Hiya. Looking to buy a caravan

[Truleescrumptious]

Hi there
We are seasoned campers but as we get older we are considering a caravan.
We are looking to go to the C&C show in October. Do you tend to find the best offers there or locally?

 

[audiorob]

You do get to view many of the available caravans, but work out some idea of the layout you need and what you towcar can manage. Bear in mind that if the van needs any warranty work that is carried out through the supplying dealer (unlike cars that can visit any franchised garage) so better if that is accessible to your home.

 

[Mr Grumpy]

You can get a good idea of the various layouts available by having a browse around on caravanfinder.
I've found that very often you can get just as good a deal from a local dealer as they are not having to pay out the expense of going to the show.
The art of a good old haggle comes in handy 🤔

 

[Parksy]

The NEC show is a great place to check out different layouts, but if you see a caravan that you like it might be worth asking a local caravan dealership to price match.
If you buy from a dealership 100 miles away, that's a 200 mile round trip towing the caravan if warranty work is needed further down the line.

 

[Paullus1959]

My advice is simple, don’t rush into buying something you might regret. My wife and I camped for years ending up with a fantastic trailer tent which we used for 15 years all over the UK and France. We sold it when the kids flew the nest but always missed it. After 10 years of other types of holidays we decided to buy a caravan. However, it took 12 months of research, visiting different dealers and sitting in dozens of caravans of all makes with their different layouts until we finally settled on the perfect layout for the two of us. We bought brand new in 2016 and it still works so perfectly for us that we have no desire to swap it for anything else currently on the market.

 

[Beachball]

We did something similar we packed up Sold our caravan in 2012 and in 2018 i got a new car had a itch to give towing one more time we look at different local caravan dealers near to home and finally saw a two berth end washroom caravan one owner from new it was to see if i could do it and we packed up last July 2022 due to my ill health . So i would give it a try and good luck .

 

[ProfJohnL]

The caravan shows are a great because you can see virtually all makes of caravan in one place, and there might be some tempting deals, but as first time buyers, I do suggest you bear in mind some of the realities of caravan ownership, which the rose tinted spectacles don't reveal.

Others have already mentioned one of the most often overlooked difficulties, warranty work. It is a fact that caravans (regardless of make) do have an abysmal record of warranty failures requiring dealers to do work during the warranty period. The cost of getting the caravan to the dealer is down to the customer, and if that has to include time of work, accomodation, and fuel, it will eat up any saving you might have made with a show deal.

The second suggestion I'd like to make is, as this will be your first caravan purchase, and the tone of your post suggests to me your not 110% certain about caravanning, buying new has quite a financial risk associated with it. Literally as soon as tow the new caravan off the dealers forecourt, you'll loose about 20% of it's value, just because it now is a used van not new. and if you decide after trying it, that caravanning is not for you, that's a hefty loss to swallow. Consider a nearly new second hand caravan, it's cheaper, and hopefully it will have had is poor build issues corrected by it's first owner. But most importantly it's value will not drop as much. As novices, I'd recommend buying from a respectable dealer, as you will get a dealer warranty, and the cover from the Consumer Rights Act.

 

[audiorob]

Whichever route you take a haggle point is over a starter pack - might include water and waste, battery, number plate, towing mirrors and more that adds up to several hundred pounds - on a new caravan some dealers will include a mover which again is a similar sum.

 

[Dustydog]

Think very carefully about the best layout for you. Usable bathroom? Or double fixed bed? What is the max weight for your car? Have you considered hiring first ? Some firms will refund the hire charge if you buy from them afterwards

 

[Truleescrumptious]

Thank you all so much for your replies.
We have been visiting different caravan sales this week as we are off work and travelling around the south.
We are pretty convinced that an Adria Action 361LT is for us. We can purchase a second hand one from a dealer and they can add any additional extras that we may want.

 

[Raywood]

The show is a good place to get some idea of what you can expect but as the Prof says if you are not sure if you will want to do this for some time a new model is probably not the best way forward. I would say check the local area and see if anyone offers caravan hire which should help you decide if it is for you. At the show you can get a good idea of what you like and if the hire is successful come back and negotiate. You should also consider second hand although stick with a good dealer if you do as there are too many rogues out there looking to get of rubbish and worse none existing models.
Do be aware that caravan dealers are not like car dealers and may not carry out guarantee work or even service models bought from other dealers. A lot of the dealers at the show will be a long way from you and this can cause problems with having work done meaning that the same model sold locally is possibly a better deal even, if it costs a bit more. Remote dealers often sell cheap at the shows but may not want to know you after that.
Possibly look at local dealers and if there is something that you like get a price before you go to compare. You also need a fair bit of kit so see if any deals are available on that.
This months magazine has an article on buying at shows which might help you.
I did write this before your last post was seen.

 

[davyayr]

Hi there
We are seasoned campers but as we get older we are considering a caravan.
We are looking to go to the C&C show in October. Do you tend to find the best offers there or locally?

Shows are good for getting an idea of layouts and spec and how they will wear (Shows visitors can break anything). We went to the SECC, Glasgow in Feb 2023 to do this. Lovely shiny toys to lure you in all the vans. Also, supposedly great deals.
However, we would never buy new. As said, its worth 20% less the second you sign for it. VAT.
That said, we saw one caravan we really liked at the show. Within our budget, but we decided to look at second hand at about 5 dealers within 100 miles of home.
Quick search online and we found 7 vans that fitted the bill. Basically 3 layouts. After viewing them all we settled on 3 possibilities. 🤔
The following weekend, we re-viewed all three.
Eventually, after doing lots of checks, damp meter etc, we settled on our "new to us" caravan.
12 yrs old Bailey Unicorn Madrid in mint condition. The same make, model and layout as the one we fancied at the show.
Big difference was £17k.
Good luck in your search

 

[trevormonty]

Thank you all so much for your replies.
We have been visiting different caravan sales this week as we are off work and travelling around the south.
We are pretty convinced that an Adria Action 361LT is for us. We can purchase a second hand one from a dealer and they can add any additional extras that we may want.

Being 2berth make sure the 2 singles are long enough to sleep on as making up double every night can wear thin after a while. We have similar size old bailey and never felt cramp in day mode. In day mode 2berths tend have more space than 4berths as their dining area seats are shorter.

Would recommend a small inflatable awning to use as a porch. Gives you bit more storage area, plus makes coming and going in wet lot easier. Something to think about after you've done few trips.

 

[shouldknowbettor]

I'm neither Nostradamus nor a caravan dealer so take this with a pinch of salt, but I do live near a caravan factory and know people who work there...

Caravan sales are down, production is down, the yard is full of caravans (This is can see for myself). At some point they're going to need to sell these vans off. That point I suspect will come soon. All I'm saying is if you're not getting a big discount on the list it might be worth waiting a while, those discounts are coming.

 

[trevormonty]

I'm neither Nostradamus nor a caravan dealer so take this with a pinch of salt, but I do live near a caravan factory and know people who work there...

Caravan sales are down, production is down, the yard is full of caravans (This is can see for myself). At some point they're going to need to sell these vans off. That point I suspect will come soon. All I'm saying is if you're not getting a big discount on the list it might be worth waiting a while, those discounts are coming.

Its a recession which means luxury items like new caravans are put on back burner.

 

[Beachball]

Thank you all so much for your replies.
We have been visiting different caravan sales this week as we are off work and travelling around the south.
We are pretty convinced that an Adria Action 361LT is for us. We can purchase a second hand one from a dealer and they can add any additional extras that we may want.

Sounds like a match made in heaven hope you have plenty of trips booked when you receive it