Some very long standing friends of ours were faced with this very decision ,and after a time decided to purchase a new one
after looking at various caravan dealer's yards they decided on an Avan two berth with shower, toilet kitchen, and all led lighting with water tanks ,grey water tanks etc
they were excited and ordered it in plenty of time to go on the dream trip.
the unit arrived and they drove 370klm to pick it up and were given a nights stay in a local caravan park
then off home again to pack for the trip, they found when they got home the spare was different to the wheels on the van so back to the dealer and they changed the two tyres on the van
they then returned to home and then noticed the clearance in the tyre arch was less than 10mm ,at the same time they noticed the van had severe damage to the underside of the van
further inspection by the dept. of motor transport resulted in a notice preventing it from going on the road
they are still in dispute with Avan 6 months have passed and the fair trading meeting has been postponed till july.....................be warned
Sounds like a story we've heard before. Welcome fishnmad. Hope you enjoy this forum. As far as your thread title - we have a second hand van because that is all we could afford.
Hi les welcome to the forum they are a great bunch of people here and everybody will make you welcome.
I purchased a 12 month old van last time as like your friend I had all sorts of stories and garbage dished up by the dealer when I bought a new one, I think its always safer to pick up a good second hand one and it will cost less.
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Life was meant to be enjoyed Australia was meant to be explored
Happily doing both to the Max.
Life is like a camera, focus on what's important & you will capture it every Time
Les and I have had secondhand vans for the last 18 years, so about 5 vans all up. We have had "renovators delight" ones and near new ones. As we wanted to do the trip permanently we went brand new this time. It has all the bells and whistles and is set up for being self contained, and we paid a pretty penny for it too. But it was the best thing we ever did, this van has everything we ever wanted, it's the colour we wanted, and we love it.
We have only owned 2 vans both secondhand. Both vans were older than 3 yrs and in excellent condition and our new (old) van has all the bells and whistles that we require.
We have travelled all over Australia and they both did us proud. We maintain and keep the vans in good order and when we sold our first van to buy the one we have now, we were lucky to get back what we paid for it. We have never bought off a dealer and shopped carefully privately.
We have heard some horror stories about dealers etc and also we have met people who had no trouble buying a new van. It's really what you can afford and what you require.
Have a wonderful time travelling this beautiful country.
We've heard horror stories from people who bought a second-hand van... remember Glassies? New or old, its really about researching so you know what to look for, and inspecting and inspecting and taking notes. New vans lose value fairly quickly so it sounds logical that a 1 or2 year old caravan would be the most economical.
The best thing I would like from this is that all purchasers of vans new or used get an inspection by a knowledgeable person before taking delivery
Even a new one!!!
my friends were excited about their new van and failed to crawl under it to see the extensive damage which they have now had assessed at $17000
the most upsetting occurrence was the dealer saying they must of done it and to go away because they will not get it fixed nor get a new one or get their $50000 back
they were looking forward to coming with us for 6 weeks touring Victoria and south Australia and are now depressed that any business could be so callous
I would be seriously taking this to A Currant Affair if Fair Trading does not resolve it in an acceptable timeframe, provided it does not jeopadise any recovery down the track. I hope your friends come out on top. A lesson learnt for all new buyers
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The Maccas ....
2013 Avida Esperance Motorhome - based in northern NSW.
I feel very sad for your friends, I hope there is a good outcome for them. Nothing will make up for the stress that a situation like this Thanks for the warning, one would like to think that buying new would avoid anything like this situation.
I have heard that with A Van, once you drive out the gate they don't want to know you. We bought a new Montana off road, from Adventure Caravans Brisbane, have a wonderfull relationship with them.
We own an Avan and heard all about poor workmanship and bad after sales service so we bought one a few years old that had been owned by a perfectionist who had ironed out all the faults.
