You are missing the point of a big factor... Interest rates, mortgages have pretty much increased by 50% for people since 2 years ago, Rents even more so. Car insurance has gone up by 50% plus if not doubled. Fuel price is volatile, could be 1.35 per litre or 2.00 a litre. Eating out, which people like to do on holidays has doubled AT LEAST. shopping in supermarket at least doubled, lets be honest. A pint of larger 50% more. £4 to £6 per pint. Buying a new car up 50% at least... fiesta's (puma's) are not 15k-20k they are 24-30k and they won't tow a caravan. Now if you want to tow a big caravan you are talking land rovers £70k plus, and well you are lucky if it doesn't get stolen, let alone insurance going up by 250% at least. This is while we are in a recession (unofficially), Streetbike Administration, Broadlane Administration, Carpet right Administration, recaro administration, BBS administration, Fanatec administration all in the last month or so. Anything that isn't essential is at risk, and businesses don't go bust because they are making a loss, they go into administration as they run out of cash. No money to pay debts/wages/leases/rent/taxes as they fall due, Administration. You can't pay bills with stock... and if you are not selling, try borrowing off a bank, try turning your stock into cash quickly. Factoring or securing on what? Debtors books from no sales. It all dries up. Big unexpected bill, gone. Refund a big ticket sale due to issues of quality. boom. Its devastating the impact now non essential business's / luxury items. I am seeing many markets that were up in covid have to get real very quick as they become flooded with Stocks. And nothing is moving, second hand values dropping like a stone. Now to pay for all this tell me where the money is coming from, financing a caravan is more expensive let along cost of buying cash, PX's have dropped like a stone, let alone if they will be accepted as a PX. Public sector has no spare cash, 5% payrise isn't going to have a huge difference. trust me, £100 a month, £200 per month... it doesn't scratch the surface of spending power. As time goes on more and more people are coming out of cheap finance deals on mortgages, cars and rental agreements, to be faced with these 50% increases from 3-5 years ago. There is nothing left in the tank. And people are fixing up these new finance deals for the next 3-5 years, on essential housing and cars so even reducing interest rates wont help. we are in for a tough 4-5 years. full stop. I could go on. but you have to think big picture. a 0.25% interest rate cut just isn't going to impact it. We are now going to have to fix DEBT for the next 4-5 years as aa country. Luxury non essential items will suffer.
You talk of camp sites being not to expensive, but there is a bigger issue than this. When you buy a caravan and particulrly a m/home you incur other costs., caravan club membership £60, storage for many £250-£350, servicing £300+, insurance £300+, engine sevice m/home £300, and then the big one depreciation £2500+ and much more for a motorhome. As an example my lad decided that he his wife and our grand-daughter wanted to go away this week, as we alway's do we offered them "the caravan" when he priced it up it was going to cost them nearly £500 including club membership. They declined and booked a cottage near the coast in Dorset for £600. IS CARAVANNING REALLY AS CHEAP AS WE LIKE TO THINK IT IS.
@@Bob-k8e8m Yes that was the point I was making, Its not just about site fees, it's all the other costs!. I think storage costs vary widely throught the country, and also the security rating they have.
Just returned from France paid £30 per night on a 100msq site fully serviced, with 5 pools with flumes, spa, 2 bars, 2 restaurants , full evening entertainment program , kids club. We are really being ripped off.
Just booked for end of August, into September on a fully inclusive site, south west coast of France £23/ night, even basic CL sites with Caravan club in UK are around £25.
@@gregconboy8029 I agree, it is expensive to cross the Channel. However, I believe that cost is easily offset by the better driving experience in France, the significantly superior campsites offering huge pitches and the weather generally, to name just three benefits. The main reason my wife and bought a caravan in the first place was to holiday in France to recapture the wonderful camping holidays we spent there when our kids were young. We spent three weeks in Normandy in May and we're off again for three weeks next month to the Vendee where we're staying at a fantastic site with an all-inclusive fully serviced 120m² pitch costing 22€ per night. I only stay on CL's now in the UK because they still offer reasonable value for money.
@@gregconboy8029 agreed, but if you choose certain crossing. Caravan goes free or half price. It worst from lreland. Paid £1600 return with cabin on a 10 hour crossing. So when we go, we stay 5 weeks
I was going to buy a brand new caravan this year, but decided against it after viewing many new models from all the main manufacturers on dealer forecourts. Build quality is simply appalling: screws lying around in a new caravan, "dealer special" wall panels stuck up with Velcro, window blinds stuck, gas locker struts loose.... I can go on. And then being told to "expect some snags in the beginning"; NO SIR, I do not spend £30k+ on something that I then have to beg and threaten manufacturers and dealers to sort out basic issues. So sadly, the caravan purchase is cancelled. I am sure I am not the only buyer with cash to spend, that simply decided we do not need the hassle and frustrations of unacceptable quality. I am very disappointed that I will not join the caravan community, who all look like lovely people!
You're not the only one in that position who's voting with their feet. My caravan/motorhome money is invested & I'm holidaying off the interest until things change.
Sorry Mark I disagree camp site prices are still to expensive. We paid £50 a night on a site in Kent a year ago the site had nothing shop or pool or club house. Never again will I pay this much.
Last year we paid £64 a NIGHT in Robin Hood bay.. 2 adults and 3 dogs no awning.. Site was average single toilet and 2 showers.. We must of been mad 10 nights.. Never again
Let’s talk straight. Prices went up because of greedy dealers putting up prices by 40 % I’m happy to see them go out of business. Pure greed. As people looked for other ways to holiday in Covid. They are still over priced. £35.000 for an 08. Motor home. You need to take it on the chin now.
And what Glasses Guide do to the caravan trade what they did to the motor trade but the site owners also added to the problem, if you payed for a pitch that was not the end there were extras, + ground sheet + awning +the dog some times pay for hot showers
@@rogersmith5167 Well, don't go onto commercial campsites, then! Go to Club campsites (£40 a night...?) OR, go to Temporary Holiday Sites. I have just left the Camping Club's Teesside DA's Beadnell THS on the Northumberland Coast - £10 per unit per night in a perfect location yards from the beach, 0.5 mile from Beadnell village & 2.5 miles from Seahouses and its shops/pubs etc. And I have now set up at Scottish Region's THS at Danderhall on the outskirts of Edinburgh (convenient for the city even if the Festival, Tattoo and Fringe were not going on right now) at £12 per unit per night. No extras for an awning, groundsheet, dog, children etc. A tap for drinking water, a skip for rubbish and an Elsan disposal point. YES, there's no shower/WC/amenities block. But modern caravans have central heating, solar panels, gas oven + hob, TV, bathroom with shower/WC/washbasin. At least I know who has slept in my bed and used the facilities (unlike an hotel!). If you have the facilities in your van, why pay £30/40/50 extra to use the campsite's amenities block (not so convenient anyway at night or if it's raining!).
We are away to our usual campsite we visit every year. £3/night for child, £3/night for awning, £3/night for pup tent for my older child and her boyfriend, £8/night each for them, £7/night for their small car, £3/night for our dog (why, what does he use that costs £3/night), totalling £93/night for sitting in a field in a house that we fetched ourselves and are self sufficient. When we started 20 odd years ago, you paid for the pitch, but they all jumped on the bandwagon and upped their prices. We bought our latest van at the start of Covid and paid the correct price, looking at trading it in but not paying for a van that has inflated over £10k in 3 years. Manufacturers, dealers, campsites are all to blame, and it is greed, and what goes around comes around!!
I went to a camp site this weekend, and I had to pay for literally everything! What put the nail in the coffin for me is when I asked the on-site (Owners own pub) pub for a tab water ( I don't drink alcohol), he charged me 10p to use the glass in heat of 28 degrees. (I did buy food). I'm literally selling up! Final straw.
You shown us cheap and high prices caravan touring parks. We all know you get what you pay for. What you failed to mention ( possibly deliberate) is that the customer has to bring their own home with them that costs tens of thousands. Also. The high fuel costs to get to the destinations and obviously the suitable tow car. So, it’s obviously not so much about costs on poor old manufacturing. It’s high prices of vehicles , caravans , fuel = far higher prices on your campsites shown. Add these together properly with insurances and storage costs and service = a bloody expensive holiday, and I didn’t even mention spending extras on pets and awnings .
Hit the nail on the head. We've considered it so many times getting a caravan, when I watched a youtuber caravan escapades, he gave a detailed breakdown in costs for their annual French trip and it was eye watering! For sleeping in a stuffy tin box that you've towed with a big juicy car, add depreciation and wear and tare and it's ridiculous.
Its because the campsites started seeing 30k cars towing 20k caravans and 80k motorhomes onto their parks and thought, "why are we only charging £10 per night"?
The reason for the price increase was simple, people were stuck in this country with No chance of holidaying abroad. so their only alternative was to find an holiday here, as many older people were still afraid of covid they thought a m/home or caravan was there best alternative. The dealers then bacame inundated with new customers and hugely hiked the prices.Dealers are now saying they didn't make a lot extra, so where did the money go from the hiked up prices? A BIG BLACK HOLE!. That is why we are were we are now, customers paid hugely over the odds for used vans and cannot upgrade or PX withuot losing big money. Lots of these customers are now biting the bullet and totally giving up caravanning and taking a big loss on the sale. The problem for the S/hand dealers is there is little demand for this stock. (we are also coming toward autumn). This mess could have been avoided if so many dealers hadnt bitten the hand who feed them. This also messed up the pricing when the manufacturers got back into production. 'CHAOS CAUSED BY GREED'.
I totally agree with you. Greedy dealers couldn't get enough money. Also, you say there are cheap deals to be had, but you showed me one camp site, mate. Stop kidding yourself. You and all the other dealers won't be here next year unless you drastically cut the prices of these caravans and motorhomes.
Hit the nail on the head. Along with supply and demand is human greed.The caravan market went through the roof it was crazy, so the greedy caravan sites fillowed suit and here we are, paying 60 to 70 pound a night. I cant see it changing in the near future. Happy camping folks.
@paulbird3235 It's not as simple as that. Dealer's buy in stock, whether that's part exchanges or auctions and because demand was high ans supply tight the price at auction and the value to get a part exchange had to increase in order to secure product. The dealer margins were the same, but the buying in price was higher. Where did that money go? Not a black hole, but to those part exchanging their vans or selling through auctions or offering their vans to dealers.
Average price for a campsite is £40-45 unless it's a simple field with a kettle lead. People stopped paying for that and instead paying another £10-20 a night for a decent hotel room anywhere they want, here or in Europe. That extra £10-20 pays off, when you consider travel costs with a caravan (extra fuel, extra insurance, cost of caravan, caravan maintenance) Caravanning in UK is sinking fast due to industry greed.
Yes you are correct but the dealers have (not all) also borrowed money to increase the size of their business it may be in the form of increasing stock or premises or both , not only have has the buyers been hurt by cost of living , fuel prices ect but the interest rates going up but the dealers have had these to contend with plus the market taking a tumble . But hind sight is a wonderful thing
Sorry mark you missed the point Sites are to expensive now due to the greed of most of them camc and ccc sites have pushed up price’s most of the sites you mentioned are poor commercial sites I have been on them and they are a nightmare with noise at night awning party’s loud tv vans parked to close together so no real fire break. It’s ok for those that want that. But having paid a lot of money for a van. It’s not for me so I’m stuck with high prices on sites to get what I wanted
Let’s talk straight. Prices went up because of greedy dealers putting up prices by 40 % I’m happy to see them go out of business. Pure greed. As people looked for other ways to holiday in Covid. They are still over priced. £35.000 for an 08. Motor home. You need to take it on the chin now.
You are aware of,what,you just said “you are happy to see them go bust” less dealer means less competition and less competition pushes up the prices and that is no good for us the caravaner.
Within our close family group, we had 5 caravans 5 years ago. Today, there are none. As each family member reached the time to renew their caravan, the price of replacement, insurance, storage and campsite fees had all outstripped the rate of inflation. Additionally, the political push toward Electric vehicles is a factor. As I've yet to see convincing evidence of such vehicles being the suitable replacement for the standard tow cars we have benefitted from. And lastly, I wonder if the new caravanners are entering the scene now after examining the costs to get setup with a caravan, car etc. There's a lot of competition out there now with Air B&B's, camping pods and budget foreign holidays. Do the maths.
