ADVICE ON LEFT HAND DRIVE

[lynneroy]

I have found a cb with the perfect layout and a good price, but it is left hand drive, can anyone advise me on how difficult this would be to sell or p/x in the future please.

[lennyhb]

Has the advantage you can trade or sell it anywhere in Europe, with a CB LHD's are common in the UK most dealers will accept them.

My van is LHD wouldn't go back to RHD as we hardly use it in the UK.

[lynneroy]

Many thanks Lenny, that is really helpful to know as one day we hope to do mainly European travel but were worried about p/x. :->

[Rayjsj]

lynneroy - 2014-10-18 2:29 PM

 

Many thanks Lenny, that is really helpful to know as one day we hope to do mainly European travel but were worried about p/x. :->

 

I would ask an independant Dealer (not the one you are buying from). about how much they would give you in P/X for 'YOUR' LHD motorhome, I think you will find that it will be less than for a similar RHD one. There are many Van purchasers out there (myself included) who wouldn't look at a LHD van, mainly because I tour predominately in the UK. But I would check for yourself. Ray

[Cliffy]

We have a RH drive but would not worry about getting a LH drive as we travel mainly in Europe, which is not a problem as overtaking other than on dual carraige ways is a rarety but I would expect to get a better deal if buying one in the uk. I am sure when you come to trade it in it will give the dealer an opportunity to knock down the trade in value.

[lennyhb]

Rayjsj - 2014-10-18 2:40 PM

 

lynneroy - 2014-10-18 2:29 PM

 

Many thanks Lenny, that is really helpful to know as one day we hope to do mainly European travel but were worried about p/x. :->

 

I would ask an independant Dealer (not the one you are buying from). about how much they would give you in P/X for 'YOUR' LHD motorhome, I think you will find that it will be less than for a similar RHD one. There are many Van purchasers out there (myself included) who wouldn't look at a LHD van, mainly because I tour predominately in the UK. But I would check for yourself. Ray

 

Doesn't make any odds you paid less for the LHD to start with and if the depreciation is the same percentage?wise? you will have lost less cash, win, win.

[takeaflight]

IMO no point asking a dealer, no matter what you have it's never the right one. Unless their selling it.

 

LHD while now it's rare we use ours in the UK on the occasions we have, I have found it an advantage on narrow lanes, when the local skip companys truck is heading your way and on a mission, you can tuck yourself well into the left, that if I was sitting on the right I don't think I would be confident to get as close in.

 

Roy

[rupert123]

Would not touch a LHD unless for a very good price. In reality it is no harder to drive a RHD in Europe anyway. Make sure the price is a good one because when you change it you will certainly get a lot less for it.

[lennyhb]

rupert123 - 2014-10-18 5:00 PM

 

Would not touch a LHD unless for a very good price. In reality it is no harder to drive a RHD in Europe anyway. Make sure the price is a good one because when you change it you will certainly get a lot less for it.

 

There you go again Henery, not true you paid a lot less for it so obviously you will get less when you sell.

 

Buy a RHD the only place you can sell or trade it is the UK and there is no way I would buy from a UK dealer. LHD drive you can sell or trade anywhere in Europe makes life much easier when changing vans also with "A Classs" vans LHD is the norm.

[rupert123]

lennyhb - 2014-10-18 5:07 PM

 

rupert123 - 2014-10-18 5:00 PM

 

Would not touch a LHD unless for a very good price. In reality it is no harder to drive a RHD in Europe anyway. Make sure the price is a good one because when you change it you will certainly get a lot less for it.

 

There you go again Henery, not true you paid a lot less for it so obviously you will get less when you sell.

 

Buy a RHD the only place you can sell or trade it is the UK and there is no way I would buy from a UK dealer. LHD drive you can sell or trade anywhere in Europe makes life much easier when changing vans also with "A Classs" vans LHD is the norm.

Lenny I would agree with you about changing in Europe but it would appear that the original poster has not been out of the UK in a van yet so would think she is concerned with the UK market. The poster is buying in the UK so what I said it true, whether it is an 'A' class or not they do not say. What you would or would not do has no bearing on the original question.

[lennyhb]

rupert123 - 2014-10-18 5:52 PM

 

Lenny I would agree with you about changing in Europe but it would appear that the original poster has not been out of the UK in a van yet so would think she is concerned with the UK market. The poster is buying in the UK so what I said it true, whether it is an 'A' class or not they do not say. What you would or would not do has no bearing on the original question.

