First time buyer

[Sula]

Hello you lovely people. Just looking for a bit of advice. Taking my first step into buying a motorhome and looking at a - wait for it - 1999 Fiat Ducato Dethleff Globetrotter low line with only 41000 miles in the clock. Service history and all paperwork apparently. Described as in great condition and drives superb with no damp or rust. The price is £8500. Sounds good although 20 years old and many many extras with it. I'm going to see it. Is there any advice you can give me about what to ask, look out for?? I'm a complete novice in this respect!!! Any help great fully received as aim nervous!!

 

[Jaws]

To be honest it sounds a bit cheap... If it is on fleabay it MIGHT be scam..
If you have seen it up close and it looks as described I reckon you could do a whole lot worse !

 

[Sula]

Thanks for that Jaws. Haven't seen it yet but have spoken to the person who's selling it. He says he buys for the trade and didn't realise it was a left hand drive so has put it on eBay as well. Don't know where he bought it from but said it was in use until he did. Said the mileage can be verified by paperwork and welcomed AA/Rac inspection although they've told me they don't do them above 20 years old and this goes to the month so would have to find out the month of registration in 1999. Can view it tomorrow. This is nail biting as I've never spent this much money on any vehicle before let alone a camper which I want to meander around E

 

[Bart]

The mileage is most likely genuine as we bought our 1st mh, with 11, 000 miles on it and it was 9 years old, the mileage was verified by previous mot tests and service paperwork.
Use your nose and check cupboards for damp with said nose
Also check age of tyres to make sure they are not like 10 years old , and check for cracking of tyres.
As for mechanical, no idea apart from starting it up, see how it runs, take it for a test drive and dip the oil and check for any signs of water in said oil.

 

[Sula]

Thanks Bart that's helpful.

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[Ivory55]

My only words are don’t buy the first one you see. Rose tinted glasses can play havoc with the wallet.

 

[TerryL]

Download Jim's Buyers Guide (in Resources). Should give you most of what you need to know. Most important is will the layout suit you?

But DON'T go into it with rose-coloured glasses - if you've got any doubts come back here first for a second (third, fourth, fifth....) opinion.

There are plenty of good used vans out there.

 

[Northernraider]

It's too cheap ...I'd expect that to be 15k plus

Have you a link to the add

 

[Northernraider]

Ok I've found it



The seller has zero feedback for selling only buying. I think the van is too cheap so be wary and certainly do not part with any cash before viewing it not even a deposit.

That said if it is genuine you woukd want to act fast as at this time of year if it's as good as stated it will sell quickly at that price.

 

[Northernraider]

Did that above ^^^

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[Puddleduck]

Any funster live in or near Coventry and able to go and have a nosey with you?

 

[Eggs]

Be careful, the adress on eBay is wrong, the postcode doesn't match the road name. The phone number is all over the Internet in different parts of the country, on some sites he uses the name Tom W, on others Tom L.

 

[Eggs]

Did that above ^^^

Yep, you beat me to it, note to self: must try harder.

 

[Sula]

Ooer - sounds dodgy - you detectives you and I'd like to say thank you so much for the time you've taken and from your findings I'm going to give this a wide berth. There's some unscrupulous people out there! Yes, he said his name was Tom when I spoke to him over the phone. Thanks again, you're all so kind.

 

[Puddleduck]

If it's genuine the seller would share the previous owners name and address so you can contact them.

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[Spriddler]

As well as the above I'd get the reg'n and check the MOT records for faults and total mileage plus miles travelled in past year.
I may be cynical but the reg'n isn't visible as unusually all the photos of the back end have been taken too high up

 

[Northernraider]

Ooer - sounds dodgy - you detectives you and I'd like to say thank you so much for the time you've taken and from your findings I'm going to give this a wide berth. There's some unscrupulous people out there! Yes, he said his name was Tom when I spoke to him over the phone. Thanks again, you're all so kind.

Don't completely write it off yet ....how far is Coventry from you?
If it isn't far then it may be worth viewing it in person.
It would help if we could also get the registration number of the van.

 

[Northernraider]

As well as the above I'd get the reg'n and check the MOT records for faults and total mileage plus miles travelled in past year.
I may be cynical but the reg'n isn't visible as unusually all the photos of the back end have been taken too high up

A lot of folk do that these days because some bright sparks made a big thing about cloning.
Of course others do it specifically so you can't check the history etc.
But no way of telling which....I suppose you could text the number and ask for it


In fact I think I will

 

[Ivory55]

Have you looked at ikonic kampers ? More money but more realistic prices. I think that’s where JJ brought his from.