Hi all, the name is Paul living in Ireland and I am new to the forum. I am currently looking to buy a secondhand Going 350 4 berth caravan. At the moment I have only seen photographs before going to view and in fairness It looks very clean with a dampness cert (didn't know they existed) and a six month warranty. My only concern is that I noticed from the pictures that there appeared to be black mould around the outside edges. I asked for a video which in fairness he sent no problem and It appears to be sealer not mould. I have read that It should be soft which It is but It looks really roughly applied and I am surprised that It is black sealer on a white caravan. Should I be concerned? Thanks my hopefully new friends...
Novice looking for advice (on buying a caravan (-: )
- Thread starter Eire P
- Start date
Hello Paul,
Do not buy a secondhand caravan, until you have seen it in the flesh, and have thoroughly checked it out, possibly with a friend or relative who is experienced with caravans, I strongly suggests if you are dead set on a particular caravan, arrange to have it independently inspected by a professional service engineer and only agee to purchase if the inspection report comes back as good as you want it. Of course the seller is going to make it sound good, but as the buyer you need to ask all the questions before you agree to buy.
I am aware that you line in Ireland and that may well mean your legal rights will be differnt to England and Wales
Its a brand I'm not familiar with the brand, but I have discovered a question was posted back in 2004 almost exactly 20 years ago:-
forums.practicalcaravan.com
Do not buy a secondhand caravan, until you have seen it in the flesh, and have thoroughly checked it out, possibly with a friend or relative who is experienced with caravans, I strongly suggests if you are dead set on a particular caravan, arrange to have it independently inspected by a professional service engineer and only agee to purchase if the inspection report comes back as good as you want it. Of course the seller is going to make it sound good, but as the buyer you need to ask all the questions before you agree to buy.
I am aware that you line in Ireland and that may well mean your legal rights will be differnt to England and Wales
Its a brand I'm not familiar with the brand, but I have discovered a question was posted back in 2004 almost exactly 20 years ago:-
Going caravans
we are thinking of buying a going caravan, we have read two completely different reports on these vans and would like to hear from anyone who has bought one. what do you think of it? They seem such good value for money, we have only seen the brochure for them as the agent is in surrey.
Hi Prof, wow! Great job on locating that previous post identifying how old that model is. I hear what you are saying about seeing the van before purchase but was just trying to see If the sealer was an issue before I travel to inspect. I have been looking for a while for something reasonable as It wont be in regular use or long distance and am finding It a bit difficult to say the least to find something on the smaller side. The 20 year thing has me thinking that It may be a bit past Its best before date? Thanks for the reply by the way!!
Hi Eire P
I would without doubt always go and view a caravan first, and yes take someone with you who may have a bit of knowledge about DIY and associated issues, ideally get it professionally checked first.
As with everything it also depends on how much you plan to spend and how much you intend to use the caravan. In more ways than one I would say buying almost any second-hand caravan is a lottery, the chances are it will have something wrong with it and it will need repair and maintenance. No matter what anyone tells you a caravan of any age, if you intend to keep it for a good few years and get a good return out of it in terms of comfortable breaks away will need looking after and maintenance.
I may be preaching to the converted here but I genuinely would only spend what you are prepared to risk as buying a caravan comes with risks, yes those risks can be mitigated but still. As with everything it's buyer beware.
All that aside you can get some great caravans and if you are comfortable keeping on top of maintenance and understand they almost all will leak at some point, caravans a great way of enjoying some superb holidays and breaks away - caravaning is superb.
Enjoy the journey.
I would without doubt always go and view a caravan first, and yes take someone with you who may have a bit of knowledge about DIY and associated issues, ideally get it professionally checked first.
As with everything it also depends on how much you plan to spend and how much you intend to use the caravan. In more ways than one I would say buying almost any second-hand caravan is a lottery, the chances are it will have something wrong with it and it will need repair and maintenance. No matter what anyone tells you a caravan of any age, if you intend to keep it for a good few years and get a good return out of it in terms of comfortable breaks away will need looking after and maintenance.
