After a false start, involving a van purchased via e-bay based on what turned out to be a highly misleading listing , a four month delay and a successful trip to the County Courts using the small claims track to recover our money and costs, we are back on track and are now (almost) the proud owners of a 2 year old VW LWB Crafter van.
Not long after the posting of the first our visit to the Welch vehicle auctions I found what I thought to be the ideal vehicle listed on e-bay. After being assured that the vehicle was in excellent condition apart from a couple of minor faults, a successful bid was placed and the monies transferred. However on collection it transpired that far from being in excellent condition the vehicle had holes in both the roof and floor, and a few spots of surface rust were actually rust perforations running the whole length of the driver’s side just below the gutter. To cut a long story short, I attempted to exercise my right under the sale of goods act and reject the vehicle for a full refund, but the seller refused on the grounds that the sale of goods act didn’t apply since he was a private seller, which is not strictly the case. With no joy on getting my funds back, I resorted to the Small Claims track through the County Courts. This it quite a drawn out process taking over 4 months to get from initial filing to hearing, and relatively costly each stage requires more fees (£265 in total) though you do get it back if you are successful which I was and I finally got my money back last week.
During the four month delay we revised our plans and requirements and settled on buying a relatively new long wheel base Mercedes Sprinter or a Volkswagen Crafter (they being essentially the same vehicle), with sufficient internal length (4m) to allow us to have permanent beds for the three of us and narrow enough (1.95m) to get down the side of the house. The delay also allowed us put in place sufficient funds to purchase a van meeting these requirements. Thus it was, having checked out various websites and dealers (no more private sales), we made our way to Anchor Vans. Unfortunately by the time we arrived the van we were after had already been sold, but we still had the choice of numerous vehicles including a 56 plate Sprinter and a 57 plate Crafter. With the Sprinter showing some signs of wear and tear we settled on the Crafter and a made a down payment. Its now just a case of waiting till next weekend to pick it up.