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Having had too many cold nights in a tent we are thinking of our first carvan. We are 2 adults and 2 small children (baby + 3yr old). We don't have lots to spend to start out.

Someone near us is selling a Swift 1990 4 berth. It is a double dinette (sp?) which I think suits us as the kids can be put to bed in the back and a curtain put up. He is selling it for around £1500 with all the kit including awning, annex bedroom, water carrier etc down the knives & forks. Apparently there is all we need to hitch and go. (We already have a Jeep Grand Cherokee with a removable tow bar). He states it is dry as a bone (obviously this has to be checked). They are selling as kids have grown up. They have removed the table from the back (apparently for weight reasons) but it comes with a big table for the awning. I think we may be likely to leave the bed up in the back anyway for daytime naps (for me of course not the kids- lol!). We have yet to see it but from the photos it looks tasteful and clean inside. It also comes with secure storage plot paid up til Spring, and costing £100 a year, 15-20 mins from our house. I like the fact the whole package suits us, and could be easy for us to get started.

Any comments or advice? Is the price reasonable?

Many thanks :-)  

ps I meant to say safety is important to us. It has GCH apparently, which seems to be a gas fire which looks like it is at perfect child height. He said it also comes with electric fan heater for the van and halogen for the awning, so we could just use the fan heater off the ground if this felt safer.

Do we need to be concerned at all about safety features in a van this old? I am thinking about gas leaks, fires etc  Eeek.

I can't advise you fully on the price, seems not too bad, really depends on the condition, other people may have a better idea on this. I would defo get a service. I bought an older caravan (1985) last year I am just about to get it serviced, when it comes to safety you are best not to mess about. This will check the gas, electric, tyres, brakes etc.

Happy caravanning if you decide to go for it!

We owned  a swift of the same age and layout and found it to be very good. As said by previous posters, your first consideration before you purchase is to check for damp. You can pick up a good tester for about a tenner which is money well spent. Secondly, find a local qualified service engineer and get it serviced. A full service covers all the important areas e.g. gas, water, electric, tyres & brakes.Its worth the price for peace of mind.

Once you have your van, as its a swift, you might like to consider joining the Swift Owners Club. Its a very friendly club that holds rallies all over the country (and europe) and also puts you in touch with experts who are always happy to give advice. And, before you ask, YES I am a member, NO Im not on commision for recruiting new members - Happy Caravanning, you have just taken your first step into a bigger world

I take it is a swift Challenger ?   its top end of price range but if good then OK. dont rush as he will not sell it too quick at that price. would expect to pay around £1100 with awning.

pots pans plates etc are very cheap as are sleeping bags etc. a low watt fan heater will be fine just keep the gas fire for he time when needed. you dont pay more for hook up if two heaters are used at site. as long as they dont trip out the supply 10amp.

get under it with a good torch and check corners and trim for signs of rott. if seen go to inside at that place and check there. check legs work and are not twisted.

its not the end of the world at £1500 and you could get that back in june/july on ebay on a good day.

look at it as being £150 each time you use it for more than two nights ( cost of family room at most B&Bs being from £80 a night. = 4 breaks away allow £600max  per year = £1200 van owes you nothing after three years

I agree with all the ops who advise getting a mobile engineer to check out the van for you 1st.  And if the report comes back ok then haggle on the price because £1500 seems a bit high to me for a 21 year old van.  Look on ebay, gumtree and preloved etc to give you an idea of prices of similar vans.

If it has a double bed at the back then i'd imagine it was probably a 5 berth with a bunk for over the double bed.  If the table has been taken out how do you make up the double bed as a lot of vans used to use the table as the base for the bed.  So check those out. 

You could get a damp meter and do it yourself but find out how to use it as most people (including me) probably wouldn't know how to use one for the 1st time.  Has the owner had it serviced or damp checked?  I think CRiS came in in 1992 so your's may not be registered and i'm not sure how you'd check that it wasn't stolen or been in a major accident?

Don't let this put you off, they are just things you need to check out in the first place so that you don't buy a van that is not worth much for a lot of your hard earned money.  Damp can be repaired by yourself but costs a thousands of pounds if you take it to the experts to repair.

Do take into account servicing, insurance, storage, extra towing costs etc if you do decide to buy as all that can add up to an extra weeks holiday every year in a tt.  But if you can afford the extra costs then the luxury of your own caravan is well worth it, running water, heat, quicker set up time etc really do make it worth while :)

Thanks folks for all the great advice. We will arrange to view it with all of these points in mind and look at it carefully. I don't mind paying slightly over the odds for the convenience of it already being in decent but cheap storage so close to our house so it is all arranged for us.

Next questions is where do we find one of these caravan service engineers? Will have a look online but suggestions would be appreciated. We would feel better if we take someone knowledgeable.

hi snugglebabe were abouts in sheffield are you? i know of a very good mobile engineer if you still need one.

as for the gas fire n baby the fires are normally a flame at the bottom that can not be touched that heats up a fynn type eliment again cant be touched then the fire cover over the top with a grill in to let out the heat.now i would say these get no hotter than a quite hot radiator,(dont know if anyone else has any different views) but you will probably only put this on when baby is in bed when your all settleing down at night,but we tend to use our fan heater after all you have already paid for your electric with your hook up.but you must be aware of the wattage and volts etc as you can trip out the switch if you use too many appliances together.hope you end up with your nice little bargain,im sure wen you do you wont look back we didnt ,we made the swich this time last year and been away twice already this year in our van.