Buy from a dealer or private

Without being rude what is your budget

If you buy private, as I did with my last van, make sure , if there is a warranty still on the van, that it is transferable to the new owner. Manufacturers have tightened up their warranties in recent years. For instance, Bailey, on bringing out the Unicorn range gave, (with conditions) 10 year water ingress warranties which were transferable ( which I found very useful as it saved me £2000+) but lately you have a 6 yr warranty with another 4 years to be paid for. My new Coachman carries a 10 yrs water ingress warranty but only for the first owner- on resale it drops to I believe 6 or even disappears- I’m not sure. It’s not fair but that’s the way it is. If only they could make dry vans!! 

If you buy private you may not get any warranty (depending on the van age).  If you buy from a dealer you may get 6 months to a year.  

If you are technically competent and have a damp meter private may be ok but if you have no competence get it checked out by an independent caravan engineer.

PS don’t forget the CRIS registration

If you buy a used c'van best to ask to see the service history, damp report etc and CRIS document.  Also as has been said if concerns arise get an independent c'van report done.  

If the van is still under the manufacturers warranty don't forget to get it changed, coachman charge £50

Received the documentation from Coachman this morning to say the van ownership has been amended and warranty transferred to us.  So quite efficient and no hassle 

Buying from a reputable dealer is safer than a private sale but both have their good and bad points.

A dealer will almost certainly be more expensive  but may give you a guarantee and if things do go wrong then you are far more likely to get them sorted. You have good consumer protection which also apply to a private sale but pursuing an individual is often pointless.

A dealer will normally have serviced and damp checked the caravan but do make sure it has been done and will have made sure there is no HP outstanding and that it is not stolen. With a private sale you need to check the history far more and do the checks with HPI and CRIS yourself.

If it is still in warranty you must get copies of the service book and the service bills and follow the transfer requirements to ensure you have the guarantee wherever you buy.

If you need finance you will find dealers can arrange this but also check other sources as the dealers figures can be expensive.

Buying privately can be a case of buyer beware, so do make sure everything works where with a dealer it has to unless they tell you otherwise.