Why Do People Sell So Soon After Buying (1 Viewer)

[Fergus]

Just looking at adverts for motor homes and I am struck by how quickly people sell their motor home and what few miles they do. Made me think, what are the reasons people sell after 12-18 months. Why do some MHs have 3 previous owners when they are only 2-3 years old.
Do people just go off the idea. Once they have done some of UK and a bit of Europe do people lose the urge, can be bothered, done that looking for something new?
What do people here think?

 

[mjltigger]

Our first van was a coach built 4 berth with the over cab bed for us and a sitting area. It was nice to have the sitting area but the over cab was horrible and driving it was a pain.. parking especially but motorways as well.. slow and noisy.

Our second van was a lwb transit pvc which was ace , got used far more than the coach built and much easier to drive and park but what a pain if the bed was up you couldn't move.

New one is a Renault master pvc with a transverse rear bed meaning that we can leave the bed up and move around, use the loo, make drinks, even have brekky.

 

[golly]

Got our first van in 2009, now on our third one and I'm still looking for that perfect van for us, though this one comes the closest.

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[32143]

We part exchanged our first van last month after one year, we though from the start we wanted a rear higher fixed bed, but not many around in PVC, viewed a company that could do bespoke could do exactly what we wanted but would have to wait months for it. Looked at a demonstrator they had available there and then, front bench bed, because we wanted it right then bought that one. Now it was a really good conversion in all respects other than the bed was it the wrong place, in that first year we changed the layout twice, which you can't really do if off the shelfs. But still hankered after a rear fixed high bed, so in end we part exchanged for an Autotrail v-line, which in a bit shorter too, could have saved a fortune if we had more patience last year love our new van, but its off the shelf with very little room to change anything, would have preferred to have used same company we bought from last year. and designed from scratch, but they are unable to do part ex.

If you can't find the perfect one look at getting something designed to your specification, but you have to be patient, unlike us, good luck

 

[Wicketter]

We worked up from a VW Camper to a Bailey with a fixed rear bed, over 30 years. As circumstances changed, we changed. We enjoyed all our vans for different reasons and because we used them in different ways. On average we kept each van for around 9 years until we bought the Bailey which we used with a Smart car on tow. Lovely van, but we found we were using it like a caravan and quite frankly the extra width meant we could not take it everywhere and had to think about where we were going and which roads to use. There are only two of use we do not take our grandchildren away with us ( much as we love them!) so a panel van is perfect. We love the freedom of not having to worry about which road to take. Also we go to France quite a lot and I did used to worry about a biggish van, trailer and car, 10 wheels in all, two sets of documents, breakdowns etc. I think you need to have a good look around and personally get as small as you can reasonably live in until you are sure, you can always trade up! Also think about your licence entitlement, how confident you are to drive a big van ( we were a bit wimpish!) and finally how much stuff do you want to carry with you.

Good luck.

 

[Terry]

Started with a 2 berth went to 4 then 6 then 2 -settled on a front lounge 2 for 8 1/2 yrs now doing a rear lounge single bed that can slide across to make a double -not sure I like it yet -only time will tell -I can get along and put up with it no problem but liking it ? A few mths down the line then I will know. Van wise I like layout ?????
edit BTW made money on them all, but broke even on the 8 1/2 yr one
terry

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[tonka]

When we started, bought 3 vans in 18 months !!!
First one we knew nothing about vans, soon found out we wanted bigger.
Second was bigger but old and slow. Third was brand new but same layout as no 2..

Since then we have had 2 other vans with the same layout, just newer..
Over time we found what suited us and also little things that we wanted like a full oven, outside storage, good payload etc.

There are impulse buyers... We used to have a Brownhills dealer only a few hundred yards away and I knew the manager and sales team well. The told me stories of people calling in on a sunny day and buying a new van (toy) then 9 months later they were selling them back at a great loss. Turns out they were hard at work earning the money to buy a van but then realised they did not have the time to use them !! Or the vision of sunny day camping was soon shot down when they had a few trips where it rained all the time..

 

[Fergus]

Thanks again to all of you. Really surprised at how many people took the trouble to reply and just how quickly. You are a friendly lot. Presume that also means a happy lot?

