Goldstream camper- deal too good to be true?
Submitted: Tuesday, Apr 14, 2015 at 22:23
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Cockatoocamper
Being new to this
forum, I would like to ask a question as this site seems to be a wealth of valuable knowledge. We are in the process of buying a wind up camper a la Jayco, Goldstream or Coromal and was wondering if the following purchase sounds ok or if we are being sold a lemon. We have been offered to buy a 2007 Goldstream Star 2 camper, on road version with no bells and whistles (no annexe, deep cycle battery, etc). The owners are asking $12k for it. We had a look at it yesterday and the interior appears in excellent condition. The exterior however is a little bit worse off. I know that this van has sat in the weather for at least 2 years, so plastic covers to power points and
water tank has degraded. The canvas had surprisingly not rotted and just one repair patch on one of the flys to the queen bed. The bag awnings may be worse off as there was some mould on the exterior zippers. The undercarriage looked neat and clean, no breakages just a little bit of surface rust on the leaf springs. Wind up works fine, door fitting good, the camper comes with 12 months rego. What do people think, does this sound excessively cheap for one of these campers (I have no idea of what they normally cost) and should I be worried??? Should we go for a different brand instead? Grateful for advice!
Reply By: Bigfish - Wednesday, Apr 15, 2015 at 06:45
Wednesday, Apr 15, 2015 at 06:45
Without being able to see the van we really cant advise you whether its a good buy or not. If it seems too good to be true..walkaway. Obviously you are worried about purchasing the van. There are thousands of vans for sale, so don't rush a purchase, look at as many as you can and there will be a good van out there for you.
Just keep looking, don't rush in and get a second opinion from someone who has actually owned and maintained a van, before you purchase anything. Its your money so spend it wisely..
Happy hunting..
AnswerID:
552470
Follow Up By: Cockatoocamper - Friday, Apr 17, 2015 at 21:51
Friday, Apr 17, 2015 at 21:51
Thank you Bigfish, that is sound advice. While we don't necessarily want to go offroad as such at the moment (mostly graded nat parks trails) and we only have a 5 cylinder 2wd Volvo am I right in assuming that an off road camper has better re-saleability down the track when we want to sell it? I agree with you, there seems to be a lot of vans like this around, though none as new as this and at such a great price. It is currently not set up for off the
grid camping, so we would have to add a few things ourselves, which ultimately ups the total cost.
FollowupID:
838211
Reply By: Sand Man (SA) - Wednesday, Apr 15, 2015 at 07:40
Wednesday, Apr 15, 2015 at 07:40
Due to the exterior condition, for an on road camper, the price sounds fair.
Perhaps the owners are looking at a quick sale!
Try scanning the
classifieds for a camper of similar marque and age to obtain a price comparison.
Goldstream have a pretty solid reputation, especially for off road models.
AnswerID:
552471
Follow Up By: AlanTH - Wednesday, Apr 15, 2015 at 11:58
Wednesday, Apr 15, 2015 at 11:58
We had a Goldstream off road wind up camper about 10 years or so ago and it was
well made. Had better trim and heavier guage windup wire than the others.
Soldit because it nearly blew right over when we were camped up at Moore River one day!!!
I never felt secure after that.
After a couple of other things like a camper trailer and full size van went for another Goldstream but an off road van this time.
Difference in quality was not good and service totally lacking. Agents and Goldstream had to be taken to consumer affairs and small claims court to get anything done.
However a second hand item should have all faults ironed out so negotiate for a bit off the price and go for it.
AlanH.
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Cockatoocamper - Friday, Apr 17, 2015 at 22:07
Friday, Apr 17, 2015 at 22:07
Thanks Sand Man, yes I have scanned all the
classifieds sites for something similar but I couldn't find any that were like the one that is on offer, so it was hard to get a comparison. I have however found similar campers of the same brand that are older and they are asking more for those but then they come with a few more things than this one. I am fairly certain it was listed a year ago for nearly $20k...tricky! And wow Alan TH.... I had never imagined that these campers could blow over... It must been one heck of a storm! It probably wouldn't matter what brand you had then, they probably all catch the wind given the winged design. We would consider a caravan also as there is just two adults and one child, so no need for anything huge. There seems to be pros and cons with whatever you choose and right now I am more confused than ever! ?? Today I looked at a very small offroad Coromal wind up camper and while the size was handy, it was just a little bit too small. I would consider a larger Coromal though, they seem to be as
well built as the Goldstream, though I must say that I preferred the layout of the Goldstream.
