Going to view a caravan - What should I check for?

[EddyP]

HI Guys,

New to the forum and after some advice. My girlfriend and I are looking to buy a caravan for the first time, I'm not completely new to it having done a fair bit when I was a kid.

Originally we set a budget of around £2K, this is slowly climbing, and we've now found one at quite a bit above our budget that we think is a real bargain, it's a lot more modern than the others, but it's about £1k below other identical models we've seen, as a result I do wonder if there could be something wrong with it, it is a coachman so already a quality brand.

I know the basics to look for, damp (have a damp meter ready), accident damage, heaters etc. all working.

What else should I look for? I presume there's a HPI sort of check to do from the CRIS number?

Thanks

 

[Damian]

I would suggest that you get a pre purchase inspection carried out by a mobile engineer who is a NCC Approved Workshop.
It will cost around £60 but may save you wasting your hard earned cash on a bad van.

The check with CRiS will, or should, show up any finance still owing, or if the van has been subject to any Insurance claims, or if it is stolen.

Quote " it is a coachman so already a quality brand."
Do NOT go with any preconceived ideas about quality, Coachman are no better or worse than any other make, and much depends on how it has been looked after and if it has been regularly serviced.
You are entering a business transaction which has NO ROOM for the heart ruling the head !

 

[Mel]

Hi eddy. I agree with Damian; get a mobile engineer to inspect it. However, you may want to do an initial look yourselves to see if the van is worth a second inspection. If so, go and see it at the vendors house or at whichever secure site it is stored at (and check with the storage site that the seller is the owner of the van). If the vendor offers to meet you in a carpark or somewhere like this with the van, run for the hills. Check all appliances are working including water gas etc, Bounce on the floor a little to see if it spongy /delaminating. Lift all the cushions to check for nastiness. If it is a possible purchase then get the NCC mobile engineer to come and do his or her stuff.
Hope it is the bargain you would like.
mel

 

[EddyP]

Thanks for the reply both.

I went down to see it this afternoon and to be honest was a bit disappointed, whilst it was a lovely van, I found some damp in the upper corner in the bathroom inside a cupboard, possibly a awning rail leaking, but then on looking even closer I did find a 5mm long thing crack in the rear panel, so it could be that.
Either way I spoke to a damp company whilst I was at the van and explained what it had, he suggested a cost to fix, so I offered less money to the owner to account for the fix, which was too low for him.

The seller did say that he will put a heater and dehumidifier in it, dry it out, and silicone the awning rail.
Unfortunately I have a feeling someone is going to end up with a lemon off ebay.

So if anyone is thinking about a very cheap Coachman Pastiche on there at the moment, be very careful!

 

[Sproket]

You did the right thing walking away from it, keep looking there are plenty of good ones about

 

[EddyP]

Wheres the best place to look? at the moment I'm mainly watching Ebay, gumtree and auto trader.

 

[Sproket]

Wheres the best place to look? at the moment I'm mainly watching Ebay, gumtree and auto trader.

It all depends on how much you want to spend hmy:
Have you had a look on here ?

 

[EddyP]

Looking to spend between 3-4K, the coachman above was 4500 and we were able to stretch to that thinking there was going to be pretty much zero depreciation over a couple of years.

We've really become a fan of the L shape kitchen after seeing a few, found a Swift signature and Eccles Odyssey that look nice, shame one of them is about 350 miles away