Hi my wife and I have bought a caravan again after many years of not having one. The van we have is a Viscount aero lite 14.6ft. It will do us for now. My wife has about 5 years of work to go before she can retire. Then we will probably buy a better van. The question I have is why are caravans so expensive in Australia. With the internet it is possible to find out information about anything, anywhere in the world. Caravans in America and England are less than half the price here and have more in them including showers and toilets. Why is this so? there are companies that will bring in English caravans for you and they are still much cheaper. I can't help thinking Australian caravan manufacturers are ripping off us retirees. They know we are an ageing population and a lot of us have Super funds so the manufacturers are getting their cut as well. Any comment regarding this.
deverall11 said
04:38 PM Oct 27, 2014
I have heard many times that caravans made in Australia have a chassis that borderlines over-engineering. Don't know of an Aussie made van that has broken a chassis under normal uses.
Some overseas manufacturers build caravans with much lighter chassis. These may break given the quality of some our our 'sealed roads'. The penalty is heavier vans and therefore more fuel burned.
Labour in Australia comes a cost. If this cost cannot be sustained, manufacturers go broke. Holden and Ford are some examples. Having said that, prices of van increased in the last 3 years by 15% to 20% retail. Not too sure why. We purchased a new van in 2011 and were looking at lots of vans during our research cycle. Just traded our 2011 van for a van we looked at in 2011 and it had gone up by 20%.
Larry
exa41 said
05:41 PM Oct 27, 2014
I guess it come down to supply and demand , For example I wanted some engine valves $85 each and 10 week wait , bought some from the states $11 each and delivered in 6 days , go figure , I lived and worked in Perth for 3 years , everything that I ordered had to come from the eastern states ( melb or Syd ) . And as Larry said Manufacturing cost (again supply costs etc ). But at least you can talk to the Manufacturer face to face here and barter if you can for freebies ,
Blue said
06:00 PM Oct 27, 2014
malhay wrote:
there are companies that will bring in English caravans for you and they are still much cheaper.
can you provide a link for this please?
Blue said
06:04 PM Oct 27, 2014
a few years back now I was looking at Goldwing Motorcycles...
but in Australia they were over $40,000
in the US, a little over 20K
I wrote to Honda Australia about this and my email was ignored...
so, I went through the process of shipping a Motorcycle out of the US to Australia... all up it was going to cost me around $26,000 Brand New delivered to my door...
then
the bad news... under Australian law I wasn't allowed
Only caravan accessories listed at the moment. Email them for a list of vans coming or let them know what you want and they will try to source it for you.
Blue said
06:25 PM Oct 27, 2014
thanks for the link..
Hydeeeho said
06:27 PM Oct 27, 2014
Quite simple really it's called economy of scale, it's the same here as in NZ, we get used to getting screwed but in the end you get the same if not more than you paid, not like USA you get far less than what you paid
kandagal said
08:54 PM Oct 27, 2014
6 years ago we were in England. Bought a 2nd hand motorhome about 24ft with a shower/toilet & it was in good condition. Cost - 5000pounds. After using it for 3 months we sold it for 6000 pounds. Same thing over here would have cost us at least $50,000
Magyar Connection said
09:40 PM Oct 27, 2014
This is a good question and one I have pondered on a number of occasions. I own a motorhome in the US and a caravan in Australia (use the motorhome for about three months each year). I have looked at many vans in the US where you will find the average new price for, say, a typical 25' van (with a slide out or two) to be in the order of about $25,000. There is, of course, a range of prices and even some quite a bit cheaper than that. Sure, the economies of scale do come into play but it is hard to put the price difference down to just the bigger market.
What I can say is that vans in the US are generally of only fair quality, probably equating to the mid-range or lower quality Aussie vans. From my observation there are not many high quality brands like you get in Australia (Airstream being a notable exception). Also, and as has been mentioned above, the typical Aussie van has a heavier and more expensive chassis than its American counterpart.
