How to Sell a Broken Caravan

A broken caravan is still worth selling — typically £500 to £3,750 at For Parts, against £2,000 to £15,000 in working order.

Can you sell a caravan that does not work?

Yes. Repairers, people replacing one component and buyers who want a project all shop deliberately at this end. None of them will accept a fault they discover after paying.

What actually goes wrong with caravans

These are the faults that move a caravan down the grades, and the first things a buyer will ask about:

Damp in the walls, floor or ceiling
Delamination in the floor, felt as soft spots
Perished window and roof seals
Missing paperwork and service records

Grading it honestly

Fair covers something heavily used, or with a described fault or missing part: around £900 to £6,750. For Parts covers something not working or incomplete, sold as seen: roughly £500 to £3,750. Grades are seller-declared and nobody inspects them for you, so grading up does not raise what you get — it produces a buyer who arrives expecting something else. All five grades explained.

Working out what you actually have

Establish the fault properly rather than guessing at it:

Have a damp survey done and share the readings
Walk the floor feeling for soft or spongy areas
Check every seal around windows and roof lights

Photographing the fault

Photograph the damage directly and in focus — it is the evidence that the rest of the description is honest:

The whole caravan outside, side on, hitched and level
The full interior from both ends, including beds made up
The kitchen, washroom and every appliance
The chassis number, the paperwork, and any damp stain, delamination, crack or repair

What to state in the listing

Alongside the fault itself, buyers of broken caravans want these confirmed:

Make, model, year, berth number and layout
MTPLM and unladen weight, which decide what car can legally tow it
Service history, last damp report, and gas safety check date
What is included — awning, motor mover, battery, gas bottles, accessories

Make, model, year, berth and layout: “[Make] [Model] 2015, 4 Berth, Fixed Bed, Motor Mover”. Berth number and layout are the searches. A motor mover, awning or full service history each belong in the title because each materially changes the price.

What buyers will ask

Answer these in the listing rather than waiting to be asked:

“Is there any damp?”

Get a reading or a recent damp report and share it. Every buyer checks, so pre-empting it with a real figure is far stronger than waiting to be caught out.

“What does it weigh?”

Give the MTPLM from the plate. Buyers must match it to their car’s towing limit and licence entitlement, and it is a legal constraint rather than a preference.

“Is there outstanding finance?”

Answer directly. Buyers run checks against the chassis number, and undisclosed finance ends a sale immediately and permanently.

Is it worth repairing first?

Usually not, unless it is cheap and you can evidence it. What lifts the price is condition and completeness, which a repair rarely restores:

A recent damp report showing clear readings
Intact seals around windows and roof fittings
Full service history and habitation checks
Complete with awning, motor mover and accessories

If the work would cost more than the gap between £3,750 and what a sound one fetches, sell it as is broken and let the buyer decide.

When to list it

February to August is the season, peaking in spring. Autumn and winter sales are slow and achieve less, so overwintering a caravan is usually worth more than discounting it in November.

Getting it to the buyer

High value. Never hand over keys or documents until funds have fully cleared. Write a dated receipt naming both parties, the chassis number and the price. WishThrift does not process or hold payments, so the transaction is entirely between you and the buyer.

WishThrift does not process payments, arrange delivery or hold funds. Confirm the money has cleared before the item leaves your hands, and keep the conversation on the site so there is a record of what was agreed.

Ready to list it? Free to list, no commission, and neither side pays a buyer-protection fee — create a free account, or read the full caravan selling guide if yours turns out to be sound.

Frequently asked questions

Is a broken caravan worth anything?

Yes — typically £500 to £3,750 at For Parts against £2,000 to £15,000 working. Repairers and people harvesting one component buy deliberately at this end. Damp in the walls, floor or ceiling

Should I repair it before selling?

Usually not, unless the repair is cheap and you can evidence it. The things that genuinely lift the price are a recent damp report showing clear readings and a repair rarely restores those.

What do buyers ask about a faulty caravan?

The fault itself, in detail. Get a reading or a recent damp report and share it. Every buyer checks, so pre-empting it with a real figure is far stronger than waiting to be caught out. The listing that answers it before being asked is the one that sells.