selling my motorhome- where to advertise?
Discussion
I have decided to sell our lovely motorhome but need some advice if poss, as never sold one privately before. So far have advertised it on Gumtree and preloved, and of course on Pistonheads (big stuff).
However i was tempted to advertise in one of the usual mags (MMM, practical mhome etc) until i saw their rates, £45 per month which includes 8 weeks on the out and about live website etc.
we bought it from a local dealer and when we were looking generally stuck to local dealerships to view at, altho i would have bought privately had i seen the same van anywhere first.
so i suppose i am asking where would buyers tend to look online when trying to find themselves a motorhome if looking for a private sale?
as an aside i also (foolishly!) gave a couple of the "motorhome buyers" a bell that advertise in the mags. needless to say the offers were insulting from the ones that actually bothered to return my call, being about £8k less than the actual vans value. profit obviously needs to be made on their sales but the van is 6yrs old and has only 8k miles on it, they would need to spend very little (if anything at all) to put it on their forecourt.
any help/suggestions appreciated, i dont mind sitting and waiting for a sale but want to advertise it in the most likely way if it costs to do so.
However i was tempted to advertise in one of the usual mags (MMM, practical mhome etc) until i saw their rates, £45 per month which includes 8 weeks on the out and about live website etc.
we bought it from a local dealer and when we were looking generally stuck to local dealerships to view at, altho i would have bought privately had i seen the same van anywhere first.
so i suppose i am asking where would buyers tend to look online when trying to find themselves a motorhome if looking for a private sale?
as an aside i also (foolishly!) gave a couple of the "motorhome buyers" a bell that advertise in the mags. needless to say the offers were insulting from the ones that actually bothered to return my call, being about £8k less than the actual vans value. profit obviously needs to be made on their sales but the van is 6yrs old and has only 8k miles on it, they would need to spend very little (if anything at all) to put it on their forecourt.
any help/suggestions appreciated, i dont mind sitting and waiting for a sale but want to advertise it in the most likely way if it costs to do so.
£8000 margin on a buy in is about right for a dealer in September in a poor selling year.
The dealer will discount a van by at least £2000 maybe more/equivalent in over allowance on a p.x, then take into account average costs of at least £500 for tax/servicing/mot/valet/warranty,that leaves £5500.
From the £5500 knock the 20% vat dealers pay on the profit margin off then your down to £4400, out of this you have to pay all the wages and for the big shiny showroom.
Take into account that if the dealer hasnt sold the van by mid-late October which is reasonably likely then it'll still be sat there next January too then £8k gross is fair enough.
A Classified ad with best offer on ebay would be my recommendation, split the difference between your trade offer and what they go for on dealers forecourts and your about right then see if you get any interest.
The other thing worth considering is sale or return or brokerage which are the same thing, all dealershave different ways of doing it,some take a percentage of purchase price or some return an agreed price upon completion of sale, we do the latter with a £6k margin so if a van goes on the pitch for £26995 the customer gets £21000 on completion of sale,its a no hassle sale which returns a bit better than straight selling to the trade but takes a bit longer.
Finally I wouldnt really bother with MMM,its expensive and takes forever to get the advert in the mag but it is good once its in there, maybe try Autotrader or Caravan finder too, it is tricky though as most first timers buy in spring so most buyers will have a swapper later in the year or be scared of a private sale for very large wedgesof cash with no comeback.
Best of luck with it either way.
The dealer will discount a van by at least £2000 maybe more/equivalent in over allowance on a p.x, then take into account average costs of at least £500 for tax/servicing/mot/valet/warranty,that leaves £5500.
From the £5500 knock the 20% vat dealers pay on the profit margin off then your down to £4400, out of this you have to pay all the wages and for the big shiny showroom.
Take into account that if the dealer hasnt sold the van by mid-late October which is reasonably likely then it'll still be sat there next January too then £8k gross is fair enough.
A Classified ad with best offer on ebay would be my recommendation, split the difference between your trade offer and what they go for on dealers forecourts and your about right then see if you get any interest.
The other thing worth considering is sale or return or brokerage which are the same thing, all dealershave different ways of doing it,some take a percentage of purchase price or some return an agreed price upon completion of sale, we do the latter with a £6k margin so if a van goes on the pitch for £26995 the customer gets £21000 on completion of sale,its a no hassle sale which returns a bit better than straight selling to the trade but takes a bit longer.
Finally I wouldnt really bother with MMM,its expensive and takes forever to get the advert in the mag but it is good once its in there, maybe try Autotrader or Caravan finder too, it is tricky though as most first timers buy in spring so most buyers will have a swapper later in the year or be scared of a private sale for very large wedgesof cash with no comeback.
Best of luck with it either way.
nagsheadwarrior said:
£8000 margin on a buy in is about right for a dealer in September in a poor selling year.
