Hi everybody,
Where to start, on Sunday we picked up a 2005 avondale dart, its the small 2 birth, the owner in his 80s assured us it had no issues, he had been a lifetime caravanner and we trusted him. Anyway, we are away in it now, picked it up and off we went,the wife needed cheering up as its been a hard year, been looking after son battling cancer, so needed break. The van in short looks like it has damp, a spongy lumpy wall behind one side seat and some small hard lumps down bathroom wall. The van looks good inside but on closer inspection which we stupidly didn't notice definitely has problems. Shes now on a downer, is it as bad as we feel or can it be salvaged, without costing us mega bucks. Thanks for listening, steve
------------- "The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and men die like dogs for no reason...there is also a negative side"
Thanks for the reply, I did ring the previous owner who said he had no idea it was damp, in fact when we went to view he told us no need for damp check as it was dry. He seemed like a nice bloke but then again I've learned a valuable lesson, we did pay a grand LEss than the dealer price, bought it for just over 3.5k so I guess we got what was coming to us. Won't be so trusting next time. The sad thing is its cost us dearly, and I've got the feeling repair costs will be huge. Will look at repair when we get back off hols. I know in the scheme of things this is nothing compared to what the past year has brought us, just kind of destroys your faith in human nature
------------- "The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and men die like dogs for no reason...there is also a negative side"
Reseal the outside to stop the wet getting in. Clean up the seams with meths on a dry day & run a bead of PU sealant along each side of seams. Use only PU sealant, polyurethane sealant/adhesive that is, PU18 does the job, about £7 a cartridge off Amazon.
Do that & it will give you a usable caravan, the inside will dry out eventually. You can diy that for about £14, yes its a bodge but its a 10yr old caravan & its a bodge that works & far easier than stripping off & properly resealing exterior rails & stripping out & rebuilding interior.
If you pay a workshop £1000 to do a 'proper' job, probably they won't & it will be wet again in a year.
So you have 2 choices, an easy & permanent bodge that anybody can do or a proper diy job on exterior & interior that requires a fair bit of skill with hand tools. Not expensive in material cost but time consuming.
Have you asked the seller for a refund and to return the van? That's what I ewould be doing in this case. If he refuses then i would go to citizens advice, but you'd need to do this before starting any repairs yourself. there is no need at all fpor you to be out of pocket for this, no matter how much you paid for it - you were sold an item that is not as it was described, it's plainly obvious.
------------- Give a man a fish and he'll feed his family for a day.
Teach a man to fish and he'll sit around on a boat all day drinking beer!
Thanks billy, I will try that when we get back. The logical thing to do is ask for a refund but this is where it gets complicated, the old guy said there was nothing wrong with it damp wise, then proceeded to tell us about his bladder cancer treatment, the wife knew exactly where he was coming from and given the 14 hour surgery and daily radiotherapy sessions and chemo my son went through she felt she had to give him something to grasp onto and confided in him that even tho my boy is young there is still hope, he seemed a positive guy, so we trusted him. She's really feeling it now, and just wants to get home and try and sort it. Of course the only thing we can do now is keep it, it won't be passed on,we don't want to stress the old guy out so I guess we have to suck it up. Thanks, steve
------------- "The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and men die like dogs for no reason...there is also a negative side"
Far less buyer protection in a private sale. The caravan should match the description given by the seller & that's it. If caravan was full of damp when you collected it then perhaps you have a case if caravan was described in advert as, say 'completely dry'. If seller will not refund then your only recourse is to small claims court with no certain outcome.
Im kinda aware of that, as I said before, first caravan, novices, too tr usting, its a fatal combination, im a big bloke, one of my lads set up this account for me years ago, hence the user name his choice, when it boils down to it, im a softie at heart, not good I know. Just hoped I might pick up some advice on fixing it. The damps behind the back cushion of one of the settees and I think behind the fridge, also two of the toilet walls are affected which at first glance isn't apparent. I've booked it in for a check tomorrow when we get back, so will know what the damage is then, thanks for the advice.
------------- "The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and men die like dogs for no reason...there is also a negative side"
The ad in auto trader said, excellent interior condition, excellent overall condition. Excellent body and mechanical condition. The old guy said when we viewed that there was no damp ans as it wasn't immediately apparent we trusted him, wrong I knów.
------------- "The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and men die like dogs for no reason...there is also a negative side"
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: New to caravanning
