Dealer or Private purchase Ive done both !
Well last year we purchased a 4 berth Bailey Discovery privately. A tidy caravan but at first service some problems cost me over £650. Well having decided for work reasons to move to a seasonal pitch we have sold and purchased a larger Bailey Senator Wyoming to enjoy all the extra space a fixed bed and a generous bathroom. This time I once again looked at the options of buying from a dealer or privately. Heres my thoughts. I could have purchased a slightly newer caravan for less privately but in the end decided to play safe and go to a dealer . However the local ones just did not inspire me with confidence so I went further from home to a dealer who had been recommended by a caravan engineer. So I did a little haggling and in two weeks time I will take delivery of my caravan which will have had a full service and come with a 12 month warranty and the assurance that it has no damp ( damp report provided ) and is not stolen. They also have arranged to deliver it direct to my site. All this costs and had I bought privately I could have found one cheaper. This caravan is the most expensive yet that I have purchased at £8000 but a modest amount for many. I feel comfortable with my decision but in the coming 12 months I will update on how things have gone. In 2 weeks time I go to pay and have my caravan handed over to me which includes instruction on how everything works . A first for me so I will let you know how it goes.
There are of course dealers and dealers and once again I had several who just did not even bother to answer my questions which I sent by e mail.
I did sell my old caravan privately alas I lost a little on it due to the repairs mentioned previously but the fact it had been serviced and damped checked did help sell it.