The routes and their verified fees
| Route | What it costs you | Speed | Who it suits | Read |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auto Trader private advert | Over £5,000 asking price: Basic 2 weeks £29.95, Standard 4 weeks £39.95, Premium 6 weeks £49.95 (up to 100 photos). Up to £5,000: £14.95, £19.95, £24.95. No "until sold" tier for motorhomes | Weeks to months | Most sellers of a clean, popular van | 15 September 2026 (Auto Trader's own packages service) |
| eBay Motors (private) | Classified ad £19.99 (no final value fee); auction or fixed price £14.99 plus a final value fee of 1% of the transaction (minimum £25, maximum £45); optional upgrades £0.49 to £9.99 | Days to weeks | Sellers who want a national audience at a fixed cost | 15 September 2026 |
| Caravan and Motorhome Club classifieds | "It is free to place a basic ad and The Club takes no commission from any sale"; ads live 90 days; paid featured upgrade (price not published, members 25% off) | Weeks | Any seller; buyers are Club members | 15 September 2026 |
| Gumtree | "Selling a car is free for private sellers"; optional Featured, Urgent and Spotlight upgrades from £11.99 to £24.99 on its 2022 fee page; motorhome-specific fee not published | Days to weeks | Local, lower-value sales | 15 September 2026 |
| Dealer part-exchange or sale | No fee; the dealer's margin is the difference between what they give you and what they sell it for | Immediate | Buying another van from them; wanting it gone today | not a fee, a price |
| "We buy" service (We Buy Any Motorcaravan) | No fee stated; free valuation, free nationwide collection, bank transfer after inspection; "All valuations are subject to inspection" and may be revised if the market moves before collection | Same day possible | Speed and certainty over price | 15 September 2026 |
| Brokerage (Motorhome Depot) | "no-sale, no-fee"; commission is "the difference between the Advertised Price and the Return Price set out in the Agreement" (not published as a percentage); £99 transaction fee deducted from your return; sell it yourself during the term and a "sold out of trust" fee of 10% of the advertised price applies, minimum £2,000, maximum £5,000 | Weeks | Owners who want a private-sale price without doing the selling | 15 September 2026 (terms dated September 2026) |
| Auction (Brightwells, Leominster) | Vendor commission 7.5% of the hammer price (minimum £100 a lot) plus entry fee £30 a lot for runners, £70 non-runners, all plus VAT | Fixed sale date | Unusual, damaged or trade-grade vans | 15 September 2026 |
| Online auction (Leisure Auctions) | States no listing or selling fees and a 5% buyer's premium; home page also says "Coming Soon", so operating status unclear | Fixed end date | Not yet proven | 15 September 2026 |
Not verified, so not in the table: British Car Auctions (site blocked automated reading and publishes no private seller fee we could find), Facebook Marketplace fees, and SellMyMotorhome.co.uk (site did not respond). If a provider is not listed, we could not read its page, not that it is bad.
Honest winner by situation
| Your situation | Best route | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Popular layout, clean history, no rush | Private, Auto Trader Premium (£49.95, 6 weeks) or Standard | You keep the dealer's margin and the broker's gap; the fee is under 0.2% of a £30,000 sale |
| Need it gone this week | "We buy" service or dealer | Same-day collection and payment; expect the price to reflect that certainty |
| Buying another van from a dealer | Part-exchange, but get a private valuation first | The trade-in figure is negotiable against the new van's price; knowing the private price tells you what the convenience costs |
| High-value van, no time to sell it yourself | Brokerage | Advertised at a retail price, sold from your drive or the broker's site; you agree the return price up front, so read the sold-out-of-trust clause before signing |
| Damp, Cat S or N, non-runner or unusual | Auction | Buyers there price the risk in; 7.5% plus £30 to £70 is cheap against months of tyre-kickers |
| Older, low-value van | Free classifieds (Club, Gumtree) plus eBay classified at £19.99 | Fees stay under £20; buyers of £5,000 vans are local |
Before you list: the paperwork that sets the price
- Run the £4.99 history check on your own registration. If it shows finance, get a settlement figure; if it shows a write-off category you did not know about, price it in rather than have a buyer find it.
- Gather every habitation report with damp readings and every service invoice. On the converter brand pages buyers are told to ask for them; the seller who has them wins the sale.
- Check the V5C: your name and address current, body type correct, and if you have a private plate, apply to remove it before the sale (GOV.UK).
- Do not send photos or the document reference number of the V5C to enquirers. GOV.UK: "Someone could use these to get a fraudulent copy of your log book, putting your vehicle at risk of being stolen or cloned." Show it in person.
- Know the weight plate and the licence it needs; a van over 3,500 kg cuts out buyers who passed their test after 1996. See can I drive this motorhome on my licence.
- Read how to avoid motorhome scams: the deposit and shipping-agent scams target sellers as well as buyers.
- Set the price from live adverts for the same model, age and mileage; the depreciation calculator shows how far list price and used price sit apart.
After the sale: what DVLA requires
GOV.UK, Selling a vehicle: give the buyer the green new-keeper slip, and "You must tell DVLA you've sold the vehicle and give them the full name and address of the buyer. If you do not do this, any vehicle tax refund you're owed might be affected." Use the online service (it cancels your tax and refunds full remaining months) or, if you have already posted the V5C or have no log book, write to DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1BA with your details, the registration, make and model, the date of sale and the buyer's name and address. The buyer must tax the van before driving it; tax does not transfer. GOV.UK does not state a penalty amount on these pages, so we do not quote one.
Selling a touring caravan instead
Tourers have no registration and no DVLA process. Update the CRiS keeper record (a CRiS check is £17.95 and registration £20.95 on cris.co.uk, 15 September 2026), and expect buyers to ask for a damp report. Our touring caravan guide covers what they will check. The motorhome and caravan FAQ has the rest.
Check a motorhome before you buy
Enter the registration for a free summary. Full history check £4.99.
Sources, checked 15 September 2026
- Auto Trader, sell my motorhome advertising prices (packages service, vehicleType=MOTORHOME)
- eBay, fees for selling vehicles on eBay Motors
- Caravan and Motorhome Club, classifieds FAQs
- Gumtree, sell my car
- Gumtree, what are the Gumtree seller fees (16 February 2022)
- We Buy Any Motorcaravan
- Motorhome Depot, sellers terms and conditions (September 2026)
- Motorhome Depot, FAQs
- Brightwells, cars, motorbikes, motorhomes and caravans: how to sell
- Leisure Auctions, selling enquiry
- GOV.UK, selling a vehicle
- GOV.UK, tell DVLA you've sold, transferred or bought a vehicle
- CRiS, CRiS check