Went to see a lovely caravan - checked all over (or so we thought)immaculate van - not a hint of even dirt - smelled lovely - bit doggy but as they had 3 it wasnt suprising. It was pouring of rain and the owners (may they rot in hell) even plugged the electric into there house and showed us everything worked etc.2 owners from new (its an old van -Elddis Breeze 510 1993)
We didnt have towbar on our old car but were just waiting for our new car (which has a towbar on) so the guy (hope his bits turn square and fall off) offered to tow it to our house. When it arrived we checked it again, plugged it into our electric etc. Everything seemed ok so parted with our £1750 from the sale of our campervan.
Next day (raining again!)I noticed a puddle of water on the chest of drawers at the front - pulled the seal up on the window and it is soaking with damp and all rotten wood.
We have put it into a caravan repair place and phoned today - they said the rest of the caravan was in immaculate condition for its age but the damp was in the whole front - he recommended not even towing it as it wasnt safe!!!!!!!
He cant give an estimate until the joiner sees it but can say at least it will be over £1000 (and probably a lot more) but he cant give a precise figure until Friday.
We are gutted - the reason we got the van was my eldest dd is undergoing chemotherapy for Hodgkins Lymphoma and we wanted something nice to take her for wee holidays between the treatments - with this amount of damp I cant even risk her sitting in it.
There is a special circle of hell for these people that palm off their rotten vans....
Right, rant over (and I have stopped crying and kicking the cat) - moving on.....
We dont know what to do - my oh isnt keen on doing the damp replacment himself as even with looking on the net at all those clever people who do some fantastic repairs he not confident himself.Because of my dd we cant take the risk of her being in a damp van with spores in the air.
So do we pay for the damp to be repaired (will have to get a loan) - hopefully we will get a great van after that - but if it costs more than we paid for it should we just suck it up, scrap it and start again? (again involving a loan)
The thought of looking for another van makes me feel sick as we really thought this one was great - what if we make the same mistake again????
(Sorry about the rant but at least I have got it off my chest)
Linda
Post last edited on 22/07/2009 19:55:31
------------- Hols 11
Easter - East Calder
Wee break in tent - Aberfoyle
Summer - Whitby/Barnard Castle
Aug - Craigielands
As has been said on here many times - take a damp meter when viewing used vans. Some buyers go to view a van and the sellers take a figure well below the advertised price. Whe the van is bought after haggling the price down then I think the van is sold as seen and the phrase buyer beware applies, as long as it is fit for the purpose it is sold.
If your van isn't fit for its purpose then maybe you can ask the owners for the costs of repair or a refund. If they refuse inform them that you will go ahead with repairs and recoup the money from the small claims court along with legal fees and expenses.
Did they make any statement about the van NOT being being damp, either in their advert (have you got a link to the advert?) or when you spoke to the, if they did you might have a misrepresentation claim.
It really is buyer beware unless they made any express statement that the van was not damp.
I sold a damp van last year!
I advertised it as damp, indicated to prospective purchasers where I knew the damp was, they brought damp metres with them, and I still sold it on ebay for far more than I had hoped!
I generally sleep very well too!
-------------
"If I let go of what I am, I can become what I might be".
linda, unfortunately there is a lot of total crooks out there that sell crap vans, honesty doesnt come into it. if you have any mates that are joiners between them and the fixed it club on here it will get sorted
Knowingly selling a caravan which is damp & concealing that fact is a totally different thing from selling a damp van as a damp van of course.
I really feel for you linda, as, I`m sure, will the majority of others who see your post-especially those of us who really do know what it's like to be a bit hard-up in the cash department. As if you didn't have enough grief with your girl (daughter?- sorry I have no idea what dd means) being so sick.
I think some of these replies have given you good advice though, I kknow of 2 cases where people genuinely did not know damp was getting in (no visible signs to begin with) till the water ingress had done a lot of damage within wall cavity, so I do think you should approach the seller if you haven`t already.
If they DID deliberately stiff you, I hope they rot in hell too. Sorry I haven't got any concrete advice to give you, but I really wish you luck. Don`t beat yourself up about it. Most decent people get had at some point. Been there, done that....
