# Are NEW Coachbuilts/Panel Vans WORTH IT ?



## alitone (Jun 17, 2009)

Having looked round the North East dealers locally I continue to find myself being staggered by the cost of new models. ( your having a laugh I say ) Recently I purchased a privately built van convertion which is not as luxurious as the new Dealers models but it cost me five time less than a Factory built. It has a big TV, Fridge , heating, Battery , Gas and elect Fridge, Layout of two single or a big double, Memory foam, Captains seats, three burned hob , Sink and toilet, 90k on the clock , and cost £8000 on a 2005 plate . Why would anyone want to pay.. say (£46,000) for the Warwick Duo / Thats £38000 more than I paid . Yes its better kitted up but do we really need it 

Like many others with a bit more experiance now i cant see the point of lining the pockers of the likes of Brownhills , Marquis , etc etc. 
Go to the next Motorhome show and see all the staff on each stand all need paying for and realise that thats what you are paying for. 

Kick the tyres and walk away !


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

Buy second hand.

Even the overpriced ones are bargains.

New A Class £140,000 for a medium band, four years old, well specified and specced up by previous owners for around £60k or less.

TM


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## Snunkie (Mar 21, 2011)

Our MH was £95k new once all the extras were fitted. We paid just £46k for it, 4 years old with just 4k on the clock. No brainer!

Lucy


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## tubbytuba (Mar 21, 2007)

Two threads on the same subject, seems to be an obsession alitone? Or a crusade? It bothers me not how other people spend (or save) their money - and where would the 2nd hand market be without new motorhomes? 
If you can afford it - and get great pleasure from it, what difference does it make? You only live once. That sentiment also works with buying 2nd hand also, so just get on with it and don't lose so much sleep on how others live their lives :wink: 

Steve (tried both methods of buying vans and perfectly happy on both occasions)


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## apxc15 (Dec 1, 2007)

I have a factory built PVC and paid a lot for it, but I did look around at the self builds and the small company conversions and frankly they have no idea about usable layout.

They either have little or no storage, or far too much.

IMHO, in a small van, the only layout that really works is that based on the Adria Twin layout.

Live in one for a while and you'll see what I mean. 

If you only want a weekend or day van then storage isn't so important.


The bonus is, IMHO, that a Factory built PVC seems to hold it's resale value much better than any other type of Motorhome.

I agree with a previous comment, that if no one buys new, where are the used ones going to come from?



Pete 8)


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## GROUNDHOG (Mar 7, 2006)

Agree with tubbytuba 100%, my van cost me just over £60K and I probably lost £5K the moment I drove it off the forecourt and twice that in the first year. I really don't care, I certainly didn't need it, our then current van was quite adequate with less than 10,000 on the clock, but, I wanted it, could easily afford it, so ordered it.

How I spend or waste my money is up to me surely?

To answer the question, it depends on how much money you have, if losing £10K is important then, no, they are not worth it! We have also bought used in the past and resold at what we paid or a profit so no contest!! :lol:


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## motormouth (Jul 3, 2010)

Simple answer is of course they are not worth it. But neither is a house which cost £100,000 to build selling for £300,000 plus. Sometimes you just have to forget the huge profit margins some firms make and if you want it, go for it.


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## Camdoon (Sep 21, 2012)

In the "spend the money the way you want camp". Have a van that can carry 6 or be used by 2 so will pass on to the next generation when I am finished.
Having seen the videos of nasties which lurk in beds would rather buy new. We are all different.


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## dovtrams (Aug 18, 2009)

Totally agree with those that say 'how I spend my money' should be of no concern to anyone else. Moreover, no new market = no seconds market. When my wife worked, she bought a new car every two years because she did like the thought of the MOT! It was her money and I did not dare intervene even though I thought (very quietly) she was daft.

Dave


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## TheNomad (Aug 12, 2013)

I guess the answer is, as always: your money your choice.

But as the OP seems to be asking, I'll answer just for me:-

No. Never in a million years (unless I won the Lottery etc and thus value-for-money became a complete non-issue) would I buy new; when I can get what to me seems a much much better bangs-per-buck package by buying used.




As I've just mentioned in another thread, I'd always, always, always buy used. 

The biggest cost in motorhoming, which utterly dwarfs any debates about site fees, mpg, which TV to add, tyre changes etc etc etc is......................depreciation. 

It's the elephant in the room, which almost everyone chooses not to notice. 

Your shiny new/nearly-new motorhome is, just whilst sitting on the driveway probably then losing you money at maybe 50 to 100 quid EVERY WEEK. 
Without even driving it at all you're already throwing maybe 5,000 to 10,000 of your hard-earned, net, after-tax savings, down the drain. 
And that really does dwarf any other, much lower other costs of ownership (tax, insurance, fuel, maintenance etc etc etc). 

I reckon buying a MH that's maybe 5 to 10 years old is a much much better proposition, and the massive saving can be used instead on actually touring much further for much longer. 



In a used MH, the previous owner(s) has: 
. Suffered the delays and hassles of late arrival/delivery. 
. Suffered the apocalyptic first few years depreciation. 
. Added the bells and whistles that I'd otherwise have to add on. 
. Been back and forth to the dealer repeatedly to sort out all the new "snagging" problems. 
. Fixed the rattles. 
. Re-attached the bits that fell off/came loose in the first few months. 
. Run-in the engine. 
.Suffered paying all the really eye-wateringly high main dealer prices for the initial 3 or 4 years of servicing. 

