Leisure vehicle owners’ satisfaction of their vehicles and build quality, together with their purchasing experience has dramatically improved, encouraging more people to spend more time in the great outdoors.
That’s the conclusion from a Caravan and Motorhome Club survey, revealed this week at the Motorhome and Caravan Show at the NEC in Birmingham.
Containing over 200,000 hours of feedback from Caravan and Motorhome Club members, the report shows that satisfaction is high when purchasing new and second hand vehicles from a dealership.
Some 96 per cent of caravanners are happy with their second hand vehicle and 89 per cent are happy with their new caravan.
For motorhomers and campervanners, 93 per cent are happy with their new vehicle and 95 per cent happy with their second hand purchase.
The report shows that not only are people more satisfied with their caravans, motorhomes and campervans, but they are also spending more time in them in the UK and overseas.
Build quality has improved with over 30 per cent fewer faults being detected in motorhomes and campervans and five per cent fewer faults detected in caravans.
According to the latest report, leisure vehicle owners enjoy spending longer periods away in their vehicles; caravanners spend longer away than motorhomers and campervanners (47 per cent of caravanners spent more than 41 days touring and 70 per cent of motorhomers and campervanners spent over 21 days touring).
This is backed-up by additional Club research, which highlights different behaviours; caravanners take fewer trips per year, but enjoy staying longer.
Campervanners and motorhomers take more trips, but stay for shorter durations and are more spontaneous, they book closer to departure, whereas caravanners book further ahead.
With at least 78 per cent of purchasers reporting a really positive sales experience, it is not surprising that purchasing directly from a dealership has increased by up to six percent.
The majority will visit the dealership in person rather than buying online (97 per cent of caravan purchasers and 86 per cent of motorhome and campervan purchasers).
Also 77 per cent purchased their current leisure vehicle without finance – given the current economic climate, a surprising increase of two percent since 2016.
Leisure vehicle owners’ confidence in repairs and maintenance of their outfits at dealerships has also improved significantly since the last survey with far fewer owners now maintaining their vehicles themselves.
Internal layout is still the most important factor when buying a leisure vehicle.
Nearly 20 per cent of caravanners ranked this as number one in importance – an increase of 37 percent from 2016 and 23 per cent of motorhomers and campervanners – an increase of 33 per cent since 2016.
When asked what they would like to see more of in the future, caravanners were united in their request for longer and more comfortable beds whereas intrepid motorhomers and campervanners were more interested in their vehicles being more self-sufficient with better off-grid capabilities.
Harvey Alexander, director of marketing and membership services at the Caravan and Motorhome Club, said: “It is fascinating to see the change in perceptions since the last survey in 2016.
“This latest report demonstrates that as an industry we are improving on all levels, satisfaction with dealerships is up, build quality is up and it is no coincidence that the length of time being spent touring is also up.
“As we experience record membership levels at the Club it is great to see that touring as a leisure pursuit is going from strength to strength.”
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