Looking for some advice please. We re normally tent campers but considering making the big move and we'd like to go and have a look at some second hand caravans to get an idea of the layouts / brands etc we like. Can anyone recommend dealers in Staffordshire or with an hour or so of here, where we are likely to find a reasonable amount of second hand stock at this time of year?
Any advice very gratefully received, thank you in advance
Hi pinkpigeon, the first thing you have to decided is how much you want to spend and what your circumstances are, do you have a family etc as this will obviously decided what layout.
Funny enough I just travelled from Kent to Staffordshire to pick my first caravan out, so don't rule out travelling if there's something you want.
I ended up buying a swift that's still in warranty and the after service is excellent, in fact I could easily say I've never dealt with a after service so good. But that's my dealing others may say different but I have heard a lot of people say it's very good.
Unfortunately I can't say about the dealerships as I bought mine private but I hear a lot of good things from the dealers when was bought new, unfortunately I can't remember the name of them at the moment.
------------- Up there for thinking, down there for dancing. 😎
Shropshire caravans in Shrewsbury have a decent reputation,try googling caravan dealers Staff's and try that,don't rush into it,this time of the year is a buyers market,pick up a few tips and then you can try buying private(a lot cheaper than dealers but no warranties etc)learn to use and buy a damp meter,that can save you a lot of worry.
Caravanning is not to everyone's taste,so don't jump in and spend thousands only to find that you don't like it,when we started sometime in the distant past,we actually hired one to try out first,a weekend is long enough to get a good idea.
Best of luck and let us know how you fare
Quote: Originally posted by tonyv8power on 11/11/2015Ryedale Leisure at Shepshed are 1 hour from you and have a reasonable cross section of new and used vans. They are knowledgable and helpful.
We had our Bailey van from them and found them very fair and helpful, not the closest one to us who gave us the impression he couldn't care less.
Remember to do a check on your towcar/caravan match before you commit to buy.
Dave
------------- Never argue with an idiot, they will drag you down to their level and beat you on experience.
Mark Twain.
Depending on your budget you could save thousands by buying private.
What it would cost to get it checked out by a professional would be negligible compared to what you could save.
Why not check out prices on private sales and dealers to compare and take it from there.
Just a word of caution when buying private, if it seems to good to be true in generally is!
Make sure the person you are buying from is the actual owner , get a CRIS check done..etc..etc...
------------- It is a wise man who has something to say.
It is a fool who has to say something.
Thanks for the suggestions and tips. At this stage is more of a case of us just having a look at what sort of thing we want in terms of layout then we can start to have a look at some private adverts too. Without having a look physically first we don't really know what we want so it seems like the right thing to do.
We currently spend a few weeks in the tent in France every summer and the rigging up and down takes a whole day (we like a bit of comfort!). It'll be great to have something vaguely more rigid and to be able to scoot away for weekends here and there. I suspect I'll be getting to know you better over the coming weeks and months. Thanks again
We have just done our 1st year in or van, having been tent campers for years. We found a local dealer and went to look at layouts, but they didn't have lots.
The Manchester show at event city is on in January, it may be worth a visit, we did the NEC just to look and get an idea what would work for us.
We ended up travelling to buy our van as the dealer had a choice in our price range.
We bought our 1st van in 2010 and are now on our third van. our first was a nice but old swift 2 berth van. We decided in 2013 that we would like a bigger van giving us a bit more space so we bought a 4 berth side dinette and L shape seating at the front. we thought the L shape was different and would be really comfy for us. We loved having the side dinette as it meant we could leave the bed up if it was bad weather and still have some where to eat. Unfortunately we did not like the L shape seating it wasn't comfy for us. That's not to say it's bad just not for us. We upgraded again this year to a fixed bed model and love it. Guess what I am trying to say is make sure you get what you want and try out sitting and making yourself comfy when you look at vans. Don't make he same mistake as us and end up not liking the van you bought then replacing it after 2 years. None of ours were brand new and yes we may now have a lot newer van but if we had liked the second van we would still have it.
The further away you travel to buy, the more you have to be sure of everything surrounding the purchase. Essentially, its rare you will bring any van home - even new, and be 100% happy with it after trying it out. There is always a niggle or two (if you are lucky) so you dont want to be travelling 50/100/200 miles for an hours 'fix'. If you can sort stuff yourself, it isnt so bad.
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Topic: New to caravanning, Staffordshire
