For those with deep pockets, there are motorhomes with a six-digit price tag with a brand new number plate, top of the range spec in every way and every imaginable driver aid.
But what cheap used motorhomes are available for those of us on a tighter budget? Is it still possible to pick up a great motorhome and with it ensure memorable holidays full of adventure for years to come?
Of course what constitutes a tight budget will vary from person to person – but for the purpose of this blog we better set the bar somewhere. Let’s have a look at motorhomes under £25,000
Of course, that’s still a sizeable chunk of money – far more than the cost of a typical new car. That, though, isn’t a fair comparison.
The motorhome is an expense to be compared against the cost of other types of holidays. Let’s say you use a motorhome twice a year; once for a break in the UK, the other for a family holiday in Europe.
That UK holiday could easily cost the best part of £1,000; the trip abroad, especially in school holiday time, several thousand pounds.
Set against holiday costs, a motorhome can have paid for itself inside a few years, while still retaining resale value.
Buy a used motorhome for £25,000, use it for a decade, and then sell or trade in and you will have saved money compared to the exorbitant cost of a decade’s worth of package holidays.
With holidays in hotels, self-catering and the like there is a high annual cost, but never the need to spend tens of thousands in one go. But use a bank loan or other form of finance to pay for a second hand motorhome and it is likely to work out favourably in the medium to long term, especially with interest rates remaining at historic lows.
But even if you can raise the finance and like the idea in theory, what is 25k going to get you, and what if you’re looking cheaper still?
At the time of writing, at Emm-Bee Motorhome Dealers we have seven used motorhomes for less than £25,000 (plus a couple more just above 25k where we might be able to come to an agreement!)
Are these all high mileage, old vehicles? Would you be embarrassed to drive them down to the south of France?
Categorically, the answer is a ‘no’. Obviously we can’t vouch for this if you’re reading this way in the future, but generally we do provide good motorhomes for those on a budget.
And don’t forget a good general point. While motorhomes often go on lengthy trips they don’t go on many trips each year and so the mileage doesn’t tend to match that of a car of similar age.
Of the motorhomes mentioned, three have done fewer than 20,000 miles and none have done more than 75,000. Four of the motorhomes are in the 50-60,000 mile range; with modern engines easily able to run to hundreds of thousands of miles none present any cause for concern – especially when you factor in that the majority of motorhome mileage is on motorways. It’s easy miles.
Within the selection there are two berth motorhomes right through to sixth berths – one of the homes just over £25,000 is a six berth Ford – six years old with only 10,000 miles on the clock. That one might have gone by the time you read this!
For significantly less, £14,995 to be precise, the prudent buyer could pick up a 1998 Suntor 400 RL. Does it have Wi-Fi, Bluetooth connectivity? No. Does it have every driver aid of the 2016 models? No again.
But is it reliable, comfortable and a great base for a holiday? Absolutely. It’s done 53,000 miles – you could put 30,000 more miles on it and then trade it in, or sell on for a decent amount. Most of the depreciation has already happened.
If luxury matters, high mileage newer motorhomes will be an option. Any motorhome dealer can keep an eye out for what you’re interested in; though it’s worth noting that a lot of people are after a high mileage Burstner or similar!
BUSRTNER MOTORHOMES: High spec even second hand
Perhaps you won’t know for sure if a used motorhome is for you until you’ve stepped inside a couple and had a test drive. Could you imagine yourself inside in the Lake District, in France, in Italy, on a ski trip having saved thousands on flights and hotels?
Visit a local dealer and see for yourself – if you do like what you see, you’ll be buying an investment which will not only save you thousands in the long run, it will also give you complete freedom to take a break wherever and whenever you want.
Emm-Bee is a leading UK family-run motorhome dealership based in Bury, Greater Manchester.
As well as stocking the latest models from leading makes such as Burstner, Chausson, Bailey and Laika, we also have an unrivalled stock of used motorhomes for sale.
We pride ourselves on customer satisfaction and offering unmatched levels of service – we have been in business for 25 years and have flourished on word-of-mouth recommendations.
Please have a look round the site to check our range of used motorhomes and do get in touch with any queries, or just to pick our brains.
