Is it worth buying a static caravan?
Most people enjoy static caravan holidays, right? We may even like to visit the same holiday park a few times per year. With the costs of renting a static caravan rising along with booking restrictions you question whether it’s worth buying a static caravan of your own?
The benefits of owning your own static caravan are well documented and include the following:
- Holiday at times to suit you
- More holidays, more often
- No need to book
- Piece of mind
- Choose a static caravan to suit you
But still, is it still worth buying a static caravan or simply renting one as/when you require?
Let’s look at the costs of buying a static caravan compared to renting based on 5 weeks usage per year.
Buying a static caravan
Caravan cost of buying a new static caravan on site is somewhere in region of £30,000 – £40,000 starting price.
Site fees range from as little as £3000 per annum depending on the park quality and location. On top of this you need to account for utility bills, insurance and maintenance so lets estimate your total running costs at £5000 per annum.
Most static caravans can stay on a park up to 15 years minimum.
£30,000 divided by 15 = £2000 per year – (Bear in mind the static caravan will still have a great value to part exchange during this period)
£5000 running costs per year – (Site fees will go up yearly with inflation and costs etc so we are just using these figures as an example)
Total approx. £7000 per year based on a purchase price of £30,000 and running costs approx. £5000 per annum
Renting a static caravan instead
To rent a decent static caravan in the peak season it could be up to £2000 per week. Off peak the weekly rental would be circa £400.
To compare we can look at renting 3 peak weeks in a static caravan = £6000 plus 2 off peak weeks at £400.
This means to rent a static caravan over the year would be around £6800.
Is it worth buying a static caravan or renting?
So, using these rough figures we can see whether you buy or rent, over the long term there isn’t much difference based on 5 weeks usage per year overall.
Buying a static caravan to use and rent
When deciding whether its worth buying your own static caravan you may want to consider subletting to cover costs. This can mean holidaymakers actually pay you to use your static caravan when you are not using it. This is a great feature of ownership making the numbers really stack up in your favour. Most parks offer a fully comprehensive subletting scheme to help manage your lets for you. Click here to view parks which allow subletting.
Investing in a leisure lifestyle
Buying a static caravan is more than simply having a holiday. You’ll be investing into the park lifestyle and guaranteeing yourself relaxing & enjoyable holidays for years to come. Make new friends with like-minded people, relaxation and trying new activities is the name of the game. When you look at ownership from this perspective it really is worth buying your own static caravan providing you are committed to using it and enjoying the lifestyle.
When buying a static caravan may not be a good idea
When people decide to buy their own static caravan, they really want a place they can escape to when they feel like it. Knowing they have a bolt hole somewhere they can get to at the drop of a hat is a massive value.
If you currently enjoy travelling around, unwilling to rent out your static caravan or find yourself with limited leisure time then buying a static caravan may not be for you. This is not to say it may not suit you further down the road. One day you may return to one of your special UK holiday destinations and purchase your very own static caravan to enjoy.
