Getting your motorhome or caravan ready to sell

Start early, at your own pace

You don't need to be ready to sell to start getting ready. Work through this checklist at your own pace. Each step makes the sale smoother when the time comes, and helps buyers trust what they're looking at.

Still deciding how to sell? Here's the best way to sell, compared.

Paperwork for a motorhome

• V5C (log book), with your current name and address correct. You'll need it to tell DVLA you've sold it (opens in a new tab). Buyers can see it to match the details, but GOV.UK explains what not to share from your V5C (opens in a new tab).
• MOT certificate, current, with any advisories from past tests noted. You can check your MOT history (opens in a new tab) on GOV.UK.

After the sale, any full months of tax left are refunded automatically. GOV.UK explains tax refunds (opens in a new tab).

Paperwork for a caravan

Touring caravans aren't registered with DVLA, so there's no V5C. Instead, the CRiS document shows you're the registered keeper. If it's lost, you can order a replacement from CRiS. Our guide explains what a CRiS number is and why it matters.

Paperwork for both

• Service history for the base motorhome: stamps, invoices or a printout from the garage.
• Habitation service history: the reports from each habitation check.
• Receipts for repairs, upgrades and accessories, such as a solar panel, motor mover, awning, bike rack or tow bar.
• Finance settlement figure, if there's finance outstanding. Ask your lender for it in writing. It will need settling before ownership can pass, and a buyer's history check can show outstanding finance.
• Spare keys for the habitation door, lockers, fuel cap and any security devices.
• Manuals and handbooks for the motorhome or caravan, heater, fridge, alarm or tracker and any fitted equipment.

Habitation check before you sell?

A habitation check isn't a legal requirement, but a recent report can help, because it gives buyers written readings rather than your word alone. A habitation check usually includes a damp test, so the report doubles as a damp report for buyers. If your last one is old, consider booking one. You book it yourself, with a workshop you choose.

Our guide shows how to check for damp and what the readings mean. If you've already found damp, see selling with damp.

Cleaning and small fixes

• Deep clean inside and out: upholstery, carpets, windows, blinds, fridge, oven, toilet and the roof.
• Fix small faults: sticking catches, blown bulbs, dripping taps, a loose trim. Small faults make buyers wonder about bigger ones.
• Remove personal items from cupboards, lockers and the walls.

Make sure everything works

Go through it appliance by appliance:

• Gas: hob, oven, heater and the fridge on gas.
• Electrics: hook-up, leisure battery, lights, sockets and the fridge on mains.
• Water: pump, taps, shower, toilet and water heater.

Note anything that doesn't work, and say so in the advert.

Tyres and their date codes

Check the tread, and look for cracks or bulges. Then find the four-digit date code on each tyre's sidewall. The first two digits are the week and the last two are the year it was made, so 2321 means week 23 of 2021. The full code may be on one side of the tyre only. Check the spare too. Buyers often ask how old the tyres are.

Photos that help buyers decide

Use daylight, ideally on a bright but overcast day, so there are no harsh shadows. Hold your phone landscape. Declutter each area before you photograph it, and move the car, bins and washing out of the background.

Our photo guide gives the shots in order, starting with the one buyers see first, with a printable shot list.

Keep your house number and other people's number plates out of shot.

Pricing: what to aim for

• Compare like with like: the same make and model, year, layout, mileage and condition. Find several, not just one.
• Remember that asking prices aren't sale prices. Private adverts show what sellers are asking, not what buyers paid.
• Avoid the common overpricing mistakes:
  • adding the full cost of extras and accessories on top (buyers rarely pay back what they cost)
  • pricing from what you paid, rather than from what similar ones are for sale at now
  • comparing against dealer retail prices, which can include preparation, a warranty and the dealer's margin
  • ignoring the time of year: demand and asking prices can shift with the seasons, so compare with adverts live now
• Decide your lowest acceptable price before anyone makes an offer.

Want a starting point? See what yours could be worth.

Staying safe when buyers get in touch

• Get the buyer's full name and phone number, and speak to them before arranging anything.
• Leave your full address out of the advert, and share it only once a viewing is confirmed.
• Have someone with you at every viewing.
• Before any test drive, agree how the buyer is insured. Many car policies don't cover driving someone else's motorhome, so either the buyer arranges cover or you confirm your own policy covers them.
• See their licence too. A buyer with a licence from England, Wales or Scotland can share their record with a DVLA check code (opens in a new tab). Northern Ireland licences use a separate check code from nidirect. A motorhome over 3,500kg needs category C1 (opens in a new tab), which a car licence from a test passed on or after 1 January 1997 doesn't include on its own.
• Keys, documents and the motorhome or caravan stay with you until the money has cleared in your own account. Look in your banking app or call your bank. A screenshot or a "payment sent" email isn't payment.
• Never refund an "overpayment", and never use a payment or delivery service the buyer suggests.

If you sell with us, we speak to buyers by phone before any viewing is arranged, and Bradley gives a buyer your address only after that call. Our guides to scams to watch for when selling and what to expect when buyers come to view cover the rest.

Download the printable checklist

The same checklist on one printable page, with tick boxes, so you can work through it at your own pace. No email needed.