Tyne Valley Motorhomes

I contacted the above with a view to buying a new, new van on asking for a test drive I was told that it was not possible as they didn't want to put mileage on it. I suggested that I could drive the same model which was nearly new and was again refused as it is their policy not to put mileage on any van
 Is this a general rule or just particular to them?

I've never come across that before at a dealer's. I would not have bought my current van (bought brand new) if I had not been allowed to test drive it.

Having said that, I've come across a private seller who would not allow me to test drive - all I did in that case was to make an AA inspection a condition of sale, knowing that the AA would not complete an inspection without being allowed to drive it!

I’m not sure if this is similar but I bought my unregistered Symbol before Xmas with 12 miles on the clock and just took it for granted that a test drive wouldn’t be allowed.
With this in mind I had already made sure beforehand that a Symbol was the right van for me.

It still feels wrong though that you can’t test drive something that you might actually want to buy.

With a bit more persuasion we are to be allowed to drive the van after all.

If it's a new van you presumably have had a good look round at what is about and decided what is best for you. When I picked up my new van it had 12 miles on the clock. As a buyer of a new van I would expect very few miles on it. It is for that reason that the vans are delivered by low loader from AS. Imagine a dealer up north having the vehicle driven from the factory putting 150 miles on the clock then having a few prospective buyers having a trial run, it would not be long before it had 500 miles on the clock thus reducing the value. No longer a new van. This was explained to me by the dealer and I understand his position. Having said that the first van I bought was second hand and already had 14k on the clock so a test drive was not an issue.

Dealers come up with strange reasons to avoid a test drive. When we asked a dealer for a test drive we were told it was raining and because the vehicle was clean they didn't want it to get wet. I would have thought with someone showing a great deal of interest in a MH it would have been worth risking getting it wet and having to dry it.

We turned up to Tyne Valley for the test drive and everyone could not be nicer or more accommodating, it seems as if my first contact got out of the wrong side of the bed that day.
Now wrestling with the spending bit.

Hi there, glad it worked out in the end for you. Personally, I wouldn't consider buying any vehicle without some sort of test drive! If the seller doesn't want to get a new van dirty etc. they surely should permit at least a test drive in a similar vehicle?
Although the van habitation layout etc. is very important (and something you can get a feel for on the forecourt!) you do spend a considerable amount of time 'up front' and I think driving position, ergonomics, and not least comfort is a vital part of running a motorhome.
Best wishes for your purchase, Andy

When I collected my brand new Lancashire in 201# I noticed that the odometer was at zero. When I mentioned this to the salesman he informed me that digital odometers have a just once zero option. It had been zero'd just before we arrived to collect it.

It seems a bit bonkers. I don't think my wife would be very happy at all spending a lot of money on a motorhome that she couldn't try out to make sure she was comfortable driving it. When we bought our Clubman the salesman wouldn't let us drive it anywhere we could take it up to motorway speed. Therefore I couldn't detect the gearbox needed refurbishing... I was not happy. That fix cost a few quid... I've heard horror stories of big home builders doing similarly dodgy things with new houses. Not letting the buyers inspect the house until they had signed and paid for it so couldn't back out of it. Result is people then spend years chasing after them with huge snagging lists. Totally disgraceful.

I'm going to horrify everyone now by saying I never test drove any of our 3 motorhomes, none were new. All from different dealers.

Likewise Paul, never did test drive any of our four used vans but they all came from the same dealer. The fact they were similar in size to an ambulance be they manual or auto transmission, the driving experience was  likely to be much the same so good enough for me.

They all came with good warranty so knew I could throw them back if needed plus all dealers had great reviews.
All 3 had to go back once for warranty work, all dealt with with no problem and all faults would not have shown up on a test drive.