Motorhome Purchase Service
Buying a motorhome in France is more than finding the right vehicle. We run the entire purchase on your behalf, end to end, so you can focus on the trip ahead.
Buying a motorhome in France is more than just finding the right vehicle. It’s seller phone calls in French, registration and insurance built for residents, and pitfalls that can leave you stuck with a vehicle you can’t drive or sell. We’re native English speakers with over 20 years of experience in France, helping non-residents from all over the world find and buy motorhomes through our trusted network of dealers and partners across France and Europe. We run the entire purchase on your behalf, end to end, so you can focus on the trip ahead.
Pricing
Our service is 1,500 € for vehicles up to 50,000 €, and 3% of the vehicle price above that.
For very high value vehicles, the 3% is subject to a negotiable cap, agreed with you up front.
The first step is a video consultation. We go over all your plans and questions with the 150 EUR fee taken off the cost of any service you go ahead with.
Worked examples
- 40,000 € motorhome: 1,500 € total
- 75,000 € motorhome: 1,500 € + 750 € at signing = 2,250 €
- 150,000 € motorhome: 1,500 € + 3,000 € at signing = 4,500 €
“I have made many purchases in my life through various intermediaries, and John stands above them all. It’s simply a different level of service. Anyone who wants peace of mind and a smooth, worry-free process should definitely go through John.”
How Our Service Works
From first call to keys in hand, here’s how the process runs.
Video Consultation
The first step is a video consultation. We go over all your plans and questions, with the 150 EUR fee taken off the cost of any service you go ahead with. It also gives us a chance to get properly introduced before we embark on the search together.
Top 10 Shortlist
A personalised list of vehicles scored against your criteria from our trusted partners, dealers and if requested private sellers across France. EU imports are also possible.
Questions & Seller Contact
Once you have reviewed the shortlist and wish to proceed with the service, we send your Sourcing Agreement and invoice the 1,500 EUR base fee. Together we work through your questions on the shortlist: optional extras, layouts, payload, suitability for the way you plan to travel. We help you narrow down which to pursue. From there we approach the sellers for you: follow-ups, technical questions, viewings, all in French. For older vehicles, we can arrange an optional third-party inspection.
Reservation and Paperwork
You sign and pay the seller, either a deposit or the full balance. For vehicles above 50,000 EUR, we invoice the balance of our 3% fee at this point. In parallel, we arrange your insurance quote through the specific insurers who cover the unusual combination of non-resident status, a foreign driving licence, and société civile registration. We check and explain every piece of paperwork, and schedule the delivery date so you're ready to go.
Handover Day
The day has arrived. Ahead of time we send you a full handover guide so you know exactly what to expect. On the day, we join by video to translate the final paperwork and the seller's walkthrough of the vehicle. We stay on hand in the days after as you settle in and learn the vehicle.
Every contract, every conversation, and every form translated and explained as we go.
Typical timeline from brief to handover is four to twelve weeks, depending on the right vehicle appearing, the season, and the seller’s preparation timeline.
Our support doesn’t end with the keys. We have a retainer service for ongoing travel assistance, as well as a dedicated service to sell your vehicle at the end of your final trip.
Registering as a Non-Resident
Registering a vehicle in France as a non-resident isn’t just an address problem. Using a personal name, even at a friend’s address, raises questions about your residency, can pull you into French tax obligations and may cause insurers to reject your non-French driving licence. The solution is a société civile, a French legal entity that owns the vehicle in its own name, separate from you personally, with a domiciliation address we provide and manage.
We set it up through our French accountant in parallel with the vehicle search, which takes 3 to 5 weeks, for a fee of 1,950 EUR paid directly to the accountant. This is separate from our purchase-service fee.
You can take the registration on its own. It is a standalone service. Given the complexities of buying as a non-resident though, running both together, under my supervision, keeps you clear of any pitfalls, with the registration ready when your motorhome is.
Four Ways to Buy
1. View on arrival
You fly in, pick up a hire car or hire motorhome, and view the shortlist in person before deciding.
2. Reserve with a deposit
A deposit of around 10% holds the vehicle for up to four weeks. You sign a sales document remotely, then pay the balance and inspect on arrival.
3. Pay in full in advance
The most common method for clients buying from abroad. Registration, paperwork, and vehicle preparation are all completed before you land, so the vehicle is ready to drive away on the day you arrive.
4. Custom order, brand new
If your schedule allows, place an order for a brand new motorhome built to your specification. Current waiting times are around six months, and French manufacturers don’t usually give a firm delivery date in advance, so some flexibility on trip planning is needed. We handle the order, the seller relationship, and the registration the same way as for a used purchase.
Ready to Get Started?
Every purchase starts with a paid video consultation, where we go over all your plans and questions in detail. It's 150 EUR, credited in full against any service you go ahead with.
Send us a message
Related Services
Register a Motorhome in France
For non-residents who need the legal structure to register a vehicle in France.
Find out more
EU Import
For clients buying from a dealer outside France.
Find out more
Retainer Service
Ongoing French-speaking support for existing FMS clients.
Find out more
Sell Your Motorhome
When it's time to move it on.
Find out more