Buying a caravan abroad is an alternative I would definitely consider. There are plenty of vans or caravans on offer from manufacturers who often don’t have a presence here. The supply of used but also new caravans for purchase is several times greater and the purchase itself is not at all problematic. However, I will write about how buying a caravan abroad works in a separate article.
Post content:
- Where to look for caravans in Germany
- Sites with offers for caravans in Austria
- Classifieds in Italy
- When is the best time to buy a caravan abroad?
- Buying a caravan at a caravan show
- Special tip on how to find a cheaper caravan and save
Where to look for caravans in Germany
In Germany there are 2 big websites with offers for caravans. We found all our caravans or cars on mobile.de, but I recommend you check out the other one as well. Sometimes you can find good deals there too.
It’s also good to go to the caravan show in Düsseldorf, at the shows dealers give discounts for pre-ordering new caravans.
Sites with offers for caravans in Austria
Austria is really a stone’s throw from us, so it’s worth checking out their offers too. However, caravans are orders of magnitude more expensive in Austria, this is due to their special car tax. However, when exporting, this tax is not paid, so the price of the caravan is therefore lower for export. Search for caravans on this website:
Classifieds in Italy
Caravanning in Italy is very popular, even if it doesn’t seem so at first sight. Almost all brands are represented there. So you can buy both new and used caravans there. I recommend, for example, to visit the Salone del Camper exhibition in Parma, where you can also get a discount for pre-ordering a new caravan. Search for used caravans on this page:
When is the best time to buy a caravan abroad?
Definitely look for a caravan to buy in the autumn. There are plenty of good caravans for sale then that have low mileage. Often these are caravans that have been rented for one season, so they have only been used for 4 months and have only covered, say, 20,000 km
If you are buying a rental caravan, take a good look at it. These are usually pretty beat up, a lot of things may be broken or not working
Definitely don’t buy a caravan just by the pictures on the internet ?
Buying a caravan at a caravan show
As I’ve written several times before, dealers give discounts at caravan shows. So you can buy a normally working new caravan, albeit for less money. Another advantage of the caravan show is that it is frequented by people who want to sell their own caravan
So you can see several used caravans in one place and buy them directly to the previous owner.
Special tip on how to find a cheaper caravan and save
We have bought 3 caravans and several cars from abroad. It was still a pretty good buy. It is best to search on caravan websites with as few active search filters as possible. Often times the advertiser makes a mistake and then has a hard time selling the caravan. It is also a good trick to search for a caravan or van in a different category by text search only. If the advertiser has made a mistake in the category, or has chosen the wrong one even unintentionally – they will have a problem selling
Adverts that people don’t respond to usually have a reduced price.