Hi everyone I have agreed a price if £4000,any advice when ups be greatly appreciated

Sort by date Sort by votes
At that price it seems OK to me!! :)

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Upvote 0
We own a 1994 Talbot Express and we love it. However, I would be very wary of buying any vehicle that has not been taxed for 6 years and therefore, presumably, not driven. The motorhome will not have been serviced and the only repairs carried out would have been to get it through MOTs. What other faults could have developed in 6 years of non-use?

On the recent MOT failure it is noted that the two front tyres have tears, "caused by separation or partial failure of its structure sidewall splits." The two rear tyres, even if they have a good tread, will also need changing as tyres that are on a stationary vehicle are always likely to age more quickly than those in regular and frequent use. Surface cracking of the sidewalls can occur if the motorhome tyres are allowed to become under-inflated and remain for a long period of time in that condition. Using tyres in this condition can cause a blow-out on the motorway when the tyre temperatures increase.

The cam belt will need to be changed. If it breaks when the vehicle is being driven it can easily cause serious damage to the engine.

The usual problems with the Talbot Express seem to be rust around the windscreen, the wheel arches, bottom of cab doors and bonnet front.

Lack of power steering will make the Talbot heavy on steering. If you wanted to have after-market PS fitted it will cost in the region of £600.

The gear linkage on a Talbot can be a bit sloppy (it was originally designed for a LHD van). This is relatively simple to cure but, again, it will cost money for the modification.

Unless the owner has trade plates you are not going to be able to legally test-drive the vehicle. A test drive should not be just along a straight, flat road. You want to try it out on hills – up and down – and to drive it around corners – left and right. It should be driven on at least one stretch of dual carriageway or motorway to get it up to a decent speed. You would need to road test it for between 15 and 30 minutes.

I could go on but I think by now you will have got the picture. If you've got the time and the money to get this money pit in good working order then go ahead. If not, walk away. There are plenty of other motorhomes for sale.
 
Upvote 0
To me it looks OK for the money but if it has been standing around for 6 years I don't think I would touch it. May end up as a good buy but I think you need to budget at least anther £2k to spend on it.
 
Upvote 0
I think it's a money pit....

And if the sellers name is dan brockhill don't touch it as he lives around there and sells stolen vans and tells a good story.....!
 
Upvote 0
you could buy better than that from a scrapyard for less money. expect to spend £3k plus on top of the purchase price to make it usable
 
Upvote 0
I'm afraid I'd leave it alone, I'm all for cheap motors , run them all my life, but this one is just best left alone, absolutely nothing going for it.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Upvote 0
Just a by the by, if the van hasn't been taxed or sorned for 6 years is the buyer libel for all the back tax if taxing it?
 
Upvote 0
Just look at it all as a learning curve so when you do find THE one, you'll buy it without any doubts over whether you've done the right thing. Keep looking & good luck. (y)
 
Upvote 0
Seem a lot cheaper @Mel thanks for the link(y)
We are thinking of slightly upsizing in a year or so left hand drive would be fine & the prices seem cheaper.

If you bought in Germany do you have to import it if it stayed in Europe for 6 months minimum then brought it over to the uk for the rest of the year.
 
Upvote 0
Charlie - Minton said:
Seem a lot cheaper @Mel thanks for the link(y)
We are thinking of slightly upsizing in a year or so left hand drive would be fine & the prices seem cheaper.

If you bought in Germany do you have to import it if it stayed in Europe for 6 months minimum then brought it over to the uk for the rest of the year.
Click to expand...

I dont know about export/import
But a few on here are.

In Belgium you cant register a vehicle here if you dont live here.
All number plates belong to the person/company.
The rear plate is issued by the central government.
You can get transit plates.
I think @Lenny HB knows.
 
Upvote 0
Mel said:
I dont know about export/import
But a few on here are.

In Belgium you cant register a vehicle here if you dont live here.
All number plates belong to the person/company.
The rear plate is issued by the central government.
You can get transit plates.
I think @Lenny HB knows.
Click to expand...
Better to get the dealer to drive it to the port on their insurance & plates Belgium Transit plates are expensive and they only cover 3rd party.
 
Upvote 0
Thanks @Mel & @Lenny HB

We're just chatting at home about what to do in the future regarding Europe traveling & upsizing makes sense. Thanks for the advice (y)

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
  • Like
Reactions: Mel
Upvote 0
@Charlie - Minton I looked into buying a German van from mobile.de as the prices and selection do seem very good. In Germany (as most of Europe I think) the vehicle's registration is linked to the owner, bit like a UK registration & log book in one. Which complicates buying a vehicle in another country. You can get temporary plates that are valid for three months without having to be resident in Germany, and you're then able to drive freely around the EU. If you buy from a dealer I believe they will supply it with the plates and 3rd party insurance as well. If you buy privately, you'd have to sort out them out yourself which requires going into a government office and waiting for paperwork to clear and whatnot. On 3-month temporary plates, you don't need to pay German road tax either.

However don't forget there is import duty, which does vary on factors I don't exactly recall - age and value of the motorhome possibly. Best case is 10% I think. Then once you've driven your motorhome back to the UK, you will need to register it here which requires a couple of small modifications: the speedo is one (needs to show MPH), and perhaps the headlights? Anyway quite a bit of faff, which combined with the need to get out there and visit one or more motorhomes to decide if you actually like it made me decide not to bother!
 
Upvote 0
Paulfy4 said:
Thank you to everyone for there priceless advise, I am not going through with the purchase and will keep looking.

Thanks again for all your time and have a great weekend
Click to expand...
To be honest, I think you are going to have to up your budget a bit , you are in the bargain basement and going to be very lucky to find a good one, they are there, but very far and between.
 
Upvote 0
There are loads , just look at these for starters
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0637.PNG
    IMG_0637.PNG
    611.4 KB · Views: 39
Upvote 0
If importing from the EU and in your price range the Moho would be over 10 years old ,so no import duty or vat if registered in say Germany when bringing into the UK to register ,it then needs to be registered first with HMRC within 14 days

https://www.gov.uk/importing-vehicles-into-the-uk/telling-hmrc

Easiest way do it online ,MOT it
Insurance from UK company
Then you need to register with dvla

https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-registration/new-registrations

Not as daunting as it seems and when the pound/ euro is better there are bargains to be had (as already mentioned) on mobile.de
Good luck
 
Upvote 0
Rob and Val said:
The cam belt will need to be changed. If it breaks when the vehicle is being driven it can easily cause serious damage to the engine.
Click to expand...
I have a spare cylinder head if he need's one:rofl: getting part is a nightmare for this vehicles :crying:
bill
 
Upvote 0

Join us or log in to post a reply.

To join in you must be a member of MotorhomeFun

Join MotorhomeFun

Join us, it quick and easy!

Join us

Log in

Already a member? Log in here.

Latest journal entries

Back
Top