Sell Your Static Caravan in Dorset

Dorset static caravan buyers: how a real offer is put together

Search for Dorset static caravan buyers and you will find no shortage of sites offering a “top price” before they know a single thing about your caravan. A number that means something is assembled from a short list of specifics, and it helps to know what they are before you speak to anybody.

The make, model and year. A Willerby, Swift, ABI, Atlas, Pemberton or Carnaby unit of identical age can sit in very different places on the resale scale, because build specification, insulation and layout all carry through into what the next owner will pay. If you know the model name, that alone shortens the conversation considerably.

Size and layout. Footprint, bedroom count and whether the unit is a twin or a lodge decide which parks can physically take it next. A 38×12 two-bed and a 40×13 three-bed move through the trade at different speeds, and that is a demand question rather than a condition one.

Condition, described honestly. Damp, soft flooring, failed window or roof seals, tired furnishings, storm damage — none of these rule a caravan out. We buy any age and any condition, including units that other buyers decline. What matters is that the description matches the caravan, because an offer built on a wrong description is not an offer at all, it is a renegotiation waiting to happen.

Where it sits and how we get to it. Access, hardstanding, whether the unit is on a private pitch or in a park’s letting fleet, and how much notice your park requires. On Dorset’s coastal parks this carries more weight than owners expect, and it is covered in detail further down.

Whether anything is outstanding on it. Finance, unpaid pitch fees or an agreed park settlement all sit between you and a clean sale. None of them stop the sale — they change the order in which things happen.

If you want to sanity-check the figure before speaking to anyone, our guides on what a static caravan is actually worth and how a static caravan valuation is calculated set out the same reasoning we use, and static caravan values in 2026 covers where the wider market currently sits.

Where in Dorset we buy

Dorset’s holiday-park stock runs the length of the coast and reaches a good way inland, and we buy across all of it. Along the eastern shore that means the parks around Christchurch, Mudeford, Highcliffe, Bournemouth, Poole and Sandbanks. Through the Purbecks, Swanage, Studland, Corfe Castle, Wareham and Wool. Around Weymouth and Portland, the parks at Preston, Bowleaze, Osmington Mills, Ringstead and Chickerell, and westward along the Jurassic Coast through Abbotsbury, Burton Bradstock, West Bay, Bridport, Charmouth and Lyme Regis. Inland, the parks around Dorchester, Blandford, Sherborne and Shaftesbury.

We are not a Dorset-only buyer and it would be misleading to suggest otherwise. We are a UK-wide trade buyer that covers Dorset properly — which in practice means we do not need your park’s cooperation in order to make you an offer, and we do not need to find a retail buyer first before we can commit to one.

If your caravan sits over one of the county boundaries, the neighbouring pages are the better starting point: Hampshire, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall, or the wider South West and South Coast pages.

What owning a static caravan in Dorset actually costs

Most owners who contact us are not really asking what their caravan is worth. They are asking whether it still earns its keep — and that is an arithmetic question about the annual cost of ownership, not about the resale figure.

Dorset sits at the higher end of the national range on pitch fees, and the reason is straightforward: it is one of the most in-demand coastlines in England, and the parks price accordingly. Pitch fees on the Purbeck and Jurassic Coast stretches, and around Poole and Christchurch harbours, commonly run well above what the same specification of caravan would cost to keep on an inland park in the Midlands or the north. A sea-facing or harbour-facing pitch usually carries a further premium on top of the park’s standard rate.

Pitch fees are only the first line of the sum. Site licence conditions, insurance, rates, gas and electricity, water and waste charges, winterisation, and the periodic servicing or gas-safety checks that most licence agreements require all sit on top, and several of them fall due whether the caravan is used in a given year or not. Dorset’s season is longer than most — a good number of parks run from early spring into the New Year — which is a genuine benefit for owners who use their caravan often, and simply a longer stretch of standing costs for those who do not.

The honest version of the ownership question is: add the year’s total, divide it by the number of nights you actually stayed, and compare the result to what those nights would otherwise have cost you. Owners who use their caravan regularly usually find it still stacks up. Owners whose circumstances have changed usually find it does not, and that is the point at which selling stops being a loss and starts being a decision. Our guide to UK static caravan running costs sets out realistic 2026 figures line by line, and static caravan insurance covers the cover most Dorset licence agreements insist on.

One point specific to buying rather than selling, because we are asked it often by people weighing up a Dorset purchase: the pitch fee is the recurring commitment, not the caravan. A cheap unit on an expensive pitch is a more expensive decision over five years than a good unit on a modest one. Ask for the current fee, the review mechanism and the park’s age limit in writing before anything else.

The Jurassic Coast pitch premium: what transfers and what does not

Dorset owners are told more often than most that their location adds substantially to resale value. A sea view over Chesil, a pitch above Lulworth or a berth within walking distance of the harbour at Poole — the premium is real, and it is worth being precise about who it belongs to.

A premium pitch raises what a park can charge the next owner for the siting. It does not attach itself to your caravan. When the unit leaves the pitch, the view stays behind — which is exactly why a park-brokered sale and a trade sale value the same caravan so differently. The park is selling a location that it owns; a trade buyer is buying a unit that has to work somewhere else entirely, possibly at the other end of the country.

This is not an argument for one route over the other. It is an argument for comparing the two on the same basis: what actually reaches your bank account, after commission, after any pitch-fee period you remain liable for while the caravan is marketed, and after any refurbishment or certification the park expects you to fund first. Our trader versus park sale comparison works through a realistic example, and selling without park commission explains where that commission actually goes.

