Is a Used Campervan Worth It?

Every week someone asks me some version of the same question. They’ve priced up a new campervan, had a look at what it costs, and they’re wondering whether buying second-hand is a false economy.

It isn’t. For most buyers, used is the better purchase — and the reason has almost nothing to do with the sticker price.

Here’s the honest maths, including the bits that don’t favour buying used:

• A used campervan is worth it for most buyers, because the first owner absorbs the steepest depreciation.
• Campervans typically lose around 20% in year one, then roughly 10% a year after that.
• Buying at three to five years old means paying for someone else’s biggest loss.
• Expect £1,800 to £3,500 a year in running costs, before depreciation.
• Buying from a dealer gives you legal protection that a private sale doesn’t.
• Used stops being worth it when the conversion is tired rather than just old.

Is a used campervan worth it?

Yes, for the majority of buyers. A campervan loses the largest single chunk of its value in the first two to three years, and buying used transfers that loss to the previous owner while leaving you with a vehicle that’s barely run in.

The mechanical case is straightforward. The average leisure vehicle covers 3,000 to 5,000 miles a year. A five-year-old campervan with 25,000 miles on a Ducato or Transporter base has done nothing at all by van standards.

The conversion case is stronger still. Any weak joinery, poorly sealed roof light or undersized leisure battery will have shown itself across several British winters. You’re buying a proven vehicle, not a hopeful one.

The exception is the buyer who wants a very specific layout and specification, intends to keep it fifteen years, and would rather have a full manufacturer warranty. That case for new is reasonable. It’s just a much smaller group than the people who think they’re in it.

How much does a used campervan cost in the UK?

Used campervans in the UK generally run from around £20,000 to £65,000, with most of the market sitting between £35,000 and £55,000.

Roughly how it breaks down:

New equivalents typically start around £55,000 and climb well past £80,000 for a premium panel van conversion. That gap is the whole argument.

How fast does a campervan lose value?

A campervan typically loses around 20% of its value in the first year, then roughly 10% a year after that, with the rate flattening noticeably after year five.

Put real numbers on it. A £55,000 van bought new is worth somewhere near £44,000 after twelve months. That’s £11,000 gone in a year — considerably more than most people spend running the thing for five.

By three years it’s worth roughly £40,000. By five, around £32,000.

Here’s why that matters to you as a buyer. If you buy that same van at three years old for £40,000 and keep it five years, you’ll lose perhaps £14,000 over the period. The person who bought it new lost £15,000 in the first three years alone.

You’re not buying a worse van. You’re buying the same van after the expensive part has already happened to somebody else.

Worth saying plainly: these are industry averages, not a valuation. Brand matters, condition matters more, and the used market has been unusually strong in recent years. Treat the percentages as a shape rather than a promise.

The consolation for anyone buying new is that leisure vehicles hold value far better than cars. Motorhomes and campervans generally retain around 70% at three years, where a car is nearer 40%. It’s a slower bleed. It’s still a bleed.

What does a used campervan cost to run each year?

Budget £1,800 to £3,500 a year for a used campervan, excluding finance payments and depreciation. Where you land in that range depends mostly on storage and insurance.

Insurance

Typically £250 to £1,500 a year. The spread is wide because it reflects the vehicle’s value, your age and claims history, security fitted, and whether you’re insured for European travel.

Specialist leisure insurers are usually better value than mainstream providers, and they understand conversions properly.

Servicing and habitation check

Around £250 to £450 for a base vehicle service, plus £200 to £300 for an annual habitation check.

A habitation check is an annual inspection of the living area — gas, electrics, water, ventilation and damp. It’s not a legal requirement, but skipping it is how small leaks become expensive ones, and gaps in the record cost you money at resale.

Storage

£400 to £900 a year if you can’t keep it at home. CaSSOA-rated sites cost more and usually reduce your insurance premium enough to offset a chunk of the difference.

Free if you have the driveway and your council doesn’t object. Check before you assume.

Fuel and vehicle tax

Most conversions return between 25 and 35 MPG. At 4,000 miles a year that’s roughly £700 to £900 at current diesel prices.

Vehicle tax for most campervans under 3,500kg is in the region of £345 a year, though it varies by registration date and emissions.

Breakdown cover

£60 to £150 depending on cover level and whether Europe is included. Check what you already have — some policies and bank accounts include it.

What do you give up by buying used?

Three things, and it’s worth being straight about them.

Specification. You take the layout, upholstery and options the first owner chose. If you want twin singles in a particular fabric with a specific heating system, used means waiting for the right van rather than ordering it.

