We were prompted to write this article by the following:
We have noticed that potential buyers are cautious about buying used motorhomes from rental companies. Therefore, we decided to describe the situation in detail “from the inside”, we hope it will help buyers in making the right decision.
Our company Flying Dog s.r.o. is an official dealer of new and used motorhomes of LMC, CARADO and LAIKA in Slovakia. We also have our own rental company of the same name in Bratislava. So, “just the facts”.
1. We have been in the motorhome rental business for 7 years. We buy only new motorhomes for rent, which we order personally for ourselves, as a Dealer, only in maximum equipment and with maximum features.
2. Of course, all car hire is different. But our Motorhome Rental is not cheap, and we buy motorhomes only with the highest configuration (only automatic transmission, only powerful engine, all safety systems, winter package, 5th seat, etc.). Further we equip the motorhome with all necessary additional equipment: second powerful air conditioner TRUMA – with heating function, rear view camera, parking sensors, multimedia system with Hands-free, solar awning and bicycle mounts, etc.
3. Rental motorhome must ALWAYS be in perfect technical condition when rented out. Always in good working order, always serviced beforehand and in advance. Otherwise the customer runs the risk of a technical breakdown on the road. For car hire this is a disaster, we cannot allow this to happen, so we pay 300% attention to this problem.
4. Rental motorhomes must ALWAYS be spotlessly clean. Always sterile inside and out, like new cars, like a room in a 5 star hotel. This is our principle! Not all private owners take such care of their motorhomes and vehicles.
5. All our motorhomes are fully insured against breakdowns and accidents, so we spare no expense on repairs in the event of a potential breakdown. As part of the insurance we will fully replace the broken part with a new one! Private owners who have breakdowns and accidents are also inevitable (it’s a machine and it can break), often save money and repair it less well by simply refurbishing the faulty unit. Unlike us – We – completely replace the part, we need 300% confidence in the reliability of the car!
6. A serious aesthetic problem is known: small annoying scratches on the side walls and side windows of motorhomes. We solve this problem radically: we FULLY protect our rental motorhomes with Laminated film – to protect them from scratches. When a customer buys a rental motorhome from us, we simply remove this film and the two-year old motorhome has brand new, factory side walls and side windows. You won’t find one little scratch! Interesting: some customers ask us to keep this film with our logos and fun prints for them.
7. Motorhomes in our car rental “work” for maximum 2 seasons. When we receive the motorhome from the factory, we take care of how we will sell it in 2 years even before we start renting it out. To keep the motorhome in perfect condition, in addition to the side walls and windows, we protect all seats and armchairs with removable fabric covers, we cover the table and other working surfaces with laminated film. For maximum protection, we also use local floor carpeting. All sleepers (mattresses) are covered with specialised waterproof protective covers against possible contamination. On top of this, decorative bedspreads are placed.
8. We also service and repair our customers’ personal motorhomes. Both outside customers and those who have previously purchased a motorhome from us. And we often see a huge difference between the technical and aesthetic condition of private owners’ motorhomes and our motorhomes, which MUST always be in perfect condition.
This article is long, but we hope we have managed to explain the main points.
Conclusion: We would consider “previous work in Car Rental” as an advantage of a motorhome rather than a disadvantage. “The motorhome’s rental past” means: it has been well looked after and kept in full working order.
Taking into account, as a rule, low mileage for 2 rental seasons (about 20 thousand km per season, which for a basic Fiat chassis is absolutely NIL mileage), you actually have a new, just run-in motorhome, fully equipped, in which factory defects are already excluded, but at a much more favourable price.
In any case, it is better to see once than to hear a hundred times.
We invite you to meet us in person at our motorhomes, inspect them, make a test drive, and then make your own conclusions based on facts, not on fears and prejudices.
Sincerely yours,
Flying Dog s.r.o.
