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 Topic: Bailey pegasus Brindisi
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30/8/2023 at 12:55pm
Location: London
Outfit: Lunar Cosmos 524
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Like others have found, don't rely on the dealer being honest and automatically fixing faults that exist, they may fix things you point out, but they will likely happily sell you a van full of problems with the hope you don't notice! They do of course have a legal obligation to bring the van up to 'fit for sale' standard if you point out the faults before finalising purchase or soon after (there are time limits!), but getting them to do so can be time consuming and troublesome! Running the van back and forth to the dealer after delivery for fixes to be done is a PITA! Really worth considering how far from home/storage the dealer is if you have to return van for warranty work or agreed fixes!
When I purchased my 18 month old van s/h from a 'reputable' (matter of opinion!) franchised dealer, it was apparently in very good condition, far better than most I'd looked at, but despite being my first caravan, I'd done plenty of homework on points to look out for and being a professional engineer had an insight in to these things anyway.
Before I agreed to purchase my van, I'd picked up on broken hinges on the fridge icebox, a cracked external locker door, a cracked hinge on the BBQ gas outlet cover, missing spare wheel and carrier (standard fitment on van when new!), some cosmetic marks to rear panel. On picking up, I discovered the ATC light was faulty, and the 13pin towbar plug was broken. Dealer agreed to fix all these, but would have happily have sold the van with all these issues unfixed and unmentioned to me. That would have been many hundreds of pounds of fixes I would have been at risk of footing the bill for!
On first setting up of the van ready for use, I discovered the carpets which had been wrapped in protective plastic were in fact filthy and stained, all hidden by the plastic wrapping (far less aggravation for me to shampoo them myself than do the long trip back to dealers!), but the dealer had knowingly hidden that! The fridge was disgustingly black and mouldy in all the nooks and crannies which weren't easily visible until shelves and icebox removed, again easier for me to clean than take back to dealer. And perhaps more alarmingly, was that the tyres were massively underinflated and both of significantly different pressures! The journey back from picking up from the dealers had been 'lively' to put it mildly, after inflating to correct pressure it tows like a dream!
When I had the van serviced after a few months (to retain the manufacturers warranty), the engineer (not the selling dealer!) informed me the gas cylinder pigtail was incorrect (far too long!) and must be changed before he could sign off on the gas installation being safe. Again, the dealer knew this, they'd fitted a new gas cylinder for me.
I seriously doubt the dealer had done a single thing to the van after they took it in as part exchange, and I doubt they'd even done a thorough inspection, just marked up the price for a juicy profit! The van was not even safe and legal to tow on collection!
'Buyer Beware' applies just as much to dealers as private sales! They will likely not routinely fix existing faults, hoping you will not point out anything and go away in ignorance.
I looked at dozens of vans from assorted dealers (many of the big names!) before settling on mine, and I was appalled at the condition of some on the forecourts, at under 2 years old, some were wrecks with broken fixtures and fittings, serious water ingress damage etc., most had never been serviced and had lost the remaining manufacturers warranty by default (the water ingress part of that can be worth it's weight in gold!), but they were all being offered as 'excellent condition' and at full price! You really do need to know what you are looking at and for, don't trust the dealers!
Maybe I was just lucky, after getting most things sorted at purchase (through my own due diligence), it's been a gem of a van without issues for over 5 years now.
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via mobile 16/8/2023 at 10:35am
