# How much is dealer profit on new motorhomes???



## chrisgog (May 17, 2005)

This may be a taboo subject but how much profit can they make on a new van. We recently had experience of quotes from dealers and boy do they vary. One thing for sure is the smaller the firm the better deal we were offered.

Any ideas anyone?


----------



## Malc (May 9, 2005)

Woulden`t be surprised if £4-5000 depending on the initial cost ie more you pay, bigger the profit. Very often you can sacrew them for £1000+ of gadgets etc.
Malc


----------



## Enodreven (Aug 29, 2005)

Hi, we were offered 10% disscount on a new 2006 Swift Kon-Tiki RRP £47500 for £42800 with no part exchange, so i would think that on the recommended retail price you are looking at 20%+


----------



## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Profit*

Hi

I would guess about 25%.

With a new Vauxhall, it is possible to get an immediate 17% off if you work at certain organisations. You become a "Vauxhall Partner".

I am sure those cars (mine is one) are not sold at a loss.

With the Compass, I got approx 15% off the list price. (I think)

Rapide561


----------



## gaspode (May 9, 2005)

I think you'll find it's nearer 35%. According to the German dealer I bought mine from The UK dealers don't pay any more from the manufacturers than he does but they sell for 30% more - and he still makes a profit!


----------



## chrisgog (May 17, 2005)

Are my sums right then:-

A £38,000 van will give the dealer a 10% profit of £3,800
but if its 30% its £11,400 ?????????

That is crazy profit but then it depends how many they would sell in a week?


----------



## 96511 (Oct 12, 2005)

Don't know if it applies to motorhomes, but there used to be a thing called 'car tax' which was calculated at 10% of the price the dealer bought at.
It was usually shown in the price list, as the price before vat was added, so you could see what the 'wholesale' price was. Dealers usually glossed over this figure, but it was a fair indication of the 'cost' price. There will probably also be quantity discounts as a bonus at the end of the year, depending on the numbers sold, or again a lower base price next year, dependent on the volume reached in the previous year.
'Pile them high, sell them cheap' was Harry Cohen's motto. (Tesco founder)


----------



## 92046 (May 1, 2005)

*Dealers Profit*

Looking at some dealers I'd say 100% :lol:

Or as a friend once said " the price you charge is the price the customer will pay " 8O

Colin


----------



## 1946 (Jan 5, 2006)

*profit*

I think they make a criminal amount of profit. Obviously the taxes are different. 
We just bought our motorhome in Germany and paid £12.000 less then it would have been in the uk. Only difference is the lefthanddrive. We compared prices with a dealer, knowing what we would get from Germany and so told him what we would like and when he told us the price we had to walk away because we were laughing soooooo much.


----------



## Pusser (May 9, 2005)

I don't know how much they make but I always find it disconcerting as you drive away the sound of champagne corks popping, loud music and laughter and a police escorting a Securior van scream into the showroom.


----------



## 98038 (Mar 8, 2006)

Hi, 

I'm not supporting them but some of the new MH's have been on the forecourts for months and months, and i don't think i would like to tie up 10's of thousands for several months without getting a reasonable return. we all also expect a lot more for a PX's than perhaps they are really worth? which has a direct effect on the price ?

I also think that somewhere on hear someone said that some of that profit has to pay for warranty work, as the manufacture expects the suppling dealer to cover this.


----------



## bognormike (May 10, 2005)

They sell em for what they can get away with, it's like the car market 10 years ago. If people can still go to Germany etc and buy for thousands less, they are obvioulsy charging too much!  I seem to remember companies setting up to import cars from mainland europe because they could be imported & still sell much cheaper than they were marketed over here - that's all gone now because the car market has opened up & we are more aware of prices in europe. 
As long as people continue to pay the prices asked, they will sell 'em. One of the reasons why this happens is the scare stories about warranties not being available in the Uk for vans not purchased here. Franchised car dealers now have to do warranty repairs for their manufacturer's cars whether they were bought from them or not.
It's about time the european motorhome market was opened up to Uk customers :!:


----------



## 98038 (Mar 8, 2006)

Hi, I think there is a difference between what happened with the cars, these were imported in RHD i haven't heard of anyone purchasing a MH from Germany in RHD ?? i wonder just how much the difference would be ?? would the Germany manufacture want a increase in price to cover the RHD ?? i think they proberbly would ??


----------



## bognormike (May 10, 2005)

Surely the point is that the German dealer could buy a RHD van from a Uk manufacturer, or a RHD van from a european manufacturer? The difference in price between RHD & LHD is given as an argument for higher prices, but I doubt whether it would be too much. Much of the time european vans are sold in the UK with RHD mechanics and LHD caravan layout. All it needs is to source a RHD base vehicle rather than a LHD one.


