Potential buyer seeking advice

[D_374408980]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking to purchase my first caravan, budget is 5-6k. There are 2 of us so a 2 berth would suffice.

Towing wise, shouldn't be a problem, own a L200 with 2.8t rear hook.

The question I have is - if buying from a dealer surely you should be able to check all the installed items in the van prior to purchase, even if you have to bring your own gas bottle.

The reasoning behind this is the dealer can provide a PDI check for an amount of cash - I'm a mechanic by trade so all the running gear & coupling I can check, even the electrical side.

So, is it feasible to ask the dealer to hook it up so you can check the items?

Thanks in advance

Dave

 

[Mel]

Can't answer your question, but i wonder if you are asking cos you want to be absolutely sure its all OK, or you think that maybe the dealer will charge you less. If its the latter my guess would be that the dealer will let you check what you can but I doubt they will charge you less and I doubt that they will let you in their workshop. I could be wrong though.

mel

 

[MagsAlan]

When we collected ours it was hooked up to the electricity, the heating was on, the lights were on, there was water in the hot water system and toilet.The gas was on so we could check the cooker lit ok. Could have camped out in it there and then.

 

[MagsAlan]

When we collected ours it was hooked up to the electricity, the heating was on, the lights were on, there was water in the hot water system and toilet.The gas was on so we could check the cooker lit ok. Could have camped out in it there and then.

Should have said, that was at a nationwide dealership, York branch.

 

[MagsAlan]

When we collected ours it was hooked up to the electricity, the heating was on, the lights were on, there was water in the hot water system and toilet.The gas was on so we could check the cooker lit ok. Could have camped out in it there and then.

should have said, that was at a nationwide dealership, York branch.

 

[JON2515]

Its normally the case that when you go to collect the caravan, as the other reply, any good dealer should talk you through all the services including the electrics, gas, water heater, fridge, toilet, road lights, etc, before you leave - so it should be hooked up to the mains electricity and to a water and gas supply - I take a check list myself and make sure I have a good look round the van in my own time - dont be rushed - take an experienced caravanner with you if possible its well worth it

 

[D_374408980]

What I was getting at is;

the dealers workshop 'apparently' perform all checks including removal of wheels to check the shoes & seals etc.

As a mechanic I would probably be more qualified to make that judgement than 'the bloke' in the dealers shed.

Yes, ultimately I don't want to give my money away.

Cheers

Dave

 

[ValA.]

Are you asking if you can check a whole load of vans - ie all those you may be thinking of buying? Or do you just want to check out the van you've selected, before you offer to purchase? Perhaps they may allow you to test the oven, heater, and so on, but I can't imagine that a dealer will allow you to go around the forecourt taking the wheels off, and checking the brakes, and so on, on a whole range of vans.

I personally can't see you saving any money - they won't forgo all the checks anyway, because they'll want to make sure from their point of view that everything is safe before actually selling the van.

If you were buying from a private individual I can see this being more likely but I bet many people still wouldn't be keen to let you take their precious caravan wheels off!

 

[Parksy]

Hi Dave

If you bought a caravan from a dealership it's quite feasible to ask for a demonstration of the caravan systems by connecting gas, electricity and water.

I can't imagine any dealer allowing you to check running gear,brakes etc. on their premises or removing wheels. Have a look at the tyres and do a visual inspection, ask for evidence that the caravan has been serviced regularly and check the CRiS number etched into the windows for the year of manufacture. Click onto the towsafe hpi guide to buying a used caravan in the blue panel on this webpage and have a surf on the Home page of this website for more information about buying used. You would be better off looking for evidence of damp before you buy, it's a more likely scenario in a used caravan than faulty brakes.

A caravan bought from a dealers should carry a guarantee which could vary from a couple of months onwards so the running gear should be ok although you can always check for yourself when you take the caravan home.

 

[Damian]

Simply put, when buying a van from a dealer you should have the water, gas and electric available for the items to be shown to you in working order.

You would not be afforded the facilities or time to do a full service, as this would entail about 4 to 5 hours as per the NCC service schedule.

You say "the dealers workshop 'apparently' perform all checks including removal of wheels to check the shoes & seals etc."

They do not "apparently" do any work, if they have checked the service schedule as to having performed that particular check, then it HAS been done.

