The talk on everyone’s lips at the moment is how expensive caravans have become, similarly mentioned in my previous blog post. There is a catalogue of caravans that are over £41000, so on the face of it pricing a lot of people out of the market. That got me thinking, is there such thing as a cheap caravan anymore? Is there value to be had? Or are cheap caravans as rare as rocking horse s**t, unicorns, getting struck by lightning, shooting stars or Stoke City getting promoted again.
“I wanted the cheapest caravan they had to see how much it cost, what condition it was in and whether it was worth it?”
In my mind, I believe as the demand grows for newer models and the rising price of the used market that should hopefully bring an awful lot of part exchanges into play. We went back to Spinney in Flintshire again this week to do few more reviews. Whilst also, looking for a 2022 Swift Elegance 850 to have a look at. The Swift Elegance 850 was more elusive than cheap caravans. Spinney to be fair had a few Caravans in and around the £15,000 but I wanted more!! I wanted the cheapest caravan they had to see how much it was cost, what condition was it in and whether it was worth it.
“And wow! Offered considerably more than what I was expecting!”
So after some searching and comparing prices of the used caravans out the corner of my eye twinkling in the sun like a single star in the night sky was an absolute belter! It was a 2010 Swift Sprite Musketeer and it was priced at £10,450. I was really keen having just been in some of the Challenger 8 series to see what this caravan was all about. And wow! Offered considerably more than what I was expecting! It is a 5 berth Caravan with 3 fixed bunks, a double bed at the front and really spacious U shaped Sofa. Here is the Vlog I made on it. But for those of you that like to read we can carry on below the video!
“People seem to know the cost of everything but the value of nothing!”
A couple of really important points to make, don’t get me wrong this carry wouldn’t be the first girl to get asked to dance at the disco, probably not the 2nd either. However, there is a market to upcycling caravans, old campers and trailer tents (as my brother did with the trailer tent he purchased from me). I would put this caravan perhaps into that category, for a family that may not have the biggest budget but wants to start looking into what this amazing country has to offer.
The second point and once again is something that I alluded to in the first blog a few days ago is that in todays world, people seem to know the cost of everything but the value of nothing!
“John and Mandy and they have just bought a 22 year old camper and just done a bit of work to it to upgrade bits on it and Mandy absolutely loves it”
I suppose it is about expectations, now you are not going to get a Lusso for £10,450 and nor should you. You get what you pay for and having spent sometime looking around online and looking on the forecourts there are bargains for people. It is important not to listen to doom mongers who will find a problem with everything, they will never be satisfied. The key is managing your own expectations and finding something within your budget, or a bit below to free up some capital for renovations be it soft furnishings, be it new paint or tile affect stick on things for the kitchen. If you have the know how and the skill to do it then I would 100% be doing exactly that. A prime example for those who watch a lot of stuff on Youtube a channel called John and Mandy and they have just bought a 22 year old camper and just done a bit of work to it to upgrade bits on it and Mandy absolutely loves it.
“I think this has a truck load of potential and is going to make one family very very happy indeed”
If I was going to be looking at purchasing a caravan I would be looking to treat it the same as buying a house, have a budget for a van that needs no work, and a budget for a van that needs a bit of tinkering and go from there. I don’t think there is a better feeling than doing something up, upcycling something or giving something a new lease of life and that is certainly what you could with this Musketeer. I think this has a truck load of potential and is going to make 1 family very very happy indeed.
Rich
