I bought a caravan, was desperate n needed somewhere to stay. I bought a van in good faith when n had a look, everything seemed fine. They advertised as ready to use .. well it wasn't, n then 5 mins after we parked up, I found out it wasn't. Found damp begbehind curtains n the porta poti was covering the worst of the damp. I questioned them, they said they hadn't seen it, n with the age of van I should except this. And then blocked me. They also were living in the van for 3 months before selling. Do you think I have a case if I take them to small claims ?? Regards feedback welcome
get in the queue of i have been ripped off buyers both from private sales and from dealers .by there very nature caravans attract a certain amount of damp and will also need to be gone through front to back and top to bottom to ensure everything works as it should i.e electrics ,gas ,brakes ,etc and with the best van in the world you can guarantee something will break every trip .
in your case if someone has been living in the van for three months a degree of condensation will have built up as well .clean it up as best as possible then use it and enjoy it .a bit more info would also help maker /model/age price paid for caravan then we might be able to advise you further
You didnt have a good look round then, or 'use your nose' at all?
A damp/mouldy van may as well have a neon sign on the roof, as you can smell it the second you step inside.
If its a cheap old van out of a newsagents window, you will have little recourse for redress i wouldnt have thought.
As suggested, give it a good scrub out, you never know, it may be cosmetic from said condensation.
If you need to use van now then get a cartridge of PU sealant & seal outside seams. Should stop the water getting in & it should dry out. Probably waste of time trying to get recompense from private seller.
You might only have a case if the van was advertised as Dry / Damp free, and you still have the advert to prove it. Otherwise, you have inspected it, paid for it and accepted it in the condition its in I'm afraid.
That sounds about right I guess!! The van advertised ready to use .. I was desperate TBH, I needed somewhere to live! I told them this, n when he was showing us around, he did stand directly in our view , it was r till we got it back! When u do ur own clean up of new home, I found it straight away! I believe they even re papered the bathroom walls! It was very freshliy done! It's just s**t really s**t! It's not worth £200 n I paid £1500
Quote: Originally posted by aj80 on 21/6/2017
That sounds about right I guess!! The van advertised ready to use .. I was desperate TBH, I needed somewhere to live! I told them this, n when he was showing us around, he did stand directly in our view , it was r till we got it back! When u do ur own clean up of new home, I found it straight away! I believe they even re papered the bathroom walls! It was very freshliy done! It's just s**t really s**t! It's not worth £200 n I paid £1500
Thats a lot of money. I cant believe you couldnt get an equally good (bad) van for far less. Unfortunately, he really did see you coming.
My beloved abbey has some damp now, but has been caught in time. Was found during a service right at the very rear of the van in the corner of the floor. But still going to be a costly repair, on top of the other faults she has. But once done the van will be like new
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Topic: Damp caravan
