With any used purchase, you need to inspect thoroughly-- I would certainly not purchase a van unseen, but I imagine most sellers would be happy to have you inspect before you bid!
Brian
------------- there are 10 types of people in this world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
I bought a 1996 Swift Allouette in 2006 and had four good years from it before trading it in towards a new van. You DO have to be very carefull though - there ARE a lot of rubbish vans for sale on there
------------- hawk
"Laugh and the world laughs with you, snore and you sleep alone"
I have the body of a greek god - its in my freezer
Hi CatieB, i bought a 15 year old swift off Ebay last year and we are thrilled with it. No damp, no other problems (touch wood!!) We looked at private sellers but found the one we wanted, with all the equipment at the right price on Ebay.
I looked at hundreds on Ebay and still do and you can normally tell what kind of van you will get by the write up and photos. I have seen loads of ads "4 berth van for sale, good condition" and thats all the description you get with poor photos,perhaps trying to hide things?
Most sellers will invite you to look before you bid and i asked loads of questions via email and got very good replies. Im sure there are some horror stories but just do your homework, and don't be afraid to ask questions and take a damp meter if you go and look at one and be prepared to travel to find the perfect one.
hi catey b, we bought our van from preloved,as it was only 20 miles from where we live,we went twice to have a look at her,she was ten year old when we bought her,she is now 15 years and still going well.just trust your instints and if any doubht in your mind walk away,you will know when you find the write one.
------------- its easy enough to be pleasant when the world rolls along like a song.but a man is worth while if he can smile when every thing goes f------ wrong.
As with anything do your research, any good seller will let you view first, take your damp meter, if it has any service history ask, if it's newer than I think 91 then check the cris reg, and if you don't like what you find walk away, there will always be another, our first van was a learning curve, but we never made the same mistake again.
In an ideal world it would be great to go to a dealer, but especially now it's not an option for everyone, good luck , there is always someone on here who will offer good advice.
Sometime we have to kiss a lot of frogs before we get the prince :)
We bought a 1998 Lunar Clubman 475-2CK from a dealer 6 weeks ago and it still has a month's warranty left on it and we will be advetising it on eBay.
Nothing wrong with it but the layout does not go too well with my disability. Some people do advertise good caravans.
We have bought all our vans off ebay. We worked our way up, buying cheap, doing a makeover and selling them for a fair profit. Our first one was £450, sold for £800. We are on number 4. This ones a keeper. Shes getting on a bit but in great condition. We found that 2 berths are usually in better nick than larger vans simply because couples without children use them.Some of the examples advertised are real heaps so be careful, if they wont let you inspect before you bid, Dont bid. And when you do inspect, take a damp meter with you and check the bottom corners in particular.
We bought our 1995 van in early 2005 on ebay (without inspection!), just a couple of months after I found this forum but before I discovered the horror stories of damp etc., and the many possible pitfalls and dangers of buying second-hand vans anywhere....
Fortunately, we were very lucky; no damp (to this day!) and the only problem was window seals that had "melted", sticking the windows closed. I found (on here) that this was a common problem with the grey seals, and replaced them with black - since then, no other problems!
Knowing what I have learned, I would now definitely say "Inspect thoroughly first!", but if OK - buy!
Gram
------------- What's the difference between a chicken?
Bought our first van without viewing, but was lucky & naive. I learned a lot from this forum & when buying our 2nd van took the damp meter. A couple of people tried to say definitely no damp, but the trusty meter proved them wrong. A bit annoying when you have travelled a long way & been told lies. All these where from Ebay. You will find the right one eventually, but you have to put yourself out a few times for the right deal. Good Luck & be vigilant...
If its a UK made 'van it will have been Cris reg from new. It sounds as if present & past owners have not bothered to update the registration. Meaning it may or may not have been stolen several owners ago. If you buy it & update reg you may or may not get a nasty suprise, you could of course buy it & not update reg.
If its a European made 'van it might never have been Cris reg.
Caravans sold on ebay have as much chance of being good/bad/stolen as caravans sold from newspaper/mag ads or wherever.
You can ring cris to check the status of the van, stolen etc.
Our current 1995 van is an ebay purchase and it was £1500 cheaper than equivalents at dealers and has spent a happy 4yrs with us so far.
A genuine seller should allow you to view before bidding, I would not bid/buy before viewing.
Basically look at the seller, if he looks dodgy, or the van is obviously not cared for etc etc walk away.
A 90's van may show some water ingress on a meter, poke all the inside walls under the bunks in the corners etc if any are soft like a sponge its damp, look under the van, the corner steadies should be greased to show its been looked after and the wood floor should be dry with no dark damp patches. Check the tyre dates, there should be a number on there like 2209, which shows the tyre was made in wk22 of 2009, anything older than 5yrs and new tyres will be needed.
We bought our Bailey from eBay, and are very happy with it, we were lucky to be dealing with a really nice family.
Ask as many questions as you can, and if you can try to get a number for them so you can call them to chat.
Remember: if you feel nervous about phoning them or seeing the caravan, they will be equally nervous abotu you seeing it/ talking to you about - just relax!
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Topic: any ebay successful purchases?
