second hand or new

[ann_5075672]

Hi All

Being first time buyers we would like some advice on buying second hand or new (finances allowing). we need a 5 berth van, mainly for two of us but needing extra room for grandbabies etc, we thought either end dining would be more suitable. Please advise.

 

[Damian]

Hello Ann,

You may get all kinds of advice, but the most important thing to remember is that no one else has YOUR needs exactly, and what may be good for one person can be a nightmare for another.

Firstly, go on the web and order all the caravan brochures you like the look of. Whilst waiting for them to arive, write down exactly what you think you want, on a piece of paper.

When the brochures arrive, look through the specifications of the size van you want, and see if any match all your thoughts.

Now is the time to get out and about and go to as many dealers as you can and actually look at the vans, and see if they match your expectations.

One VERY important thing though, is to find out what your intended tow car is capable of towing,legally, as going for a bigger van may require a change of vehicle too.

As for buying, with a dealer at least you should get some kind of warranty on a secondhand van, you will get full warranty on a new van. Buying privately can be a shot in the dark, and risky if you dont know what to look for.

The main problems with private secondhand vans are: 1. Is it a stolen van? By checking the vans chasssis number with Cris you can find out(if its been registered).

2. Is there ANY sign of damp? a musty smell, or the owner having sprayed air freshener in the van just prior to your visit should ring alarm bells there.

3. Has it been serviced properly? do all the appliances work properly, are the tyres safe, how old are they?

There are lots of other things to ask or know what to look for, but this is a start.

Hope it helps you a bit.

 

[Damian]

Mark, there is not a specific programme for the TomTom for caravan routes. There used to be one on the AA website, but even this has been discontinued.

Having been in the exact same position as yourself last summer, Grand Espace and 7.2 mtr van on the back down a VERY narrow lane with hedges brushing each side of the van I know the nightmare.

However, if you get TomTom to give you the route to the site, then using the directions in the handbook, programme it to go via the suggested route from the nearest main road.

As with any nav system, it is an Aid, nothing more, and relies on common sense when things get difficult. Dont forget you can get TomTom to give alternative routes at the press of a button, or having ignored a direction, it will recalculate a new route in seconds.

 

[Damian]

Mark, there is not a specific programme for the TomTom for caravan routes. There used to be one on the AA website, but even this has been discontinued.

Having been in the exact same position as yourself last summer, Grand Espace and 7.2 mtr van on the back down a VERY narrow lane with hedges brushing each side of the van I know the nightmare.

However, if you get TomTom to give you the route to the site, then using the directions in the handbook, programme it to go via the suggested route from the nearest main road.

As with any nav system, it is an Aid, nothing more, and relies on common sense when things get difficult. Dont forget you can get TomTom to give alternative routes at the press of a button, or having ignored a direction, it will recalculate a new route in seconds.

sorry,somehow this ended in the wrong place

 

[ann_5075672]

Hello Ann,

You may get all kinds of advice, but the most important thing to remember is that no one else has YOUR needs exactly, and what may be good for one person can be a nightmare for another.

Firstly, go on the web and order all the caravan brochures you like the look of. Whilst waiting for them to arive, write down exactly what you think you want, on a piece of paper.

When the brochures arrive, look through the specifications of the size van you want, and see if any match all your thoughts.

Now is the time to get out and about and go to as many dealers as you can and actually look at the vans, and see if they match your expectations.

One VERY important thing though, is to find out what your intended tow car is capable of towing,legally, as going for a bigger van may require a change of vehicle too.

As for buying, with a dealer at least you should get some kind of warranty on a secondhand van, you will get full warranty on a new van. Buying privately can be a shot in the dark, and risky if you dont know what to look for.

The main problems with private secondhand vans are: 1. Is it a stolen van? By checking the vans chasssis number with Cris you can find out(if its been registered).

2. Is there ANY sign of damp? a musty smell, or the owner having sprayed air freshener in the van just prior to your visit should ring alarm bells there.

3. Has it been serviced properly? do all the appliances work properly, are the tyres safe, how old are they?

There are lots of other things to ask or know what to look for, but this is a start.

Hope it helps you a bit.

Thanks Damian, that is all very usefull, I will start ordering the brochures and enjoy browsing.

 

[RichardH]

Ann

welcome to the world of caravanning. I'm a newbie as we only bought our van in October and have only used it once. The way we decided what to buy was as follows

1) max budget (including odds and ends)

2) Berths (needed 4 but liked the layout of 5's)

3) Layout

4) Condition (ie Dampness etc)

5) Equipment level.

the order of those may be different for you but you can prioritise for yourself. we also went around a few dealers and looked at new and used vans to get a feel of what we liked and didnt like, time consuming yes but it is a fairly major investment.

