How to fund a new van?

[missing the VR6]

We've given up on the van we found, trying to buy it was too hard. It felt like because we're in our early 40's and wear jeans and trainers they weren't interested in us. I took me chasing to get a PX price, it took a rant by me about their service to get them to work out a deal and the final straw was being told because they'd done us a deal they wouldn't retro fit the Model Year 24 awning LED light we wanted even though I was willing to pay for it. They eventually said they would, but the process has left us cold.

Ultimately I think our overall preference is to order a brand new one with LED/Xenon headlights, from a dealership that wants our business and wait for it to arrive.

Thanks for everyone's help and suggestions on the matter, it's been pretty clear for the now the only way it's affordable for us is adding to the mortgage.

[missing the VR6]

nagsheadwarrior said:

New van prices go up not down

vr6 we sell Coachman and adria don't think there's much spec difference tbh tho I'm not Coachman expert.
Irks to habe ticcall them Coachman when they are nit really

Good to know RE Coachman, once we're back on it I'll be in touch see what we can do, be good to help a fellow forum user out.

[cptsideways]

Borderline 100k for a boggo campervan, madness. At what point to you decide a custom build is going to be better value for money & better built to the layout you want.

You could build a full Overland spec Unimog for that money.

[Spuffington]

Sorry to hear it's not working out. I agree with your approach though - it's a bucket load of money and I don't see any reason why you should be begging to part with it. I take the view the Salesman should be working hard to sell it.

I'm a firm believer in "everything happens for a reason" (hard to believe that where your wife's illness is concerned though) - so I'm sure whatever you end up with in due course will be the right van for you. Good luck with the search & end result. Keep us posted.

[r3g]

cptsideways said:

Borderline 100k for a boggo campervan, madness. At what point to you decide a custom build is going to be better value for money & better built to the layout you want.

You could build a full Overland spec Unimog for that money.

Going down the custom/bespoke build route is a minefield. Loads of amateur cowboys who talk a good story about their high quality finishes and will build you whatever you want. The reality is that most of them only have a couple of designs that they'll build and will tell you that what you want is wrong, their way is best, then do shoddy workmanship on all the important bits you can't and won't see (insulation, vapour barrier, wiring, plumbing), but will woo you with nicely carpeted ply and fancy LED mood lighting that changes colours, then give you a bill for £30k.

[missing the VR6]

cptsideways said:

Borderline 100k for a boggo campervan, madness. At what point to you decide a custom build is going to be better value for money & better built to the layout you want.

You could build a full Overland spec Unimog for that money.

Genuine question, I see these overland things and think yeah super cool but what is the actual point in the UK or Europe? There's not the space to actually use the thing as intended is there. I get it in The Outback, or Utah or BC, but in Europe??

[missing the VR6]

Spuffington said:

Sorry to hear it's not working out. I agree with your approach though - it's a bucket load of money and I don't see any reason why you should be begging to part with it. I take the view the Salesman should be working hard to sell it.

I'm a firm believer in "everything happens for a reason" (hard to believe that where your wife's illness is concerned though) - so I'm sure whatever you end up with in due course will be the right van for you. Good luck with the search & end result. Keep us posted.

That's what we're feeling, both myself in car sales and my wife before her illness as a hairdresser are highly customer service orientated, it seemed odd to be told "we won't do this chargeable thing for you because we gave you a discount."

Without getting too off topic, it's actually been a real wake up call for me, I was always a plan for the future sort of guy, I still am, but I'm learning to be more spontaneous which has presented some very fun opportunities over the last months. Thank you for the kind words.

[nagsheadwarrior]

Blimey it amazes me how inept some places are lol especially at the moment as frankly there's a loooooad of stock about and not that many customers , multiple dealers on the cusp of gpung bust so I think those unwilling to actually work for it a little like it used to be are going to struggle .
Selling is actually fun and the order taking of the covid years got a bit dull when if you had it you k ew you could sell it 3 or 4 times over lol
Don't let it out you off, plenty of fish in the sea at the moment

[rugbyleague]

nagsheadwarrior said:

Blimey it amazes me how inept some places are lol especially at the moment as frankly there's a loooooad of stock about and not that many customers , multiple dealers on the cusp of gpung bust so I think those unwilling to actually work for it a little like it used to be are going to struggle .
Selling is actually fun and the order taking of the covid years got a bit dull when if you had it you k ew you could sell it 3 or 4 times over lol
Don't let it out you off, plenty of fish in the sea at the moment

Genuine question sir, given your words above if I was in the market for Motorhome and completely fresh to it, what would be realistic to expect in terms of reductions, extras etc.

I'm always out for a bargain, but also very keen not to offend!

Interestingly I looked at your website and they do appear a little cheaper than elsewhere?

[cptsideways]

missing the VR6 said:

cptsideways said:

Borderline 100k for a boggo campervan, madness. At what point to you decide a custom build is going to be better value for money & better built to the layout you want.

You could build a full Overland spec Unimog for that money.

Genuine question, I see these overland things and think yeah super cool but what is the actual point in the UK or Europe? There's not the space to actually use the thing as intended is there. I get it in The Outback, or Utah or BC, but in Europe??

