Secondhand or new?
You could buy a secondhand vehicle, making considerable savings. This would be a logical route, especially if you are simply ‘testing the water’ to see if touring suits you.
The quality of caravans and motorhomes in the past few years has been high, so a recent model which has been cared for shouldn't be a risky purchase.
Sound investment
If you do decide to sell, as many people like to ‘trade up’ quite soon after starting touring, you’ll probably get back much the same price as you bought it for, if you’ve looked after it.
What will it cost?
A good-condition five year old caravan with decent accessories could come in somewhere between £5,000 and £7,500.
If you choose something older, you could start touring for a few hundred pounds, though you might miss the luxuries that have become standard over recent years.
Used Motorhomes
A secondhand motor caravan of around five years old with about 35,000 miles on the clock might be around £20,000 or so. A ten year old possibly at half that price.
Buying new
A new caravan could be bit over £10,000 up to maybe £17,000. There are fabulously luxurious models for people with bigger budgets of course!
New motorhomes start at around £30,000, but the sky’s the limit with these vehicles too, as there are so many options available.
Take a look at our price guide to get a feel as to what’s out there.
Do I need a new car?
If you buy a caravan, you’ll need to check whether your existing vehicle can tow it. If you buy a big caravan you may need to buy a larger car to tow it safely. The Caravan Club can help you with their outfit matching service.
The rule of thumb is that the caravan, laden with all the things you’re taking on holiday, should not weigh more than 85% of the tow vehicle’s weight.
Most people however, discover that their typical family car, perhaps a Mondeo or similar, will tow an average caravan quite safely.
Tow cars of the year
MAYBE YOU'D LIKE TO CONSIDER ONE OF THESE
PAST TOWCARS OF THE YEAR
| 1999 | - Audi A6 Avant 2.5 TDi |
| 2000 | - Seat Toledo V5 |
| 2001 | - Volkswagen Golf V6 4motion |
| 2002 | - Peugeot 406 2.2 GTX HDi Estate |
| 2003 | - Skoda Superb V6 2.5 TDI Elegance |
| 2004 | - Subaru Forester 2.0 XT |
| 2005 | - Mazda6 2.0-D Estate TS2 |
| 2006 | - Kia Sorento 2.5 CRDi XE |
| 2007 | - Volvo V50 D5 Sport |
| 2008 | - Ford Mondeo Titanium X Estate |
| 2009 | - Skoda Superb 2.0 TDI |
