# New to forum... any advice regarding 1985 Autohomes Merlin



## mikey44 (Dec 12, 2009)

Hello!

I am new to the forum and am looking for any advice you can offer!

Basically, am looking to buy first motorhome. My young family are looking to spend time enjoying the UK and Europe over the coming years and as cheaply as possible whilst at our own pace.

We all love camping and have now decided that a motorhome would suit us.

We have a (very) limited budget initially, but we all have to start somewhere!

I have seen a 1985 Autohomes Merlin in lovely condition and am looking for as much advice as possible.

Firstly,  does anyone know what the weight is for such an outfit?

Am i right in thinking providing it is below 3500kg, I can drive on a post 1997 driving license?

Any tips, hints, any good deals around etc, please let me know!!!

Many thanks!


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## biggirafe (Dec 12, 2009)

Hi and welcome
If you have a full car licence yes a motorhome under 3.5 tonnes can be driven. See here The vehicles you can drive or ride and minimum ages : Directgov - Motoring

Initially when looking for a MH think about the van first. Is it mechanically sound is it going rusty. The motorhome can be fixed but if the vehicle / van it has been made from is falling apart then you will be throwing good money after bad.

If the vehicle is sound then look for damp, water ingress is the MH killer if its leaked and you have rot in the frame then again any money you sepnd will be wasted. Leaking windows can be fixed but if they have been ignored for any time then a lot of damage can have been done. At this age check everything. If its not working then check out what it will cost to fix. For instance an electolux 3 power fridge that runs on gas/12v/240v will cost about £600 to replace with a modern equivelent and if you can't fix it yourself it will require specialist repair.
Sorry don't mean to sound like a pessimist but this is an old van which might sound cheap but you must check it out thouroughly or you could end up spending as much again if you want it to take you to europe reliably.

Good luck and let us know how you get on, there are plenty of people here who will give you encouragement and help


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## Reverend (Dec 12, 2009)

Hi Mikey,

The dream of a carefree family holiday in a cheap motorhome may be just that - a dream. Many moons ago I had similar thoughts with my two, mainly as we were skint & the thought of blowing money on a package hol that we could only enjoy once was a non-starter; much more value in a motorhome we thought. After all, look at the smiling families in the ads..

In reality, we traipsed & looked, dreamed and got many disappointments from garden shed council house jobbies through to a one owner from new.

Trouble was, they were only for sale as they were usually knackered in some way.

We found a superb one once, but at about four times our budget. Suddenly it clicked; vans are expensive to run, old one's get thrashed by builders and couriers, motorhomes are unrealistically expensive unless old and musty.

Good luck in the search, mate. We ended up going the camping then caravan route for a few years and putting the money towards a better daily driver.


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## maingate (Dec 13, 2009)

Hi and welcome,

The first thing I would do is talk to various insurance companies as a lot of them will not give breakdown cover to a van of that age. If you intend to go to Europe, that will be important.

Best of luck in your search.

BTW See if there are any self builds for sale. You can get more for your money.


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## tony (Dec 13, 2009)

welcome you will get plenty of advice & banter on here. it helps if you are a bit mad.
good luck with whatever you go for & do keep between the ditches.
tony


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## mikey44 (Dec 13, 2009)

Many thanks for all of your replies 


The van we have seen has had one owner from new, it has been servived regularly and also has loads of history i.e. receipts, past MOT certificates etc etc.   It has also been stored undercover most of its life,  but I am going ot take a damp meter with me and give it a thorough once-over.

Would a 1985 age van put you off? it is in lovely condition and starts first time.

In terms of insurance cover I have a few questions;

1.  I have a company car with my job and had an accident in 2007 (my fault)  so obvisouly declare this when getting quotes.  I am under 30 (just!)  and obviously want to get as cheap a quote as possible.  Does anyone know of any insurers which will look at my case favourably?

2. In terms of breakdown insurance, I understand that some companies have age limits.  Does anyone know of any which will cover older vehicles like mine?

Many thanks for all of your advice so far, it is really helping


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## biggirafe (Dec 13, 2009)

mikey44 said:


> Many thanks for all of your replies
> 
> 
> The van we have seen has had one owner from new, it has been servived regularly and also has loads of history i.e. receipts, past MOT certificates etc etc.   It has also been stored undercover most of its life,  but I am going ot take a damp meter with me and give it a thorough once-over.
> ...



Hi

It sounds like a good deal and you know what you are looking for, just be sensible and realistic its a 24 year old vehiicle. Motorhomes are generally low mileage. Apart from a few of us (me included) they are parked on drives for extended periods.

