Wmick04 Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Hi all Iv been looking at caravans for a while not sure if it me or the time of year but they seem to have shot up in price I really want a van but want yo get the most I can for my budget of 2 to £3000 dealers etc are wanting 2500+ for 24 year old caravans is this too much to pay or reasonable for caravans of this age? Any help would be appreciated as I'm a novice thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverfoxapparently Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 From a dealer they will be more at that age. But everything will need to work for 28 days (consumer rights I believe). So its not really age youre buying, its the condition and reliability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gravon42 Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Caravans seem to depreciate fairly rapidly up to about 8 years old. Then it levels out (unless you are selling to a dealer!!) After that prices do not appear to relate to age or model. Last year I got a valuation off a dealer for my top of the range caravan, and was offered £2500 less than a similar same make older model entry level caravan on their forecourt! Quote 2011 Land Rover Freelander 2, Lago grey 2013 Freelander Dynamic Black, followed by a 2013 Elddis 574 Magnum GT white Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkie Pud Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 A good starting point would be your local Caravan Storage facilities, ours near Sheffield has quite a few private sales, your area will be the same. Bought as seen so no warranty but the price will be right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happydays Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 We have just bought a caravan and with some haggling we got £1000 off the price and 3 month warranty, but bear in mind they did have the van on the pitch for a good few months, i would try haggling and play hard ball you never know if you dont try. In the next couple of months there will be no discounting at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 (edited) Ebay item number151209380758, £3000 incl lots of essentials, in York so not too far for you to travel, a bit of haggling and you should get it for £2500ish give it a look Several more on there too within your price range. Phil Edited January 16, 2014 by Phil O Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 From a dealer they will be more at that age. But everything will need to work for 28 days (consumer rights I believe). So its not really age youre buying, its the condition and reliability. SOG Act states that if a fault occurs within the first 6 month after purchase, the seller must prove the fault "did not" exist pior to the sale taking place. This applies to any used goods (it does not apply to private sales) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikal83 Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 We too are having a prob finding the right van for us. Would prefer a private seller as more room for haggling and will probably come with more goodies and at a better price BUT a dealer might be talked into some sort of warranty. BUT my biggest bugbear righ now, is lack of returned emails! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 (edited) Purchasing a van that is outside all manufacturers warranty has its risks, used dealers come and go and with it any warranty, at the end of the day its down to having a good look over it, if you're not sure then ask a local mobile caravan service engineer to have a look at it with you, he/she will tell you what's what, naturally that service will cost, but its a small price to pay if the van has problems in which case you walk away or piece of mind that your money has been well spent if its a good un. Google "mobile caravan service engineers" in your area and ensure they're suitably qualified. Good luck Phil Edited January 17, 2014 by Phil O Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikal83 Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Purchasing a van that is outside all manufacturers warranty has its risks, used dealers come and go and with it any warranty, at the end of the day its down to having a good look over it, if you're not sure then ask a local mobile caravan service engineer to have a look at it with you, he/she will tell you what's what, naturally that service will cost, but its a small price to pay if the van has problems in which case you walk away or piece of mind that your money has been well spent if its a good un. Google "mobile caravan service engineers" in your area and ensure they're suitably qualified. Good luck Phil Phil, Sirius. ...I had 2 Rothesays! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Phil, Sirius. ...I had 2 Rothesays! I had 2 Leanders, Sirius & Danae, both 2nd commissions. Loved them both. Had a spell down the hole at CinC fleet Northwood inbetween the ships, loved it, far too many wrens & wrafs tho, spoilt for choice !!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikal83 Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Lowestoft and Falmouth. ...........flight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 (edited) Lowestoft and Falmouth. ...........flight!Wasp or Lynx?Ops (radar) HC so dealt with the mail fetchers regularly !! Edited January 17, 2014 by Phil O Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikal83 Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 wasp of course. 1976/1978 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Had a few of those under my control but mainly lynx (77-81) and a few CAP's but mainly at FOST, he says spitting afterwards, you'll know what I mean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleepyfolk Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Had a few of those under my control but mainly lynx (77-81) and a few CAP's but mainly at FOST, he says spitting afterwards, you'll know what I mean Phoebe, Ambuscade, Chatham, 87-97, stoker branch greenie - damn those fosties! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleepyfolk Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 (edited) Hi all Iv been looking at caravans for a while not sure if it me or the time of year but they seem to have shot up in price I really want a van but want yo get the most I can for my budget of 2 to £3000 dealers etc are wanting 2500+ for 24 year old caravans is this too much to pay or reasonable for caravans of this age? Any help would be appreciated as I'm a novice thanksSorry us old sea dogs kind of hijacked you there! We bought our first caravan last August, I'll be honest I'd been watching prices and websites for months before the right one came up. We couldn't afford what we wanted which was an island bed L shaped lounge twin axle with a big fridge for 6k, we wanted a senator or similar up to 2005 in age and everything was 8k or over. One day I spotted a genuine looking ad on gumtree (rare I know) for £7250 - spoke to the owner suggested they keep their full awning and said I had 6k cash, they had a vw camper project they needed to pay for and took the offer! Drove to Southampton same day before they had chance to think about it and did the CRiS check in the car over the phone on the way. I suppose what I'm saying is that there are good