Pre purchase worries and warranty issues

Wadski

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Oakham
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78,255
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Looking for some advice from you experienced funsters

I'm in the process of purchasing a used coachbuilt from a private seller.
The van is two years old, 7.5 meters long, made in Germany, low mileage and one owner. The layout and options are perfect for us and I went to view prior to this latest lockdown.
Unfortunately the owner has not been able to use the van for the last 12 months and it has been sitting uncovered on his driveway, a stones throw from the sea and has not been washed for some time, the interior looked well presented and no signs of damp (other than a couple of ill fitting/slightly warped doors). It has been plugged into EHU and batteries kept charged. The exterior did look a bit dirty but I expected that. He also has the heating on occasionally (I don't know if this is a good idea or not) !

I asked for a damp/hab check to be performed prior to purchase and have agreed a price to subject to test drive etc (which couldn't be performed at first viewing due to having no tax) with the aim of collecting the van once the damp/hab check had been performed and these current restrictions have been lifted.

The damp/hab check was performed last week by a mobile MCEA technician and several areas of damp were discovered. One area is around a window that doesn't concern me too much, the other area is at the roof/wall join in the living area where some readings of 20% - 30% were recorded.
Now the van has supposedly got 4 years water ingress warranty remaining however the seller has never been able to get any warranty issues sorted with the original supplying dealer so that's a non starter and he's also been unsuccessful with other dealers local to him, although this is possibly to do with the current lockdown.
I spoke with a dealer local to me yesterday and they said they couldn't help as their workshops are booked solid for the foreseeable future and they will prioritise work for vans supplied only be themselves - which I understand completely.

Seems I have two options :-

1. Contact the seller, explain my concerns and politely pull out of the deal. Repairs could be very costly, ongoing and frustrating. There will be other vans!

2. Don't worry too much as this van ticks all our boxes except the damp issues (which are possibly minor repairs) and these issues will be rectified fairly easily by a competent workshop. It could even simply be condensation! I appreciate the warranty is probably not worth the paper it is written on so will end up paying for any repairs myself.

My gut feeling is number 1 but welcome peoples thoughts.

Thank you
 
if the current owner can't get warranty work done by the supplying dealer, what makes you confident you could? I would walk away unless it was fully repaired first
 
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Just a quick update. I've spoken with the seller this morning and have told him I will not be proceeding with the purchase and he was very understanding. I'm so glad he was such an honest and amiable chap.
Thank you all for your valuable input as I now feel quite relieved and will probably go for something brand new instead, from a reputable dealer (y)
 
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Just a quick update. I've spoken with the seller this morning and have told him I will not be proceeding with the purchase and he was very understanding. I'm so glad he was such an honest and amiable chap.
Thank you all for your valuable input as I now feel quite relieved and will probably go for something brand new instead, from a reputable dealer (y)
Brand new is always best.
 
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Or make a VERY cheeky offer?

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Just a quick update. I've spoken with the seller this morning and have told him I will not be proceeding with the purchase and he was very understanding. I'm so glad he was such an honest and amiable chap.
Thank you all for your valuable input as I now feel quite relieved and will probably go for something brand new instead, from a reputable dealer (y)
That could be a bit of a task, finding a reputable dealer as with all of these vans everything should be perfect before you part with your money unless you are confident at fixing the things your self.
Only speaking from my own experiences 🙂
 
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But is it? ?
That is the question!

We have had new and had terrible problems. So that's a good point.

I meant that it's nice to have a new one If you can afford to. Just for the smell alone:giggle:
 
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Just a quick update. I've spoken with the seller this morning and have told him I will not be proceeding with the purchase and he was very understanding. I'm so glad he was such an honest and amiable chap.
Thank you all for your valuable input as I now feel quite relieved and will probably go for something brand new instead, from a reputable dealer (y)
Look are nearly new or ex-demo models as they are generally a lot cheaper than a brand new one and often come with extras.
 
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I bought and sold many vehicles, used one adage, If Doubt Leave it Out.

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Hi , and sorry but if you have. Any doubts what so ever walk away damp in a can can be either an easy fix or extremely costly , there will be other vans with same layout as this one , you buy a van to enjoy it not to have worries from day one , leave it be .
 
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Just a quick update. I've spoken with the seller this morning and have told him I will not be proceeding with the purchase and he was very understanding. I'm so glad he was such an honest and amiable chap.
Thank you all for your valuable input as I now feel quite relieved and will probably go for something brand new instead, from a reputable dealer (y)
We got our Knaus from SMC in Newark end of October 2020 and it was a fairly painless experience (We've not actually used it yet though!)
 
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