Hello Everybody.
My Partner and I are waiting to get our first motorhome and do some touring around the U.K.
We have upto £25.000 to spend, we know it is not going to be high spec but what shall we look for and which one comes out as the best motorhomes in this price range. Also we have read about Hibitation Certificate do we need this for insuring our Motorhome and what things should we be looking out for.
Thankyou in advance for your help in this matter.
Welcome to the forum
Some insurance companies may ask for a habitation certificate but I haven’t heard of one , I’m sure other members will reply to this.
The habitation service covers safety aspects (gas & electrical items) as well as damp, all of these are in your interest.
If you are buy from a dealer incision a habitation report., it’s your guarantee that it’s safe (electric & gas)
Start by finding the best layout best suited to you
Good advice from Barry. You need to look at layouts that will suit you. Are you solo? couple with mobility issues? family with 4 kids and 2 dogs…?. These affect number of seat belts which in turn affects the layouts. Go to a dealer and nose about. Get to the NEC show in Feb if you can. Look online at the various makes: Autosleeper, Autocruise, Eldiss, Hymer, Pilote etc : Mr Google is your friend here; the layouts are all on the websites. Do you want a Panel Van Conversion PVC or a coach built….
There isn’t a “best MH” for £25K. It’ll be middle aged for that price, the condition of the base vehicle (VW, Ford, Fiat etc) will be a consideration (rust etc) as much as the MH. You could get an older bigger MH or a younger smaller one.
No short answer to a “piece of string” question.
Oh, Habitation service is essential if you buy privately. Our old MH had a blocked gas fire flue (bird nest): not good for one’s health.
Thank Fiona and Barry for your response to my question, there is only 2 of us but our Daughter would like to use it with our 2 Grandchildren. So it will have to be 4 berth atleast.
We will take on board all of what you have said, yes we will be buying from dealer so we could go abit further on price, and try and not look like we are first timers too much.
Thankyou once again and will take note of the NEC show you have wrote about.
Trevor.
The NEC show in Feb sells new MHs, but we used to go saying “we’re checking what we’ll be buying second hand in 5-10 years”. Nothing beats seeing pretty much every layout under one roof, sitting in them & trying cupboard doors etc - some makes are more solidly made than others.
Getting a MH is an exciting business, you’ll find what will suit you pretty soon. Don’t be too swayed by your daughter & her children: it’s your big buy. They may only use it once & not rate roughing it in a field with no Wi-Fi.
Go and do some tyre kicking now. Don't concern yourself with the motorhome internals, go and have a look at the condition of the van of a £25k motorhome. Sills, wheelarches, floor panels, sub frames, suspension etc.
Unfortunately its underneath where the problems will be, but you need to get under there. Get used to finding where the main issues are, then start looking at internals.
Note registrations, look at the age and check MOT history as you could be into a 15-20 year old vehicle and vans suffer the same issues as 15-20 year old cars.
Also be aware of low emission zones which are rolling out. Old diesels won't meet the emissions regulations.
I take and board what you say and yes they might not like it without WiFi. Then the novelty might wear off. We have seen layouts like, U shape lounge, L shaped, fixed beds. So our minds get muddled lol, anyway thankyou for the import and will let everyone know what we , skip that what my Partner falls in love with. Thankyou once again gor your help.
The recommendation to look at as many layouts as possible is good advice, think about how you want to use the MH, think about:
1. Sleeping arrangements, would a fixed bed suit you or are you happy to make it up every night? If possible try lying on the bed, is it comfortable?
2. Does it have enough room for you not to get in each other's way on a rainy day?
3. Cooking arrangements, is the hob big enough, do you want separate oven and grill?
4. Is the bathroom properly wet lined or do you have to draw a shower curtain across? Personally, I prefer properly wet lined.
5. If there is a separate shower is their room for you to have a shower? Stand in the shower and pretend you're having a shower. Sit on the loo, is there enough room for you?
6. Is there enough storage space? What's the payload (difference between mass in running order (MIRO) and the badged weight limit). The bigger the payload the better.
