Buyer looking for advice

Hi

Me and my wife hired a motorhome and travelled through spain and france. We loved it but we decided to buy a caravan rather than a motorhome for various reasons.

We’ve been looking since we got back and my wife has just made an offer on a 1999 Mirage 500/5

I’m a bit uneasy about it and here’s why.

The seller met me and guided me to the house. He said it was his sister’s house and the caravan was parked there because he has split up with his wife. It was parked in the driveway so that’s fair enough i thought.

He had told me on the phone that his name was John and he was sending a friend to meet me. The guy that showed up was called John! When i asked him whose caravan it was he said it was his. He told me that he and his wife had bought it but they had split up before they used it.

Anyway the caravan was tatty. Very tatty. I really struggled to believe it was 1999 as I’ve seen others that were early 90s and in better shape. Still it could just have been well used.

Anyway i told my wife she should go and see it just to get a balanced view of what was available.

The same thing happened. He said he was sending a friend but then the actual owner showed up.

I quite liked the van and my wife liked it too. So we talked about it and decided that because it was so tatty we would offer them £2000 rather than the £2650 it was advertised at.

When my wife put this offer to the seller he said he would have to ask his friend as they had bought it between them! Later he said he would accept the offer.

We’ve not taken it any further as I’ve started to feel like there is something a bit dodgy about the whole thing.

The problem is that it’s a very cheap van if it’s on the level. And it comes with an awning and a satellite dish.

My issues are: lack of clarity about who i’m dealing with (owner? Owners friend?), the van looks very worn for a 1999 model (upholstery worn very thin, very dirty inside), seller didn’t know anything about the van (Said his wife had been shown how to work everything), it seems a bit too cheap (£2000 was a big drop from the asking price)

I know a fair bit about mechanics but nothing about caravans. I wouldn’t mind if i felt like i was dealing with someone trustworthy but i don’t. My wife thought maybe he’s just worried about his wife getting wind of it and wanting a share, but then if he bought it with his friend she wouldn’t be entitled to anything so that doesn’t sound quite right either. But it is a good deal if it’s genuine. Would really appreciate some advice here. How can i be sure it’s on the level?