Idea of price...

Merle Collins

Merle Collins

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Hi all,

Apologies if this is not PC, but is it an annoyance if Newbies ask for advice on valuations of motorhomes? :rolleyes:

I've seen one local that could do the job, but am absolutely clueless at the worth of them..:(

I won't say what it is until the idea is given the thumbs up...(y)
 
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Ralph-n-Bev said:
You say you have kids, how many and how old ?
This would be my main concern with bench seats.
If you've only one , it can gave a child seat in the front. You or hubby can sit unrestrained in the back.

This was a stumbling block for us and the layout we wanted with ours. We had 2 front 3point seat belts in the back. And 3 kids.
Who do you make safe ?

Could you live with yourself if you had an accident ?
It might be legal because it's an old van ........but.

Our eldest rarely came. So for when he did, we fixed an extended lap strap in the through cab floor.
He travelled , rear facing legs up on the side facing seat. Back against a large back cushion , and a piece of thick ply between the drivers seat and the bulk head.
There was no chance of his head flipping back , and he was fixed in rear facing. He couldn't go anywhere.
Not ideal. But safe.
Click to expand...

Two toddlers, an 11YO and a 14YO.

We're guessing that the 14YO will turn her nose up at the idea of coming with us, so that rules her out.

What I would like to consider is the option of changing the front passenger seat to a double, so I can attach two child car seats for the toddlers. This would then leave me or my wife to sit in the back with the 11YO....

I'm also still confident I could come up with some method of rearranging things in the back to accommodate seat belts....
 
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Barclaybasher said:
Just had it fitted - makes all the difference ! A few places do it, hundreds fitted (y)(y)
Click to expand...

Just doing power steering research now BB, where did you get yours done? Do you know of any other companies, preferably in Scotland, that do it?
 
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Any thoughts on this guys?

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Well, the roof has obviously been leaking & they have "remedied" it by plastering it with roof sealant of some sort, looks to me like a rubberoid solution. What has happened inside the wet roof though? Plus, I think you will have problems when you come to sell again, even if it doesn't leak in the meantime.
Only my thoughts, I may be wrong :unsure:
 
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simbadog said:
Well, the roof has obviously been leaking & they have "remedied" it by plastering it with roof sealant of some sort, looks to me like a rubberoid solution. What has happened inside the wet roof though? Plus, I think you will have problems when you come to sell again, even if it doesn't leak in the meantime.
Only my thoughts, I may be wrong :unsure:
Click to expand...

Well I think you're right.

Patience is definitely a virtue.

But is it going to be possible to ever find a van of this age that is 'completely' dry? :(
 
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Please check the law before you buy. Pretty sure that all children under 14 must be in a seatbelt,

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Merle Collins said:
Well I think you're right.

Patience is definitely a virtue.

But is it going to be possible to ever find a van of this age that is 'completely' dry? :(
Click to expand...
Buying a van that is not completely dry may be folly. A damp van that looks ok today may disintegrate tomorrow.
The roof of the van looks as if it has an aluminium checker plate fitted ?
DIY job?
Has the insulation been reinstated properly?
Has it added to the weight?
Check tyres, with only 20k on the clock they should have all been changed at the same time (patterns should all be the same).
Check exhaust smoke on start up .....blue smoke would suggest worn engine.
Check steering wheel for wear........would suggest high mileage.
Check pedal rubbers for wear..........."".......................""
Check underneath for floor damage/repairs/ soft board

If you feel in your heart that the van is worth the money offer a cheeky bid to see where the land lies....i'm sure there will be a bit of play in the price.
Remember if you smell a rat walk away.

Good luck with your decision and happy motoring.

Bobby
 
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Merle Collins said:
Well I think you're right.

Patience is definitely a virtue.

