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Subject Topic: Private vs dealer Post Reply Post New Topic
PersonSparktwinkle
03/4/2016 at 10:50pm
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Hi everyone,

You guys have been so incredibly helpful and knowledgable to me for the past few weeks, and for that I truly thank you.

But I was wondering if I could pick your brains a little more please.

Purchasing a used caravan .... Private sale? Or dealer sale? Pros cons etc
This is with a limit of £8000

I appreciate your help x

Post last edited on 03/04/2016 22:58:32


Personchinster1957
04/4/2016 at 9:04am
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If I was spending £8000 then I would go to a dealer and get a van with a warranty.

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The Chinster

Some people are just all show. I don't mind that if the show is worth watching, but .....


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PersonOpensauce
04/4/2016 at 9:25am
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For £8K you will get a caravan privately that would be £10k on a dealer's forecourt. Thats the advantage of buying privately.

The disadvantages are that you have to work for that extra money. First you need to prove absolutely that seller has title to caravan they are selling so you need to do a Cris check yourself & as pointed out, no warranty.

Then you & seller need to devise a way of paying for caravan that suits you both because neither of you will want a situation where one party holds payment & caravan at the same time.


Personclbewi
04/4/2016 at 9:36am
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Heres my take on it, if the van has no manufacturers warranty left on it then buying private could be the answer. But you take a risk that it could be a lemon, you could of course get it inspected at your expense any seller with a good van wouldn't object.
But if you found problems later on there no come back on the guy that does the inspection, but your money will go further plus sometimes you will get extras thrown in if the seller is keen to sell which can save you some money.
If you buy from a dealer especially this time of year you will pay a premium for it (won't be too keen on a deal) but some throw in starter packs, ie mains lead, battery, waste container. He will have to give some sort of warranty but check to see what it covers. Buying from a dealer doesn't always guarantee a perfect van but while it has a warranty it does give some peace of mind .
In both cases a good service record is paramount.
Happy hunting.

Colin

-------------
Claire and Colin


PersonTravellinPam
04/4/2016 at 10:19am
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With that amount of money, I'd play safe and go for a dealer. You will get some warranty or at least comeback should you have any problems. And the chances are the van will have been checked by them before they traded it in or bought it.

Private will get you more for your money, but you will need to be careful about the provenance of the van. And go over it with a fine tooth comb. You will do more legwork to find one as Opensauce says, but you could just turn up a gem with genuine reasons for sale.

-------------
Sometimes You're the windscreen; sometimes the fly


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PersonSparktwinkle
04/4/2016 at 10:54am
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Thank you so much these replies are priceless to us newbies x


PersonSi-the-gas
04/4/2016 at 12:20pm
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We spent £8k privately, on a very good caravan, the seller was more than happy for me to use a damp meter which is a good starter as they must know it's dry. Then go over everything carefully, do a cris check, get it emailed to you whilst your looking at it, it's a small amount of money compared to what you could loose. Check their paperwork and receipts, I found that the seller I bought from paid £12k at a dealers 2 years prior, I got a bargain they are out there. We traded it in after 3yrs and traded it for more than we paid.
Good luck and happy hunting.


Personrobert/julie
04/4/2016 at 5:33pm
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I would echo all of the above except you don't always get a better deal privately.

Last July we bought a newer van from a dealer cost was £8500 we traded in our old van which brought the cost down. Yes I could have sold our van privately but couldn't be bothered to go all the hassel of selling plus our van is stored on the site we stay on.

After purchasing I looked online to see how much the van we bought was selling for privately. Going for exact year and model the cheapest at the time was £8400. A saving of £100.00 with no warranty. Also van was sold as seen so if we were to have it inspected then almost all of the £100.00 would have gone.

It really depends on what is available at anyone time. Both from dealers and privately.


PersonRay Clayton
04/4/2016 at 5:42pm
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our latest van was obtained private.
With all the gear ready to go for 7500 got him down a grand.
Just asked how much it was worth px and still more than we paid.

But as others have said you take your chances either way i guess. You can get a bad van just as much from a dealer as well as private.

-------------
Cheers
Ray

Discovery 4 & Bailey Barcelona 4







PersonSparktwinkle
04/4/2016 at 6:25pm
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Wow this advice is so greatly received thank you x


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Personct955
04/4/2016 at 7:21pm
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We went to a dealer because we didn't know much about caravans. We found better deals on offer from dealers that specialise in second hand. The big dealers were more interested in trying to sell us a new van! You need to decide what you feel most comfortable doing.good luck in your search.

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Chris


Personbaddon
04/4/2016 at 7:50pm
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small dealer second hand for knowledge and advice, if you don't like them or get a trustworthy good vibe walk away.

Same for any private sale, if its their pride and joy, they will know ALL about it and want you to enjoy it as well so you will quickly get a vibe.

Trust your instincts.

-------------
if your not living life on the edge your taking up tooo much room


PersonMick S.
04/4/2016 at 8:13pm
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Quote: Originally posted by chinster1957 on 04/4/2016
If I was spending £8000 then I would go to a dealer and get a van with a warranty.


Not always. My mate bought an Elddis 6 months ago with the roof light problem they have. The dealer, saying it was a known fault (which it is) washed his hands of it. I am not sure how 'legal' this is/was, but said mate shelled out about 500 quid to get it sorted elsewhere.

That said, a lot of the time the deal you get from anywhere is 75% down to your own nous to my way of thinking. If you act gormless, they will take you to the cleaners. If you stand your ground, you will get a far better deal when negotiating.


Personpath20
04/4/2016 at 8:21pm
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We have bought six caravans and a motorhome in the past eleven years. We have sold five caravans and a motorhome.

We bought two caravans privately. The first was off Ebay and just a starter. The next one was bought from a dealer who took the Ebay one in part ex.The third one was bought privately and it was an excellent caravan. Much cheaper than a dealer.The next three were bought new from a dealer.The motorhome was bought from a dealer and cheaper than if we had bought it privately.
We have part exchanged three of the caravans and sold two privately. We sold one for £4500 and one for £13000(12 months old). Both buyers were very pleased.
We sold the motorhome privately£27000) On the dealers forecourt it would have cost £33000.
I think it is better if you know exactly which caravan you want.Then start searching the internet and compare prices.You may find one privately at a good price and as long as you check for the dreaded damp you should be fine. There are rogues out there so be very, very careful.
Always go to the sellers home and check all paperwork. There are many genuine caravanners who have good reasons for selling their caravan privately.You can also find very good deals at dealers.
Good luck with your search but don't rush and do your homework first.


PersonJam2015
04/4/2016 at 8:48pm
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Hi I bought privately, I went with the logic that what I save will cover any issues. Spent £7k for a good van.... Then found some damp, don't think the seller knew about it. Ended up not being too bad and didn't need fixed apart from little bit when being serviced. Even though all is ok now If I was doing it again, I think I would go to a dealer, would have been nice to have someone to come back to. depends on how much risk you can cope with!



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