ist caravan purchase - advice appreciated

[robert_374417101]

Hello everyone. We are going to see an Eldis wisp et 93 tomorrow and it will be our first caravan having only camped in a tent before. Now this van looks to be in very good order but is that enough given its age? Should we be looking for anything in particular? As newbies I suppose we don't really know where to start when it comes to specific questions to ask. Do you have any suggestions? The van is £1895 is chris registered comes with awning and good stabilser has no damp and has a cover. Would anyone say a certain age is too old. Many thanks.

Bob (ps We drive a vauxhall zafira and the van is 17ft long in total.

 

[Parksy]

Hi Robert

First of all establish proof of ownership before parting with any money, ask to see the stove, fridge, heater and water systems working and when you go into the caravan have a good sniff round. If you find a 'musty' smell the caravan will be damp so walk away.

Look in corners of cupboards especially at the front and rear of the caravan where the roof joins the sides and end panels. Check for soft spots in the wall boarding, this is a sign of damp.Lift the cushions and look under the seats for damp. When inside the caravan look out for spongy floors especially around the kitchen area, a spongy floor is delaminated.

Have a good look at the tyres, ask how long they have been on the caravan because although the tread might be ok the sidewalls could be perished.

Ask to see receipts, bills and ask the seller if he has had the caravan serviced regularly and ask to see proof.

The age isn't as important as the condition of the caravan.

copy / paste the following text into your web browser for more information.

http://www.practicalcaravan.com/beginners/cheap-tourers.html
Good Luck

 

[robert_374417101]

Thankyou parky thats very useful and practical advice. Is it common for a service to be done on a van every year and where does one take it? Are they specialists? Should we be worried if it hasn't had a service but looks good after checking out your pointers?

 

[Parksy]

Hi Robert

Servicing need to be carried on newer caravans by the dealer network who are approved by the manufacturers of the various brands to comply with the terms of the warranty.

This is not the case on older caravans which have no manufacturers warranty but a careful owner should still have servicing work carried out to ensure that the caravan is safe to be towed.

How would you be sure that the brakes work, the wheel bearings and hitch is ok or that there are no gas leaks?

If the owner has no proof of regular maintenance and you still want to buy the caravan make it a condition of the sale that the caravan is inspected or serviced by a competent technician before you pay any money otherwise you could risk more than

 

[Parksy]

I forgot to add, check the kerbweight of your car and make sure that you can legally tow the outfit.

Have a look at towing law

http://www.practicalcaravan.com/legal/index.html

 

[RayS]

Yoou don't actually say whether the van is at a dealers or private sale. If the former, pay at least some of the money on a credit (not debit) card, as this will give you some additional protection.

For servicing look for Approved Workshops - most of their adverts in the mags show a "tick" symbol logo. there are registered mobile service agents too who will come to your house, rather than you having to take the 'van to them

 

[robert_374417101]

Thankyou for your help. It was a private sale and and we took your advice and asked about servicing which it hadn't had in the last 4 years. We took this to be a risky purchase and they were not prepared for us to complicate things by asking that it had to have a service.I expect all may well have been fine but as complete beginners we want a certain level of assurity.We did use your other tests when having a look at some more vans over the weekend and that helped us enormously. We will have to keep looking. What do people think of the Lunar's? We have heard them called leaky Lunars but they fit the bill for weight and style for us.

 

[Guest]

No disrespect but at the price, and possible age range you are looking in, then there is a fair degree of risk. Think of it similar to the used car market. At that age it is possibly better to look at private ads rather than dealers because if you are lucky and can get someone's 'pride and joy' that is for sale because they are too old, then you can get a bargain. You will get a warranty of sorts from a dealer but actually getting them to abide by it, may be a lot of trouble. After all, they are not going to waste a lot of time and money for what in realistic terms, is a low return for them.

Is it possible for you to look a bit higher up the price chain? Then you will have access to a greater variety and of course hopefully a better chance of getting the van in great condition. At the moment ironically dealers are stating they are making good business because many people are deciding to take up caravanning as a cheaper alternative to going abroad, but there are mnay many vans out there and some good bargains to be had. Just keep looking and be patient.