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Hi

A very nervous newbie here. We have been looking at lots of caravans and trying to get a good deal. We have seen a  1995 Swift Fairway 490 which was ideal and lovely condition compared to others we have seen so we were v keen to purchase.

However, on second viewing we found a damp spot under the seats at the back of the caravan. It was a spongy area against the corner of about a square ft and on the outside in the same place there was also a slight spongy area and the aluminium was warped in a few places around this. The rear light was also cracked.

Anyhow, in our excitement of finding something we really wanted we negotiated a deal of £3350....they were asking £3850 and that includes almost everything you could think of that we'd need. We've left a deposit of £100.

I suppose I'm just worried that the damp area we discovered is going to be a disaster. We need this caravan to last 5 years plus for family holidays.

Would we be foolhardy to buy this or is there anything else we could do to check it out? Unsurprisngly we cannot afford to buy another if this all goes wrong.

Any help or advice anyone could give us would be much appreciated.

Hi and welcome to the forum, that price seems a bit high to me i guess you are buying from a dealer? The best thing about buying from a dealer is the warranty you should get with it make sure it includes water ingress/damp and get it tested by a mobile repair and try knock them down or atleast get them to pay half the cost of the mobile damp test then use the findings as bartering tools, if theres nothing wrong it will put your mind at rest. there are some good deals to be had for that sort of money buying private.

Are you able to get a caravan engineer to look over it for you? Not too sure about the cost of this,but it could save you a fortune if he was to say not in your interests to buy. He could also tell you that it is easily repairable etc.  You can find one in your area by looking at this website http://www.mobilecaravanengineers.co.uk/

Good luck.

as others have stated , a lot of money for an old van with a damp issue, we bought our little 2 berth just over a year ago, 1992 model, no damp ,only paid £400 for her, i think you could get a younger, dry 'van for your money

£3350 seems very expensive for a 1995 model and only reduced by £500 for the damp you've found so far, when the repair work would cost a lot more than that even if it' done by yourself.

I would look for another caravan, our 1994 Elddis cost us £1500 2yrs ago incl full awning with annexe.

Good luck.

oh dear.....I suppose you are just saying what we've been thinking since. And we've gone and put a deposit on it :-(

This is a private sale. We have looked at alot now and thought the price was good for the condition and the extras.....we've seen some dreadful caravans for the same sort of price so thought this was alot better than those. maybe we should keep looking? Going to be an awkward conversation with the couple- they were really nice!

We need a 5 berth....not sure if that makes a difference to the price???

We want to spend £3500 max on a 5 berth....what sort of age should we be able to get?

Really appreciate all the help here.....feeling rather despondent and  daft.

Don't feel daft, at least you didn't part with the cash, I agree with the others that it's way overpriced, we paid 1k for an immaculate 1991 Buccaneer with everything thrown in, there are definitely bargains to be had out there.

The number of berths shouldnt make a difference to the price, what year you get for the money really depends on which make of van it is, how much is thrown in & condition but I'd be looking at at least a '98 for that.