What to look for when buying your first camper.

What you have to remember about campers, & beetles for that matter, is that most of these vehicles are about 30 years old now, so if you are not carefull you could well buy something that will end up costing you alot of money.

Again I would advise you to take someone with you that knows about vw campers when you go to view one, if that is not possible, then follow this guide and you will not go far wrong.

There are 3 things that I advise you to take with you when viewing a camper, they are a magnet, torch, & screwdriver. The first thing to check for is severe rust, the best place to start here is the CHASSIS: When looking under the chassis, To view it properly you will have to crawl right under the vehicle, if you are fairly slim this will be know problem. But if you have a bit of a 'beer belly' then definately take someone with you! Have a torch handy, even in the daylight you will not be able to see the underneath properly without one, start at the front of the vehicle, and check the front beam, (axle) with a screwdriver have a poke at it, it should not go through! Check it for any botched welding, welding on the front beam is a grey area when it comes to M.O.T's it is only accepted if any patching is seam welded all the way around, (that is a continuous unbroken weld) even then some M.O.T. stations might fail it. Also if it has been smothered in underseal, be very suspitious, it could be hiding a multitude of sins! If you discover that the beam is rotten, and they want about £1000 plus for the van, if you are not planning to restore it yourself, then walk away, as it will cost you £100's to have a new one fitted.

Next check the chassis outriggers, (these are the arms that come out from the main box section and join the inner sills) especially the ones at the front, there are 6 of these in all, 3 on each side. Not too bad if you have any welding knowledge, but if you haven't they can cost abit if more than one is rotten. Again don't be frightend to have a poke around with a screwdriver.

Have a poke at the inner sills, these run the whole length of the vehicle at the sides, you might find some evidence of patch welding on these, dont worry about it to much if the vehicle is fairly cheap, and your screwdriver doesn't go through them. Next check the underneath of the battery trays, (these are at the very rear of the vehicle at each corner.) If they are rotten, they will cost you about £80 a side to have new ones welded in.

EXHAUST BOX & HEAT EXCHANGERS: While you are under the vehicle check the condition of the heat exchangers, these are the tubes that connect to the exhaust box at one end, and a large plastic hose at the other. If the engine is a 2ltr they will cost you about £100 each if they are blowing, but 1600cc ones will be about half that amount, these should be used as a barganning point if they are knackered, (there are 2 of them). While your there check the condition of the exhaust box, not to drastic if this is holed, as it will only cost you about £30 to replace it. Another rust spot is the seat belt mounting points, this is where the seat belt fixes to the cab floor above the front arch beside the seats, stab it with your screwdriver, as they are sometimes filled with glass fiber or filler. It will cost you about £40 a side to have these welded up by a garage.

ENGINE: Have a good look around the engine bay see if it is covered in oil, a little oil leak is normal on these engines, but no puddles on the floor should be visible. Get the seller to start the engine and listen to it, get him to rev it a little, make sure that there are know knocking noises, as these can be expensive! i.e. worn crankshaft, bearings, or big ens. See how it runs on tickover,if it is running a bit lumpy, it could just need a service, but it could also have dropped a valve or two! Ask the seller if he has any service history.

BODYWORK: This in my opinion is what really decides the value of the vehicle, so if you are paying alot of money for your camper, you want to make sure that it is worth it! Alot of rough looking campers that are full of filler will be obvious even to a novice, but sometimes the filler is put on quite well, and takes a trained eye to spot it. The best way to do this is to use the magnet to put on the part of the body that you suspect might have filler on it, as it will stick to metal, but of course not the filler. The seller will not mind you doing this if he has nothing to hide, providing you promise not to damage his paintwork! Another trick is to stand at one end of the vehicle, and look down the whole side of it, if there is filler there, you will see ripples in the bodywork.

Of course like I said earlier, these vehicles are 30 years old now, so if the van is cheap, you will have to expect it to have some battle scars! As a rough guide, Up to £2000 expect to find evidence of some sort of home repair, at this price you should be more interested on the structual things rather than the cosmetics, and how long the M.O.T. is £2000-£3000. This is a funny price bracket, you should be able to buy a nice camper for this price, but beware of the lemons! If the camper looks o.k. but it is full of filler, it will make it way overpriced.

£3000-£5000. For this price you should be able to get a very nice looking camper indeed that should not need much money spent on it, if you can afford to pay this much, and you have little or know mechanical knowledge. I would advise you to go for it, as the extra outlay will save you a fortune, as to what it would cost you to buy a cheaper one and pay out on the repairs that you *will* undoubtedly get £5000 plus will get you a show vehicle. This is great if you have the know how to keep it as such.

TEST DRIVE: What applies here applies to all vehicles, when you get in test the clutch, you can do this by trying to pull off while the handbrake is on, if the vehicle stalls, then the clutch is o.k. if however it doesn't, then suspect a worn clutch. When you are driving along, test the brakes, they should respond as soon as you put your foot on them, if they pull to one side, you could have a damaged wheel cylinder or caliper, If they travel too far they might just need adjusting, or some new shoes.

While you are driving along, listen out for any chattering, knocking, or grinding noises, as these could indicate worn C.V.Joints, wheel bearings, or a broken stabiliser bar. But dont confuse these with normal camper noises, like chattering cups, pots and pans e.t.c. Also check for play in the steering, just make sure that you don't have to turn the corner about half a mile before you get to it!

INTERIOR: This is all too often overlooked when the first timer goes to buy his or her first camper, and yet it can cost you a lot of money to replace the fridge or cooker if they are not working. Get the seller to show you that these items are working, it will be useful to know where the gas taps e.t.c. are anyway. Check that all the furniture is present and correct if you are paying a fair amount of money for the van. If for example you are paying £3000 plus for the van, the inside should be in very good condition with everything working. All that remains to check now are the lights, horn, wipers, radio, condition of tyres e.t.c. just make sure that they are all working. well that is just about it really, if you can print this out and take it with you, you wont forget any of it, good luck with your purchase!