aandncaravan Posted May 13, 2017 Share Posted May 13, 2017 I won't elaborate on all the very good advice above, but yesterday we worked on a Hymer in exceptional condition that the owner was getting ready to sell. We fitted a replacement rebuilt Power distribution Unit/charger ( a Schaudt EBL 101) and gave it a full electrical assessment. Everything worked, It was very good, not 'messed about with', but did have Solar fitted, one of the few that was done exactly as Schaudt/Hymer recommend. Norman has owned it since 2010 but is now giving up Motorhoming due to age/heath issues so I would imagine all the extras which can cost such a lot, might be available as well? Two 6 month old Varta LFD 90 batteries in addition to the EBL 101. I can't remember the exact year but around 2006 on a left hooker Fiat chassis? Pretty sure it would be under 3500kg. We had to reprogram the LCD solar display for which he got out a big folder with lots of receipts and service history going back to before he bought it. I didn't ask it's price but if you PM me I will pass on Norman's details so you can get in touch with him direct. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammer Posted May 14, 2017 Author Share Posted May 14, 2017 Hi aandncaravan, thank you for the offer, however does a 'left hooker' mean left hand drive? The vast majority of our driving will be in the UK so want a RHD vehicle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aandncaravan Posted May 14, 2017 Share Posted May 14, 2017 Hello, yes it is left hand drive. Good luck with your search. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammer Posted May 31, 2017 Author Share Posted May 31, 2017 Hi again - our search continues for a motorhome and I have found a few being sold online as private sales. Does anyone have any advise or experience of buying privately and how to protect myself from fraud / buying a stolen (or cloned) vehicle? When buying a used car you can do an hpi check to make sure there is no outstanding finance on the vehicle - is this possible for a motorhome. I understand that you can do a (CRIS?) check in case it has been reported stolen, but this only works if the vehicle was registered in that scheme. Is there any other way of checking the vehicle is genuine. I imagine I should check the engine number matches that of the V5 document - these days a V5 must be pretty easy to alter to show a different number? Once we have chosen the right vehicle I would have an independent inspection carried out to give me peace of mind that I am not buying a complete lemon... Thanks in advance for any advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 hammer - 2017-05-31 11:42 AM Hi again - our search continues for a motorhome and I have found a few being sold online as private sales. Does anyone have any advise or experience of buying privately and how to protect myself from fraud / buying a stolen (or cloned) vehicle? When buying a used car you can do an hpi check to make sure there is no outstanding finance on the vehicle - is this possible for a motorhome. I understand that you can do a (CRIS?) check in case it has been reported stolen, but this only works if the vehicle was registered in that scheme. Is there any other way of checking the vehicle is genuine. I imagine I should check the engine number matches that of the V5 document - these days a V5 must be pretty easy to alter to show a different number? Once we have chosen the right vehicle I would have an independent inspection carried out to give me peace of mind that I am not buying a complete lemon... Thanks in advance for any advice. If buying privately, try to view a sellers house! Not every one is a crook. We will try to sell our van privately, when we come to sell You should be able too view details on DVLA web site, I would have thought. Might give it a try ! PJay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brock Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 This is a good guide and includes PJay's advice on meeting up at the sellers house. Crooks will sometimes pose the van outside a stranger's house and pretend to live there. http://motorhomes.autotrader.co.uk/motorhome-buyers-guide Might be worth asking if they are members of any motorhome related forums and digging around any posts made! The following is an extract from the Caravan & Motorhome Club guide. I'd ensure whoever has been servicing the van has the appropriate gas and electric qualifications - you should be OK if the servicing is done by an Approved Workshop Scheme member or member of the Mobile Caravan Engineers Association [MCEA members will check the habitation side of the motorhome for you]. Whilst 5 years is a safe age for tyres, it's not a maximum and motorhome tyres can easily last 7 years - they tend to crack rather than wear out the tread. Make sure you know how to 'read' a tyre. When buying second hand: We recommend you follow our checklist when thinking of buying a second-hand motorhome. Don’t buy a used motor caravan without having it checked with a moisture meter, which will warn of any problems. Check the registration documents for continuity particularly if you are looking at a conversion motor caravan, the DVLA should be informed about conversions. There should be a detailed history of all the services and MOTs etc. so if there isn’t think twice before buying. Look under the sink and by any pump to ensure no joints have leaked onto shelving. Inspect the mattresses and cushions, particularly underneath, for damp and staining. Ensure the bed locker lids support weight, and that the tables stand firm when in position. Check the operation of all gas equipment, even if you have to take an LPG cylinder with you. If mains electricity is installed, ask to see the latest inspection certificate by a qualified electrical engineer. It should be inspected at regular intervals – annually if the motor caravan covers high mileages. The tyre treads may look fine, but do the tyres look old? Five years is the maximum safe life, whatever the mileage. The tyres should be the right size for the wheel rims and matching, suitable for the maximum weight and speed of the motor caravan. Ask to take the motor caravan for a trial run and note its behaviour on the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archiesgrandad Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 