# Advice on buying a vehicle



## richardofoz (Apr 16, 2013)

We need advice on buying a campervan.We are coming to UK to vist family etc and want to make it our bucket list trip.We want to buy a not too expensive vehicle which is large enought to be comfortable but not some sort of giant furniture truck on the road.We want a rear bedroom and a shower /toilet.We have done it before and hate having to put the bed up and down.The idea is to buy,travel and sell.Sounds perfect eh........I'm sure it wont work out that way.I
Is there a web site where we put in our wants and needs and the perfect vehicle pops out?Also any advice on insurance and any other minor details.For instance what is lez compliant.Many thanks for your advice which i hope will pour in.


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## Deleted member 2636 (Apr 16, 2013)

Try looking on a website called Gumtree, that'll give you an idea of prices

Beware of parting with any money until you have the vehicle in your paws. There's a lot of crooks around trying scams involving Motorhomes at the moment


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## mikejay (Apr 16, 2013)

I would say be very wary of gumtree as there are a hell of alot of scammers on there i have seen lots of vans very cheap to cheap to be real on there and i used gumtree once to advertise and ended up with lots of nigerian type emails wanting to purchase my stuff.


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## Smaug (Apr 16, 2013)

OK, I am going back a few years now (err mebbeee 20-30) but didn't there used to be quite a lot of OZ & NZ kids doing this? ISTR there was an area of London where they tended to hang out where cars, vans & campers were regularly sold on the the next group of visitors.

I bought my van off e-bay, unseen (SHOCK - HORROR) but I didn't part with any cash until I had seen that it was as described & as it was a few grand below retail price I had some slack in case I missed a problem. But I slected teh seler as much as the van. They were a caravan dealer with good feedback & had clearly taken this van as a p/e against a caravan (yeah, I know, how can people be that daft!)

Good luck!


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## g4jnw (Apr 16, 2013)

as you want to sell after you have used it, unless you want to loose money i think you have 2 choices 1) Rent one rather than buy for your duration or 2) buy one privately 

It depends also what time of year, the back end of the season vans seem to go cheaper having said that i bought a very cheap van 2 weeks ago from a local seller off ebay but knew i had to spend a bit of money on it, more the time to do it myself, there is another website called preloved you could place a wanted on there.

Your over for a holiday so you don't want to spend time having to work on the van really.

If it were me personally i would go for rental because you always have back up if the van breaks down plus insurance etc.
The days of buying and then selling to break even have pretty well gone i think.

If you do buy then factor in, insurance & breakdown services.

One think thats a must especially if your going to wild camp is become a full member and download the POI's

Hope this helps


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## Passing Places (Apr 16, 2013)

Hi Richard

Have been offline travelling for a week.. welcome.

My sister just bought a van last week.  She searched Ebay, Autotrader, Gumtree etc. There are a significant number of crooks operating but there are also some really genuine sellers.  I'm just back from a fantastic week-end in Crail where I met up with her and her husband for the first time in their "new" van.

I mention this because I have recorded an interview with both of them for the next episode of my podcast Passing Places which will be out tomorrow or Thursday.  The episode is about "Buying your first Van" and the interview focuses on their experience as first time buyers and provides some really useful tips on how to avoid the crooks.

The very best of luck in your search.

Kevin


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## Smaug (Apr 16, 2013)

g4jnw said:


> as you want to sell after you have used it, unless you want to loose money i think you have 2 choices 1) Rent one rather than buy for your duration or 2) buy one privately
> 
> It depends also what time of year, the back end of the season vans seem to go cheaper having said that i bought a very cheap van 2 weeks ago from a local seller off ebay but knew i had to spend a bit of money on it, more the time to do it myself, there is another website called preloved you could place a wanted on there.
> 
> ...



Have you seen the current weekly rental cost of a decent coachbuilt these days? It can be a grand a week high season. If coming over for 10 weeks or so it would be cheaper to buy one & throw it away when you go home.


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## g4jnw (Apr 16, 2013)

Smaug said:


> Have you seen the current weekly rental cost of a decent coachbuilt these days? It can be a grand a week high season. If coming over for 10 weeks or so it would be cheaper to buy one & throw it away when you go home.