Some really useful stuff here. For what it is worth we favour a fixed bed, do not want a high one (transverse). We already rented on like that and it was amazingly comfortable, but one of us needs to scrabble over the other to go to loo or just get up early (someone needs to make brekky) and I got crap in middle of night and needed to stand on my tippy toes (my remedy) and found it difficult to climb down steps with one leg set rigid by cramp. So looking at island or french bed at rear.
Fixed table or removable - hmm, not sure. Liked being able to dump stuff on fixed table but can see a foldaway would be quite practical and leave walk way free and create feeling of more space.
But there again, isn't it a fah getting it out and putting it away. Doesn't it rattle? I hate rattles!

 

[The Dudess]

Thanks again to all of you. Really surprised at how many people took the trouble to reply and just how quickly. You are a friendly lot. Presume that also means a happy lot?

Some really useful stuff here. For what it is worth we favour a fixed bed, do not want a high one (transverse). We already rented on like that and it was amazingly comfortable, but one of us needs to scrabble over the other to go to loo or just get up early (someone needs to make brekky) and I got crap in middle of night and needed to stand on my tippy toes (my remedy) and found it difficult to climb down steps with one leg set rigid by cramp. So looking at island or french bed at rear.
Fixed table or removable - hmm, not sure. Liked being able to dump stuff on fixed table but can see a foldaway would be quite practical and leave walk way free and create feeling of more space.
But there again, isn't it a fah getting it out and putting it away. Doesn't it rattle? I hate rattles!

Don't worry - it happens to us all.

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[Soozywoozy]

We will be changing inc our 18 month old van before 3 years is up for probably exactly the same model and layout but with even higher payload to accommodate a motorbike!

 

[Daveo2006]

We changed ours after 3 years because we wanted a bit more space and different layout. Nothing wrong with the old van and was as new. Don't tell Scotlandjim but it had no error codes and never went into limp mode

 

[MikeandCarolyn]

We've had our van 6yrs now and think we got it right first time. We do think about a bigger van sometimes and then,when we're negotiating a medieval village in France I wonder if we could do it in anything larger.(we're 6mtrs)
Of course there are compromises,but that's what life's about anyway.

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[Lenny HB]

To avoid being one of those who change a van after a few months and loose loads of dosh it's well worth hiring first.
We had been tugging caravans about for 20 years so had a fair idea of what we wanted, but we still hired twice, couldn't get the exact layout we wanted to try out but we found out what we couldn't live with.
First van we had for nearly 6 years, current one is a year old and suits our needs, but with the Euro at the moment it's temping to change as it wouldn't cost us anything.

 

[Chockswahay]

Had our first van for just over 2 years now......

30000 miles later and we still love it we got it right first time

For us: 6m, fixed bed, big garage, PVC, fuel efficient..........

 

[Larby]

Had 1st van for 3 years. Wife always moaned about making bed and longed for one with a fixed bed.
We bought a 3 yr old Autotrail Delaware and it was exactly what she wanted, did I mention that it was exactly what she wanted? She has now compared it to the previous one (2 berth but big Kontiki).
She wants all the best bits of the previous one in the new one. Me? I love it, after all, it's exactly what the wife wanted isn't it!
She threatened that I would be going to France on my own, she should know better than to call my bluff. If only the dog could cook.................
What do I do? I am not going to swap the MH, after all, it's exactly what she wanted. Bought at the Peterborough show after drooling over owning it for the whole week-end.
We even stayed until the Monday and had it brought out from the sheds so we could have a proper look.
Anyway, on the 31st July the MH, the dog and me are off to France for 2 months, I feel we may not be alone. There is an option, but after 43 years I doubt I could swap her.

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[irnbru]

We bought our first MH exactly 2 yrs ago and are now on MH number 3.
First one was a test the water 18ft for mum to get used to driving it. Kept it 6 months til mum decided end kitchen had no workspace and changed it for a 22ft twin bed. One year on and we went for a U shaped lounge.
Sacrifices to be made everytime but we are sure Vanessa is a keeper for us now.

 

[LCScotland]

Don't know why some people sell so soon after buying - but I'm glad that they do. After about 3 years of growing interest, debate, fascination, searching, comparing, pondering, whittling down and deciding - much of which is sorting out the romance from the reality... Finally bought the current (and only) motorhome 3 months ago. Rear lounge, over cab, a real sense of space. It's a place to escape to and then, putting it to best use, you can continue that escape to wherever your heart wants to go.... So far: the Malvern Hills, the Lake District, Aviemore and the Cairngorms, Dumfries and Galloway, the Trossachs - several times and Ullswater in the Lakes this weekend. Planning the west coast of Scotland and then SW France. It has to fit your budget, your needs and the lifestyle you'd like to have. If it does, then great. If not....well, that'll be why folk sell them I suppose.

