Guest JudgeMental Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 like I said earlier just pick a respectable brand and model....say something like an Adria/Hymer. Looks at UK price and compare with German price by looking on www.mobile.de. Bearing in mind you can negotiate significant discounts from some, on top of advertised price. As for resale, seeing as the van costs significantly less then a RHD its all proportional. LHD a little less popular with some, but a good well spec'd van sells....., For many who holiday in Europe its an attraction not a negative. I'm not sure where you are looking, but like others have said, German dealers tend to order in vans with high spec unlike in the UK where you have to pay a lot of extra money for everything. all you would probably need to add is an awnigh second battery and the like... dont look at manufacturers web sites, look at dealers, for specific makes that interest you.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caplee Posted January 6, 2013 Author Share Posted January 6, 2013 JudgeMental - 2013-01-06 2:13 PM like I said earlier just pick a respectable brand and model....say something like an Adria/Hymer. Looks at UK price and compare with German price by looking on www.mobile.de. Bearing in mind you can negotiate significant discounts from some, on top of advertised price. As for resale, seeing as the van costs significantly less then a RHD its all proportional. LHD a little less popular with some, but a good well spec'd van sells....., For many who holiday in Europe its an attraction not a negative. I'm not sure where you are looking, but like others have said, German dealers tend to order in vans with high spec unlike in the UK where you have to pay a lot of extra money for everything. all you would probably need to add is an awnigh second battery and the like... dont look at manufacturers web sites, look at dealers, for specific makes that interest you.... Thank you and you andothers willhave assessed that this is very new to us and already with these few responses our eyes have been opened. I take it most dealers will speak English too. I am today subscribing to mmm and which motorhome (scouring net for a good subscription deal) and will be using this site to ask plenty of bone questions and getting as manytips as poss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 yes they will have people that speak English...far better then some on here!lol I bet there is a handful of dealers nearby, just go and browse..its also a hell of a lot cheaper to hire in Germany and the Aires/stellplatz network, makes it cheap, enjoyable and easy... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caplee Posted January 6, 2013 Author Share Posted January 6, 2013 Another question..... sorry.... Why are vans on the continent missing cookers?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 caplee - 2013-01-06 3:03 PM Another question..... sorry.... Why are vans on the continent missing cookers?? They have a hob but not an oven.............but retro fit is usually not a big issue so I shouldn't let it put you of a particular van ......as for why?.......just a quirk that they tend to cook outside and rarely use the sink either 8-)............. preferring to use the campsite facilities........and it appears to be a men only job ;-)...........................I'm quite happy for Sue to use our sink :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 because Europeans believe in getting out and enjoying themselves instead of trying to recreate domestic bliss in the form of a roast with all the trimmings when on holiday...I mean holidays are few and far between as it is!lol no problem getting one fitted..But I can buy a rotisserie chicken in a supermarket for a fiver that will taste better then from an oven.... and can cook steaks etc..on a griddle, and then there is the BBQ and wok I have never understood it myself, until someone said oven chips!..So they go to France and eat oven chips......the mind boggles :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caplee Posted January 6, 2013 Author Share Posted January 6, 2013 Yes, that explains it and as we don't have the luxury of being able to do long term travelling because of work (bloody thing gets right in the way) there will be no point where I will miss said oven chips haha :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 caplee - 2013-01-06 4:53 PM Yes, that explains it and as we don't have the luxury of being able to do long term travelling because of work (bloody thing gets right in the way) there will be no point where I will miss said oven chips haha :) Britain is generally windy, relatively damp, and cool. Mainland Europe, on the other hand, is generally less windy, drier, and warmer. So, we tend to go for vans you live in (to get the shelter) and they go for vans you live from, because being outside is more pleasant. You need to know where you will mostly use your van before you jump in. A typical "mainland" layout would not work so well in UK, as a typical UK layout would work on the mainland, but unless you want to go winter sporting in the mountains, or to Spain/Portugal for the winter, the mainland layouts are, IMO, the better compromise when on the mainland. The market outside UK is much larger, so there is a greater choice of vans at all price levels. You'll need to be happy with LHD to get the best from what is on offer, as RHD variants do not generally offer the same range of options as on RHD due to the smaller production runs on RHD. Hiring is excellent advice, and there are many German motorhome hire firms to choose from. Some brands, not all German, seem to have better reputations than others on average, but none is totally fault free. You just reduce your exposure to problems by buying from those brands. It pays to look behind the brand name as well, because the industry is divided between a relatively small number of large groups