In addition, there should be a lot more real-world, owner-reviews of such MH's (and base vehicle) from owners, rather than just salesman-speak and manufacturer brochures. 


For people who are prepared to lose all that money from their net equity pot each year just so they can have a new MH sitting on the drive, fair enough and good luck to you.

We each make our own personal choices; it's absolutely horses for courses, and I would not dream of telling other people what to do with their money. 

But for me, doing that just seems utter financial madness when I can get what to me is frankly a better total package for half that cost or less, and it then depreciates at much less than a quarter of that rate.


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## DSL2 (Mar 6, 2008)

As a good friend of mine once told me its only expensive if you can't afford it..... 

Its all well & good moaning about how much things cost & what a rip off it all is but given available funds its generally the case that we would all like to have the most well equipped / highest quality / most suited to our requirements motorhome we can afford!


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

If the big ones prices are scary look at the Berlingo conversions, upwards of £30k on some models on a £10k not the best van, why is a van so expensive anyway, some decent cars are cheaper.

Rip off britain rears it's head again.


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## alitone (Jun 17, 2009)

tubbytuba said:


> Two threads on the same subject, seems to be an obsession alitone? Or a crusade? It bothers me not how other people spend (or save) their money - and where would the 2nd hand market be without new motorhomes?
> If you can afford it - and get great pleasure from it, what difference does it make? You only live once. That sentiment also works with buying 2nd hand also, so just get on with it and don't lose so much sleep on how others live their lives :wink:
> 
> Steve (tried both methods of buying vans and perfectly happy on both occasions)


 A CRUSADE , OBESSSION , no just common sence. You miss my point BUT
Nice to get some feedback from the "dealers point of view" tubbytuba ( wink) , just wish I had considered the Private convertions market first. Factory built year 1995 main line brands (autosleepers, elddis,swifts ) etc etc many with smells that hit you as soon as you walk in still have an extortionate asking price.

Yes what people do with money is up to them but this website is a forum for comments from all points of view. Yes I do ( like many ) now see the downside of buying new .. just open the window and scatter the £££ around the street...


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## tubbytuba (Mar 21, 2007)

alitone said:


> A CRUSADE , OBESSSION , no just common sence. You miss my point BUT
> Nice to get some feedback from the "dealers point of view" tubbytuba ( wink) , just wish I had considered the Private convertions market first. Factory built year 1995 main line brands (autosleepers, elddis,swifts ) etc etc many with smells that hit you as soon as you walk in still have an extortionate asking price.
> 
> Yes what people do with money is up to them but this website is a forum for comments from all points of view. Yes I do ( like many ) now see the downside of buying new .. just open the window and scatter the £££ around the street...


Don't think I missed your point - you've made it very clear. but as you say it's a forum for all points of view so that's what I did, gave you my point of view :? .
I am by no means saying that your point of view is wrong, simply that it's right for you but not necessarily right for everyone, One mans common sence is another mans good sense :wink:

Steve ( now apparently a dealer  )


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## Camdoon (Sep 21, 2012)

When someone wins the pools/lottery I do not remember any of them saying that they wanted to buy a second hand car. Many people start these examples off with "If I had the money....". Some people save up and enjoy spending their money on something that meets their requirements as they perceive them.
If people want to get upset about how people spend their money here are some good examples: Cars: that can go over 70mph when the speed limit has existed for 50ish years, mobile phones: now seen as a requirement for 12 year olds, televisions: 50" flat screens - poor estates with Sky dishes protruding from every house, food: how sick am I of seeing some fat munter coming on the television and saying that they have gone without food to feed their children when they need to cut down on their intake, tobacco, alcohol.
These take more explaining to me than buying a new mobile bed. Did Top Gear not do a few analyses of the detritis in the insides of cars? Just think of what all goes on inside an average motorhome.


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## Tintent115 (Dec 20, 2012)

Exactly!

When you buy a motorhome you are buying a bed, a toilet, a kitchen and a sofa.

I dont buy these secondhand, but I realise that is my personal preference.

I also dont want a vehicle which I have no idea whether it has been over revved, under revved, kerbed, the clutch abused, and if its around 4 to 5 years old its going to soon need its tyres & cambelt changing etc etc.

You pays your money & you takes your choice.

Not convinced on depreciation on some models either. Looking at secondhand values of my particular model they depreciate less than our family car. As has been said, its all down to personal preference.


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## Wupert (Aug 6, 2007)

Tintent115 said:


> Exactly!
> 
> When you buy a motorhome you are buying a bed, a toilet, a kitchen and a sofa.
> 
> ...


Yep on our 5th new MH on the first 4 I didn't lose a penny. Also all my toys were transferred as part of the deal.


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## Easyriders (May 16, 2011)

Each to his own. Nothing wrong with buying new, if that's what you want.
Personally, would never buy a new MH, car, or other vehicle.

Also, wouldn't buy a new house, at least, not in the UK - they seem to get smaller and smaller!


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