Buying a motorhome: how to choose the right model?
Buying a motorhome is a dream for many travelers, but it requires a large budget. To put all the chances on your side when investing, it is important to ask the right questions prior to purchase. Identify your needs, consider the bids, and learn about the models and options available: an overview of the criteria to be taken into account before buying a camper.
Choose a motorhome by knowing your needs
Before buying a motorhome, clearly identify your needs to choose a suitable model. Do you intend to use it only a few weeks in the summer, or several times throughout the year? Do you travel alone, as a couple, or as a family? Are you rather adventurous or very attached to your comfort?
Using all these elements, you can direct your searches to models that are more targeted to your expectations. You’ll also avoid giving in to the sirens of a promotional tempting or a commercial very convincing that might convince you to purchase a model that does not meet completely your expectations.
Know the different models and their features
If you have started to check the offers, you may have noticed that there are several models of motorhomes, each with its advantages and limitations. Among the most well-known, camping-car Capucine is recognizable by its bubble, which overlooks the cabin and includes a sleeping alcove, optimizing the best use of the space in the vehicle. The most spacious and can offer up to 7 beds. On the other hand, these models have the disadvantage of being somewhat aerodynamic.
Camping-car profile, the profile more dynamic than the Nasturtium, is available with or without a bed and pullout. One offers more sleeping arrangements, while the other offers more interior light. Camping-car integral stands out by its vast spaces of life, optimized by a retractable bed, and it’s outside the lines worked. It is however more expensive than the previous two models. Another possibility, is as the van was designed, discreet, handy, and space-saving with its 6 m long. An image of the “compact” which translates necessarily by habitability reduced compared with other campers.
buying a motorhome: try before you buy.
Before choosing a camping car why not test multiple models through the rental? Time of a weekend or a holiday, you can try several vehicles, in order to compare the advantages and limitations of each or familiarize yourself with a template before purchasing it. Some dealers offer a rental period of one week before buying: please do not hesitate to educate yourself on the offers.
This test phase can also be an immersion in the world of “motorhome“: the opportunity to build relationships with peers and receive valuable advice from them.
Think of the interview as soon as you purchase your RV.
A campervan is typically used to perform long distances, but rarely throughout the year. To ensure an optimum life span, it is essential to maintain your vehicle regularly. Before you make your purchase from a dealer, make sure that it has a repair shop or a network of platforms approved to ensure periodic maintenance of your motorhome. You will have the assurance that he will take care of all the necessary repairs, from the most basic control seal to the more specific such as the repair of optional equipment, such as solar panels, for example.
Buy with all the information in hand
Before the purchase, the supplier is obliged to provide the customer with a certain amount of information, to enable him to make an informed choice. A label placed on the vehicle must indicate :
- the trade name (brand, type, vehicle model, version, and/or variant of the model),
- the VAT-inclusive price (including the cost of the road, and the costs of the preparation and provision),
- the information related to the average fuel consumption of the vehicle and its carbon dioxide emissions2.
Once the sale is completed, an information document is given to the buyer before an agreement on an offer is defined. This document should cite :
- the name of the sale,
- the selling price including all taxes (including fees for transport, preparation to the road as well as the provision of license plates final),
- the VAT-inclusive price of the equipment and options that have been requested by the purchaser,
- the deadline date for the vehicle shall be delivered,
- the date on which the buyer accepts delivery of the motorhome,
- the buyer’s right to cancel the purchase and ask for the refund of sums already paid, plus interest calculated at the legal rate, if the seller is unable to deliver the vehicle specified in the order form, within the time announced.
The order must also specify the mode of financing of the vehicle, with or without credit (” credit ” or “in cash” on the document). If the buyer is financing the property through a credit agency, it is free to opt for the one proposed by the seller or another of their choice. The validity of the sale depends on obtaining a loan, knowing that the buyer has a right to cancel during the 14 days following the signature of the credit offer.
Anticipate your investment
As a general rule, a motorhome’s reliable input range is accessible from 45 000 €. However, the average prices of the model’s profiles are rather around 55 000 €; count 65 000 € for a full.
If you plan to finance your RV with the help of a credit, plan for a personal contribution of 20 % of the total price to a minimum. In effect, the value of a camper decreases rapidly during its first few years, while the financial burden that it represents, still remains high. The financial contribution will allow you to reduce the cost and duration of your credit, while the underwriting of the credit will offer you benefits such as protection in the event of disability or death, or a warranty extension up to the end of the funding.
before buying a motorhome think to resell
Even if the issue of resale should not arise immediately after purchase, they must still be included in your criteria when choosing your vehicle. A campervan is well-appointed, spacious, with several beds, well maintained, with many options (air-conditioned cabin, fridge 175 L, roof window…) can be found more easily lessee of a vehicle badly arranged or already outdated at the time you purchase it. By buying opportunities, you should also know that the big brands with a larger network of distributors are logically more popular.