I've been to a local dealer and seen a van I really liked, its at the bottom end of the vans they sell in terms of price but still a lot of money for me and really too much. It comes with a 12 month warrantee but no other bits as far as I'm aware though haven't asked in detail yet.
How much lower in % terms is it acceptable to start to offer price wise and what sort of things have people got out of dealers to go with a 2nd hand van. Or is there no right answer for that question?
Really its too much for me to spend on my first van but do feel safer going to dealer who has been suggested by an experienced caravanner who I trust.
It may all be in vain though as I'm still trying to find somewhere to keep it!! Proper store places round me are too far away or full!
3 years ago we bought a 9 year old van from a dealer. I'm sure we paid a little over the odds for it but did negotiate all of the extras needed to get started and an awning for the asking price. The van was well prepared including a full service and guaranteed damp free. We've been really please with the van and it has provided 3 years of excellent service. Buying from a dealer gave pice of mind. When you weigh up the cost of the service and new extras we received I reckon it was a good deal.
I know you can get a good deal privately but it is a gamble unless you competent at inspecting a van
I don't believe dealers will ever offer huge reductions otherwise they destroy credibility and their market. There's no harm in asking though.
Try 20% off and follow the reaction. I think you will be lucky to finish up with 5%. When the price is nearly settled ask for extra's. Water carriers, battery, awning etc. Dealers will often have a pile out the back that they take out of their px's.
I would approach from a different angle as the dealer won't base the value of the van on your budget. Do some research and check the lower end value of the van, at trade in level as this will give you some idea of how much they are likely to have paid for it.
You then need to factor in warranty cost, repairs required, any 'freebies' you ask for and their profit. Remember they need to make money from you.
My advice would be to WAIT, (I know this is difficult) but the words you use tell that you can't really afford it! why not save more, and at the same time enjoy looking around, perhaps you will come across a bargain,this must feel better than the burden of debt. I wish you luck and good fortune in whatever you do.
Regards
John
------------- Life is our Holiday enjoy it before its time to go back!
When we bought our first van, I initially went for a discount which was not very fruitful. But I had a big list of accessories that I would need, including the mover. Much haggling later a deal was struck. Don`t be afraid of the long silences, the dealer can only say no.
Good luck
You will buy the same van privately off ebay for half the dealer price & now is the time to buy with demand low at this time of yr. I don't think you will find your 12mnth warranty on a cheap caravan will extend to doing extensive damp repairs or replacing busted fridges etc, also if you are buying an older caravan you will need to budget for new tyres & a service as a matter of course.
Quote: Originally posted by bt1609 on 29/10/2013
Really its too much for me to spend on my first van but do feel safer going to dealer who has been suggested by an experienced caravanner who I trust.
You have the securities of a recommendation from a trusted caravanner, and a warranty, if you buy this way. It may be more expensive, but it is more secure. If you buy from ebay you might get a bargain, but you might buy a complete pile of junk, with no no comeback whatsoever.
An awful lot of people post on here after buying damp caravans without prior knowledge of the potential problems.
Our first 'van came from an honest dealer and had a warranty. Best thing we could have done!
Most dealers do not deliberately sell junk & if you happen to buy a good caravan then one will always describe that dealer as honest. However, most dealers do not spend money servicing & checking older stock they sell & if anybody thinks a dealer will do £1500 worth of warranty work on a caravan they have only made £1000 profit on then they are dreaming.
What will happen is that they will fob you off & fiddle about with it until warranty period runs out, they will not strip out the entire rear end to replace rotten timber, for example. Once the warranty runs out, the problems will still be there.
Its better to do the usual bodywork checks & buy as cheaply as possible, bad damp is easy to spot provided one checks carefully inside.
We bought our first caravan last month from a local dealer. He'd gone round with his damp meter to show us each area was dry? When we decided we were interested we started talking prices and I simply said "can you do any better than that?" And he knocked off £500 and all extras we bought at the time of sale we could have at cost price. (My brother is a good business negotiator and advised me every good negotiation should have a long slightly awkward pause! I no longer feel uncomfortable during those pauses and just wait for them to weigh it up, previously I might have jumped in.) We gave them a snag list to sort before collection, took it away a week or two later and returned it under the 3 mth warrantee as the elec water heater wasn't working and a few other snags. I was glad the dealer was local and we stayed locally as could just drop it off on the way home.
------------- From tents to trailer tents to a tin tent to an air tent to trailer tent and back to tin tent!
Technically I can afford the van I'm looking at, however I hadn't planned to spend quite as much on a first van, and although I'm tempted most of the people I will be caravanning with won't have anything as nice and so I feel a little guilty spending so much.
I do feel safer buying from a dealer with recommendation, the first van I went to see was a private sale, within my intended budget and good setup for me. Liked it and had a good poke around in it. I went back to look a second time and found one corner with really bad damp which has put me off private sales.
I don't have the know how or time to fix any big problems either, I know buying from a dealer will be more expensive though. I will wait a week or so I think and see if the van is still there, if so may go back and have another look and a chat and see. If its gone then its not meant to be!
You would get more specific advice if you mentioned the sort of price range you are in. Worth pointing out that if you buy a cheap 'van £2k or less you really need to look upon it as an ongoing project & a bit of diy skill will help in keeping it going.
ok then, didn't know whether I should mention exact figures.
Initially I had considered my budget for van to be up to about £2K the one I've seen is nearer £4k which I can afford but not sure I can warrant. Thinking somewhere around the £3K mark now if that actually makes sense.
It has quite a spacious kitchen area for a 2 berth which would be nice as I will use it for camping at dog agility shows, we tend to end up with lots of people coming in and out of the van and in a friend's small 2 berth means the person cooking in the evening has to move every time somebody else needs to go and check dogs etc which is a bit of a pain.
You should get some good deals for around 3k at this time of the year. I have just bought a 2000 Elddis from a small dealership which was priced at £2750, but I did have an older caravan to part exchange as well so that brought the price down even further. Its a two berth, end bathroom caravan and it is in excellent condition. So don't worry, keep looking there are still bargains to be had.
I understand why you're concerned about having something much nicer than other people, that's the kind of thing that can bother me. However I would say, buy something you can afford, meets your needs and you like. There will always be people with nicer more expensive vans around and vice versa so just go with whatever is good for you.
Incidentally our friends bought their first van from the same dealer as us and have it booked back in under the warrantee to sort a few things out having used it for the first time.
------------- From tents to trailer tents to a tin tent to an air tent to trailer tent and back to tin tent!
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Topic: buying from a dealer
