Message Forums

We are currently campers of the tent variety but we are thinking of upgrading to a caravan.  We have a budget of £5000 and want a 6 berth caravan with fixed bunk beds at the back and..... with possibly a full awning and all the kit and...... as modern and new as possible !!!! :-)

Are we being realistic for the money or are we onto a road to nowhere with the budget?? 

Complete novice at all this malarky!!!!!

Also forgot to ask - should we try to buy privately eg Ebay etc or go to a dealer??  And which dealer and where?  We live in Deryshire, we've been to have a look at Glossop Caravans but they only have new ones of the above and these are way out of our budget.

Thanks

Thanks everyone for the sound advice - I think the best thing we can do is use the tent for the summer but keep looking and buy later in the year, that way we can keep saving and hopefully increase the budget.

What do you think we could reasonably expect for this kind of money??

Axx

Probably a model around 2000/2001, I'd be surprised if you find anything newer than that that is half decent but you never know.

You need to have a good damp meter, sharpen the prongs and check over every inch of it.  Remember some manufacturers have gone out of production, Avondale and Fleetwood being 2 of the recent casualties, so whilst the fixtures and fittings might be replaceable, getting replacement panels and items specific to these manufacturers may pose a problem so bear that in mind.

Ali

We bought a 4 berth swift 10 years old last December with £800 awning and starter kit for £4000. Should have been £5,500!. By the time I had the tow bar and other bits we have probably spent £5k. I would recommend waiting until Nov / Dec as the dealers are falling over themselves to sell then.

Good luck

 we searched and searched for a 6 berth, our original budget was going to be £3500, and we just wanted an upgrade from our 20 year old 4 berth lunar, but after upping the budget lots and still not finding anything decent we fell in love with a 26 foot 4 berth with fixed double, so the kids are going in the awning lol.

 we found that by changing the required layout we managed to get a much newer van , in fact it still looks very much like brand new, and we are over the moon.

 ended up spending over £5000 but are well happy

We looked for ages to find our current 'van for under £2000 but eventually found one.  So they are out there but it can seem as if you will never find one.  We found ours on auto trader. 

But be warned i like so many others couldn't resist the urge to get a new one lol and we are awaiting our new "baby" to be "born".  The Bailey Ranger GT60 540/6.

So my advise would be to buy a cheap one, and i mean really cheap, to start off with and save the rest for the new one that you just won't be able to resist lol.

We know that the layout of our new caravan will definetly fit us as we have tried out 2 other 'vans 1st.

Good Luck whatever you decide to do...

Try looking at the more less obvious makes. We like you were looking for a Van last yrwith a budget of between 5 - 7K with all trimmings. Nothing out there caught our eye and all second hand van from reputable dealers were much dearer for a 2-4 yr old van. We would not have bought our van if a call of nature had not arisen. We were at Campells in Lostock Hall (nr Preston). A quick look round the new vans (as you do) and low and behold. love at first sight, and Adria (new van) for 8.6K 5 berth with upgrade to 6 possible. After quick chat to the wife and haggling with the salesman, and £500 deposit, an new van was purchased for 8K. OK is not main stream and it looks like Ikea on wheels inside, we have had not problems and been away three times since getting it and over new year where everything froze. 

So you can find then out there is just a matter of looking and evaluating budgets. We had a mover etc fitted so upped the price but still miles cheaper than a 2005 bailey, Lunar, Elddis etc.

Happy hunting its just good fun.

Chris W

Quote: Originally posted by TrigGLX on 12/5/2009

---

Try looking at the more less obvious makes. We like you were looking for a Van last yrwith a budget of between 5 - 7K with all trimmings. Nothing out there caught our eye and all second hand van from reputable dealers were much dearer for a 2-4 yr old van. We would not have bought our van if a call of nature had not arisen. We were at Campells in Lostock Hall (nr Preston). A quick look round the new vans (as you do) and low and behold. love at first sight, and Adria (new van) for 8.6K 5 berth with upgrade to 6 possible. After quick chat to the wife and haggling with the salesman, and £500 deposit, an new van was purchased for 8K. OK is not main stream and it looks like Ikea on wheels inside, we have had not problems and been away three times since getting it and over new year where everything froze. 

So you can find then out there is just a matter of looking and evaluating budgets. We had a mover etc fitted so upped the price but still miles cheaper than a 2005 bailey, Lunar, Elddis etc.

Happy hunting its just good fun.

Chris W

---

Could I ask when you got your Adria from.  I am trying to find a local dealer in the Northwest with either a 2008 Adria Altea 542Uk or 2009 Adria Altea 542DT, but I cannot find anything about.  I could possibly travel for one, but people that have then are wanting £11k for them with nothing thrown in. If I could get one for around the 9k mark that would be fantastic!!

Quote: Originally posted by robsonalan on 12/5/2009

---

Quote: Originally posted by TrigGLX on 12/5/2009

---

Try looking at the more less obvious makes. We like you were looking for a Van last yrwith a budget of between 5 - 7K with all trimmings. Nothing out there caught our eye and all second hand van from reputable dealers were much dearer for a 2-4 yr old van. We would not have bought our van if a call of nature had not arisen. We were at Campells in Lostock Hall (nr Preston). A quick look round the new vans (as you do) and low and behold. love at first sight, and Adria (new van) for 8.6K 5 berth with upgrade to 6 possible. After quick chat to the wife and haggling with the salesman, and £500 deposit, an new van was purchased for 8K. OK is not main stream and it looks like Ikea on wheels inside, we have had not problems and been away three times since getting it and over new year where everything froze. 

So you can find then out there is just a matter of looking and evaluating budgets. We had a mover etc fitted so upped the price but still miles cheaper than a 2005 bailey, Lunar, Elddis etc.

Happy hunting its just good fun.

Chris W

---

Could I ask when you got your Adria from.  I am trying to find a local dealer in the Northwest with either a 2008 Adria Altea 542Uk or 2009 Adria Altea 542DT, but I cannot find anything about.  I could possibly travel for one, but people that have then are wanting £11k for them with nothing thrown in. If I could get one for around the 9k mark that would be fantastic!!

---