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Hello from Bridgend.

I am completely new to the caravanning scene, I have been trawling the web for info over the past few weeks and am quite impressed with the general convivial nature of chat / conversation of the boards I have visited.  This has sort of convinced me that the decision to buy a caravan is a good idea.

I am going to look at a Elddis Typhoon GTX tomorrow and as a complete Noob would appreciate any hints or tips that you guys could give me.

Thanks in advance.

Henri Quest

Thanks millermicm, I will be buying a damp tester tomorrow on the way there. 

The car that will be doing the towing is a V70 T5 so there's not much that won't tow , I reckon the Volvo would pull my house if it had wheels.  I'll be doing the maths a bit later on but am pretty sure the car & caravan falls within the 85% ratio.

I am going to Tenby Tourers, he has a few caravans which look ideal starters.....

Hi, my last caravan was the Typhoon GT, your towing weights will be fine with the Volvo.

I have looked at the website you mentioned and have noticed on the bathroom picture there is some shadowing in the back corner of the shower area, this is exactly the same place our old caravan had damp, also check around the front windows in between the blind rails, also worth a look - stick your head right inside the front locker and look upwards using a torch as this area was also wet in our caravan before we resealed the front rails.

They are good caravans if they do not have damp and have a good specification for their age. 

Regards Janette

Free caravan price guide.

http://www.caravanpriceguide.com/index.html

Quote: Originally posted by Janette Rix on 27/7/2011

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Hi, my last caravan was the Typhoon GT, your towing weights will be fine with the Volvo.

I have looked at the website you mentioned and have noticed on the bathroom picture there is some shadowing in the back corner of the shower area, this is exactly the same place our old caravan had damp, also check around the front windows in between the blind rails, also worth a look - stick your head right inside the front locker and look upwards using a torch as this area was also wet in our caravan before we resealed the front rails.

They are good caravans if they do not have damp and have a good specification for their age. 

Regards Janette

 

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Well spotted  

When i spoke to the dealer yesterday he told me to expect a little bit of damp in caravans of this age, when questioned on its service history he also told me that caravans aren't serviced like cars and they don't generally come with a service history.  Is he telling the truth or is he lying like a cheap watch? 

Personally, I have my suspicions; I would not be happy letting my dogs and wife sleep in something that has gas appliances that have no service record.  Hmm, I've answered my own question haven't I?!?

Look at private sales you will get a better deal alot come with awnings and extras which tot up to quite a bit.Ebay is not a bad site but view before you bid.We had a good deal with ours.good luck in searching take your time and do the inspecting as others advise on here,

Click here and scroll down seven posts to one of my earlier posts covering the legals of buying a van. Many a first time buyer will look at the van and want it so much they forget the legals. Its how we buy things that often create problems for us afterwards.

Anyone who has properly cared for their van will have a full service history. Caravans should be serviced annually and if you want to keep the benefit of a warranty then it has to be serviced annually. If the van you are after is less than five years old it should have a full service history. If it hasn't then err very much on the side of caution. Its a lot of money to pay out and you only find problems after you get it home and not at the dealerships.

Make sure that you get certificates for the safety of the gas and electrical appliances. Even if they have not been serviced by the previous owner the dealer should be checking those items and getting the certificates anyway.

Convince yourself that you will not buy the first one you see. You may do and can have many happy years with it. But be cautious, too many tales on here of folk who have bought iffy vans. There are also many tales of very happy customers. As I say, its how you buy that really matters

Phil

Quote: Originally posted by rush768 on 28/7/2011

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We bought a five year old caravan from a dealer and it came with a full service record. The handbook has spaces for the service to be logged each year, and we also got the check list sheets for each year just like you do for a car service . I think most service engineers now put a sticker on the drawbar to show that the 'van has been serviced. I suppose we were lucky to have bought a caravan which had a previous owner who made sure that all the documentation was kept up to date. If you can actually see the damp.....well, personally I'd steer well clear!
David

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Last night one of the sales guys told me the van was for sale at £2.7k, today I called knowing that the first sales guy was out and the price according to the 2nd sales guy was £3.7k.  Get this, apparently if there's no damp in the van then there's a warranty of 3 months - if, however, there maybe a problem that could be expensive to repair then they don't offer a warranty.  There is, allegedly no damp on this van....   neither is there a warranty.  I'm looking elsewhere.

It seems unfortunately, that caravan sales people are as scrupulous as car sales people.  Rose tinted glasses are off along with the gloves.

Quote: Originally posted by cwdc56768 on 28/7/2011

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Click here and scroll down seven posts to one of my earlier posts covering the legals of buying a van. Many a first time buyer will look at the van and want it so much they forget the legals. Its how we buy things that often create problems for us afterwards.

Anyone who has properly cared for their van will have a full service history. Caravans should be serviced annually and if you want to keep the benefit of a warranty then it has to be serviced annually. If the van you are after is less than five years old it should have a full service history. If it hasn't then err very much on the side of caution. Its a lot of money to pay out and you only find problems after you get it home and not at the dealerships.

Make sure that you get certificates for the safety of the gas and electrical appliances. Even if they have not been serviced by the previous owner the dealer should be checking those items and getting the certificates anyway.

Convince yourself that you will not buy the first one you see. You may do and can have many happy years with it. But be cautious, too many tales on here of folk who have bought iffy vans. There are also many tales of very happy customers. As I say, its how you buy that really matters

Phil

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The van has to be fit for purpose and free from defects and so should not really have any damp (unless they sell it to you with an express  sale condition  listing all of its defects)

Under the Sale of Goods Act,( as amended by the Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 2002)  if a defect arises during the first six months since the date your purchase, you are entitled to demand a replacement or a repair.  The law actually assumes that the dealer made the error rather than that you creted the damp!!! So a three month warranty hardly conforms to the dealers legal obligations under the law. These three month warranties have always suggested to me that we have an iffy dealer. Giving you a six month warranty is merely recognising the dealers obligations in law and so they should give at least that. If the dealer offers a longer warranty for a second hand van then that is the dealer you want to deal with

Phil

Quote: Originally posted by cwdc56768 on 28/7/2011

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The van has to be fit for purpose and free from defects and so should not really have any damp (unless they sell it to you with an express  sale condition  listing all of its defects)

Under the Sale of Goods Act,( as amended by the Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 2002)  if a defect arises during the first six months since the date your purchase, you are entitled to demand a replacement or a repair.  The law actually assumes that the dealer made the error rather than that you creted the damp!!! So a three month warranty hardly conforms to the dealers legal obligations under the law. These three month warranties have always suggested to me that we have an iffy dealer. Giving you a six month warranty is merely recognising the dealers obligations in law and so they should give at least that. If the dealer offers a longer warranty for a second hand van then that is the dealer you want to deal with

 

Phil

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Phil,

Lots of legal information there, i can probably guess your occupation

I have just spoken with a very nice lady at Ennis in Swansea and she has a Sterling Europa 520 for a tad under £4k with a warranty etc., so I think i'll be having a look at that.