 

[Norm]

We were pursuaded to get a Motorhome by friends who were enjoying retirement touring Europe. We decided on layout - fixed single beds and bought a new Autotrail in March last year. Toured France, Spain & Portugal but decided we would prefer more quality and a fixed island bed and put it in part exchange for our A class Burstner in March this year. Previous motorhome was 12 months old with 5300 miles on clock. We clearly lost money on the deal but new owners will have a bargain as it was kitted out with lots of goodies!

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[bigfoot]

We bought a new van in 2008 but it was nothing but trouble,everytime we took it out something went wrong with it. The clutch went after 200 miles,new starter battery replaced after 12 months the best was the dash lit up like a Christmas tree whilst doing 70 in lane 2 on the M6,plus many other faults. It was on a 3litre X 250 Fiat Multi jet-need I say any more? P/X for a new Hymer 18 months later,it was th biggest pile of junk anyone dared to call a vehicle, FIAT were crap and their UK rep did his best to cover things up even to the point of refusing me access to the road test and the resulting report ON MY OWN VEHICLE.
That is why I sold it after such a short time.
My previous vehicle,before, was 18 years old when I sold it!

 

[Cyclewalkbob]

We were nearing retirement so bought a 2 berth caravan.

I hated making up the beds every night Y hated me trying to get the thing perfectly level then putting up an awning, meaning over an hour and 1/2 to set up! We compromised by me making up the beds and putting up a sunshade on the caravan.

After 6 weeks around France , 12 set ups and take downs with a broken motormover and having seen Motorhomes taking 15 mins to set up we thought we would try a motorhome!

We have had this one for 3 years and love it.

What would I get next? Perhaps something slightly smaller, an A class so we have two beds, one for us and one for the grandchildren and a garage for the bikes.
Or even a van conversion so we can get to places you cannot with ours.

Everything is a compromise we like this van, do not want to invest more money in a new/newer one so we shall continue as normal enjoying every minute!

 

[Spidey]

Been thinking about this since my last reply and I think I would change if i could afford a Hymer 544. Only because in the morning it would be really nice if i could get up and sit somewhere with a coffee while hubby takes his time getting up. At the moment we both go to bed the same time and have to get up the same time. So when we take early retirement in 4 years we will probably change it then. Also would like a bigger garage to put the nice loungers in. We were told at the time to go bigger but we were too scared. We love this motorhome and will be very happy with it until retirement. We will lose far to much money changing now so have to get our moneys worth for a few years.

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[Sphgmo]

She didn't like it ! (Courtesy of my better half)

 

[Aminthule]

I'm about to take delivery of my a new motorhome after deliberating over what to buy for about 18 months. I have made a couple of observations along the way, which are of course just my opinion, I think that.....

Many motorhome are bought by people upon retirement when they have a lump of cash available, and don't be necessarily take the time to think about how they are going to use their first MH and what they are going to use it for.

People new to buying MHs are not necessarily experienced "outdoors" enthusiasts (campers, caravanners etc.) and soon realise they'd rather be in an hotel, B&B etc.

A lot of people still seem to have the disposable income available to upgrade regularly. The dealer I am using took delivery of 16 new vans last week!

Like all consumer goods, people are persuaded to upgrade/replace what they have for no reason other than sales blurb/sales people/media that tells them it's better than what they have.

I'm sure there are things about mine that I won't have got right, but I hope that we've spent enough time (myself and with my partner ) thinking about what we want my MH to do for us that we'll have got it largely right, as I may not have the option to upgrade in the future.

 

[Jack Russel]

We built our own van after researching for a year. We would still do another one differently. Everything is a compromise. Perhaps hire one first. It is an expense but could be a saving in the long run.
Our bed is quick to make up but a fixed bed is top of our list next time.
Somewhere to park it is a consideration with the average drive. More space would be good but convenience with a van out weighs that for us.

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[LostOZ1]

We are changing for same make Rimor, similar features, big garage, belts for five, sleeps 6. The main change was single beds over the garage, opposed to a side on double, and then we saw the spec of the interior we had to change, but if we had not seen it then we would have not changed. Love Motorhomes shows for the company and the entertainment but the down side is you look at the vans and get Motorhomes envy

 

[cruiser]

good salesman. and silly buyers.

