Buying a motorhome: to haggle or not to haggle?

[Hopeful2go]

Hi,

We’re in the happy position of being able to consider buying a motorhome. Two berth - our offspring have long since flown the nest. There’s a lot of handy info on here about the pros and cons, specs etc which has been really helpful. What we now want to know is buying etiquette : i.e. if buying new, is it like buying a car, when the seller specifies a set price, but really expects you to haggle and negotiate a discount, or is the asking price set in stone?

I would email the spec to several dealers and see who is cheapest, but a friend bought his from 400 miles away as it was a better price, he had a warranty issue so an 800 mile trip to sort it!

When we bought our touring caravan we got them to throw in some extras. It was our first caravan so we had no idea it didn’t already come with the clean water barrel and grey waste container and gas bottles! Good advice above about whether it’s worth getting it from a long way away if there is a problem. One place we looked at for caravans gave a free week at their site so they could come and sort out any problems there and then, that might be worth considering too.

I wouldn't expect a discount , prices are through the roof because of covid. Even van prices are up , people wanting to DIY a conversion.

@Raxer26A

I wouldn't expect a discount , prices are through the roof because of covid. Even van prices are up , people wanting to DIY a conversion.

Thanks, all; that’s helpful.

@Raxer26A, yes, we suspect that might be the case, especially given the probable shortage of parts and long lead time; one dealer we contacted has just got back to us to say that they’ll probably not be getting in the model we’re interested in until at least October. I guess As a direct/indirect effect of Brexit/Covid and the like. If, as we think, we get the same reply from the other folk, we may need to think again, at the very least look at other 2-berthers or used. Although DH really would prefer new if poss. We’ll see.

We’re on our fifth motorhome all bought from dealerships, first two used but last three bought new. You won’t usually get a discount, if you were trading in you might get a bit but not otherwise. It really is worth paying the extra if it means the difference of buying local or at a distance .
Not just in case of warranty issues. To maintain the warranty you have to have an annual habitation check within a set number of days from first registration, much easier if the dealer can do it instead of trying to find a garage that dies them, most don’t & may not meet the warranty conditions even if they do. You usually have to leave it there for a good few hours, sometimes a full day, so if you’re travelling miles you need to find a way to pass the time without it or have someone follow in a car to bring you home.
Buying privately can be a minefield as it isn’t like a car, there’s far more to take into consideration.
Our local dealership were a godsend when we bought our first one & we’re away on our first trip finding problems we hadn’t expected, just in getting used to how everything worked. They were always willing to advise over the phone . Your first one can be a learning curve even though they usually walk things through on pick up.