We want to buy a caravan but

[gregssausageroll]

Does anyone know if there is an organisation that will come out and give it the once over before we do the deal?

When we bought ours, it came with a service report that the dealer had done.
Most caravan owners i would say really look after them, and will supply you with service reports if you ask.

OOOooh exciting, we LOVE ours!

You should probably get it HPI checked
www.hpicheck.com/caravans.html

blog.preloved.co.uk/blog/permalink/20/top-10-tips-for-buying-a-used-caravan.html

If you can get hold of one I would thoroughly reccommend taking a damp meter with you as caravans are prone to water ingress at any age. When you are inspecting them make sure to have a thorogh look in all the internal lockers particularly in the front and rear lockers. If you do have a damp meter check in all the corners, front and rear top and bottom. Other questions to ask would be about what comes with in eg: awning, aquaroll, wastehog, gas bottles, spare wheel (some have them attached underneath the chassis), does it come with a stabaliser?? We have bought second hand from a large dealer before now and even the one we got had damp! We werent aware at the time and felt really angry when it was discovered. We now have a damp meter and all our subsequent caravans have been thoroughly checked.
Hope this is of some help and good luck with your search. They are great fun and give you so much freedom. Enjoy :-)

Thanks. It is second hand private sale with no paperwork available but it is a nice van. Just hoped there might be something like the aa who would come put and look.

Might be with checking with The Caravan Club??

I would be concerned about the no paperwork. I second the HPI check.
You could always contact someone who does mobile caravan servicing, they may be happy to give it the once over for you.
Good luck.

I have found someone local and the seller has agreed for him to take it to his workshop for a full check. It is in the sellers best interests as if it is not for us then it is easier to sell to the next person. Thank you all for your help.

Typically I have now seen another van slightly cheaper.

I don't know if I go for the cheaper, just as nice option with no awning and motor mover or the more expensive one with both

awning and motor mover both good plus points but depends on how much they are asking for them!

what about other things to compare them like age, layout, other accessories

go for the awning and the motor mover

why are they selling?

I'd go for the one with the awning too.
What's the difference in price between the 2? Have you checked out , what price awnings are, for the one without?
We sold our spare awning on e-bay for £300, so check out the prices of the missing bits, before you go any further.

I'd go for the one with the awning. whats the difference in price, between the 2 caravans? Have you looked around, on e-bay for example, at how much it would cost to GET an awning, for the caravan that doesn't have one?
We sold our spare awning for £350 on e-bay.