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Gutted just doesnt do it justice really!

Its taken me years to persuade OH to let me have a van so when a friend was selling their 13 year old Sprite Muskateer for £1500 he said we could go and look.

As they were family friends I was too polite to start poking a damp meter about and as it didnt smell and was spotlessly clean we said we'd have it BBBBBBBIIIIIGGGGGG mistake FIL brought it to my house today and I was having a nosey about and boy is it DAMP!!

lower half of one wall is damp with the very bottom like a sponge!

Luckily we havent sent them the money yet so FIL is gonna ring and say we dont want it as we've discovered damp. My question is well two really if they say we could have it for £500 is it worth having and two should I expect damp in a caravan for only £1500??

Depends on how much damp there is and the amount of damage it has caused, and how handy you are at DIY.

Unless your answers to the above are `very little` and `very good` in that order, I would walk away. 

On the plus side Shaz ...you know all the ins and outs of nose weight and can bore the folks down the pub on it for weeks on end!!!!

Sorry to hear the outcome but hope that you can find the right little baby for you ASAP and get out there and enjoy some caravanning

regards

Phil

Personally I would leave it, but I wish you the very best, whatever you decide.

Jim

shaz, better to upset a mate than lose £1500 as if the van is rotten it is scrap. dont get downhearted though, i thought during my search that dry vans were like ghosts, everyone claims to have seen one but there is no proof. i found one eventually though.

that feeling of sitting in in on a nice night, glass of something in hand makes it worthwhile

Update on van

Well as I said before I havent sent them any money yet (was waiting for their address) so FIL has rang and told them the problem and to say they were very apologetic. I honest believe they did not know about the damp. They have had it about two years and in all that time have used it twice!

We told them we know longer wanted it as £1500 was too much to pay for something that really needed scrapping, unless you've got Wizards ability!!! (Funily enough it almost the same van he has on his website! Shame he doesnt live nearer) OH has said if they want to let it go for £400 we'll take it off their hands.

And yes I know you'll all probably say even £400 is too much but the way we figure it'll give us an idea if caravanning is for us and if not we could probably get a couple of hundred for the awning and not be too much out of pocket

x

hi there i think go for it, if you only get 1 yrs vanning and enjoy it, its a good buy, as if you decide to break it then youl make that money back in parts, we did the same we bought a van off our friends and never ended up using it as it was soooooo damp it was unusable, we spoke to our friends and got it very cheap, we then ended taking all bits out and selling all on  ebay and we made enough money to buy the van we have now, so all in all was a good buy, it did have cassette toilet, water heater, 3way fridge, shower, oven, hob, good condition seating, blinds, etc etc, we love our new to us van and we really enjoy our holidays away even if we only go 10 miles down the road, so go for it and do what you have to do, as long as the van is in a useable liveable state and is safe then once this yrs vanning is over break it or repair it, good luck

Thanks Gaynor

yes thats the plan though I'm thinking they may decide to sell it on ebay and hope that however bids for it wont be thorough in checking for damp!! Will be keeping an eye on it!

The van itself is spotless doesnt smell of damp at all and has cooker, toilet cassette, awning etc

Fingers crossed they let us have it

Hi Shaz

Learning from experience i would'nt buy from a friend or family member, If something goes wrong you dont want to cause friction.

But is your friend, a friend if they are selling you a damp van. Unless they didnt realise of course.

I am sure you will find a van to suit you and your family, goodluck.

Amy

well were back on the hunt.

After speaking to the owners of the van and offering them £500 to take the van off their hands they decided that they would have it back as their conscious would not allow them to sell it to us incase something happened.

Now call me cynical but with that extent of damp I'd be happy if someone offered me that money for it. I reckon they are gonna have a go at putting it on ebay and seeing what they can get for it, so I will be watching!!

I've been really upset all weekend as in my head I'd planned a couple of trips already and OH's car was in the garage having a very swish towbar fitted on friday.

So now we're back on the hunt and with a small budget something tells me its not gonna be easy!!