So I have finaly got a little bit of time to sit down and write about 'our' new project,
3 weeks ago we bought a caravan, we wanted an old one, not too big, light and easy to tow,with a simple spacious interior that we could redecorate.
We chose this
A Monza 1200s built around 1980 we think
some inside pictures ......
We were quite pleased with our purchase and once we got her home we set to work.
The exterior of the van seemed in good shape for its age with only a small dent on the front, she needed a good wash and probably re-sealing on the rails. Kevin began removing the old sticker lines from the side which were long past looking good and missing completely in places.
On the inside, with carpet curtains and cushions removed, Harry and I set to work with the paint.
looking a bit like a building site now!
Curtains back for a little while, this is the back of the van with a few coats of white eggshell paint to cover up that blurry wood effect finish, those two long white things at the bottom of the picture are the front seating benches removed and painted and siting on top of the back seating area. A bit drastic to remove these your thinking but, as we soon found out 4 days into starting out project, totally necessary......
This is what we found under the seats and carpet ......
further investigations revealed the full extent ......
running along the front...........
the other side not much better under the now crumbling wall, it was actually the worst side!
this van was advertised and sold to us described as
'There is no leaks or damp present'
and
'This would make a perfect starter van and you will not be disappointed'.
Would you sleep in this?
The wood that came out of this side actually crumbled in our hands like compost!
It was at this point I felt sick!........ quite ill in fact for a few days....... I found it very difficult to eat.
This was supposed to be a happy purchase, a lick of paint, a freshen up and we would be off on holiday this summer here and there.....something a bit warmer to sleep in than the tent, which we loved, but sold that to pay towards the cost of the van.
I sent pictures and an email to the people we bought the van from, expecting at least a little money back, they claimed they knew nothing about it.
We got an email back, but no offer of any partial refund.
We now had to decide what we could / wanted / needed to do.
Sell as is, or fix.
What would you do?.....what could you do?
2 comments:
What an awful situation. Can you contact "Trading Standards" (might not be called that in Scotland)as I'm sure that they shouldn't be able to make the statement "no damp present" unless they were certain that was true. But you've probably gone down that line of thought.
Hi Yvonne. I agree with su. What about small claims court? The seller made a definite statement re 'no damp' and that was why you entered into a contract of sale with them. At least try the citizens advice bureau for advice. It depends how much the fixing would cost as to whether I'd keep it or not if you can't claim against them.. Big decision. But on a lighter note, your little one looks so excited about it all!
Hugs
Christine x
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