It’s easy to blame the manufacturer but I think you all have to take a portion of the blame. Manufacturers, dealers new/used and sites all jumped on the bandwagon our local dealer doubled in size modernised all it’s buildings you yourself opened a new site started selling campers and motorhomes all this was done on the back of the aftermath of Covid. Just my opinion but you all have to take a portion of the state of the industry.
It’s easy to say this that and the other but I won’t accept am part of the bandwagon. I’ve been touring for years and the industry is a bloody disaster. You’re outdated with why people don’t want to caravan anymore. It’s not affordable and unfortunately declining numbers will impact on everyone because those costs of losses will be the main driver for many years.
The argument of supply and demand also applies to campsites. More demand when people took staycations and now settling as holidays abroad resumed. Campsites, especially CAMC & CCC, upped their prices and they stayed there! Dynamic pricing is a con. Whilst these sites usually offer good pitches and working, clean hygiene facilities, they offer little else, compared to other holiday sites. No cafes, useful shop, bar/indoor social areas, pool etc. Another issue that can prove annoying is the closing of facilities for a couple of hours in the morning and the continual mowing at some sites. I think most of the complaints about sites refer to the clubs rather than other sites, they need together act together!
@@Only-one-life-68a scam implies you are being hoodwinked. You’re not, you just don’t like it. When demand is higher, eg in the summer and during school holiday they can charge more, when it is quieter they can charge less. Basic economics. The people that grumble about high summer prices are the same people that snap up the cheap deals off season. You can’t have it both ways.
I think you're totally wrong, read the comments below and youll see the real reason, second hand vans in next few years will rise massively as people can't afford or want to afford one anymore, especially as tow vehicles are dropping due to EV's and small petrol engines. I think if people worked out the true cost of each holiday they would be shocked, depreciation of both the van and tow vehicle, fuel costs, campsite costs, storage, insurance, repairs etc etc the list goes on!
I used to go caravaning about 20 years ago, one of the main reasons I packed it up was the ever increasing charges of the campsites. I’d spent £15000 on a new caravan and then a car capable of towing it, plus fuel etc. The charge at first weren’t too bad, £3 to £4 to park on a grass pitch extra for electric, £10 to £12 for a hard standing with facilities. Then the prices started to increase as the popularity increased, bearing in mind you have taken you own accommodation and all they are providing is a place to park, it became more and more unaffordable. So in my opinion it is the campsites that have caused a big part of the problem with greed.
Yes I can see what your saying, but it wasn't the campsites that made the caravan and motorhome prices go through the roof. Sites are definitely not helping now, but a good search and cheaper sites are still to be found. Thanks for your comments 👍
19% council tax hike on the way. Fuel duty and road taxes are also on Labours cards. Keir Stalin is hateful towards the British. But he secured his own pension. People have no idea just how bad it's going to get, and how quickly !
Mark, I've recently come back from France where I was paying on average 25€ a night! That was for a monster pitch, heated swimming pool, bar, restaurant, with electric, no restrictions on use! To have that kind of caravan site in the UK you would probably be paying around £60-80 a night! Which is a total rip off compared with France! and there lies part of the problem!
Yes some sites are too expensive, and it needs to change, but a good search around and there are cheaper alternatives. I will think more people should venture further like this too👍
The huge greedy increase in site prices is what’s putting many people off. Much cheaper to rent an air bnb or even rent a static caravan for near enough the same price.
£122.50 I believe is the standard rate without any add on's i.e hook up etc. This place is in Ilfracombe , Devon; I live in Staffordshire which means I have to tie in fuel costs to my holiday budget. I tow with a 2016 Ford Kuga which is actually quite an economical vehicle however, the fuel bill would cost me more than the site fees to get to this place, everything is relative Mark, you cant make a statement like "where else can you go for a £120" when there are a number of other cost that have to be factored in.
Cannamore campsite is not in Ilfracombe. It's just on the southern border of Dartmoor near ivybridge ( Totnes is just a few miles away to the south east). Simple camping. Nothing on site but terrific views. But you can't compare with a proper touring site.
I think your logic is a part of the problem, but not all of it. Having owned caravans for more than 20 years, we always bought from Broadlane, our local dealer. We know what’s happened to them, although I understand Kenilworth was sold before it went pop! During the pandemic demand increased as you say, but that was always going to go the other way once people could resume travelling abroad again as they had previously. This demand pattern was entirely predictable. The UK manufacturers clearly got it all wrong and then increased prices because they could because the demand was there. Let’s not forget as well they turn out average and sometimes good quality products for a lot of money, all the time distancing themselves from the owners by a model which means all the issues go via the dealers. Now dealers are struggling, I wonder if the manufacturers are helping them out, I doubt it. I think the industry needs a shake up. I wonder why prices of new caravans didn’t drop back once the parts supply issue had been overcome 🤔 In terms of campsites, whilst there are better prices to be found, the main clubs aren’t helping. I’m half expecting one of them to be in trouble at some point. Yes, I can see they have to cover increasing costs for energy and modernisation of sites to current standards, but something is wrong. The Caravan and Motorhome club is definitely struggling for bookings. They’ve recently gone back to pretty much zero deposit with their £5 scheme. As an example, we are taking our granddaughter to Black Knowl in August for 7 nights and it’s costing £417 or £59/night. That’s not cheap in my book. Anyway, I like the way you present your dealership and appreciate the openness.
I must get a dozen+ e-mails every week offering cheap sites (m/home and caravan club). But when you go on line and get a quote the price is completely different. Seems more like the DFS non existant sale. 'WHY ARENT THEY STRAIGHT WITH PRICING'....
Because it is summer holidays and parents want swimming pools for the children, on site shop, bar and entertainment in the evenings but expect to get all that for next to nothing. Site owners costs have increased too - electricity, water, gas, staff wages, rates, waste disposal etc. If they don’t make money the sites will start to go under soon. Then, demand will outstrip supply and prices will go up even more.
I agree with so many comments already made. Campsites are way too expensive in the UK. Those on the continent are both cheaper and offer more. Plus of course there is a greater chance of better weather. Campsite owners got greedy when the desire for them was generated by Covid and the consequences of it. Those prices have obviously persisted and people are angry and resentful. Unfortunately, we now live in a society where everyone is prepared to rip someone off for the sake of profit above all else. Whatever happened to integrity. There is something wrong when it’s cheaper to stay in a B&B. I’m retired and live full time in a motorhome and it’s far from cheap. I can no longer afford to stay on campsites that I’ve been visiting for decades. It’s greed…from campsites, manufacturers and dealers.
You have not mentioned the build quality of new vans as a campsite warden I have seen some shocking brand-new vans with more snags than you can shake a stick at.
Other downside to manufacturers rushing to produce caravan stock after lockdown is poor quality caravans. I have some experience of this as I bought my first ever caravan in 2022 its a new bailey and over the last 2 years it's been one thing after another that's gone wrong nothing major but just little things that's slowly taken away the "shine" of owning my first caravan.
Mark you are very correct however sites have jumped on the band wagon and put prices up. Also the two main clubs who were formed to give members cheap holiday are now running like Tescos camping round the globe insurance fly drive etc not all parts can make money so to cover losses on one put there site prices up to balance the books. Well that’s my thought.
I think another factor to take into consideration is that prices of everything have increased since Covid. Two of the main ones are gas and electricity. People do not have as much money to play with as they did pre covid, so spending £30,000 plus on a new caravan just isn't possible for many.
Hi, the thing that killed it was the new prices going through the roof. Our motorhome was 47k in 2017/2018, by 2022 it was 73k with lots of inferior components etc. Motorhomes that used to be top of the range at 90k are now 140k+. Pricing now in the same bracket as Ferraris and Lamborghini's and how many of those are on the road?
just had 2 nights in peak district with 3 grand children age 10 years and under £32 per night plus £3.50 per child per night plus £2.50 per night awning plus £1.50 per night dog this was a nice site but very basic they did not charge per child per night a couple of years ago plus you pay for the pitch why is an awning extra you are not taking any more room I feel we are being ripped off
You make a valid point on why prices have changed but why is there less people buying? For me it is the cost of sites. I have a caravan on a season pitch and tour on school holidays (usually only me and my daughter). In the past few years we have been to three/four different sites over a two week period at Easter and summer and this Easter and summer we have been nowhere in our caravan. We always go to Blackpool (from Scotland) and this summer it was £70 difference between a touring pitch and a static caravan. We went for the static as the extra fuel and hassle of set up etc. was not worth the £70. Families do not want a field (which was the cheap site you gave as an example), we look for swimming pools and facilities as that helps entertain the children and makes it a holiday. The reason for lack of caravan buyers is that going abroad for a week is cheaper. An all inclusive 4* in a warm country with pools and lots to do is approx £700 - £900 per week (including airport parking). In the UK paying approx £600 site fees, add food, fuel, caravan overhead over the year is well in excess of £1k. If the prices of touring pitches remain high, my caravan will be up for sale next year, it’s really sad.
Costs have definitely gone up and some sites are too expensive, but I'm not sure there is less buyers than pre covid, I think there are still more buyers possibly around 30% more than pre covid. But we now have far more stock available than buyers, which to me points to over production on the new side. 🤷
£80 for two nights in Malvern at the weekend grass with electric, after 15 years on caravanning we were looking at whether to change our caravan or just sell it. Its no longer worth the cost.
The campsite i site my caravan every year from March to October has gone up from £1195 to £1895 in the last five years and now the owner of the site is struggling to fill the pitches.There as always been a waiting list,but not anymore.Its gone up £200 a season for the last two seasons plus electric hook up as gone up nearly double and a few regulars are not returning next year.
When you buy a used car you look at the age from the registration number and the mileage. When you buy a used caravan you look at a white shiny box that likely looks the same as a new one, you have to ask the age, unless you know what to look for, and there’s no way of knowing the hours it’s been used or the miles it’s covered. The one thing you can ask, is how much did it cost new, but how many people do this? If buyers knew the original cost then perhaps they’d be less likely to pay the inflated asking prices. One of the first caravan / motorhome dealers I visited (many years ago) asked if I had a part exchange, when I said no he said knock a grand off of everything here then… that’s when the penny dropped for me.
Staycation killed caravaning, nobody could go abroad so the public said i know ill buy a caravan. That pushed used prices up and the the sites jumped on the band wagon. Yes there are still some good value holidays if you look, but on the whole very expensive.
The club site and private sites have become ridiculously high in price, only the CL sites left. You have to pay extra for awnings, kids and even dogs, yet its your own caravan (LOL), the cost of providing a piece of land is non-existent, I've seen renting static caravan stays cheaper. I'll probably part ways with my caravan within the next 2 years, can't see point in paying all the costs only to be charged more than some AirBNB.
Campsites are getting to expensive I go motorcycle camping and some sites want min of 2 nights at £40 for a motorbike and small tent for a 6 foot bit of grass and a toilet it’s a joke
Shocking! And to be fair, perhaps we choose France or Spain. Then add ferry costs, toll roads, longer distances... So financially no real saving. This year I paid for one, average of 12 euros a day with pool, restaurant, shade and ablution block. Region Oviedo and La Aberca, Spain.
It's very generous of you to be so kind to the campsites, but unfortunately for me it is all about site fees. We bought a decent caravan and towing vehicle just before covid and that was extremely lucky as we watched prices for both go well beyond the price we paid. We generally will caravan 50-60 nights a year, but this year we've really cut back because of site prices. These have doubled, 100% rise since before covid. General inflation has been around 35-40% for the same period. We generally use CAMC sites and where they were low £20s a night, they are now low £40s. I have become so frustrated looking at sites that we've decided to take the caravan to France for most of September. 19 euros a night with an ACSI card. It's going to cost me £2000 to save £25 a night! I've also been feeling an urge to replace my caravan. For the one that I want there are unsold 2024 models with decent discounts, but I'm sure I would then be back to muttering about pitch fees again. We ask very little from a campsite other than a pitch and electric. We will stay 5-6 nights on one site, we use our own facilities, are off the site much of the day, and rarely interact with the wardens, other than to say good morning. If I could know I would get 50 nights next year, squeezing in just under £30 - a hairsbreadth under £1500 for my 50 nights, I'd be phoning dealers as soon as they open tomorrow to see who would give me the best deal.