 

[RichardH]

Ann

welcome to the world of caravanning. I'm a newbie as we only bought our van in October and have only used it once. The way we decided what to buy was as follows

1) max budget (including odds and ends)

2) Berths (needed 4 but liked the layout of 5's)

3) Layout

4) Condition (ie Dampness etc)

5) Equipment level.

the order of those may be different for you but you can prioritise for yourself. we also went around a few dealers and looked at new and used vans to get a feel of what we liked and didnt like, time consuming yes but it is a fairly major investment.

 

[mcghee]

Welcome to the world of caravanning Ann. I don't like to state the obvious, but your starting point has to be the weight of your car, and the max weight of van you can look at. If you're looking for a fairly big 5 berth and your car isn't that heavy you'll find you'll be better with an older van which will tend to be lighter. I would agree that a double ended van is the way to go if you take kids regularly, giving you and any guests free reign in the van once your kids are bedded. If you only have them once in a while you may find a side dinette would be better, giving you the option of a large end washroom, but this is dependent on having a child which could use a top bunk safely. I've always used a double ender which I feel gives more daytime flexibility, and often more storage space at the kids end. Hope you get on the road soon any way.

 

[cris_408518]

We got into caravans as we were given our first Swift due to my mother becoming disabled. WBuilding out house and with young kids and limited funds it provided us with many ggreat holidays. It was two berth and we had a pup tent in the awning and worked around what we had rather thab what we would have chosen.

Knowing that we can only use the vam a few times a year, we decidedm that with depreciation buying a new van would be financially stupid.

With our needs listed we hit the dealers when we wanted to update and bought a guaranteed used van, the dealer serviced the van and we never had a problem with it. When we replaced due to write off accident last year we bought our large Bailey privately, having taken note of guidance video on this web site and armed with damp meter we found our beauty a dream buy, as new with new unused awning and other unused new equipment. We got some features we would never have paid for buying new.

We saw some tat and found that the good vans get sold within 24 hours, often to dealers large and small.

Our vans previous owners fell out the 3 or 4 times they used it and their teenage kids refused too go with them and the van and the van was left in the garden in show room condityion with plastic covering still in place from new. Only problem has been with water pumps through lack of use.

I know many buy new, but I have better things too spend my money on as I don't use the van every month. And looking through this forum you can see that buying new does not mean th van will be trouble free or work ho you would expect.

 

[Wendy-Norfolk]

Hi Ann,

I would definately have a tour around the dealers to see what you actually get for your money, and which layout will suit your needs. As you are new to caravanning my advice would definately be to go for a good pre owned model - you never know, you may not like it, and it's a substantial outlay buying new, then suffering the depreciation of the van after a few months when selling it again. As already advised, you will need to take into consideration the type of car you are using to tow with. It's advisable to stick to the 85% rule, particularly when new to caravanning.

Good Luck

 

[ann_5075672]

Welcome to the world of caravanning Ann. I don't like to state the obvious, but your starting point has to be the weight of your car, and the max weight of van you can look at. If you're looking for a fairly big 5 berth and your car isn't that heavy you'll find you'll be better with an older van which will tend to be lighter. I would agree that a double ended van is the way to go if you take kids regularly, giving you and any guests free reign in the van once your kids are bedded. If you only have them once in a while you may find a side dinette would be better, giving you the option of a large end washroom, but this is dependent on having a child which could use a top bunk safely. I've always used a double ender which I feel gives more daytime flexibility, and often more storage space at the kids end. Hope you get on the road soon any way.

Thanks Craig for that info, the car we have is a Vauxhall Omega 3 ltr, which is currently heavy on petrol, but we are thinking of having it converted to gas before we start touring. We have looked on gov websites to see if they are still offering a grant to convert, but no such luck. You never know they might offer something after the next budget. re the layout, the more I rad and see I think the double dinette would be more suitable for our needs, when on our own we would leave one bed made up anyway.

PS Does anyone know if any gov grants will becoming available for conversion from petrol to gas?

 

[mcghee]

Thanks Craig for that info, the car we have is a Vauxhall Omega 3 ltr, which is currently heavy on petrol, but we are thinking of having it converted to gas before we start touring. We have looked on gov websites to see if they are still offering a grant to convert, but no such luck. You never know they might offer something after the next budget. re the layout, the more I rad and see I think the double dinette would be more suitable for our needs, when on our own we would leave one bed made up anyway.

PS Does anyone know if any gov grants will becoming available for conversion from petrol to gas?

Hi Ann. As it happens I run a gas Jeep and can wholeheartedly recommend lpg.As for grants, I think I'm right in saying these were only available for new cars, and I've never known of anyone ever getting one. Read all about lpg on a great site called go lpg.

 

[ann_5075672]

Hi Ann. As it happens I run a gas Jeep and can wholeheartedly recommend lpg.As for grants, I think I'm right in saying these were only available for new cars, and I've never known of anyone ever getting one. Read all about lpg on a great site called go lpg.

Cheers Craig, we will look that site up