Cheap motor home

Author
Discussion

keithsmith777

Original Poster:

68 posts

183 months

Sunday 6th July 2014
quotequote all
Hi guys, me and the missus have decided to look for a cheap motorhome,only looking on spending £8-10k,in your opinion do you think I will get anything decent and reliable for that money. Looking on eBay and similar talbots are cheap as are fiats but not too sure on engine reliability.Realy like Hymers too, any advice will be greatly appreciated!
Cheers Keith.

sulli

584 posts

226 months

Sunday 6th July 2014
quotequote all
In a word, yes, if you do your homework you can get a pretty decent older one for £10k. In fact I know of people who have spent 3 times that and had more problems than with an older, cheaper model.
Fiat ducato coachbuilts are a good base, as the engines will run forever.
Consider a european built one, generally Italian and German ones are very well built, and anecdotally I have seen more issues with the british ones....
Have a look at as many as possible, look at private sales as you won't get a ridiculous dealer premium price, and as long as you do your checks you may walk away with a bargain.
Loads of stuff to look for, but if you can get a damp meter then worth checking for water ingress as well as looking for obvious signs. Check all appliances work, fridge on gas, etc, battery etc, hot water, heating.
Regular servicing, both mechanical and habitation with gas check.
Tyres need to not only have tread but be replaced every 5 years even if not worn, and are fairly pricey, £150ish a corner.
Good luck, after looking at a load of dogs, we stumbled upon an absolute bargain 3 years ago and have never looked back, best buy we have made, begs holidays ever, and still worth more than we paid for it!

nagsheadwarrior

2,789 posts

186 months

Sunday 6th July 2014
quotequote all
Sully has absolutely nailed it in my opinion.

O.P I'm in the trade, I work for a large dealer in Lancashire, we sell newer vans and trade out older pxs.

I've got a Hymer coming in at the end of the month that me and a colleague are going to buy ourselves, it's too nice to trade.

Drop me a p.m if you're interested and I'll give you more details, it'll be a well priced van.


MarshPhantom

9,658 posts

144 months

Monday 7th July 2014
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VW Florida? Paid £9.5K for ours about 5 years ago, very happy with it so far and everything just keeps on working.

They're aren't many over here as they weren't sold in the UK (LHD only), but they do come up for sale.

Foppo

2,344 posts

131 months

Thursday 10th July 2014
quotequote all
nagsheadwarrior said:
Sully has absolutely nailed it in my opinion.

O.P I'm in the trade, I work for a large dealer in Lancashire, we sell newer vans and trade out older pxs.

I've got a Hymer coming in at the end of the month that me and a colleague are going to buy ourselves, it's too nice to trade.

Drop me a p.m if you're interested and I'll give you more details, it'll be a well priced van.
What is so good about the Hymer is it build quality?

nagsheadwarrior

2,789 posts

186 months

Thursday 10th July 2014
quotequote all
Nothing g beyond Nothing else, they were sandwich construction n very unlikely to be damp n metal framed with age soo very unlikely to be damp compared to most vans of that age so the w 12 of campers, a safe bet really

keithsmith777

Original Poster:

68 posts

183 months

Thursday 10th July 2014
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Nhw, had some crazy insurance quotes,can you recommend any one ?
Just put my Indy up for sale -feel sick !!
Cheers Keith.

MarshPhantom

9,658 posts

144 months

Friday 11th July 2014
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Got our insurance through Staveley Head, less than £200 a year on a limited mileage policy.

www.staveleyhead.com

nagsheadwarrior

2,789 posts

186 months

Friday 11th July 2014
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Camper insurance should be cheap, we work with Caravangard and Safeguard who are both excellent but it pays to shop around through specialists.