Manufacturers dealers and campsites all contributed to killing the golden goose the pitch prices from the two main clubs are becoming ridiculous I even had free membership this season of the CMC and not used it due to the high cost
If you click on them, you’ll find that you’ve got a had everything per dog per car per awning then you get the true price which is no one near the price they advertise
@@Barside_stu Used to be 2.4 per family now it's down to 1.7 children per family. No wonder kids are so messed up these days. imagine only being 70% of a person!
my opinion is caravanning and defiantly motor homing was never a cheap holiday, the only difference is choice you either pay your lump some of money for a holiday in a cottage or hotel etc. but afterwards all you have is memory's, where as if you have your caravan or motorhome you can then go away the next week if you so wish, so as I say it is all about choices , lets not forget we do not have as much spare cash as we once did
That's a ridiculous statement you just made. I guess you spent lots of money on an overpriced caravan and are still trying to justify it. If it's about memories, re-book the same cottage.
@@jockserb3405 for your information no I did not ,my van cost me the grand total of 3k, I think you need to reread it, it makes no difference where people choose to book you still only end up with just memories, and yes of course you can rebook, it is more as I said it is about choices
For us personally we don't need all of the services, just a safe place to park overnight, but the fees now are to expensive, we need more places like Tintagel in Cornwall, five pounds a night, nice showers, toilets on a metre very cheap but worth every penny, we always use Tintagel as a base to travel around Cornwall, it might sound a pain but the small amount of fuel used to go back is far cheaper than these sites charge, should be like France for example where they welcombe campervan/motorhomes.
It’s part of the problem as you say but it is definitely camp sites as well as the rise of everything associated with running costs, I have my van on a seasonal and weekend warriors and tourers are definitely down even bank holidays have not been full! The prices that are being charged to basically rent a parking space in a field essentially with a bit of water and electric and basic facilities is ridiculous. The clubs as well need to get a grip there used to be a benefit being a member but not now and will not use them, high prices, discounts for being a member are not really there and way too regimental now with all the do’s and don’ts with some of the characters running them.
You have just answered the question people have been saying greedy dealers selling vans and motor homes they couldn’t deliver but taking big deposits leaving people in limbo for months/ even years people cancelled dealer left with unsold vans
yes, the dealer I bought my caravan from in Thirsk gave me 12 months cover. The van had problems within those 12 months and he put them right with no quibbles.
Also a factor to consider is, so many people got into caravanning/ motorhoming post Covid because of the uncertainty of going abroad. Perhaps there were quite a number who have subsequently found it’s not for them. What you have said also makes a lot of sense.
i was going to get a caravan, but having seen the pitch price and you can get a travel lodge for less and still keep the £25k which i get a little bit interest what i use to off set the travelodge price
I don’t think you’ve completely thought that through. For us the pitch price is usually around £35/£40 per night in the lake district, I would imagine a travel lodge costs more than that. You also need to factor in cost of food, at a travel lodge you can’t prepare your own. Another factor is a caravan is your own personal space with your own bedding etc, a hotel room isn’t .
A very tricky time, I remember the credit crash of 2008 and lost my business because of it. APRs are so high now that it really takes a shine of buying anything big like cars, caravans , motorcycles etc. has stopped me upgrading and I’m sure I would have a caravan or a motorhome on my drive if it wasn’t for this. My 2 cars are both at a time when I would change but it would be looney to do so. It seems that the only market keeping motorhome, caravan and EV sales going are people inheriting. A small market to rely on. Same happened to property in 2008, we called them bank of mum and dad. Love your videos ❤
Someone messaged me last week and said he was looking for a M/home. He said he had a quote on a £75.000 unit and it was going to cost him £150.000 on a ten year loan. What would that be worth in ten years time!. CRAZY or what.
Thinking about the dealer you said you heard was in trouble, if you were going to buy a new van what manufacturers would you avoid to not get caught with your pants down….. the reason you paid a little more for that elegance is because it’s absolutely beautiful…
It's a lovely van👍 difficult with the manufacturers as I think all now are big enough to survive, even if we see some trouble, I think all are big enough to either get bailed out or bought out hopefully, so fingers crossed.
Your logic applied to the manufacturers due to Pandemic reasonings, which I agree is part of the equation, is sadly missed with price of camp sites. The same logic if applied with camp sites with indisputable evidence is why I strongly disagree on your view of campsite prices not having effect on the market. The equation is more than one dimensional as you allude. A one dimentional view
The manufacturers have overproduced but also like the club site kept their prices high. Supply chain issues have gone, prices have come back down for parts but the price of vans just seem to keep going up and up. Greed trying to cash in on a demand that isn’t there now has hit them hard.
Hi, from a new subscriber, I have a camper with solar, 2x toilet cassetts, heating,shower 100ltr water.Can wild camp for a week. Use Park 4 Night and very rarely pay for a site - especially in Scotland,Ireland or Europe.Its not for everyone but by not paying high park prices I am almost full time in the van and its just as cheap as staying at home.
Very interesting video Mark. I agree that over supply is probably a huge factor in prices coming down. The higher cost of living, interest rates, mortgages will also be reducing prospective buyers. You do also see plenty of comments from people saying they've sold their vans due to high site fees and now use Airbnbs, hotels, etc. For me though £50 a night usually gets you a lovely campsite in a stunning location e.g. CAMC Black Knowl, which we love. The same money gets you an airbnb or hotel at the lower end of the market, which for us is unappealing. We took up caravanning because we really enjoy the lifestyle and not to save money, so we have no intention of giving it up. Others will have a different pov and higher costs will be off-putting for many.
Your quick look at camping site prices was a bit misleading. You looked just at the 'from" price; you should've gone through to the booking process end. I looked at your Lady Mile price where your showed about £250 for week, but going through to the end the price was closer to £500.
Yes some did charge extras, but I found a good proportion were still at the initial price, I did find that when the dates we not available it jumped up, but a bit of time searching and some sensible prices can be found.
We have been looking about buying are first caravan but decided to hang fire to see what way prices went first, as for staying away when you take into account the price of the caravan and wear and tear and devaluation of it it’s not the cheapest past time
It's always been a higher cost than people first think, after storage, insurance servicing etc it all adds up, so the caravan or motorhome has to be used to see the benefits, I think if you use the caravan for a 2 week holiday each year, then it makes no sense, but use it every month and it becomes a very cheap holiday and escape from normal life. 👍
I do agree that manufacturer's under produced around covid time. Of course they did, there were lockdowns, restrictions on working and parts suppliers with the same issues. They lost weeks of production whilst demand increased. They couldn't help that. Now they've got back to normal production and demand has slumped for a whole host of reasons and dealers haven't been able to shift the production even with substantial discounts.
There were issues with running factories in lockdown. They had to alter production methods to minimise the risk of transmission and it's no good having a line waiting but nothing to fit in the van because the supply chain has crumbled. Even now there are supply chain issues especially on spares availability.
Same in the bike world. Supply and demand as you say. Plus wages have gone up, council rates, everything so pitch prices go up. Same here in Aussie, at least we can get lots of free sites.
I do think the sites have a lot to answer for. Its not just price, its limited sites, often full and the problems of doing anything without a lot of pre-booking months ahead. The "freedom of the open road" is gone. We converted a 50 year old Lad Rover to a (very cramped) camper prior to covid and when the lock down came it was our savior. We could camp anywhere that allowed overnight parking which mattered because so many sites closed and those that remained were full. We do several weeks a year away and in 10 years have never stayed in a camp site, we do stay in designated overnight parking and pay around £10 per night. I think its also important to separate caravans from campers, caravans are becoming more and more restricted in where they can stop and they need storage, small campers can be parked in many local authority car parks and one area that really needs attention is getting more towns to put in overnight camper bays in their car parks.
Ive paid £541 for 6 of us at seal bay resort in selsey for 7 nights on 11th of august. A joke really considering were taking our own accommodation. Some sites i was looking at were 1k plus and the most expensive was £1600! I dont know how theyre still going. I did look at going to france but although the campsites were cheap and a lot to do on them compared to over here the ferry/train was around £650 return with the van which then make it uneconomical to go to france. Ill be honest when we got our van last year we expected it to be a lot cheaper going caravanning than it actually is. Some sites near us in kent are an empty field with no hookup and wanting £60+ a night. Crazy times, rip off Britain
We dont caravan or motorhome any more, unfortunately. Years back, every summer and bank Holidays the roads were full of them. Now, the roads are quite sparsely filled with the caravans and motorhomes now. We did look into taking it back up again, but were gobsmacked just how much every thing has gone up now, so decided not to bother. You have to really justify buying one now. Usage against the cost. Our local dealer is offering £14k off motorhomes, things must be bad.
hi... quick question.. Swift elegance 850 2023...with self levelling currently £41,699 @ Bicester Caravan how many years before that van is around £36,000
Manufacturers have been hiking prices annually for no particular reason for at least the last 15 years that I’ve been following the industry. Used values have been skewed to reflect value compared to new, instead of depreciating the price paid when new, like the car trade. Dealers are as guilty as manufacturers. As mentioned elsewhere here, new tow cars that can actually tow a caravan are rare thanks to EV’s that can’t tow, or can’t tow very far, for that blame the government.
Watched along on this informative video and with many of the credible responses having a caravan isn’t as cheap as it was but still worth considering being a tourer
It was supply and demand that pushed the prices of caravans and campsites up, the fact that covid meant there were no foreign holidays and there were still more restrictions on holiday accommodation, which the price also sky rocketed. During the covid time, I found campsite availability low and unable to book sites I wanted. Places like Keswick were standing room only. Thankfully, they have all gone back to Costs wherever, and my holidsys are getting back to normal. Now, there are too many vans on the market, and along with the cost of living, the prices have fallen a lot. I am starting to see lots of offers on site fees also, so the cost of these will stabilise. I have had a caravan for 22 years, and it is my preferred holiday. so I will keep it up for as long as I can in preference to hotels and flying. I do go on the odd cruise or fly to go with family, but relax and enjoy when in the middle of nowhere in my caravan, with my things and own bed. The same happened with push bikes and dogs during covid. Many people went out and bought one, along with freezers, mine broke, and I struggled to replace it. Every business added a premium during covid, so I do not blame the dealers or manufacturer's they did what other business did, but the sad thing is the people that bought at over inflated prices and selling are loosing money.
Mark you mentioned supply and demand but what about demand and supply. After the 2008/9 credit crunch and crash manufacturers only built to order ( i know we did building motorhomes). Pre crash we were building 30 + coach-built vans a week and were still building these figures up to our 3 week summer shutdown. We all knew the crash was coming but the powers above were not interested in reducing production. We came back end of August to be told we were going short time working for 3 months to ' preserve jobs'. Low and behold by early October the company were making 99 redundancies. SWIFT group have mostly over produced so don't help matters, apparently they are very aggressive in forcing dealers to take more vans than they can possibly sell. I'm going to make a prediction now which I've been saying for a while, one of the big boys WILL go bang before long and with the well documented decision by Elddis to cut staff by nearly 50% a few months ago and only planning to build 900 units for 2025 could be the one, having lost 11 million in the last 2 years are favourites. Adria shut the Fleetwood factory and Hymer owning Elddis i can see them cutting their losses.
