2006 Swift Challenger: Damp

[CWood]

Hello everyone,

This is my first post as we are just about to get into caravanning. We currently have a trailer tent but have decided to upgrade to a caravan to help extend our season past the summer months (hoping to see some snow this winter)!

We have had to take out a loan to pay for a new car capabale of towing which means we only have around £4000 left for a caravan. We are a family of 4, 2 adults 2 young children. In terms of caravans we are looking at 4 berth vans with the bunks convert into a dinette space as we felt this may be good when we decide to go away without the kids!

We have found a 2006 Swift Challenger which is in budget. The interior looks very nice, it is currently in storage but the owner has owned from new. Comes with lots of bits such as Alko wheel locks, new Isabella awning? The catch? It has an area of damp by the rail near the dinette (see photos 3 4 and 5). I am undecided as to what I should do. We cannot find a good, post 2003 model for less than 4000 but this one could cause an enormous headache and pressure on our finances in the long term. I have sent pictures to a few repair shops near us (most of which are not taking on new customers) and have received a quote of ‘between 500 and 1000’ to repair.

I just wanted to know opinions really, am I crazy to go for this van? Should I turn and run? Due to be picking it up soon but I’m getting cold feet, do we think this will be repairable? I do not want to travel down and waste this guys time.

TIA for any replies!!

C

 

[otherclive]

You are doing the right thing and fortunately have discovered damp pre purchase. I understand you dilemma wrt budget, we’ve all been there. My inclination would be to have the damp repaired at a repair shop that is part of the Approved Workshop Scheme. I used a mobile AWS technician who also had a workshop capable of taking a large caravan or motorhome. He was excellent, so you don’t need large dealerships. If you give your area of the country then members may be able to recommend someone, or a company. Given that a repair could take some time the area of entry for water ingress could be taped over. You may want to try and get a AWS survey prior to purchase rather than relay on photos to dealerships or repair shops. Cost £50-70. That could show areas not visible to the eye. One other thing if you do buy have an AWS service carried out and tyres should be changed after 7 years from date of manufacture. I changed mine though at five years. Bit OCD wrt tyre though.

 

[CWood]

Hello,

Thanks for your reply. I was planning on getting the damp repaired but it’s hard to tell whether it has spread to other areas of the van. The current owner says he thinks it could be the window that needs reselling (not sure on the price of that job).

I am trying to find someone to do a damp survey on the van but it’s difficult as I am not familiar with the area and the van is in storage, most mobile repair people are not accepting new work at the moment and I do not want to leave it to get worse.

Current owner is not sure how long the water has been coming in either so it’s very difficult to assess the full extent of the damage. I was thinking of buying a damp meter and taking that with me for viewing/ collection but obviously I would rather avoid driving 2 hours to waste his time and come back without a van. He does say this is the only patch of damp on the van and has been very upfront about everything, but naturally I am cautious as never met the guy!

Does it look like a good deal or am I opening a can of worms with the purchase?

I am Wiltshire way if anyone knows a trusted repair shop!

 

[otherclive]

Hello,

Thanks for your reply. I was planning on getting the damp repaired but it’s hard to tell whether it has spread to other areas of the van. The current owner says he thinks it could be the window that needs reselling (not sure on the price of that job).

I am trying to find someone to do a damp survey on the van but it’s difficult as I am not familiar with the area and the van is in storage, most mobile repair people are not accepting new work at the moment and I do not want to leave it to get worse.

Current owner is not sure how long the water has been coming in either so it’s very difficult to assess the full extent of the damage. I was thinking of buying a damp meter and taking that with me for viewing/ collection but obviously I would rather avoid driving 2 hours to waste his time and come back without a van. He does say this is the only patch of damp on the van and has been very upfront about everything, but naturally I am cautious as never met the guy!

Does it look like a good deal or am I opening a can of worms with the purchase?

I am Wiltshire way if anyone knows a trusted repair shop!

Try Simon The Caravan Doctor he’s in Wiltshire and he looked after my caravan. His workshop is at Fairfields caravan storage between Semington and Hilperton. Excellent bloke. I had damp from a front window seal cost was £250 to repair at AWS workshop back in 2014.

the caravan doctor semington - Bing

Mit der intelligenten Bing-Suche können Sie die gewünschten Informationen schneller und einfacher finden und dabei Punkte sammeln.

www.bing.com

Another member Dusty Dog is in Wiltshire and rates his service chap very highly. Sure he will post later.

