I have a Troll. Much loved in very good condition with extras. Non smokers. No fry-ups etc - could some one out there give me an idea or its second hand worth please

I've recently done a survey of dealer asking prices by year and though there were no '06 Trolls in the list, by extrapolation one would be priced at about £15k by AL, dependant upon fit out and condition. A private sale valuation would be around £14k. Galling when you think I sold our '05 540 in 2013 for £12.5k and that was a good price to achieve then.

Used dealers usually operate on a £2k margin (rule of thumb), with the asking price around £2k above the buying in price.

So if a van is offered at £15k by a dealer then they'll likely have picked it up for around £13k. A private sale price of £14,000 for such a van will save the buyer £1,000 compared to buying from a dealer and give the seller an extra £1,000 above the value they'd get selling it to a dealer.

The buyer won't get a warranty with a private sale but the £1,000 saving compensates them for assuming that risk. Selling direct to a dealer will yield the seller £1,000 less but save them the hassle of selling.

It all depends on how much you want from the sale and what you're willing to do to achieve it. Part exchanges muddy the waters as the values can then be front or back loaded depending on the buyer's perceived preferences.

The '07 540 would probably be priced at nearer £15k if it had a boiler and external water supply inlet.

As a new member to the Forum I was about to ask a similar question with regard to my 2008 Triton 420. The analyses on this thread have been very helpful. I was thinking about asking AL for a quote. Thanks to everyone for sensible information.

I'd be a bit circumspect asking AL for a price for them to buy a 420. They do seem rather overstocked with that model at present with 12 listed for sale and only 2 430's. That's presumably why they chose to nominate the 420 as their 'model of the month' and have discounted some to try and bring the range more into balance. They'll likely not really want any more 420's and will probably offer a silly valuation to deter you from selling to them.

AL would probably put it on their forecourt for £15,500 or so, depending on condition and spec. and £14,000 would be a good private sale price, given the numbers available at present, but I bet AL would offer around £12,000 for it. Some big caravan dealers aren't buying in stock at all at the moment.

Things are bad in Caravanland, the sales boom of the last few years has died and orders are down. Bailey are making 50 staff redundant to help them trim costs and presumably the other brands are feeling the pinch.

My wife has just make an interest observation?!? Our Troll was purchased in France and standing looking at the caravan from the towing jockey wheel, the entrance door is on the LEFT - is that the same with all Trolls or just the ones produced for Europe?!?

Nearly all Continental manufactured vans have the door on the UK offside as the volume sold to right hand drive countries isn't worth changing everything around.

Occasionally, where they get a big enough order, Continental manufacturers will produce a model with the door on our nearside but you won't find an Eriba Touring amongst them.

Well, not so far.

If you purchased the van in France have you swapped the reversing light and rear fog warning light wiring and lenses over as they'll be on the wrong side for the UK?