Unless you have the right tools to remove, and more importantly replace the hub nuts then you are in a quandry as to how to do it , on your own, in a dealers yard.

Of course having the right sized hub nuts is another problem.

As a mechanic you are, unless working on caravan braking systems, not more qualified than the engineer in the dealer workshop

If you are not 16th or now 17th edition electrically qualified then you cannot check the electrics to the current standard, same applies to the gas side, unless you know what you are doing, the pressure test values, let by values and leak test values then you are no wiser having just looked at the system.

Unless you know the flame characteristics of LPG and preferably backed up by a flue gas analysis, then you have no idea what your appliances are producing.

Just a few things to think about

 

[Damian]

Forgot to mention, towing with a L200 wil invalidate any warranty as it is classed as a commercial vehicle and is excluded for warranty claims as the suspension gives far too harsh a feedback to the van.

 

[D_374408980]

Hi Folks,

thanks for your replies.

You all seem to be missing what I'm trying to get at & for some reason jumping on what I would call a negative bandwagon. Great way to welcome someone into the caravan world eh?

Anyway back to the subject.

I've been to a few dealers offering cut down prices, i.e. lower price if you don't take PDI & warranty etc.

Now I'm not saying that I want to take the wheels off in the dealers yard BUT are you actually sure that they do? After all do you see them? There are proven methods for testing handbrakes & wheel bearing without removal of the whells.

I was more getting at the testing of the installed items prior to purchase. i.e. everything hooked up & available to be tried.

Looking back at your posts, I think I can say that you have all saved me in the region of approximately

 

[Parksy]

I'm not trying to be negative Dave but if you buy a caravan from a dealership without any pdi or guarantee from them you may as well save even more money and buy from an online auction such as e bay instead.

With no guarantee etc you're in effect buying 'sold as seen' and if you subsequently discovered something amiss with any of the systems on the caravan it would be extremely difficult to prove that it hadn't happened since you took delivery of your caravan.

The dealer would simply shrug his shoulders and invite you to 'see him in court' and by waiving the pdi and guarantee you have waived your rights for a couple of hundred quid.

I'm sorry that you feel that you've been made to feel unwelcome and perhaps the experienced caravanners on this forum are telling you something that you don't want to hear but the whole point of buying your caravan from a reputable dealership and paying that bit extra is for peace of mind because the dealer or his qualified employee is stating that your caravan was inspected by them and is of merchantable quality.

 

[ValA.]

If you're interested in checking the appliances before you buy - then all caravan dealers should allow you to do this. If you want to save money by checking other things yourself, then you may save yourself

 

[xtrailman]

When we bought our new van in 2004, see asked to see everthing working before we parted with our cash.

No problem, dealer had electric, water, and gas all connected.

And showed us how everthing worked.

 

[Zafiral]

Damian - Do you really think that every used van gets a once over by a 17th ed qualified electrician?? Most dealers have to get one in to certify an external 13A socket so if all used vans get seen by a 17th ed bloke that would be full time.

D is only looking to check the van, not install a new circuit.

The fact that your warranty is nulled by towing with a L200 is a shock too. I am sure (correct me if I am wrong) the CC magazine have done a few tests with one.

 

[Damian]

The question was about checking everything, and the NCC AWS requires that AWS workshops have a 16/17th edition electician to check the electrics.

Not all dealers are NCC AWS, so no, not every dealer will abide by the rules, but that is their prolm if anything goes wrong and it can be poven that they failed to carry out proper testing.

AS for towing with commercial vehicles, it is not just the L200 but any commercial vehicle and has been for a very long time.

Just because a magazine does an article on a particular vehicle does not mean that it is automatically a good towing vehicle.

The only definitive answwer is in the small print of the caravan warranty conditions,if it says no commercials, then thats what it means and I have not seen any of the major makes of van without the rider relating to towing with commercials.

 

[Zafiral]

Sorry I stand corrected.

BTW, from a main dealer, should the caravan electric be checked by a 16/17th ed at every service?

 

[xtrailman]

Where i had our van serviced, the fitter told me that he didn't usually check the brakes on the first service.

I doubt that the electrics will even get looked at, only after first installation would i expect this to tested and certified