----------



## 98038 (Mar 8, 2006)

Sorry, but it obviosly costs more for a european cab manufacture Fiat etc to make a RHD version when 90% of there production is LHD,


----------



## 88724 (May 9, 2005)

Probably 33 % profit margin or in other words a 50% markup on what they bought it for. but dont forget this is Gross profit, there are overheads to be accounted for

With the long delays in getting vehicles, most people pay large deposit and wait months (think about that for a while) I dont think they have much tied up in old stock (its more like a rolling cashflow)


----------



## eddieo (May 1, 2005)

Sorry, but…… not true (not you George - God you’re a handsome devil) UK RHD campers are not TRUE right hand drive motorhomes are they? It’s normally the same caravan body with entrance on wrong side for UK roads plonked on to a RHD chassis. Difference to manufacturers I believe is about £400. Dehtleff camper NEC price £44000 - German main dealer £34000. Now don’t tell me a German dealer in Munich or where ever has less expenses then an equivalent UK dealer. Sorry but prices here are completely unjustified. But then again so is everything else in this country, property etc….. We just seem to love ripping each other of.............


----------



## 98038 (Mar 8, 2006)

Hi, 
You have a point but as you say the property prices hear are very high and this has a direct effect on the price of MH in the UK as the dealers premises are worth exhoborant property prices rates and therefore the rental/morgages payments are proberbly a lot higher that in Germany ??. Also the cost of transporting a MH from Germany to the UK is around £1200 to £1500 (Transporter)

Albeit i don't support the UK dealers and i think most things that i WANT in the UK are to expensive except those that i want to SELL eg. my house etc.


----------



## eddieo (May 1, 2005)

OK 1.5% more on vat and I would say 1-1.5k transport costs. German dealer’s overheads are not lower - have you ever been to a german showroom? So a £2000 difference would be justifiable not 10 -12k plus! Its just plain greed or what they think the market will tolerate. UK market is based mainly on relatively well of retired folk (German market is younger) who historically have been prepared to pay what they are told – the same used to apply to cars but that market has changed with little or no difference in prices across Europe.


----------



## philmccann (Jun 14, 2005)

Hi there

Mine came in via Germany at around £12 - 15K cheaper than the UK retail. OK it's a left-hooker, but it should still not be possible to save these atrocious amounts of money by buying in Europe.

The whole vehicle trade in rip-off Britain is making a fortune from overpriced goods. Come the revolution........


----------



## smifee (May 17, 2005)

Brownhills wanted £48,000 for the van i wanted. They would not budge on the price. :x 

Campirama, the official Hymer dealer in Belgium, sold me the same model but better spec for £36,000. :lol: 

Campirama made their profit and Brownhills wanted to make that, plus £12000, less whatever extra Hymer charge their dealers for RHD & the transport cost.

Must be well over 40% gross for Brownhills. :roll: 

Mike


----------



## eddieo (May 1, 2005)

I like the new Mobivetta Kimu - adding it to my list of favorites to see at Dusseldorf show in August. Can you recommend a dealer?


----------



## chrisgog (May 17, 2005)

What is interesting from these comments is the number of you who buy abroad. Can I ask the next question?

What do you do with your other van:-

Do you part-ex it?

Sell private?

Has anyone part-exchanged a british van abroad?

If you have a continental RHD van would they consider part-ex abroad?


On our recent trawl of dealers we were offered a difference of £8,000 as part- exchange from the highest to the lowest quote.
Chris


----------



## gaspode (May 9, 2005)

You sell it privately of course - or sell it via the monthly Measham ADT auction - or on Ebay. The suggestion of part-exchanging a M/H in Germany or Belgium is just totally impractical, they wouldn't want it and even if they did they would pay only half the price that you could obtain in the UK. The market there operates at a much lower level than in the UK so you buy there - under no circumstances do you sell there. Just take a look at the prices realised on Ebay Germany, you'll soon see what I mean.


----------



## 88724 (May 9, 2005)

eddieo said:


> (not you George - God you're a handsome devil)


Hi eddieo

Much as I would love to accept the compliment, the avatar picture is of Patrick McGoohan (Dangerman, The Prisoner....)


----------



## bognormike (May 10, 2005)

Gaspode - there's the problem. One of the results of the new car prices in the UK coming down was the corresponding lower second hand prices. If you have to trade in, then you're stuck with a UK dealer. Try a private sale - MMM etc . e-bay, or on here.


----------



## 97753 (Feb 17, 2006)

*How much is dealer profit on new*

Just a thought but is there a glassers guide for new and second motorhomes. Years ago i can remember car dealers looking into their little book to tell you how little your car was worth.


----------



## chrisgog (May 17, 2005)

Yes they all seem to open up their little books but they never show you whats in them.


----------



## Invicta (Feb 9, 2006)

In 2000 the company that was to build me a custom made MC purchased a Mercedes Sprinter 313 in Italy for £2000 less than UK price. They also purchased an underfloor electric lift £2000 cheaper than if it had been purchased in the UK.


----------



## Old_Adventurer (May 13, 2005)

At home I have Burstners 2006 technical data catalogue, with prices. It also has all of the options that are available for each model, again with prices. The Fiat base is available in RHD as standard for the UK market, but it is also available in LHD. The LHD price is appprox £1300 LESS than for the RHD.
On top of this would be a similar cost of transporting from Germany, if bought there.

Graham


----------

