Hello! First time buyer with loads of questions!

[clairew2008]

Hi all, I'm a first-time-buyer-to-be currently looking at an auto roller 746.

This may sound silly but what do I look for apart from the obvious? Im looking at 22/23 plate so fairly new and shouldn't have many problems. But what are the things that catch people out? It has a hab check, service and 1 year dealer warranty, is it worth a pre-purchase inspection?

Also, if anyone can definitively answer my question about what weight is included in MiRO (water in tanks, fuel in tank?) the internet seems to be full of different answers!

Thanks so much, any advice appreciated!

C.

 

[David and Sally]

 

[Terry]

Hi all, I'm a first-time-buyer-to-be currently looking at an auto roller 746.

This may sound silly but what do I look for apart from the obvious? Im looking at 22/23 plate so fairly new and shouldn't have many problems. But what are the things that catch people out? It has a hab check, service and 1 year dealer warranty, is it worth a pre-purchase inspection?

Also, if anyone can definitively answer my question about what weight is included in MiRO (water in tanks, fuel in tank?) the internet seems to be full of different answers!

Thanks so much, any advice appreciated!

C.

Get whoever you’re buying from to take it to a weigh-bridge noting how much water( full ? )in tank and fuel. Work out the difference at roughly 1 kg per litre- Make sure the driver stays inside the van while being weighed Some manufacturers weigh with 20%water and very little fuel -

 

[Jim]

Hi all, I'm a first-time-buyer-to-be currently looking at an auto roller 746.

This may sound silly but what do I look for apart from the obvious? Im looking at 22/23 plate so fairly new and shouldn't have many problems. But what are the things that catch people out? It has a hab check, service and 1 year dealer warranty, is it worth a pre-purchase inspection?

Also, if anyone can definitively answer my question about what weight is included in MiRO (water in tanks, fuel in tank?) the internet seems to be full of different answers!

Thanks so much, any advice appreciated!

C.

Hi Claire,

MIRO

The items the makers include in this are inconsistent and should not be relied upon. In fact, the law gives them a large leeway when quoting weight, which could mean you find you lose a massive 150 kg of payload you thought you had!

Essentially, before you buy any Motorhome you need to know what it weighs on the forecourt, and you subtract this forecourt weight from the Vehicle's maximum authorised weight, and that will give you your payload. As a guideline, an average couple will need around 400kg of payload.

Check out the Motorhome Buyer's Guide

The Motorhome Buyer’s Guide – MotorhomeFun

Download our Free Motorhome Buyer's Guide packed with essential tips, checklists, and expert advice. Distilled wisdom from 60,000 members

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

 

[Janine]

Welcome to the Fun, Claire

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[rolosroller]

 

[ambulancekidd]

 

[Lee Fryer]

 

[cliffanger]

AndClaire

Ask as many questions as you want. People will be happy to help.

Read the guide to buying that Jim put the link to.

Enjoy your future adventures!

 

[PlacidoD]

Claire,
Several European manufacturers are being sued or prosecuted over questions to do with MIRO. As a result they are now being super-cautious. As Jim has already said there is a massive tolerance built into standard MIRO. It can be plus or minus 5% AND the figures quoted in the past were based upon standard spec for a particular make and model and almost nobody buys a base spec vehicle.

Manufacturers are now being forced out of self-interest to provide more accurate figures (but still with the plus or minus 5%).

If you go on most manufacturers websites they now allow you to build your own model online and you can watch both the the price and the weight climb as you add spec. Worth doing for the information gleaned even if you are buying lightly used!!

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[clairew2008]

Claire,
Several European manufacturers are being sued or prosecuted over questions to do with MIRO. As a result they are now being super-cautious. As Jim has already said there is a massive tolerance built into standard MIRO. It can be plus or minus 5% AND the figures quoted in the past were based upon standard spec for a particular make and model and almost nobody buys a base spec vehicle.

Manufacturers are now being forced out of self-interest to provide more accurate figures (but still with the plus or minus 5%).

If you go on most manufacturers websites they now allow you to build your own model online and you can watch both the the price and the weight climb as you add spec. Worth doing for the information gleaned even if you are buying lightly used!!

Indeed the extras and price are linked! I actually emailed roller team and got a response from them, which matched what the potential dealer said so can trust that info I think. Shame it's not consistent across the industry!

 

[f6c]

Welcome aboard

 

[Scottish Scrutineer]

Hi and

Regarding weights, in addition to the advice already given, you could ask the members here if anyone has experience of the model you are looking at and weights.

