A Guide To Selling A Caravan

There are several different approaches that you can take to selling your caravan, below we will give advice upon each option with the pro's and con's of each way to sell.

Firstly let's look at selling it to National Caravan Buyer, a trade buyer. We are a trader in caravans and have many years experience at valuing and purchasing caravans. Our experts have access to possibly one of the largest touring caravan databases in the UK that gives us information going back to 1987. Within this data we have access to factory fitted options, dealer special features and much more. We also have access to our sister site, www.nationwidecaravanninguk.com which provides us with valuable current market selling data. The combination of these sources allows us to price your caravan acurrately. With this option we can provide you with the best possible trade price for your caravan. The process is simple, secure and takes away the worry of having tyre kickers coming to your door, appointments being made and the potential buyer not turning up. Payments are made by instant transfer direct into your account so you are immediatly able to check that you have been paid. Obviously we are a trade buyer so you will expect to receive slightly less as our prices are based upon current market conditions and other factors, but the whole process is secure and you know that you have a buyer.

Secondly a private sale, there are many different types of sites that you can advertise on from sites like our sister site, www.nationwidecaravanninguk.com which are dedicated to caravans, the usual free online market places to online auction sites. What we find with experience is that it can be difficult to find a private buyer, the dearer the caravan potentially the longer it will take to sell unless it is priced really cheaply, often this can be below what we would pay as a trade buyer. With any private sale you will have advertising and time implications, we advise that any appointments that you book for viewings are not unaccompanied, describe your caravan accurately so the purchaser knows what to expect. Don't hide any faults, have all the relevant paperwork ready and ensure that the payment method is secure, never let your caravan go without confirming that you have been paid. A genuine buyer will not mind giving contact details and a home telephone number. There is also the probability that the price will become negotiable upon viewing, no different to when you purchased the caravan. Buyers like ourselves will expect normal ware and tear dependant upon the age of the caravan, yet a private sale may expect these normal points to result in a further discount on your asking price. Be realistic with the price you expect to achieve, a private sale will rarely achieve the same asking price as a dealers forecourt as you don't have the back up of servicing departments, warranty and finance options. Another common issue that we come across is 'i've seen them selling for a lot online' - for further information upon this please visit our caravan pricing guide, the golden rule is just because something is advertised at that price it doesn't necessarily mean it will sell for that price. Pricing has to be realistic as a caravan is not sold until a price has been agreed and it has been paid for. Often during our market analysis we will see caravan put up for sale at a price that we know is unrealistic and on quite a few occassions see the price set well above its potential insurance value.

The final option is what is known in the industry as a 'SOB' - a sale on behalf. Some businesses offer this facility in an attempt to achieve slightly more than a staight purchase price from a caravan buyer like ourself. Your caravan would be offered for sale to potential customers by the business. Again there are a few downfalls to this approach as there is no guarentee of a sale. Your caravan would be open to viewing and that could involve many potential buyers walking in and out, opening cupboards, testing and possibly with shoes on walking upon your carpets. With this approach you should be aware that unless the caravan is looked after correctly it may be returned with a little more ware and tear that you would be happy with.