Would you have any concerns about buying a 1 year old mh? (1 Viewer)

[Debs]

just wondering what others thoughts are on this which is nothing to do with us but I feel a bit responsible

Les's brother joined us at Malvern show last week with his caravan......and has decided to change to a motorhome, trouble is he doesn't hang around and has put a deposit (two if truth be known, but that's a long story) on a year old van.

The original owner must've lost an awful lot on it and it wasn't taken as a px........it looks unused and has low mileage.....

Would any of you have any concerns ????????

Cheers

 

[Carol]

No, strange I know but Motorhomes are not for everyone, some people buy them use them a couple of times then decide it's not for them, or they are taken ill, so hopefully there will be a genuine reason.

 

[DuxDeluxe]

Not really, Debs..... There are a huge amount of similar vans on the market, usually the wrong size/layout etc.. Les' brother would be really unlucky to get a duff one, though it is of course always possible. Presumably it comes with a decent warranty so I don't see a problem expect for the first owner who lost at least 25% on it.

To be honest, if we saw a better van (for us) we would take the plunge even though ours is only 18months old. Not likely to happen, though

(Sent from Old Hall Caister - with the B's and Peter C10 and Angela)

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[Mousy]

Hi Debs, in general it's not unusual to come across almost used vans, some people buy a motorhome and realise very quickly it's not what they were expecting (or one person in the partnership does!).
Also sadly given the demographic who can buy new, ill health and even death can be a factor.
Then there is the "if only we had..." group who seem to change vans on a whim.

The main thing when purchasing any van, is damp test the hell out of it, check the payload and make sure it's the right layout for you.

Good luck and I hope you get to enjoy many happy nights together.

 

[Mousy]

Lol, 3 almost identical replies in as many minutes...note to self...must type faster!

 

[Judge Mental]

Think more info required to give an informed opinion. But just because its a year old means not
a lot to be honest

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[tonka]

You would be surprised how many vans get bought and sold within a year.
Some are because the buyer gets the bug but then realise they have the wrong layout and change for that reason.
Others turn up at a dealers on a lovely sunny day, fancy the lifestyle and buy a van. Later reality kicks in and they are busy working, get poor weather and sell it back to the dealer,,

Until they closed down we had a Brownhills branch (later Discover leisure) a few hundred meters away. Knew the staff there and was often told stories why the vans came back... Common one was that one partner loved it and the other hated it.!!

When we started motorhoming, I bought 3 in 18 months. !! Trading up from used, bigger van and then bigger and new..

 

[CWH]

Our dealers have one in, the layout's where you make up 2 singles with your feet on the front seats. Apparently they used it for one night and she refused to get into it ever again. He returned it with less than 100 miles on it and lost an absolute packet. Personalised number-plate on it too.

 

[Judge Mental]

Our dealers have one in, the layout's where you make up 2 singles with your feet on the front seats. Apparently they used it for one night and she refused to get into it ever again. He returned it with less than 100 miles on it and lost an absolute packet. Personalised number-plate on it too.

Don't blame her!
sleep comfort on a proper bed the main reason we have vans, probably spend more time in bed in one then doing anything else. No compromise IMO

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[Neilfg]

We sold our first van after a year's use, we thought we had bought the ideal layout. But after using in all weathers and conditions, and seeing how others use their vans our requirements changed.

I would not have an issue buying a one year old van as all the issues should be sorted and if not then I would walk away.

 

[CWH]

Don't blame her!

Well I don't, I blame him for buying it
The dealers tried to get me to buy it but to be honest I'd have done exactly the same in her place

 

[GeebeeJaybee]

We pick our replacement up on Friday after only 5 months of owning this one (although it wasn't new and neither is the next one). As has already been said layout change is required. We really thought we had done all the research but 10 days in France showed us it wasn't going to work long term.
We haven't lost any money though, so not all bad.

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[John.]

We have already looked at changing our van probably going to leave
it for another year & go over to France for a while next spring.

Perhaps we won't notice the cash loss as much then ?

Our reason for a change of plans are simple we have enjoyed our pvc (28 nights) immensely love the freedom it gives us & think it will be easier to fly Charlie over to Fuertventura for the winter rather than take ferries.

So probably going to look again at the Rapido or the Autocruise we looked at.

Wanted to have a look around at the Nec but knowing we would have changed vans we decided to have a week in Wales to keep us away from temptation

Sorry should have said we wish to up size as we will not be using the pvc as planned.

 

[Debs]

Thank you everyone who replied, sorry I've been busy springing Pa from the nursing home & getting him settled back in his home.

Good to know the age wouldn't overly concern anyone, I don't feel so panicky now....& especially for Eddie (who is as nosey as me) it's an Auto Sleeper Broadway EK @Judgemental

 

[Judge Mental]

Nosey? dont get near it!