Good point prices gone up a lot since I last hired one, have had my van for 2 weeks which means its for nothing


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## raymo (Apr 16, 2013)

baloothebear said:


> Try looking on a website called Gumtree, that'll give you an idea of prices
> 
> Beware of parting with any money until you have the vehicle in your paws. There's a lot of crooks around trying scams involving Motorhomes at the moment



tell me about it !!!!

 sorry this is such a long post, and especially as it my first , but  you need to beware, as this is a major purchase and there are some real pitfalls

great site by the way, I have been lurking and cyber picking your brain for a while now :- many thanks to all , and hopefully this helps:-

I trawled gumtree and Ebay, and the was totally shocked at the extent of the scamming involving Motorhomes..
A vehicle I was interested in and watched on Ebay , was removed , the seller then contacted me and offered it  at the opening  bid price, ( real cheap), and stated I would be covered by Ebay buyer policy , just pay the invoice, Ebay would hold the monies  and then  they would drop the vehicle off, and if I was happy  with it, I just then needed to contact Ebay and they would then release the money to them……
Ebay do not cover vehicle in their buyer protection policy , its stated explicitly on the site!!
 I contacted Ebay, and they confirmed that they do not cover vehicles, and to beware as I would receive an  invoice that looked exactly like theirs, but the account details would be the sellers!!!  Ebay are not a bank…..
So :-
I contacted the seller and said I would come and get it, Cash on Delivery, no problem,  no… they would drop it off,  when I said I  would come down at the week end, just let me know where you are, the reply was ohh it will have been sold by then….. not to me it wont 

Managed to find one on Ebay reasonably local and put in an offer,  sellers feedback was not 100%, and  his transaction history it seems to suggest he was a small time  dealer, checked the registration using an online facility ( cost me £12), seller had acquired the vehicle November 2012, so unlikely to have used it , no other issues
‘tinerweb searches revealed an old  advert for  the vehicle, with the self-same pictures, seller selling due to Ill health !!, August 2012.  
Do these folk think no one can do simple searches?
Any way, I went to see the vehicle and took the cash with me, just in case.. It was about £3000 lower than any other comparable vehicle, so a potential good buy, even with a few things wrong.

 Checked it over and it looked fine drove ok , and  what I could check seemed to work, this was in February , and as it was -5 on a good day the water had been drained..

Guy even had his dad in the car to pick him up  and said, oh he is riddled with arthritis , that why it’s for sale ( guess he thought I would not notice the V5 stating he had acquired it in November, just 3 month earlier, I doubt his dad had over wintered it  )

 So I bought it:- bit of a risk but  worked out fine so far,  drove the 70 miles back home fine, very good for a 15 year old vehicle.

 As I say it looked fine, and it is, some issues, the Carver water heater  had split so he clearly had not drained it  .. £80 for  the bits  so that it sorted….  Give it a good clean and it will do,  weather being what it is and me being new to this, I have taking the slowly-slowly advice, and its first run was a day out and a picnic, Grandson wife and daughter very impressed with a warm van and a hot meal after our little walk .
I was searching for bits and discovered the same vehicle advertised in Surry!!!!, same pictures , same text.. in a Friday free ad thingie.. for a very very cheap price.. Contacted the seller … and yup they would drop it off once I had paid 
I discovered this   2 twice within the same week !!!!, contacted the website to report the add on both occasions.
Bottom line is buyer bewar!!!  And if the deal is too good to be true… it usually is not True
Hope this helps and does not put you off, this is my first camper. I am a keen rough camper , but if I am to taek the wife  and wee grandkids they will need some comfort 


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## g4jnw (Apr 16, 2013)

raymo said:


> tell me about it !!!!
> 
> sorry this is such a long post, and especially as it my first , but  you need to beware, as this is a major purchase and there are some real pitfalls
> 
> ...



Raymo very well said, you have to be on your guard thats true, i had a bad experience selling some fishing gear on friday ads - this time the scammer offered more than i asked just to keep it and would send the money by paypal while they were here picking up, tried to follow it up but when they realised i wasn't stupid and would check my account they hung up, the scam was they came around your house, brought their laptop, logged into what looked like paypal - was a look alike website, put your details in and then you accept that the deal is done - clever but stupid but some people must fall for it!! - I would just say buyer or seller beware, cash is king. I was lucky getting mine as it was a one owner and all the receipts from new (loads of them) seller was genuinely ill and poor fellow died later which was sad, another tip is to check past MOT's online it can some times be an eye opener.


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## welshrarebit (Apr 16, 2013)

All excellent advice and i wish i had known you could check MOT s as i bought a lemon with my last car, cost me a lot to get it right.
We are changing vans this time next year and i will heed this advice, thanks guys.


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## g4jnw (Apr 16, 2013)

yes the mot history page is here Motoring : Directgov - MOT history request I always check the history, if the seller has nothing to hide he will give you the MOT number from the MOT


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## raymo (Apr 16, 2013)

g4jnw said:


> yes the mot history page is here Motoring : Directgov - MOT history request I always check the history, if the seller has nothing to hide he will give you the MOT number from the MOT




 thanks that really useful

 I did the online checks using the reg number, usually visible in the ads, if not then beware,  The on line checks can cost a few quid, but considering the amount of money at risk :scared:

yup there is some scum about, but a few simple checks will soon flush  all but the most determined scammer out.

but I have taken quite a few risks on Ebay and other forums and purchased stuff . sent cheques and told the folk to just send the gear when its cleared and had no issues, fortunately  the majority of folk are genuine.

