What is my caravan worth?
A caravan is worth what comparable vans sell for: the price a willing buyer and willing seller settle on after proper marketing.
Updated . 8 min read • Buying Guide
A caravan is worth what comparable vans sell for: the price a willing buyer and willing seller settle on after proper marketing.
An asking price is a different number. Worth is what a buyer pays on the day, and it moves with the market.
What market value means
Your caravan is worth what comparable vans sell for. To find that figure, start from what the nearest current equivalent sells for new, then compare what similar used vans sell for.
The Australian Taxation Office works from one definition of market value, written by the International Valuation Standards Council.
“The estimated amount for which an asset or liability should exchange on the valuation date between a willing buyer and a willing seller in an arm's length transaction, after proper marketing and where the parties had each acted knowledgeably, prudently and without compulsion.”
In plain words, a van is worth what a sale reaches once it is properly advertised and both sides know what they are buying. Three things follow.
- A rushed sale sits below it. The definition assumes a seller who is willing, with time to market the van properly.
- A price held against the market sits above it. A willing seller takes the best the open market offers on the day.
- The figure carries a date. Markets change, and the estimate is only good for the day it was made.
Dealer sale or private sale
A dealer sale and a private sale are different legal transactions, and buyers price the difference.
Buying from a business comes with the consumer guarantees in Australian Consumer Law. Queensland spells out the caravan case. A used caravan from a dealer there does not carry the statutory warranty that covers used cars, while the consumer guarantees still apply.
A private sale carries almost none of those guarantees. The buyer is still entitled to clear title, undisturbed possession and no hidden debts on the van, and little beyond that.
The channels themselves, and what each is like to deal with, are covered inour guide to where to buy used caravans.
Money owing and write-off status
A caravan recorded as a statutory write-off can never be registered again, so it has no value as a road van.
Money owing
A loan the seller has not fully repaid can stay attached to the van. Queensland's buying guidance warns that the lender can take the vehicle back even after a buyer owns it.
Write-off status
Queensland splits write-offs in two. A repairable write-off must pass a written-off inspection before it can be registered again; a statutory write-off never can. The register lists written-off vehicles under 15 years old.
Both show up in a PPSR (Personal Property Securities Register) search on the van's VIN. The search is covered inour PPSR check guide.
The insured value is a different number
An insurer's figure answers a different question: what the policy pays out.
Agreed value is a fixed amount set between you and the insurer when the policy is written. The insurer may step it down each year as the van ages. It usually costs more in premium.
Market value under a policy is what the van would have sold for at the time of the claim. The insurer decides it, working from industry information.
The policy terms and what each covers are explained inour caravan insurance guide.
How to work out what yours would fetch
Start from what the nearest current equivalent sells for new. Then compare it with what similar used vans sell for, after running the two checks above.
For a sense of scale, the SWAG Off-Road Campers SCT16 Pop-Top Couples sells new from $75,990 today.
The six-step method for pricing a specific van is inour used caravan prices guide. What vans typically lose over time is inour caravan depreciation guide.
Common questions about caravan values
How do I get a caravan valuation?
A written valuation comes from a professional valuer or a dealer appraisal. Run a PPSR search first, because money owing or a write-off record changes the value before condition does.
How do I value my caravan to sell it?
Start from what the nearest current equivalent sells for new, then compare what similar used vans sell for. Our used caravan prices guide sets out a six-step method.
Is there a caravan depreciation calculator?
Our caravan depreciation guide includes an estimator that shows how age typically moves asking prices. It is a rule of thumb, and it is labelled as one.
What is the market value of a caravan?
The estimated amount it should exchange for between a willing buyer and a willing seller, after proper marketing, on a stated date. The Australian Taxation Office adopts this definition, written by the International Valuation Standards Council.
How is a motorhome valued?
The same way: what comparable vehicles sell for after proper marketing. One difference in Queensland is the warranty split. A dealer's statutory warranty covers the vehicle part of a motorhome, while the living quarters rely on the consumer guarantees.
Does a camper trailer valuation work the same way?
Yes. The market value definition, the channel difference and the PPSR checks apply to a camper trailer exactly as they do to a caravan.