Advice on used motor home please (1 Viewer)

[jamie upton]

Hi all. I'm new to motor homing but was wondering if anyone could give their advice on my first purchase.
I'm after a 4 berth 4 belted seats home and not too big (I currently drive an ldv maxus hi roof van for my sins which I'm used to). I'll be traveling mainly with my 5 year old son but my parents will join us from time to time. I'm 6ft tall and have found this an issue in some of the examples I've looked at. I've got 25k to spend and am considering a Hymer Classic 2007 which is listed for 23k. I know it's the basic Hymer but I wanted a quality home. Does anyone have any advice they could give on this or possibly suggest any other quality manufacturers / models? One other thing, alot of the older models I looked at yesterday smelt stale. It's this par for the course with a 10 year old home? Thanks in anticipation.

 

[wigster]

 

[suavecarve]

Firstly welcome, and secondly i know nothing about Hymers.
There are lots of ppl who swear by Hymers and swear in scandinavian that they dont leak !
With any motorhome purchase take the advice for what it is .....advice.
My advice is to work out what you need (ie 4 sleeping spots, fixed bed ? garage ? solar panels? gas? under/over 3.5 tonne ? diesel ? mileage? age ? from a dealer ? bike rack ? winterised? and anything else that suits your needs.
Start with a blank piece of paper and have musts/desired/dont care. then go through ebay/trader/gumtree/MMM and see what hits your list.
You may have already done that and worked out you want a hymer classic 2007

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[MR. FUSION]

My advice, before you go and see it look at the on line MOT certificates for indications of bodywork/rust faults & indications of other faults.
Before you even go in it, look underneath it, check everything is sound and no new patches of underseal or accident damage. No loose belts or leaks or ruptured tanks........check the engine bay for same. Check the body work for rust and repairs, including the roof (sometimes neglected on big MH's Like the underside). Now you can look inside!

 

[bubble63]

Hi all. I'm new to motor homing but was wondering if anyone could give their advice on my first purchase.
I'm after a 4 berth 4 belted seats home and not too big (I currently drive an ldv maxus hi roof van for my sins which I'm used to). I'll be traveling mainly with my 5 year old son but my parents will join us from time to time. I'm 6ft tall and have found this an issue in some of the examples I've looked at. I've got 25k to spend and am considering a Hymer Classic 2007 which is listed for 23k. I know it's the basic Hymer but I wanted a quality home. Does anyone have any advice they could give on this or possibly suggest any other quality manufacturers / models? One other thing, alot of the older models I looked at yesterday smelt stale. It's this par for the course with a 10 year old home? Thanks in anticipation.

welcome
go round the big dealers and sit in a few
go to a motorhome shows
enjoy

 

[rosalan]

There are many suitable vans that should fit your requirements. It is very sound advice to visit many dealers and at least one Motorhome show before committing your money. The very worst thing to find is damp, which can affect vans and bring their price down, these should be avoided.
Hymer vans are good but are one of several marques from the same company which also include Burstner, TEC, Dethleffs and Laika. Having said this, any van can be great or a problem, just avoid damp. Good luck!

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[WillH]

It's all about the layout. Welcome!

 

[davidbaldam]

Hi and welcome to FUN.

 

[f6c]

Welcome aboard

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[jamie upton]

Hi all, thanks very much for the warm welcome the advice so far. Very much appreciated.

 

[suavecarve]

Something that happened last week on a thread was a newbie asking about the history of a van on a forecourt. The original owner was a member on here and they made contact with each other.
I believe the search facility for "hymer classic" is only possible with a £15 annual membership !!!!!!!!
what comes with the extortionate fee is as much free advice as it is possible to get with as many posts as you care to post and the ability to pass on and receive sarcasm.

 

[DanielFord]

Hi all, thanks very much for the warm welcome the advice so far. Very much appreciated.

Firstly

And secondly, we were in your neck of the woods at the weekend, we would gladly have imparted our very partial mortorhome buying guide to you over a pint. Sadly we are in Scotland this weekend, so perhaps a bit far for you to travel.

What @WillH said is the most important advice you will receive. Don't get hung up on makes, find a layout that suits you, then look for makes and models that have that layout!

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[138go]

Be the first to open the door and then have a good smell. If it smells damp then walk away no matter what anyone says DAMP is DAMP. It can be cured but it can be VERY . VERY . VERY . EXPENSIVE and can take months to sort out as EVERYTHING has to be dried out first. So even if it's the DOGS Whatsits if it smells WALK.

Next look very carefully in all the cupboards and in all the hidden little places in lockers etc.

If you find ANY BLACK mould WALK away. Black mould is a fungus and spreads as you walk around the MH. Little tiny spours that you cannot see spread everywhere then given the right conditions bingo they erupt. You can wash it with alsorts of chemicals but it gets deep into the fabric of the MH.

Plenty to choose from Second Hand you just have to be wary ..

Happy Hunting ..