 

Henery, you just don't get it buy a RHD for say 24k or a LHD for say 20k when you come to sell they have devalued by 30% RHD you get back 16.8k the LHD 14k yes 2.8k less but overall you have 1.2k more left in your pocket, makes much more sense to me.

 

The OP also said they mainly plan to do European travel so LHD would be the more sensible option. My last van was RHD new one is LHD, took a bit of getting used to, but doubt if I would go back to RHD now having done a few thousand miles over the channel.

[takeaflight]

We are on our third LHD, the first we ran for eighteen months the second for just under two years, we never lost a penny. Whether LHD or rhd it's all down to how much you bought it for.

 

Roy

[betsy]

Hello Lynne and Roy,

If you look back through these forums there was a similar thread not too long ago.

My personsl experience of LH drive 'vans is: three out of the four I have owned have been left hookers and I ( like many others that I have met in our travels) actually prefer them. We spend most of our time in Europe.

Two of our LH drive 'vans we actually bought in Germany (like now the Euro was down which made buying them very attractive over similar 'vans here in the UK) and the importing and registering then here is quite simple.

Ref. price, we had absolutely no trouble selling the the previous 2 left hookers - first folk to see them bought them. Both vans were sold for the top (then) UK market price which was more than we paid for them in Europe - each after about 2 years of careful use.

Our current 'van is left hand drive and even though it is larger and heavier than any of our previous vehicles I have no trouble driving it on UK roads as I find I can place it closer to the kerb than if it were RHD.

My advice, go for it!

 

 

 

 

[rupert123]

lennyhb - 2014-10-18 6:05 PM

 

rupert123 - 2014-10-18 5:52 PM

 

Lenny I would agree with you about changing in Europe but it would appear that the original poster has not been out of the UK in a van yet so would think she is concerned with the UK market. The poster is buying in the UK so what I said it true, whether it is an 'A' class or not they do not say. What you would or would not do has no bearing on the original question.

 

Henery, you just don't get it buy a RHD for say 24k or a LHD for say 20k when you come to sell they have devalued by 30% RHD you get back 16.8k the LHD 14k yes 2.8k less but overall you have 1.2k more left in your pocket, makes much more sense to me.

 

The OP also said they mainly plan to do European travel so LHD would be the more sensible option. My last van was RHD new one is LHD, took a bit of getting used to, but doubt if I would go back to RHD now having done a few thousand miles over the channel.

Yes except the RHD one will probably only lose 20%, you can make most things work by pulling figures out of the air. Rather than going by a 'one of' experience get hold of a Glass.s guide or better one of their trends reports. It is a simple fact that on average a LHD van will be harder to sell and fetch much less in the UK market especially if it does not have a UK dealer network and few do.

[lennyhb]

rupert123 - 2014-10-19 11:19 AM

 

lennyhb - 2014-10-18 6:05 PM

 

rupert123 - 2014-10-18 5:52 PM

 

Lenny I would agree with you about changing in Europe but it would appear that the original poster has not been out of the UK in a van yet so would think she is concerned with the UK market. The poster is buying in the UK so what I said it true, whether it is an 'A' class or not they do not say. What you would or would not do has no bearing on the original question.

 

Henery, you just don't get it buy a RHD for say 24k or a LHD for say 20k when you come to sell they have devalued by 30% RHD you get back 16.8k the LHD 14k yes 2.8k less but overall you have 1.2k more left in your pocket, makes much more sense to me.

 

The OP also said they mainly plan to do European travel so LHD would be the more sensible option. My last van was RHD new one is LHD, took a bit of getting used to, but doubt if I would go back to RHD now having done a few thousand miles over the channel.

Yes except the RHD one will probably only lose 20%, you can make most things work by pulling figures out of the air. Rather than going by a 'one of' experience get hold of a Glass.s guide or better one of their trends reports. It is a simple fact that on average a LHD van will be harder to sell and fetch much less in the UK market especially if it does not have a UK dealer network and few do.

 

 

Absolute rubbish perhaps you should have read the 2 last posts before posting.

[Guest Had Enough]

I do find it amusing that people who have LHD vehicles claim that it's an advantage in the UK as it enables them to drive closer to the edge of the road.

 

Using this logic shouldn't all Continental drivers have RHD?

