Pre-purchase check or go for it?

AELOMAS

Hi, wonder if anyone could offer advice please? We have our eye on our first caravan -used elddis five years old and checked a lot of things auch as cupboard fittings, bed, handles outside and in, damp, outside light casings, fitments etc as per the caravan
club used checklist guide-really helpful. However, we didn't check ourselves whether appliances work or whether a few other mechanical fittings worked, as the dealer we went to, Lowdhams, offer an ultimate warranty guaranteeing full checks for these things.
Is it worth paying for a pre payment check just to be on the safe side or do you think that's a little over precautious? Any advice would be gratefully received.

Bakers2

Welcome to CT and our lovely hobby.  Can't advise you on whether you should or shouldn't have pre purchase check we bought our motorhome 10 years ago on complete impulse!!! We purchased from Brownhills and did only our own checks such as you've done,
but didn't know about damp meters, had no issues with it at all.  Last year we had to have some work done on the habitation door and new brake cylinders this year.  I'd say not bad for a vehicle that is almost 13 years old.  Hope whatever you decide you you
really enjoy your purchase.

JillwithaJay

Hello AELomas and welcome to Club Together.  

As a 'first time buyer', if paying for a check would give you peace of mind then I'd say it's money well spent but the choice has to be yours.

Best of luck with it.

Tinwheeler

Hello, AEL. It's personal choice really and depends as well how happy you are to tackle any jobs yourself as often it's more trouble than it's worth to drag a van back to the dealer for warranty work. Personally, I wouldn't pay for a check but that's purely
my choice.

paul56

I'm assuming that a reputable dealer/big franchise will check that everything is working before selling it to you and that it is under some kind of warranty. I would also expect at handover for the staff at Lowdhams to go through the van with you showing
how everything works – good time to bring any worries up.

 

Wildwood

Lowdhans are a big reputable dealer and if you have checked what hou say then I would not be inclined to pay several hundred pounds for an inspection. You should get a full demonstration with the purchase and you will hopefully see it all working in this.

Bakers2

When you go to pick it up, should you decide to buy it ?ask if you can record the handover where you are shown how everything works.  Believe me there will be plenty to take in and understand, even if you're given user manuals they're not easy to read and
follow, they don't always give 'running' instructions .

AELOMAS

Thanks everyone. Really helpful ideas and will ask them about recording handover. Hadn't even thought of that! We are going to go for it and look forward to getting our new caravan!!

johndailey

Hi and welcome. We picked up our van last year and fortunately for us we stayed on a site about 3/4 mile from the dealer. We had two issues. The gas connecting hoses were a defective batch and the heating would not work due to loose wiring. Both were quickly
sorted by the dealer. My advice is that if you do 'go for it' then think about not going too far so that you are in a position to 'entice' the dealer out immediately. Like others, I would not be inclined to pay the extra. Good luck and have a happy time.

AELOMAS

Thanks for that, good point made. We can stay next door when we pick it up overnight so hopefully like you suggest, if there are issues, they can be sorted straight away. Thanks again for the advice