I may be preaching to the converted here but I genuinely would only spend what you are prepared to risk as buying a caravan comes with risks, yes those risks can be mitigated but still. As with everything it's buyer beware.
All that aside you can get some great caravans and if you are comfortable keeping on top of maintenance and understand they almost all will leak at some point, caravans a great way of enjoying some superb holidays and breaks away - caravaning is superb.
Enjoy the journey.
Please don't make the mistake of thinking any caravan less than 20 years of age will be devoid of dampness issues..It would be my advice that if you can.find someone experienced in the caravan world to have them give it the once over or suggest to you who can...
Hope all works out ok ...Gary
Hope all works out ok ...Gary
Hi everyone, I am just glad that I shaved my hair off some years ago as It is avoiding the pain involved in pulling It out. The Going 350 was a close call as the guy was dodgy to say the least and the caravan was very badly and unprofessionally sealed. I am looking privately at another Going 350 or a Lunar Ariva from a dealer. Both look good from the pictures but the sleeping arrangement on the Going seems to be preferable as It is a 4 berth versus a 2 berth but I prefer the look of the Lunar and It comes with an awning. I dont know what to do as It is near impossible to view everything that comes up....Anyway this is turning out to be alot harder than I thought. Ahhhhhhgh
For clarity imo these Going units were not true caravans, more what we know as mobile pods. Some were unitary construction in GRP with no joints or seams at all
Sales started in 2003. Never seen one in the flesh.
Perhaps the OP could explain exactly what he is looking to purchase ? Maybe we all think caravan but a pod is slightly different?
Sales started in 2003. Never seen one in the flesh.
Perhaps the OP could explain exactly what he is looking to purchase ? Maybe we all think caravan but a pod is slightly different?
Hi Sir DD, thanks for the advice and should I take It that you are saying to avoid? If so have you any advice around the Lunar Ariva? I have never doubted my ability to make the right decision to this level before and Its driving me nuts!!
Some on here will put you off the Lunar, reason being they are defunct and getting spares for them is hard. I have a 2016 Lunar Venus and love it, never had any bother with it. Just read on here the horror stories of other makes and some of them are new vans. If you can go and view the lunar the build quality is 2nd to none, think you will be pleasantly surprised.
Hi Border Billy, thanks for that and I hear what you are saying. To view the Lunar will be a 5 hour round trip but I am finding It difficult locating small vans in general. It is from an established dealer with warranty and free delivery and I know everyone has said to check them personally but would I be crazy to think of buying based on It being a dealer rather than private sale? Trying to view even the small amount of suitable caravans that come up would be a full time job...
We took well over a year to decide on the type of caravan to go for, we had thinned it down to about three makers and styles. We would travel for hours to go to dealers, 150 mile away, only to reject the caravan for things such as a damp smell, in what was described as immaculate. Take your time.
And good luck.
I might consider buying a new caravan sight unseen, but second hand that is a recipe for failure.
Unlike some wines caravan never get better with age! when it comes to damp its more often than not when will a damp problem raise its head rather then if.
As I pointed out previously in this thread, I don't know the detail of your consumer rights where you live, but regardless of what rights you may have its far better to avoid issues if you can. its called Buyer Beware, and the law in most places expects the buyer to do all the necessary checking to ensure the goods will perform the task they want it for. So its up to you to ask all the questions and arrange all the necessary inspections before you agree to purchase.
Especially with second hand caravans its vital you see the condition first hand, and go armed with all the questions written down you can think of to ask the seller.
Under UK law anyone who claims or acts as a dealer is expected to exercise they specialised knowledge to help the customer, but you can't always trust that to be the case,
Consider that of there is a problem with a S/H caravan, you will have to return it to the seller to get it repaired. so I my view its not wise to deal with a distant seller because of the distance time and trouble.
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