Good luck.

 

[Dustydog]

Welcome to,the forum Cwood. Glad to see you are on the right track.
So the Swift is a genuine one owner from new model?
Have you seen the FSH including all the annual damp reports?
you absolutely right to be cautious. Water ingress can be the death knell of a caravan if it is not remedied quickly. The
area concerned is unusual in location. I suspect the side window seal has failed. But how long it has it been failed .I’m on the North Wiltshire Gloucestershire border .My AWS chap is brilliant , Martin Pearce at http://www.thecaravanmedic-swindon.co.uk/.
Hopefully all will turn out well for you but please don’t be scared to walk away. Did you find the seller genuine?

 

[ProfJohnL]

Its all too easy to get swept away with the emotion of wanting a caravan, and thinking you've found the ideal one....BUT the dreaded damp. It's impossible for any repair shop to quote for a damp repair based just on photographic evidence. The reason is if you can see the effects of damp (i.e mould, discolourations, rot, or surface disturbances) it means its been going on for an extended period of time. By the time you can see it with the naked eye, it may well have spread internally within the wall or floor and actually be affecting a much larger area than can be seen.

It needs some one with the correct tools and experience to inspect the caravan first hand, to get a better understanding of what has happened and how much it might have been affected.

The true extent can only be found by starting the repair and exposing the area, to remove and replace all affected materials.

At least the seller has admitted there is a problem. In situations like this I normally advise prospective buyers to arrange to have a pre purchase inspection carried out by an independent engineer ( e.g a AWS member) and only agree to purchase after you are satisfied with the results of the inspection. It really can be money well spent and far less than finding more aea of damp in the caravan.

It might be disappointing to loose this one, but it might save your wallet and sanity.

 

[audiorob]

There is hope that it is just the window seal that is letting in water that has wet the timber between the surfaces, but this has already wet the inner wall board causing the blistering that is visible. However visible damp can be just the top of an iceberg. Does the owner provide a service history (usually with a sticker attached to the A frame cover) and more importantly accompanied by a full damp test that would assure that there is no damp in other areas invisible to the eye. If it had been damp tested regularly you might expect the owner to know when the damp first occurred. Definitely worth the cost of an AWS damp test before agreeing a purchase so I agree with earlier responses in that regard.

 

[CWood]

I have asked whether the damp has come up on any previous services. The guy seems quite genuine and has been very helpful in answering all my questions related to the van so that gives me confidence.

With regards to an AWS report, the van is near Worthing on the South coast. If you can recommend someone in that area I would hugely appreciate it. I am happy to spend the money on a survey to ensure we do not get stung with a huge repair bill. We had a similar situation with a caravan that stated no damp a few years ago, got home and the air freshener had worn off revealing a musty smell/ not economically viable to repair. Ended up being blocked by the seller and had to scrap the van- expensive learning curve but determined not to let it happen again.

@Dustydog I believe Martin is the man who gave us the original quote to repair so chances are I will be going with him as long as a further survey doesn’t reveal anything untoward. Seemed like a good genuine bloke & that only one who even considered the van repair!

As always thanks for all of your replies.

 

[Gafferbill]

.....investing £4000 in an obviously damp caravan would be a complete No No in my book.
Damp in a caravan is usually like an iceberg.....2/3 rds of it is hidden.
Keep looking for your perfect caravan.....you will find one

 

[Dustydog]

I have asked whether the damp has come up on any previous services. The guy seems quite genuine and has been very helpful in answering all my questions related to the van so that gives me confidence.

With regards to an AWS report, the van is near Worthing on the South coast. If you can recommend someone in that area I would hugely appreciate it. I am happy to spend the money on a survey to ensure we do not get stung with a huge repair bill. We had a similar situation with a caravan that stated no damp a few years ago, got home and the air freshener had worn off revealing a musty smell/ not economically viable to repair. Ended up being blocked by the seller and had to scrap the van- expensive learning curve but determined not to let it happen again.