FollowupID:
838213
Reply By: Member - mike g2 - Friday, Apr 17, 2015 at 10:43
Friday, Apr 17, 2015 at 10:43
Hi, sounds like you've given it a good lookover, comes down to personal judgement and looking at what else is in market and checking with industry forums or consumer affairs to see if anyone is reporting these for poor manufacturing. google for the manufacturer,
check on new price, any Inet comment. I'm not sure if campers are covered by revs
check- if are you concerned its dodgy or debt owed on it?.
If poss
check on the internal cabling for the wind up . most of the other things you mention can be renewed easily. In view of age, the mention of mould and being exposed, can you
check on its response to water ( rain)? . one of the first new camper trailers I had, it got wetter on the in side than out in the rain. had to water proof it. was told the 'canvas' needed to be held tighter over frame .
need to spend on it to make it good? then your choice- make an offer or move on.
MG.
AnswerID:
552579
Follow Up By: Cockatoocamper - Friday, Apr 17, 2015 at 22:18
Friday, Apr 17, 2015 at 22:18
Thanks MG, that is very good advice. Someone said that they are cold to sleep in during autumn, spring and winter because you are suspended and somewhat exposed to the elements. Maybe we will try and hire one first and see what they are like. I have tried to find negative reviews about the Goldstreams but found none so far, people mostly have positive things to say. As for Jayco, I found plenty of poor reviews about them, so that has put me off buying one now. I have looked at a few of them second hand and the finish just seems flimsy to me compared to the others that I have looked at.
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Reply By: Member - johnat - Friday, Apr 17, 2015 at 19:58
Friday, Apr 17, 2015 at 19:58
Cockatoo,
Wee have a Goldy - a 2010 Storm RL Vacationer - so younger than yours, offroad and paid 32k for it 4 years ago. Ours was in almost new condition, had 12 months rego (but we had to change it from Vic to NSW) and we are still amazed at the value we got.
Your van looks a bit older, but if the condition is good that's a really good value van.
My advice would be to
check out the prices for similar vans on
places like caravansales dot com dot au - you should get an idea of the "going price" from that!
Good luck! PM me if you want more detail.
John
AnswerID:
552604
Follow Up By: Cockatoocamper - Friday, Apr 17, 2015 at 22:23
Friday, Apr 17, 2015 at 22:23
Thanks
John, good to hear that you are happy with yours! Was yours an on or off roader? Can it handle unsealed but graded national parks trails? We don't plan on going anywhere extreme, mostly just regular
camp sites, so I am wondering whether an on road version would baulk at this even if we drove to the conditions and take it nice and easy... ? Regards Alex
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Member - mike g2 - Saturday, Apr 18, 2015 at 13:46
Saturday, Apr 18, 2015 at 13:46
Hi cockatoo, thanks, agree jayco seem to be getting a bit sloppy on there quality control as have had some issues myself ( fixed under warranty for most) with jayco products. market is competitive and ooks like vans etc being made to a price. weight reduction important, so lightweight may = flimsy. if your not in a hurry, thoroughly recommend going to caravan/camping shows for comparisons and hiring for a trial good idea. suitability of plain trailer to off road depends on many factors- season, track/road condition, locality of trip, original build, features,....
plain c/ trailers can be modified to improve there off road capacity, depends how much $ you want to put into it. by the time you fully upgrade, may as
well buy the dedicated item?.
all the best.
MG.
FollowupID:
838264
Follow Up By: Member - johnat - Saturday, Apr 18, 2015 at 14:50
Saturday, Apr 18, 2015 at 14:50
Alex,
Ours is an offroader, we've had it over the road to Hermansburg and part of the
Mereenie Loop road, and it handles the rough stuff quite
well. Main thing is to take it easy!
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