I have just had a dealer saying he has nearly 30 new vans the manufacturer is sending, whether they have the money or space they are coming and they want paying! Crazy, I think I'm banned from swift now 🫢🤣🤣🤣
@@thecaravanplace it's becoming a ridiculous situation Mark,it really is. Surely Manufacturers can't just send 30 vans to one dealer ( I doubt it if they'll have the funds to purchase 10) . ABI tried to have dealers only sell ABI vans and look what happened to them. Like a lot of us suspecting Elddis could be the one to go bang, Swift had a lot of debt after Peter Smith sold out a few years ago, could they be in trouble? My take on it is the industry needs a huge shake up in the way it does business before it's too late. I wouldn't be surprised if Hymer doing what Adria did to Fleetwood and close the factory. However they have a little jewel in their crown that is the Xplore brand. All is needed is to change the front profile to a 3 window system and double the amount of layouts and it'll be a winner. Swift on the other hand are literally sitting on a massive factory with 5 production lines each capable of producing 25 units a day. I bet after the summer shutdown 3 of those lines won't be operating.
You've forgot one factor - Business Rates. Councils want their slice of the cake too. With business rates drying up from the ever decreasing High Street and town centres, they see a good opportunity to plug the gap!
Prices going up too much on campsites. Pay for the pitch, a gazebo, people visiting you on site, grandchildren visiting, pay to park a car. Well over £50. Can find cheaper on airb&b
If camp sites are too expensive how about T.H.S's ( Temporary Holiday Sites -- run by Camping club OR " pop up camp sites " - run by the Caravan club ) this year we stayed at one T.H.S in Scotland -- £6 a night . True it was a farmers field with only a water tap & chemical emptying point but the modern caravan has a shower & toilet......
It is completely and universally agreed that caravan and motorhome prices are simply ridiculous, and site prices are now making the sector 'cheap holiday' model untenable. AirBnB recently published a model showing that stopping at one of their client's properties for a weekend away was cheaper than taking a caravan. To recap, a weekend away in a caravan is booking Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday night for two full days. AirBnb claimed that you can get up early on a Saturday and drive to a weekend retreat without any hassles of towing, spend one night and come back Sunday evening. And they're right ! Average site prices of £50 a night means the a fully weekend on a caravan site can be around £150.
Ey up, could you do a video on how to use the onboard tanks. I have a 2009 Bessecarr 645 with an onboard tank, but I don't know what to do or watch out for?? You always do the best informative video on how to use. Many thanks
Running a touring caravan, with all the associated costs is no longer a cheap holiday, as in the distant past. It is a lifestyle choice. Many people who choose a caravan or motorhome these days are relatively wealthy families. My father always used to run bangers and invariably we would break down on the way to Devon from the north. Those days are long gone. A touring rig is usually around 50k, depending on the age of caravan and tow vehicle. I had a Bailey Limousine, twin axle, and sold it some time ago, started holidaying in Italy and the Canaries and never went back to caravanning. Do I miss it? YES I DO. However, I am put off by the constant hassle of road congestion due to over population, cost of fuel and general poor value for money in rip-off Britain. I do fancy a motorhome but high cost has so far put me off, plus I will wait to see what happens to the cost of fuel with Labour in power. The final worry going forward, for towing a big caravan is electric vehicles, particularly the lack of range when towing. As far as I am aware, no vehicle manufactures have produced anything to match a big 4x4 with a combustion engine. Given all these issues, I will probably stick to foreign travel by air for the foreseeable future. 😂
Companies House has all the financial details of caravan manufacturers. 27% gross 16% net profit is not a bad number for the first company I looked at. Was the tipping point reached. The customer says No.
It's probably a natural correction. When people couldn't travel overseas during COVID staycations got popular and everyone took advantage by increasing prices (caravans but also hotel accommodation). The government claim inflation is at 2% but nobody believes it. Not many people have that much spare cash due to huge increases in utility costs and car insurance. It's going to be brutal unless you sell essentials like food. People aren't buying luxuries. Of course superyacht builders are still doing fine.
Prices are not back to pre-covid levels... Only a dealer could say something so absurdly untrue... They are falling, and it's only the beginning... As the credit lines dry up and existing stock runs out of the interest free periods, its starting to cost dealers money on interest payments; those 2023/24 vans are getting very expensive to keep on the lot.. Add to that 2025 obligations and it's a perfect terrible storm for dealers. The bidding war you talk about netted every dealers huge windfalls. Any that didn't realise what was going on and didn't put that extra cash away for a rainy day are now going bust, many more will follow... Camp site prices rocketed as demand rose, many have not noticed that the fat lady is no longer singing... Not only is she not singing, the entire band have all had to get other jobs... Manufacturers raced to meet demand, including dropping build quality and making severe cost changes to get vans out as quickly as possible.
Rentals of camper vans must have collapsed this year as every time I passed a camper rental depot near me it was full of vans thoughout this summer season !
Hi Mark, thank you for your insights, I agree with all you say regarding the picture from the manufacturers/dealer perspective, what I was saying the other day ( Regarding non caravaners buying into the market and increasing demand & then selling up when they can get back to what they used to do.) Which was about what was driving the demand & then the drop. It is all part of it. I also agree the price of sites have little to do with it! I think that some of your contributors are not seeing the rising prices of hotels! I looked up a single night for your two adults and one child in a budget hotel chain and it was £122 per night! So everything everywhere has increased. So the conclusion is that caravan ownership has only kept pace with other forms of holiday! The only thing that hasn't is the income to pay for it!
I agree Mark. Campsites have had to put their prices up, particularly for electricity, we have to pay more at home, sites are no different. I was watching the staff at CAMC Moreton in Marsh. They were constantly working to keep the site looking nice, all the hedges, grass, amenities etc. It was really easy to see where our money goes. We get a lot from the clubs other than just the sites if we want it. There are plenty of CLs and CSs with great facilities that are very reasonably priced unless you want all singing and dancing.
Just a minor criticism I am not too keen on the background music, I did find it irritating while trying to listen to what you had to say. We go off grid and only use CL’s which are a lot cheaper than the big sites. But even those have been creeping up in price. Where we would pay £12-£15 a night it’s getting to £20 a night. Regardless whether it’s value or not £45-£50 a night is a ridiculous amount to pay. It’s not only families who caravan but many retired people do. Although the van is paid for the site fees still have to come out of the pension. But if like we do you shop around there are still cheap fees out there. It depends whether you want an all singing site or something more basic.
Thanks Bob, I think having a good search is definitely they key. I think we also need to see if we can get a discount code for bookings for our viewers to use, this would hopefully help everyone.
supply and demand will always be a major factor in prices of anything, in covid times the demand was far greater than normal so supply becomes the issue, low supply drives prices up as customers chase stock, i was in the motor trade and it was just the same, and as others have mentioned cost of living on everything is huge compared to a few years ago now, possibly another factor is the poor quality of new built caravans now, you see so many people with damp issues on new ones its crazy, and the caravan industry is no where near regulated as the motor trade is, so im sure this is having an effect on new units selling. we all live in strange times now in comparrison to a few years ago, so its hardly suprising how things are. great video mark, keep em cumming mate.
Unfortunately the demand is not there to sustain these prices anymore, I think the manufacturers and the dealers need to wake up to this fact. The truth is, Caravanning or motorhoming can be a great holiday... but it is hard work. Get your own water, empty your own loo, cook your own food. Not to mention the stress of being stuck on the M6 for 4 hours in a traffic jam to get where you are going. And people just don't have the money they used to anyway (increases in: rents, tax, mortgages, food, fuel, car prices, insurance prices etc...). Caravanning and motorhoming is too expensive and too much hassle for a lot people who would just rather buy a TUI package holiday and naff off abroad for their break. Dealers and manufacturers need to realise this, and negotiate better deals, and fast.
Do you not think because of and during covid caravaning got really popular as people couldn’t holiday abroad so took up caravaning for that period, then covid over the market then slumped with people selling there vans and back to hols abroad ?
Yes we have definitely seen this, but still even if 30% keep the caravan and motorhome after covid, that's still 30% bigger market than before covid, so we still have more potential buyers in the market than pre covid. So the over supply now is a mix of new and used, but feel if new had of kept up, Prices wouldn't have gone so crazy.
Perhaps more like the house builders,building 4-5 bedroom villas that few can afford than building 2/3 bedroom economic versions. Don't forget the fuel costs to staying on camp sites
People saying it's too expensive, I guess its relative. A family of 5 can expect to pay ~ £4500 for a week in Spain all-inclusive. The van soon pays for itself at those prices, particularly if your buying a used van. 🤔
Pitch fees are too expensive and unfair. Charges per person are ridiculous and make holidays for families uneconomical. I get really cross about dog charges; for what??? Electricity charges are high, however watching people changing EV's no wonder the daily rate is so high. I'm afraid days of cheap caravanning are over.
My parents did a bit of camping on the continent and then caravan for a while in UK.Then soon decided that just the car and hotels around the Alps and the Italian and Dalmatian coasts provided a much nicer holiday.That was all way back in the fuel and toll friendly roads environment of the 1970's/80''s.A holiday style which I carried on with to date in my 60's. There really needs to be a special reason why anyone would choose camping type holidays with investment and parking of kit.Or the right type of vehicle for towing which isnt the typical lightweight small engined front wheel drive liability. I'd guess around 75-80% of caravan or motorhome users will be transient and temporary who tried it but then walked away from it within 5 years or less. The truth is the rewards generally dont match the outlay or the downsides for most.
Personally we have given up Motorhomes due to the expense of everything else (not the cost of the motorhome) the campsites are unaffordable and if your in tourist area experience pay top money to eat out. Add it all together and it’s trebled in the last 5 years to such an extent it’s just not worth it.
You can find decent priced sites. We just had someone who sold as sites were too expensive, but are now looking to buy again as the alternatives aren't as cheap as they first thought. It depends what you want though 👍
You are missing the point of a big factor... Interest rates, mortgages have pretty much increased by 50% for people since 2 years ago, Rents even more so. Car insurance has gone up by 50% plus if not doubled. Fuel price is volatile, could be 1.35 per litre or 2.00 a litre. Eating out, which people like to do on holidays has doubled AT LEAST. shopping in supermarket at least doubled, lets be honest. A pint of larger 50% more. £4 to £6 per pint. Buying a new car up 50% at least... fiesta's (puma's) are not 15k-20k they are 24-30k and they won't tow a caravan. Now if you want to tow a big caravan you are talking land rovers £70k plus, and well you are lucky if it doesn't get stolen, let alone insurance going up by 250% at least. This is while we are in a recession (unofficially), Streetbike Administration, Broadlane Administration, Carpet right Administration, recaro administration, BBS administration, Fanatec administration all in the last month or so. Anything that isn't essential is at risk, and businesses don't go bust because they are making a loss, they go into administration as they run out of cash. No money to pay debts/wages/leases/rent/taxes as they fall due, Administration. You can't pay bills with stock... and if you are not selling, try borrowing off a bank, try turning your stock into cash quickly. Factoring or securing on what? Debtors books from no sales. It all dries up. Big unexpected bill, gone. Refund a big ticket sale due to issues of quality. boom. Its devastating the impact now non essential business's / luxury items. I am seeing many markets that were up in covid have to get real very quick as they become flooded with Stocks. And nothing is moving, second hand values dropping like a stone. Now to pay for all this tell me where the money is coming from, financing a caravan is more expensive let along cost of buying cash, PX's have dropped like a stone, let alone if they will be accepted as a PX. Public sector has no spare cash, 5% payrise isn't going to have a huge difference. trust me, £100 a month, £200 per month... it doesn't scratch the surface of spending power. As time goes on more and more people are coming out of cheap finance deals on mortgages, cars and rental agreements, to be faced with these 50% increases from 3-5 years ago. There is nothing left in the tank. And people are fixing up these new finance deals for the next 3-5 years, on essential housing and cars so even reducing interest rates wont help. we are in for a tough 4-5 years. full stop. I could go on. but you have to think big picture. a 0.25% interest rate cut just isn't going to impact it. We are now going to have to fix DEBT for the next 4-5 years as aa country. Luxury non essential items will suffer.
People are still going on holiday. Checkout your nearest airport...
People aren't buying caravans because they don't want a caravan....