@Dustydog I believe Martin is the man who gave us the original quote to repair so chances are I will be going with him as long as a further survey doesn’t reveal anything untoward. Seemed like a good genuine bloke & that only one who even considered the van repair!

As always thanks for all of your replies.

He is mobile, obviously , but also has a large workshop where more serious repairs are carried out under cover. Has the owner made any allowance in the price to reflect the damp?
As I said in my previous post be prepared to walk and spend another day!

 

[woodsieboy]

I agree with Gafferbill, I wouldn't waste your time going to look at a damp van of that age. Another vote for Simon Caravan Doctor, perhaps look nearer to home for yor caravan. Might be worth checking Highbridge Caravans website, they often have caravans less than 5k

 

[Beachball]

if you are considering this caravan i would have a survey done before buying than you will know if there anymore damp but you should prepared to walk away and keep looking for your perfect van for your budget and good luck

 

[CWood]

Thanks for all of your replies.

I think the general consensus is that this is a bad idea which is a shame.

With regards to a concession, the cheapest 2006 Swift from a private seller I can find is £5400+ on auto trader so this one is considerably under the asking price. That being said, with a £1000 repair bill on this one it would be nearer £5000 which is almost the same as a normal, non-damp version.

The owner says he has had it serviced every year since new and has all of the documentation/ service stickers to prove.

He states the damp has never come up on any of the services. Serviced last year too. If this has not come up on the service is this something I should be worried about? Is it normal for them to miss things like this? Does it mean it is a recent issue?

Thanks again!

 

[otherclive]

Thanks for all of your replies.

I think the general consensus is that this is a bad idea which is a shame.

With regards to a concession, the cheapest 2006 Swift from a private seller I can find is £5400+ on auto trader so this one is considerably under the asking price. That being said, with a £1000 repair bill on this one it would be nearer £5000 which is almost the same as a normal, non-damp version.

The owner says he has had it serviced every year since new and has all of the documentation/ service stickers to prove.

He states the damp has never come up on any of the services. Serviced last year too. If this has not come up on the service is this something I should be worried about? Is it normal for them to miss things like this? Does it mean it is a recent issue?

Thanks again!

Whenever I’ve sold a caravan I have always had a damp check to support the sale or even trade in. Damp can be there and you cannot smell it or see or feel it. When was this latest caravan given a damp check? If more than three months I’d want to see another carried out. I generally had mine fully serviced annually with damp check included but had it checked six monthly as a single job. Although latterly I bought a damp meter so I could check it myself periodically

A pre purchase inspection could include a damp check for you. Caught early damp can be repaired relatively easily without a big bill.

 

[ProfJohnL]

I can see you feel the price is good, and that must make it very tempting, but as has been said so often in previous answers, the extent of a damp problem and thus how much it would cost to repair can never be really known until the actual work has started. For that reason damp problems must always be treated as bad news.

We have to bear in mind that as caravans age they all begin to deteriorate, so I would expect any caravan of the similar age to have some problems. Most issues can be repaired, some are simple, and others are deeper and may need professional attention, but if you have been reading the forum for any length of time you will see the evidence that UK(and others) caravan industries have a very poor record for manufacturing consistency, and that unfortunately translates into poor reliability across the construction of the whole caravan and it makes predicting age or use related failures imprecise.

If you went for this caravan, you could be lucky, and the repair might me easy and not too expensive, but you also have to bear in mind that whatever proves to be the cause in this area is very likely to be occurring elsewhere.

This where buying privately is real gamble. At least with using a dealer you will most likely receive some form of dealer warranty and of course you have the added protection of the Consumer Rights Act.

Good luck

 

[Dustydog]

Nothings changed my mind. This is fraught with danger. I don't believe the owner has dropped his price so much with no prior knowledge of the cost of repairs of the damp.
Has he sent you all the damp tests for the last two years to date? The dimples on the wallboard covering don’t normally appear over night. I suspect underneath is poor.
I have to say I’d walk away and look elsewhere.
If you have the time it will be great to know how you get on. Best of luck in your hunt.

 

[GaryB]

This is a post by me regarding damp in a friend’s Elddis. It clearly shows how severe it can be behind the scenes!

THIS is why damp checks are critical!

