Hi all
We've been thinking of getting a used motorhome for a while & the time has now come to make a decision, but we obviously don't wont to buy the wrong van
Any help on following would be great,
Best insurance company? & what vehicle tax bracket are m/h in?
Best sort of 2-3 bed m/h?
How do I check prices of m/h so we don't get ripped off?
Best places to look for a m/h?
Thanks all
hi, You don't state what you are wanting to spend or have you looked at any dealerships or motorhome shows, in magazines.
as for insurance, we are with Saga, they offer discount if you are over a certain age also I have another vehicle with them.
best m/h.! or wrong van, you need to go to a m/h. show where just about every make should be on display & every kind of price,
I would think most road tax will depend on what size engine you have & not necessary the size of vehicle, unless you go for a Winnebago.
when you have done all that & have an idea of what you would like, come back on hear, there could be someone on hear that has or had the same vehicle & could advise you further.
ps. we have a 3 berth wildax custom built for sale as we are packing up with motor homing.
good luck.
The best sort of motorhome is the one that suits your purpose.
We have a 4 berth for 2 of us. Loads more storage room on the overcab bed for bedding and aluminium chairs.
Large living space for daytime lounging just in case it isn't quite warm enough to sit outside.
Go to as many dealers as you can find. Make a day of it and go further afield and 'try on' as many as you can. Sit in them all and imagine yourselves living in it. Imagine being stuck indoors because it is hissing it down and you just don't feel like getting wet. Can you move around? Can you prep a meal? Can you lie down for an afternoon nap? (very important to us).
Make a list of what you want from your motorhome and see how many boxes get ticked. You will always have to compromise as not all the boxes will always be ticked but see if you can tick the vast majority.
We know nowt about vehicles so bought from a dealer who gave us 12 month warranty and we came away feeling quite good about the deal.
Good luck with your search. Just make sure you enjoy it and don't make a decision while still at the dealers. Go and have a coffee and discuss it between yourselves. See if you can talk yourself out of buying it and see how many arguments you come up with to buy!
Whatever you do just have a good time doing it ;)
Edited to say - we spent nearly a year looking and researching so take your time.
..also, check, and double check, for damp/water ingress...and check up as much as you can on it's payload/axle loadings (..once loaded with "accessories" and clobber, a good many coachbuilt MHs are near or over their GVW or rear axle loading (or both!).
If buying from a dealer, if possible I'd try to buy from one reasonably close to you (or at least somewhere you can easily get back to) because things will go wrong and if the dealer is at the other end of the country that can magnify the inconvenience.(but obviously don't just buy from some Arthur Daley type, just coz he'd 'round the corner)...
Don't get to hung up on the *base vehicles, as long as it's not a lemon and checks out, they all do pretty much what they are supposed to...The layout and usability of the conversion is far more important.
(*On early Fiat X250s, check for reverse gear judder(test by reversing up a slope), I'd like to think they'd all be fixed/sorted by now but there are probably still some, little used, un-mod'ed ones out there.)
Thanks all. We will be looking at an older mh to start with. Getting a bit confused over varying styles & prices. Looking to spend under £10,000 Could be 2 or 4 berth.
Any suggestions on which older mh are best? Have seen a Bessacarr but cannot find any reviews for them.
Thanks
We had a mh until a year ago. Look at the storage space as some have very little space and also check payload of anything you are looking to buy. Overcabs give you a fixed bed without taking up floor space but some are quite shallow in height. If you intend to travel with more than 2 check the fixed seatbelts, but personally I wouldn't travel with people in the habitation area of a C class as I never felt it was safe, as the structure is only like a caravan.
------------- Jean
Sometimes a little rain must fall before you reach a rainbow.
The work will wait while you show the child the rainbow, but the rainbow won't wait while you finish the work.
I have just purchased my first motorhome picking it up next week it has taken us three years to get here mainly because we wanted to save and pay cash for it which we have done but I must say we spent hours going to shows and dealers looking at all the different layouts and writing down what we wanted as someone said before you will always have to compromise on something but the main thing is working out what you want from it we had so many debates on seat belts will our grown up kids come with us etc etc but in the end we made the decision the motorhome is for us to enjoy so we went with what we wanted
Having been a motor homer for the last 15 years.
We found that the cost of sites in the UK were out of our reach.
Surprise, surprise, it's much cheaper on the continent!!
Also , it is motor home friendly, mare than can be said for UK.
So we opted for LHD, German built van and have never looked back. Our van is a 1996 Burstener and still looks good.Fiat motor which is sound at 140000 miles. There are countless older vans about, don't neglect a look and probably a good price
German ones are generally better made but at sub 10,000 it will be down to the individual van you are looking at, there is a lot of rubbish out there look at loads and you will get a feel for what they are worth as you go along.
i agree with previous comments go to as many dealers as you can or go on ebay on there you will be able to see all different layouts and styles also compare prices loads on there to see once you have decided on the van you want scour the websites to see if anyone has the van you want, it took me 6 months of continuous searching but in the end got the exact van and price had to travel a good few miles but well worth it we bought (for 2 of us) an Autocruise starseeker 3 berth, transverse fixed bed ,air ride suspension, eberspacher diesel heating,pleated screen blinds and swivel seats perfect
Hi, the van which we bought to try things out and find out whether we liked the whole motorhoming thing was a 20-year-old Autosleeper Duetto. We paid about £8000 for her from a reputable dealer and, having decided we loved motorhoming we have since upgraded to another secondhand motorhome, this time with a fixed bed, which is a mere 10 years old. Look for a van with a low mileage, some sort of warranty and try it out. An overcab bed was not for us but the Duetto bed was easy to convert from the seats and the overcab locker held all our bedding, plus towels, tea towels, etc. It was only two-berth so we couldn't take anyone with us (good move) but had a third belted seat for occasional passengers. Happy motorhoming!
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Topic: Thinking of buying.. what??
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