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The story of Jane Goodey and Ali Mossalem’s search for a motorhome has plenty of sliding-door moments. You know the ones — those times in life we all encounter, when what could have been wasn’t, and even the best-laid plans can go astray. 

In this case, the retired Christchurch couple bought a new motorhome when they had initially set out to purchase a secondhand one. Their new purchase wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision but rather a series of those life experiences when things just didn’t go to plan.

Now that Ali and Jane are proud owners of a brand new Bürstner Lyseo TD590, they couldn’t be happier that things didn’t work out as they had originally envisioned.

The purchase of a new (or new to you) motorhome is an exciting time, and nobody wants to get it wrong. To help you avoid the pitfalls, Motorhomes, Caravans and Destinations magazine has compiled a list of things to consider when buying your perfect home on the road.

As we embrace the warmer summer weather, longer or more frequent RV trips are often on the cards. For those with fur babies, Catherine Milford of Motorhomes, Caravans and Destinations, has compiled some tips for ensuring your pet can travel in comfort and with minimum fuss in your RV.

The Lyseo TD 690 G sits mid-pack for length in Bürstner’s glam-packed Harmony Line range, with three shorter models below it. Yet it’s still such a sweet thing to drive, despite the slight increase in longitudinal real estate, says Paul Owen.

Cost is usually top of the list for most people when they’re thinking about which motorhome is best suited to them, so it makes sense to ask the question, “Should I buy second-hand and save upfront, or pay more now and enjoy the benefits of an unused vehicle?”

“Price is a key consideration for buyers and this is usually what steers them toward either new or used,” says Wilderness Motorhomes (formerly SmartRV) marketing director Mary Hamilton. “But this does need to be balanced out by other key factors such as layout suitability, ongoing costs, and overall quality.”

“If you look at the market as a whole in New Zealand, there is a bigger market for used than for new. And of course, the market is experiencing unprecedented demand right now due to people not being able to travel internationally.”

Mary says that Wilderness Motorhomes, who sell both new and ex-rental motorhomes, do sell more new than used vehicles, but that’s more to do with supply. “With used sales, we sell only what’s coming off our rental fleet, but we could sell a lot more secondhand if we had them available.”