Give it a rest mate
piss of are you a dealer
piss of are you a dealer
You must have a busy lifestyle to spend time writing all of this rubbish
You talk of camp sites being not to expensive, but there is a bigger issue than this. When you buy a caravan and particulrly a m/home you incur other costs., caravan club membership £60, storage for many £250-£350, servicing £300+, insurance £300+, engine sevice m/home £300, and then the big one depreciation £2500+ and much more for a motorhome. As an example my lad decided that he his wife and our grand-daughter wanted to go away this week, as we alway's do we offered them "the caravan" when he priced it up it was going to cost them nearly £500 including club membership. They declined and booked a cottage near the coast in Dorset for £600. IS CARAVANNING REALLY AS CHEAP AS WE LIKE TO THINK IT IS.
£350 for storage! I was paying £750 until I saw sense and got rid of my van!
I'd love to see the info on the cottage for this week at £600.00 in Dorset. You have to be joking. At least double!
@@Bob-k8e8m Yes that was the point I was making, Its not just about site fees, it's all the other costs!. I think storage costs vary widely throught the country, and also the security rating they have.
@@Caravanzilla123 This was a last minute cancellation.
Just returned from France paid £30 per night on a 100msq site fully serviced, with 5 pools with flumes, spa, 2 bars, 2 restaurants , full evening entertainment program , kids club. We are really being ripped off.
Just booked for end of August, into September on a fully inclusive site, south west coast of France £23/ night, even basic CL sites with Caravan club in UK are around £25.
Unfortunately the return ferry/train is extortionate though which has put us off going to France
Some of these French sites are either making a substantial loss or are being subsidised by other business or local authorities to bring in tourists
@@gregconboy8029 I agree, it is expensive to cross the Channel. However, I believe that cost is easily offset by the better driving experience in France, the significantly superior campsites offering huge pitches and the weather generally, to name just three benefits. The main reason my wife and bought a caravan in the first place was to holiday in France to recapture the wonderful camping holidays we spent there when our kids were young. We spent three weeks in Normandy in May and we're off again for three weeks next month to the Vendee where we're staying at a fantastic site with an all-inclusive fully serviced 120m² pitch costing 22€ per night. I only stay on CL's now in the UK because they still offer reasonable value for money.
@@gregconboy8029 agreed, but if you choose certain crossing. Caravan goes free or half price. It worst from lreland. Paid £1600 return with cabin on a 10 hour crossing. So when we go, we stay 5 weeks
I was going to buy a brand new caravan this year, but decided against it after viewing many new models from all the main manufacturers on dealer forecourts. Build quality is simply appalling: screws lying around in a new caravan, "dealer special" wall panels stuck up with Velcro, window blinds stuck, gas locker struts loose.... I can go on.
And then being told to "expect some snags in the beginning"; NO SIR, I do not spend £30k+ on something that I then have to beg and threaten manufacturers and dealers to sort out basic issues.
So sadly, the caravan purchase is cancelled. I am sure I am not the only buyer with cash to spend, that simply decided we do not need the hassle and frustrations of unacceptable quality.
I am very disappointed that I will not join the caravan community, who all look like lovely people!
You're not the only one in that position who's voting with their feet. My caravan/motorhome money is invested & I'm holidaying off the interest until things change.
Depends which kind of caravan community you're talking about.
Could you look at second hand?
Sorry Mark I disagree camp site prices are still to expensive. We paid £50 a night on a site in Kent a year ago the site had nothing shop or pool or club house. Never again will I pay this much.
Last year we paid £64 a NIGHT in Robin Hood bay..
2 adults and 3 dogs no awning..
Site was average single toilet and 2 showers..
We must of been mad 10 nights..
Never again
Been saying this for ages, it doesnt cost £64 a night at home
The price went up because of greedy dealers
True, Glossop caravans were trying to sell small 15 year old buckets for 10k!
Let’s talk straight. Prices went up because of greedy dealers putting up prices by 40 % I’m happy to see them go out of business. Pure greed. As people looked for other ways to holiday in Covid. They are still over priced. £35.000 for an 08. Motor home. You need to take it on the chin now.
And what Glasses Guide do to the caravan trade what they did to the motor trade but the site owners also added to the problem, if you payed for a pitch that was not the end there were extras, + ground sheet + awning +the dog some times pay for hot showers
@@rogersmith5167 Well, don't go onto commercial campsites, then! Go to Club campsites (£40 a night...?) OR, go to Temporary Holiday Sites.
I have just left the Camping Club's Teesside DA's Beadnell THS on the Northumberland Coast - £10 per unit per night in a perfect location yards from the beach, 0.5 mile from Beadnell village & 2.5 miles from Seahouses and its shops/pubs etc.
And I have now set up at Scottish Region's THS at Danderhall on the outskirts of Edinburgh (convenient for the city even if the Festival, Tattoo and Fringe were not going on right now) at £12 per unit per night. No extras for an awning, groundsheet, dog, children etc.
A tap for drinking water, a skip for rubbish and an Elsan disposal point. YES, there's no shower/WC/amenities block. But modern caravans have central heating, solar panels, gas oven + hob, TV, bathroom with shower/WC/washbasin. At least I know who has slept in my bed and used the facilities (unlike an hotel!).
If you have the facilities in your van, why pay £30/40/50 extra to use the campsite's amenities block (not so convenient anyway at night or if it's raining!).
Spot on they all turned in to crooks
We are away to our usual campsite we visit every year. £3/night for child, £3/night for awning, £3/night for pup tent for my older child and her boyfriend, £8/night each for them, £7/night for their small car, £3/night for our dog (why, what does he use that costs £3/night), totalling £93/night for sitting in a field in a house that we fetched ourselves and are self sufficient. When we started 20 odd years ago, you paid for the pitch, but they all jumped on the bandwagon and upped their prices. We bought our latest van at the start of Covid and paid the correct price, looking at trading it in but not paying for a van that has inflated over £10k in 3 years. Manufacturers, dealers, campsites are all to blame, and it is greed, and what goes around comes around!!
Well said.
That'll be a pound.
@@harrypalmer6228 pand!
I went to a camp site this weekend, and I had to pay for literally everything! What put the nail in the coffin for me is when I asked the on-site (Owners own pub) pub for a tab water ( I don't drink alcohol), he charged me 10p to use the glass in heat of 28 degrees. (I did buy food). I'm literally selling up! Final straw.
I'm glad you added this point. S/by for CMC site metered water and electricity, that will be a proverbial death nail.....
You shown us cheap and high prices caravan touring parks. We all know you get what you pay for. What you failed to mention ( possibly deliberate) is that the customer has to bring their own home with them that costs tens of thousands. Also. The high fuel costs to get to the destinations and obviously the suitable tow car. So, it’s obviously not so much about costs on poor old manufacturing.
It’s high prices of vehicles , caravans , fuel = far higher prices on your campsites shown.
Add these together properly with insurances and storage costs and service = a bloody expensive holiday, and I didn’t even mention spending extras on pets and awnings .
Hit the nail on the head. We've considered it so many times getting a caravan, when I watched a youtuber caravan escapades, he gave a detailed breakdown in costs for their annual French trip and it was eye watering! For sleeping in a stuffy tin box that you've towed with a big juicy car, add depreciation and wear and tare and it's ridiculous.
Its because the campsites started seeing 30k cars towing 20k caravans and 80k motorhomes onto their parks and thought, "why are we only charging £10 per night"?
This may be true 🙈 not all sites though lol
@@thecaravanplace YET.
The reason for the price increase was simple, people were stuck in this country with No chance of holidaying abroad. so their only alternative was to find an holiday here, as many older people were still afraid of covid they thought a m/home or caravan was there best alternative. The dealers then bacame inundated with new customers and hugely hiked the prices.Dealers are now saying they didn't make a lot extra, so where did the money go from the hiked up prices? A BIG BLACK HOLE!. That is why we are were we are now, customers paid hugely over the odds for used vans and cannot upgrade or PX withuot losing big money. Lots of these customers are now biting the bullet and totally giving up caravanning and taking a big loss on the sale. The problem for the S/hand dealers is there is little demand for this stock. (we are also coming toward autumn). This mess could have been avoided if so many dealers hadnt bitten the hand who feed them. This also messed up the pricing when the manufacturers got back into production. 'CHAOS CAUSED BY GREED'.
I totally agree with you. Greedy dealers couldn't get enough money. Also, you say there are cheap deals to be had, but you showed me one camp site, mate. Stop kidding yourself. You and all the other dealers won't be here next year unless you drastically cut the prices of these caravans and motorhomes.
I completely agree with you on this
Spot on
Hit the nail on the head. Along with supply and demand is human greed.The caravan market went through the roof it was crazy, so the greedy caravan sites fillowed suit and here we are, paying 60 to 70 pound a night. I cant see it changing in the near future.
Happy camping folks.
@paulbird3235 It's not as simple as that. Dealer's buy in stock, whether that's part exchanges or auctions and because demand was high ans supply tight the price at auction and the value to get a part exchange had to increase in order to secure product. The dealer margins were the same, but the buying in price was higher. Where did that money go? Not a black hole, but to those part exchanging their vans or selling through auctions or offering their vans to dealers.
Average price for a campsite is £40-45 unless it's a simple field with a kettle lead. People stopped paying for that and instead paying another £10-20 a night for a decent hotel room anywhere they want, here or in Europe. That extra £10-20 pays off, when you consider travel costs with a caravan (extra fuel, extra insurance, cost of caravan, caravan maintenance) Caravanning in UK is sinking fast due to industry greed.
Thanks for your comments
Yes you are correct but the dealers have (not all) also borrowed money to increase the size of their business it may be in the form of increasing stock or premises or both , not only have has the buyers been hurt by cost of living , fuel prices ect but the interest rates going up but the dealers have had these to contend with plus the market taking a tumble . But hind sight is a wonderful thing
Sorry mark you missed the point
Sites are to expensive now due to the greed of most of them camc and ccc sites have pushed up price’s most of the sites you mentioned are poor commercial sites I have been on them and they are a nightmare with noise at night awning party’s loud tv vans parked to close together so no real fire break. It’s ok for those that want that. But having paid a lot of money for a van. It’s not for me so I’m stuck with high prices on sites to get what I wanted
Let’s talk straight. Prices went up because of greedy dealers putting up prices by 40 % I’m happy to see them go out of business. Pure greed. As people looked for other ways to holiday in Covid. They are still over priced. £35.000 for an 08. Motor home. You need to take it on the chin now.
You are aware of,what,you just said “you are happy to see them go bust” less dealer means less competition and less competition pushes up the prices and that is no good for us the caravaner.
The campsites are basically following hotel prices. So £50 a night is cheap for two people. If a hotel is £200.
Within our close family group, we had 5 caravans 5 years ago. Today, there are none. As each family member reached the time to renew their caravan, the price of replacement, insurance, storage and campsite fees had all outstripped the rate of inflation. Additionally, the political push toward Electric vehicles is a factor. As I've yet to see convincing evidence of such vehicles being the suitable replacement for the standard tow cars we have benefitted from. And lastly, I wonder if the new caravanners are entering the scene now after examining the costs to get setup with a caravan, car etc. There's a lot of competition out there now with Air B&B's, camping pods and budget foreign holidays. Do the maths.
It’s easy to blame the manufacturer but I think you all have to take a portion of the blame. Manufacturers, dealers new/used and sites all jumped on the bandwagon our local dealer doubled in size modernised all it’s buildings you yourself opened a new site started selling campers and motorhomes all this was done on the back of the aftermath of Covid. Just my opinion but you all have to take a portion of the state of the industry.
Well said!
Impossible, they weren’t making any extra money because they were paying more for used?😅
It’s easy to say this that and the other but I won’t accept am part of the bandwagon. I’ve been touring for years and the industry is a bloody disaster. You’re outdated with why people don’t want to caravan anymore. It’s not affordable and unfortunately declining numbers will impact on everyone because those costs of losses will be the main driver for many years.
