Motorhome Dealer Delivery Times

[izwozral]

Hi Izwozral,

We are looking at a motorhome. Under 3500 kg and under 6 metres long. Rear fixed bed would be preferrable. Only needs to seat 2.

Do you have something to sell?

Cheers

Just asking. Definitely shop around and haggle.
Good luck.

 

[Boris7]

Hi Everyone,

We are currently doing our due diligence research prior to coming to the UK in March 2025 and buying a used motorhome to tour the UK and some of Europe for 6 months until September 2025.

I had a telephone conversation with a very helpful motorhome salesman at a larger dealership yesterday and he said a couple of things that I didn't know and one that surprised me a bit.

He said that even though they have used vehicles for sale and photographed for the online adverts etc. that the delivery time for any particular used vehicle that they have in stock would still be about 3 weeks. They have stock available, but don't do the MOT, habitation checks, damp checks, interior detailing etc. until you decide to purchase it.

Obviously for a regular UK resident who is getting themselves ready for future travel, 3 weeks isn't that big a time frame for an organized person. While I hadn't expected to be able to walk into a dealership, hand over a briefcase full of pounds and drive away in a few hours, just transferring the dollars and converting them to pounds then paying into bank accounts will take a few days, I hadn't considered it might take as long as 3 weeks.

My question here is does this sound fairly normal from people's buying experiences?

Buying privately if the vehicle has a valid MOT is much faster I assume?

Another bit of news he had for me is that I am possibly going to be buying at the highest price time of the year and trying to resell at the lower price time. I guess we use caravans in Australia all year around and price seasonality is more likely just affected by school holidays/Christmas/Easter, central bank interest rate fluctuations or COVID 19 outbreaks.

Does the time of year make much difference? Do people often sell in Autumn after their summer holidays so they don't have to pay for storage over winter?

Interested to hear your thoughts and experiences.

Cheers

Personally I’d rock up in the UK having booked reasonably priced hotel and previously having looked at available vans online and take a punt.
If I were a cautious man I’d take a look at getting a useable UK address to help with the insurance process and after my travels I’d use that address to sell the van.
If I didn’t know someone in the UK I’d go about finding a friend of a friend and asking for a referral for help.
Worked for me in the US and I helped out a friend of a friend from New Zealand in a similar way, He actually bought the van and I collected it and put it on my drive, when he finished his 12 month tour he put it back on my drive and sold it, I dealt with the buyer and all was good.
My only proviso is the man (or woman) in the middle needs to be sure both parties will act honestly.

 

[Ausgold]

The bubble has started to burst, I know someone that gave £70 2 years ago and after unsuccessfully selling it privately
Have just today taken £40k from a dealer for a 2018 Autosleeper with only 9000 miles on the clock.
If I were you I would definitely look at buying privately, saving yourself around 10k on dealer prices,
Yes you might get warranty from a dealer, but as already mentioned it won’t be much use to you if you are many hundreds of miles away, the £10k saving could be used anywhere to get any breakdowns fixed.
Have you thought about exporting it back to Australia when you have finished with it, asi believe they fetch more money over there than they do here.

Hi RichardHelen262,

Thanks for your comments.

I have been reading a lot about how the UK market still has/had high pandemic shortage pricing built into used sales pricing. We had the same pandemic boom in caravanning in Australia, people couldn't leave the country so opted to by a big 4WD and caravan and circumnavigate our large island. Orders for new vans rose to record levels and delivery delays extended out to more than 12 months. Used vans surged in price for use in holiday travel and also as temporary housing due to a sudden increase in our population and less sudden new home building (Australians returning home from overseas jobs and extended travels and foreign students staying here not returning to their home country).

That bubble has been deflating in Australia all year now during 2024. The caravan market is very sluggish at the moment. I even saw a new caravan dealer advertising a "SALE" last week of "Dealership Cost Price Plus $1" that shows a level of desperation to clear existing stock that we haven't seen in a long time.

Meanwhile I've been reading of used motorhomes still selling this year in the UK for more than their new price 3 or 4 years ago.

Your story, while not great for your acquaintance, is encouraging to us. If the UK is returning to a more "Normal" situation where used vehicles depreciate 10 to 15% in the first year and then steadily decline after that we might have timed our visit appropriately.

I have fleetingly considered exporting back to Australia. Being RHD like UK this requires no great modifications to use over here. Our MH market isn't to the same in extent as yours. Most people here opt for car and caravan for many reasons, including far greater distances and less quality roads, lack of public transport outside of very large cities which necessitates use of a car when you get to your holiday destination, varied outdoor activities at the destinations such as fishing, 4 wheel adventure driving, bush walking etc. which are hard or near impossible to do with a MH. I have seen a Melbourne couple tear the back end out of their Winnebago Motorhome trying to just enter a State Forest area from the bitumen main road. The drop-off from the hard shoulder onto the gravel verge was just too steep. This is very common.

So at the moment we are leaning towards a private purchase after we arrive. That will probably take more time to find a good vehicle and a good deal, but hopefully will be a quicker actual transaction.

