Thought that we would pick your brains about something!! Looking to swap from a tent to a caravan after only camping under canvas twice! We are happy to purchase a secondhand caravan but as we are looking for one that is only around 4 years old they seem to be holding their value. We have seen a new Bailey Ranger for around £4,000 more & the payments seem OK but the interest they throw on you is quite incredible.
To those of you who have purchased new vans then did the interest via the finance concern you?
We want to get one asap but this is worrying me & my other half.
The secondhand caravan that we have our eye on is a Bailey Ranger 510/4 2006 with lots thrown in....full size awning...porch awning....water carriers...gas bottle....trauma mover.
What would you do???
Thanx in advance guys!
------------- I hope caravanning is as much fun as camping!
If you think the interest is excessive, why not try talking to your normal bank for a loan and see if the repayments are any less. Or even search here;
I wouldnt buy a new one, It wont be worth what your paying + the finance.
A well bought 2nd hand van may sell for what you paid in a couple of years.
I bought mine in 2000 for £4000, I have looked and nearly bought newer ones but always changed my mind when you worl out paying £3 for a slightly newer van with mostly the same features, I can live without blown air.
It suits our needs. In 2006 i was offered £3000-3500 part ex against a £6500 van.
If you are going the finace option way as posted above it may be better to get a bank loan.It looks a very nice van,but if you are going to finance it especially with the dealers themselves think long and hard that this is the van for you, as if you decide it isn't or you don't like vanning anymore you will never get the money back when selling or px anyway and add that to the interest you will be paying it's a big loss that you might still be paying for in years to come. Could you not buy an older van without going the finance route in good condition privatley and try it first, that way you get a feel for it and what layout ect works for you, and if you decide to carry on with vanning if the van is looked after you will more than likely get your money back.
I know I sound all maudlling lol but I had a friend who did this she camped twice then bought a very new van on finance hubby hated towing she hated the van, they sold the van and gave up but they are still paying the shortfall for a van they don't have.
Is it black horse by any chance tneyseem to be ten choice of most dealers we took a bit of finance on our van as we have no credit cards and wanted some other protection we were offered ours with north ridge told the dealer what the bank had offered node nudge and they matched the rate around 4% I'm told by oh I am of the understanding that personal circumstance and credit rating also affect the amount charged but I may be wrong
Id definitely go for the second hand one, with all the extras thrown in. As you say, the finance will be crippling, and as soon as you tow that new van off the forecourt, the depreciation will be frightening. If you decide you dont like caravanning, or you decide on a different layout (and loads of us have done that the first time, myself included) youre losing thousands of pounds.
Second hand vans are only holding their value on the dealer's forecourt, try trading one in and its a different story. Or you would have the hassle of trying to sell privately.Either way, you're losing out. We saw the exact same van as ours on our dealers' forecourt three weeks ago, at £50 short of ten grand. When we enquired about trade in, (saw an Elddis we liked!) the most they would offer was £6,500, and that was after some haggling. We walked away.
Haggle hard for the extras and make sure you get a decent guarantee.
Look around for the best interest rates. Our bank was the cheapest when we needed a loan a while back. It didn't make an awful lot of difference on repayments but £10 a month saving soon adds up. Also we never get the repayment insurance as we know how notorious they are at not paying out which saves a lot of money on repayments.
Personally i'd only want a small loan or better still none at all and go for an older 'van that doesn't cost me too much once purchased.
Also with a loan on a 'van are you going to be able to afford to go away in the 'van or will all your spare cash go on repaying the loan?
My dh decided to buy a new car last year on finance but the repayments meant all our spare cash was going on that and we couldn't afford to go away in our 'van. Eventually he sold the car, repaid the finance and we can go away in the 'van.
I'm looking to finance a used caravan so I checked moneysupermarket.co.uk which was O.K.. I then filled in a very short online form with, I think, loan-arranger.co.uk. Instead of an online comparison table all I got was a promise that "selected companies" would contact me. Within ten minutes my phone lit up and has been doing so all weekend including 9:a.m. on Sunday morning. The best (most expensive) I've had was one company offering me £7000 for "only" £320 a month for 60 months which works out at £19200 to pay back!
Beware! Don't go with a website that says you will be called back.
Black horse is used by all the caravan dealers (car dealers too) but last year when we were looking into purchasing a van the interest was unbelieveable but then when we went elsewhere & told them that the other dealer had given us a good rate he said he could match it!!! We ended up buying a tent instead though.......but now the time has come for us to buy a caravan!!
This is me going to sound rather thick now but 4% on say £12,000??? How much interest is that........
------------- I hope caravanning is as much fun as camping!
4% apr for me got a good deal.
yes it is a fixed rate so no rate rise for me.
no early payment fee in fact there is a discount for early settlement as is the case with most finance deals.
Quote: Originally posted by tezmil1 on 04/8/2010
4% apr for me got a good deal. yes it is a fixed rate so no rate rise for me. no early payment fee in fact there is a discount for early settlement as is the case with most finance deals.
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Caravan finance...why so much interest???
