Part-exchange or sell privately?

Sell privately if price matters most and you can handle the advert, viewings and payment; part-exchange if you are buying your next caravan or motorhome from a dealer and would rather settle both in one visit. A part-exchange figure is worked out from a trade price, so a private sale usually gets more, and the gap is what the convenience costs you.

National Caravan Buyer, which buys caravans for the trade, describes the trade valuation as the base from which part-exchange, private sale and forecourt values are all worked out. That is why the dealer's figure and a private buyer's price are rarely the same.

How to compare the two

1. Ask the dealer for the cash price of the caravan or motorhome you are buying with no part-exchange. What your old one is really worth to them is the difference between that and what you pay with it handed over.
2. Look at asking prices for the same make, model and year on private adverts. An asking price isn't a sale price, so treat it as a ceiling.
3. Take off what a private sale costs you. Advertising on Auto Trader is £14.95 to £49.95 depending on the price and how long it runs, eBay charges up to £45 on top of the listing, and some sites are free.
4. Get a trade figure from a buying company as a floor. If the dealer's part-exchange is close to it, the dealer is paying trade.

What changes in the paperwork

• Motorhomes and campervans. Selling to a dealer counts as selling to the motor trade: you give them the whole log book including the green slip, tell DVLA, and destroy the yellow section. To a private buyer you hand over only the green slip. The paperwork guide has both in full.
• Touring caravans. There is no log book. The CRiS document goes to the new keeper and you tell CRiS either way.
• Finance. A dealer or buying company can settle it for you: We Buy Any Motorcaravan says it pays the lender directly. A private buyer of a caravan who pays £17.95 for a CRiS check will see outstanding finance.

When part-exchange makes more sense

If the caravan needs work you don't want to do, if you have nowhere to show it, or if you are buying from the same dealer anyway, the time saved can be worth the gap. Get the cash price first so you know what the gap is. The costs of each private route are set out on the caravan, motorhome and campervan pages.