Static caravan mis sold?

gooligan

Bought a static van at the coast a couple of years ago on a site that has a 15 year age policy on the vans.The van we bought,in the contract states it was manufactured in 2008,however we have found evidence in the van that it’s electrical wiring was tested in 2006 & 2007 so in no way was it manufactured in 2008.I am not happy that we paid over the odds for a caravan that was older than than it actually was and given that caravans depreciate faster than cars it amounts to thousands of pounds.
Is this a classic case of mis selling?
Would appreciate some sound advice before I go in kicking off.

Ms_Chocaholic

Does the contract paperwork have the year of the caravan (2008) detailed on it.
I'm afraid "kicking off" won't get you very far, IMHO it's much better to go in to have a discussion regarding this than all guns blazing.

gooligan

Yes,clearly states year of manufacture as 2008.

couriervanman

Also bear in mind if you do nothing your van will stay on site till 2023 when either you will be offered almost zero £ by site owners to buy it or will be charged an arm and a leg to remove it from site.
Or if you prove it was made in 2006 you only have 2 yrs till one of above happens......15 yr old caravans are worth virtually nothing

gooligan

Point taken but the fact remains I paid for a van made in 2008 and received a van made in 2006.If I wanted to sell the van as a 2008 model I couldn’t knowing that it’s a 2006 model,fraud,deception springs to mind,surely I was mis sold the van in the first place?

pinkshoes

gooligan wrote: »

Point taken but the fact remains I paid for a van made in 2008 and received a van made in 2006.If I wanted to sell the van as a 2008 model I couldn’t knowing that it’s a 2006 model,fraud,deception springs to mind,surely I was mis sold the van in the first place?

So what is the difference in price?

This is what you should be pursuing the seller for.

davidmcn

Is it possibly correct that it was first sold (and used) in 2008? Same principle as a car in that it's obviously manufactured some time before it's sold, but depreciation isn't going to start until you register it and drive it off the forecourt.

LilElvis

I found this thread on a forum for static caravan owners which might help shed some light on how to tell the age of a caravan. The site might also be of assistance to you as to how best to proceed as I expect it is an issue that crops up with some frequency.

http://www.gostatic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=3744

Mistral001

pinkshoes wrote: »

So what is the difference in price?

This is what you should be pursuing the seller for.

If it went to court then as pinkshoes says the difference is what you could claim in damages. You will have to do some research as to depreciation over two years to come up with a figure. Also you would need to study the contract very carefully as the site owner might be able to get any money back that you get in court through other means due to clauses buried in the small print in the contract.

hollydays

How could they ?
I'd also be inclined to send someone to look at any other caravans they are advertising to see if this isn't just a one off.
The other weapon you have is if you put online what the company did. That really would be bad for their business , so they should step very carefully.

pulliptears

I agree with a PP, you need to weigh up the difference 2 years makes. I suspect the difference between prices isn't huge, but it it worth having to replace the van 2 years earlier than you initially planned?

Personally, I'd see it as a win and take the 2 years.