New v Used

[Guest Charles]

Further to our previous postings about buying our first 'van (thanks again for all your replies), I would be most interested to hear peoples views / experiences about whether used 'vans represent good value. When you have been used to buying good quality used cars at prices much less than new, it comes as a bit of a shock when you see the prices asked for used 'vans. I realise many have covered a relatively low mileage, but at first sight the prices are hard to understand. When I see, say, 10 year old 'vans (at which age even prestige cars are worth very little) advertised for many thousands of pounds, I often wonder what the maintenance costs would be and how much useful life they have left. And what happens when you come to sell - are they still worth a lot, or does that only apply when you are buying them!! Thanks in anticipation of your replies. Charles & Julie

[Guest Ruth]

Hi yes it must seem surprising, a few points spring to mind: 1. You will of course save quite a bit if buying nearly new over new: VAT, OTR charges, 1st year depreciation etc plus all the extras a new purchaser may add such as alarm, awning, and multiple bits and pieces will come included. 2. They depreciate far more slowly than cars, so you will have to pay more, but will get more back when you come to sell 3.Best value would be to buy and sell privately, say via MMM, but you don't get the back-up so you need to be confident. 4. They last well as they are based on tough base vehicles but generally do lower annual mileage than cars. With vans older than 10 years or (even newer in some cases) you need to know what to look for though in terms of the dreaded water ingress and other potential problems. 5. A good suggestion would be to narrow down what you'd like to buy new then shop around for a used model to weigh it up. AIf first time buyers remember that very few people get it right first time, there are so many personal preferences and aspects to consider and it's hard to know until you've lived in one what those are for you.So: 6. One idea would be to consider a nearly new (2-3 years old) popular british van, something well known and sought after that will be easy to sell on. Autosleepers, Autotrail or Swift would be good bets I'd say, choosing a best selling layout, nothing obscure. HTH Regards, Ruth

[Guest Dave B]

As previously posted, values of motorcaravans from reputable converters do not lose so much money as say a car, because of their extended life. It is also I am afraid a fact that usually, but not always, the used van can have all of the problems that one gets when buying new sorted by the last owner. Dealers are not to be relied on to do this before sale, they should but they dont. Choose a reliable chassis, reputable converter, avoid home build conversions, and check well before parting with money. You could save lots of cash, try getting help from someone with experience to come with you.

[Guest David Powell]

Old cars are "second hand" Old motorcaravans are "PRELOVED"

[Guest pete walker]

hi, wether or not you are buying new or secondhand go to one of the out door shows and when you have an idea of what you would like, take a walk around the rally fields and find someone with the same model and ask them what they think and if there is a downside to there van,most will tell you honestly what they think, this at least may help with the decision making. pete

[Guest Brian Ramsden]

One caveat on low mileage 'vans - most of the problems people get with their 'vans are due to them standing around for weeks without moving, so a very low mileage is not really a selling point.

[Guest Charles]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I have had a look at the MMM classified adverts, and certainly some of those prices seem more realistic than others I have seen elsewhere. On our camping trips this year we hope to be able to meet motorhomers (hopefully MMM forum contributors!) to get feedback on their 'vans and experiences. On balance, our feeling at the moment is that it would probably be better for us to go for a new 'van. This is because: The depreciation on used models is relatively low, so new models appear attractive; We plan to keep it for a long time, and a new model will have a longer life (we hope!); Maintenance costs should be lower (my DIY skills are not very advanced!). However, this will restrict us to "budget" models, so we will certainly keep an open mind about the opportunities presented by good preloved (thanks David) models, particularly those 2 - 3 years old (thanks Ruth). Regards Charles & Julie

[Guest Pete]

Charles, Don't be too misled by the depreciation factor. If you do your homework well, you will see that 1 year old 'vans suffer about as bad as any new vehicle. However as they age, they seem to almost retain the value of the conversion for life. We have just learnt a very painful lesson. Our first 'van was a used T4 conversion (Auto-Sleepers), and we lost almost nothing after a year. However, we now want to change our one year old 4 berth Auto-Sleepers 'van for a bigger 6 berth, and I am shocked to say that it has lost nearly 30% on what it cost us new. I, like you was duped into thinking that they do not lose much value, but only now that the lesson is learned, can I see clearly in the MMM classifieds that 1 year olds do indeed suffer! I will never buy brand new again. Pete

[Guest Charles]

Pete, Thanks for this - sorry to hear about your problems. We have had another look at the MMM classifieds, and certainly some of the private ads offering late model 'vans appear to represent good value, particularly the high end models. However, as you say, the older ones seem to retain a high proportion of the value of the conversion, and therefore we find these less attractive (although more afordable!). Previously we had looked mainly at dealer prices and this is why we thought the depreciation was so low. We also subscribe to Which Motorcaravan and their monthly article "Secondhand Selection" often features late model 'vans at close to new prices, especially "budget" models. In fact in the April edition there is a 2003 Auto-Trail Tracker featured in the "Secondhand Selection" at an asking price of £30,995, which apparently cost £28,858 when new! Thanks again for the advice - hope you manage to change your 'van without too much pain. Regards Charles & Julie