A friend just had the annual service on his 2015 Elddis, high readings were detected at the front and in the overhead lockers. He’s now involved in a restoration rather than a quick re-seal. Just shows how important damp checks are as it was fine last year and also looked fine before it was strip...

www.caravantalk.co.uk

 

[otherclive]

This is a post by me regarding damp in a friend’s Elddis. It clearly shows how severe it can be behind the scenes!

THIS is why damp checks are critical!

A friend just had the annual service on his 2015 Elddis, high readings were detected at the front and in the overhead lockers. He’s now involved in a restoration rather than a quick re-seal. Just shows how important damp checks are as it was fine last year and also looked fine before it was strip...

www.caravantalk.co.uk

Interesting link. I’m not sure it’s necessary to have a professional damp meter. I would have my van checked twice a year, but would check it using a cheaper meter in intervening periods. In general my own meter wasn’t far off the professional meter at worst 2-3 percent. What my own meter was useful for was to detect any trends. If I were concerned over a trend in any area I could engage an AWS technician. But prior to putting the caravan for sale I obtained a AWS damp survey.

 

[Dustydog]

Interesting link. I’m not sure it’s necessary to have a professional damp meter. I would have my van checked twice a year, but would check it using a cheaper meter in intervening periods. In general my own meter wasn’t far off the professional meter at worst 2-3 percent. What my own meter was useful for was to detect any trends. If I were concerned over a trend in any area I could engage an AWS technician. But prior to putting the caravan for sale I obtained a AWS damp survey.

A number of us use one of these. After my AWS annual service I test the same areas with mine. The readings have always been within 1%.

 

[otherclive]

Plus 1 for that meter

 

[Beachball]

Another one for that meter

 

[ProfJohnL]

Another thread has been started which seems to have had a similar problem:-

Caravan damp repaired but left with marks​

The point I'd like to make is the apparent cost of an incomplete repair.

 

[Dustydog]

Another thread has been started which seems to have had a similar problem:-

Caravan damp repaired but left with marks​

The point I'd like to make is the apparent cost of an incomplete repair.

Hang on Prof. The OP opted for the cheaper repair, sub £1k. My panel beneath the windows is mould stained. At £600 I’ll live with it. She’s dry otherwise.
From what I read it doesn’t come over as an incomplete repair, more of an economical viable one

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hang on Prof. The OP opted for the cheaper repair, sub £1k. My panel beneath the windows is mould stained. At £600 I’ll live with it. She’s dry otherwise.
From what I read it doesn’t come over as an incomplete repair, more of an economical viable one

I deliberately used the description "incomplete", becasue there was still evidence of the event. It was the consumers deliberate choice not to have the panel replaced.

The point is the cost of damp repairs can be varied and can depend on the quality of the final finish the owner wants.

 

[CWood]

Well I have booked a hotel near where the caravan is.

I felt bad telling the old bloke I was not coming now, especially after him being so upfront and responsive with the millions of questions I have asked over the last 3 weeks. Weather is supposed to be nice this weekend too so sounds like a good excuse to visit the beach with the kids.

I will view the caravan and make a decision, although I am fairly certain, based off the fantastic advice I have received here, that I know what the outcome will be. I have also bought the above damp meter and borrowed a protimeter survey? From a friend to aid the inspection. Question, where are the usual problem areas in these vans? How will I know if the damp is spreading?

As per everyone’s advice I have been down to the caravan dealer near me but to no avail. Our budget is £4000 including an awning and all of the other bits that go along with it (locks/ aqua roller etc) which is proving to be short of what we need. The only caravans within our budget (not including awning etc) has things like broken windows / were px so did not come with warranty. 2 others were just in price but mid/ late 1990s looking very dated on the inside and dinged up on the outside which makes me worry about longevity (I did explain to my partner it’s a beggars and choosers scenario but she is set on one that at least feels more modern even if it’s not).

Back to the waiting game now. We’re due to go away with friends in the first week of August on a mini ‘rally’ (they already have vans) so hopefully can find something before then. Seen a few on FB also but they all seem in the ‘too good to be true’ bracket making it even more difficult to cut through the noise and find a decent honest van. My friends all bought theirs pre Covid and seem to think 4k is a healthy budget, what has happened?!