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Hi

We are planning on buying our first caravan. We are after a 5 berth caravan. We are not sure what models to look out for. We have looked on Ebay and the local paper. We plan to spend upto £2,000. We are not sure how often we will use it and also we can not afford much more. We also want the caravan to be able to stand being towed around the UK and France. I am a little worred buying any caravans made in mid 80's. I understand that I am asking alot for my money. What age of caravan should we be looking at?

Thanks we are so confused and are not sure what we want

Hi there, first off arm yourself with a damp meter.  Make sure it has sharp points as you need to pierce walls etc not just place it against them.  Lots of duff stuff on ebay amongst the good so tread carefully and make sure you spend lots of time checking it over if you do win a bid/go to see one beforehand.  £2000 won't buy you anything other than 1980s or maybe a very early nineties van from my experience as a recent purchaser.  We struck lucky and got our 1997 Elddis for £2800 but we were just in the right place at the right time.

Go to your local dealers and look around, spend time sussing out layouts and what size suits you.  I have seen loads of posts on here this year where people have bought vans and then thought about their car's capacity to tow!  Expensive mistake if you ask me, so make sure you know your towcar's capabilities.

go to the caravan club's website as they have lots of good tips on there for newbies and experienced vanners alike.  Private buys are better value but as has been said before, check everything, and I mean everything.  Get the vendor to show you stuff working.  Check all walls for spongy spots, damp mouldy looking stuff and especially the side with the awning rail and in the bathroom.  Open all lockers and check them thoroughly too, also under the seats.

If the floor is springy it is delaminating and is tedious to repair, I believe.

Happy hunting.

Ali

good advice here...... 

Avoid Caravan Crime
	Buying Secondhand

We've just bought a 1989 Compass and what looked a beautiful caravan is riddled with damp, even when we tested for damp which only looked like a little tiny bit in the corner when we took off the ply sides we found loads behind it.  We haven't paid above the odds and its cheap to repair, more time consuming than difficult by the looks of it so we are happy with our purchase.  My main concern was getting the layout right cause I new once repaired we will keep this for many years.  Also the weight of the caravan was a big issue so overall well chuffed.

I also think that we have saved money in the long run as every weekend we were traveling and using quite a lot of petrol looking at for a dry van. 

If you happy to diy like we are then there are people who can advise, (thanks to those who have already advised us!)

Good Luck in your quest.

Hi

Thanks for the advice. To be honest I know we are fussy. Having to do much DIY would not be our thing more to the point that we simply will not have enough time to do the work. We will be storing the caravan somewhere in our area, we do not have the room to store it here. I am looking at buying a VW Passat Estate. I will also have a look into see how much it can tow safely.

We bought a Montana 6 tent last year. Its a lovely tent and its spacious. We felt could hear everything going on outside and it was cold in the mornings. We are thinking of taking the tent for weekends but having a caravan for longer trips and to take to France so we can visit DLP more often.

I will have a look in my locals papers so we can fully investigate them. As mentioned you do not know what you are getting from Ebay. Are there any caravan auctions? Perhaps you can have a look round the van?

Thanks again.