Is a motorhome a good investment? It’s a question that comes up constantly in our comments — and it’s a contentious one in the touring community. Why sell to WeBuyAnyMotorcaravan.com when you can list privately and get more, or why sell at all if it’s holding its value?
The truth is, it’s a layered question, and the answer depends heavily on context.
With decades in the industry and thousands of motorhomes bought, I have some perspective to offer — not just on what your motorhome is worth, but on what kind of asset it actually is.
What makes something an investment
Before getting into motorhome-specific numbers, it’s worth being clear about what the word investment actually means — because that’s where most of this debate falls apart.
An investment is something you put capital into, expecting to get more back. It either goes up in value over time or generates income while you own it. Property can do both. A pension. A business. Those are investments.
A motorhome doesn’t do either of those things by default. It doesn’t generate income unless you’re actively renting it out. And under normal market conditions, it doesn’t go up in value over time. What it is, technically, is a depreciating asset — like a car, like most vehicles.
Depreciating doesn’t mean worthless. It means losing value over time, at different rates depending on what you’ve got, when you bought it, and how you’ve looked after it. That rate is what actually matters.
I cover this in depth in the latest episode of The UK Motorhome Market Show.
What motorhomes actually depreciate by
Based on what we see buying motorhomes every week across the UK, the pattern is fairly consistent:
A new motorhome will typically lose 20–30% in year one. Not because anything has gone wrong — simply because it’s no longer new. After that, depreciation slows to around 10% per year through years two to five. By years six or seven, it starts to plateau. The drops become much smaller.
Compare that to a car. Carwow puts new car depreciation at 15–35% in year one and up to 50% by year three. So yes — motorhomes do hold value better than cars on average. But here’s the point that gets missed:
Slower depreciation is not the same as appreciation. A motorhome losing 25–30% over three years is a less bad depreciating asset than a car. It is not an investment.
Why some people genuinely did make money
This is the part that matters — because the people saying their motorhome went up in value aren’t making it up. Between 2020 and 2022, the market went completely sideways.
Demand exploded. Factory shutdowns meant supply collapsed. Waiting lists stretched to 18 months. Unprecedented demand met a market with almost nothing available — and used prices went with it. If you bought in 2018 or 2019 and sold in 2021, yes, you may well have made money. Some people made significant money.
But look at what happened on the other side of that window. People who bought new in 2021 or 2022 — at peak prices, sometimes over list — are now experiencing above-average depreciation as the market corrects. Auto Trader had over 74,000 motorhomes and caravans listed in 2024. That’s nearly 50% more than pre-pandemic levels.
When someone says ‘mine went up’ — believe them. But what they’re describing is a three-year anomaly driven by a global pandemic. Not something you can plan around, and not something that’s coming back.
Three real comments. Three different stories
We’ve highlighted the three types of comments that generate a lot of back and forth on our socials. Each one tells a different part of the story.
“I lost nothing”
Someone paid £52,000 in 2018. Sold five years later for £50,000. Remarkable retention — genuinely. But that headline number doesn’t include five years of running costs. Insurance alone is typically £300–£500 a year. Storage, if it’s not at home, can add another £1,000. Factor in servicing, habitation checks, and the odd repair, and you’re looking at a conservative £3,000–£6,000 a year just to keep it on the drive. Over five years, that’s potentially £15,000–£30,000 on top of the purchase price. The return was £50,000. That’s not losing nothing — that’s the cost of five years of motorhome ownership. A completely legitimate thing to spend money on. Just not an investment return.
“The dealer sold it for £7,000 more”
Understandable frustration. But that £7,000 gap is gross margin — before servicing, habitation checks, valeting, repairs, marketing, corporation tax, and however many weeks it sits on the forecourt before it sells. Net margin on a used motorhome transaction is often a fraction of what that gap looks like from the outside. Private sale might have got closer to that retail price — but only if it sells quickly, and only after absorbing advertising, viewings, time-wasters, and the buyer whose finance falls through on completion day.
“Mine hasn’t depreciated at all”
In some cases, genuinely true. German premium brands — Hymer, Carthago, Bürstner — hold value considerably better than mid-range marques. We see this consistently. Then there’s the plateau effect: once a motorhome reaches six or seven years old, depreciation slows to near-flat if it’s been well maintained. Full service history, no damp, good spec — a vehicle that presents well holds value. One that doesn’t, doesn’t.
How to protect your motorhome’s value
If you accept that depreciation is real but variable, here’s what actually makes a difference when it comes to holding value:
Buy used rather than new. Let someone else absorb the first-year hit.
Choose the right brand. German premium holds better. If residual value matters, factor it into the purchase decision, not just the spec sheet.
Get the spec right. Automatic gearbox, fixed bed, solar, rear washroom — desirable at purchase, desirable at resale. Manual gearboxes can be £3,000–£4,000 less on nearly-new vehicles and that gap follows the vehicle through.
Keep the service history complete. Full and documented, habitation checks included. Without it, buyers discount or walk. Many manufacturers now offer up to ten-year warranties — miss a service and you could void it.
Stay on top of condition. Damp is the single biggest value killer we see. One unresolved issue can wipe thousands off a valuation.
Think about timing. Spring — April and May — is the peak selling window. Heading into winter with a van sitting unused, the carrying cost often outweighs any seasonal price uplift.
So what is it, if not an investment?
It’s a lifestyle asset. You buy it to use it, to enjoy it, to get somewhere worth waking up. The value it gives you doesn’t show up on a balance sheet.
Buy it because you want to use it. Look after it properly. Be clear-eyed about what you’ll get back. Buy the right brand, the right spec, in the right condition — and you may well be pleasantly surprised by how it holds.
But go in calling it an investment and you’re setting yourself up for a conversation you didn’t want to have.
Buy it for the memories, not the money.
Thinking about selling?
If your motorhome is sitting unused, costing you in storage and insurance, or you’re simply ready to move on — a valuation doesn’t commit you to anything. It just gives you clarity.
We buy over 100 motorhomes a month across the UK. We’ll give you a straightforward offer based on the actual market, explain how we got there, and handle everything from there if you want to proceed.