But is it going to be possible to ever find a van of this age that is 'completely' dry? :(
Click to expand...
Buying a van that is not completely dry may be folly. A damp van that looks ok today may disintegrate tomorrow.
The roof of the van looks as if it has an aluminium checker plate fitted ?
DIY job?
Has the insulation been reinstated properly?
Has it added to the weight?
Check tyres, with only 20k on the clock they should have all been changed at the same time (patterns should all be the same).
Check exhaust smoke on start up .....blue smoke would suggest worn engine.
Check steering wheel for wear........would suggest high mileage.
Check pedal rubbers for wear..........."".......................""
Check underneath for floor damage/repairs/ soft board

If you feel in your heart that the van is worth the money offer a cheeky bid to see where the land lies....i'm sure there will be a bit of play in the price.
Remember if you smell a rat walk away.

Good luck with your decision and happy motoring.

Bobby
 
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Looks a fair sort of repair to me, is it damp does it smell , did you get a damp meter the tread plate could mean it had a roof box on or satelite or nothing to do with the repair , it might not of even been leaking just someone making sure it didn't, I wouldn't give up on it if everything else is ok, seat belts the worst thing in my opinion can't see how you get past that one, offer him three grand see what happens(y)
 
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chaser said:
Looks a fair sort of repair to me, is it damp does it smell , did you get a damp meter the tread plate could mean it had a roof box on or satelite or nothing to do with the repair , it might not of even been leaking just someone making sure it didn't, I wouldn't give up on it if everything else is ok, seat belts the worst thing in my opinion can't see how you get past that one, offer him three grand see what happens(y)
Click to expand...

It did have two seat belts in the back chaser, but side on obviously..!
 
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chaser said:
Looks a fair sort of repair to me, is it damp does it smell , did you get a damp meter the tread plate could mean it had a roof box on or satelite or nothing to do with the repair , it might not of even been leaking just someone making sure it didn't, I wouldn't give up on it if everything else is ok, seat belts the worst thing in my opinion can't see how you get past that one, offer him three grand see what happens(y)
Click to expand...
It didn't smell damp at all to be honest and I checked inside most of the cupboards. The shower room was intact.

What did concern me was that hession looking tape across the joints on he ceiling inside...





It just kinda lends itself to confirming their has, in the past, been a problem with the roof.... The ceiling covering seems to be wallpaper of some description - is that normal?

What I would consider doing would be to cover the ceiling with a tongue and groove plastic ceiling. The type you would see in modern bathrooms.

Also, I've been thinking this afternoon, could that black rubberised treatment that has been put on the roof be covered with a more aesthetically pleasing fibre glass finish I wonder? There are plenty of folk up here that do a good fibre glass job.

I would say that chequerplate on the roof would be more to do with carrying luggage or the like as it has anchoring loops on the four corners...

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I would just paint the roof in white waterproofing paint, fibreglass is unlikely to 'take', nobody sees the roof anyway

The tape is probably cosmetic, hiding some movement on the ceiling panels.

Agree about the chequer plate and hooks, may have caused the movement on the ceiling.
 
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Barclaybasher said:
I would just paint the roof in white waterproofing paint, fibreglass is unlikely to 'take', nobody sees the roof anyway

The tape is probably cosmetic, hiding some movement on the ceiling panels.

Agree about the chequer plate and hooks, may have caused the movement on the ceiling.
Click to expand...

Is there a specialist type of such a paint for motorhomes BB?
 
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Plastidip (by Performix) - rubber paint, can be sprayed, brushed, rollered on. Forms a rubbery coating, as thick or thin as you like. Lasts for ever. We did the whole roof on our old Merc 608 about 6 years ago and it's still like new. Available in various colours - white is most popular and is sometimes out of stock. It insulates well, both heat and noise-wise (drumming). :)
 
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stcyr said:
Plastidip (by Performix) - rubber paint, can be sprayed, brushed, rollered on. Forms a rubbery coating, as thick or thin as you like. Lasts for ever. We did the whole roof on our old Merc 608 about 6 years ago and it's still like new. Available in various colours - white is most popular and is sometimes out of stock. It insulates well, both heat and noise-wise (drumming). :)
Click to expand...

Did you do that because it was leaking or as a preventative precaution stcyr?

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Be very careful with regard to carrying passengers. Even if you can get seat belts fitted properly (not side facing) if anything did go wrong Mr Plod and your insurers would look at the V5 for the number of rated travelling seats. If you are carrying more people than this you would be in trouble. Even if you just got pulled over randomly you would probably lose the argument!
 