deals out there to be had, caravans are relatively big ticket items that weren't selling that quickly so just be patient and don't feel sorry about making an offer, you'll get a lot more for your money privately and you may well get some items included by a private seller that a dealer will not such as gas bottles and aquaroll etc. If I were you I would look at vans up to 4k and try to find one that the seller needs to sell or is about to have to chop in for a rubbish part ex price before they pick up their new van, start waving cash at a forced sale and you will get your deal! Whatever you do if you buy privately make sure you do a CRiS check, look over the van thoroughly (buying guide in the advice section I think), look at the age of the tyres - if they are 4 years old use it as a bargaining chip as they should be replaced after 5 years, make sure there is a service history - if the service is due there's another bargaining tool, and view it at the owners house address as stated on the CRiS registration document. If you can't do these things don't buy it. Caravan trader and caravan finder are the best websites to search to get an idea of what's in the price range but keep an eye on your local ads, gumtree and eBay as well, be particularly aware of scams on eBay and gumtree though, there are hundreds of stolen and fake adverts out there, remember - no genuine seller will refuse you information and most of the kind people offering to meet you in a car park are thieves. Edited January 18, 2014 by sleepyfolk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 Sorry us old sea dogs kind of hijacked you there! We bought our first caravan last August, I'll be honest I'd been watching prices and websites for months before the right one came up. We couldn't afford what we wanted which was an island bed L shaped lounge twin axle with a big fridge for 6k, we wanted a senator or similar up to 2005 in age and everything was 8k or over. One day I spotted a genuine looking ad on gumtree (rare I know) for £7250 - spoke to the owner suggested they keep their full awning and said I had 6k cash, they had a vw camper project they needed to pay for and took the offer! Drove to Southampton same day before they had chance to think about it and did the CRiS check in the car over the phone on the way. I suppose what I'm saying is that there are good deals out there to be had, caravans are relatively big ticket items that weren't selling that quickly so just be patient and don't feel sorry about making an offer, you'll get a lot more for your money privately and you may well get some items included by a private seller that a dealer will not such as gas bottles and aquaroll etc. If I were you I would look at vans up to 4k and try to find one that the seller needs to sell or is about to have to chop in for a rubbish part ex price before they pick up their new van, start waving cash at a forced sale and you will get your deal! Whatever you do if you buy privately make sure you do a CRiS check, look over the van thoroughly (buying guide in the advice section I think), look at the age of the tyres - if they are 4 years old use it as a bargaining chip as they should be replaced after 5 years, make sure there is a service history - if the service is due there's another bargaining tool, and view it at the owners house address as stated on the CRiS registration document. If you can't do these things don't buy it. Caravan trader and caravan finder are the best websites to search to get an idea of what's in the price range but keep an eye on your local ads, gumtree and eBay as well, be particularly aware of scams on eBay and gumtree though, there are hundreds of stolen and fake adverts out there, remember - no genuine seller will refuse you information and most of the kind people offering to meet you in a park are thieves. Spot on Jack Good post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleepyfolk Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 Spot on Jack Good post Cheers shipmate! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikal83 Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 Agree. Have had shortcuts to ebay/caravantrader/caravansforsale and a couple of others. Enjoyed my time on small ships, my last was the Invisible. ....yawn! As to Fost, only did 2 bigguns. But they didnt bother me at all. Longish story Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caravantech Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 if it helps, £3K should buy you something late 90's on a dealer forcourt, anything over 3K older than say 96 is going to be overpriced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jules070603 Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 (edited) Yes, we bought our first caravan last year after researching for some time while we saved. We felt prices for same age caravan were the same over 12 months. 2005 Bailey Ranger 550/6 so I know they are quite an in demand family 'van though. Last week we went to a large local dealer to look at awnings and chairs etc. had a wander around the older used caravans and were shocked at some of the prices they wanted. Seriously over priced in comparison to what we got. Edited January 19, 2014 by jules070603 Quote Newbie caravan owner, loving it so far. Mummy to 2 sweet little kids who love their mobile bunk beds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wmick04 Posted January 19, 2014 Author Share Posted January 19, 2014 I've looked at a 1996 lunar clubman 524 4 berth for £2695 they said they'd take 2500 not sure if this us a good deal or not? It all appears fine it's from a dealer and comes with 3 months warranty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellisfield Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 We bought our van for about £2000 a couple of years ago. We found- Anything under £3000 at a dealers was utter rubbish and not worth having. They strip out all the bits (awning, step, pipes and aquaroll etc) so you will buy new off them and so don't touch them. The area to head for is one of the many people that have had their van for some years and looked after it but who's circumstances have now changed. Early 90s vans were damp crude, made of hardboard and tin with rusty chassis and few luxuries. Late 90s vans have a galvanised chassis, double glazing, heating, hot water and a cartridge loo. They will also have CRiS registrastion. Ours was bought with all this and more all working as new and all have been no problem save for a split in one tap. We have replaced the carpet and dyed the curtains that had faded. So there is a fine and serviceable van out there for what you want to spend. Ebay seems fine to use to find it and then do a deal on your visit. Also autotrader have a caravan section. A degree of common sense is needed to see if it is a good one or not. Just walk away from any that have had damp or repair issues. A caravan should not be all bad. It is a collection of parts and some may go wrong same as they could if you had owned it yourself for many years. But if it is up together and can be seen working then that is a fair assurance. Over the winter I think the sales will drop down but come spring there should be a few to choose from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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