As is so often the case, I would look at your dilemma from a different standpoint .First point is that no matter how much research you do, and I suggest that you probably can't do too much, it is most likely that you will not be in a position to really know what you want or need until you have owned a motorhome and used it for some time, so try not to over commit yourself in the early days. Secondly, whilst driving round in a shiny new, or nearly new van makes you feel pretty good and one up on some of the others, within a very short time it will no longer be quite so new, and then it's just a used van. Many on here believe that buying something new or nearly new gives some degree of confidence in terms of reliability or performance, but if you keep visiting this forum you will soon see that this may not be the case. It can make good sense to buy an older van to start with, I bought an old Hymer, good nick for it's age, for £10,000, used it for two years and spent less than £1,000 on service and repairs, traveled all over France and Spain in it, found another van that suited us even better, so sold it for £10,000 a few days of putting it up for sale. The replacement cost £14,000 4 years ago, We used it to travel backwards and forwards between our home in the UK and the house we were restoring in the south of France, towing an overloaded trailer and inside filled with flat pack kitchen units etc.,, a staircase and so on, taking it well past i's plated weights. Like me it is now in gentle retirement , used simply for CG and I to trot off for a few days at a time to relax somewhere nice. The cost of repairs and maintenance is less than £800, and we could probably sell it for around £12,000 if we wanted. Now that the house is more or less complete we are looking forward to trips to Spain and Portugal for winter sun, and we have never been to southern Italy so that still at the planning stage. The other point about having an older van is that is not quite such a catastrophe if it gets a scratch on it, or spills something on the carpets, and they don't have the sophisticated systems that some of the modern vans do, so they can be more reliable, and easier to fix when they do go wrong. My final thought is about payload, it's an absolute minefield. You are proposing to travel with your spouse and family, which is good, and they will want to bring all their bits and pieces with them, Be very circumspect about the imaginative calculations of payload that you will encounter, I'm not saying that anyone would try to deceive you, but it really is difficult to get it right, and you will end up using more energy trying to get he axle weights right etc,.than you realize My solution would be to tow a modest trailer which will carry all the extras an adventurous family might need, leaving the payload of an under 3.5 ton van to be used up with your personal bits and pieces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyLou Posted June 1, 2017 Share Posted June 1, 2017 Hi For me the most important thing when buying our MH was the layout. We spend more time with the van stationary then we do with it moving, even though we like to move around a lot. When on site or just parked up we love the spacious lounge (had 10 people in for drinks once) the large bathroom which has enough room to get dressed in. The kitchen has some work top space and is close to the lounge so the person doing the cooking is not excluded. The beds are convenient and comfortable. The fridge is large and has a big freezer compartment for lots of ice. Has lots of cupboards inside for putting things and some good external lockers. My only criticism is we do not have a garage so have had to settle for an external bike rack. But a garage is a large space possibly best used in the living area. While the comments about engines and payloads are relevant don't forget that you will have to live in it too. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted June 1, 2017 Share Posted June 1, 2017 For a lot of people, the first motorhome is a learning curve and they then change it for another one after only a year or so as they discover what they would really prefer. It follows that you should try to avoid unnecessary depreciation with your first buy, and since MHs depreciate more slowly as they get older, buying an older one will make more sense. Buying from a dealer has value, in terms of the advice you can hope to get and maybe a warranty of some sort, but a dealer has to make a living and you will usually lose at least £5,000 in dealer's margin when you change motorhomes. If you feel you can assess the risks of buying a MH privately well enough, and maybe get a vehicle inspection and a habitation check before you buy, you should be able to avoid some of this extra cost of changing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted June 1, 2017 Share Posted June 1, 2017 Andy&Lou - 2017-06-01 12:21 PM Hi For me the most important thing when buying our MH was the layout. We spend more time with the van stationary then we do with it moving, even though we like to move around a lot. When on site or just parked up we love the spacious lounge (had 10 people in for drinks once) the large bathroom which has enough room to get dressed in. The kitchen has some work top space and is close to the lounge so the person doing the cooking is not excluded. The beds are convenient and comfortable. The fridge is large and has a big freezer compartment for lots of ice. Has lots of cupboards inside for putting things and some good external lockers. My only criticism is we do not have a garage so have had to settle for an external bike rack. But a garage is a large space possibly best used in the living area. While the comments about engines and payloads are relevant don't forget that you will have to live in it too. Andy Agree with you absolutely! Layout most important . Most things are standard heating/cooking/etc. Maybee Oven/microwave We bought our first an will be only van 11 years ago. The layout was our main concern, and it has suited us fine. People tend to forget that it does rain, and that is when space comes into it's own PJay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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