Can't say how much I appreciate all of the replies I've had and the offers of 'stuff'' which i will definitely bear in mind.
we've walked away from the fleetwood...they wouldn't come down from £3200, and I didn't 'love' it enough to pay that money. Husband thinks I'm bonkers but I do get a 'vibe' from a caravan...even though they are all similar ish and this just wasn't doing it for me.
I do love the swift but we've decided we cant afford it - even if we could haggle in the essentials....its just that couple of hundred too much to feel comfortable with the purchase. although we do keep thinking of other ways to be able to afford it!!!!!
seen another that was damp although the owner thought not - but it was more reasonably priced I thought being £2600 for a 95 swift challenger bit we're not buying anything we suspect is damp
also been to see a Bailey that is on ebay and it is lovely....we don't think there's any damp there and seems a very sound purchase. Bidding ends this weekend and we will have a go i think, but have a suspicion that the bids may go higher than we can afford or want to pay. Wish me luck!
Otherwise we have plans to go to a dealer tomorrow that has a 6 berth Eldiss wisp - but its £3900 and a 93 although the website says it comes with 12 mths warranty. Think its over priced but as we have 4 kids, the 6 berth would be better.
Husband has just phoned another person who was advertising a rather nice looking 1998 swift for £3300 with all the trimmings but was told that it has damp :-( This search seems never ending! Its either damp or too expensive!
You might be surprised at the price the one on ebay goes for - we were with ours! The seller had lots of people 'watching' it but only us & another couple had actually been to see it. The other people were already bidding but below the reserve. We put our bid in about an hour before the end & sat waiting for someone to try to outbid us. Nothing happened & we ended up with a gorgeous 2005 van plus all the kit for £5250.
And I totally agree about getting a 'feeling' for a van - ours felt right as soon as we stepped into it & I was praying there wouldn't be any damp (there wasn't). The Engineer that serviced it for us said he gets a gut feeling about vans too & he's usually right (told us we'd bought a good one).
Good luck if you decide to bid - let us know how you get on.
I think the 6 berth Eldiss Wisp is over priced for its year. Somewhere in the back of my mind says its betetr to go for models made from 1998 onwards but I don't knwo why. Perhaps some new technology came in at that time.
Have you tried Chichchester caravans yet! Thye do have a web site. My offer for the goodies still stands at the moment.
Does £6,250 seem a good price for a 2003 Bailey Ranger 550? I think it comes with a 6 month warrenty.
I've seen some lovely bargains on ebay but I'm fast learning that there are a lot of pitfalls to buying this way, and , as I know absolutely nothing about caravans I've decided even tho the van will cost more a dealer is probably safer for me.
fin
------------- the differnce between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits
Does £6,250 seem a good price for a 2003 Bailey Ranger 550? I think it comes with a 6 month warrenty.
I've seen some lovely bargains on ebay but I'm fast learning that there are a lot of pitfalls to buying this way, and , as I know absolutely nothing about caravans I've decided even tho the van will cost more a dealer is probably safer for me.
fin
Probably a reasonable price for a 2003 van of that size and layout. Perhaps it is best to buy your first caravan from a reputable dealer that offers a warranty.
After reading on the net some of the pitfalls I think in my case it probably is the safer option. If I'd had someone to come with me and look I think I would have felt more confident in buying from a private seller. I've seen some lovely ones on places like preowned and ebay.
Reading on the message boards has been a godsend really cause god only knows what I would have ended up with!!!! I've learnt about cris, something I'd never heard of before. I read about a scam where people wanted paying in cash, once the new owner took the van away the old owner reported it as stolen, I mean, how bad is that? I was warned on here to be wary of vans smelling of air freshner because they could be hiding the smell of damp, I was looking at a second hand one on the net last night and that bit of advice stuck because in the picture you could see plug in air freshners!
fin
------------- the differnce between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits
Reporting in again! Went to see the Elddis today and tbh it was a bit grim. No damp but had obv had lots of trouble in the past. Dealer offered it for 3600 plus starter kit and I think we could have got him down further but the van was just not doing it for me.
Went to see the swift again just to remind ourselves....still a nice caravan but not as nice as we remembered. But the warranty was a big pull. We had another go at haggling but it was bottom line £4500 or £4750 with a basic starter kit.
still not 'feeling' it though.....
So we had a go at bidding on a 2001 Bailey Pageant Auvergne with all the kit and in excellent condition with no signs of damp as far as we could tell (viewed it twice and other half inspected with a fine tooth comb)and have 'won' it at £4375. We both liked this van more and it seemed more 'modern' than the swift iykwim.
