Am I on the right track

Hello all, hoping to get your views on a few things, hoping to get our first campervan ( nice second hand one....have not won to lotto/robbed a bank or inherited the money....yet!)

Was thinking the best time to buy is the end of the season so we will be ready to go next year, would we be better off buying initially from a dealer for peace of mind considering.....we know nothing about campervans? Would it be a good idea to contact the dealers with what I am looking for so they can let us know if something is due in to them?

We are a family of five with three young kids ( 9 months to 4.5 years) so I was thinking we should go for a 6 berth campervan minimum 2.5 diesel engine. Also would a bunk bed option be the best for the kids, also one with three full seat belts in the back for carseats. If the seatbelt option is not available is it possible to retrofit the belts? Would it also be a good idea to invest in a decent cover for the van for the winter?

Will have a budget of around 16,0000 euros any ideas of a good make/ model we should try to look at. Are we narrowing our options too much with the above?

Any advice really appreciated.......it's kind of scary but exciting!

You are in a very good position to buy privately, seen you have no trade in. We bought our Motorhome off Done Deal, end of season 2010 and now have over 17000 trouble free km on it. We saved over 4000 Euro by doing so. Are you sure Motorhomeing is for you? Some people spent large sums of money on Motorhomes and never use them. It might be a good idea to rent one if you are not sure. If you go down the private route make sure you get it checked out for Finance owed, Mechanical order and a Habitation test. Don't rush into anything and the best of luck with your search.

Hiya thanks for the replies, we have been thinking of getting a motor home for a few years now as we are always out and about no matter what the weather, not into sun holidays and our two boys are mad for outdoors and beaches, water, mud you name it. My only problem with rental is it is expensive and is money I would use towards getting a motor home. My biggest issue would be the seat belts alright as I will still need to use car seats.

I am based in Cork and if i was buying privately with its doe done is this a safe bet or should i look to get it checked over etc for damp, damage etc?

Thanks again for the info and I am reading all the threads to help me.

I would not depend on a doe test. It's a big outlay, I would get it checked out independently . You could google reviews of whatever make/ model you are interested in and find out its weak points. Service history is another important thing and check for rust as many are by the sea for long periods.

That's great thanks for the advice, will keep looking and checking in with questions if that's ok.