I have no experience when it comes to Caravans so your help will be very much appreciated.
Last week I put a deposit down on my first Caravan but having had a second visit to it I now have major concerns and am thinking of pulling out even though I will lose my deposit.
I have my Deposit on an Avondale Rialto 530-5 and we were really excited but then things started to go down hill at a rapid speed.
It started when we got home and did a cris check. The reason we hadn't done one before was because we had never heard of cris until we were told that we would need to register our new purchase to obtain the log book. Whilst online to register it we noticed a link to check your Caravan which we decided to do and our 2002 1 owner caravan turned out to be a 2001 with 4 owners. But all the other checks come back clear.
We went to pay the balance today but alarmingly spotted some damage on the outside of the van.
Firstly above the back window going onto the roof the skin of the van has cracked and on touching a strip of about 3 inches long a an inch wide fell off leaving the fibreglass underneath exposed.
We also noticed that around the the windows and doors on one side had been possibly resealed using a very soft sealent of which dirt had stuck to ? ?
It had the odd pot hole here and there on the side of the van but I guess this is to be expected as its only a starter Caravan around £3500.
Having pointed out the damage to the dealer he is going to repair the back/roof using some type of glue called P something but warned it might not be an exact colour match ?
We are going back at the weekend but your thoughts on this will very much welcomed.
Agree with above.. and get your deposit back as poor repairs i.e: bits falling off and not as decribed to you when you put down the deposit.
Its a year older and more owners than the seller told you.
------------- It is a wise man who has something to say.
It is a fool who has to say something.
Just on the basis the dealer misrepresented the caravan as a 2002 with 1 owner when a cris check told you it was not should get you your deposit back. Do you have it in writing, ie dealer's ad that 'van was '02/1 owner & print out of cris check '01/4 owners? Take the 'evidence' to dealer & request return of deposit.
Ditto...sounds a dodgy dealer to me. He should have done checks when he bought it. I wouldn't look upon a £3500 caravan as a cheap starter...it's 13 years old...sounds bloomin' expensive to me. For that price you should be able to get a good solid caravan easily.
A 2002 most probably was made in 2001 as they changed the year in september so vans made in aug 2001 is a 2001, model but vans made in september 2002 would be a 2002 van. Its a bit stange to newbie s but thats what they used to do so it made sense to buy your van after August.
As for the rest of the deal walk away.
Sennen
Goods not as described by the seller, get your deposit back and walk away, any problems contact your local trading standards. If you paid your deposit using a credit card, you card supplier should also be able to recover your funds for the deposit.
There are plenty of good honest caravans for sale for that sort of money, and having owned a couple of Avondales myself along the way, there not the best made caravans I ever owned, and the Olympus was always giving problems with Damp, despite it only being a couple of years old at the time. Also, now they are no longer made, getting spares for some parts of them may be difficult.
Julia
------------- Just love to be out amoungst Nature and Wildlife
Celebrating 37 years of Caravanning in 2019, Recently Considered Retiring, but Totally Addicted for Life!
Thank you all so much for your views and very useful information.
I will be returning tomorrow asking for my deposit back as deep down I know its a bad buy. Had I spotted the crack/hole earlier I certainly wouldn't have even considered buying it.
We have certainly learnt from this and will be extra careful whilst our search continues for our perfect starter Van.
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Topic: Help ... Have I been ripped off ? ?