 So just a few simple checks and test and dont part with the cash until you are certain.


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## Passing Places (Apr 16, 2013)

A few tips from this weeks *Episode 010 of Passing Places*.

You must view the van at the home address and the V5 must tally with that address.  Never view the van anywhere else. 

Ebay classifieds as well as other sites like Auto Trader, Gumtree offer no buyer protection on a straightforward classified ad.  Paypal is at least able to protect buyer and seller to a degree.  Ebay feedback score of seller does not include classified ads so ignore their feedback rating and walk away at that point in the checking process, before wasting time if feedback score is less than 99%.

Check Google street view. Are photos similar?

If seller is keen to get cash they will send bank details.  Check sort code does it tally with their home town.  Do further bank checks.

and on and on.  Never part with cash until you do all the checks and have fully inspected the van.  Some great deals and some nasty crooks out there.

Episode 010 on-line by Thursday.


Kevin


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## n8rbos (Apr 16, 2013)

richardofoz said:


> We need advice on buying a campervan.We are coming to UK to vist family etc and want to make it our bucket list trip.We want to buy a not too expensive vehicle which is large enought to be comfortable but not some sort of giant furniture truck on the road.We want a rear bedroom and a shower /toilet.We have done it before and hate having to put the bed up and down.The idea is to buy,travel and sell.Sounds perfect eh........I'm sure it wont work out that way.I
> Is there a web site where we put in our wants and needs and the perfect vehicle pops out?Also any advice on insurance and any other minor details.For instance what is lez compliant.Many thanks for your advice which i hope will pour in.



How many of you?preferred fuel type? Budget? Mechanical knowledge? Areas hoping to travels?
You mention lez,many diesels are not compliant that were reg. before 2006, so campers after this will be pricey. You could go for an older petrol. How do you intend to camp? Wild or sites?


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## welshrarebit (Apr 17, 2013)

Passing Places said:


> A few tips from this weeks *Episode 010 of Passing Places*.
> 
> You must view the van at the home address and the V5 must tally with that address.  Never view the van anywhere else.
> 
> ...




My sort code doesn't tally with my home town.
I opened the account on the isle of wight haven't lived there for 10 years, sort code still says Sandown isle of wight

Sorry just an observation.

Excellent advice though.


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## Smaug (Apr 17, 2013)

N8rbos said:


> How many of you?preferred fuel type? Budget? Mechanical knowledge? Areas hoping to travels?
> You mention lez,many diesels are not compliant that were reg. before 2006, so campers after this will be pricey. You could go for an older petrol. How do you intend to camp? Wild or sites?



London Environmental Zone - please check, I am not sure it covers Motorhomes & I don't think it affects short-term tourist visits either, but I have never been there & I am only going by my (rather dodgy) memory.


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## Toonman (Apr 17, 2013)

Smaug said:


> London Environmental Zone - please check, I am not sure it covers Motorhomes & I don't think it affects short-term tourist visits either, but I have never been there & I am only going by my (rather dodgy) memory.


It most certainly does cover motorhomes. Two people I know had to sell their vans as it was too costly to make them compatible (£3-4000). They lived in Leytonstone just inside the area. Your engine must be EURO4 or newer to be compatible.
There is a checking facility on their website. Type in your Reg No and it will tell if yours is allowed in the zone. There is a charge of £200 per day if you enter and your van is not compatible. The only concession is that the first time you enter you get a warning letter but if for more than one day you are charged.
https://lowemissionzone.tfl.gov.uk/b/pb/lezComplianceProvideVRM.faces


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## zipnolan (Apr 18, 2013)

Mr 99g said:


> I've heard that too, and it happens over there as well for the Brits. Ive noticed abroad round the areas like the Munich beer festival, all the old abandoned UK reg campers. There last owners were all ozzies and kiwis. The motto, buy em cheap and take your chances. I've noticed however now, at lot of them rent those bongos, with the professional graffiti all over them. Basic but funky. However totally unsuitable for the o.p no toilet, shower or permanent bed !



There was a road near Holloway prison to buy and sell vans, some bargains too as the the sellers often sold cheap (the price of a return ticket) and some had engine rebuilds etc.


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## Passing Places (Apr 18, 2013)

triciamcpartlin said:


> My sort code doesn't tally with my home town.
> I opened the account on the isle of wight haven't lived there for 10 years, sort code still says Sandown isle of wight
> 
> Sorry just an observation.
> ...




I was being a bit too brief there.   In the podcast we do say it's only a potential alarm bell.  I like you have a sort code some distance from where I live. .  We often move but rarely change banks.

Kevin


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