Time to Buy a Used Caravan?
Discussion
I would like to buy a used caravan but wonder if there is a good time of year to buy one. Is there a period when caravans are particularly plentiful on the market so as to give plenty of choice? I would expect September to November to be good months because some people will have done their last summer holiday in theirs and won't want an old caravan sitting around on their driveway. But there might be some other dynamic at play.
Someone at work bought one during lockdown and he said that they were very difficult to come by (used) and commanding a premium, because families who couldn't take their usual holidays were snapping them all up. If that's true then I'd expect most people to be hanging onto them to see what happens next year, albeit a few may have tried it and hated it and looked to sell again, but I suspect this year isn't a good time to be buying.
Throttle Body said:
Thanks. There doesn't seem to be a shortage at the moment, but I don't know how it compares with this tile last year
More of a shortage than you think, all of the dealers near me have sold all of their cheap older caravans and are actively seeking fresh used stock, besides their brand spankers.Our chosen dealer travelled all the way to north lincolnshire to collect a used caravan, the demand is so high right now. BCA sold out 52 lots in one hour in back in April.
slopes said:
More of a shortage than you think, all of the dealers near me have sold all of their cheap older caravans and are actively seeking fresh used stock, besides their brand spankers.
We got called by the dealer we bought our van from in 2018 asking if we wanted to sell, they pretty much offered what we paid for it..Biggest issue with used caravans: damp/water ingress.
Try to avoid getting stung by getting a professional habitation check on one you want to buy, or at least investing in your own damp meter and finding out how to check the various usual suspect locations. Ask me how I know! Please avoid a similar painful episode to what we did, buying a used van in haste.
These YouTubers are living full time in their van as site wardens in North Wales. They thought all was fine with their van until they noticed some damp inside and started peeling back the layers. Quite the horror story, but the guy Jamie is fortunate to have the time, skills and dry storage area to repair it, most people do not.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRDGY5OKqRw
This is also a very good channel for all sorts of general amateur advice, good basic video on checking for damp yourself:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u73ECgy2fRo
... but this is a more professional view, focusing on water ingress rather than just 'damp', well worth the time watching if you are buying used.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRRdNaIXX80
Also, do you have secure storage? Several people I know have bought caravans and motorhomes but then been surprised at the (lack of) availability of affordable secure storage. Rates tend to vary between £400-£600pa but the main problem is getting one close to you. A pal of mine in Haslemere has just shelled £45k on a nearly new Motorhome, but the closest storage location he could find that has space is in Chichester - a 40 minute drive each way every time he wants to use it.
Try to avoid getting stung by getting a professional habitation check on one you want to buy, or at least investing in your own damp meter and finding out how to check the various usual suspect locations. Ask me how I know! Please avoid a similar painful episode to what we did, buying a used van in haste.
These YouTubers are living full time in their van as site wardens in North Wales. They thought all was fine with their van until they noticed some damp inside and started peeling back the layers. Quite the horror story, but the guy Jamie is fortunate to have the time, skills and dry storage area to repair it, most people do not.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRDGY5OKqRw
This is also a very good channel for all sorts of general amateur advice, good basic video on checking for damp yourself:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u73ECgy2fRo
... but this is a more professional view, focusing on water ingress rather than just 'damp', well worth the time watching if you are buying used.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRRdNaIXX80
Also, do you have secure storage? Several people I know have bought caravans and motorhomes but then been surprised at the (lack of) availability of affordable secure storage. Rates tend to vary between £400-£600pa but the main problem is getting one close to you. A pal of mine in Haslemere has just shelled £45k on a nearly new Motorhome, but the closest storage location he could find that has space is in Chichester - a 40 minute drive each way every time he wants to use it.
Edited by PurpleTurtle on Thursday 5th November 12:23
Coincidentally, 2nd hand caravan prices are matching their year of manufacture...
2012 caravans are selling for around £12k
2013 caravans are selling for around £13k etc etc
We decided to upgrade our caravan to a newer one last year, with a budget of around £13k. We discovered that around August time the dealers are wanting to clear their stock of new caravans to make way for the following years models which are about to get released, and were selling them off at good discounts. We ended up buying a brand new Sprite Major reduced from £20k to £17k.
2012 caravans are selling for around £12k
2013 caravans are selling for around £13k etc etc
We decided to upgrade our caravan to a newer one last year, with a budget of around £13k. We discovered that around August time the dealers are wanting to clear their stock of new caravans to make way for the following years models which are about to get released, and were selling them off at good discounts. We ended up buying a brand new Sprite Major reduced from £20k to £17k.
I know that at the moment, our van a 2014 Bailey pursuit is currently listing about £2000 more than what we paid for it 3 years ago. Obviously Covid has knocked prices up but stopped us vanning earlier on in the year. I'd be interested to see what dealers would offer in Part Ex but I think I've sorted most of the niggles out on ours so wouldn't fancy having to do it all again so soon on a new van!
