Caravan Shows

CrazyCaravanner

Have you ever ordered a new caravan from one of the shows? We're going to the NEC show next month and I was wondering if there's a long lead time if you order a new caravan at the show.

rogher

You will probably find that dealers have pre-allocated slots, which they release to punters on a first come basis. If you wait ‘til after the show, you’ll be joining the back of whatever queue formed during the show.

SteveL

When we ordered ours in Oct 2013 it was from the dealer we had used before, close to our home. They had a stand at the show and were doing special show deals, saved us quite a bit on what it would have cost if we visited them locally. We could have had the van almost immediately, but because we wanted specific upholstry the delivery date they quoted was the end of January 2014. It arrived on time. 

Tigi

We orderd a van in October at the NEC and arrives at dealers this week ahead of schedule. Obtained a good deal, personally I like the shows good day out with plenty of choice.

Wildwood

We have ordered two caravans from shows and both took about two months to deliver although the last one had actually been built before then. The delay depends on what you want and the manufacturers build slot for that model in most cases.

There are discounts there but they are not always what they appear. Always worth checking out what local dealers will give you against any model you are thinking of so that you know if you are getting a good deal. 

Do not forget to factor in the cost of getting there if you buy from a remote dealer and you know of and tell them of any problems or you might find them finding them and your deal not being what you first thought.

TheAdmiral

We have lways found it better to order a new van at the October NEC Show as delivery we have found with Coachman is February/March which suits us

Admiral

Toro

The advantage of finding a local dealer at these shows is when any warranty work is required, to avoid any long hauls back to the supplying dealer 

jimd

I bought my last caravan from the show.  Went to the Bailey stand, asked for the dealer I wanted to buy from who was in attendance and negotiated a price from him.

 

I did similarly with my previous van.  I got the best price I could from numerous dealers and told them I'd think about their price and was going to make a decision later in the day.  My local dealer had a stand so I went to him with the lowest price which
he then matched and put in a couple of extra bits and bobs.

JVB66

There are "deals" but be aware how far away from you the dealer is ,as mentioned on numerous occasions, when you have a "problem" it is unusual for your local dealer to be much help if not purchased from them

SteveL

I bought my last caravan from the show.  Went to the Bailey stand, asked for the dealer I wanted to buy from who was in attendance and negotiated a price from him.

 

I did similarly with my previous van.  I got the best price I could from numerous dealers and told them I'd think about their price and was going to make a decision later in the day.  My local dealer had a stand so I went to him with the lowest price which
he then matched and put in a couple of extra bits and bobs.

In our case it ended up costing about £500 more from the local dealer. However, the cheapest quote meant a 500 mile round trip to collect the van. Plus the potential problems of getting any warranty work done. To me it was just not worth the hassle.

Wildwood

If the delivery date is of any consequence make it a term of the contract and if not honoured the contract can be voided and you can get your deposit back.

CraigW

We ordered our new van a coachman vip from the October show and have a delivery date of the end of March