Cheers

 

[Ausgold]

If it were me I might be tempted to buy private. Sounds like you are looking for a smallish motorhome under 6m and 3500kg. If I am reading the market right its going down on its post pandemic surge and you may get lucky and find a private bargain as people decide its not for them. However be careful as some are totally over valuing what they still think their motorhome is worth but there will be bargains to be had. Lots of Motorhome groups on UK Facebook and they are up for sale every day. I would also not go too expensive. Maybe £20-£25k. That way you cant possibly lose that much when you sell it six months later especially if you get a good private deal. From a dealer you can expect to lose £5k as soon as you drive it away I would think.

Getting one with a dealer warranty is all well and good but its not going to help you or your trip much if you are a thousand miles away from said dealer if you have a problem and then you will have the issue of potentially waiting weeks for them to sort it.

Hi Barry,
Thanks for your comments. I have been hoping that the UK used MH market would start to cool down. Sounds like it has started to, maybe 6 to 9 months later than ours has. Every thing you have said makes sense to me and I agree that we stand to lose less on a lower initial price if we buy carefully in the beginning. I'm not afraid of spanners and screwdrivers, my back just doesn't like crawling around under engines anymore, but I can do it many mechanical things when necessary.

Cheers

 

[molly 2]

Uk dealers are over stocked , with 2025 models coming to showroom and unsold 24 models still unsold it is an unstable market , dealers still asking very high prices , good luck with your search,

 

[liz]

Hi Everyone,

We are currently doing our due diligence research prior to coming to the UK in March 2025 and buying a used motorhome to tour the UK and some of Europe for 6 months until September 2025.

I had a telephone conversation with a very helpful motorhome salesman at a larger dealership yesterday and he said a couple of things that I didn't know and one that surprised me a bit.

He said that even though they have used vehicles for sale and photographed for the online adverts etc. that the delivery time for any particular used vehicle that they have in stock would still be about 3 weeks. They have stock available, but don't do the MOT, habitation checks, damp checks, interior detailing etc. until you decide to purchase it.

Obviously for a regular UK resident who is getting themselves ready for future travel, 3 weeks isn't that big a time frame for an organized person. While I hadn't expected to be able to walk into a dealership, hand over a briefcase full of pounds and drive away in a few hours, just transferring the dollars and converting them to pounds then paying into bank accounts will take a few days, I hadn't considered it might take as long as 3 weeks.

My question here is does this sound fairly normal from people's buying experiences?

Buying privately if the vehicle has a valid MOT is much faster I assume?

Another bit of news he had for me is that I am possibly going to be buying at the highest price time of the year and trying to resell at the lower price time. I guess we use caravans in Australia all year around and price seasonality is more likely just affected by school holidays/Christmas/Easter, central bank interest rate fluctuations or COVID 19 outbreaks.

Does the time of year make much difference? Do people often sell in Autumn after their summer holidays so they don't have to pay for storage over winter?

Interested to hear your thoughts and experiences.

Cheers

Would it be possible to hire one instead of buying , Good Luck

 

[GMJ]

If you are buying privately you may wish to consider engaging the services of an inspection company who can inspect and produce a report for you prior to buying. This may speed up the process as you could organise it before you get to the UK if you see a MH that you like the look of. It may also help you too depending on your experience/knowledge of MH's, as they can check loads of stuff you may not know about.

 

[barryd]

If you are buying privately you may wish to consider engaging the services of an inspection company who can inspect and produce a report for you prior to buying. This may speed up the process as you could organise it before you get to the UK if you see a MH that you like the look of. It may also help you too depending on your experience/knowledge of MH's, as they can check loads of stuff you may not know about.

Thats a good idea Graham. I current habitation report goes without saying I think as well. Two things that are very important I would say is a good service history mechanically and a hab report showing the van is damp free. Damp is the big killer here for motorhomes. I would post any possible candidates on this thread. You never know you might be lucky and someone local could go and have a look for you or at least the members can offer their opinions.

 

[witzend]

Hope it all goes well don't think I can add anything but since ****** we are only allowed 90 day are you limited to you stay in Europe

 

[Robmac]

Hope it all goes well don't think I can add anything but since ****** we are only allowed 90 day are you limited to you stay in Europe

I worked with a lot of Australians and Kiwis and when their family visited they were allowed to stay for up to 6 months without a Visa. That was a few years ago though so it might have changed?

 

[Ausgold]

I worked with a lot of Australians and Kiwis and when their family visited they were allowed to stay for up to 6 months without a Visa. That was a few years ago though so it might have changed?

Yes Witzend is correct. As Aussies we can stay only 90 days out of a rolling 180 day period in the Schengen Area of Europe without individual country visas.

In the UK there is a new system beginning on January 8th 2025 which allows us to stay in the UK countries for a maximum period of 6 months per visit. We have applied and already received an ETA (Electronic Travel Authorization) which last 18 months and allows us as many visits as we want in that time, each of up to 6 months. That makes coming and going to Europe while over there very simple.