The argument of supply and demand also applies to campsites. More demand when people took staycations and now settling as holidays abroad resumed. Campsites, especially CAMC & CCC, upped their prices and they stayed there! Dynamic pricing is a con. Whilst these sites usually offer good pitches and working, clean hygiene facilities, they offer little else, compared to other holiday sites. No cafes, useful shop, bar/indoor social areas, pool etc. Another issue that can prove annoying is the closing of facilities for a couple of hours in the morning and the continual mowing at some sites. I think most of the complaints about sites refer to the clubs rather than other sites, they need together act together!
Dynamic pricing is a scam..
It’s a make quick buck..£££
The site owners should be ashamed 😢..
@@Only-one-life-68a scam implies you are being hoodwinked. You’re not, you just don’t like it.
When demand is higher, eg in the summer and during school holiday they can charge more, when it is quieter they can charge less. Basic economics.
The people that grumble about high summer prices are the same people that snap up the cheap deals off season. You can’t have it both ways.
I think you're totally wrong, read the comments below and youll see the real reason, second hand vans in next few years will rise massively as people can't afford or want to afford one anymore, especially as tow vehicles are dropping due to EV's and small petrol engines. I think if people worked out the true cost of each holiday they would be shocked, depreciation of both the van and tow vehicle, fuel costs, campsite costs, storage, insurance, repairs etc etc the list goes on!
I used to go caravaning about 20 years ago, one of the main reasons I packed it up was the ever increasing charges of the campsites.
I’d spent £15000 on a new caravan and then a car capable of towing it, plus fuel etc. The charge at first weren’t too bad, £3 to £4 to park on a grass pitch extra for electric, £10 to £12 for a hard standing with facilities. Then the prices started to increase as the popularity increased, bearing in mind you have taken you own accommodation and all they are providing is a place to park, it became more and more unaffordable. So in my opinion it is the campsites that have caused a big part of the problem with greed.
Yes I can see what your saying, but it wasn't the campsites that made the caravan and motorhome prices go through the roof. Sites are definitely not helping now, but a good search and cheaper sites are still to be found. Thanks for your comments 👍
19% council tax hike on the way.
Fuel duty and road taxes are also on Labours cards.
Keir Stalin is hateful towards the British. But he secured his own pension.
People have no idea just how bad it's going to get, and how quickly !
Two words Liz Truss !!!!!!!!
I'm not getting into politics 🙈🙈🙈
Don`t forget the `Pay per mile ` as well.
@@1tonyboat is that a bad thing people who use the roads pay seems very fair to me !!!!!
Mark, I've recently come back from France where I was paying on average 25€ a night! That was for a monster pitch, heated swimming pool, bar, restaurant, with electric, no restrictions on use!
To have that kind of caravan site in the UK you would probably be paying around £60-80 a night! Which is a total rip off compared with France! and there lies part of the problem!
Yes some sites are too expensive, and it needs to change, but a good search around and there are cheaper alternatives. I will think more people should venture further like this too👍
The huge greedy increase in site prices is what’s putting many people off. Much cheaper to rent an air bnb or even rent a static caravan for near enough the same price.
My wife wants to sell our caravan, put the money in an account and use it for travelling and airbnb's. Costs have gone silly since COVID.
£122.50 I believe is the standard rate without any add on's i.e hook up etc. This place is in Ilfracombe , Devon; I live in Staffordshire which means I have to tie in fuel costs to my holiday budget. I tow with a 2016 Ford Kuga which is actually quite an economical vehicle however, the fuel bill would cost me more than the site fees to get to this place, everything is relative Mark, you cant make a statement like "where else can you go for a £120" when there are a number of other cost that have to be factored in.
@@matthewdaly6920 I know its not but its a factor that I need to consider when selecting a site. May be your budget is a lot healthier than mine🤔
Then stay on a site 10 miles away.
Nobody cares where you live he was giving an example
Cannamore campsite is not in Ilfracombe. It's just on the southern border of Dartmoor near ivybridge ( Totnes is just a few miles away to the south east). Simple camping. Nothing on site but terrific views. But you can't compare with a proper touring site.
I think your logic is a part of the problem, but not all of it. Having owned caravans for more than 20 years, we always bought from Broadlane, our local dealer. We know what’s happened to them, although I understand Kenilworth was sold before it went pop! During the pandemic demand increased as you say, but that was always going to go the other way once people could resume travelling abroad again as they had previously. This demand pattern was entirely predictable. The UK manufacturers clearly got it all wrong and then increased prices because they could because the demand was there. Let’s not forget as well they turn out average and sometimes good quality products for a lot of money, all the time distancing themselves from the owners by a model which means all the issues go via the dealers. Now dealers are struggling, I wonder if the manufacturers are helping them out, I doubt it. I think the industry needs a shake up. I wonder why prices of new caravans didn’t drop back once the parts supply issue had been overcome 🤔 In terms of campsites, whilst there are better prices to be found, the main clubs aren’t helping. I’m half expecting one of them to be in trouble at some point. Yes, I can see they have to cover increasing costs for energy and modernisation of sites to current standards, but something is wrong. The Caravan and Motorhome club is definitely struggling for bookings. They’ve recently gone back to pretty much zero deposit with their £5 scheme. As an example, we are taking our granddaughter to Black Knowl in August for 7 nights and it’s costing £417 or £59/night. That’s not cheap in my book. Anyway, I like the way you present your dealership and appreciate the openness.
I must get a dozen+ e-mails every week offering cheap sites (m/home and caravan club). But when you go on line and get a quote the price is completely different. Seems more like the DFS non existant sale. 'WHY ARENT THEY STRAIGHT WITH PRICING'....
If it’s so cheap, why are so many places available on the sites you showed at the beginning?
Because it is summer holidays and parents want swimming pools for the children, on site shop, bar and entertainment in the evenings but expect to get all that for next to nothing.
Site owners costs have increased too - electricity, water, gas, staff wages, rates, waste disposal etc. If they don’t make money the sites will start to go under soon. Then, demand will outstrip supply and prices will go up even more.
I agree with so many comments already made. Campsites are way too expensive in the UK. Those on the continent are both cheaper and offer more. Plus of course there is a greater chance of better weather.
Campsite owners got greedy when the desire for them was generated by Covid and the consequences of it. Those prices have obviously persisted and people are angry and resentful. Unfortunately, we now live in a society where everyone is prepared to rip someone off for the sake of profit above all else. Whatever happened to integrity.
There is something wrong when it’s cheaper to stay in a B&B.
I’m retired and live full time in a motorhome and it’s far from cheap. I can no longer afford to stay on campsites that I’ve been visiting for decades. It’s greed…from campsites, manufacturers and dealers.
You have not mentioned the build quality of new vans as a campsite warden I have seen some shocking brand-new vans with more snags than you can shake a stick at.
Yes, I have seen this too, again I blame the over production, build too many too fast and quality slips. 👍
@@thecaravanplace And also the quality of some of the fixtures are ridiculously cheap and plastic.
Other downside to manufacturers rushing to produce caravan stock after lockdown is poor quality caravans.
I have some experience of this as I bought my first ever caravan in 2022 its a new bailey and over the last 2 years it's been one thing after another that's gone wrong nothing major but just little things that's slowly taken away the "shine" of owning my first caravan.
I joined your club, water ingress, and poor quality of finish. Leaking from day 1.
Mark you are very correct however sites have jumped on the band wagon and put prices up. Also the two main clubs who were formed to give members cheap holiday are now running like Tescos camping round the globe insurance fly drive etc not all parts can make money so to cover losses on one put there site prices up to balance the books. Well that’s my thought.
I think another factor to take into consideration is that prices of everything have increased since Covid. Two of the main ones are gas and electricity. People do not have as much money to play with as they did pre covid, so spending £30,000 plus on a new caravan just isn't possible for many.
Hi, the thing that killed it was the new prices going through the roof. Our motorhome was 47k in 2017/2018, by 2022 it was 73k with lots of inferior components etc. Motorhomes that used to be top of the range at 90k are now 140k+. Pricing now in the same bracket as Ferraris and Lamborghini's and how many of those are on the road?
just had 2 nights in peak district with 3 grand children age 10 years and under £32 per night plus £3.50 per child per night plus £2.50 per night awning plus £1.50 per night dog this was a nice site but very basic they did not charge per child per night a couple of years ago plus you pay for the pitch why is an awning extra you are not taking any more room I feel we are being ripped off
It is a shame when they do this. 👍
PURE GREED is the reason you're looking for mate.
Thanks for your comments 👍
You make a valid point on why prices have changed but why is there less people buying? For me it is the cost of sites. I have a caravan on a season pitch and tour on school holidays (usually only me and my daughter). In the past few years we have been to three/four different sites over a two week period at Easter and summer and this Easter and summer we have been nowhere in our caravan. We always go to Blackpool (from Scotland) and this summer it was £70 difference between a touring pitch and a static caravan. We went for the static as the extra fuel and hassle of set up etc. was not worth the £70. Families do not want a field (which was the cheap site you gave as an example), we look for swimming pools and facilities as that helps entertain the children and makes it a holiday. The reason for lack of caravan buyers is that going abroad for a week is cheaper. An all inclusive 4* in a warm country with pools and lots to do is approx £700 - £900 per week (including airport parking). In the UK paying approx £600 site fees, add food, fuel, caravan overhead over the year is well in excess of £1k. If the prices of touring pitches remain high, my caravan will be up for sale next year, it’s really sad.
Costs have definitely gone up and some sites are too expensive, but I'm not sure there is less buyers than pre covid, I think there are still more buyers possibly around 30% more than pre covid. But we now have far more stock available than buyers, which to me points to over production on the new side. 🤷
£80 for two nights in Malvern at the weekend grass with electric, after 15 years on caravanning we were looking at whether to change our caravan or just sell it. Its no longer worth the cost.
The campsite i site my caravan every year from March to October has gone up from £1195 to £1895 in the last five years and now the owner of the site is struggling to fill the pitches.There as always been a waiting list,but not anymore.Its gone up £200 a season for the last two seasons plus electric hook up as gone up nearly double and a few regulars are not returning next year.
£1895 plus electric..
Not bad really some are £2700 plus electric
Vote with your feet
When you buy a used car you look at the age from the registration number and the mileage. When you buy a used caravan you look at a white shiny box that likely looks the same as a new one, you have to ask the age, unless you know what to look for, and there’s no way of knowing the hours it’s been used or the miles it’s covered.
The one thing you can ask, is how much did it cost new, but how many people do this?
If buyers knew the original cost then perhaps they’d be less likely to pay the inflated asking prices.
One of the first caravan / motorhome dealers I visited (many years ago) asked if I had a part exchange, when I said no he said knock a grand off of everything here then… that’s when the penny dropped for me.
Staycation killed caravaning, nobody could go abroad so the public said i know ill buy a caravan. That pushed used prices up and the the sites jumped on the band wagon. Yes there are still some good value holidays if you look, but on the whole very expensive.
You definitely have to get the use to make it worth while, 👍
The club site and private sites have become ridiculously high in price, only the CL sites left. You have to pay extra for awnings, kids and even dogs, yet its your own caravan (LOL), the cost of providing a piece of land is non-existent, I've seen renting static caravan stays cheaper. I'll probably part ways with my caravan within the next 2 years, can't see point in paying all the costs only to be charged more than some AirBNB.
This is true, but I have found some lovely sites very cheap, they are out there, and hopefully the expensive ones will learn soon👍
Campsites are getting to expensive I go motorcycle camping and some sites want min of 2 nights at £40 for a motorbike and small tent for a 6 foot bit of grass and a toilet it’s a joke
That is crazy prices. Shop around👍
Shocking!
And to be fair, perhaps we choose France or Spain. Then add ferry costs, toll roads, longer distances... So financially no real saving.
This year I paid for one, average of 12 euros a day with pool, restaurant, shade and ablution block. Region Oviedo and La Aberca, Spain.