 

[Jo662]

 

[Russ N Tracey]

And

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[Tricky One]

Hi Claire Welcome to fun fun fun. Never be slow in asking advice as we have all been there and you never know it all. As you are buying from a Dealer it wouldn’t hurt to have an independent survey provided they agree to it. If not walk away. Anything found may act as a bargaining tool against the sale. Obviously take a long test drive and see how you feel about the size. Make sure the declared weight category is ok for you. Anything up to 3.5k can be driven on your car license, over that requires a additional C1. Depending on your age and under 70, you may already have it. Over 70 you have to apply to keep it and have a 3 yearly medical. Above all use the forum selection ,many questions will have already been covered in the past. Good luck and enjoy.

 

[corconx]

Claire bear in mind you only have 5 free posts, and you have used them. So you may wish to join and get access to all the site. I wish you the very best of luck, payload has always been a big problem.

 

[jacobjohn]

Hi all, I'm a first-time-buyer-to-be currently looking at an auto roller 746.

This may sound silly but what do I look for apart from the obvious? Im looking at 22/23 plate so fairly new and shouldn't have many problems. But what are the things that catch people out? It has a hab check, service and 1 year dealer warranty, is it worth a pre-purchase inspection?

Also, if anyone can definitively answer my question about what weight is included in MiRO (water in tanks, fuel in tank?) the internet seems to be full of different answers!

Thanks so much, any advice appreciated!

C.

Hire first. You will be spending serious money, so until you spend living time in a Motorhome you’ll never know what you really like.

 

[Go_buddy_go_]

 

[DT9447]

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[PaulW2]

 

[gus-lopez]

 

[garry55]

 

[starquake]

Hi all, I'm a first-time-buyer-to-be currently looking at an auto roller 746.

This may sound silly but what do I look for apart from the obvious? Im looking at 22/23 plate so fairly new and shouldn't have many problems. But what are the things that catch people out? It has a hab check, service and 1 year dealer warranty, is it worth a pre-purchase inspection?

Get the above done, but if it's 22/23 depends on the cab and if it's a Ford, Fiat or Peugeot -> personally I'd look to check if it's a Ford the plastic diverter stuff to prevent water ingress (check threads on here, the Ford engines are prone to injector failures from rain if you don't get a (aftermarket) bit of plastic put in the appropriate place in engine bay to divert rainwater from falling on injcetotrs).

If it's a Peugeot/Fiat (as well as ford), that the services have been done in line with manufacturer recomendations and the warranty is in place from the initial purchase. Likely you will have a year or two of the main dealer left, but you need the invoices to PROVE it was done in line with the manufacturer reccomendations if you ever need to claim, so make sure paperwork in place.

Ref; stuff you need to be aware of, most of these engines have what many of us on here would reccomend a 5 year cam belt change interval (even if the manufacturer says longer). So budget (despite a new van) for this at 5-6 years. We done our (2019 plate, 2020 van this Feb, at bang on the 5 year mark).

Doubt there will be much milage on such a new van, but it's worth filling the adblue tank using a (truck adblue) pump when you get the van in my own opinion, most companies runnign them long times, try to keep the adblue filled. The reason is many of these newer vans don't get delivered with full adblue, and you may in effect be near empty. We tend to get 3500-5000 miles on a full fill, least then you'll know you full, and can judge your usage in future based on when it's full.

And top tip is don't buy everythjing in the caravan/motorhome shop to kit it out until you work out what you need. My advice is DO spend the money on top quality melamine plates, and don't think you can microwave stuff on them (we have a specific non-melamine plate to use in the Microwave them). We lost our first set to the wife not knowing Melamine can't in general be microwaved, causing all the plates to warp and spin on the tables. In effect use the van and work out what you need from use. We now keep a supply of staples of stuff we actually use, and don't have any items that wont get used within 3 months in the van. If it's not used in 3 months, it's a luxury item.

Also DO spend money on a decent fire extiguisher, look (and become a member for the discount cosdes) as you may want to fit a Fire saferty stick if you see the mess a powder extiguisher (which are cheaper) would leave in your motorhome. We initially wasted money on a heavy powder extiguisher, which in hindsite was a total waste of money.

My other tip is make sure stuff you actually need gets thrown in by dealer -> an example of this is we got an external gas port fitted (Bullfinch type) by the dealer. This wasn't part of the manufacturer build, but it's an example of an item we use near every day of use in the van to cook outside in summer. Having this privately fitted (and not part of the deal for the van) would have been many times the small price we paid for this service. I would reccomend this option if you don't have it from manufacturer, as you may not be aware but you cannot use charcoal bbq's in many sites in Europe in summer, and as such you may end up having to cook inside when it's hot.