# AutoSleeper for me?



## 105543 (Jul 1, 2007)

I am new to Motorhomes.

i have been looking around for a MH that would suit me, and I think that I have settled on an 2002 AS Amethyst that I have found in Exeter. 

The layout is great, I like the idea of a GRP monococque (less leaks) and the wife even likes the colour of the curtains.

The main questions I have are as follows.

1. Is this a good "starter" MH?

2. A MHing friend of mine has suggested that the Amethyst could suffer from excessive body roll as the wheelbase is narrow for its length. 

3. Is the leisure battery as fitted man enough for the job?

4. How difficult is it to get A/C fitted to this particular MH?

5. £25000 seems a good price for this size of van and for its age and mileage ((29000). Does this seem reasonable?


I would be grateful for any help that I could get.


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## 100004 (Jul 12, 2006)

Welcome to the Madhouse  If you like the layout, please have a really good look around at other makes, as£25k allows you a pretty good choice to say the very least ie on e-bay Hymer 680 which looks superb and knocks spots off A/s for £26k. Please take your time and look at as many as you can. It may drive you nuts, but better to do that than to make an exspensive mistake. A certain Dazzer will be along shortly and tell you to'buy an RV!' He's like that and quite harmless   H.


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## geraldandannie (Jun 4, 2006)

Hi, liftman, and welcome to the forums 

To answer your questions:

1. Yes

2. Don't worry about it - they all roll to a certain extent. Mine does, so I drive more slowly round bends.

3. Should be - depends on what it is, and what your leisure habits are. We've only got an 85Ahr leisure battery, which does us for a weekend (Friday night to Sunday afternoon) without hookup, which includes showers and a bit of telly. If you're worried, you can always get another battery fitted, although space might be an issue in that particular van. If you go down this route, I'd get a new matched pair of batteries fitted - they work better if they're the same type / capacity etc. Or you might think of a solar panel on the roof. There's loads on the site about this.

4. Don't know. Are you talking about cab or roof aircon? Cab would be tricky to retrofit, I would think. Roof is probably OK - again, there are reports on here from people who've had it done. But bear in mind that you're liking this van because it's a monocoque, and then you're thinking of drilling holes in it :wink:

5. Sounds a bit pricey to me. Is it at a dealer's? To give you some idea, we bought our A/S Pollensa (bigger than the Amethyst) privately just over a year ago, 2000 model but only 14,000 miles, for £19,200. Mind you, I've just checked some prices, and your doesn't seem too bad:

http://www.caravans-for-sale.com/adverts/151/15157/
http://www.caravanselecta.co.uk/DisplayAdvertDetails.asp?txtAdRef=000013450
http://www.tcmotorhomes.com/used/4_berth/4_berth_u6933.htm
http://www.motorhomes-for-sale.com/adverts/133/13389/
http://wwwhampshiremotorhomes.co.uk/vehicles.php
http://www.perthshire-caravans.com/stock_motorhomes.htm

I love the quality of A/S motorhomes, and everything in ours works, and seems to carry on working. It has a solid 'feel' to it.

There's some Beginners' Guides I wrote a little while back which may be useful to you, with some tips about negotiating prices and suchlike. Have a look - it might give you a bit more information:

http://www.motorhome-essentials.co.uk/beginners-guides/

Good luck in your investigations!

Gerald


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## linal (Mar 14, 2006)

Hi Liftman If the van is in a dealership and you are not trading in an offer of £2000. 00 less will probably be acceptable by the company. On autosleepers my last van was and I was very pleased with it.

Alex.


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