How much should trade in value fall due to high mileage

[Mardee]

We have a 5 year old Motorhome which we have been told is in good condition and we have no dampness. Our mileage is 55,000 miles. Since the base vehicle is a commercial van expected to do 200,000 miles we did not think this was excessive although perhaps well above average. We have been offered just under 40% of the price we paid 5 years ago for trade in. (£44,000 paid down to trade in value of £17,5000) This is from the dealer who sold us our van.

[euroserv]

In my humble opinion, the dealer is a clown.

Your vehicle will be in better mechanical condition than one that has covered 20,000 miles. The engine for sure, should be fresh as a daisy and almost run-in!

 

Check the classifieds or wherever motorhomes are sold privately and get a better feel for what it is worth.

[Tracker]

I don't know how true it is but many dealers tell you that buyers like low mileage and the lower the better because it signifies to the buyer that the habitation has had little use?

 

Plausible maybe, but surely there are enough intelligent buyers to know that low mileage often spells trouble through lack of use?

 

Personally I prefer a van that has done a few miles and a 55000 mile van would not put me off for the very reasons that Nick has stated - as long as it had been well cared for and not abused.

 

However as we too in the past have had derisory offers due to slightly higher than average mileage I would not want to pay anything like low mileage price for a high mileage van and therein lies the problem - if the dealer needs to sell for less he also needs to buy for less.

 

Have you tried shopping around for a better deal?

[Guest JudgeMental]

euroserv - 2013-06-10 6:10 PM

 

In my humble opinion, the dealer is a clown.

Your vehicle will be in better mechanical condition than one that has covered 20,000 miles. The engine for sure, should be fresh as a daisy and almost run-in!

 

Check the classifieds or wherever motorhomes are sold privately and get a better feel for what it is worth.

 

Amen! typical UK rip of merchant...stick it on ebay *-)

[vindiboy]

It's a bit like people who buy a new van and cover all the seats with blankets etc and then sell the van a few years on with brand new seats as they have never sat on the upholstery and get the same trade in as if they had used the seats as intended.

[Dave Newell]

euroserv - 2013-06-10 6:10 PM

 

In my humble opinion, the dealer is a clown.

Your vehicle will be in better mechanical condition than one that has covered 20,000 miles. The engine for sure, should be fresh as a daisy and almost run-in!

 

Check the classifieds or wherever motorhomes are sold privately and get a better feel for what it is worth.

 

I totally agree, too many people, dealers included are hung up on mileage. Personally speaking if I was looking at say a three year motorhome and found two otherwise identical units that suited my needs but one had 10,000 and the other had 30,000 I'd take the latter as long as the service history was good.

 

D.

[bobalobs]

I have been told to be wary of a larger van with a low mileage for the year and look with care at the fittings. It may have lived a life of one thrash a year to Spain where it has been lived in for three months before a thrash back and very little use the rest of the year.

[Dr Dave]

You can be sure that this derisory trade in price will not be reflected in the price that the dealer will hope to sell the van for. Usually it goes like this when you trade the van in the dealer will say the mileage is high so we cant give you much trade in allowance, however when buying the same dealer will claim that the mileage is no problem and the engine has just been run in. Double standards that keep the dealer making high levels of profit. Go and look elsewhere or sell it privately as suggested above.

[Tracker]

All dealers exist to make a profit.

That is their principle reason for being there so you really can't blame them for using whatever tactics they can to get a better deal and it is pointless calling them names like rip off and con artists and getting all upset and feeling hard done by. They are traders and traders trade as best they can so don't take it personally!

At the end of the day it's your choice whether you take the deal on offer so if you do take a bad deal you can hardly blame the dealer for that.

The best solution is to use your own tactics to get the best deal for you and that often means playing one or more against another and some hard haggling to play them at their own game and just see who wants the deal the most.

Shows are quite a good place to do this as they know you don't have to inconveniently drive miles to visit the next dealer.

Alternatively sell privately, not without it's own hassle and pitfalls, and become a cash buyer and hope for a decent discount?

So if you don't like what's on offer - just walk away - simples!!

[Guest JudgeMental]

Soon as you had driven around the corner if you were silly enough to accept deal from these robbing toerags. they would stick a sticker on your van for probably near double what they gave you. Perfect example of why I prefer to deal with European dealers. My last coachbuilt (4.5 years old) I got £6k less than what I paid for it in a PX deal....

[snowie]

Hi Mardee;

Which ever way you look at it the dealer isn't desperate to sell the van you are wanting to trade in for , so first option find your new van elsewhere.

Second option do your own calculations and check other similar vans and sell privately; then consider buying privately, if that's possible. If you are looking for a brand new van then at least you will have cash and no trade-in.

My baseline calculation, not having seen your van or having any idea what it is or might be worth would put a value of £22,085 on it, but even that seems low! (approx 50% over 5 years), or approx £4000/year for quite a lot of use.

That said; there are plenty of used vans out there, and maybe less buyers in current climate.

What do you think it's worth?

 

regards

alan b

[Guest JudgeMental]

Might be more helpful if you say model and year of camper.. :-S

[PJay]

I see that the OP lives in Scotland. There may be lower prices up there. It,s a long way to go for the purchaser to travel if they are from anywhere in England

Best to advertise privately as stated with plenty of photo,s after looking at prices of secondhand values.

Why do you want to sell? 5 years old in not worth losing a lot of money , unless you NEED to downsize/upsize.

PJay

[PJay]

I see that the OP lives in Scotland. There may be lower prices up there. It,s a long way to go for the purchaser to travel if they are from anywhere in England

Best to advertise privately as stated with plenty of photo,s after looking at prices of secondhand values.