It's very generous of you to be so kind to the campsites, but unfortunately for me it is all about site fees. We bought a decent caravan and towing vehicle just before covid and that was extremely lucky as we watched prices for both go well beyond the price we paid. We generally will caravan 50-60 nights a year, but this year we've really cut back because of site prices. These have doubled, 100% rise since before covid. General inflation has been around 35-40% for the same period. We generally use CAMC sites and where they were low £20s a night, they are now low £40s. I have become so frustrated looking at sites that we've decided to take the caravan to France for most of September. 19 euros a night with an ACSI card. It's going to cost me £2000 to save £25 a night! I've also been feeling an urge to replace my caravan. For the one that I want there are unsold 2024 models with decent discounts, but I'm sure I would then be back to muttering about pitch fees again. We ask very little from a campsite other than a pitch and electric. We will stay 5-6 nights on one site, we use our own facilities, are off the site much of the day, and rarely interact with the wardens, other than to say good morning. If I could know I would get 50 nights next year, squeezing in just under £30 - a hairsbreadth under £1500 for my 50 nights, I'd be phoning dealers as soon as they open tomorrow to see who would give me the best deal.
Manufacturers dealers and campsites all contributed to killing the golden goose the pitch prices from the two main clubs are becoming ridiculous I even had free membership this season of the CMC and not used it due to the high cost
If you click on them, you’ll find that you’ve got a had everything per dog per car per awning then you get the true price which is no one near the price they advertise
And most couples nowadays have more than 1 child
@@Barside_stu Used to be 2.4 per family now it's down to 1.7 children per family. No wonder kids are so messed up these days. imagine only being 70% of a person!
my opinion is caravanning and defiantly motor homing was never a cheap holiday, the only difference is choice you either pay your lump some of money for a holiday in a cottage or hotel etc. but afterwards all you have is memory's, where as if you have your caravan or motorhome you can then go away the next week if you so wish, so as I say it is all about choices , lets not forget we do not have as much spare cash as we once did
That's a ridiculous statement you just made. I guess you spent lots of money on an overpriced caravan and are still trying to justify it. If it's about memories, re-book the same cottage.
@@jockserb3405 for your information no I did not ,my van cost me the grand total of 3k, I think you need to reread it, it makes no difference where people choose to book you still only end up with just memories, and yes of course you can rebook, it is more as I said it is about choices
Simple supply and demand, price went up when demand was high, going down now it isn't. Campsites will do the same if not used enough
Thanks for your comments, I'm sure the sites that are over priced will soon learn 👍
For us personally we don't need all of the services, just a safe place to park overnight, but the fees now are to expensive, we need more places like Tintagel in Cornwall, five pounds a night, nice showers, toilets on a metre very cheap but worth every penny, we always use Tintagel as a base to travel around Cornwall, it might sound a pain but the small amount of fuel used to go back is far cheaper than these sites charge, should be like France for example where they welcombe campervan/motorhomes.
It’s part of the problem as you say but it is definitely camp sites as well as the rise of everything associated with running costs, I have my van on a seasonal and weekend warriors and tourers are definitely down even bank holidays have not been full! The prices that are being charged to basically rent a parking space in a field essentially with a bit of water and electric and basic facilities is ridiculous. The clubs as well need to get a grip there used to be a benefit being a member but not now and will not use them, high prices, discounts for being a member are not really there and way too regimental now with all the do’s and don’ts with some of the characters running them.
Just cancelled my Caravan and motorhome membership, £63 membership and the price of the site fees, use family run sites now and park for night
Change is the answer I think, shop around, try new places 👍
You have just answered the question people have been saying greedy dealers selling vans and motor homes they couldn’t deliver but taking big deposits leaving people in limbo for months/ even years people cancelled dealer left with unsold vans
This did happen, but was it the manufacturers not supplying when they said they would.
Another dealer on TH-cam has just said pre-owned caravans come with 12 months technically - why do you only offer 3 months??
yes, the dealer I bought my caravan from in Thirsk gave me 12 months cover. The van had problems within those 12 months and he put them right with no quibbles.
Also a factor to consider is, so many people got into caravanning/ motorhoming post Covid because of the uncertainty of going abroad. Perhaps there were quite a number who have subsequently found it’s not for them. What you have said also makes a lot of sense.
Yes we definitely have some that have said it's not for them, so have sold and this also adds to the less demand and more supply 👍
i was going to get a caravan, but having seen the pitch price and you can get a travel lodge for less and still keep the £25k which i get a little bit interest what i use to off set the travelodge price
I don’t think you’ve completely thought that through. For us the pitch price is usually around £35/£40 per night in the lake district, I would imagine a travel lodge costs more than that. You also need to factor in cost of food, at a travel lodge you can’t prepare your own. Another factor is a caravan is your own personal space with your own bedding etc, a hotel room isn’t .
A very tricky time, I remember the credit crash of 2008 and lost my business because of it.
APRs are so high now that it really takes a shine of buying anything big like cars, caravans , motorcycles etc. has stopped me upgrading and I’m sure I would have a caravan or a motorhome on my drive if it wasn’t for this. My 2 cars are both at a time when I would change but it would be looney to do so.
It seems that the only market keeping motorhome, caravan and EV sales going are people inheriting. A small market to rely on. Same happened to property in 2008, we called them bank of mum and dad. Love your videos ❤
Someone messaged me last week and said he was looking for a M/home. He said he had a quote on a £75.000 unit and it was going to cost him £150.000 on a ten year loan. What would that be worth in ten years time!. CRAZY or what.
Thinking about the dealer you said you heard was in trouble, if you were going to buy a new van what manufacturers would you avoid to not get caught with your pants down…..
the reason you paid a little more for that elegance is because it’s absolutely beautiful…
It's a lovely van👍 difficult with the manufacturers as I think all now are big enough to survive, even if we see some trouble, I think all are big enough to either get bailed out or bought out hopefully, so fingers crossed.
Your logic applied to the manufacturers due to Pandemic reasonings, which I agree is part of the equation, is sadly missed with price of camp sites. The same logic if applied with camp sites with indisputable evidence is why I strongly disagree on your view of campsite prices not having effect on the market. The equation is more than one dimensional as you allude. A one dimentional view
The manufacturers have overproduced but also like the club site kept their prices high. Supply chain issues have gone, prices have come back down for parts but the price of vans just seem to keep going up and up. Greed trying to cash in on a demand that isn’t there now has hit them hard.
Hi, from a new subscriber, I have a camper with solar, 2x toilet cassetts, heating,shower 100ltr water.Can wild camp for a week. Use Park 4 Night and very rarely pay for a site - especially in Scotland,Ireland or Europe.Its not for everyone but by not paying high park prices I am almost full time in the van and its just as cheap as staying at home.
Great to hear👍 there are ways to caravan and motorhome very cheap, and not all sites are crazy 👍
Very interesting video Mark. I agree that over supply is probably a huge factor in prices coming down. The higher cost of living, interest rates, mortgages will also be reducing prospective buyers. You do also see plenty of comments from people saying they've sold their vans due to high site fees and now use Airbnbs, hotels, etc. For me though £50 a night usually gets you a lovely campsite in a stunning location e.g. CAMC Black Knowl, which we love. The same money gets you an airbnb or hotel at the lower end of the market, which for us is unappealing. We took up caravanning because we really enjoy the lifestyle and not to save money, so we have no intention of giving it up. Others will have a different pov and higher costs will be off-putting for many.
Your quick look at camping site prices was a bit misleading. You looked just at the 'from" price; you should've gone through to the booking process end. I looked at your Lady Mile price where your showed about £250 for week, but going through to the end the price was closer to £500.
Yes some did charge extras, but I found a good proportion were still at the initial price, I did find that when the dates we not available it jumped up, but a bit of time searching and some sensible prices can be found.
We have been looking about buying are first caravan but decided to hang fire to see what way prices went first, as for staying away when you take into account the price of the caravan and wear and tear and devaluation of it it’s not the cheapest past time
It's always been a higher cost than people first think, after storage, insurance servicing etc it all adds up, so the caravan or motorhome has to be used to see the benefits, I think if you use the caravan for a 2 week holiday each year, then it makes no sense, but use it every month and it becomes a very cheap holiday and escape from normal life. 👍
I do agree that manufacturer's under produced around covid time. Of course they did, there were lockdowns, restrictions on working and parts suppliers with the same issues. They lost weeks of production whilst demand increased. They couldn't help that. Now they've got back to normal production and demand has slumped for a whole host of reasons and dealers haven't been able to shift the production even with substantial discounts.
Manufacturing was allowed during covid, so they could have kept working if they wanted too. 👍
There were issues with running factories in lockdown. They had to alter production methods to minimise the risk of transmission and it's no good having a line waiting but nothing to fit in the van because the supply chain has crumbled. Even now there are supply chain issues especially on spares availability.
Same in the bike world. Supply and demand as you say. Plus wages have gone up, council rates, everything so pitch prices go up. Same here in Aussie, at least we can get lots of free sites.
Mortgage in 2020 when we bought was just over £600... Renewed in July this year for £995
I do think the sites have a lot to answer for. Its not just price, its limited sites, often full and the problems of doing anything without a lot of pre-booking months ahead. The "freedom of the open road" is gone. We converted a 50 year old Lad Rover to a (very cramped) camper prior to covid and when the lock down came it was our savior. We could camp anywhere that allowed overnight parking which mattered because so many sites closed and those that remained were full. We do several weeks a year away and in 10 years have never stayed in a camp site, we do stay in designated overnight parking and pay around £10 per night. I think its also important to separate caravans from campers, caravans are becoming more and more restricted in where they can stop and they need storage, small campers can be parked in many local authority car parks and one area that really needs attention is getting more towns to put in overnight camper bays in their car parks.
One word greed !
Thanks for your comments
Ive paid £541 for 6 of us at seal bay resort in selsey for 7 nights on 11th of august. A joke really considering were taking our own accommodation. Some sites i was looking at were 1k plus and the most expensive was £1600! I dont know how theyre still going.
I did look at going to france but although the campsites were cheap and a lot to do on them compared to over here the ferry/train was around £650 return with the van which then make it uneconomical to go to france.
Ill be honest when we got our van last year we expected it to be a lot cheaper going caravanning than it actually is. Some sites near us in kent are an empty field with no hookup and wanting £60+ a night. Crazy times, rip off Britain
A lot of sites do need to sort the prices, hopefully if people don't go to the over the top ones, they will have to drop prices. 👍
We dont caravan or motorhome any more, unfortunately. Years back, every summer and bank Holidays the roads were full of them. Now, the roads are quite sparsely filled with the caravans and motorhomes now. We did look into taking it back up again, but were gobsmacked just how much every thing has gone up now, so decided not to bother. You have to really justify buying one now. Usage against the cost. Our local dealer is offering £14k off motorhomes, things must be bad.
Yes sales every where you look, a great time for buyers 👍
hi... quick question.. Swift elegance 850 2023...with self levelling currently £41,699 @ Bicester Caravan how many years before that van is around £36,000
Hi Gary, we currently have a 2023 Elegance Grande 845 on at £32995 so it won't be long until the 850 comes down. 👍
Manufacturers have been hiking prices annually for no particular reason for at least the last 15 years that I’ve been following the industry.
Used values have been skewed to reflect value compared to new, instead of depreciating the price paid when new, like the car trade.
Dealers are as guilty as manufacturers.
As mentioned elsewhere here, new tow cars that can actually tow a caravan are rare thanks to EV’s that can’t tow, or can’t tow very far, for that blame the government.
Watched along on this informative video and with many of the credible responses having a caravan isn’t as cheap as it was but still worth considering being a tourer
It's like everything, Prices have gone up for sure. 👍
It was supply and demand that pushed the prices of caravans and campsites up, the fact that covid meant there were no foreign holidays and there were still more restrictions on holiday accommodation, which the price also sky rocketed. During the covid time, I found campsite availability low and unable to book sites I wanted. Places like Keswick were standing room only. Thankfully, they have all gone back to Costs wherever, and my holidsys are getting back to normal. Now, there are too many vans on the market, and along with the cost of living, the prices have fallen a lot. I am starting to see lots of offers on site fees also, so the cost of these will stabilise. I have had a caravan for 22 years, and it is my preferred holiday. so I will keep it up for as long as I can in preference to hotels and flying. I do go on the odd cruise or fly to go with family, but relax and enjoy when in the middle of nowhere in my caravan, with my things and own bed. The same happened with push bikes and dogs during covid. Many people went out and bought one, along with freezers, mine broke, and I struggled to replace it. Every business added a premium during covid, so I do not blame the dealers or manufacturer's they did what other business did, but the sad thing is the people that bought at over inflated prices and selling are loosing money.