Posts like this convince me that I will only buy our used van from a dealership, even if it costs us a thousand pounds over buying privately. I would be heartbroken if I was in your position because the money we spend on our new van is money we can only spend once. It is tempting to buy privately for the lower prices and all the accessories thrown in but I would prefer the peace of mind of a reputable dealer and at least 3 months warranty. This is the 3rd post I have read in the past 3 months where people have been shafted by seemingly lovely people and left with damp vans on their hands. I hope you find a solution to your problem and may the people you bought it from rot in hell.
Hi
I have just repaired a damp van & it really is not that difficult, it takes time & very basic diy skills, after all they are only thin ply, insulation & wooden spars inside. If you dont feel as though you can repair it yourself do you know a local handyman or out of work joiner who is willing to have a go? If not i think that you would be better off having it repaired at a dealers than scrapping it, i know that it will cost but at least you will have a good van once its done, if you scrap & look for another one whos to say that wont be damp or have some other hidden problem?
Whatever you decide, good luck
As regards buying from a dealer for the peace of mind, all very well but when the 3 months warranty is up & you have a problem what then ? It's much the same as going to a car dealer, you do have some `come-back', but it's very limited & of course it costs an awful lot more for exactly the same thing bought privately.
If you know someone who's practical (or are yourself) & knows what to look out for, then esp armed with a damp meter) it may mean the difference between being able to afford to buy something which will give you at least a few of years pleasure - or just plain not getting anything at all. And if the caravan you paid twice as much for from a dealer turns out to be a dud, you'll have lost an awful lot more.
I reckon Steve's post above is a sound idea.Hey Linda, let us know how it works out.
Quote: Originally posted by steve1961 on 22/7/2009
Hi I have just repaired a damp van & it really is not that difficult, it takes time & very basic diy skills, after all they are only thin ply, insulation & wooden spars inside. If you dont feel as though you can repair it yourself do you know a local handyman or out of work joiner who is willing to have a go? If not i think that you would be better off having it repaired at a dealers than scrapping it, i know that it will cost but at least you will have a good van once its done, if you scrap & look for another one whos to say that wont be damp or have some other hidden problem? Whatever you decide, good luck
hi we have just bought a lunar clubman which is very bad with damp. not much funds to splash out on a caravan dealer to repair so my husband has tried to do this himself with the help of family. is there any 1 we could get advice from as he has become stuck on replacing the interior walls we are using 3mm plywood but the wood doesnt sit flush to the polystyrene as the baton seems to be a bit thicker in places which we bought from our local diy store and what adhesives do we use for the polystyrene to aluminum and ply to polystyrene if this makes sense someone has told us we can use no nails or liquid nails as long as its none solvent but for first timers and stuck with a wet caravan we havent a clue
Quote: Originally posted by Gypsydoll on 22/7/2009
As regards buying from a dealer for the peace of mind, all very well but when the 3 months warranty is up & you have a problem what then ? It's much the same as going to a car dealer, you do have some `come-back', but it's very limited & of course it costs an awful lot more for exactly the same thing bought privately.
If you know someone who's practical (or are yourself) & knows what to look out for, then esp armed with a damp meter) it may mean the difference between being able to afford to buy something which will give you at least a few of years pleasure - or just plain not getting anything at all. And if the caravan you paid twice as much for from a dealer turns out to be a dud, you'll have lost an awful lot more.
I reckon Steve's post above is a sound idea.Hey Linda, let us know how it works out.
I have seen a diagram on using a damp meter to test a caravan for damp and it advises approx 200 points on the van that you should test. I doubt any of us would damp test a van to that extent. A 3 month warranty is about all you can expect on a van over 10 years old but it does give you the time to take the van home, test and inspect it and put it to use and then get it back to the dealer for problems to be put right. At least you are not buying a dud right from the start and you have some redress.
Thanks for all your replies - we expressly asked the woman if it was damp and she went on and on about how she would never sell anything that had any problems and that she wasnt that kind of person - she was either a bald face liar or as someone said perhaps not aware of the damp. I rather think the first one as a large puddle appeared on the chest of drawers after not a huge amount of rain and nobody could miss that. Makes me wonder how they stopped the rain coming in when we looked at it - probably had towels stuffed somewhere. It was our own fault for not checking.
We will have to see what the final quote is on Friday.
(I still think my dh could have a go - my son is a joiner and if we could get step by step instructions they might be able to do it - but he's still not keen)
------------- Hols 11
Easter - East Calder
Wee break in tent - Aberfoyle
Summer - Whitby/Barnard Castle
Aug - Craigielands
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: How can folk sleep who sell damp vans??
