Buying a motorhome abroad is an alternative I would definitely consider. There are plenty of vans or motorhomes on offer from manufacturers who often don’t have a presence in your country. The supply of used but also new motorhomes for purchase is several times greater and the purchase itself is not at all problematic. However, I will write about how buying a motorhome abroad works in a separate article.
Where to look for motorhomes in Germany
In Germany there are 2 big websites with offers for motorhomes. We found all our motorhomes 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 motorhome show in Düsseldorf, at the shows dealers give discounts for pre-ordering new motorhomes.
Sites with offers for motorhomes in Austria
Austria is really a stone’s throw from us, so it’s worth checking out their offers too. However, motorhomes 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 motorhome is therefore lower for export. Search for motorhomes on this website:
Classifieds in Italy
Motorhoming 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 motorhomes 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 motorhome. Search for used motorhomes on this page:
When is the best time to buy a motorhome abroad?
Definitely look for a motorhome to buy in the autumn. There are plenty of good motorhomes for sale then that have low mileage. Often these are motorhomes 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 motorhome, 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 motorhome just by the pictures on the internet ?
Buying a motorhome at a motorhome show
As I’ve written several times before, dealers give discounts at motorhome shows. So you can buy a normally working new motorhome, albeit for less money. Another advantage of the motorhome show is that it is frequented by people who want to sell their own motorhome
So you can see several used motorhomes in one place and buy them directly to the previous owner.
Special tip on how to find a cheaper motorhome and save
We have bought 3 motorhomes and several cars from abroad. It was still a pretty good buy. It is best to search on motorhome websites with as few active search filters as possible. Often times the advertiser makes a mistake and then has a hard time selling the motorhome. It is also a good trick to search for a motorhome 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.