by Ed Davies
Those looking to holiday in the UK in the future could see themselves joined by ever swelling numbers as companies begin to offer personal contract purchase for caravans and motorhomes
Vehicle data expert, Glass’s, believes PCP – which is an increasingly popular way of financing new cars – could revolutionise the leisure vehicle market.
The introduction of PCP for motorhomes could make leisure vehicles much more affordable and potentially bring a wave of new buyers.
Recent industry figures and reports have shown a boom in the motorhome industry this year.
Rupert Pontin, Glass’s director, said: “Touring caravans and motorhomes are not cheap vehicles and you can easily spend £40,000 on the latter.
“However, the use of finance products in the market has tended to be quite limited, meaning that the typical buyer is an older person with savings.
“That has changed in recent months, with the arrival of a handful of finance companies entering the market. Now, the situation could change quite quickly.
“The touring caravan and motorhome market has been quite buoyant in recent years but we believe that this development could provide a further boost.”
A PCP is a form of finance similar to a hire purchase agreement but instead of paying off the entire value of the vehicle in equal monthly installments like an HP, you are effectively only paying off the depreciation via your monthly installments on a PCP.
“The key advantages of PCPs are that they make vehicles much more affordable and accessible,” he added.
“Crucially, they will allow younger buyers with families who would like a caravan or motorhome for stay-at-home holidays to seriously consider taking out a PCP, typically over five to seven years.”
Mr Pontin said that the availability of PCPs could make leisure vehicles of this kind as accessible to the average family as buying a second car.
“Some of the headline figures that are being seen in the market are very attractive and, as competition grows across the sector for PCPs, we would expect them to become even more viable as a monthly expenditure for more and more people,” he said.
“Certainly, if you were planning to use a motorhome for two or three family holidays a year, then the maths stacks up pretty well against other holiday choices.”