The dealer will discount a van by at least £2000 maybe more/equivalent in over allowance on a p.x, then take into account average costs of at least £500 for tax/servicing/mot/valet/warranty,that leaves £5500.
From the £5500 knock the 20% vat dealers pay on the profit margin off then your down to £4400, out of this you have to pay all the wages and for the big shiny showroom.
Take into account that if the dealer hasnt sold the van by mid-late October which is reasonably likely then it'll still be sat there next January too then £8k gross is fair enough.
A Classified ad with best offer on ebay would be my recommendation, split the difference between your trade offer and what they go for on dealers forecourts and your about right then see if you get any interest.
The other thing worth considering is sale or return or brokerage which are the same thing, all dealershave different ways of doing it,some take a percentage of purchase price or some return an agreed price upon completion of sale, we do the latter with a £6k margin so if a van goes on the pitch for £26995 the customer gets £21000 on completion of sale,its a no hassle sale which returns a bit better than straight selling to the trade but takes a bit longer.
Finally I wouldnt really bother with MMM,its expensive and takes forever to get the advert in the mag but it is good once its in there, maybe try Autotrader or Caravan finder too, it is tricky though as most first timers buy in spring so most buyers will have a swapper later in the year or be scared of a private sale for very large wedgesof cash with no comeback.
Best of luck with it either way.
thanks for that, very helpful. i hadnt considered sale /return or brokerage. need to find out who might do this locally. how do i stand for insurance cover etc while left with a dealer?The dealer will discount a van by at least £2000 maybe more/equivalent in over allowance on a p.x, then take into account average costs of at least £500 for tax/servicing/mot/valet/warranty,that leaves £5500.
From the £5500 knock the 20% vat dealers pay on the profit margin off then your down to £4400, out of this you have to pay all the wages and for the big shiny showroom.
Take into account that if the dealer hasnt sold the van by mid-late October which is reasonably likely then it'll still be sat there next January too then £8k gross is fair enough.
A Classified ad with best offer on ebay would be my recommendation, split the difference between your trade offer and what they go for on dealers forecourts and your about right then see if you get any interest.
The other thing worth considering is sale or return or brokerage which are the same thing, all dealershave different ways of doing it,some take a percentage of purchase price or some return an agreed price upon completion of sale, we do the latter with a £6k margin so if a van goes on the pitch for £26995 the customer gets £21000 on completion of sale,its a no hassle sale which returns a bit better than straight selling to the trade but takes a bit longer.
Finally I wouldnt really bother with MMM,its expensive and takes forever to get the advert in the mag but it is good once its in there, maybe try Autotrader or Caravan finder too, it is tricky though as most first timers buy in spring so most buyers will have a swapper later in the year or be scared of a private sale for very large wedgesof cash with no comeback.
Best of luck with it either way.
edit to add, my van has also just had the major cambelt service done as 5yrs old, has 11 months mot and is taxed to nov. interior is immaculate and just cleaned from top to bottom, exterior will be valeted prior to me taking it anywhere to sell/dealers etc. it literally needs a warranty sticking on top.
bananaman1 said:
I'm searching for a motorhome at the moment.the 2 places I check on a daily basis are eBay and autotrader .
have a look on pistonheads big stuff then :-)thanks though for reply, i hadnt yet done anything about autotrader and may well advertise on there; - i dont think i will bother with ebay though as too many scare stories of sellers getting hassled etc.
200Plus Club said:
thanks for that, very helpful. i hadnt considered sale /return or brokerage. need to find out who might do this locally. how do i stand for insurance cover etc while left with a dealer?
edit to add, my van has also just had the major cambelt service done as 5yrs old, has 11 months mot and is taxed to nov. interior is immaculate and just cleaned from top to bottom, exterior will be valeted prior to me taking it anywhere to sell/dealers etc. it literally needs a warranty sticking on top.
With us the vans covered my the company insurance while in our posession but defo check this with anywhere you used and I'd keep your current insuraance up too just in case.edit to add, my van has also just had the major cambelt service done as 5yrs old, has 11 months mot and is taxed to nov. interior is immaculate and just cleaned from top to bottom, exterior will be valeted prior to me taking it anywhere to sell/dealers etc. it literally needs a warranty sticking on top.
Your van looks really nice,its got the right bits and engine and most people dont think to get the belt changed on age rather than mileage,as you know they're fairly rare and the hooge bathroom is always a good feature to get the wifes approval!
We'd retail that at circa £23995,some places might even go one more than that so you've priced it right enough, where abouts are you based I'll recommend somewhere local?
We bought ours this spring , advertised on eBay but we obsessively checked all the usual places,
We needed a definate spec and it was frustrating to keep seeing good but not quite right vans selling cheap,
When the right van appeared we where on it in a flash, trouble was the seller had only just advertised it and wasn't ready to knock a lot of the asking price. In the end we still got a good deal but don't think the seller realised how lucky he was to find a buyer so quickly.
