Hi, I'm just about to buy an Avondale Grampian 1991 - with sloping windows. Thanks to all posts which have enabled me to identify it as the owners couldn't! I've got the 17 chassis number but it starts with S/N then SGA etc They don't have any form of ownership proof or is that normal for caravans of this age?
I've got to collect it in the next couple of days, so hope someone can tell me what I should need. (The full chassis no is also on the windows and indicates it's N reg)
Cheers
N is 1992 - the only people that have and keep full paperwork seem to be the Germans. You can check this van and register it with CRiS, they will be able to tell you if the van is stolen or if there is any HP outstanding on it or if it has been written off by insurance.
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Difficult to check if it ain't Cris reg, you will have to pay for a Cris check. Certainly the present owner might be above board & owned the 'van for yrs but of course that don't mean it ain't been stolen earlier in it's life.
Normally if you buy a caravan of this age or older, you won't expect any official proof of ownership & you don't do anything silly like contacting Cris after you have bought it.
My current caravan is Nov 1992 so I can confirm the N reg bit above. My CRIS paperwork states it was first registered in 1993. The N part refers to the date it came off the production line.
So in my example my caravan was made in Nov 92, and got brought by its first owner and registerd with CRIS in early 93. Hope this explains it better for you.
If the caravan is a good one, I would fully expect proof of ownership in the form of a CRIS registration certificate, and also all the manuals etc. I have it for mine and its the same age!
Quote: Originally posted by Chowey007 on 20/10/2010
If the caravan is a good one, I would fully expect proof of ownership in the form of a CRIS registration certificate, and also all the manuals etc. I have it for mine and its the same age!
I think if a was built several years before CRiS came in and likely on it's second owner then there is a good chance it was never registered retrospectively. This does not mean there is a problem with the ownership. I agre that having all the manuals is a good sign. as would some service history/bills showing address of current keeper for last few years.
Also where has it been viewed? If at a private house of the owner another positive sign.
As others have siad, if you buy a van of this age without paperwork but use common sence in the checking of any ownership evidence available you should be ok. It's then up to you if you pay for CHiS registration as there is a small chance this could flag up an issue.
The next four characters comprise of a number allocated by the factory; 2356, and then the build number makes up the last three characters. So for instance a VIN number of SGCS000CLT2356010 would show the caravan as a single axle 1996 model build number 10.
How this is determined is shown in more detail below, the relevant part of the VIN number being described is in red:
SGCS000CLT2356010
The caravan was built in the U.K. by Carlight
SGCS000CLT2356010
The caravan is a Single Axle
SGCS000CLT2356010
The caravan is a 1996 model.
SGCS000CLT2356010
The caravan was assembled as build number 10.
------------- the only silly question is the one you do not ask.
Thanks for all that. Had it checked by Cris and all ok. Although they don't understand the two letters before the reg; S/N. The check costs £14.95. The N indicates it was built in '91 and registered in '92 - so it's a '92 model !
Sloping window: I've seen people in the forum wondering about this and have found that Avondale only did this design for this one year then decided it wasn't a practical idea. So only Avondales of this year have sloping side windows.