I just wondered if anyone could give us some advice please. We are hoping to buy our first caravan within the next week and have spent quite a lot of time looking at what we can get to meet our needs and budget.
We've found a Fleetwood Colchester 520 2003 model which looks the part - it has a bed at the end but this turns into a dining table. I like the idea of a bed in addition to the one made up from the seating area, as I'm the 'early to bed, early riser' type, whereas my other half is the opposite!
The caravan has all it's documentation, is HPi Clear and Cris Registered (has registration document).
Is there anything else I should be checking or considering seeing as we are first time buyers? Does anyone have any advice on this make of caravan or any experience of owning one?
Oh and can anyone suggest what sort of money we should be spending on our first van? We started off with a budget of 2k but have risen it quite a bit as we found the vans in this price range were more dated than what we would like, so are now looking at ones from the years 2000-2003?
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Have you got a damp meter? So many second hand 'vans can have damp which can be costly to have repaired though cheaper to repair yourself but then it will be a long job. If it's got damp then walk away and find one without.
Hi we bought our first van 4 months ago which is a 02 fleetwood and at the time was worried that fleetwoods arent made anymore, But after researching for a few weeks and posting on different fourms I went ahead and havnt looked back.
If you buying private check for damp and if from a dealer make sure you get a wrty.
If from a dealer ask for a delamination report as well as damp report. Delamination occurs in the floor which is made of plywood - expensive to put right >£300 for moderate repairs.
Doug, the kit for delamination is only £30 plus 2 days of graft if you are okay ay DIY so not the end of the world, would rather have dry walls and a spongy floor, okay ideally you want dry walls and solid floor but it isnt the end of the world