Search Tips & Security Advice

Not sure what make/model you want but have a fixed price in mind?

Select the required budget using the minimum and maximum price fields, enter your postcode and click Search. The results you receive should contain a mixture of items that all fall within your price range.

Want to find a model in a particular colour?

Enter your required colour eg "red" in the keyword field. Select any other details relating to the type of vehicle you require eg make and model, price range etc. Enter your postcode and click Search. The results you receive should contain vehicles in your required colour. However, due to the way we search our database of advertisements you may also receive examples of items that have "red" fixtures.

Only want to locate vehicles close to Home?

Enter your postcode and then select "1 mile" within the Distance field.
The results you receive should contain vehicles available within a 1mile radius of your postcode. If no vehicles are located, extend your search area by selecting an increased mileage value.

Looking for a vehicle less than 2 years old?

Select "up to 2 years" within the Maximum Age field. Select any other required details e.g. Make & Model, click Search. The returned results should comprise of vehicles that are under two years old.

Make / Model not in the drop-down menus?

You can still search for a make/model that is not listed in the drop down menus by leaving the Make & Model fields as they are, i.e. showing the words “Any” in their boxes and then entering the name of the item you're looking for in the "Keyword" box, then click Search. If there are any vehicles of this name in our database, a list will then appear.

What are Private and Trade sellers?

Private sellers are individual sellers who are likely to be selling their own vehicle. The benefit with buying privately is that you can often get a better price than you would if you bought from a dealer. However, there is very little comeback if things should go wrong.

Trade advertisers are individuals or organisations who sell vehicles with the view to make a profit. As traders, they have to adhere to more stringent laws and you will have greater rights should something go wrong. This means that you will usually pay more than from a private individual.

I want to carry out more specific searches

Searches can be narrowed down by entering relevant keywords that may appear in adverts (registered users only). For example, if you are looking for a left hand drive vehicle, insert Left hand drive, or LHD.

You can search for specific vehicle derivates or specifications by entering relevant keywords into the trim and keyword boxes.

* If you separate keywords with spaces, it will return adverts with ALL of the search terms

* If you separate keywords with commas, it will return adverts with ANY of the search terms

* If you separate keywords with '+', it will return adverts with the EXACT PHRASE entered

Note: spaces must be entered either side of the + to return accurate results.

Postcode

To search for a vehicle, you must enter a valid UK postcode. If you are unsure of your postcode, or would like the postcode in another area, visit www.royalmail.co.uk

Please note:

Your postcode must be entered in the correct format. Ensure that if your postcode contains O or 0 (zero), they are entered as such. For example SO15 0HX should not be entered as S015 OHX

Distance

Distances are based on a straight line and should be used as a rough guide only.

Keyword Search

The keyword search facility allows you to search for details which are not available in the other search fields, such as, exact colours, model variants etc. Combinations of keywords can be used in conjunction with the other search details to greatly enhance the power of our database search facility.

The keywords entered are not case sensitive and so a search for 'gti' will result in advertisments containing GTI, GTi, gti and any other possible combination of the letters in upper and lowercase.

More than one word can be entered ; entering 'finesse,azure blue' in the keyword box means that the advert must contain either one of these word (or both), entering 'finesse AND azure blue' means that the advert must contain both words (yes 'azure blue' is regarded as a keyword word that has a space, so ads conaining 'azureblue' with no space will be ignored).

Helpful Examples

To search for a GRAPHITE GREY Sprite muskateer, the make is 'Sprite', model 'muskateer', KEYWORD 'GRAPHITE GREY'.

Security Advice

Marking your Caravan

If your caravan is stolen the chances of getting it back can be dramatically improved by taking action now.

Photographs

Take photographs of your caravan, particularly any distinctive features. This can help identification should your caravan be stolen and subsequently recovered.

Roof Marking

Many police forces recommend that you mark your postcode on the roof of your caravan which can be seen by police aircraft and helicopters. Commercial kits are available, or you can paint your own.

Tracking

If you have a desirable caravan, it may be worth investing in a tracking system. These use global positioning satellite technology to pinpoint your caravan to a few metres in the event that it is stolen.

They are not cheap to buy and there is usually a monthly line rental, but this can be outweighed by possible insurance discounts.

Etching

Etch your caravan chassis number or postcode on all windows and in several hidden places inside the van. You can use an ultra violet pen for this but a simple spirit based felt tipped pen inside a cupboard or under beds is almost impossible to remove.

Microchip

A number of companies can embed a small microchip into your caravan structure, which can be found by a scanner. As of mid-2004, over 60,000 caravans have been tagged, making it harder for thieves to dispose of stolen ''vans and increasing the likelihood of stolen caravans being returned to their rightful owners.

All caravans built since 1997 have a Radio Frequency Tagging chip (RFID) fitted at manufacture. This technology has improved on shortfalls in CRIS technology (see below), as RFID chips are easier for the authorities to locate.

Records

Keep a note of your caravan chassis number and other important information. Keep these records safe and away from the caravan.

CRIS

CRIS stands for Caravan Registration and Identification Scheme. Since 1992 almost all new caravans carry a 17-digit number that is stamped onto the A-frame and etched into at least three windows.

If you are buying a CRIS registered caravan you can phone CRIS who will be able to confirm if it listed as stolen, scrapped or listed as having outstanding finance.