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Hi,  Need some advice,

We are about to upgrade from a folding camper to a caravan.

We have a budget of about 8k and have decided we want a 6 berth with 2 fixed bunks at the rear.

So far we have looked at a Dart 556 (cheap and felt it) an Abbey, a Ranger 550/6 and a Bailey Pageant Bretagne.  We have narrowed our choice to the Ranger or the Bretagne and are erring towards the bretagne.

The one we have seen is a 2006 model for 8200.  Saw it today and it is pretty immaculate - comes with a bradcote awning, motor mover and alko stabiliser.  Our only concern is that it has not been serviced in the 3 years the current owners have had it.  I have checked the corners and roof lining for damp but see no evidence.  I am planning to go down in the week to have another look but would like some advice on what I should check (plan to connect the gas & 12v to see it all works, unfortunately cannot check 240v as it's in storage)?

Would the fact it hasn't been serviced put anyone off if it was in A1 condition?

Hi Jim, we have two towcars, one is a mk4 ford mondeo 2.0tdci 140bhp and the other (will be) a 2007 Kia Carens 2.0CRDI.

According to what towcar we are running just over 85% but have also read plenty of reviews for the mondeo and either of these vans which indicate it is a good match.

I appreciate what  you are talking about re. towing but at the moment I am more interested in what to look at with the caravan itself.

Pageant has not been serviced in 3 years but it spotless - I am hoping to borrow a moisture meter to check for damp but wondered what else I should be checking for.

BTW on a seperate topic, there is no kerb weight dictated for a Ford Mondeo Mk4 - My V5 shows a Mass in Service of 1557.  Having done some digging around, the calculate the kerb weight I then need to add the weight of a full tank of fuel (63kg) and the weight of a driver (75kg).  Which gives me a kerb weight of 1695.

From what I understand Kerb weights are being abandoned - so we need a confirmed new way of calculating towing capacity

For £8200 I would get a caravan engineer to give it the once over.  Click on the link to find one local to your area. Then, if you buy, get it fully serviced before you take it out.

Phil

Hi Phil, thanks for that - Do you know how much they charge (roughly).  I have just spotted another one - Up in north essex and a grand cheaper.  So going to check that one out tomorrow.

Yes definitely recommend an MCEA engineer to come with you to view it.  We had one come with us to the viewing when we bought ours and just asked the seller to make sure it could be connected up to all services - we were really pleased with how thorough he was.  Ours cost £100 but that was because I offered him extra to come on a Saturday but they normally cost between £60 and £100 the upper amount normally includes the CRIS check - don't forget to get that done.

Go on the MCEA websiite and find one local to the the location of the caravan.

http://www.mobilecaravanengineers.co.uk/mcea-find-an-engineer.htm

Just been quoted 160 for an inspection plus travel cots - Sorry that's a bit steep IMHO

Owner has all the CRIS documentation and paid for the CRIS extra?

So, aside from getting an engineer - what should I look for?

What I now plan to do  is view tomorrow, and if happy then get an engineer in (subject to cost)

Well I thought I would provide an update - I viewed another bretagne the following night which involved a nightmare 6 hour round trip.  Fortunately the caravan was in lovely condition and a fair bit less than the first one we looked at. 

As per Phil's recommendation I managed to find an MCEA affiliated caravan engineer for a very reasonable £55 who (according to the seller) pulled the caravan apart earlier this evening. 

Engineer has called, confirmed the van is dry as a bone and apart from a missing window stay, is in very good condition so I have agreed a price with the seller which we are both very happy with.

Will be picking it up on Saturday and taking it directly to the storage facility we found.

Have been quoted 185 for the insurance - which seems reasonable will sort that out soon.  Will book the van in for a service in the next couple of weeks.

Thanks for the advice on here - look forward to asking and hopefully answering more questions.

One fina Q - Is it worth organising the insurance prior to collection or will I be ok until I get it back to storage?

My quote came from UK General Insurance - Anyone heard of them?  Came via a site called Myinsurance.co.uk 

I would also get it booked in for a service before your first trip. For £8000 odd its worth looking after your investment. Some Insurers also provide 3 warranties (at a cost), provided that you produce your engineers survey and have it servcied regularly. Might be worth investigating

Everyone has their own insurance company story. Here's mine - Lifesure. Every year we check their policy and price against others and always find it to be the cheapest for the wide range of cover I want.

Phil