Should you rent or buy a camper? Or maybe a flight and hotel? Alexander and Franziska, the co-founders of Ahorn Camp, break down all three options honestly and transparently—including depreciation, financing, and a direct comparison.
Hotel prices are skyrocketing, flights are being canceled, and strikes are a regular part of the annual schedule. Anyone who wants to take control of their 2026 vacation is right to ask: Is there an alternative? Alexander and Franziska, siblings and co-CEOs of Ahorn Camp, sat down, laid all the numbers on the table, and honestly ran the numbers for three scenarios—the result is surprising.
It's no coincidence that interest in campervans is growing so rapidly. Anyone who has booked a plane ticket in recent years knows the feeling: prices that have doubled again shortly before the trip, connections that are canceled without warning, and the fundamental dependence on factors that you cannot influence yourself. The campervan reverses this logic. You decide when you leave, where you go, and when you come back – and in the best case, the vehicle is parked right outside your front door.
Ahorn Camp operates with Maple Rent one of the largest rental systems in Germany with over 30 stations nationwide – and also has three of its own branches where new and used vehicles are sold. This makes the comparison Alexander and Franziska are making particularly credible: they know both sides.
Renting is the easiest way to start. No equity, no depreciation, no fixed costs between trips. At Ahorn Rent, the range extends from compact campervans for two people to fully equipped motorhomes with bunk beds for the family. For cost calculation, Alexander and Franziska used a realistic average price of 120 € per day calculated – peak season can be more expensive, off-season cheaper, this balances out on average.
For a three-week vacation – which they chose as the basis for all comparisons – this results in 2.520 € pure rental costs. In addition, there is a service charge of between €100 and €150, which covers vehicle handover, cleaning, and all additional services. Insurance is generally included in the rental price; those who wish to reduce the deductible can pay extra as an option – depending on the desired coverage, between €150 and €300. All together, for three weeks, you can expect to pay around 3.000 €.
You can find the exact daily rates by season, vehicle type, and location directly on ahorn-rent.de.
This is the question that Maple Camp consultants repeatedly ask their clients. The answer is not as obvious as many think. Renting makes sense if you want to try out this type of travel first, if you only travel by motorhome once a year, or if you need maximum flexibility in terms of vehicle type: first as a couple in a van, next time with three children, and the time after that perhaps in winter with completely different requirements. In that case, renting is clearly the right choice.
Buying becomes interesting once you plan more than three to four weeks a year or want to drive off spontaneously – without having to book in advance. This is precisely Alexander's crucial point: „May 1st is just around the corner, and the weather's going to be nice. If my RV is parked in front of the house, I'll just get in and go. No app, no booking process, no availability issues.“ This is a state of mind, which cannot be measured solely in Euros.
...you want to test out a travel style, only travel once a year, need different vehicle types, or you can plan your vacation well in advance.
...you plan several weeks per year, want to be spontaneous, and keep an eye on the overall costs in the long term.
As a concrete example, Alexander and Franziska have the A 690 motorhome Selected—the Deal of the Month for May 2026 at Ahorn Camp. The list price is around €75,000; as the monthly special, it’s 69.900 €. And this isn't a base price that needs upgrading. Franziska makes this explicit: all packages are included, the transfer is covered, the vehicle is ready to drive. Awning, rearview camera, multimedia package, navigation system, all assistance packages – nothing is missing. In addition, there's an automatic transmission and 170 HP on the latest Renault Master.
This is an important point because many manufacturers advertise base prices, but then you end up spending thousands of euros on add-on packages. With Ahorn Camp, the listed price is a All-inclusive price. What you see is what you pay.
I don't think these prices will stay like this for much longer. The vehicles are really cheap right now. Anyone buying now is getting good deals.
When buying a motorhome, people rarely think about depreciation first. Yet it is the largest single cost item of ownership – and at the same time considerably more moderate than with a normal passenger car. Alexander explains this using a typical three-phase model: In the first three years, a vehicle loses between 20 and 25 percent of its value, in years three to six then only 3 to 5 percent per year, and from year six to ten even only 2 to 4 percent. Motorhomes are remarkably stable in value – anyone who drives one for a few years notices that the curve flattens out relatively quickly.
For the A 690 with a purchase price of €69,900, Alexander and Franziska conservatively estimated a Total value loss of €22,000 over five years calculated. That is 4,600 € per year, just barely 380 € per month. This is the money that needs to be factored in mentally.
Anyone who doesn't want to or can't pay the €69,900 all at once can finance the purchase. Ahorn Camp, along with Konsorsfinanz, is one of the larger RV lenders in Germany and currently offers terms with an interest rate of around 5.5 percent over 120 months – repayable in full or in part at any time. The resulting monthly installment is 515 €.
This installment includes not only interest but also principal repayment – meaning the vehicle truly belongs to you at the end. Another advantage of financing: it can be combined with the Repair cost protection combine, which cushions unexpected repair costs. Anyone who wants to know what an individual installment looks like can here check or inquire directly at verkauf@ahorn-camp.de.
