At last we are finaly getting somewhere!!

[GrizzlyBathplug]

After 2 years of selling my late parents house, & it falling through on 3, yes 3 occasions, we have finaly sold it.
Inheritance will now allow me to purchase my first caravan, seen a few we like, now just have to make up our minds which way to go.
May even look at buying privately, as it looks like there are some good deals out there at the moment.
I will keep you updated as to progress, and what we buy.
Grizzly

 

[Gagakev]

Good luck on your future purchase, dont rush into it, take your time and if you go private have an engineer check it out before you buy.

 

[Raywood]

Welcome forum. Do be very careful when buying privately, like private car sales there are a lot of crooks out there and anything that looks too good to be true probably is. If buying privately you need to know the chassis number and check it with CRIS and HPI to make sure it is not on HP or stolen or a repaired write off.
Make sure you visit the sellers address and make sure they have a recent damp check and that they demonstrate everything works, Do also ask for all maintenance records and if it is still under guarantee that the service manual is stamped and you transfer the guarantee which usually needs a form sending off with a small fee.
For beginners dealers are a safer bet unless you have someone who knows the subject.
There is a lot of advice on buying and licence requirements on the Caravan and Motorhome Club website if you check this out.

 

[GrizzlyBathplug]

I have Cris checked caravan & HPI checked, all is in order.
We have a mobile independant engineer going to storage who will check van over.
Water,Electric & gas appliances will be checked, having seen hundreds of caravans in the last 2 years, this is the cleanest & best kept we have seen.
Raywood it does look too good to be true, but all the signs are that it is a true gem.
We will get manufacturers warrenty swapped over, it still has 15 months warrenty on it, like i said after all this time viewing so many different vans, you get a feeling when you find the right one.
Grizzly

 

[Raywood]

Sounds good, so hope it all works out.

 

[thosoneill]

So what you considering buying then

 

[GrizzlyBathplug]

Coachman VIP 575, excellent condition, 21 months old with 2 carefull owners.
Engineer just going to do final check next monday, & I KNOW ALL WILL BE OK (GUT FEELING) after meeting the present owners.
Cant wait to join the caravaning fraternity, & get some mileage under my belt. I am sure we will enjoy as this will be our first & last caravan, big enough for me, the boss & pooch.

 

[GeorgeandAde]

Grizzlybathplug.
Please excuse me butting in.
Please,please get your engineer to check for damp as well.(Im sure he will)
Ive just had a bad experience with damp in a motorhome which,like you,looked too good to be true.
I wish you the best of luck and hope it turns out to be your perfect caravan.

 

[GrizzlyBathplug]

George&Ade i am greatfull for your input, i trust the engineer will do a complete caravan check for us, & we will be guided by his knowledge.
I am sorry to hear you have had problems, & hope that a satisfactory outcome is acheived.

 

[Hutch]

Coachman VIP 575, excellent condition, 21 months old with 2 carefull owners.
Engineer just going to do final check next monday, & I KNOW ALL WILL BE OK (GUT FEELING) after meeting the present owners.
Cant wait to join the caravaning fraternity, & get some mileage under my belt. I am sure we will enjoy as this will be our first & last caravan, big enough for me, the boss & pooch.

Nice choice, but I am biased towards Coachman, hope the Inspection goes well for you.

 

[SirRogerFFS]

As others have suggested make sure the van has a really good check over . Not wishing to put water on your fire but two owners in less than two years.???????
Sir Roger

 

[Hutch]

As others have suggested make sure the van has a really good check over . Not wishing to put water on your fire but two owners in less than two years.???????
Sir Roger

Sir Roger , your a fraction to late Grizzley has bought the van, on another thread though. I also would have been suspect, but a friend last year bought a brand new Lunar with the Island bed at the back and after two trips out exchanged it for a lunar with the side island bed. He will not tell me how much he lost on the exchange.

 

[waffler]

We are coachman owners, on our 4th one. 2 owners in the time you mention seems excessive. Check that the service record is in order to ensure the warranty is okay. With coachman any NCC dealer can service it but you must have the evidence. Enjoy.

 

[Hutch]

We are coachman owners, on our 4th one. 2 owners in the time you mention seems excessive. Check that the service record is in order to ensure the warranty is okay. With coachman any NCC dealer can service it but you must have the evidence. Enjoy.

As you Waffler Coachman owners, but when I had to take it back to CM, for a new back panel they did not ask for a service history, but that was because the back panel was cracked at the top left side. 3 years old.

 

[otherclive]

Without knowing why the first owners sold the van it’s pure conjecture to hypothesise. It may have been an older couple and I’ll health affected them. Or a younger couple who splashed out and then found they didn’t like caravanning. A while back my friend turned up in a new Santa Fe. I thought you had a new Tucson said I. We did he replied but we just didn’t like it. The Tucson had lasted one caravan trip and four weeks. But fundamentally there was nothing wrong with the Tucson.
You need to go by the condition of the caravan and ensure it’s service history is watertight.

 

[GrizzlyBathplug]

Independant engineer gave full damp check, & general condition of the van, all passed with flying colours, engineer said one of the nicest vans he had inspected.
History of van, first owners elderly couple, ill health forced them to sell the van, second owners, young profesional couple (he airline pilot) & two tennage children. Used the van a few times, then decided they wanted a bigger van, now getting Swift Elegance 650.
We went away in it this weekend to wales, tows like a dream, fantastic weekend, we are going to enjoy our new lifestyle, i can see many weekends away in the van in the near future.

 

[Craigyoung]

Glad you have enjoyed it , that's it you've got the bug , once you get back you just want to be away again !!