Does this sound like a good caravan for the money?

[PH5121]

At lunchtime I have been to view a caravan that my wife had been to see this morning. She was very giddy about it as she liked the layout and internal condition of it.It is for sale at a caravan dealers that she went to as three of her work colleagues have bought from there and recommended it.

The caravan is a 2008 Avondale Osprey S, 4 berth, it is fitted a motor mover and would come with a starter kit comprising of step, water and waste containers, new leisure battery and gas bottle. It would come serviced and have a 3 month warranty.
It has had one previous owner, is CRS? registered and there was a sheath of paperwork with it which I didn't have a chance to look at as I was in a rush.

Inside the van is immaculate and outside there is a slight crease/dent less than a foot long, a wheel centre missing from one of the alloy wheels, and the alloy wheels have flaky lacquer.

The van is up at £5995 which is my budget, and a new Dormea full size awning would be about £590 if bought at the same time.

Does that seem like a decent deal? Any advice or opinions would be much appreciated!

[Zoon]

Is there such a thing?

[Rosscow]

Be wary of Avondale - they went bust a few years back and I'm led to believe getting spares for them can be tricky (things like body panels, rails etc.)

Also had a reputation for damp - so get it checked!

If it were me, I'd probably avoid and go for a manufacturer that still exists.

[Huffy]

I am no expert but it doesn't sound too bad. I have an Abbey - also no longer in production so Rosscow's comments probably apply to me too. In older vans price varies with condition and your description makes it sound like it has probably been cared for. You are also now heading into the beginning of the season. The extra's offered are nice to have and do add up if you buy them new but you may well find they came in with the van anyway. I wouldn't be too hung up on the awning. Deals can be had if you search the net and personally I prefer a porch awning and have a 3m x 2m with one pole that goes up really quickly - my reasoning being I came from tents wanted a quicker set up - full awnings can be on a par with erecting a tent in terms of time taken!

Edited by Huffy on Friday 18th March 14:46

[littlebasher]

As i mentioned in another post, when i was looking at used vans last year, i looked at just shy of 20 caravans ALL of which suffered from varying degrees of damp (from bad to terminal).

These weren't old stters either, but modern vans - one 5 year old van had the spongiest floor i've ever come across.

Before you make any decisions, go get yourself a damp meter and check all round the van (especially under windows and around the roof & corners). Be wary of new looking wall coverings or non standard flooring!

Don't trust the seller if they say they've damp checked it, you might even considered an independent inspection by a mobile caravan engineer. £100 on a proper check may save you thousands.

Edited by littlebasher on Friday 18th March 14:58

[PH5121]

Looking at Autotrader it seems to be going price for an Avondale. It is a fine line between good value and cheap for a reason.

[Crush]

littlebasher said:

As i mentioned in another post, when i was looking at used vans last year, i looked at just shy of 20 caravans ALL of which suffered from varying degrees of damp (from bad to terminal).

These weren't old stters either, but modern vans - one 5 year old van had the spongiest floor i've ever come across.

Before you make any decisions, go get yourself a damp meter and check all round the van (especially under windows and around the roof & corners). Be wary of new looking wall coverings or non standard flooring!

Don't trust the seller if they say they've damp checked it, you might even considered an independent inspection by a mobile caravan engineer. £100 on a proper check may save you thousands.

Edited by littlebasher on Friday 18th March 14:58

Most of the new caravans seem worse than ever for damp issues (and build quality).

My parents have a 12 month old Lunar and it is unbelievably bad.

[littlebasher]

Crush said:

Most of the new caravans seem worse than ever for damp issues (and build quality).

My parents have a 12 month old Lunar and it is unbelievably bad.

Indeed, imagine my surprise when i traded in a 2 year old Bailey to be told they found damp when inspecting it for the handover

Proper damp as well, running down a section of the wall about a foot wide and mostly disguised by the furniture. Luckily they didn't make a fuss as it was covered by Baileys warranty. Just as well i got rid when i did, a service 6 months early didn't pick up on anything.

[PH5121]

We have discounted the Avondale as I was put off by the problems that the late ones had, and the spare parts availability issue.

[PVN]

I bought a 2008 Avondale Dart 4 berth with motor movers and a new awning plus start up kit for £8500 in Feb 2012. I have had no issues with damp and the latest service report states "Dry Van" in the damp report. Spares have not been an issue. I managed to scrape a post when leaving a site which required replacement of a front side window, awning rail and wheel spat/mudguard moulding. These were all available without difficulty. The leisure battery charger failed due to a circuit board failure. A new circuit board was supplied and fitted by a mobile repairer for around £70.

I wouldn't be too quick to discount Avondales. They are well built, well equipped, well thought out and the fact that they are holding their prices well despite being out of production for four years suggests they are well regarded in the market.

We regularly look at newer caravans and different lay-outs but we have not found one we would swap our current van for yet.

PVN

[Rosscow]

PVN said:

I bought a 2008 Avondale Dart 4 berth with motor movers and a new awning plus start up kit for £8500 in Feb 2012. I have had no issues with damp and the latest service report states "Dry Van" in the damp report. Spares have not been an issue. I managed to scrape a post when leaving a site which required replacement of a front side window, awning rail and wheel spat/mudguard moulding. These were all available without difficulty. The leisure battery charger failed due to a circuit board failure. A new circuit board was supplied and fitted by a mobile repairer for around £70.

I wouldn't be too quick to discount Avondales. They are well built, well equipped, well thought out and the fact that they are holding their prices well despite being out of production for four years suggests they are well regarded in the market.

We regularly look at newer caravans and different lay-outs but we have not found one we would swap our current van for yet.

PVN

Good post - thanks!

[PH5121]

PVN said:

I bought a 2008 Avondale Dart 4 berth with motor movers and a new awning plus start up kit for £8500 in Feb 2012. I have had no issues with damp and the latest service report states "Dry Van" in the damp report. Spares have not been an issue. I managed to scrape a post when leaving a site which required replacement of a front side window, awning rail and wheel spat/mudguard moulding. These were all available without difficulty. The leisure battery charger failed due to a circuit board failure. A new circuit board was supplied and fitted by a mobile repairer for around £70.

I wouldn't be too quick to discount Avondales. They are well built, well equipped, well thought out and the fact that they are holding their prices well despite being out of production for four years suggests they are well regarded in the market.

We regularly look at newer caravans and different lay-outs but we have not found one we would swap our current van for yet.

PVN

Thanks for that information, we actually went to look at caravans at the weekend and ended up putting a deposit on a Swift Challenger. The caravan is older than the Avondale, 2006 rather than 2008, but is in better condition and with a longer warranty.