Second Hand Motor Home Europe

Eazos1

Hello

Where is the best place in Europe to purchase a second hand motorhome – i.e. best stock, best connectivity to Ireland,

Are there any good dealers there or would simply purchasing directly from a seller be ok (I speak german). If the latter would doing a habitation test, damp test, be enough in terms of the vehicle? How would I verify the authenticity of the seller?

We are a family of 2 adults, a 2,4,6 year old so any particular motorhomes to recommend (I am looking at a budget of EUR 110k or less). Looking at safety, possibly rear bunks and also resales value (we might use it for 3-4 months and then sell it)

I am considering doing a C1 driving test to drive vehicles over 3,500kg – is it worth it? Could it limit the resale value?

Thanks

Eoghan

Calahonda52

You might be better off negotiating a long term rental.

The learner permit piece wont help with the C1

A learner permit allows you to drive on all public roads, except motorways, for the purposes of learning to drive a light truck or large van and only drive when accompanied by someone who has held a full, valid driving licence in the same category for more than two years. 

https://www.rsa.ie/services/learner-drivers/get-qualified/cpc-driver---truck---c1

If you speak German then go to Germany and deal with a dealer.

your budget in Germany will be c 90 K as they will add on 13.5% minimum VRT here.

You wont buy much, af anything decent for 90 k that is over 3.5

dory

I would recommend visiting the NEC in Birmingham to get a sense of what vans would be good for 5 people. No many have 5 seatbelts from what I've seen. At least then if you know what kind of van you want you can head to Germany with half an idea.

CelticRambler

If you're only going to use it for three or four months, I wouldn't waste any time or energy trying to buy one. One of the "golden rules" before buying a motorhome is to first rent one and see how you get on; if you don't do that, the next best thing (which is what we did) is to visit several motorhome fairs with the children and "role play" in several different models. The dealers won't be too keen on the exercise, but you'd be surprised at what shortcomings reveal themselves.

Similarly, there's little point in committing to a driving licence upgrade for such a short period of ownership unless you have some other good reason to want it. I did get a full C licence (instructor said "why settle for C1 when you can get a more useful C for the same cost?") - but again, that's because we were looking at long-term ownership and potentially a very hefty vehicle.

There are literally thousands of motorhome rental places all over continental Europe who'd offer you a selection of 3.5t vehicles from which you could choose a best first guess. If you have some flexibility regarding dates, you could almost certainly negotiate a decent rate for three or four months.

Also worth bearing in mind that any new-to-you vehicle might come with unseen problems that'll need to be sorted out. Ours, bought new, was in and out of workshops several times over the course of its first six months on the road as various niggles came to light. You wouldn't want to plan a four-month adventure and find that you were stuck in a garage for two of those.