Be kind i'm new.

[Lloyds]

Hello to all at Practical Caravan.

My family and I are hoping to get into Caravaning in the near future, we have two young boys 2 and 6. My wife and I both caravaned with our seperate families when we were children and thoughly enjoyed it and have always talked about getting our own van, well finances are good so we're gonna take the blunge and go for it. I have my B + E test booked for tomorrow, we have been looking closely at cars becuase my current car wont tow more than 1200kg, we quite like the renault Koleos 4x4 due to it being quite cheap to run compared to other 4x4's. We want a big van, we like the fixed bunk layouts like the Bailey senator carolina series 5 and 6. We will probably be buying privetely becuase I find it difficult to understand how dealers can justify asking so much for a van and not include anything not even spare wheels, whereas I can buy the same van privetly and get virtually everything included. To begin with we are planning to use the van for weekends away and summer holidays, staying in England at first but may venture abroad once confidence and experience has been gained.

Any advise on any of the above welcomed.

The Lloyds family, Berkshire.

 

[anotherDavid]

I am sure your family are going to love this but as you and your wife have experiance already you will know this. I started caravanning with my children in the late 1970's with a 12 ft van and after a couple of years got a 15ft Monza. We had wonderful holidays in it and never felt the need to get anything bigger. Big vans have a number of drawbacks , it will commit you to a big towcar , cost more on ferries, higher service costs and might limit where you can go with it . I would think about it quite hard before you commit yourself.
David

 

[Gafferbill]

Welcome to the forum and good luck with your test tomorrow.
Since you are starting with a blank sheet of paper as regards your outfit you will be able to avoid any pitfalls by seeking free advice on here.
You do not have to take it .......but you will have a second (or more) opinion

 

[Parksy]

Hello the Lloyd family and welcome to the Practical Caravan forum.
Buying your first caravan should be an enjoyable experience for all of the family, and although you hope to make a private purchase rather than from a caravan dealer there is nothing to stop you from visiting dealers forecourts to have a good look around and inside the caravans for sale, in order to get a feel for the different layouts and to decide what your likes and dislikes will be.
As David mentioned, think carefully before lumbering yourselves with an expensive to tow leviathan complete with features and fittings that you may not want or need.

It might help to begin compiling a list of pro's and con's with 'must haves' and 'don't need's' to print off as you look around as a sort of checklist.
Will you need a large shower or a heavy full sized fridge freezer and microwave oven for example, or is there a possibility that you will stay mainly on commercial sites with heated shower blocks or perhaps go on rallies without ehu (electric hook up) where the large fridge freezer and microwave are just unused added weight?

Although the prices asked for at dealers may seem excessive remember that nothing is set in stone.
Private sales may include extras and seem less expensive but bear in mind that in the event of any faults or broken equipment that no one mentioned when you were deciding to buy you have absolutely no comeback or protection from the law unless you can prove that what you bought was misrepresented, which can be very difficult to prove and even more difficult to gain recompense.
I've lost count of the forum posts from newbies who bought a caravan privately only to discover later on that damp is present (very common) or that they have been told that a caravan is several years 'younger' than it actually is (even more common).
Invariably the private vendor never returns phone calls, ignores letters and generally gets away with fraud.
I'm not trying to put you off, Click Here and use the buttons on the left to acquire the knowledge of what to look out for so that you are not ripped off whether you buy privately or from a dealer.
Speaking of dealers, never be afraid to haggle and try to get the best deal with the most equipment for the money that you are prepared to spend.

Caravans which are of a good standard on dealers forecourts more or less sell themselves. A family sits inside to have a look round and before very long a really nice friendly chappie comes along to point out all of the goodies and good as gold the family agree enthusiastically!
While most caravan salespeople are indeed very nice and friendly they are also hard headed businessmen or women so don't worry about making them like you or try to be their best friend.
Don't 'enthuse', be prepared to walk away to 'think it over' and don't be afraid of silences when the salesperson launches into their spiel.
Negotiate for the 'extras', try to avoid paying the 'screen price' and make the salesperson earn that week in Tuscany!
Good luck and enjoy.......

 

[Steve L]

Welcome to the caravanning world or conundrum.
Here on the forum you'll find a mountainous amount of friendly advice from everyone. You see, we all were newbies at some point.
I started 30 years ago in a glass windowed 10ft sprite graduated through another 3 vans to a 2005 Abbey fixed bed and have gone back to a Swift Challenger of 1990 vintage.
Buying from a dealer you can be very cheecky and try to knock £1500 off for cash and settle on a grand off with a full service and spare wheel and an Aquaroll and wastemaster thrown in. We did.
Buying an expensive van that's nearly new privately can have pitfalls. First being that 90% of the modern vans will have finance on them so a HPI check is the first thing to do. Just in case it's nicked or about to be reposessed.
I'm happier with our lastest £600 1990 caravan than still having our capital tied up in the 2005 van. If I ding it, I'm not bothered, I'll just put a sticker over it.
I saw a post card once that summed my philosophy up to a tee. It read:-
Don't try to keep up with the "jones's". Drag them down to your level, it's cheaper.
My best advice would be to veiw as many vans as you can to find what suits your tastes, and the same can be said of the tow cars too. We looked at about 20 caravans before deciding on our Abbey Freestyle 540se fixed bed.
Good luck with your hunting.

