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yep, got mine on eBay.  Done loads of research first so know exactly what make and model I wanted.  Took a damp meter and gave it a really good check to ensure everything was working BEFORE I bid.

I must have been lucky because it was the first one on eBay I was interested in.

I know that there have been some horror stories about buying on eBay, but I don't think it's any different from buying privately using any of the caravan sales website

The one we bought on Ebay had damp everywhere.Go and look at the caravan if you can and check behind seats, under windows etc. Take a damp detector with you,it will help but it's not foolproof unless you use one of the professional ones.

  We bought one from a large dealer a few years ago and that had lots of damp.We have a brand new one now and we even asked for a damp test on that before we took it home.

Got mine on eBay 18 months ago, did detailed inspection and checked all paperwork before bidding but got an A1 van with no faults at all and none reported at the two services I have had done. Just needed new tyres.

Did view some rubbish ones first though.

I have just picked my van up......bought from ebay, b-i-l looked at it for me as it was a long trek for me but only 4 miles from where he lives........really nice van considering it's age, well looked after,and we are very pleased with our purchase.

Beware tho', take your time when viewing as we had seen lots of bad, bad vans that had been described as wonderful!

Also beware the scammers, there's lots out there.

Lin

We got our M/home off Ebay at a bargain,had to travel from Nottingham to poole,he accepted my offer,but I said I would not hand over the cash if it was not as he said it was,he agread and it was a snip for us,and as he had said.and I did take a D/metre with me and it showed there was none.

I have a review on E-bay covering this subject.

It is called "how to (or not) buy a caravan"  It is a lighthearted but true account of peoples perceptions of 'quality'

It is purely a story of the things we found while looking at caravans in various parts of the country.

The first 'van was wetter than a lamp-post near a dogs home. Smelled like one too.

After a costly repair and resale we bought a second and still have it now. Old but comfy and dry and warm.

Make sure you look before you buy as the transaction is a mostly one way exchange of your hard earned cash.

we`ve bought 4 off ebay now , one a spares or repair job that we did up and sold at a decent profit.not found anything nasty lurking below the surface on any of the good ones.like buying from anywhere you have a good poke about and go through the paperwork,if you smell a rat, you walk as theres thousands of vans out there.

Cant get my head round people who commit to spend thousands on something they have only seen a photo of then complain when they get it home thats theres problems with it.

if you want a van off ebay go look first , even if its 200 miles trip,if its  good price and a good van its worth it.

we just sold our elddis on the bay last week, the guy came and collected on saturday,he took my word it was ok as he didnt offer to look first but i gave him the option of walking away if he felt it was not as described in the advert.

going back to the damp thing, if you describe your van as "having no damp" in an advert and a buyer takes it to a dealer for service the next day and they find its riddled with damp you could find yourself in bother for mis-representation.maybe best not to mention anything about damp unless you are 100% sure or have a very recent damp report in front of you

we've just bought our first ever van unseen off ebay, a 1981 elddis.

we didn't want to pay a lot for our first van, thinking we'd give it a whirl to see if caravanning's for us. we watched a fair few for a couple of weeks and this one came up pretty local. couldn't believe it when we won the auction at £186. before we collected her we were thinking of running her for a year then upgrading but on inspection she's sound as a pound, had hot water supply retro fitted, clean and tidy inside and out. she had one little leak at the front end which we've sealed but is otherwise as dry as a bone.

we took the risk of buying unseen due to the low price but i know if we [i]were[/i] going to upgrade to a newer more expensive van, we'd definately view it before bidding

We're about to put ours on eBay.  Nothing wrong with it that we know, had a service in July and he would have noticed any faults (he was here 4 hours!).

It's just that eBay gives you the opportunity to advertise to thousands of people - with photos.  I think you should still carry out the same checks as if you were buying through any other advertising method, especially if spending thousands.

We will welcome any inspections - that will be in the ad - as we have previously sold cars and a caravan on Ebay with no problem.

Exactly what Arvonia said look before you buy and trust no one

 S