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A friend of my saw a 2003 Bailey Vendee for sale in the free ads newspaper for £6950 or thereabouts.  He phoned and spoke to a person who said that they had purchased the caravan in February but then decided they would prefer to buy a static hence the reason for the sale.  The person said his son was handling the sale and would meet them at an address which was supplied. 

My friend drove up on Saturday and arrived at the place looking for a house when a young man jumped out of a car parked in the cul de sac and ask if my friend if he was the one for the caravan.  He then took my friend to the field adjacent to the road where the caravan was parked all on its own with a hookup to a nearby barn.  The father was no where to be seen.  My friend looked at the caravan and it seemed in quite good condition and after a bit of haggling negotiated a price of £6350.  My friend told the son that he would return on the Monday with the cash to pay for the caravan.

He then spoke to me about it and I advised that something did not seem right as statements made by the son seemed to contradict what was said on the phone.  Minor things I agree.  I advised my friend to obtain the CRIS number and do a check on it.  On trying to phone the seller on numerous occasions on the Sunday to get the CRIS number the phone was not answered although my friend tried up to about 8 pm.  I have advised that unless he gets the CRIS number and verifys the caravan, he should walk away.  Not many people would drop £600 on a 2003 caravan in reasonably good condition.  The niggling thing is why was it in a field and why was the seller waiting in a car for someone to arrive.  It may be genuine, but too many ifs!

What is your opinion? Have I advised correctly?  I also advised him that due to a large number of caravans being flood damaged, it may be preferable to go to a reputable dealer as a least you have a year's guarantee and there should be no flood damage.  .

Does sound a bit odd I have to say.  Having said that our van was in a field BUT it was on a farm and we went into the farmhouse and they guy is well known in the area.  Your advice is sound and without an HPI and CRIS check I wouldn't touch it.

Ali

I would definately do a CRiS check - its £14.95, I am just in the process of buying a stolen recovered van and the CRiS is my peace of mind to know that it is stolen recovered and not just stolen! Also the fact that the guy wasn't at his home address is another cause for concern. I had a similar situation a couple of months ago, my suspicions were aroused pretty much straight away and i took a sneaky pic of the CRiS number on my phone and went straight from the site to the police station - just happened that a member of the Stolen Vehicle Squad was in reception as I reported it and he accompanied me back the following day and arrested the guy - turns out the van was nicked and the guy was known to the police.

The only thing that doesn't really raise an eyebrow is the fact that the price dropped so much - I have been looking for a van for the last three months or so and I have noticed that caravans just are not selling at the moment. I would pretty much put this down to the 'orrible summer we have had. I have been comparing prices from March's Caravan Trader and the lastest issue - some of the drops are as much as 20%!! . Think I will start another thread on this - save hijacking this one.

CRIS check evrytime even from a dealer for second caravans you never know

It's not the price for me it's the "location".

I wouldn't buy anything from anyone to whom I couldn't trace it back.

Meeting around the corner and taken to a field?

Do me a favour!
Will

The CRIS registration number is always 'tattooed' on the windows - and so you should be able to write it down when viewing any van, and then check with CRIS at your convenience before handing over any money.

Update as promised.  My friend phone CRIS and when he told them that the caravan was not registered in the name of the current owner, they told him to walk away and that was before he gave the the RIS number.

Anyway he phoned back a little later and spoke to another person who took the CRIS number, checked it and it came up all clear of HP and also not nicked.  He got on the phone straight away to the seller, advised he was on his way to collect the caravan and is now the proud owner of a 2003 Bailey Pageant Vendee is excellent condition including a full awning for under £6500!

If I am not mistaken as the caravan has two years left on the water ingress warranty, can he have the warranty changed into his name for the remaining period?  I think I read that it only costs £25.

I think the transfer of warranty only applied to Baileys made after 2005.  Before that they were non transferable.

What a strange carry on though, still if it all checked out ok good luck to him!

Ali