Coastal exposure on Dorset pitches, and what it does to a caravan

Dorset’s pitches take a great deal of weather. Portland and the Chesil shoreline are among the most exposed positions on the south coast, the cliff-top parks along the Jurassic Coast catch the full run of a south-westerly, and salt-laden air reaches well inland on the harbours at Poole and Christchurch. Over a decade this shows up in specific, predictable places, and knowing where helps you describe your caravan accurately.

Salt air works on external fixings, window and door furniture and the chassis underside. Wind-driven rain finds seal failures years earlier than it would on a sheltered inland park, which is why damp readings on exposed Dorset pitches are often worse than the unit’s age alone would suggest. Decking, steps and balustrades weather quickly and are usually the first thing a buyer notices. UV and salt together fade external cladding unevenly, so the seaward elevation ages visibly faster than the sheltered side of the same caravan.

None of that prevents us buying. It does mean an inspection-free “estimate” from a buyer who has never stood on a Dorset clifftop is worth very little. If you are weighing up whether to spend money on repairs before selling, our guide to getting the best price is honest about which jobs return their cost and which do not.

Selling a Dorset caravan with finance still outstanding

A large share of Dorset’s newer park stock was bought on finance, frequently arranged through the park at the point of sale. If you still owe on the unit you can still sell it — the balance simply has to be dealt with as part of the transaction rather than left to be sorted out afterwards.

The first step is to ask your lender for a settlement figure in writing, valid to a stated date. That figure is the number that matters — not the original balance, and not the monthly payment. Once it is known, the sale is straightforward, because the agreement is structured around clearing the finance so that the caravan changes hands unencumbered.

Two things are worth knowing in advance. A settlement figure is time-limited, so a sale that drifts for several weeks may need it re-issued. And if the caravan is worth less than the settlement figure — not at all unusual on a three-to-five-year-old unit bought at full retail on a premium coastal pitch — the shortfall does not make the sale impossible, but you need to know about it before you agree anything. Our page on selling a static caravan with outstanding finance covers the mechanics in full, and the documents you need to sell lists what to have ready.

Age-off policies on Dorset parks

Most Dorset parks operate an age limit — commonly somewhere between 10 and 20 years — after which a caravan must be replaced or removed from the site. Owners frequently discover the exact terms of theirs only when they come to sell, and if the deadline is close that discovery can be an expensive one.

Two things are worth doing now rather than later. Check your licence agreement for the stated limit and how it is measured, because in most agreements it runs from year of manufacture rather than year of siting. And understand that a caravan approaching its park’s limit is worth more to a trade buyer than to a retail buyer on that same park, because a trade buyer can move it to a park with a longer limit while a retail buyer on your park cannot. That single point is the most useful thing to grasp about timing a sale. Our static caravan age-off policy and holiday park age-off pages set out the detail.

More Dorset questions, answered

Do you buy static caravans from letting fleets in Dorset?

Yes. Ex-hire units in Dorset typically carry higher usage and more cosmetic wear than privately used caravans of the same age, and they are priced accordingly rather than declined. If your unit has been in a park’s letting fleet, say so — the usage history is relevant, not disqualifying.

My park has offered to sell it for me. Should I let them?

You can, and for some owners it is the right answer. What matters is that you compare the two routes as net figures rather than headline ones. Ask the park, in writing, for the commission rate, who funds any refurbishment or safety certification, how long the caravan remains on your pitch while it is marketed, and whether you stay liable for pitch fees throughout that period.

Do you buy lodges and twin units in Dorset?

Yes, twin-unit lodges included. They are a smaller market with a shorter list of parks able to take them, so the conversation about where a lodge can go is more involved than for a standard single unit — but we buy them.

Will you come as far as Lyme Regis or Portland?

Yes. Collection is free and UK-wide, and the western end of the county is not treated as an exception. What helps is realistic notice and a photograph or two of the approach: narrow lanes, steep cliff-top access, low branches and tight gateposts are common on Dorset’s coastal parks and are the single most frequent cause of a rearranged collection. If your park restricts large-vehicle movements during the school holidays, tell us early and we will work to its window. How long it takes to sell a static caravan sets out the realistic sequence.

What if my caravan has damp or storm damage?

We buy it as it stands. Damp, water ingress, storm damage to decking or cladding and failed seals are all normal on an exposed Dorset pitch. Describe them accurately and the offer will reflect the caravan you actually own.

Can I part-exchange instead of selling outright?

Sometimes, depending on what you are moving to and where it is going. Part-exchanging a static caravan explains when it works and when a clean sale is the simpler route.

Who buys Willerby caravans in Dorset?

We do — Willerby is the most common make on Dorset parks and one of the makes we buy most often. See selling a Willerby static caravan, or the equivalent pages for Swift, ABI and Atlas, as well as Pemberton, Carnaby, Delta, Regal, Victory, BK Bluebird, Cosalt and Omar.

What does it cost me to get an offer?

Nothing. The valuation is free, there is no obligation, and there is no park commission or hidden fee in what we do. If the number does not work for you, that is a perfectly reasonable outcome and we will not chase you. You can start with a free static caravan valuation or read how to sell your static caravan first.

Selling your static caravan across Dorset

Wherever your holiday home is sited in Dorset — Weymouth, Swanage, Poole, Bournemouth, Bridport and the Jurassic Coast — we make selling simple: a free 24-hour valuation, free collection arranged directly with your park, and same-day payment by BACS once the deal is agreed, with no fees and no park commission.

We buy right along the South Coast, so if you own elsewhere see our South Coast static caravan buyers page, or a neighbouring area: Hampshire, Somerset, Devon.

Dorset — your questions answered

Do you buy older or damaged caravans in Dorset? Yes. We buy any age and any condition, including caravans with outstanding finance and twin-unit lodges.

How quickly can you collect in Dorset? Usually within days of agreeing a price, arranged directly with your park at no cost to you.

Get your free Dorset valuation »