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Bobby22 said:
Buying a van that is not completely dry may be folly. A damp van that looks ok today may disintegrate tomorrow.
The roof of the van looks as if it has an aluminium checker plate fitted ?
DIY job?
Has the insulation been reinstated properly?
Has it added to the weight?
Check tyres, with only 20k on the clock they should have all been changed at the same time (patterns should all be the same).
Check exhaust smoke on start up .....blue smoke would suggest worn engine.
Check steering wheel for wear........would suggest high mileage.
Check pedal rubbers for wear..........."".......................""
Check underneath for floor damage/repairs/ soft board

If you feel in your heart that the van is worth the money offer a cheeky bid to see where the land lies....i'm sure there will be a bit of play in the price.
Remember if you smell a rat walk away.

Good luck with your decision and happy motoring.

Bobby
Click to expand...


Not strictly true, most older vans will blue smoke on start up as long as it clears after a few seconds should be fine(y)
 
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NickNic said:
Be very careful with regard to carrying passengers. Even if you can get seat belts fitted properly (not side facing) if anything did go wrong Mr Plod and your insurers would look at the V5 for the number of rated travelling seats. If you are carrying more people than this you would be in trouble. Even if you just got pulled over randomly you would probably lose the argument!
Click to expand...
Yes the safety belt thing would be my major concern, at that age you are in fact legal to carry passengers without belts, so not anything to worry about with police or insurers but for your own peace of mind, don't see anything wrong with side faceing belts though if they are the correct ones.
The ceiling , don't suppose the seller would let you pull the tape off to have a look what's underneath?
 
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chaser said:
Yes the safety belt thing would be my major concern, at that age you are in fact legal to carry passengers without belts, so not anything to worry about with police or insurers but for your own peace of mind, don't see anything wrong with side faceing belts though if they are the correct ones.
The ceiling , don't suppose the seller would let you pull the tape off to have a look what's underneath?
Click to expand...

The side facing lap belts are definitely the original ones, they are at the end of the benches nearest the front of the van. The seller seemed to think I could get others fitted at the other end of the bench...

To be honest I think I would be more inclined to try and change the single front passenger seat for a double with three point belts..?

I'm confident that the lady would not want me to peel that tape back, there's nowhere that it could be done out of sight and if I didn't buy she would be left to repair it...:(

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I would still be concerned about the validity of the mileage.

Its only 869 miles per year average.

You say cars dont do high mileages where you live but motorhomes arent generally used locally so the miles soon rack up.

Easy enough to check the previous 4 or 5 years mileages on the governments MOT check website but you need the current MOT serial number and the testing stations registered number off the MOT certificate.
 
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Tootles said:
Ask the guy if it has five gears, (some of the petrol models didn't). No need to worry about a cam belt with that engine, its on a chain.
A ful LPG conversion will cost you about £1500, well worth the money at 69p a litre. (and, it can be made to supply the cooker/fridge/heating).
Click to expand...
Only if a dual purpose tank is fitted.
A propulsion tank feeds liquid, a domestic tank feeds gas.
 
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pappajohn said:
I would still be concerned about the validity of the mileage.

Its only 869 miles per year average.

You say cars dont do high mileages where you live but motorhomes arent generally used locally so the miles soon rack up.

Easy enough to check the previous 4 or 5 years mileages on the governments MOT check website but you need the current MOT serial number and the testing stations registered number off the MOT certificate.
Click to expand...

Agreed Pappajohn.

The sellers son runs quite a reputable MOT garage up here and she has had that checked out herself and confirmed the mileage as genuine.(y)
 
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pappajohn said:
Easy enough to check the previous 4 or 5 years mileages on the governments MOT check website but you need the current MOT serial number and the testing stations registered number off the MOT certificate.
Click to expand...

Yes or ask to see the V5 and get the Doc ref number (11 numbers) and do the same, when I checked mine it went back to 2005 and I could see by the testing station addresses where it had been around the country and how many owners (y)
 
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