Great points 👍
Mark you mentioned supply and demand but what about demand and supply. After the 2008/9 credit crunch and crash manufacturers only built to order ( i know we did building motorhomes). Pre crash we were building 30 + coach-built vans a week and were still building these figures up to our 3 week summer shutdown. We all knew the crash was coming but the powers above were not interested in reducing production. We came back end of August to be told we were going short time working for 3 months to ' preserve jobs'. Low and behold by early October the company were making 99 redundancies. SWIFT group have mostly over produced so don't help matters, apparently they are very aggressive in forcing dealers to take more vans than they can possibly sell. I'm going to make a prediction now which I've been saying for a while, one of the big boys WILL go bang before long and with the well documented decision by Elddis to cut staff by nearly 50% a few months ago and only planning to build 900 units for 2025 could be the one, having lost 11 million in the last 2 years are favourites. Adria shut the Fleetwood factory and Hymer owning Elddis i can see them cutting their losses.
I have just had a dealer saying he has nearly 30 new vans the manufacturer is sending, whether they have the money or space they are coming and they want paying! Crazy, I think I'm banned from swift now 🫢🤣🤣🤣
@@thecaravanplace it's becoming a ridiculous situation Mark,it really is. Surely Manufacturers can't just send 30 vans to one dealer ( I doubt it if they'll have the funds to purchase 10) . ABI tried to have dealers only sell ABI vans and look what happened to them. Like a lot of us suspecting Elddis could be the one to go bang, Swift had a lot of debt after Peter Smith sold out a few years ago, could they be in trouble? My take on it is the industry needs a huge shake up in the way it does business before it's too late. I wouldn't be surprised if Hymer doing what Adria did to Fleetwood and close the factory. However they have a little jewel in their crown that is the Xplore brand. All is needed is to change the front profile to a 3 window system and double the amount of layouts and it'll be a winner. Swift on the other hand are literally sitting on a massive factory with 5 production lines each capable of producing 25 units a day. I bet after the summer shutdown 3 of those lines won't be operating.
You've forgot one factor - Business Rates. Councils want their slice of the cake too. With business rates drying up from the ever decreasing High Street and town centres, they see a good opportunity to plug the gap!
Very true, all costs are about to rise again so it's not going to get any better unfortunately.
Prices going up too much on campsites. Pay for the pitch, a gazebo, people visiting you on site, grandchildren visiting, pay to park a car. Well over £50. Can find cheaper on airb&b
Yes some are taking the micky, but have a good search some sensibly priced gems are out there. 👍
If camp sites are too expensive how about T.H.S's ( Temporary Holiday Sites -- run by Camping club OR " pop up camp sites " - run by the Caravan club ) this year we stayed at one T.H.S in Scotland -- £6 a night . True it was a farmers field with only a water tap & chemical emptying point but the modern caravan has a shower & toilet......
Great shout 👍
It is completely and universally agreed that caravan and motorhome prices are simply ridiculous, and site prices are now making the sector 'cheap holiday' model untenable. AirBnB recently published a model showing that stopping at one of their client's properties for a weekend away was cheaper than taking a caravan. To recap, a weekend away in a caravan is booking Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday night for two full days. AirBnb claimed that you can get up early on a Saturday and drive to a weekend retreat without any hassles of towing, spend one night and come back Sunday evening. And they're right ! Average site prices of £50 a night means the a fully weekend on a caravan site can be around £150.
Ey up, could you do a video on how to use the onboard tanks. I have a 2009 Bessecarr 645 with an onboard tank, but I don't know what to do or watch out for?? You always do the best informative video on how to use. Many thanks
You seem to like the Cadiz, that was my mum and dad’s caravan and mum traded it for the Autocruise motor home.
It's a lovely van and well looked after, hope she is enjoying her Motorhome 👍
Running a touring caravan, with all the associated costs is no longer a cheap holiday, as in the distant past. It is a lifestyle choice. Many people who choose a caravan or motorhome these days are relatively wealthy families. My father always used to run bangers and invariably we would break down on the way to Devon from the north. Those days are long gone. A touring rig is usually around 50k, depending on the age of caravan and tow vehicle. I had a Bailey Limousine, twin axle, and sold it some time ago, started holidaying in Italy and the Canaries and never went back to caravanning. Do I miss it? YES I DO. However, I am put off by the constant hassle of road congestion due to over population, cost of fuel and general poor value for money in rip-off Britain. I do fancy a motorhome but high cost has so far put me off, plus I will wait to see what happens to the cost of fuel with Labour in power. The final worry going forward, for towing a big caravan is electric vehicles, particularly the lack of range when towing. As far as I am aware, no vehicle manufactures have produced anything to match a big 4x4 with a combustion engine. Given all these issues, I will probably stick to foreign travel by air for the foreseeable future. 😂
Thanks for your comments 👍
Companies House has all the financial details of caravan manufacturers. 27% gross 16% net profit is not a bad number for the first company I looked at. Was the tipping point reached. The customer says No.
I think i could get 4 holidays in a caravan for 2 weeks in a
Spain all inclusive in yhr summer holidays.
It's probably a natural correction. When people couldn't travel overseas during COVID staycations got popular and everyone took advantage by increasing prices (caravans but also hotel accommodation).
The government claim inflation is at 2% but nobody believes it. Not many people have that much spare cash due to huge increases in utility costs and car insurance. It's going to be brutal unless you sell essentials like food. People aren't buying luxuries. Of course superyacht builders are still doing fine.
Thanks Gary 👍
Campsites are killing with high prices... total greed.....
Prices are not back to pre-covid levels... Only a dealer could say something so absurdly untrue... They are falling, and it's only the beginning... As the credit lines dry up and existing stock runs out of the interest free periods, its starting to cost dealers money on interest payments; those 2023/24 vans are getting very expensive to keep on the lot.. Add to that 2025 obligations and it's a perfect terrible storm for dealers. The bidding war you talk about netted every dealers huge windfalls. Any that didn't realise what was going on and didn't put that extra cash away for a rainy day are now going bust, many more will follow...
Camp site prices rocketed as demand rose, many have not noticed that the fat lady is no longer singing... Not only is she not singing, the entire band have all had to get other jobs...
Manufacturers raced to meet demand, including dropping build quality and making severe cost changes to get vans out as quickly as possible.
Rentals of camper vans must have collapsed this year as every time I passed a camper rental depot near me it was full of vans thoughout this summer season !
Hi Mark, thank you for your insights, I agree with all you say regarding the picture from the manufacturers/dealer perspective, what I was saying the other day ( Regarding non caravaners buying into the market and increasing demand & then selling up when they can get back to what they used to do.) Which was about what was driving the demand & then the drop. It is all part of it. I also agree the price of sites have little to do with it! I think that some of your contributors are not seeing the rising prices of hotels! I looked up a single night for your two adults and one child in a budget hotel chain and it was £122 per night! So everything everywhere has increased. So the conclusion is that caravan ownership has only kept pace with other forms of holiday! The only thing that hasn't is the income to pay for it!
I agree Mark. Campsites have had to put their prices up, particularly for electricity, we have to pay more at home, sites are no different. I was watching the staff at CAMC Moreton in Marsh. They were constantly working to keep the site looking nice, all the hedges, grass, amenities etc. It was really easy to see where our money goes. We get a lot from the clubs other than just the sites if we want it. There are plenty of CLs and CSs with great facilities that are very reasonably priced unless you want all singing and dancing.
Seasonal pitches the best value for money & no towing the caravan & less wear & tear on the car etc
A great way that we nearly did, but couldn't get the site we wanted. 👍
Just a minor criticism I am not too keen on the background music, I did find it irritating while trying to listen to what you had to say. We go off grid and only use CL’s which are a lot cheaper than the big sites. But even those have been creeping up in price. Where we would pay £12-£15 a night it’s getting to £20 a night. Regardless whether it’s value or not £45-£50 a night is a ridiculous amount to pay. It’s not only families who caravan but many retired people do. Although the van is paid for the site fees still have to come out of the pension. But if like we do you shop around there are still cheap fees out there. It depends whether you want an all singing site or something more basic.
Thanks Bob, I think having a good search is definitely they key. I think we also need to see if we can get a discount code for bookings for our viewers to use, this would hopefully help everyone.
supply and demand will always be a major factor in prices of anything, in covid times the demand was far greater than normal so supply becomes the issue, low supply drives prices up as customers chase stock, i was in the motor trade and it was just the same, and as others have mentioned cost of living on everything is huge compared to a few years ago now, possibly another factor is the poor quality of new built caravans now, you see so many people with damp issues on new ones its crazy, and the caravan industry is no where near regulated as the motor trade is, so im sure this is having an effect on new units selling. we all live in strange times now in comparrison to a few years ago, so its hardly suprising how things are. great video mark, keep em cumming mate.
Unfortunately the demand is not there to sustain these prices anymore, I think the manufacturers and the dealers need to wake up to this fact. The truth is, Caravanning or motorhoming can be a great holiday... but it is hard work. Get your own water, empty your own loo, cook your own food. Not to mention the stress of being stuck on the M6 for 4 hours in a traffic jam to get where you are going. And people just don't have the money they used to anyway (increases in: rents, tax, mortgages, food, fuel, car prices, insurance prices etc...). Caravanning and motorhoming is too expensive and too much hassle for a lot people who would just rather buy a TUI package holiday and naff off abroad for their break. Dealers and manufacturers need to realise this, and negotiate better deals, and fast.
Do you not think because of and during covid caravaning got really popular as people couldn’t holiday abroad so took up caravaning for that period, then covid over the market then slumped with people selling there vans and back to hols abroad ?
Yes we have definitely seen this, but still even if 30% keep the caravan and motorhome after covid, that's still 30% bigger market than before covid, so we still have more potential buyers in the market than pre covid. So the over supply now is a mix of new and used, but feel if new had of kept up, Prices wouldn't have gone so crazy.
sites in uk are to greedy its killing the game , you can get a hotel room cheaper
I think a good search and decent prices can be found.
Perhaps more like the house builders,building 4-5 bedroom villas that few can afford than building 2/3 bedroom economic versions. Don't forget the fuel costs to staying on camp sites
People saying it's too expensive, I guess its relative. A family of 5 can expect to pay ~ £4500 for a week in Spain all-inclusive. The van soon pays for itself at those prices, particularly if your buying a used van. 🤔
Pitch fees are too expensive and unfair. Charges per person are ridiculous and make holidays for families uneconomical. I get really cross about dog charges; for what??? Electricity charges are high, however watching people changing EV's no wonder the daily rate is so high. I'm afraid days of cheap caravanning are over.
Like any market. It’s only what people are prepared to pay. If people didn’t pay the price will come down. No demand no money.
I totally agree greedy dealers
My parents did a bit of camping on the continent and then caravan for a while in UK.Then soon decided that just the car and hotels around the Alps and the Italian and Dalmatian coasts provided a much nicer holiday.That was all way back in the fuel and toll friendly roads environment of the 1970's/80''s.A holiday style which I carried on with to date in my 60's.
There really needs to be a special reason why anyone would choose camping type holidays with investment and parking of kit.Or the right type of vehicle for towing which isnt the typical lightweight small engined front wheel drive liability.
I'd guess around 75-80% of caravan or motorhome users will be transient and temporary who tried it but then walked away from it within 5 years or less.
The truth is the rewards generally dont match the outlay or the downsides for most.
Personally we have given up Motorhomes due to the expense of everything else (not the cost of the motorhome) the campsites are unaffordable and if your in tourist area experience pay top money to eat out. Add it all together and it’s trebled in the last 5 years to such an extent it’s just not worth it.
Pitch prices have stopped us buying a caravan
You can find decent priced sites. We just had someone who sold as sites were too expensive, but are now looking to buy again as the alternatives aren't as cheap as they first thought. It depends what you want though 👍