I think the Auzzies get it about right, on their Ute platforms. I do like a good German build wagon though. Seriously have a look at some of the Chinese 4x4 iveco things, i can't wait till they start coming this way.

In comparison nearly 50-100k buys you some serious sailing yachts that you could travel the world on & live in for retirement.

[egor110]

rugbyleague said:

nagsheadwarrior said:

Blimey it amazes me how inept some places are lol especially at the moment as frankly there's a loooooad of stock about and not that many customers , multiple dealers on the cusp of gpung bust so I think those unwilling to actually work for it a little like it used to be are going to struggle .
Selling is actually fun and the order taking of the covid years got a bit dull when if you had it you k ew you could sell it 3 or 4 times over lol
Don't let it out you off, plenty of fish in the sea at the moment

Genuine question sir, given your words above if I was in the market for Motorhome and completely fresh to it, what would be realistic to expect in terms of reductions, extras etc.

I'm always out for a bargain, but also very keen not to offend!

Interestingly I looked at your website and they do appear a little cheaper than elsewhere?

He's not going to reveal his margin is he.

Anyone seriously interested in buying could do a lot worse than having a weekend break in the west country and visiting my place and nags head.

Sounds insane the op dealer wouldn't retrofit a led awning even though the op was paying for it !

[rugbyleague]

egor110 said:

He's not going to reveal his margin is he.

Anyone seriously interested in buying could do a lot worse than having a weekend break in the west country and visiting my place and nags head.

Sounds insane the op dealer wouldn't retrofit a led awning even though the op was paying for it !

No I understand not revealing margin but given whats happened to the prices of Motor homes over recent years and the rumours of the prices starting to flatten personally I am unsure if I would want purchase now or wait a little while just to see what happens to prices. I recognise that this maybe a flawed strategy!

West country is quite a way from the Lake District (but actually most places are................), but I'll have a look at your place too!

[E-bmw]

rugbyleague said:

No I understand not revealing margin but given whats happened to the prices of Motor homes over recent years and the rumours of the prices starting to flatten personally I am unsure if I would want purchase now or wait a little while just to see what happens to prices. I recognise that this maybe a flawed strategy!

If you operate under that strategy, surely, you will never buy anything!

If you want it, can afford it & get your money's worth out of it, the answer is buy it and live your life enjoying it.

[rugbyleague]

E-bmw said:

If you operate under that strategy, surely, you will never buy anything!

If you want it, can afford it & get your money's worth out of it, the answer is buy it and live your life enjoying it.

Good point not sure I quite agree but I get the sentiment!

[egor110]

rugbyleague said:

E-bmw said:

If you operate under that strategy, surely, you will never buy anything!

If you want it, can afford it & get your money's worth out of it, the answer is buy it and live your life enjoying it.

Good point not sure I quite agree but I get the sentiment!

Trouble is what do you actually want to spend and what do you aim to get for that amount ?

If you think your going to barter and get a A class for under 100k it's just not going to happen.

You'd be better off with a list of accesories you want and see what sort of deal you can end up with there rather than trying to get money knocked off the van.

Or wait until the end of they year and go to the motorhome show at the nec where dealers have show special deals.

[POIDH]

We went to our local dealer to look when we first considered it. They were very helpful, allowed us to nosy at all sorts of layouts.
But blimey they were astronomical on price. We looked at two VW T5 high top LWB factory converted vans. Both 80-100k miles. Both 'worn'. £50k and £60k.
We bought privately locally a Bilbo's LWB high top 20k miles and polished van - for £29k....
I would say the rest of the stock was similarly priced.

We then went to a cheaper dealer. And his vans were really rather stty. We offered on one, pricing in our garage doing full mechanical overhaul and a habitation once over - he turned us down. This was last April. He had the van we offered on in stock until last month...

[r3g]

POIDH said:

We went to our local dealer to look when we first considered it. They were very helpful, allowed us to nosy at all sorts of layouts.
But blimey they were astronomical on price. We looked at two VW T5 high top LWB factory converted vans. Both 80-100k miles. Both 'worn'. £50k and £60k.
We bought privately locally a Bilbo's LWB high top 20k miles and polished van - for £29k....
I would say the rest of the stock was similarly priced.

We then went to a cheaper dealer. And his vans were really rather stty. We offered on one, pricing in our garage doing full mechanical overhaul and a habitation once over - he turned us down. This was last April. He had the van we offered on in stock until last month...

50% of the price of anything VW camper is "scene" and " fanboi" with the other 50% being what the vehicle is actually worth (and that's probably being generous). The VW fanbois will pay obscene amounts to be seen in a VW. They sell, there's a lot of demand, and the dealers know they can sell absolute mechanical dogs for a tidy profit if they spend a couple of hours with a Das-6 Pro.

People still have too much money sloshing around for the bigger discounts to happen yet. Dealers aren't going to reduce unless they absolutely have to. The tide is slowly turning though as the ad sites are absolutely flooded with coachbuilt MHs and conversions. I've been actively looking for something of a specific spec for the best part of a year now, and the same vans keep appearing month after month with very little change in their ad prices.

