# Motorhome purchase minefield for the complete novice.....



## spatz1 (May 19, 2011)

Fortunatly i have good experience when it comes to car purchase, and yet, it took me 2 months and 1500+ miles travelling to Know id found the right motorhome for our family..... I trawled the dealers (about 6k dearer on a 20k private sale), ebay, autotrader etc and it was a thoroughly frustrating time !!!!

I cant even begin to comprehend how some with no knowledge would even attempt to make a purchase privatly and some of the dealers left a lot to be desired....especially with the 6k price premium....

The times i ve travelled and owners hadnt even bothered to fill up with essentials to test all habitation equipment even before i start looking at the "vehicle" side of things.... and their insistence on "good condition" or "as new" was blatent missreprisentation and we re talking 20 k plus here. (incomplete service history and bad oil leaks despite low milleage the norm) .... The time i wasted was frustrating and annoying...

However, undaunted, i continued my search even though the list of "wants from a motorhome" had grown with the experience from viewing many...

It needed to be suitable for a family of three possibly four in the future... Had to fell roomy with a large lounge area , same for the bathroom with a seperate shower - Quality fittings , real wood doors and a good finish. From a practicle point of view, i was looking for solar, a gas tank, large water capacity, 25 mpg and the smaller in length the van the better.... All this on a very low milleage vehicle with no oil leaks and as near new condition as possible please and on a 20 k budget !

Considdering my "searching" experience , i long ago realised 20k could quite possibly buy the complete novice a "wreck" , so maybe i was asking a bit much !!!

Anyway,search completed with everything on my list ticked, and left a deposit (private sale) some 2 weeks ago having thought i had made the right decision despite its threatening size and my worry of being able to drive it - Now owning it, I can now confirm its everything on my list and a lot more as it really is like new from top to bottom !!!! As for driving it, after a mile i realised its just relaxed and comfy and i dont remember why it looked so threatening as i love driving it. 

Obviously theres a small additional spend i expected, addition of 120w solar output to total 200 ish , a second 110ah battery and inverter, but i m pleased to say i ve been through the van with a fine tooth comb now and i cant find anything ...

Now to enjoy,
but i do wonder how the "novice" ever negotiates the "motorhome purchase minefield" ....


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## motormouth (Jul 3, 2010)

So come on then, what did you buy?????????


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## JohnGun (May 15, 2009)

tell us quick, you only have one more post


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## adonisito (Nov 6, 2009)

Yeah, What is it?


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## Andysam (May 10, 2005)

Ooh, you tease. Tell us, you know you want to, you do. Yes, yes!


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## ToffeApple (Nov 21, 2009)

Arrrrrrrrrrrgh!!!!!!!!!! :roll: :roll:


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## spatz1 (May 19, 2011)

delayed reply due to cock up with e mail address while subscribing....

Air susspension on the rear seems to be a real bonus... And i prefer the larger capacity toilet, cab aircon ! 

I ve now had time to prepare everything to make life easy, auto lights in outdoor lockers,dedicated compressor for air susspension, resistors to slow bed fans down to silence them as they were fierce and a couple of mods to reduce power consumption and increase supply...

Knowing the why s i suppose you would want to know what i bought ...

Being as this was a long term purchase i dispelled the percieved disadvantage of A class against the, dare i say it, more conventional overhead cab that probably exists in the motorhome market when it comes to resale.... I chose to see the merits of an A class at the right price in "as new" condition with all the bells and whistles and what i considder to be an optimum spacious workable layout thats a pleasure to relax in.... Perish the thought i d gone down the road of bunks and garage leaving us sat at a table facing each other and struggling to watch a rediculously placed tv ... i realised we didnt need the storage nor the bunk space even as a possible family of 4...

It was purely the width and percieved initially odd driving position that worried me with the A class and very nearly had me rule one out, but it took very little distance to realise how easy and enjoyable it is to drive. 

To those still looking to buy in what i ve described as a minefield be it dealer or private, i can only say as with all large purchases ," buy with your head and not your heart" and bloomin good luck to you if you come out the other side with exactly what you wanted !!!!


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## eddied (May 9, 2005)

*Wot!!?*

 nice informative posts, but you still haven't told us what you bought??