 

There is a big problem with having the steering wheel on the wrong side and it's a dangerous one. If when in Europe you approach a road junction where the road you're joining comes in from the left at an acute angle it is impossible to see what's coming from the left if your motorhome is RHD. The opposite happens in the UK if you have a LHD 'van.

 

I discovered this to my cost when I dropped off my wife at friends in the Dordogne for her annual painting course and set off on my own for a few days with my RHD motorhome. I quickly realised that the only way to solve this problem was to make sure that I stationed myself at right angles to the road I was joining, which often meant that the driver behind me thought I was going straight on or turning left, despite the fact that I was indicating right.

 

On occasions the car behind would try to sneak up my right hand side, which meant that when I did turn right I may well have side-swiped him.

 

This isn't a problem if you have a passenger of course as they can tell you when it's safe to pull out.

 

My latest motorhome is LHD, but that's because we spend much more time in Europe than in the UK, but to suggest that a LHD vehicle is fine for Britain because you can get nearer to the kerb makes no sense. If it did we'd all be driving LHD and our European friends would be driving RHD cars.

 

If you have the choice, you should decide on where the steering wheel should be on the basis of where you do the most driving.

 

 

[Brian Kirby]

lynneroy - 2014-10-18 1:42 PM

 

I have found a cb with the perfect layout and a good price, but it is left hand drive, can anyone advise me on how difficult this would be to sell or p/x in the future please.

Deary me, the usual unhelpful bombast and bickering!

 

If you buy LHD vans in UK you wil pay less in the first place, but you need to check this against prices for similar RHD vans, as some asking prices are wildly optimistic. So, having bought for less, you should expect to sell for less. In truth, it is impossible to say whether any given van will have higher, or lower, depreciation than its RHD peers, as there are too many variables to take into account, and ultimately what you will get will be what a buyer is prepared to pay. If the van is a popular make/type, and you have more than one potential buyer, you will obviously be liable to do better than if the van is relatively unpopular make/type and you have only one interested party. If you live in a better-off part of the country you will be liable to get a better price. If you buy in a recession and sell in an economic boom you will get a better price. In short, stuff happens! Just don't expect to sell for more than you bought at! :-)

 

My take on pros/cons of LHD, after three LHD vans, is this. There is a small, but significant, advantage to having the steering wheel on the offside of the vehicle wherever it is driven. That is why RHD vehicles are sold in countries with left hand traffic, and LHD vehicles are sold in countries with right hand traffic. This advantage is (generally) less significant with motorhomes, because the driver sits relatively high and can see forward over much of the traffic ahead of them. As mentioned above, acute angled junctions, and some roundabouts, are where the disadvantage becomes most apparent. If the passenger's side mirror can be operated electrically, and has a sufficient range of movement, this can often be used to compensate. Otherwise, a passenger observer (preferably one who drives), or pulling up as nearly as possible square to the junction, are the best workable alternatives.

 

Generally speaking - once mentally adjusted to right hand traffic - it is easier and more relaxing to drive abroad than in UK, because traffic densities are lower, roads are in better condition, wider, and the verges better trimmed back (with advantage to vision on bends) than here. LHD in UK is therefore a bit more demanding that RHD abroad. Overtaking with LHD in UK is rarely feasible unless on dual carriageways/motorways, but is easier abroad. However, much the same holds for RHD at home and abroad.

 

It would be wise to check whether there are UK dealers for the make being considered, as obtaining spares may otherwise prove very problematic. Mechanically, the base vehicle should not present a problem for spares/maintenance as the most common brands are well represented in UK. You may have occasional delays in obtaining parts that are LHD specific, but the major manufacturers have excellent supply chains and such delays are unlikely to be great. Be a bit cautious about older vehicles though, where parts may no longer be available. Most motorhomes are built on commercial van bases, and these tend to have short and brutal lives, so are not so well supported after, say, ten years. Should be easily checked at any main commercial dealer/service centre by quoting year/model or VIN.

 

My final caution is whether you already have experience of driving LHD vehicles. Some find adapting more difficult than others and, if you are also unused to driving larger vehicles, the combination of increased size and unfamiliarity with LHD can be daunting. Having said that, the shock would be greater if you hired abroad, adding the need to adapt to right hand traffic, and plenty do that! Hope this helps.

[StuartO]

I share Brian Kirby's disappointment that some people have to start getting hot under the collar about a subject like this. What can there possibly be to get upset about?

