Unsure after viewing today

[CarlandMandy]

Went to view a MH which we thought was a real possibility, but have come away feeling a bit confused and would be grateful for any thoughts. It is a burstner harmony, just over 6 months old and on with a dealer. Dealer was excellent, let us spend ages going over it, answered our questions, no pressure at all, very helpful.

We found a few things wrong that individually aren't too bad, but added up are concerning us that maybe the van hasn't been looked after that well in it's short life, but not sure if we are being too picky.

Lots of scuffs on the inside of the wardrobe door where drawers have been pulled out and caught the door.
Deeper scratch on laminate shelf in bathroom.
Fridge door was shut but freezer compartment had 1" of water on it's floor where it had defrosted and been left wet.
Fridge top shelf has had it's plastic rubbed off.
Electric drop down bed wouldn't stop half way down when we tried to stop it - kept drifting down at slower speed, then wouldn't stay up when we put it back up.
Garage had a few scuffs inside.
Spashes that looked as if either tea or muddy water perhaps around inside of the fuse box cabinet at floor level.
When we lifted the under floor storage compartment lid up, the edge of the lid underneath had dried water marks the whole way round and the same around the top floor level edge of the compartment (burstner double floor). Mentioned it to dealer who got a damp meter and showed us it was 6-9 around the edge in places, but zero a couple of inches further away on the floor. It looked to us as though water had sat around the edge of the storage space, maybe a floor spill?

So we came away to scratch heads, head saying don't rule it out, heart feeling a bit deflated. Suppose we were expecting a nearly new van to look a bit more looked after. The dealer would fix the bed and replace the fridge shelf, scuffs would have to go down as use, but the water marks and damp around the floor storage area surprised us. It's under warranty but we feel uncertain how concerned we should be. It hasn't had it's first official warranty hab check yet, that would be done by us in 2022. Dealer said they would do a pre sale one and we felt generally as though they would be good to buy from.

Any thoughts?

 

[chaser]

On the other hand it could be a good dealer,letting you see what it's like before he tarts it up and confident that underneath all the scuffs it's a solid van.

 

[Southdowners]

The faults appear to be cosmetic only and it could be that the dealers had only just had the vehicle in and not had time enough to put it in good order. Could you view it again once the dealer has had time to rectify the faults?

 

[gus-lopez]

Could you view it again once the dealer has had time to rectify the faults?

Dealer I know of doesn't do anything to any vehicle until someone wants to purchase . & that was long before covid.

 

[Grasmere9]

Walk away quickly you know it makes sense! Mine.20 years old no scuffs.

I can verify this! It's beautiful. I would walk away too.

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[Spriddler]

Rightly or wrongly I've always suspected when looking at motorhomes, cars and boats that if an owner hasn't been very attentive to the interior/visual stuff they may have had the same approach to the mechanical stuff. Receipts and a service record (or not) can give a good clue.

 

[bobandjanie]

A lot of the time it's the price tag in the window, over the years I have had cars from the auction and sold them, purchased trucks that are mostly fleet vehicles, had problems with new cars as well as secondhand ones, our current motorhome was ex hire 2017 only 11 months old and like new, we flew to Germany and had a choice of about 30, we put a holding deposit on a silver one but decided on a white one, all the vehicles were in great condition similar mileage, the one we chose was cheaper.
The choice is yours, if I told you that we viewed 20 trucks at a dealers, all the same fleet and Janie spent 4 hours swapping little plastic bits from different trucks making a perfect one, and then decided to stick with Scania and never bought it, you would never believe me ....... or ...... Bob.

 

[pappajohn]

Even the mileage screams ex rental.
No private owner would let an expensive asset get that much damage.
Ask to see the V5 and check the previous owner name and address.
I bought a 2015 reg ex rental car at 22 months old with 35000 miles on the clock. .
It had been looked after and been no trouble at all in the 4 years I've owned it.

 

[mikebeaches]

Dealer I know of doesn't do anything to any vehicle until someone wants to purchase . & that was long before covid.

Sadly, I think that is the way a lot (most?) dealers operate...

 

[gerry mcg]

.Ask to see the V5 and check the previous owner name and address.

Dealers won't let you see this now due to GDPR and the previous owner information is no longer on the v5 if you buy a second hand vehicle

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[The Old Man]

Personally, I'd walk.

I know that if I bought it I would not be settled and always looking at the damage, possibly finding more evidence and unsettled as to, "are there any similar bits of mechanical negligence/misuse/abuse.

But as Badknee pointed out, it is mostly superficial damage/dirt, if you ae happy to accept that, that is all it is;

Tell the dealer, "You have a sale, subject to:

A thorough and acceptable internal valet.
Acceptable repairs to the superficial damage.
An independant Hab Check, I'd even offer to pay for it."

Is there a useful after sales warranty?

It may well be that the media repts are correct and it is a sellers maket out there at present, hence the uninspiring dealer presentation of the vehicle?

