of Germany, the closest to Hook of Holland is Dusseldorf.

Having rented one it told us that French beds are not a good idea (for us)
And that the biggest garage possible is essential.
We also found out that over 7m means problems

Having worked out what we wanted/did not want, we pinned it down to one manufacturer and a couple of models, we then hired one from a major UK dealer, which they had added to their rental fleet as it was the ex-demo vehicle, we were the only hires, as it was the end of the season, we bought it from the company.

In short I'd very defiantly recommend hiring, even hiring a few times, to work out what you want.

We also found out that over 7m means problems.

Why?

 

[Brains]

We also found out that over 7m means problems.

Why?

Under 7m you can squeeze into car parks, you also have a greater selection of pitches in the smaller camp sites.
We also found the eastern German sites in particular, often charge by the meter, or small/medium/large vans.
Under 7m was classed as medium.

Basically under 7m you are seen as a large van
whereas over 7m you are seen as a small lorry

 

[Decker]

Having been told this by so many fellow tuggers "A MH is a completely different type of holiday compared to a caravan, and they're not cheap to buy, if you find you don't like it" . Based on that we decided to hire. We hired from Just Go near Luton, we had an almost brand new 1 month old Roller Team 740, we toured france and northern Spain for 3 weeks. Turned out to be the best £1k we've ever spent. within 2 months of returning home we had purchased our own MH and are loving every minute of it. So in summary I would always recommend hiring first.

3 weeks hire for £1000.....what year was that?

 

[nicholsong]

It should be noted that while hiring gives one some idea about layouts and general living in a MH it does not teach much about essentials like construction, damp resistance and payload. I doubt whether many hire company employees can help much either. So one still has to do a lot of research to really sort out the quality MHs from the tatty ones.

Geoff

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}