Caravan Depot

Caravan Depot: brokerage for privately owned caravans in the UK

Caravan Depot operates as a broker for second-hand caravans, positioning itself between private sellers and buyers. Its catalogue gathers caravans offered by private owners, and the company states that it knows the sellers and has inspected the vehicles before listing them. The platform is presented as an alternative to conventional dealers, with the argument that buyers can access dealer-style services without paying dealer prices.

How the brokerage works

The site describes a model in which the broker acts as an intermediary: the seller lists the caravan, and the buyer deals with Caravan Depot rather than directly with the owner. Before a viewing, the company offers to put the buyer in touch with the broker, who can supply extra photographs and a more detailed description of the vehicle. Payments are channelled through a client account described as FSCS-protected, a mechanism intended to reduce the risk of fraud in private transactions.

The company also addresses the seller side, with sections dedicated to selling a caravan, a seller's guide, part-exchange and caravan valuation.

Search tools and stock

The catalogue can be filtered by make, model, price range and distance, with a national search or radii from 1 to 500 miles. A list of makes appears in the search menu, including Ace, Adria, Avondale, Bailey, Bessacarr, Buccaneer, Caravelair, Coachman, Compass, Dethleffs, Elddis, Eriba, Fleetwood, Hobby, Hymer, Knaus, Lunar, Sprite, Sterling, Swift and Trigano, among others. Listings show year, berth count, reference number and county.

At the time of writing this profile, the featured listings included, for example, a 2019 Compass Casita 840 at £18,999, a 2023 Adria Adora Tiber at £22,995, a 2024 Eurocruiser 965 Elite at £49,995 and a 2012 Elddis Xplore at £4,750, spread across counties such as Devon, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Lancashire, Somerset, Hampshire and Nottinghamshire. Monthly finance figures were shown alongside several of these prices.

Services around the sale

• Finance for the purchase of a caravan.
• Part-exchange.
• Insurance and breakdown cover.
• Warranty.
• Accessories.
• Caravan valuation for sellers.
• Daily stock alerts for buyers who save a search.

The company also mentions 14 days of free insurance on a new caravan as part of its offer.

Buyer safeguards highlighted by the company

Caravan Depot states that a rising share of private caravan listings is fraudulent and presents its own listings as verified: it says it knows the sellers, has inspected the caravans and routes payment through the protected client account. It also lists working with Trading Standards and Cris Checked among its trust signals, and maintains a reviews section on the site.

Advice content and company details

The site publishes advice articles on buying and selling, including guidance issued during the coronavirus lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, when the company explained how it continued to operate under the restrictions in force. It also offers a buyer's guide and a section explaining what a broker is, plus a page for those interested in becoming a broker.

Caravandepot.co.uk is a trading name of Major Oak Ventures Ltd., a company registered in England under registration number 09364741. The site also links to a separate motorhome sales operation.