 

[Baldeagle7470]

Definitely not an ex rental, 1 owner, 3500k miles, bought from the same dealer it's back on with now. Seemed a genuine change of circumstances for the van being sold. It was due to be cleaned properly this week, but we did call Monday to say we were visiting today, so we were a bit surprised too.

I think this post is enough to tell me to walk away If I was you,too many snags to overlook.

 

[Southdowners]

Even the mileage screams ex rental.

Not necessarily.

On our last trip, which lasted less than six months, we did 8,000 miles.

 

[Northernraider]

I would walk away unless it was substantially cheaper than the same model in perfect condition.

One thing ive learned in the hundreds of vehicles ive owned there is always another one comes along so don't get desperate

 

[CarlandMandy]

The faults appear to be cosmetic only and it could be that the dealers had only just had the vehicle in and not had time enough to put it in good order. Could you view it again once the dealer has had time to rectify the faults?

Thought did cross our minds but in the end we felt as though we were convincing ourselves to go for it when the there were nagging doubts. Hard to get past that once we had seen the niggles.

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[CarlandMandy]

I know that if I bought it I would not be settled and always looking at the damage, possibly finding more evidence and unsettled as to, "are there any similar bits of mechanical negligence/misuse/abuse.

Is there a useful after sales warranty?

It may well be that the media repts are correct and it is a sellers maket out there at present, hence the uninspiring dealer presentation of the vehicle?

That's what we concluded - it would have nagged at us. Re the warranty, one of the things that appealed with it being 6 months old was the remainder of the 2 year fiat and hab warranty plus a valid water ingress as we would be responsible for getting the hab checks done on time. But in the end a bad gut feeling won the day - we'll never know - it might have turned out ok, but peace of mind is important.

 

[Yorick]

If you found that many problems in a short time, there's bound to be dozens more you haven't spotted yet.

 

[TheBig1]

it may not be a rental, the first owner may have lived full time in it. They age very quickly if lived in rather than a few weeks here and there

 

[CarlandMandy]

it may not be a rental, the first owner may have lived full time in it. They age very quickly if lived in rather than a few weeks here and there

Reading between the lines with what the dealer told us, there might be something in that.

 

[Littlewheels]

I would walk away unless it was substantially cheaper than the same model in perfect condition.

One thing ive learned in the hundreds of vehicles ive owned there is always another one comes along so don't get desperate

Yes! I can’t keep l think your on about five this month alone

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[Essgeebee]

I’m amazed a dealer wouldn’t have cleaned the interior a bit. Certainly to deal with most of the issues you noted. Maybe the dealer would be my concern

Walk, you will know when you find the one…. You won’t have any doubts.. good luck..

I agree with Just Smiffy. When we were looking last autumn we saw loads, both online and then in dealerships. When we saw ‘the one’ we knew more or less right away. 18 months old and looked like new. A couple of minor snags to fix (rattly door catch and blind tensioning) and it was perfect. A credit to the first owner.
One year later, it’s still as good as new.

 

[Blaydon]

Hi there. Like others, I would walk away. go with your gut feeling. If you bought it you would never be quite happy and always expecting something else to fail.
on a wider point, I think the sudden boom in MoHo sails will result in more “uncared for” vehicles on the market in the future. Folks who have not been ‘brought up’ to took after MoHos and so didn’t take that extra care with fixtures and fittings. there will be a market for vans to do up. The oily bits will be fine but they will need time and cash to set back to a good state.
D

 

[flatpackchicken]

Could it have been a flood victim!!!!!!!
Many MHs and caravans have been caught up in floods recently, with all the signs of water ingress seems a bit strange
But always go with your gut instinct as there plenty of others out there that are immaculate!!!!!!

 

[Monkeynuts2215]

Went to view a MH which we thought was a real possibility, but have come away feeling a bit confused and would be grateful for any thoughts. It is a burstner harmony, just over 6 months old and on with a dealer. Dealer was excellent, let us spend ages going over it, answered our questions, no pressure at all, very helpful.

We found a few things wrong that individually aren't too bad, but added up are concerning us that maybe the van hasn't been looked after that well in it's short life, but not sure if we are being too picky.

Lots of scuffs on the inside of the wardrobe door where drawers have been pulled out and caught the door.
Deeper scratch on laminate shelf in bathroom.
Fridge door was shut but freezer compartment had 1" of water on it's floor where it had defrosted and been left wet.
Fridge top shelf has had it's plastic rubbed off.
Electric drop down bed wouldn't stop half way down when we tried to stop it - kept drifting down at slower speed, then wouldn't stay up when we put it back up.
Garage had a few scuffs inside.
Spashes that looked as if either tea or muddy water perhaps around inside of the fuse box cabinet at floor level.
When we lifted the under floor storage compartment lid up, the edge of the lid underneath had dried water marks the whole way round and the same around the top floor level edge of the compartment (burstner double floor). Mentioned it to dealer who got a damp meter and showed us it was 6-9 around the edge in places, but zero a couple of inches further away on the floor. It looked to us as though water had sat around the edge of the storage space, maybe a floor spill?

