First time buyer advice (Damp Vans/What to look out for)

[Griswold]

Hello everyone.

Please move if in the wrong section.

I posted my first post late last year, seeking advice for tow cars with the aim to buy my first used van.

Flash forward now, those who remember the thread, I still haven’t changed car or bought a van!

Appreciating it’s a big purchase, I continued my journey around the country to identify the best layout and size and finances re the first time buy and getting into it.

As a result, I have finally, in the past two weeks, decided a smaller Xplore 304, as a starter van would suit. Given there’s three of us including a two year olds, and really needed a side dinette for bunks/fixed bunks.

I’ve spent considerable amount of time weighing the pros and cons of going bigger from the start but decided to keep it smaller for now, and believe I have exhausted all the possible vans I can, the only similiar ones being the caravelair 406 and the weinsburg 400, which I removed from my choice for numerous reasons on both.

Now today, 23rd May 2025, I have visited a used
Xplore 304 2020 model, and I’m well aware from this forum and others that the Xplore/Elddis has mixed reviews and some people wouldn’t go near, however given the volume sold, there has to be one which will survive the next few years!

However… saying that, despite the dealer assuring me it’s no damp, and perfect condition, when left alone with the van on the front window I was able to locate between the seals, a considerable amount of black moulding, staining, marks etc. I’ve attached photographs.

In addition to this. If pressed hard on the panneling, I could have put my entire hand through the wood near the window.

As a first time buyer from reading the internet the thought of damp keeps me up at night as it’s the first thing people note.

The rest of the van appeared fine, with other window seals being clean and the wood appearing clean and strong.

Now I appreciate this is quite long, but I’m assuming, and don’t want to sound like an idiot here, but this van is a hard pass? as it’s clearly evidencing damp/wetness which would be a considerable expense to repair?

And with that, moving forward, again not wishing to sound like an idiot, but all vans should be 100% clear of this type of black marking / moulding as evidenced in my attached photo, like some of the seals on the van are fine.

Any other advice on what to look out for that I can see my self for any type of van will be handy! I’ve actually got another Xplore 304 albeit a 2018 model this time on a refundable deposit until I view it in a few weeks . So two years younger than this wet van! Hoping that I don’t discover the same or find anything else.

Thanks for the advice

 

[ProfJohnL]

Especially for first time buyers, it makes a lot of sense to use a dealer, as this gives you some very important consumer rights if things do start to go wrong.

But regardless of where you buy from you are correctly looking for potential problems, and the evidence of damp you have found cannot be simply passed off as being "nothing to worry about", that discolouration should not be there, and until its been properly investigated the extent of the problem cannot be accurately assessed.

If there is anything about a caravan that you find is not satisfactory the best advice is walk away. You have little idea of how much trouble damp problems can cause not just from expense but the effort to get any repairs carried out.

Through your research you have identified the models and makes of caravan that you believe will suit your needs, so shop around until you find one that matches your ideals with no apparent issues.

 

[audiorob]

By your photos and description of spongy wall panelling that van has possibly been a leaker from leaving the factory and it may not be obvious where the ingress is occurring. A full damp report is important on any van you buy as around the windows would be a key area for multiple test sites. Maybe this is especially important for vans with a single front window. Walk away and keep searching for the right buy!

 

[Buckman]

Don't walk away from that caravan, run as fast as you can!

 

[ProfJohnL]

...

And with that, moving forward, again not wishing to sound like an idiot, but all vans should be 100% clear of this type of black marking / moulding as evidenced in my attached photo, like some of the seals on the van are fine.
...

Many forum posts could have been avoided if caravan manufacturers could assure the public their caravans were 100% free from damp issues, but that would be so far from the truth, even Pinocchio's nose would not be long enough.

Sadly the reality is UK caravan manufacturers do know how to make caravans that don't leak, witnessed by the few that do manage to remain dry! But they can't or don't choose to design and build them in a consistent way to ensure the caravans are free from construction and material defects. They know damp issues are one of the biggest killers of caravans, but because in UK law the caravan manufacturer has no contractual connection with the end user, they can play the blame game and avoid liability beyond their manufacturers warranty. Under UK law its the seller that has to carry the can, and for most caravans that is the dealer.

This is one of the major reasons that dealers seem so stressed and why some have folded. Because of traditions in the industry, the caravan manufacturers have their own contractual arrangements which they impose on dealers which limit liabilities arising from poor product from being passed back up the supply chain to the manufacturer. So the dealer is exposed because that cannot refuse to accept poor product from the factory, The dealer is expected to "finish" the caravan and to correct any defects before it is sold to the end user.

In practice this means the dealer is effectively part of the manufacturers "quality control" processes, but the final stages are not fully prescribed and controlled by the factory. This is always an expensive inconsistent and inefficient way to quality control. It also means that part of the cost of a caravan is essentially a charge on the customer to cover the manufacturers failures. Similarly a significant part of the cost of a caravan is to build up a fund at the manufacturer's to cover warranty costs. I estimate that 10 to 15% of the retail cost of a caravan is to cover manufacturing failures and future warranty costs.

If manufacturers really did their job properly and did it right first time every time they could reduce their selling price easily by 10 to 12% with no loss of profitability throughout the supply chain.

But they don't, becasue caravans with a longer life span would disrupt their present turn over patterns. I doubt they will ever admit to having a policy of planned obsolescence, but who pays through the nose for their obstructive behaviour towards warranty claims - the end user.

 

[Eldorado]

As a novice about to buy our first caravan this keeps me awake at night too

We just got back from a big dealers, with lots of new, lightly used and older vans to look at - they all smelt okay except one, which my wife immediately picked up on. Van was only a couple of years old, about £25k but had a kind of fusty thing going on in the back corner on the awning side . . .

 

[otherclive]

As a novice about to buy our first caravan this keeps me awake at night too

We just got back from a big dealers, with lots of new, lightly used and older vans to look at - they all smelt okay except one, which my wife immediately picked up on. Van was only a couple of years old, about £25k but had a kind of fusty thing going on in the back corner on the awning side . . .

A musty smell can be caused by poor ventilation leading to mould growth. In my vans that have had damp there has never been a smell, nor have I felt soft wood, or had bubbling wall coverings. The damp was picked up early by damp surveys either by a technicians inspection, or lately by myself with a damp meter. Its more difficult these days as more impermeable materials are used and ether are areas where DIY damp meters don't help so much.

 

[Mel]

For any van you buy, get the salesperson to go around the van with a damp meter and show you the readings. It will take them barely 20 minutes. Doesn’t matter if it is a used van or brand new. We made the last salesman do it.
Mel

 

[Hutch]

For any van you buy, get the salesperson to go around the van with a damp meter and show you the readings. It will take them barely 20 minutes. Doesn’t matter if it is a used van or brand new. We made the last salesman do it.
Mel

That's good advice, if they are not willing to do that , walk away.