I'll admit the lack of warranty/ damp check is a little concerning but husband is quite handy so has assured me that if anything goes wrong he'll have a go at repairing. He will also do the seals sooner rather than later.
really excited now and think we have got a good one for a good price (finally!).
Now for another question - has anyone fitted their own tow bar themselves??
Oh and thanks surfer for your kind offer - we did seriously take that into consideration when thinking about the swift.
Does £6,250 seem a good price for a 2003 Bailey Ranger 550? I think it comes with a 6 month warrenty.
I've seen some lovely bargains on ebay but I'm fast learning that there are a lot of pitfalls to buying this way, and , as I know absolutely nothing about caravans I've decided even tho the van will cost more a dealer is probably safer for me.
fin
We have our 2004 Bailey Ranger 550/6 on Ebay at the moment for £6500 though we have reduced it as we need to sell it quickly (we've just put a deposit down on another caravan!).
Also, another great caravan dealer is Capes McLeod - their stock changes often so keep an eye on their website! We are in the process of buying the Bailey Pageant Burgundy which they only put on their website last night and we put our deposit down on it today! They are VERY competitive and often have some older part-ex caravans which may suit those on a tight budget or just starting out.
------------- Claire x
Jan 2013 - Skiing, Kühtai, Austria
May - Swiss Farm
Fforest Ffields
Aug - Saumur, France
Oct - Somewhere...
Jan '14 - Skiing, Les Houches
Congratulations Lemoncheesecake!!! Just had a nosey on ebay - looks lovely.
If the van hasn't been serviced recently I'd recommend you get one done (around £150) - it'll give you peace of mind that all's well &. It'd also be a good idea to check with the seller when it last had new tyres.
No idea re fitting your own tow-bar - we paid about £450 for a detachable one to be fitted to our Passat although 'fixed' ones are cheaper. If you do get someone to fit it for you ring around for prices - they vary a lot!
Congratulations on your new van Plenty of pics soon to put us all out of our misery and I'm sure you'll have many happy holidays in her/him! Oh yes, you need a name for it now
Quote: Originally posted by lemoncheesecake on 06/8/2011
Now for another question - has anyone fitted their own tow bar themselves??
Oh and thanks surfer for your kind offer - we did seriously take that into consideration when thinking about the swift.
Tow bar fitting is not all that difficult, but the Congratulations on your new van. wiring part can be. The concern here is in the unfortunate event of an accident, i.e. caravan jumping off the toball, insurance may ask who fitted it and then there will be issues. It cost me £240 for the towbar plus electricvs to be fitted by a professional mobile fitter. Google "towbars" and one will jump out at you. More importantly make sure the caravan is insured before you hitch it up because if something does happen, you have thrown away £3725 or what you paid for it.
Quote: Originally posted by CaddyClan on 06/8/2011
Quote: Originally posted by fin7 on 06/8/2011
Does £6,250 seem a good price for a 2003 Bailey Ranger 550? I think it comes with a 6 month warrenty.
I've seen some lovely bargains on ebay but I'm fast learning that there are a lot of pitfalls to buying this way, and , as I know absolutely nothing about caravans I've decided even tho the van will cost more a dealer is probably safer for me.
fin
We have our 2004 Bailey Ranger 550/6 on Ebay at the moment for £6500 though we have reduced it as we need to sell it quickly (we've just put a deposit down on another caravan!).
Also, another great caravan dealer is Capes McLeod - their stock changes often so keep an eye on their website! We are in the process of buying the Bailey Pageant Burgundy which they only put on their website last night and we put our deposit down on it today! They are VERY competitive and often have some older part-ex caravans which may suit those on a tight budget or just starting out.
It's beautiful! I so wish you'd been nearer!
Post last edited on 07/08/2011 08:13:58
------------- the differnce between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits
Well done lemoncheesecake, I've had a nosey too, looks lovely :) it looks a friendly welcoming caravan ( that probably sounds mad lol but not to me) it's fab.
Bet you are excited xxx
------------- "I'm a fool for my dogs"
Adopt a rescue, rescue dogs make great pets, don't support puppy farms.
The road can be tough and rough,but what you put in you get back 10 x more.
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Are we making a mistake buying this?
Plenty of pics soon to put us all out of our misery and I'm sure you'll have many happy holidays in her/him! Oh yes, you need a name for it now 
It's beautiful! I so wish you'd been nearer!
