Motorhome advice: Tips for selling your motorhome

Whatever your reasons for selling your motorhome or campervan, it is wise to prepare first and decide which way of selling is best for you.

There are various tried and tested avenues, so it’s relatively easy to find the route that suits you most, whether that’s selling through a dealer, through an agent or selling your vehicle yourself.

Selling your motorhome to a dealer

Using a dealer is one of the easiest ways to sell a motorhome or campervan. You can trade it in for your next motorhome, ask the dealer to sell it on your behalf for a fixed price or get the dealer to buy it from you for an agreed price and then leave it in the dealer’s hands to sell on. Trading in is the simplest and easiest way to upgrade to a newer model.

Asking the dealer to buy it outright will give you a rapid financial return, but this will not be as much as the true market value. The dealer will have overheads involved in stocking your motorhome – marketing it, preparing it for sale, servicing it, etc – and will also need to make a profit.

Currently there is a shortage of quality secondhand motorhomes, so this gives you some room for negotiating a better price, but be realistic. It is worth calculating the likely private sale value of your motorhome (use MMM magazine’s secondhand price guide in each issue and do some online research as well as getting quotes from a couple of dealers). Then you will have a realistic idea of the market value.

The final option when using a dealer is ‘sale or return’. This is where you still own the motorhome but a dealer will agree to display it on its forecourt for a pre-agreed fee and time. It has similarities to selling a house using an estate agent. Your vehicle needs to be insured (normally by the dealer, but check), both on and off the road while it is in the dealer’s care. You may have to pay for any maintenance work required.

Be sure you are aware of all the risks and have guarantees in writing for issues such as how long the dealer can hold your money once the motorhome is sold, how much negotiating room there is in the price, what the dealer’s commission is, etc. We recommend that ownership of the motorhome remains with you, not the dealer, until the sale is complete.

How to sell a motorhome privately

Selling it yourself can reap the biggest monetary rewards, but it’s not without its downsides. There are a few ways to do this and the method you choose will depend on your timescale.

You can place an advert in your local paper or shop window but you are less likely to get many valuable enquiries. Place an advert in MMM – specialist magazines are read by those interested in motorhomes, so your advert has a greater chance of being seen by someone with a genuine interest.

You can also take adverts on websites such as this one (take a look a our Motorhomes for Sale section). This is one of the best routes to sell, as most research is done online now and so you can potentially reach millions of buyers for a small cost. You will need to provide pictures, a description and a price and, of course, handle all the enquiries. Click here to place an advert through OutandAboutLive.

Placing an advert on a generic auction website can be cheaper or even free, but your motorhome may get lost in the crowd. You can also get bombarded with questions from non-serious buyers.

Selling privately requires investment, including your time and costs related to preparing it for sale. But the rewards can be the greatest. You should also take note of the common perils of selling privately and don’t hand over the key until the money is in your account.

Selling your motorhome through an agent

Like an estate agent, there are companies who will market and handle the sale of your motorhome for an agreed fee. During the time it is for sale, the motorhome remains with you and you will handle the enquiries and the sale.

The agent should arrange photographs, create the motorhome description and market it. There is a contract so, if you also plan to market the motorhome yourself and end up selling it, a penalty might be payable to the agent, so make sure you read the contract first.

Selling your motorhome at auction

Auctions are used by many traders to both sell and acquire secondhand stock. If you enter a motorhome into an auction, do not expect it to sell for its market value. You can set a minimum price, below which the auctioneer will not sell. Bear in mind, the auction house will take a percentage of the sale price and, of course, your motorhome may not sell at all. A few companies, such as BCA, hold auctions specifically for motorhomes and campervans (and caravans), so it may be worth selling at one of those.

However you sell your motorhome, make sure you are honest about the vehicle’s condition, including any faults. To get the best possible price, it’s good to invest (time or money) in cleaning and preparing it so the motorhome is at its best when being viewed. If it’s winter, put the heating on or, if it’s a hot summer day, open the roof vents and windows.

Gather a file with any paperwork including service records and registration documents. Make sure you keep any instruction manuals for equipment fitted with the vehicle. If the buyer wants a test drive, make sure they are properly insured and have the correct licence categories.