The Caravan Owners Club

[dazza]

I am looking to purchase a hobby 540 excellent i have veiwed it and it has a few minor scarps and interior knocks for the year, but i was concerned that the plate had been removed and the vin had been ground off, after questioning the gentlemen he said the plate was ripped off due to the van been wide and towing which coinsides with the scrapes to the side. But the grinding off he could not answer saying he had had it 5 years and he had no idea on. On further inspection we found a plate/sticker on the axel one of the numbers started F3********* i noted this number down along with the other number. I said to the gentleman i was going to pass it on to CRiS and see what it came back with. They told me it was not at risk, or Stlolen or any outstanding finance and it would be ok to carry out the purchase. Any comments suggestions my wife has fell in love withe van and i must say hobbys are loverly any help would be appreicated.
Dazza

[Roy Armstrong]

I wouldn't touch it.

The damage seems to be the same as that suffered by my last caravan which was stolen by our traveller friends, then recovered.
Both sides were scraped and the high level lights damaged.
The insides, fittings etc. were scraped and dented when they "took off" with a chest fridge full of beer on the table, television on the cabinet, a mini oven and my tool box on the work surface and the awning poles on the bed.
The plate had been removed, and the self adhesive number plate roughly scraped off.
They didn't find the roof lettering though.

[dazza]

Cheers for that dont get me wrong the damage is not bad i was more concerned about the serial number although CRiS Has given it a clean bill of health. Im just wondering now if Hobbys are really worth the hassle due to the high theft rate. Someone told me that theives grind the numbers off but the caravans are sometimes recoverd by tracking devices, If this is the case can i get a new serial plate and would the F3******** be the serial number and can i reprint this back on the a frame.

Dazza

[Roy Armstrong]

Has it been CRIS registered? Most Hobbys aren't. Are the windows etched with a CRIS id? Can they find it on their database or are they clearing it by default?
If the widows are etched and CRIS are clearing it by that number, then there is a good chance that it is a stolen and recovered.

[Hobbynut]

I am not sure about chassis markings but the VIN plate contains the letter F somewhere in the middle of the VIN number. It is the letter or number directly after this that gives the year of manufacture. So the number 3 would give year of manufacture as 2003. I would be grateful if you could confirm year of manufacture so that I can see if the chassis numbers and VIN plates tie in with each other.
Kind Regards
Hobbynut

P.S I am currently investigating the sale of Hobby vans which have been misdescribed in adverts. Is this van for sale in Essex ?......When I had my van HPI checked I was told that it wasn't listed as beiing stolen in THIS country?

[dazza]

Hi the Number stars F3 it was sold to me as a 1999 and i since have been told it may be newer??????????

[keith]

If the plate is missing and VIN ground off it has to be stolen why else would you remove the ID THE SELLERS STORY DOES NOT RING TRUE I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. Where was it offered for sale ? there was a 540 stolen from near me in Essex recently just two weeks after they failed to get my 450. CAVEAT EMPTOR