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

ToffeApple said:


> Arrrrrrrrrrrgh!!!!!!!!!! :roll: :roll:


Double ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH! 8O


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## JohnGun (May 15, 2009)

my bet is he hasnt any intention of buying anything

trooooooool


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## spatz1 (May 19, 2011)

Best of all, and a clue for the knowledgeable....

I was able to buy british...


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## motormouth (Jul 3, 2010)

barryd said:


> ToffeApple said:
> 
> 
> > Arrrrrrrrrrrgh!!!!!!!!!! :roll: :roll:
> ...


Triple AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH

Off to watch my (artificial) grass grow. :lol: :lol:


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## Carl_n_Flo (May 10, 2005)

British A class? - That narrows it down a bit............

Swift Bel-Air or Autotrail Grande Frontier..........

Any others....(apart from the British / not British Auto-sleeper a few years ago).
Carl


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## Solwaybuggier (Mar 4, 2008)

I'd have suggested an RS Elysian - but if anyone knows where those are available for £20k, please let me know!


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## Carl_n_Flo (May 10, 2005)

Solwaybuggier said:


> I'd have suggested an RS Elysian - but if anyone knows where those are available for £20k, please let me know!


Not yet - but I am sure that one will appear on ebay soon.........most probably from a lady in Barcelona.. :roll: :roll: :roll: 
Carl


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## Carl_n_Flo (May 10, 2005)

If what he has bought is for use of a family, then really the only option is the Bel-Aire.........the GF is only a 2 berth.....

Quite a dated van, not many on the road....

C


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## spatz1 (May 19, 2011)

its the autosleeper...

had 4 nights in it already and the only misshap was the nocturnal foreigners next door who disturbed me from deep sleep reving their car and as i sat bolt upright i cracked my head on the roof


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## Carl_n_Flo (May 10, 2005)

Hate to burst your bubble but.......
.
.
.
.
..
The Autosleeper A class is not a British van....

It is a European van, constructed in Europe, and badged as an Autosleeper....

Give me an hour or two and I will dig out some history...

Sorry.
Carl

Edit : Got it - Mirage was built in Italy by a sister company of Autosleeper. Imported into the UK under the Mirage name for Marquis (a dealer in the same stable as A/S) and the Luxor name for A/S themselves.
Very short 'run'.......not very popular.
Definitely NOT made in the UK.
Carl


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## spatz1 (May 19, 2011)

yep, i know and i ve already researched all all articles prior to purchase...

Thing is i lived in castel san pietro ,lazio some years and all the other italians would agree its not italian the moment the english messed with it !!!!

i d just tell them thats why the finish is so good inside !


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## Carl_n_Flo (May 10, 2005)

Some would say that the Italians messed with Autosleeper to the detriment of A/S -........ :roll: 

They are better now after the MBO......
Carl


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## spatz1 (May 19, 2011)

i m not conviced of either side of that argument !

From my short experiance, and a nose around every corner, i m suprised at the quality of finish inside and its a smart layout... The body is good too, everything fits perfect and its just a neat package and how i d expect to " live " in a motorhome...


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## 1302 (Apr 4, 2006)

Carl_n_Flo said:


> Some would say that the Italians messed with Autosleeper to the detriment of A/S -........ :roll:
> 
> They are better now after the MBO......
> Carl


I would agree - our VW Trooper was a great vehicle/conversion - fifteen years old and nothing broken or missing 

The later ones dont seem as well shoved together


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## 1302 (Apr 4, 2006)

And to reply to the point of the OP and his thread....

It must be difficult as a novice to enter into the m/h buying minefield. I luckily know my way round a car/van - not so much experience at motorhomes but I do know when something 'looks' right. 

I was lucky with our Compass as it had only done 18000 and not much can go wrong with a VW in that milage. The old buy that had it was just a 'genuine' bloke - the vehicle was dry stored at a farm etc etc.

Motorhome do tend to be 'well looked after' but you just never know.

My advice to anyone looking at a private purchase would be the same advice as I give to people thinking of buying a car privately - if you dont know one end of a motor from the other then go to a dealer. Certainly dont buy private and then bitch and moan that you bought a pup.

I looked at a Trooper years ago - it just didnt feel right - it was cheap, I discovered a not so good repair to the front wing and then a clonking wonky front bearing on the same corner. I got it HPiI checked and it was a cat D write off :roll: The bloke selling it didnt know (I beleive he was genuinely naive when he bought it) He was know stuck with a van that anyone like me would walk away from and down a few grand


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