Many other manufactured items are much cheaper in the US including cars and boats. I think that part of the story is the cost of labour in the States and I also suspect that the lower cost of fuel (which flows into the price of just about everything) also contributes to the lower cost of production.
Bottom line, at least from my (non-expert) viewpoint, is that Aussie vans are generally of better quality than their US counterparts and this needs to be factored into the comparison. Still hard to justify the cost diference though and despite spending many years in the States, I regret that I cannot offer a better explanation.
deverall11 said
10:08 AM Oct 28, 2014
Blue wrote:
a few years back now I was looking at Goldwing Motorcycles...
but in Australia they were over $40,000
in the US, a little over 20K
I wrote to Honda Australia about this and my email was ignored...
so, I went through the process of shipping a Motorcycle out of the US to Australia... all up it was going to cost me around $26,000 Brand New delivered to my door...
then
the bad news... under Australian law I wasn't allowed
Blue, whilst off topic, met a guy in SA who regularly imports Harley Davidsons M/C. He has everything setup right down to a customs agent who also tales care of ADR requirements. According to him, these bikes end up costing him 1/2 of Australian retail.
Hi my wife and I have bought a caravan again after many years of not having one. The van we have is a Viscount aero lite 14.6ft. It will do us for now. My wife has about 5 years of work to go before she can retire. Then we will probably buy a better van. The question I have is why are caravans so expensive in Australia. With the internet it is possible to find out information about anything, anywhere in the world. Caravans in America and England are less than half the price here and have more in them including showers and toilets. Why is this so? there are companies that will bring in English caravans for you and they are still much cheaper. I can't help thinking Australian caravan manufacturers are ripping off us retirees. They know we are an ageing population and a lot of us have Super funds so the manufacturers are getting their cut as well. Any comment regarding this.
Some overseas manufacturers build caravans with much lighter chassis. These may break given the quality of some our our 'sealed roads'. The penalty is heavier vans and therefore more fuel burned.
Labour in Australia comes a cost. If this cost cannot be sustained, manufacturers go broke. Holden and Ford are some examples. Having said that, prices of van increased in the last 3 years by 15% to 20% retail. Not too sure why. We purchased a new van in 2011 and were looking at lots of vans during our research cycle. Just traded our 2011 van for a van we looked at in 2011 and it had gone up by 20%.
Larry
can you provide a link for this please?
a few years back now I was looking at Goldwing Motorcycles...
but in Australia they were over $40,000
in the US, a little over 20K
I wrote to Honda Australia about this and my email was ignored...
so, I went through the process of shipping a Motorcycle out of the US to Australia... all up it was going to cost me around $26,000 Brand New delivered to my door...
then
the bad news... under Australian law I wasn't allowed
Quite simple really it's called economy of scale, it's the same here as in NZ, we get used to getting screwed but in the end you get the same if not more than you paid, not like USA you get far less than what you paid
What I can say is that vans in the US are generally of only fair quality, probably equating to the mid-range or lower quality Aussie vans. From my observation there are not many high quality brands like you get in Australia (Airstream being a notable exception). Also, and as has been mentioned above, the typical Aussie van has a heavier and more expensive chassis than its American counterpart.
Many other manufactured items are much cheaper in the US including cars and boats. I think that part of the story is the cost of labour in the States and I also suspect that the lower cost of fuel (which flows into the price of just about everything) also contributes to the lower cost of production.
Bottom line, at least from my (non-expert) viewpoint, is that Aussie vans are generally of better quality than their US counterparts and this needs to be factored into the comparison. Still hard to justify the cost diference though and despite spending many years in the States, I regret that I cannot offer a better explanation.
Blue, whilst off topic, met a guy in SA who regularly imports Harley Davidsons M/C. He has everything setup right down to a customs agent who also tales care of ADR requirements. According to him, these bikes end up costing him 1/2 of Australian retail.
Larry