In addition to depreciation, new cars have other fixed costs that Alexander and Franziska are aware of a bit too high begun – to provide an honest, worst-case-close calculation. Insurance: Tech expert Jürgen, who takes good care of his motorhome and has a clean claims history, actually only pays €600. As a realistic guideline, they have 700 € charged. Vehicle tax is around 280 €. Maintenance and service costs are surprisingly low for a new car: The leak test, which is required annually and is part of the seven-year leak warranty, costs 169 Euros. The first Renault inspection isn't due until two years or 40,000 kilometers – as an annual average over five years, they have 800 € factored in. And for a parking space, they were generous 600 € planned per year, even though many simply leave their camper on their own property or at a neighbor's.
Those who only drive seasonally can significantly reduce insurance and vehicle tax with a seasonal license plate. This makes fixed costs noticeably cheaper.
What is actually driven determines the variable costs. As a basis, Alexander and Franziska 8,000 kilometers per year factored in – that's pretty good going for a motorhome. According to Alexander, this is enough for about four round trips to Italy, or several trips to France and Denmark. They deliberately calculated with high diesel prices: 2.15 € per liter. This results in fuel costs of around €1,650 with typical motorhome fuel consumption.
For the campsites, they also chose the more expensive route and factored in €1,500 for parking and camping spots. Franziska adds: Anyone who wants to can travel affordably via nature camping apps, alpaca camping, or simply to quiet parking spots away from the expensive main sites – in which case the amount can easily be halved. The benchmark for the calculation remains €1,500.
Together, that makes the variable costs of 3.150 € per year – and that already includes everything you need to really get going and go on vacation.
As a point of comparison, Alexander and Franziska looked at a used A 690—three years old, with a purchase price at the time of €70,000, and a current selling price on Ahorn Camp: 53.900 €. This corresponds to a depreciation of €16,000 since the initial purchase – around 23 percent. This loss is already factored in and was borne by the original buyer. The new owner benefits from this.
The crucial point: Used cars have already passed the steepest part of the depreciation curve. Starting from €53,900, Alexander expects only €2,800 loss in value per year – significantly less than the €4,600 for a new car. The financing rate drops to around 440 € per month, so almost €100 less than the new one.
However, and Alexander and Franziska state this openly: the difference between new and used is smaller for motorhomes than many expect. For used ones, maintenance costs rise to around €1,000 per year – you're no longer under factory warranty, and the first repairs might be necessary on a three-year-old vehicle. The emissions class is older (Euro 6B or 6D instead of 6E), which could become relevant for city center access in the future. And those who place particular value on newness and the latest technology will quickly end up with a new vehicle. The price difference is simply not as large as one might imagine.
You can find Ahorn Camp's used car inventory at https://ahorn-camp.de/wohnmobil-gebraucht-kaufen/ Used cars are always one-of-a-kind. It's worth checking back regularly.
Now comes what the entire cost check was worth. Alexander and Franziska have put three vacation scenarios side-by-side and calculated them with the same assumptions: one family, three weeks of vacation, honest numbers.
3 weeks, Maple Rent
~3.000 €
for 21 days of vacation
Running costs / year
~5.600 €
Running costs + ~€4,700 depreciation
Familie, 3 Wochen
~8.000 €
inkl. Flug, Hotel, Verpflegung
Die Zahlen sprechen für sich – aber Alexander und Franziska gehen noch einen Schritt weiter. Wer ein eigenes Wohnmobil hat, reist nicht nur drei Wochen im Jahr, sondern potentiell jeden freien Wochenende, an jedem Feiertag, jedes Mal wenn das Wetter passt. Zum 1. Mai in die Pfalz, an Pfingsten an die Mosel, im Herbst in den Schwarzwald. Das eigene Wohnmobil ist kein Urlaubsbudget-Posten – es ist eine Entscheidung für eine bestimmte Art, das Leben zu gestalten.
Ein Wohnmobil ist erschwinglich, es ist rechenbar und eine Lebensform. Der Trend geht zum selbstbestimmten Reisen. Ich entscheide selbst, wann ich wohin fahre und wann ich wieder nach Hause komme.
The yearly cost is around four weeks of use per year. If you rent for three weeks, you'll pay close to €3,000, which is very close to the annual fixed costs of owning a car. From four weeks and up, owning your own vehicle starts to make more economic sense, and the more you drive, the more the numbers favor ownership.
For a new car costing €70,000: approximately €5,600 in running costs (insurance, taxes, maintenance, parking, fuel, campsites). However, this allows you to travel with the vehicle all year round, every weekend, and every public holiday.
The difference is smaller than many expect. While a three-year-old used car costs less to purchase and has less depreciation per year, maintenance costs increase, the warranty is gone, and the technology is no longer completely up-to-date. Those who value the latest technology, current emissions and safety standards will quickly end up with a new car.
Ahorn Rent operates over 30 rental stations throughout Germany. You can find vehicle categories, current availability, and prices at www.ahorn-rent.de. There, you can directly calculate the individual rental price for your period and desired vehicle in the booking portal.
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