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I have read a thread on here about caravan prices,I was wondering what sort of price do the trade offer when you are upgrading to a newer van,do you think you get a fair deal or do you try to sell private?

I have read somewhere that if you go to buy a van then offer 12% less than advertised,

When we do get our first van we will be looking for a private seller or ebay ,mainly because you get other things thrown in,

We have just part exchanged our Elddis 556 2006 for a brand new van. We got more than 2k over the list price for it and only ended up losing 1k over the 3 years we owned it.

The dealer now has it advertised for £9995, £1k more than we paid for it 3 years ago!

I would be very reluctant to buy a caravan privately for several reasons. You don't know if the caravan has any outstanding finance, been written off or any previous history for that matter. You solely have to put your trust in the seller and if there are any major faults you can't take it back so you could potentially buy a heap of rubbish unless you know someone in the industry that would go with you and check prior to parting with any cash. Buying from a reputable dealer is more costly but you have to be just as clever as the salesman. They want your money and you want a caravan and if nothing comes with it such as a Wastemaster or Aquaroll then you have to strike a deal to include what you need but they must be essentials and not things like a BBQ or awning etc. You will find that they are willing to oblige and offset the minor things against a confirmed sale. You also have a warranty which the company is legally bound to adhere to so I think that this safeguard is much safer than a private sale. When I purchased my caravan last year from a well known reputable dealer, they offered me £500 more than what my previous caravan was worth plus on request due to a standard hitch fitted they replaced and fitted a second hand Alko 2000 stabiliser as I considered it an essential safety feature. They obliged without question so basically I received a good deal and would return again to buy another caravan from them in the future.

Quote: Originally posted by tango55 on 16/5/2011

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I would be very reluctant to buy a caravan privately for several reasons. You don't know if the caravan has any outstanding finance, been written off or any previous history for that matter.

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Quote: Originally posted by old chap on 17/5/2011

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my van is fetching £7.5 to 8K on the forecourts. their part ex offer for a new 15k van was 5200

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