How to buy a used camper van

Your rights as a buyer

Problems can arise with vans after you buy them. How much legal protection you have if there’s a dispute comes down to where you bought it from.

If you bought your van from a dealer, whether that was a franchised or independent outlet, you’re covered by the Consumer Rights Act 2015. This states that goods must be ‘of a satisfactory quality’, ‘fit for purpose’ and ‘as described’.

With a used van, this means it must be in a satisfactory quality for its age and mileage. If you bought the van online, this law still applies and you’re also covered by Distance Selling Regulations that give you the right to cancel the sale within seven working days and receive a full refund inside of 30 days.

Within the first 30 days of buying a used van from a dealer, you have the right to reject it and have a full refund. However, the dealer is also entitled to one opportunity to fix the problem, but if that’s not done in a timely and appropriate manner, you can still reject the van and claim your refund. When rejecting a van, you must stop using it completely.

Between 30 days and six months from buying a used van from a dealer, you’re entitled to a replacement, repair or refund. After six months, the onus shifts on to the buyer to prove the van had a problem at the time of the sale.

In the event of a problem, the first thing to do is contact the dealer as soon as possible. If they offer to fix the fault, be sure you know who is paying for the work and ask for everything to be put in writing. Do not agree to proceed with any work until it’s been agreed in writing.

Should the dealer not put this in writing, you can reject the van. However, you must detail your reasons for rejecting it in writing. The dealer may refuse to accept your rejection, in which case you may need to involve Ombudsman Services or Resolver.co.uk.

For anyone who bought their used camper with a hire purchase agreement, you have extra protection under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. This makes the finance provider jointly and severally responsible for the fault.

In other words, they have to sort it out with the dealer. Using a credit card to pay for some or all of the van's purchase price gives you the same protection.

If you paid for the van with a debit card, you don’t enjoy the same level of protection, but the card provider may be able to help through a ‘chargeback’ scheme. You’ll need to claim within 120 days of buying the van and you may have to wait until the card provider has been paid by the dealer before you receive any money.

When buying a used camper van privately, you have much more limited protection. The seller must have the right to sell it, which means it’s not stolen or subject to finance.

They have to ensure the van is accurately described and must not misrepresent it, for instance telling you it hasn't been in a collision when it has. The van also has to be roadworthy unless otherwise stated as it’s an offence to sell an unroadworthy vehicle.

The burden is on the buyer to make all necessary checks when buying privately as the seller doesn’t have to volunteer extra information. So, make sure you keep a copy of the original advert for the camper and all correspondence between you and the seller as proof of the description of the van.

Buying from an independent dealer

There are thousands of used camper van dealers across the UK and many of these independent companies offer good vehicles at keen prices. However, there are some that are less interested in a good deal and customer service. Question is, how do you spot a bad one and avoid being ripped off?

It’s not unusual for dealers to only have a mobile phone number now, but make sure you view the van at the dealer’s premises. If they ask you to look at the van at their home or in a car park, alarm bells should be ringing to make you look elsewhere.

Before you visit the dealer, check on their website for the kind of vans they sell to get a feel for what sort of stock they have. It’s also a chance to check if they are accredited by the British Independent Motor Traders Association, SMMT, AA, RAC, Motor Codes or Scottish Motor Traders Association.

While membership of any of these schemes doesn’t guarantee good service, it gives you somewhere to complain to in the event of a bad experience.

Most independent dealers rely on their reputation in the local area for most of their business. Ask family, friends and colleagues who they would recommend in the area as this is often the best way to finding a reputable dealer.

Ahead of looking at a van, carry out a vehicle history check using the registration number. Most dealers will advertise they have already carried this out, but it’s better to make your own check to be sure a camper hasn’t been written off, stolen or is subject to outstanding finance.

You should also check the van’s MoT history prior to visiting. This will give a good idea of what work has been carried out and if the mileage correlates to that shown in the advert and on the van' odometer.

Is the camper van as the dealer described it? A good independent will be happy to give a full run-down of a van’s condition, age, mileage, condition and service record. If you think they have missed something deliberately, ask about it and, if that answer isn’t satisfactory, you should not buy the vehicle.

Trust your instincts. And don’t be brow-beaten into buying a van that’s not suitable for you. If the dealer tries this, it’s because they want rid of a van they are finding hard to sell.

Take a test drive that lasts around half an hour and drive on the type of roads you will normally use. An honest dealer will be happy to do this. If any faults show up during the test drive, ask about how they will be fixed. Honest dealers will solve any problems within the asking price.

When you’re happy with the camper van you’re considering buying, it’s best to pay by credit card or bank transfer rather than cash or cheque. Some dealers will try to charge a fee or percentage for paying by credit card. If so, use the credit card to make a small deposit payment as this give you greater protection if there’s a problem further down the line.

Make sure the van comes with all documentation before you sign on the dotted line. If the dealer says he’ll send on the vehicle’s service history, insist it comes with the van before you pay for it.