Why do you want to sell? 5 years old in not worth losing a lot of money , unless you NEED to downsize/upsize.

PJay

[Guest JudgeMental]

Are you being serious? I have travelled to Sweden/Cyprus/Germany/Belgium to buy vehicles. If there was a nice van in Scotland I would simply fly up...what is it an hour or two.

[Brian Kirby]

As suggested, look elsewhere for a replacement van and a trade-in price. It is the cost to change that counts, not the trade-in price of your existing van. You may find that other dealers have what you want at a lower price, but make you the same trade-in offer, or vice versa, or the the cost to change is approximately the same wherever you turn. Research the internet for selling prices for what you want, and what you have, and draw your own conclusions.

 

Conventional wisdom on van mileages is illogical, being based purely on the average annual mileages of motorhomes. This runs around 5,000 - 6,000 miles per year. On that basis your van is very high mileage. It is futile applying logic, it is the market you are in. Your only defence is to try to sell privately. I assume you will be looking to Glasgow and surroundings for potential buyers? You will know your local geograpy better that me, but outside that city and the central belt, it is not an area of high population, and what there is is spread across a large, and very incised, terrain. Doubtless, given the present economic conditions, the dealer anticipates slow selling conditions. So the best advice, I think, is to widen your net, or sell privately.

[Guest JudgeMental]

Says someone who just sold his van on ebay? :-D

 

Honestly...ebay the best way to get a wide audience at a cheap price.

 

Plus! you can have an advert up in a hour......its a no brainer

 

Sorry but 50K is in no way high. 80-100 yes but its only 10K a year for goodness sake *-)

[Brian Kirby]

Yes, but you are being logical, and my point was that the market (as governed by dealerships) is illogical. :-) If a UK registered van has an average mileage much over 5,000 miles per year, the dealers start on about high mileages. I don't agree, but that is how it is. M'Lud may rant and rail, and and even stamp M'Luds foot but, as someone once said, you can't buck the market. :-D

[Guest JudgeMental]

Oh come on Kirbys! You know as well as moi, the dealer would probably mark up the van nigh on 100% *-)

[Guest pelmetman]

Mardee - 2013-06-10 5:56 PM

 

We have a 5 year old Motorhome which we have been told is in good condition and we have no dampness. Our mileage is 55,000 miles. Since the base vehicle is a commercial van expected to do 200,000 miles we did not think this was excessive although perhaps well above average. We have been offered just under 40% of the price we paid 5 years ago for trade in. (£44,000 paid down to trade in value of £17,5000) This is from the dealer who sold us our van.

 

Why sell? 8-)...................Its worked well for 55k miles............No Damp.............You must be happy with the layout...........unless you like losing money..................... I'd keep it ;-)

[Brian Kirby]

JudgeMental - 2013-06-11 5:40 PM

 

Oh come on Kirbys! You know as well as moi, the dealer would probably mark up the van nigh on 100% *-)

Of course, that is why he is in business. That is why I suggested shopping around or selling privately. I suspect Argyll and Bute may not have the largest motorhome market in UK, so the dealer may feel just that bit too secure, but they will all start on about high mileages once that 5,000 miles per year average is crossed. As I said it is illogical, but it is how it is. Your Lordship could perhaps perhaps consider bringing a test case for usuary? :-D

[Guest JudgeMental]

USUARY!!! I would hang draw and quarter the blighters in an instance! Just give me the wink I say! >:-(

[BGD]

Why on Earth change your van after only 5 years and 55,000 miles?

 

It's in reality just run in, and all the early depreciation has now happened.

It'll depreciate at a much slower rate from now on........and assuming you can still live with the layout, just save the money that you would have thrown away by going through the same buy-new-depreciate-terribly-when-part-exchanging money pit in another few years; and spend it instead on touring a LOT more in your current van, all over Europe.

 

Sorted.

[Cattwg]

Mardee - 2013-06-10 5:56 PM

 

(£44,000 paid down to trade in value of £17,5000) This is from the dealer who sold us our van.

 

Sorry to be pedantic but £175000 seems a very good offer!! Sorry!!

 

Seriously, we had a similar reaction from several dealers when trading in our Devon Monte Carlo. Then we saw Somerset Motorhomes at a show – they offered us £2000 more than the others with the words “I’m not too bothered about the high mileage, the ‘van’s in good condition”. It was 11 years old and had done over 120k miles, mostly by us I’m pleased to say.

We had reason to return to the dealership the day after concluding the deal and saw our van marked up at just £3000 more than our trade in price. I thought this very reasonable considering that the dealer has standing overheads and has to offer a guarantee.

As Brian Kirby says the crucial figure is the cost of changing. So a good deal on a new van could offset a low trade in value.

 

I would suggest, as others have that you go elsewhere.

 

Cattwg :-D :-D

[lennyhb]

BGD - 2013-06-20 2:41 PM

 

Why on Earth change your van after only 5 years and 55,000 miles?

 

It's in reality just run in, and all the early depreciation has now happened.

It'll depreciate at a much slower rate from now on........and assuming you can still live with the layout, just save the money that you would have thrown away by going through the same buy-new-depreciate-terribly-when-part-exchanging money pit in another few years; and spend it instead on touring a LOT more in your current van, all over Europe.

 

Sorted.

 

Yes true but although the deprecation is slowing down in later years over the last few years the cost of new vans has and still is increasing at an alarming rate.

I am considering changing my van now 5 years old and only 23k on the clock currently for the van I'm looking at it will cost me about 25k to change. If I leave it another 5 years the cost to change will be in the range of 40 - 50K and income will have fallen as we will both be fully retired in the next couple of years. So if we wait we probably won't be able to afford to change.