Whether you voted in or out, the UK’s decision to leave the EU is sure to have some major knock-on effects.
Somewhat lost among the political manoeuvring has been what Brexit might mean for consumers of all sorts of goods.
At Emm-Bee we are of course most concerned with what it means for the motorhome industry.
In short, does Brexit mean it’s a good time to buy a motorhome, or is it best to wait a while?
And, if buying, are new or used motorhomes better value?
One factor to consider is the cost of importing motorhomes to the UK.
Currently, free trade within the EU means that any European-made motorhome – so most motorhomes – doesn’t have extra costs attached. The consumer in the UK gets as good a deal as those in Germany, or France, or Italy (though of course the exchange rate between the Pound and Euro has an impact).
For the foreseeable future, this is likely to remain the case, but as the formal process of leaving the EU is actioned the chances of import and export duties being applied to UK-EU trade only increase.
On this factor, there is no immediate rush to buy, although the longer the wait, the greater the risk of additional costs to purchase.
As it became apparent that the UK was leaving the EU, the Pound’s value quickly dropped. At the time of writing this August 2016 this continues to be the case.
Drops in the Pound make imports more expensive, so any motorhome dealer buying vehicles from the EU will pay more – and of course at least some of this expense will unfortunately hit the customer.
This means that buying existing new stock, bought at less expense by the dealer, might work out cheaper than waiting months, when the stock in the forecourt may arrive at considerably greater expense.
The advice on this factor would be to buy before prices rise.
One factor to consider is that if prices do rise due to import costs and the exchange rate, then anyone buying now could benefit from greatly reduced depreciation rates.
Let’s say you buy a new motorhome for £60,000 but in two years that same model has jumped to £70,000 simply through economic factors, rather than the model having been upgraded.
That means that the model bought at £60,000 is likely to be still worth far closer to that value than would otherwise have been the case.
Who knows what the effects of Brexit will be on the overall economy – you’ll have your own views on that, although depending on when you’re reading this the picture might be somewhat clearer.
However, what the change means for your own economic prospects of course has an impact. If Brexit means you face financial hardships, then buying a new motorhome might not be the most sensible option. However, it might lead to an economic boost for your family which means you have money to invest.
This is one only you can answer!
All things considered, is it a good time or not to buy a motorhome as Brexit changes start to take effect.
Ultimately, much will come down to your personal circumstances, but what we can say is that there are several advantages to buying before prices potentially rise.
With lower initial prices, then less of a drop through depreciation, potentially the smart buyer could save money twice.
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.