 

[Ausgold]

Thats a good idea Graham. I current habitation report goes without saying I think as well. Two things that are very important I would say is a good service history mechanically and a hab report showing the van is damp free. Damp is the big killer here for motorhomes. I would post any possible candidates on this thread. You never know you might be lucky and someone local could go and have a look for you or at least the members can offer their opinions.

Hi Barry,
That idea could certainly be a nice time saver for us when we arrive to at least know if it's worth the trip to look at something. Let's see if any members are feeling that sort of generosity in March. I bought our last car here that way, but that was a nephew who lived about 600 kilometres away who went and looked for me. Blood being thick and all!

 

[Drover]

I worked with a lot of Australians and Kiwis and when their family visited they were allowed to stay for up to 6 months without a Visa. That was a few years ago though so it might have changed?

I also found this out when looking at a 180 day french visa for ourselves.
A non uk resident can also get 180 days insurance from a uk insurer. They just go outside the shengen zone for a length of time that I can't remember then renew the 180 day uk insurance and spend another 180 in the eu and uk.
If they want to ship one back to Australia....sea-bridge.de are about the best to use. They also have a office in the uk .
The build quality of motorhomes got a lot better after 2012.. not many manufacturers get serious damp problems from. 2012...though there are exceptions. Most with window or door installations.

 

[Ausgold]

I also found this out when looking at a 180 day french visa for ourselves.
A non uk resident can also get 180 days insurance from a uk insurer. They just go outside the shengen zone for a length of time that I can't remember then renew the 180 day uk insurance and spend another 180 in the eu and uk.
If they want to ship one back to Australia....sea-bridge.de are about the best to use. They also have a office in the uk .
The build quality of motorhomes got a lot better after 2012.. not many manufacturers get serious damp problems from. 2012...though there are exceptions. Most with window or door installations.

Thanks Drover,
This sort of info is golden to us.

 

[Drover]

Thanks Drover,
This sort of info is golden to us.

The insurance company is
Keith Michael's Insurance.
I have not used them so no idea on prices.

 

[barryd]

Hi Barry,
That idea could certainly be a nice time saver for us when we arrive to at least know if it's worth the trip to look at something. Let's see if any members are feeling that sort of generosity in March. I bought our last car here that way, but that was a nephew who lived about 600 kilometres away who went and looked for me. Blood being thick and all!

Yeah this lot have nothing better to do so I am sure they will help find you a van! There will certainly be lots of advice and opinions if you start posting up likely candidates. Good network across the country here as well and lots of knowledge on vehicles.

 

[izwozral]

Just musing on this Ausgold:

We are in NZ for 3 months as from February and may consider renting our 2005 Adria Coral 680SL for 6 months. Ours is 6.9m, two singles or can be left as a double. 39k on clock, 2.8 diesel manual.

It is going in for a new clutch and brake pipes in the new year. Timing and pump was done 18 months ago, as was the hab check and it has been damp meter checked by moi twice since then.

If you are interested we would vastly undercut the 24k dealer rental.

Obviously there would be discussions to be had, I just thought I would put it out there.

 

[witzend]

Yes Witzend is correct. As Aussies we can stay only 90 days out of a rolling 180 day period in the Schengen Area of Europe without individual country visas.

In the UK there is a new system beginning on January 8th 2025 which allows us to stay in the UK countries for a maximum period of 6 months per visit. We have applied and already received an ETA (Electronic Travel Authorization) which last 18 months and allows us as many visits as we want in that time, each of up to 6 months. That makes coming and going to Europe while over there very simple.

I was in a que to fly home and the man booking us in said to the one in front of me you only just made it. He was a Aussie an explained to me he was limited to so many days in europe but had more in uk but this was several years ago

 

[marchie]

I was in a que to fly home and the man booking us in said to the one in front of me you only just made it. He was a Aussie an explained to me he was limited to so many days in europe but had more in uk but this was several years ago

EU offered UK Government the 180 days limit, assuming that UK would want the same package as EU citizens were given by UK Government; alas, UK Government was in 'we're committed to removing Freedom of Movement, and don't want to weakeen the stance on immigration' mode, so chose the 90 days in 180 option, to the bafflement of M. Barnier and his negotiating team

Steve

 

[Ausgold]

Just musing on this Ausgold:

We are in NZ for 3 months as from February and may consider renting our 2005 Adria Coral 680SL for 6 months. Ours is 6.9m, two singles or can be left as a double. 39k on clock, 2.8 diesel manual.

It is going in for a new clutch and brake pipes in the new year. Timing and pump was done 18 months ago, as was the hab check and it has been damp meter checked by moi twice since then.

If you are interested we would vastly undercut the 24k dealer rental.

Obviously there would be discussions to be had, I just thought I would put it out there.

Hi izwozral,

Thank you for even considering such an offer. I think we will decline it though. A short term private rental such as you suggest would probably be ideal, but for long term like we are considering I think there would be too many issues that could possibly crop up from both the owner's and renter's points of view. Have a great time in New Zealand. It will still be nice weather when you arrive there and most of the tourists will have gone back to Australia after school holidays have ended.
Cheers