Lots of great advice. Thank you to you all. I'm delighted to say that I have paid a deposit for a Bailey Unicorn, about 3 or 4 years' old. It will probably be a couple of months before I am able to pick it up from the dealer as they are closed for the lockdown. It also means that I can't post a picture of it yet.
It is clear that there is a massive shortage of caravans at the moment, and I think it is likely to get worse as people realise that this will be a second year without flyaway holidays.
It is clear that there is a massive shortage of caravans at the moment, and I think it is likely to get worse as people realise that this will be a second year without flyaway holidays.
Throttle Body said:
Lots of great advice. Thank you to you all. I'm delighted to say that I have paid a deposit for a Bailey Unicorn, about 3 or 4 years' old. It will probably be a couple of months before I am able to pick it up from the dealer as they are closed for the lockdown. It also means that I can't post a picture of it yet.
It is clear that there is a massive shortage of caravans at the moment, and I think it is likely to get worse as people realise that this will be a second year without flyaway holidays.
Can't you get them to deliver it to you?It is clear that there is a massive shortage of caravans at the moment, and I think it is likely to get worse as people realise that this will be a second year without flyaway holidays.
The couple of times i got to go away last year (with the caravan), the sites were rammed.
I worry i'll be unable to book anything, when i get the chance!
You have to be picky as to where you book as well, the last place we went to was more like a shanty town of knackered old caravans. Not a nice expensive one like you've bought, but forgotten old ones that hadn't been used for 20 years suddenly pushed into service.
Family next to me where using the standpipe at the back of the pitch to shower under (on their hands and knees), despite there being a nice clean toilet block just over the road.
I worry i'll be unable to book anything, when i get the chance!
You have to be picky as to where you book as well, the last place we went to was more like a shanty town of knackered old caravans. Not a nice expensive one like you've bought, but forgotten old ones that hadn't been used for 20 years suddenly pushed into service.
Family next to me where using the standpipe at the back of the pitch to shower under (on their hands and knees), despite there being a nice clean toilet block just over the road.
As above, last year the sites were not only full, but full of people who don’t really understand (or care) about campsite etiquette.
We had people constantly walking through our pitches, scrote kids up until midnight, messy showers/toilets and one family of noobs who pitched a tent on the windiest day of the year and then went out for the rest of the day whilst I had to go and peg it all back down for them properly. It was that windy that we stayed in the caravan all day because I was worried our awning was going to blow away.
I’ve booked a few small sites for later this year, not risking any of the bigger sites like Freshwater due to Benidorm type people.
We had people constantly walking through our pitches, scrote kids up until midnight, messy showers/toilets and one family of noobs who pitched a tent on the windiest day of the year and then went out for the rest of the day whilst I had to go and peg it all back down for them properly. It was that windy that we stayed in the caravan all day because I was worried our awning was going to blow away.
I’ve booked a few small sites for later this year, not risking any of the bigger sites like Freshwater due to Benidorm type people.
^ Certified Locations are what you need to look for.
We managed around 4 trips away last year, all of them pleasant with no feral kids or problems with social distancing. We found one on the edge of Dartmoor that was fantastic.
A lot of new caravanners are afraid of CLs as a few of them are quite basic.
We managed around 4 trips away last year, all of them pleasant with no feral kids or problems with social distancing. We found one on the edge of Dartmoor that was fantastic.
A lot of new caravanners are afraid of CLs as a few of them are quite basic.
littlebasher said:
The couple of times i got to go away last year (with the caravan), the sites were rammed.
I worry i'll be unable to book anything, when i get the chance!
You have to be picky as to where you book as well, the last place we went to was more like a shanty town of knackered old caravans. Not a nice expensive one like you've bought, but forgotten old ones that hadn't been used for 20 years suddenly pushed into service.
Family next to me where using the standpipe at the back of the pitch to shower under (on their hands and knees), despite there being a nice clean toilet block just over the road.
The flip side to that is that we went away five times in our Eriba to a mix of sites that were new to us or old favourites (me, wife, 5yo kid) and found them to be nicely busy, being well run at reduced capacity, and occupied by people who largely understood social distancing. I worry i'll be unable to book anything, when i get the chance!
You have to be picky as to where you book as well, the last place we went to was more like a shanty town of knackered old caravans. Not a nice expensive one like you've bought, but forgotten old ones that hadn't been used for 20 years suddenly pushed into service.
Family next to me where using the standpipe at the back of the pitch to shower under (on their hands and knees), despite there being a nice clean toilet block just over the road.
We had one idiot who insisted on playing loud trance music all the time (I like trance, in an appropriate environment) but it was soon dealt with by a quiet word from some effective wardens.
Read some recent reviews on the various online forums for sites and you should be fine.
Yep, get booking your sites NOW as places are being booked up early in anticipation of another year of staycationing especially if you want the popular areas like Devon/Cornwall and the Lakes.
Was on the local news last night that a caravan builder (Swift, I think) has sold out until September and their factory is doing double shifts to try and keep up with demand.
Was on the local news last night that a caravan builder (Swift, I think) has sold out until September and their factory is doing double shifts to try and keep up with demand.
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