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I am afraid that sort of money will only buy you an old van.  You would be looking at early to mid nineties at the most.  You will also find a lot of vans of that age do or have had water ingress issues so be prepared to look at loads.  I think it was Alan126 on here who looked at 50 odd before he bought!

As for it lasting until your dotage, depending on how old you are now this is unlikely for a van of this age unless it has been well looked after.

I would keep an eye on the local papers/Asda notice board for a couple giving up who have looked after their van well personally.  You could get a decent set up if you are prepared to watch and wait.

Good luck in your quest.

Ali

We originally started out with a budget of £2000, as it was always our intention to buy a caravan and then store it in SW France on our favourite site. However, we looked at lots of really dated vans with very colourful interiors that weren't for us at all. Some of the just smelled very old and damp.

By increasing our budget to £3500, we found the perfect van for us, and have bought a great awning to complete our set-up. We've replaced the carpet in the van for a more neutral colour, the upholstery was modern and well-maintained and everything else was spot-on. We've had it serviced by an independent specialist too. We're now ready to try caravanning in our van for the first time!

Good luck with your search. Keep an eye on EBay and Preloved, and also the adverts here on this site.

I had my dads old 1984 eldiss shamal some years ago, it was solidly built with no damp at all, sold it for £850 to a very happy buyer who still has it, so you can buy a good old van for not much money!!! but they are hard to find.

As mentioned you are looking at a 90's van, we picked ours up for that sort of money and its great, 5 berth, blown air, cassette loo etc (the loo sold it, lugging the old portapotti out did me in!). 

Don't buy from a dealer, you will pay £1000 over the top or it will be bodged, buy from a private seller, either ebay, autotrader or local paper, make a shortlist and go and nosey at them, check check and check for damp, poke all the wallboards right down to the bottom corners under the bunks if they are soft walk away. Sit in the seats, do you like the decor? does it feel cosey? its like buying a home, if it feels right it probably will be.

usually if the owner looks like he cares he probably has done! if the van is clean, polished and generally doesn't look abused you won't go far wrong, but check the damp!!! also check he has the paperwork!!!

good luck and remember that age is never against you! my mum and dad (75&77yrs) had 2 weeks touring ireland in a tent in May and are now in Abersoch for 6 wks in the caravan, dad has angina and mum has bone cancer, they still love it!!!

Were visiting them this weekend, she's the only woman I know who can cook a 3 course meal for 8 on a 2 burner gas stove!!!!

Hi Linda

We sold our 1997 5 berth Elddis Crown privately recently for £3500 - it was in very nice condition and we weren't interested in getting about £2k from a dealer for it.  Think snowy747 is right in that you'll probably be looking at an early '90's model for your budget, unless you are very lucky or know someone who is about to trade-in their older caravan to a dealer and can match the trade-in price.

The caravan we just bought had a porch awning with it, but we prefer a larger awning so we sold it on eBay with no problem.  My sister did the same thing last year so there is a market for them, but try and take pictures of it, check its condition out first, and offer postage as well as collection.  Would suggest you use it the first time you go away - you might be surprised and like it!  It is very handy for wellies / chairs / bikes / kiddies play area etc.

Take a good damp meter, check any service reports and if you really like a caravan but don't have someone who knows what to look out for, it might be worth a pre-purchase check - many mobile servicers will do this for about £90 and a trustworthy buyer won't object to you spending your own money to make sure you are getting a decent caravan for your money!

Good luck in your search!!! - we found our choice was quite limited in Scotland, but keep your eyes open, be prepared to travel, do a bit of research and watch a few things on eBay etc to see what things are selling for.

As for heating, our first caravan's gas fire was broken so we used a small oil-filled radiator - caravan was warm within 10 minutes and it was a bit safer with the kids.

As a wise man once said, why use your own gas when you are paying for EHU!!!

Heading off for our first trip in our new (to us) caravan on Friday - can't wait!!!