I would recommend buying from a dealer, ideally one close to where you live. Any warranty you get is with the dealer, you don't want to be driving 100's of miles to get problems sorted out (I have friends who bought a MH at the NEC, they got a great deal but it was a bit of a nuisance when they had to drive from Gloucestershire to Yorkshire to collect their new MH and more of a nuisance when they had to take it back there for any warranty claims). Research the dealers reputation for after sales service, I've heard of some that are really great at selling but the after sales care is awful.
As others have said, the habitation check looks at the safety aspects of the gas and electrical installation but most importantly, it checks for damp. Damp is the death of any motorhome, if you suspect damp, if it smells musty, walk away and look at something else. NEVER skip a habitation check, you'll regret it (believe me, I know).
None of the insurer's we've used needed a habitation certificate.
Like any vehicle, check the service history, although the mileage may be relatively low for a vehicle of that age make sure the servicing has been kept up with, you don't want to be the one the aged cambelt snaps on! Fiat/Citroen/Peugeot based vehicles share a common chassis (they're all made at the Serval plant), they are very robust and sound vehicles and are used on many, many motorhomes. The Ford Transit chassis is also a good base vehicle, I've owned Fiat, Peugeot and Ford based vehicles and rate all of the chassis equally.
Don't be swayed by shiny things, if you have two otherwise identical vehicles on the forecourt for the same price but one has an awning, bike rack and solar panel fitted ask yourself why is it the same price as the one without. Does this reflect the material condition of the motorhome. These things can be added later.
Once you've bought it, use it, don't wait around for that sunny weekend thinking you'll just pop off at the time. You won't, something else will have been planned for that weekend and you won't be able to go. Just plan to go away and finger's crossed the weather will be kind.
Getting a motorhome is an exciting prospect. We are lucky, we have at least 10 motorhome dealers within a 30 mile radius of where we live, we were able to look at a lot of motorhomes and layouts before making our decision. Whatever you do, don't rush into things.
One last thing to consider, thanks to Covid many, many people have wisely taken up motorhoming, dealers don't have much used stock and prices are higher, another reason not to rush into things.
Hi and big THANYOU to all for posting back to us with advice. We will tske on board sll of your comments and its great to get comments that dont beat around the bush. The MotorHome will not sit around as we intend to use it most weekends come rain, shine, frost. Armed eith sll of your advice you jave given us we will more confident when going out to look. We never thought about standing in shower or trying the fixed bed to see if it works for us. Thankyou all again for your imputs it is most appreciated .
Welcome to the site. You will gets a lot of advice, sometimes quite contradictory. The thing is to find what suits YOU.
My only 'advice' is to remember that it's not a house you're buying and you will have to make compromises with regards to equipment, space etc. So, think what you really need, and not what would be nice to have. You can always add your own touches.
Oh, and please add your location. It helps if you heed help finding things.
------------- Two drifters off to see the world.
I'm tired of reality, so I'm off to look for a good fantasy.
Hi Capt Lightning.
Thankyou for your advice like you say its not a home. We might be on here quite alot asking for advice on all things later on. Apologies to everybody for some mistakes in wordings Big Fingers little keypad.
Cheers Trevor. I forgot to add that I'd suggest looking at Autotrader Motorhomes. You can specify price, no. of berths, fuel etc.. and just have a look at what is on the market at present. Prices have tended to be high recently as more people have holidayed in the UK, but maybe with restrictions being removed, they will return to flying and more vans will come on to the market.
------------- Two drifters off to see the world.
I'm tired of reality, so I'm off to look for a good fantasy.
Thankyou Capt Lightning.
Never thought of Auto Trader so thankyou to you.
Will keep everybody updated how things are going but I know we won't buy the first one we see unless it really jumps out at us.
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As it is your first venture into caravans and motorhomes strongly recommend buying from a dealer and for extra protection have some finance on HP. Pay the deposit using a Credit Card.
That way you are covered by the Consumer Rights Act 2015, covered by S75 of the Consumer Credit Act and also covered by the finance company in the event there are issues with the new purchase.
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
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via mobile 05/11/2021 at 5:38pm