So we came away to scratch heads, head saying don't rule it out, heart feeling a bit deflated. Suppose we were expecting a nearly new van to look a bit more looked after. The dealer would fix the bed and replace the fridge shelf, scuffs would have to go down as use, but the water marks and damp around the floor storage area surprised us. It's under warranty but we feel uncertain how concerned we should be. It hasn't had it's first official warranty hab check yet, that would be done by us in 2022. Dealer said they would do a pre sale one and we felt generally as though they would be good to buy from.

Any thoughts?

Go with you gut , cut and run your find a more suitable one.

 

[kevenh]

Dealer I know of doesn't do anything to any vehicle until someone wants to purchase . & that was long before covid.

Webbs near Reading do little or nothing until a sale.
Our purchase experience overall was good so I recommended them to a friend.
They viewed a Motorhome that still needed the toilet cassette emptied & cleaned
They didn’t stay around.
Surely that was a mistake but not sure of more details.

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[dle54]

I believe you’ve answered your own question. You have reservations, you are wary, you have suspicions, if this had been a car in the same condition you’d walk away. Given your spending a good few well earned shillings you want to have confidence in what you buy otherwise when something goes wrong all of your fears will be confirmed.

 

[Flairy]

We went to what was madisons became hymer uk to buy a Clou liner tried it up the road running like a bag of muck tried the water came out green we didn’t walk away we ran ,and I really really wanted it never mind all turned out right in the end.

 

[gwyntaxi]

Went to view a MH which we thought was a real possibility, but have come away feeling a bit confused and would be grateful for any thoughts. It is a burstner harmony, just over 6 months old and on with a dealer. Dealer was excellent, let us spend ages going over it, answered our questions, no pressure at all, very helpful.

We found a few things wrong that individually aren't too bad, but added up are concerning us that maybe the van hasn't been looked after that well in it's short life, but not sure if we are being too picky.

Lots of scuffs on the inside of the wardrobe door where drawers have been pulled out and caught the door.
Deeper scratch on laminate shelf in bathroom.
Fridge door was shut but freezer compartment had 1" of water on it's floor where it had defrosted and been left wet.
Fridge top shelf has had it's plastic rubbed off.
Electric drop down bed wouldn't stop half way down when we tried to stop it - kept drifting down at slowier speed, then wouldn't stay up when we put it back up.
Garage had a few scuffs inside.
Spashes that looked as if either tea or muddy water perhaps around inside of the fuse box cabinet at floor level.
When we lifted the under floor storage compartment lid up, the edge of the lid underneath had dried water marks the whole way round and the same around the top floor level edge of the compartment (burstner double floor). Mentioned it to dealer who got a damp meter and showed us it was 6-9 around the edge in places, but zero a couple of inches further away on the floor. It looked to us as though water had sat around the edge of the storage space, maybe a floor spill?

So we came away to scratch heads, head saying don't rule it out, heart feeling a bit deflated. Suppose we were expecting a nearly new van to look a bit more looked after. The dealer would fix the bed and replace the fridge shelf, scuffs would have to go down as use, but the water marks and damp around the floor storage area surprised us. It's under warranty but we feel uncertain how concerned we should be. It hasn't had it's first official warranty hab check yet, that would be done by us in 2022. Dealer said they would do a pre sale one and we felt generally as though they would be good to buy from.

Any thoughts?

To be be perfectly honest whilst you may be keen to get a van and a newish van at that, I personally would walk away, or even run, I don’t think I have got that level of neglect or “wear & tear” on my van and it’s 16 years old with 86,000 miles on the clock, it sounds like a short term e rental, or a van that was really badly treated by an uncaring owner, plus the dealer doesn’t sound that great, normally you would expect a 6 month old camper to be almost indistinguishable from new, with NO cosmetic scars at all and definitely no water marks, And these are what you CAN see, heaven knows what it’s been driven like or more likely thrashed, Leave Well alone there’s a lot better condition vans out there even if more than six months old .

 

[Trevor Wbm]

Ex rental or maybe repossessed from someone who never intended to pay for it. If that's how the interior has been treated you've got to assume it's been thrashed too.

 

[Kempie1]

Saw a brand new one like that at a dealers, turns out it was an ex show vehicle so had new mileage and not registered. the dealer put up for sale without the repairs being done beforehand. It was a Chausson, but so dealer dont seem to care that first impressions count

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[Smiley13]

We bought a six month old van a couple of years ago - it had 2800 on the clock but it was like new and like no-one had ever used it. We’ve loved it and don’t think of it as second hand. I think you’d always have misgivings paying for a 6 month old van with obvious damage - more acceptable on something older, but then the price would reflect that.