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[Mack100]

We are changing our 2 year old MH before the spring. We simply didn't learn the mistakes we had made when we bought our first caravan.
I want to do away with the making up and deconstructing the bed so the u shaped lounge will be a thing of the past. I want a garage, fed up with grovelling around in a Fiamma back box and I want a spare tyre not a gunk kit!
All these wants is going to cost us but I know we will enjoy our motor homing more.

 

[Debs]

Les's brother (Dave) has been a caravanner for 20 odd years (like us) so hopefully he has some understanding about layouts/bedmaking etc.

However he has quite a few health issues, my sis in law is leaning more towards them going for an automatic. The one they're looking at is a manual and something else she's a bit unsure of is how comfortable he'll be on a longer drive....he's not overly tall but has a very long body so always finds head room is an issue in almost all cars (he obviously should've been 6'7"). He found that the blinds in the cab restrictes his view, I did tell him he'd be better with an A class but he's not keen.

 

[Debs]

Not really, Debs..... There are a huge amount of similar vans on the market, usually the wrong size/layout etc.. Les' brother would be really unlucky to get a duff one, though it is of course always possible. Presumably it comes with a decent warranty so I don't see a problem expect for the first owner who lost at least 25% on it.

To be honest, if we saw a better van (for us) we would take the plunge even though ours is only 18months old. Not likely to happen, though

(Sent from Old Hall Caister - with the B's and Peter C10 and Angela)

Enjoy! We will have to have a trip up over there soon

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[Judge Mental]

6.7? I would get him to look at A class or at least vans with high roofs

 

[Debs]

6.7? I would get him to look at A class or at least vans with high roofs

He's about 5'10" but 6'7" when sitting IYSWIM........just v v long in the body.
He's got the bit between his teeth about getting a van asap.....who knows, they might go for this one then end up changing next year

 

[Judge Mental]

He's about 5'10" but 6'7" when sitting IYSWIM........just v v long in the body.
He's got the bit between his teeth about getting a van asap.....who knows, they might go for this one then end up changing next year

Oh dear..give him a slap and get him to sober up

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[Southdowners]

We're the same as others in that the layout colour scheme we have is wrong. We've only owned our MH a few months but will more than likely change it - its a little over a year old. We decided that we would like an island bed, not two singles with an infill. We've also found that ivory seats are not the best choice when you have a very active dog!

 

[Debs]

Oh dear..give him a slap and get him to sober up

In more ways than one

 

[philw111]

Ours was a year old when we bought it - with less than 50 miles on the clock

It still had the plastic wrapping on the mattress.

Ten years on and it's still going strong. The only related problem we had was that the tyres needing replacing earlier than they should because it had been stood for that length of time and cracks appeared.

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[parknride]

We bought a 9 month old caravan, only been used 2 weeks! Was beautiful we saved a fortune.
FIL sadly passed away on holiday in Spain so had to sell his almost new timberland.
Our current van was 18 months old, hardly used 2,500 on clock. Private sale from someone in London, apparently couple split up no longer wanted the van. Dont know if that was the truth but Warranty still in place so weren't worried. 2 years on no problems.
So yes, we would. Some people have more money than sense and others just don't make the right choice (easy done).

 

[Minxy]

We've had a fair few MHs/campers and the shortest times we had one was 18 months -we only got shot because of the continuous problems with it and the awful heating ... it was bl**dy freezing! Since then I think the shortest stint has been 2.5 years and the longest nearly 4 years.

 

[tonyidle]

FWIW I don't think the first MH is ever 'just right' and buying SH makes a lot more sense than buying new. We came to MHs with nearly 30 years tugging experience & therefore a lot of knowledge of the right layout for us. We thought we had it sorted but we're now on our third (SH) motorhome and now it IS right. For us.

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[Allanm]

We will be moving permanently to France in the near future, so, we have decided to replace our van with a LHD model. We will keep the same layout as ours, if we can find one, 2 1/2 years on and it is still perfect for us. But, maybe an A class this time. Same amount of space but in a shorter body.

 

[Gaston aires]

Its an expensive mistake buying the wrong van for whatever reason. Make sure the layout, size, and payload are what you want/need.
Lots of good nearly new vans around.
Phil

 

[Debs]

Its an expensive mistake buying the wrong van for whatever reason. Make sure the layout, size, and payload are what you want/need.
Lots of good nearly new vans around.
Phil

They have been caravanners for 20 odd years so are happy they've got the right layout, size is restricted due to the parking area/access

They, like lots of us caravanners, have had build/damp issues so they were just a little bit concerned as to whether they were buying something with unresolved problems....they don't want the hassle after this last caravan....

It does seem that lots of folk do change their units quite quickly which should give them a bit of peace of mind