Warranty. A new van carries a full manufacturer warranty on both base vehicle and conversion, often with a lengthy water ingress guarantee. Used typically means a dealer-supplied warranty instead, which is narrower.

Ours is a three-year RAC warranty with a fresh twelve-month MOT on every van, which covers most of what people worry about — but it isn’t the same thing as a manufacturer’s habitation warranty, and I won’t pretend it is.

History you have to investigate. New comes with no past. Used comes with a past you need to check properly: damp readings, habitation records, conversion documentation, HPI, MOT history.

That last one is real work. It’s also the work that protects you, and it’s why buying from somewhere that does it before the van reaches the forecourt is worth paying for.

What protection do you get when buying a used campervan from a dealer?

Buying from a dealer gives you rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 that don’t exist in a private sale. The vehicle must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described.

The timeframes matter, so here they are plainly.

• First 30 days. If the van doesn’t meet those standards, you can reject it outright and claim a full refund.
• 30 days to six months. The dealer gets one opportunity to repair or replace. If that fails, you can reject it. The law assumes the fault was there when you bought it, and the dealer has to prove otherwise.
• After six months. You keep the same rights, but the burden of proof shifts to you.

Trading Standards guidance uses a motorhome example that shows how strong the 30-day right is: a buyer who took a £35,000 motorhome abroad and covered 5,000 miles in three weeks before discovering a significant inherent electrical fault was still entitled to reject it and receive a full refund, despite the heavy use.

Now the crucial part. None of this applies to private sales or auctions. Buy privately and the principle is caveat emptor — buyer beware. If the damp turns up a fortnight later, it’s yours.

That’s not an argument against buying privately. It’s an argument for getting an independent inspection if you do, and for understanding that the several thousand pounds you save is the price of the protection you’re giving up.

What is the sweet spot for buying a used campervan?

Three to five years old, with average or below-average mileage and a complete habitation check record.

At that age the steep depreciation has happened, the conversion has proven itself, and the base vehicle is still modern enough to meet current emissions standards without you worrying about clean air zones.

You’ll also still find these vans with meaningful documentation. Go much older and the paperwork trail tends to thin out, which costs you both confidence now and value later.

Below three years you’re paying a premium for very little extra. Beyond eight, the calculation changes — not badly, but differently, and you need to look harder at the conversion than the mileage.

When is a used campervan not worth it?

When the conversion is tired rather than simply old. Age is fine. Neglect is expensive.

Specific situations where I’d think hard:

• Damp readings above 20%. Anything in the 21–30% band means remedial work is required, and over 30% indicates structural deterioration. Damp repair on a conversion is rarely cheap and never quick.
• No habitation history at all. You’re buying an unknown. Sometimes fine, sometimes a very costly education.
• Pre-Euro 6 engines. Increasingly expensive to run in UK clean air zones, and that will tighten rather than relax.
• Undocumented self-builds. A well-recorded self-build with certificated gas and electrical work can be excellent. An undocumented one is a bet on a stranger’s competence.
• A van bought to fit a life you don’t lead. The most expensive campervan is the one sitting on the drive because it’s too big to enjoy using.

What can’t a spreadsheet tell you?

None of the numbers above capture why people actually own these things.

A campervan isn’t a good financial decision in the way an ISA is a good financial decision. It’s a depreciating vehicle that costs money to keep. Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something.

What it buys you is the ability to decide on Thursday that you’re going to Northumberland on Friday. Waking up somewhere you drove to the night before, making a brew in your own kitchen, and not having booked anything.

The people who get their money’s worth are the ones who use it. Six or eight trips a year turns the annual cost into something reasonable per night. Two trips a year makes it an expensive way to store a vehicle.

So the honest answer to “is it worth it” isn’t really about the van. It’s about whether you’ll go.

So should you buy used?

Buy used, buy from somewhere that inspects properly, and put what you save towards a better-specified van than you could otherwise afford.

That’s the version of this advice I’d give a friend. The three-to-five-year-old van with a full habitation record and a sensible layout will serve you better than a new one bought at the edge of your budget.

Check the damp readings. Check the paperwork. Check the payload plate. Then stop worrying about whether it was the optimal financial decision, because it never quite is, and go and use the thing.

Oaktree Motorhomes is a used motorhome and campervan dealer in Nottinghamshire with over twenty years in the trade. Every van we sell goes through a full pre-delivery inspection and comes with a three-year RAC warranty and a fresh twelve-month MOT.

If you’d like to talk through whether a particular van is worth the asking price — ours or anyone else’s — give the team a call. We’re happy to be a second opinion.