Autotrail Comanche advice needed

[JJ20]

Afternoon funsters,
Currently looking for an Autotrail Comanche 2010+ and I was just wondering from anyone that may have or had one what common problems or things to look out for when I start looking. All sensible advice welcome.
Thanks in advance

 

[JJ20]

Scrap that........I've now viewed 2 since posting this earlier and there's been that much damp you would need a snorkel to holiday in them, I'm sure there's plenty of great auto trails out there but I have been put off if I'm honest. "German vans it is"
Anyone looking at the 10 plate for sale in Cwmbran in Wales, dont waste your time, it's sopping wet but the bloke will tell you there's no damp whatsoever and it's upto date with hab checks, my damp meter tells a different story, I was getting readings of 19%-32% throughout the whole van, the smell of damp smacks you in the face as you walk in, his spiced xmas candles don't really mask that very well haha. Yes I'm ticked off as he clearly knew but still let me drive the 5 hour journey.

 

[ambulancekidd]

Glad you managed to spot the damp before spending your hard earned cash.
Autotrail's seem to have a particularly bad name for damp which I think is a shame as I like the styling of their motorhomes.

However, a further word of caution, an awful lot of newer motorhomes seem to be plagued by damp, even a lot of the better known "quality" manufacturers.

Money saving & cost cutting at the factories seem to be the main culprits, even though these are horrendously expensive purchases, the attitude of the dealers (not all) & manufacturers seems to be that they don't give a damn.

I have to say if I was sitting on a large cash wedge I certainly wouldn't be very keen to splash out on a brand new motorhome, the quality is so patchy & IMHO they lack imagination or style.

 

[Peter and Julie]

We looked at 5 in total. Dealer ones looked at all SUPER damp. I bought mine (now part ex for RV) privately. Dry then and dry when part ex. Damp meters are a must have when looking at vans!

 

[JJ20]

Absolutely, I'd never buy a van without checking over with a damp meter, it's saved me sooooo much money, the one I viewed in Wales, he had a nice big converted Mill, Range rover vogue sat next to the motorhome, elderly "scumbag" I mean gentleman, so it gave off a good impression when I drove up the long driveway, he give it the innocent butter wouldn't melt act but then I caught him out on so many lies to the point he was getting all flustered, red faced and words jumbled, he told me that it had been drained down for winter, so I activated the pump and oh look we have water and alot of it. He almost killed over when he spotted my damp meter, I then asked to see it running off 12v, he looked a little worried, I unplugged the 240v to then find the heating didn't work off gas and the leisure batteries at 11.4v. I feel for any newbies that may go and look at that van and not really know what to check or look out for.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[pelican]

Absolutely, I'd never buy a van without checking over with a damp meter, it's saved me sooooo much money, the one I viewed in Wales, he had a nice big converted Mill, Range rover vogue sat next to the motorhome, elderly "scumbag" I mean gentleman, so it gave off a good impression when I drove up the long driveway, he give it the innocent butter wouldn't melt act but then I caught him out on so many lies to the point he was getting all flustered, red faced and words jumbled, he told me that it had been drained down for winter, so I activated the pump and oh look we have water and alot of it. He almost killed over when he spotted my damp meter, I then asked to see it running off 12v, he looked a little worried, I unplugged the 240v to then find the heating didn't work off gas and the leisure batteries at 11.4v. I feel for any newbies that may go and look at that van and not really know what to check or look out for.

So what is the true value I wonder

 

[Vipar]

You might pay more from a dealer. But you get a warranty for 6 months. What you pay extra could be small compared with a major issue.