 

I doubt if selling a LHD MH in UK has as much impact on rice as it might have done once upon a time, so I wouldnt worry too much about that. There are lots and lots of LHD MHs around in UK these days and other price factors are probably far more important.

 

We bought our first LHD MH in spite of it being LHD because it was a good deal but once I'd got used to it I found I preferred LHD to RHD, even for driving in UK. You rarely overtake in a MH except on motorways, when LHD/RHD really doesn't matter either way.

 

For some MHs built in Europe, the layout is optimised for LHD and putting the steering wheel on the otherside creates limitations.

 

When we came to buy our next MH, which we bought new, we chose LHD.

[Guest Joe90]

I'd say to the OP, why not take it for an extended test drive, see how you feel about the whole experience like changing gears with your right hand.

 

On the many occasions I drove a LHD car I've always found the whole thing disorientating, but perhaps I'm a crap driver.

 

I note the comment about rarely overtaking except on motorways, well perhaps I'm naturally impatient, but I overtake when ever the need arises, on any class of road, and unlike the French don't share their fascination of following tractors for miles on end.

 

We almost exclusively use our vans across the water and I've personally never found driving a RHD van a problem, and is in many ways an advantage because it's easier to get tucked right in to the kerb through tight places, but twisty mountain roads can be a challenge, the standing instruction being to my better half is if you see something coming let me know, and adapting a more cautious driving style in those situations, but that's about the only time that I've thought a LHD would be a slight advantage, but each to their own as they say.

 

[lynneroy]

Thank you so much for replying, think we will do it.

 

 

Lynne ;-)

[peter21]

My two pennyworth....

We have driven a standard UK RHD on the continent for years with no problems...touch wood...but have usually had a copilot in the left hand seat. If not, there is a window behind the passenger window to look out of for those awkward junctions where the road on your left joins at an acute angle.

However we hired a LHD car in Spain for a few weeks and found it difficult...I think the poor old brain had got used to almost 50 years of motoring stuck at the front right of the vehicle and all the head wiring was expecting the outside world to be different distances from the outside of the vehicle, if that makes sense.

So we will stick with RHD, even tho most of our travelling is on the continent.

Just our view...maybe I need a younger brain.

[StuartO]

peter21 - 2014-10-24 7:57 AM

 

...maybe I need a younger brain.

 

I don't know about a younger brain but it's clear that some people find it easy and even preferable to drive a LHD motorhome and some find it awkward or even unacceptable, so it's a matter of what suits you rather than what's right or wrong.

 

For someone who is thinking about a LHD MH for the forst time, it makes sense to have a really decent test drive, to find out which camp you fall into.

 

As far as impact on value is concerned there might well have been a time when LHD meant a loser residual value in UK but there are so many used LHD MHs in UK these days that this probably doesn't matter as much.

[747]

Had Enough - 2014-10-19 11:55 AM

 

'snipped'

 

There is a big problem with having the steering wheel on the wrong side and it's a dangerous one. If when in Europe you approach a road junction where the road you're joining comes in from the left at an acute angle it is impossible to see what's coming from the left if your motorhome is RHD. The opposite happens in the UK if you have a LHD 'van.

 

 

A Red Herring I am afraid.

 

I used my first (smallish) RHD coachbuilt mostly solo as I worked on Construction Sites around the UK. I had exactly the same problem with angled junctions. No doubt a LHD would have given me an equal problem at other junctions.

 

Anyway, I will get out of the way to allow the childish ones to continue with their spats. :D

[alan k]

For many years (and maybe now as well), Swiss Postal Buses were RHD because the driver could see the edge of the road better on Alpine Passes. It does help to be close the the edge at times. I've just googled pictures and several are RHD.

 

As we seem to spend alot of our time in Europe in the mountains or on narrow roads, I seem to feel happier with RHD. I've not driven much LHD at all,

 

Earlier this year we were in the Rockies in a hired Motorhome and it took quite a bit of getting used to, but it was about 20ft wide, the same as the big trucks and I found gauging the edge of the road quite difficult for the first week. Even on the last day driving through the morning rush hour into Vancouver and lots of roadworks and narrow lanes was very taxing. Whether it was the width, or the LHD I'm not sure, probablly the width exacerbated by the LHD

 

cheers alan

[tomboy99]

Maybe its my Irish logic, but surely if you have a lhd in uk , You could always drive in reverse,

 

On another note, i am sure i have seen somewhere that you should only drive with 20 litres or so fresh water in your tank. Is this a weight thing or....

 

ta Tom