[egor110]

Your after the rear lounge ?

[nagsheadwarrior]

rugbyleague said:

nagsheadwarrior said:

Blimey it amazes me how inept some places are lol especially at the moment as frankly there's a loooooad of stock about and not that many customers , multiple dealers on the cusp of gpung bust so I think those unwilling to actually work for it a little like it used to be are going to struggle .
Selling is actually fun and the order taking of the covid years got a bit dull when if you had it you k ew you could sell it 3 or 4 times over lol
Don't let it out you off, plenty of fish in the sea at the moment

Genuine question sir, given your words above if I was in the market for Motorhome and completely fresh to it, what would be realistic to expect in terms of reductions, extras etc.

I'm always out for a bargain, but also very keen not to offend!

Interestingly I looked at your website and they do appear a little cheaper than elsewhere?

A fair question but not easy to answer!
Where I am in South Devon we have 3 very near competitors, 2 Marquis branches and an extremely expensive independent.
Now I price the used vans for my branch and I know on used stock almost always we are the cheapest around, we probably work on smaller than most margins and turn them over quickly, that's how I like to do it, however that means we won't be discounting heavily as said local independent but van for van on used will still be thousands cheaper mist of the time .
We sell a lot of vans to people all over the country and while I'd like to think it's down to my natural Panache realistically it's because we are the cheapest or joint cheapest in the country and offer an In house not insurance backed warranty.
So really, on used it's not discount it's a matter of what you pay, if you're local dealer has a van then Internet price check and chat to them about similar cheaper ones you've found and see if they'll match or beat it.
We don't tend to knock much over the £500-£1000 off as we are already on the moneys price wise, if stuff sticks that's different then we will reduce it anyways as needed.
Also depends on what you're buying and where , freshly arrived super desirable stock that will sell anyway you're not gonna get much off anywhere .
Non washroom camper van or big 6 berth coachbuilt that everyone's got loads of then go for a deal.

New is the same idea, if there's loads out there sat on forecourts you'll get a better deal bit maybe have a less desirable van come resale time.
I've an Adria Comaoct DL on my pitch, last one for the model year, our best selling adria coachbuilt I could sell another 10 so whoever gets it might get a free alarm/Tracker and a TV aerial as a kicker but we aren't going to knock thousands off.
Want a adria sonic 700 a class? we got 6 coming sold none this year at all so a few thousand off and some goodies is easily achievable
What's good stock varies dealer to dealer and different areas , in Devon we do better with Compact coachbuilts, drop down bed stuff and full size van conversions, some up country do better with the bigger stuff.
Just be honest with your dealer , make it clear you're serious and if they are Aby good they will want to get your business

Edited by nagsheadwarrior on Tuesday 19th March 01:32

[rugbyleague]

nagsheadwarrior said:

A fair question but not easy to answer!
Where I am in South Devon we have 3 very near competitors, 2 Marquis branches and an extremely expensive independent.
Now I price the used vans for my branch and I know on used stock almost always we are the cheapest around, we probably work on smaller than most margins and turn them over quickly, that's how I like to do it, however that means we won't be discounting heavily as said local independent but van for van on used will still be thousands cheaper mist of the time .
We sell a lot of vans to people all over the country and while I'd like to think it's down to my natural Panache realistically it's because we are the cheapest or joint cheapest in the country and offer an In house not insurance backed warranty.
So really, on used it's not discount it's a matter of what you pay, if you're local dealer has a van then Internet price check and chat to them about similar cheaper ones you've found and see if they'll match or beat it.
We don't tend to knock much over the £500-£1000 off as we are already on the moneys price wise, if stuff sticks that's different then we will reduce it anyways as needed.
Also depends on what you're buying and where , freshly arrived super desirable stock that will sell anyway you're not gonna get much off anywhere .
Non washroom camper van or big 6 berth coachbuilt that everyone's got loads of then go for a deal.

New is the same idea, if there's loads out there sat on forecourts you'll get a better deal bit maybe have a less desirable van come resale time.
I've an Adria Comaoct DL on my pitch, last one for the model year, our best selling adria coachbuilt I could sell another 10 so whoever gets it might get a free alarm/Tracker and a TV aerial as a kicker but we aren't going to knock thousands off.
Want a adria sonic 700 a class? we got 6 coming sold none this year at all so a few thousand off and some goodies is easily achievable
What's good stock varies dealer to dealer and different areas , in Devon we do better with Compact coachbuilts, drop down bed stuff and full size van conversions, some up country do better with the bigger stuff.
Just be honest with your dealer , make it clear you're serious and if they are Aby good they will want to get your business

Edited by nagsheadwarrior on Tuesday 19th March 01:32

Thank you for such a detailed and comprehensive reply, its really nice to see a response like that especially when it's from someone directly in the industry. I much prefer a competitive price to start with rather than effort to make it competitive.

I've had a look around a number of motorhomes recently and I'm undecided on layout.

In a couple of weeks I'm collecting a brand new motorhome from Italy and delivering it to Edinburgh, I'm hoping that this adventure will help me decide a) if it's for me and b) identify likes/dislikes of layouts.

Interesting times ahead I think