I have just sold my swift touring caravan. I am on the look out to purchase a 05 caravan.I am half tempted to buy off ebay.All advise welcome.
Ebay.ie
- Thread starter Dan_5040593
- Start date
Damian
Moderator
Dan, usual rules for buying through Ebay,
Go and see it before making any offer
Check all the paperwork to ensure it all matches, and check with CRIS to ensure it is what it says it is, and is not a stolen van.
Check EVERYTHING is working on the van, lights, gas appliances, electric appliances, brakes, etc
Thorough damp check.
Check age of tyres.
Dont part with any money until you are absolutely certain it is the van for you.
Go and see it before making any offer
Check all the paperwork to ensure it all matches, and check with CRIS to ensure it is what it says it is, and is not a stolen van.
Check EVERYTHING is working on the van, lights, gas appliances, electric appliances, brakes, etc
Thorough damp check.
Check age of tyres.
Dont part with any money until you are absolutely certain it is the van for you.
Dan, Think very hard, most importantly.... CAVEAT EMPTOR! never forget that. I have heard time and time again, 'bought as seen' should something go wrong with it after a day, week, month, do you really think that the seller is going to be interested? I wouldn't be, under my breath I'd be saying, 'tough mate'whereas if you go to a dealer you will be paying over the odds but THEY must give you some sort of guarantee, a professional PDI and put right anything that is found to be faulty under the guarantee. I would without hesitation rely on a dealer as opposed to a private sale, especially when you are going to part with thousands of pounds. It's your choice!! Chloe.
I am looking for a caravan between 7,000 -10,000 pounds.Make does not matter.Has to have a fixed bed to keep the boss happy.
I bought a Swift Corniche from a dealer ( the type that only trades in secondhand vans) once and despite having had over 10 years experience of caravans, still failed to spot the problems, The CRIS check passed no problem. I was curious as to why things like the alarm and the door flyscreen had been removed, and it was obvious that the nearside front locker had been repaired with fibreglass. Other than that, looked perfect.I took it home , washed , polished , did everything. Looked brilliant but I was still nervous that something wasn't right.Side panel looked "wavey"
A caravan mechanic friend looked it over and in about 2 minutes demonstrated that the van had been in a typical jacknife accident. It had gone over on it's nearside, the panel had been "overskined" but it was suffering from water ingress as a result of a cheap repair.There was evidence of where the floor had been repaired over the offside wheel. The van had suffered a blowout , jacknifed and gone over. It took him 2 minutes to show me what I couldn't spot in 24 hours. Fortuneately, the dealer had not sold my van and agreed to return it along with the cash.I had a very worrying time until the cheque cleared.
In summary, not being bothered about make, only wanting a fixed bed suggests that you have not done much homework.
Beware, you could be an easy target.
A caravan mechanic friend looked it over and in about 2 minutes demonstrated that the van had been in a typical jacknife accident. It had gone over on it's nearside, the panel had been "overskined" but it was suffering from water ingress as a result of a cheap repair.There was evidence of where the floor had been repaired over the offside wheel. The van had suffered a blowout , jacknifed and gone over. It took him 2 minutes to show me what I couldn't spot in 24 hours. Fortuneately, the dealer had not sold my van and agreed to return it along with the cash.I had a very worrying time until the cheque cleared.
In summary, not being bothered about make, only wanting a fixed bed suggests that you have not done much homework.
Beware, you could be an easy target.
Hi Dan
We purchased our van off e-bay two years ago with no problems at all. I rang the couple selling it first and they seemed absolutely genuine so we went to view it. The van was immaculate and their reason for selling it was a sound one. They were not intending to caravan again so they threw in everything down to cutlery and salt and pepper pots. We agreed a price to stop the auction and we got a real bargain (It helped having the cash then and there and the car with the tow bar to hook it strait up and drive it home)
Even now similar vans are fetching more than we paid two years ago.