An honest dealer will be happy to put a van through an MoT test so it’s sold with 12 months’ ticket when you collect it. If the dealer refuses to do this, it should sound alarm bells.

What to look for on a used camper van...

First and foremost, is it used regularly? Camper vans are based on commercial vehicles which are designed to clock up 200,000 miles in a few years before being sold on or scrapped. They aren't designed to sit unused for eight months of the year. Vehicles that are can be prone to all kinds of age-related chassis, suspension and mechanical problems.

You should be looking for a vehicle as new as possible for your money regardless of mileage. A four-year-old camper with 100,000 miles is a far better buy than a 10-year-old van with 50,000 miles.

Peel back bits of rubber trim and look for 'tide marks' underneath, open and close all the doors and check for even shut lines and look under the boot carpet for fresh paint and a lack of the usual manufacturer's stickers.

Rust is less of a problem than it used to be and paint is now so expensive it's simply not worth filling a van with pudding and giving it a 'blow over'. But if the van is getting on, check all the usual places - round the wheel arches, under the valences (if they're steel), round the edges of the boot floor, under the carpets if they will lift, in the bottoms of the doors, round the headlights and along the outer tops of the doors.

Check the tyres. Uneven wear may be due to incorrect alignment settings, or it may be due to bent suspension components from kerbs, pot holes or road humps. So be particularly wary of uneven front tyre wear.

Check the interior

Now on to the interior. Dirt cleans off, but tears in the seats and broken bits of trim are notoriously difficult and expensive to put right. One cigarette burn can be invisibly repaired using new techniques, but a lot of burns will cost you £50 each and the repairs won't be invisible.

If the entire interior stinks of tobacco smoke you'll be up against it to get rid of the lingering odour. Has there been a dog in the van? Has it scratched the paint? Don't feel you have to be polite about this to the owners, however nice they may be. It's your money they're after, not your friendship.

Under the bonnet

Open the bonnet and check all the fluids. You want to look the oil on the end of the dipstick. Is it up to the mark? What colour is it? Castor-oil yellow is excellent, light brown is good, dark brown is okay but a tar-like black in a petrol engine spells disaster.

Unscrew the oil filler cap. If there is a deposit of whitish or creamy-grey 'mayonnaise' underneath, it means one of two things. The van has led a life of very short runs from cold starts, has never warmed up properly and the condensation this has created has mixed with the oil. Engines run like this have less than a quarter of the life of engines run properly.

The second problem 'mayonnaise' can reveal is a blown cylinder head gasket. It may be straightforward to replace this, or the head may need to be skimmed because it has warped.

Have a look at the condition of the power steering fluid. It should be red, not black. Same goes for the automatic transmission fluid (most autoboxes have a dipstick). It is a good idea for automatic transmission fluid to be changed every two years (essential with CVT automatics).

Look under the van for leaks. Is there oil on the vendor's driveway? A leak from a cam-cover gasket is common and no big deal, but a bad oil leak from a cylinder head gasket means the head has to come off and, if it does, manifold studs may break and stretch bolts will have to be replaced.

A leak from the timing belt cover is bad news because it means that the camshaft end seal or a jackshaft seal has gone, contaminating the timing belt - so you won't just need a new seal, you'll need a new belt. If the gearbox/final drive is leaking from an output shaft seal, the lack of oil in the transmission may have led to premature wear.

The service history

Now ask to see the service history. Not a book full of stamps - the actual bills for all the work on the van that the owner has paid for or a computer print-out of its service history. If, from this, you find that the van has been 'overserviced' (had its oil and filter changed every 4-6 months), then be willing to pay more for it than the guides suggest.

If, on the other hand, it has been 'underserviced' with gaps of more than a year, then pay substantially less.

If the van has a timing belt rather than a chain, in general this needs to be replaced every 60,000 miles or every four years, whichever comes first. On some vans the replacement cycle can be pushed to up to five years or 80,000 miles whichever comes first, but no longer. If the service bills don't show a timing belt change, then budget to have it done.

Automatic transmission fluid should have been changed every two years, brake and power steering fluid every two years. If the van has a manual gearbox and the oil in that was changed within its first 18 months on the road, this is a valuable plus point worth paying more for.

Know your weights

A full UK driving licence (category B) entitles you to drive a conventional, rigid-axle camper van weighing up to 3500kg. However, it’s vital that you know the weight of the conversion and weight limits of your vehicle as these can be ignored by conversion companies and over-ambitious DIY builders.

The maximum gross vehicle weight (GVW) can be found in the driver's handbook or on a plate located next to the bulkhead or by the driver or passenger door. This includes the weight of the vehicle, driver, passengers and the load it is carrying. You should never exceed the GVW.

Don't confuse gross vehicle weight (GVW) with the gross train weight (GTW): The GVW is the maximum permitted weight of the vehicle (plus any load it is carrying), while the GTW is the maximum permitted weight of the vehicle plus any trailer being towed and its respective load.