Purchase of a motorhome

Kimzy

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Hi thank you for accepting me, im about to look at buying a MH I have 4 different ones but one is standing out more to me but it is the older of them all, this is a autotrail stanton on a 15 plate Mercedes sprinter chassis its done 42k miles and has just passed its MOT with just a registration bulb light as the only advisory. My question is does this sound like a good motorhome and does anyone else have one that can tell me if there reliable and its not likely to be a money pit as I've not got an endless reserve of cash. Its not ulez 6 complient which id have preferred but as I won't be going into cities I can't see it being a problem. The others were a chausson flash, a rollerteam t line and a Bailey alliance. Out of them all what would your thoughts be? I know its personal preference but im wanting reliability more than anything. Or am I asking too much? Thank you for your time
 
Plenty better placed to advise, I'd look at the MOT history - see if it's failed badly in previous years. Go and see it afterwards and take someone who knows what they are looking at and take a hand damp meter to check for leakage.
 
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A good motorhome is one that meets your needs ..... Layout is important, in fact the most important thing other than it being roadworthy and free from damp/serious defects
 
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Sprinters have a good reliability reputation but maintenance costs will be higher.
Main thing to be alive to is Payload. Anyone with a driving licence can drive up to 3,500 kg - over that and younger people will not have such rights and you lose them aged over 70 unless you ask to keep them and you may lose them if you have a medical condition. So 3,500kg is an important watershed and many manufacturers try to squeeze their van under 3,500 kg for marketing purposes when the van is almost at 3,500 kg. Payload is the difference between the empty weight of the van (often described as Mass in Running Order or MIRO) and 3,500 kg. Advertising blurb will often omit to mention the weight of extras like Satellite dishes, bike racks, ovens, solar panels.
Bottom line - If there are two of you then you will need a minimum of 400kg of payload on a 3,500 kg van. If the van is plated for more and you do not have a C1 licence you cannot drive it.
What you want ideally is a weighbridge ticket showing how much the van actually weighs.
Final comment - You will likely find online reviews of all the Mohos that interest you. They should set out the spec including Payload and MIRO but they will likely be referring to the base model without extras and beware dealers can be quite cavalier with the figures!!
 
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Plenty better placed to advise, I'd look at the MOT history - see if it's failed badly in previous years. Go and see it afterwards and take someone who knows what they are looking at and take a hand damp meter to check for leakage.
Yes I've got its MOT history and its only ever failed on brake pads/disks ( once) and registration light bulb, I've heard about damp issues too and I would get a habitation check done before buying does that include damp or would I have to do that separately?

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Yes I've got its MOT history and its only ever failed on brake pads/disks ( once) and registration light bulb, I've heard about damp issues too and I would get a habitation check done before buying does that include damp or would I have to do that separately?
Yes they test for damp in different zones and report on a 'map'.

Use your nose when visiting yourself. Either you will smell damp or a strong smell to try and cover it up. Now having said that a MH or caravan can smell stuffy when left locked up. Ventilation is your friend but not everyone allows air movement when the MH isn't being used.
 
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I had a friend who once bought a Motorhome from a car sales place - supposedly selling for a friend. He said he would need a habitation check and the garage said they knew someone and would get it done. Big mistake - the electric step came away from the body after a couple of days due to significant damp in the floor.
Advice - if not buying from a reputable dealer (there are some!) arrange the hab service yourself!!
 
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It's a ten year old vehicle I don't think there are any makes and models are available that never get problems even new so it's going to come down to getting it checked out regularly serviced and keeping your fingers crossed. There will need to be a contingency fund for future repairs and improvements!
 
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I have a Winchcombe which I believe is the same as the Stanton. It also is a 2015 Mercedes based automatic.
I have had a couple of Fiat based motorhomes previously but prefer the Merc by far to drive. Maintenance overall is no dearer due to not needing cam belt replacement every four years. Rear wheel drive is a plus too. Autosleepers are known for being well built and the fixtures and fittings are good quality.
As others have said though, the layout is far more important as a buying decision along with payload and license requirements (C1 needed).

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I had a friend who once bought a Motorhome from a car sales place - supposedly selling for a friend. He said he would need a habitation check and the garage said they knew someone and would get it done. Big mistake - the electric step came away from the body after a couple of days due to significant damp in the floor.
Advice - if not buying from a reputable dealer (there are some!) arrange the hab service yourself!!
Oh definitely will pay for my own habitation check
 
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Plenty better placed to advise, I'd look at the MOT history - see if it's failed badly in previous years. Go and see it afterwards and take someone who knows what they are looking at and take a hand damp meter to check for leakage.
Yes I've seen the mot history and nothing major just disc brakes and a light bulb on registration plate 3yrs ago other than that passed
 
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