 

[Delboyarapaho]

I guess the answer to your first question is a combination of factors (I admit to asking myself exactly the same question 2 years ago when we were looking for our first vehicle). 2 years on I feel that; some people realise it is not for them; some feel they just don't get enough use out of their vehicle to justify the investment; some as has already been said just keep changing their mind about what they want (or feel is important to them). With hindsight we bought an Autotrail Arapaho, just under 2 years old with 8700 miles on the clock. Now 2 years on our vehicle will be nearly 4 years old and will have about 13500 miles at the end of the season. Its still brand new. why? well we still work (as do many who buy) and there is a limit to how many miles someone in our position can put on a vehicle per year. The season for most of us, remember, is a little over 6 months long after which the vehicle will mostly sit in storage. So I suspect our explanation for why if we sold our vehicle now someone might say two owners and only 13,500 miles? is typical of many.

As for the ideal layout, as many have said that's down to you. Our purchase was our first and we feel we got it dead right (for us). Our priorities at the time were; large sleeping area, rear lounge, overcab (for storage), large fridge, large bathroom, good size boot/garage and plenty of worktop and storage. Ok and of course a full cooker. Of those I guess the only things I would say we mis-judged was our need for the large bathroom. Our camping is typically on sites so the truth is we have never used our shower! We would definitely not have a wet room though as you cant leave anything out if you were to use the shower and that would become a pain. The rear lounge/bedroom is a god send. It makes up into a 7 foot 6inch wide bed, with a topper over the cushions it is extremely comfortable and compared to all the fixed beds we looked at so much space. Neither of us have to clime over the other in the night for a pee and in the hot steamy nights of summer we can get out own space, which I wonder how those with fixed beds manage as the widest we saw was 4 foot 6 inches. Some with the corner lopped off and some where one has to climb over the other. We do leave the lounge made up as a bed for much of the time we are away which I admit is a pity as the lounge is very comfortable but I couldn't bring myself to convert too often.
Our large fridge is always full as is our generous separate freezer.
Our overcab contains 2 sun loungers the topper and the duvet. I really couldn't imagine what we would do with the stuff without it and neither could I imagine climbing up that rickety ladder to sleep up there!
Plenty of kitchen storage, clothes storage a good wardrobe and most importantly a three drawer chest. Why important? because that is where the fan stands to blow over the bed all night long when it is too hot.
Thw down side is the vehicle is 8.5M long but this hasn't turned out to be the drama I feared it might be. They are really easy to drive and manoeuvre but you do have to watch out where you turn into as you may have to turn around. we always study the fuel station entrance and exit before pulling in and we restrict ourselves to the outside row of pumps for easy exit. Some of them make it a challenge for anything bigger than a smart car. Speaking of which, we do intend to have the rig set up to tow a small car but only after retirement so I can justify the investment through usage.

Hope this helps. This was and still is our thinking. We are now on our second long haul , this time through Brittany and we have spent the last two seasons confirming this is the sort of thing we want to do regularly in this vehicle when we retire late next year. AND IT IS.

Good luck with your compromises. As many have already said you cant have everything but think carefully about you choices and you can get most of it

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[tonyidle]

If I was to offer any advice, born of my own experience, it would be to avoid buying a new van as your first. Whatever you buy it will not be the one you want and to a large extent what exactly you buy as your first van doesn't matter too much. Use it as a means to firm up (or change) what you really want from a van then sell it and buy something that really suits your needs.We came from years of caravanning and thought we knew what we needed. We didn't but the next van came close and the one we have now is as close to our ideal as we're likely to get.

For us buying new anyway is a non-starter. Depreciation is eye-watering in the first few years and mitigates against changing.

 

[rangi]

All the above, and!, sometimes circumstances change, people divorce, one partner doesn't like "camping"
Partner loses job, so have to sell as the HP Payments can't be met,
Lots of reasons really why people sell.

 

[ianandkath]

we had caravans to start with,lots of bedmaking and not a lot of room with 3 kids.
now the kids are grown up and its just the 2 of us,
we bought a mh,ok, an american mh,just love the space we have.
bad news is the lengh means lots of planning for camp sites.
so really , its what do you want, others can only try to help you choose,
but whatever you choose,, the main thing is to have fun

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[JoJo Grayson]

Really enjoyed reading the comments and as a newbie (not yet bought) we fall into the traps that has been mentioned above. (we are looking at buying big, probably not what we need) and also worried Its the wrong wrong when we buy. So I think its best we buy cheaper than envisaged on spending then move up slowly but surely to newer MH's..just got to convince Geoff..lol..Thanks peeps.