I'm also a CC driver, I used Caravanwise in Ringwood for my insurance. Motorhome cover is generally quite cheap as they are a low risk vehicle due to the low mileage. You can join the Caravan and Camping club or Caravan Club and get discounts. Just like acar you need to ask around. I was sent a declaration so that I could keep my CC no claim discount. Caravanwise were the only company to do this.

Breakdown cover, some insurance policys will give you this with the cover, this is for the UK and in general the age of the vehicle is not a problem. Outside of the UK, i.e. Europe its a prolem the main companies RAC etc have a 5 year limit then they do 15 year at a premium. After that its specialist companies and they can charge as much as the insurance policy.

We have european cover on our 17 year old van with Brittania Breakdown and its cost us £89 for the uk +  another £50 for Europe, so £139 this is full cover incl fly home and repatriation of the van if needed.


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## Firefox (Dec 13, 2009)

An older van would not put me off, as most vans have been very well looked after.  But you have to be much more careful for damp, rust, and a serious mechanical lemon. And, as has been said, check if you can get insurance for where you want to go, but a specialist company like Flux seem to insure just about anything as they understand the motorhome market better.


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## Guernsey Donkey (Dec 14, 2009)

Hi - nice of you to join in with the wild ones - plenty of help and advice to choose from. It all depends on the size of your bank roll on what you buy!!.

John (Guernsey Donkey)

Info:  http://www.wildcamping.co.uk/forums/scotland/5607-isle-lewis-isle-harris-western-isles.html

Pics:  http://www.wildcamping.co.uk/forums/photo-gallery/7168-western-isles.html


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## runnach (Dec 14, 2009)

mikey44 said:


> Many thanks for all of your replies
> 
> 
> The van we have seen has had one owner from new, it has been servived regularly and also has loads of history i.e. receipts, past MOT certificates etc etc.   It has also been stored undercover most of its life,  but I am going ot take a damp meter with me and give it a thorough once-over.
> ...



Well firstly, you must declare your accident in 2007, Or you will invalidate any insurance policy probably. ( failure to disclose a material fact)

Thats the bad news, I would try Safeguard, They mirrored my No claims on a car, Didnt seem to upset about 6 points and a claim !!.

You may well find too, that if you can get a letter off your employers you have run a company car for x years, and had 1 claim you may well get a healthy introductiory discount comparable to the mirroring I am talking about.

Hope this helps

Channa


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## Guernsey Donkey (Dec 15, 2009)

channa said:


> You may well find too, that if you can get a letter off your employers you have run a company car for x years, and had 1 claim you may well get a healthy introductiory discount comparable to the mirroring I am talking about.
> 
> Hope this helps
> 
> Channa



I had a company car and purchased it when I retired - (no accidents) I got 75% discount from NFU insurance. Then I purchased a VW T25 1986 and got full comprehensive insurance with all the trimmings for under £150.

John (Guernsey Donkey)


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## biggirafe (Dec 15, 2009)

Guernsey Donkey said:


> I had a company car and purchased it when I retired - (no accidents) I got 75% discount from NFU insurance. Then I purchased a VW T25 1986 and got full comprehensive insurance with all the trimmings for under £150.
> 
> John (Guernsey Donkey)



When I got mine this year I had to complete a 'declaration' regards my Company Car no claims discount and provide the policy number which was checked.

A few of the majors would not honour it at all. When I finally found one that would honour it they informed me that its something they are all tightening up on as the declarations were being abused and not checked.


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## mikey44 (Dec 17, 2009)

Hello all,

Grrrrrrrr - we missed out on the Autohomes Merlin, it was snapped up literally a few hours before I turned up to buy! :-(

Ah well, onwards and upwards!  

Thanks for everyones help, I am sure I will be along soon asking for more advice when I find another 'van that fits my budget.

Merry Christmas All


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## Firefox (Dec 18, 2009)

On my current conversion vehicle, it was actually "sold" before I could get back to it, but then I got another phone call saying the chap had  been in the sales office and couldn't get the finance at the last minute, so I was back in. 

There's always an element of luck buying these things  so good luck with yours!


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## mikey44 (Jan 3, 2010)

*Me again!!!*

Hello Again!!


Happy new year to all!

Would you kind folks mind having a look at the following motorhome ad and tell me what you think?

Looks like a good deal to me?

Obviosuly would need to look at it in the flesh, but what do you think on initial impression?

TALBOT EXPRESS CAMELOT MOTORHOME CAMPERVAN on eBay (end time 10-Jan-10 12:54:29 GMT)


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## biggirafe (Jan 3, 2010)

mikey44 said:


> Hello Again!!
> 
> 
> Happy new year to all!
> ...



I can't comment on the camper van part of this vehicle never havng had one but the fact this is a petrol engine would put me off, its going to use a lot of fuel and I would think be under powered as well.


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