that have grown by acquisition, but have retained the brand names, and manufacturing sites, of those they have bought out. The largest, I believe, is actually Trigano of France who tend to go for the mid range, but also produce top end vans from Le Voyageur. The German Hymer group comprises, among others, Hymer, Dethleffs, Burstner, TEC, Niesman and Bishoff, and Laika from Italy. All a generally safe bet. Knaus-Tabbert went bust a few years back, but have been re-incarnated by a Dutch venture capital outfit, and now seem to be producing good, attractive, vans. Hobby and Fendt are also one and the same. You should find motorhome dealerships near where you are stationed if on one of the main bases, as the dealers know about the tax free deals for UK forces, and are geared up to serve the demand. I assume that for security reasons you can't say where you are based, but there are many dealerships around Germany. You will get the best value by buying what the dealer already has in stock, especially now, as many are discounting 2012 models to make room for the 2013s. There are even a few 2011 models still sitting around. I'd say start touring dealerships, and looking at what is available, but also get that book I suggested. This is a link to the German website Judgemental is on about. http://tinyurl.com/by28kre It is excellent, and the link should get you the English version, but you need to know roughly what you are after to get the best from it. Roughly, if a van exists in Germany, mobile.de will sniff it out! However, it is not the case that the only saving in buying in Germany is on the VAT. The German rate is marginally higher than the UK rate, but even buying in Germany and paying UK VAT, as we mere mortals have to, it is easily possible to save £5/6000 on a mid-range van, more on top of the range vans, compared to the same van sold in UK in RHD form. Yes, of course the LHD van sells for less in UK, because fewer people in UK want LHD, even if they spend most of their time on the mainland. However, all that means is you spent less, so you get less when you sell. What you don't want to do is buy in, say Germany, and then trade your van in UK for a RHD version, because the trade in value will be lower than for a RHD version of the same van. However, if based in Germany for a while, you could always take it back to Germany to trade for another there. The main thing is that you save quite a wad of cash in the first place, so that saving allows you either to get a better van for the same budget, or will pay for quite a few holidays. You may not find what you want, or you may not like motorhoming anyway. However, you are in the country with the largest European motorhome market, with the greatest number of well reputed manufacturers, with the greatest range of available vans from German and non-German manufacturers, and with almost universally lower than UK prices. Seems a no-brainer to me! :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 As others have said well worth hiring first & Germany is by far the cheapest place to hire about half the price of the UK. We hired a couple of times in Germany before buying. Only one small hick up with hiring in Germany you hire a van you get a van, no cutlery, plates, cooking pots etc., we found out the hard way on our first hire. As for ovens most German vans offer the option of a Tec Tower or it's standard in up market vans, it's a large fridge with good size freezer above and on top a oven & grill not the best oven in the world but it works (grills a bit naff). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caplee Posted January 6, 2013 Author Share Posted January 6, 2013 Thanks again guys. To be honest even after joining only a couple of days ago you have made me realise wecould have almost parted with 36k (tax free price) without much research. Now going to subscribe to MMM and Which motorhome and the hubby has agreed with the more sensible option of taking a year to do better research with lots of hiring, testing and trying! We will take many trips to different dealers and already the information I have read on here makes me realise that I need to think about the warranty and where the vehicle can be taken should it need it, travel in winter as we love to ski and already changed my mind from the big six berth to a four berth (only two of us and two very small adorable dogs) and I am also going to get my C1 licence this year to open more avenues. Hubby already holds C+E so no drama for him. We are based in Fallingbotel, Germany and we do have many dealers within a hour commute. Thanks again and please keep offering advice and criticism and I will keep asking my many stupid questions. Regards, Leanne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 No Leanne, the questions are no at all stupid. They are the questions we all asked when we were first considering buying a motorhome, or kicked ourselves for not asking! :-) You're doing fine, honest! :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted January 7, 2013 Share Posted January 7, 2013 Don't know if it applies in Germany :-S.........When I bought a new car in Gib I had a window of about a year if I recall correctly, that if exported back to the UK within that period I got the Gib purchase tax back as well as not paying any UK import tax B-)..................It was 35 years ago though 8-).........things might of changed ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted January 7, 2013 Share Posted January 7, 2013 Don't know if it applies in Germany :-S.........When I bought a new car in Gib I had a window of about a year if I recall correctly, that if exported back to the UK within that period I got the Gib purchase tax back as well as not paying any UK import tax B-)..................It was 35 years ago though 8-).........things might of changed ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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