 

[Lloyds]

Wow thanks everyone, thats given me some food for thought.

How do you do an HPI check?? Is there a website?? Whenever I buy a car or anything significantly expensive I always try and haggle but i'm never any good at it anyone got any good tips? We might rethink the big van point of view also, we have seen a few smaller ones that would suit, we may go and look again at them.

Thanks again everyone

 

[Gagakev]

Welcome to you the Lloyds family,
As you have already seen the advice on here is second to none , take it all at a steady pace and dont rush, if you decide to go private invest in a damp meter something like one of these click here although not 100% accurate they will give you an idea, just ask the seller if they mind you testing for damp and if they are against it, think twice

good luck

 

[Parksy]

A caravan HPI check is administered by the Caravan Registration and Identification Scheme (CRiS)
For a fee it's possible to find out if a caravan is stolen, has finance payments outstanding or if it has been previously written off.
All caravans manufactured since 1992 by NCC members (Which includes all UK manufacturers) are recorded on the CRiS database by their unique 17 digit Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). This VIN and the caravan description are recorded on a Touring Caravan Registration Document, which is sent to the caravan's registered keeper.
A private vendor often tells a prospective buyer that the CRiS document was never issued, is lost or missing but the VIN is etched on a bottom corner of every caravan window so it's still possible to ascertain the true year of manufacture and to do a HPI check with the VIN.

As for haggling tips, Google the make, model and year of manufacture of the caravan that you are interested in buying and you will more than likely see similar models offered for sale or sold previously.
Use this information to work out a fair but realistic price and ask the salesperson selling the caravan that you are interested in what the real price would be for a serious potential buyer with no part ex.

It's important to maintain a businesslike no nonsense approach, you don't need the salesperson to like you and you don't need to seek their approval so don't over enthuse, make them work for the sale and drive a hard bargain and there will be plenty of time for pleasantries after you've shaken hands on a fair and realistic price.

Make 100% sure that you have details of any guarantee in writing and also ensure that the caravan is free from damp and has no major repairs outstanding, get that in writing too in order that no misunderstandings could occur at some later stage.

Don't forget that you will need an ehu (electric hook up) lead, an Aquaroll, (water container) Wastemaster (waste water container) a leisure battery and an entrance step so you will need to budget for these items unless by then we have taught you enough haggling skills to obtain them as part of the deal.

Caravan dealers have to make a profit which is fair enough but the used caravan market can be fluid and there are some good solid caravans at fair prices to be had if you do your homework

 

[Mel]

Hi Lloyds. Welcome to the forum. I am moral support rather than technical support and can't add much to the excellent advice above. What I would add is that going around dealers forecourts and getting in and out of loads of vans is great fun and a free day out for the kids. "We haven't looked in that one Dad", Loads of bells and whistles are nice but not worth breaking the bank over.
Have fun
mel

 

[Steve L]

Hi Lloyds.
The most important part of haggling is not to be too obviously overjoyed with the van you're looking at.
We looked at our Abbey at the Coleford branch of P man Briggs and then went to their gloucester depot to look at another van before returning as we'd decided which we wanted. I then went round the van with a fine tooth comb noting every blemish and things like tyre condition etc. Then I put my "poker face"on and haggled. First of all start with 2k off the window price for cash, they'll refuse and offer half that. Then you chip in with what extras you want if you settle for 1k off. Always be prepared to walk if they dig their heels in. Trust me, if you then go back 3 days later they will of softened up having lost a deal.
If you're looking at Bailey and Swift vans for example there are dozens of them on forecourts. Our Abbey was an obsolete model and a dealer special with upgraded upholstry, but I still wrangled my deal.
I find the best tool for damp is your nose. If the caravan has been left on display with windows and doors open, shut them all and wait 30 mins. By then if there is a damp musty smell when you open the door it's a damp one. Damp meters are generally a good guide but only that. Timber can be 20% damp on a meter and still be fine. After all you water the tree to grow the wood. I poke and prod round all window panels and the bottoms of the lockers. The splashback by the sink units is a good area for damp to accumilate. Next place is to look outside for any fresh sealant applications to the awning rail and any roof fittings.
If asking a dealer or private seller for a set of step ladders to inspect the roof, comes with refusal or excuses why they can't oblige, it usually means there's something they want to hide.

Above all, take your time and don't rush into a deal.

Good luck, regards Steve Lloyd

 

[Surfer]

Be aware that the Koleos has a kerbweight of 1649kg and although it can tow up to 2000kg it is not advisable to exceed the kerbweight.

 

[Beachball]

Hi Lloyds A belated welcome to the practical caravan forum enjoy it