Guess you just need a bit of luck and someone like me will snap your hand off
Luck paid me back tho when I sold my caravan , put on eBay Sunday morn and sold it that afternoon !
We needed a definate spec and it was frustrating to keep seeing good but not quite right vans selling cheap,
When the right van appeared we where on it in a flash, trouble was the seller had only just advertised it and wasn't ready to knock a lot of the asking price. In the end we still got a good deal but don't think the seller realised how lucky he was to find a buyer so quickly.
Guess you just need a bit of luck and someone like me will snap your hand off
Luck paid me back tho when I sold my caravan , put on eBay Sunday morn and sold it that afternoon !
nagsheadwarrior said:
With us the vans covered my the company insurance while in our posession but defo check this with anywhere you used and I'd keep your current insuraance up too just in case.
Your van looks really nice,its got the right bits and engine and most people dont think to get the belt changed on age rather than mileage,as you know they're fairly rare and the hooge bathroom is always a good feature to get the wifes approval!
We'd retail that at circa £23995,some places might even go one more than that so you've priced it right enough, where abouts are you based I'll recommend somewhere local?
in sheffield, any assistance appreciated thanks. someone also pointed out i can advertise on a couple other websites foc including practical motorhome so i'll put the advert on them as well. it may take a long while to sell, thats fine, and i would consider an arrangement with a dealer to sell on my behalf etc. we also searched high and low for the right motorhome for us, the large bathroom being a main point as i'm a big chuff and couldnt even stand up in some motorhome bathrooms and showers lolYour van looks really nice,its got the right bits and engine and most people dont think to get the belt changed on age rather than mileage,as you know they're fairly rare and the hooge bathroom is always a good feature to get the wifes approval!
We'd retail that at circa £23995,some places might even go one more than that so you've priced it right enough, where abouts are you based I'll recommend somewhere local?
200Plus Club said:
nagsheadwarrior said:
With us the vans covered my the company insurance while in our posession but defo check this with anywhere you used and I'd keep your current insuraance up too just in case.
Your van looks really nice,its got the right bits and engine and most people dont think to get the belt changed on age rather than mileage,as you know they're fairly rare and the hooge bathroom is always a good feature to get the wifes approval!
We'd retail that at circa £23995,some places might even go one more than that so you've priced it right enough, where abouts are you based I'll recommend somewhere local?
in sheffield, any assistance appreciated thanks. someone also pointed out i can advertise on a couple other websites foc including practical motorhome so i'll put the advert on them as well. it may take a long while to sell, thats fine, and i would consider an arrangement with a dealer to sell on my behalf etc. we also searched high and low for the right motorhome for us, the large bathroom being a main point as i'm a big chuff and couldnt even stand up in some motorhome bathrooms and showers lolYour van looks really nice,its got the right bits and engine and most people dont think to get the belt changed on age rather than mileage,as you know they're fairly rare and the hooge bathroom is always a good feature to get the wifes approval!
We'd retail that at circa £23995,some places might even go one more than that so you've priced it right enough, where abouts are you based I'll recommend somewhere local?
Must admit I dont know if any of the Yorkshire dealers are that into s.o.r, sometimes you're better with the smaller places like Springfield Motorhomes maybe or South Yorkshire Motorhomes.
If you fancied crossing the pennines we'd (large dealership rhymes with shambles!) have a bash at s.o.r ing it for you, you can probably work out from what we'd retail it at and what our s.o.r margin is what we'd return you for it or p.m me and I'll give you all the ins and outs of it.
ok will do thanks. as it happens i have just had my first enquiry via preloved, and have replied, so maybe something will come of that.
as for motorhome buying, we looked at so many that i couldnt fit into that i had a routine of heading straight for the loo, then the shower, and then straight back out of the van at shows/dealers without my missus even stepping in the van :-)
i've still bashed my head in ours on numerous occasions lol!
as for motorhome buying, we looked at so many that i couldnt fit into that i had a routine of heading straight for the loo, then the shower, and then straight back out of the van at shows/dealers without my missus even stepping in the van :-)
i've still bashed my head in ours on numerous occasions lol!
200Plus Club said:
ok will do thanks. as it happens i have just had my first enquiry via preloved, and have replied, so maybe something will come of that.
as for motorhome buying, we looked at so many that i couldnt fit into that i had a routine of heading straight for the loo, then the shower, and then straight back out of the van at shows/dealers without my missus even stepping in the van :-)
i've still bashed my head in ours on numerous occasions lol!
turned out to be a timewaster. :-(as for motorhome buying, we looked at so many that i couldnt fit into that i had a routine of heading straight for the loo, then the shower, and then straight back out of the van at shows/dealers without my missus even stepping in the van :-)
i've still bashed my head in ours on numerous occasions lol!
oh well. onwards and upwards!
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