Renting or buying a motorhome: when does each thing pay off?

Before buying a motorhome, almost everyone goes through the same doubt: Wouldn't it be more affordable for me to rent? It is a reasonable question and the honest answer is that it depends on a single variable, the weeks you are going to use it per year. Here are the numbers, with their sources, so you can figure it out for yourself.

We advance the conclusion, because we have no interest in you wasting your time: if you travel two or three weeks a year, renting is cheaper. And it is cheaper in all the scenarios we have calculated, even in the most favorable one to buy.

What does it cost to rent

Rental prices in Spain range between €60/day in low season and €250/day in high season. For a week, which in the sector is billed as nine days, that works out to between €540 and €2,250, with an average between €900 and €1,350 per week. These are data from Camplify, one of the rental platforms with the most parks in the country.

The range is wide because the season rules. July and August can cost three times as much as November. If you can only travel during school holidays, count on the upper part.

What does it cost to have one

This is where comparisons usually cheat, because the rental weeks are compared against the purchase price and that's it. A motorhome generates expenses for twelve months, whether you use it or not.

• Insurance: from €240 to €900 per year depending on coverage.
• ITV: between €40 and €70 per inspection.
• Mechanical inspection: from €200 to €400, and the timing belt when it comes to it is around €550.
• Tightness test: from €100 to €200 per year. Skipping it is the fast route to a water inlet that costs much more.
• Tires: from €140 to €220 per wheel, and they age over time even if you don't roll.

The annual total managed by the brokerage MV Aseguradores ranges from €1,500 to €3,000 per year, not counting parking.

And parking must be included, because a seven-meter motorhome rarely fits in a normal space. As a published reference, Parking Tiffanys charges €320 per year for the uncovered space and €390 for the covered one. In areas of high demand you pay much more.

All in all, the cash cost of having a motorhome is around €1,820 to €3,320 per year. Let's call it €2,570 on average for what's coming.

The five-year comparison

We take as a reference a new motorhome from €56,190, which is the entry price of our Roller Team range. Five years of use. And we compare it to renting that same time.

Rent, at €1,125 per week on average:

• 2 weeks a year for 5 years: €11,250
• 3 weeks a year: €16,875
• 4 weeks a year: €22,500
• 6 weeks a year: €33,750
• 8 weeks a year: €45,000

Buying costs €12,850 in current expenses in those five years plus whatever the vehicle loses in value. And that's the thing.

Depreciation is the variable that decides

Let's be clear about what we know and what we don't. We do not have a depreciation percentage measured for motorhomes in Spain, and the figures that circulate for cars (20% the first year, 10% the following years) are not transferable: a motorhome behaves differently. So instead of making up a number, we show you how the result moves depending on how much you lose:

• If it loses 5% annually: after 5 years it is worth €43,479. You have lost €12,711. With the expenses, the total cost of having it is €25,561.
• If you lose 10% annually: it is worth €33,180. Total cost, €35,860.
• If you lose 15% annually: it is worth €24,932. Total cost, €44,108.

They are calculation scenarios, not an appraisal. We put them because it is the lever that decides the answer and hiding it would be making you lose money.

A piece of information from our own stock

What we can look at is our inventory. Reviewing 276 used motorhomes with year and price, a trend appears that is worth knowing: from year eight onwards the curve flattens a lot. The median for an 8-year-old unit is €56,900 and a 20-year-old unit is €36,500. Twelve more years and just over a third difference.

It is advisable to take it for what it is: a trend observed in our stock, not an appraisal, and with few units in the young sections to say anything nice about the first years. But it points to something useful: the hit is at the beginning, and then a motorhome withstands the value much better than a car. Buying second-hand for a few years avoids the expensive part of the curve.

The balance point

With the numbers above, buying begins to pay off from:

• 4.5 weeks per year if depreciation is 5%
• 6.4 weeks per year if 10%
• 7.8 weeks a year if it is 15%

In short: less than one month a year of use, renting almost certainly wins. Above two months, buying almost certainly wins. In between, the answer depends on how your model depreciates and how much you value the things that don't appear in the spreadsheet.

What does not appear in the spreadsheet

Money doesn't explain everything, and we're not going to pretend that it does.

In favor of renting: zero maintenance, zero parking space, zero worry in winter, and you can try a nasturtium this year and a profiled one the next. If you still don't know which layout fits you, renting is the cheap way to find out.

In favor of buying: you go out when you want without looking at availability or high season, you leave it assembled with your things, and in August you don't compete for the last free vehicle. Those who travel on single weekends notice this a lot, because renting for three days is expensive per day and ends up not paying off.

The two profiles

It pays to rent

You travel two or three weeks a year, almost always on the same dates. You have nowhere to park it. You don't know yet what size or what distribution you want. Or you want to try before spending €56,000 on a decision. In all these cases the numbers are on your side and you should not buy yet.

It pays you to buy

You use the vehicle more than one month a year, including long weekends and weekends. You travel out of season, when rent is scarce. You have a place. You already know what distribution you want because you have tried it. Or your way of traveling is to go out many times and for a few days, which is exactly where the rent skyrockets.

If you are in the second group

That's where we can help you. We have 60 vehicles available, of which 27 are new, and the new ranges start at €56,190 in Roller Team and €58,190 in PÖSSL.

If you want to see specific numbers about a specific model, in the configurator you choose distribution, packs and color, you see the price update at each step and you download the quote in PDF. It does not ask for registration or leave your email anywhere. And if you prefer to start with what is available now, the used catalog is the place.

And if after reading this you are clear that renting is your thing: perfect, you have saved yourself a sales conversation and several thousand euros. Come back when your weeks change.