I would say go for it but view first don't bid blind
We purchased our van off e-bay two years ago with no problems at all. I rang the couple selling it first and they seemed absolutely genuine so we went to view it. The van was immaculate and their reason for selling it was a sound one. They were not intending to caravan again so they threw in everything down to cutlery and salt and pepper pots. We agreed a price to stop the auction and we got a real bargain (It helped having the cash then and there and the car with the tow bar to hook it strait up and drive it home)
Even now similar vans are fetching more than we paid two years ago.
I would say go for it but view first don't bid blind
Martyn, Rioja has given a perfect example, most of us are not experts when it come's to accident damage repairs, he couldn't see in 24hrs what an expert picked up in two minutes! secondly because he bought from a dealer, he got his money and old 'van back.
When most people sell privately, end of sale, very few will want to know afterwards and say it was alright when it left here, it must have been you or someone else.
Where's your guarantee and peace of mind when buying privately? The average person like Rioja would not have picked up what the expert did in two minutes. How would you have felt if you bought privately and found out what Rioja did and the seller refusing to do anything about it? the word sick springs to mind. It's a dealer everytime for me, peace of mind and a guarantee are worth their weight in gold and no possible agro or stress thereafter. It's each to their own.
When most people sell privately, end of sale, very few will want to know afterwards and say it was alright when it left here, it must have been you or someone else.
Where's your guarantee and peace of mind when buying privately? The average person like Rioja would not have picked up what the expert did in two minutes. How would you have felt if you bought privately and found out what Rioja did and the seller refusing to do anything about it? the word sick springs to mind. It's a dealer everytime for me, peace of mind and a guarantee are worth their weight in gold and no possible agro or stress thereafter. It's each to their own.
I think the question was specifically about buying off ebay and not just private sale versus dealer. I have never tried it but I must admit that the information given about the van is usually very comprehensive, much more than in the usual newspaper or "Trader" advert, with multiple photos and the option to ask the seller a question. You can also see how much interest, if any, there is by the number of bids which helps to avoid paying
too much. The problem is that, unlike your local paper its a national thing and the van is likely to be at the other end of the country so you need to decide whether you are sufficiently interested to travel to see it, because you would surely never buy without looking first. I think the AA run a car inspection scheme for secondhand cars and I wonder if there is anything similar available for caravans because you can make significant savings buying privately. Jim.
too much. The problem is that, unlike your local paper its a national thing and the van is likely to be at the other end of the country so you need to decide whether you are sufficiently interested to travel to see it, because you would surely never buy without looking first. I think the AA run a car inspection scheme for secondhand cars and I wonder if there is anything similar available for caravans because you can make significant savings buying privately. Jim.
Hi all
We bought our van off Ebay and are still pleased with it after our first season. I think we were willing to risk it because we didn't want to pay too much until we were sure we liked caravanning. We looked round lots of dealers for 6 months for a van between
We bought our van off Ebay and are still pleased with it after our first season. I think we were willing to risk it because we didn't want to pay too much until we were sure we liked caravanning. We looked round lots of dealers for 6 months for a van between
Hi Dan ; I bought my Bailey Senator off eBay last year. HOWEVER, having established the fact that I liked what I read, I contacted the seller with a question; then we exchanged telephone numbers; then I spoke to her; then (because she had received no bids yet) we agreed that she would set the price as a "buy now" for a high price. Meanwhile, I agreed to drive up to see the van; did so; transferred the agreed price and towed the caravan home ! Meanwhile she withdrew the advert from eBay.
What I was NOT willing to do was part with any money prior to seeing the caravan for myself. Common sense really. What eBay did was get buyer and seller together. How you negotiate with the seller is up to you.
Caveat Emptor is 100% right regarding eBay.
John
What I was NOT willing to do was part with any money prior to seeing the caravan for myself. Common sense really. What eBay did was get buyer and seller together. How you negotiate with the seller is up to you.
Caveat Emptor is 100% right regarding eBay.
John
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