Buying a new caravan
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Hi, As has been said there are problems experienced with all vans so its a very personal thing which to go for. We have, since 1995, had new vans and an issue with the first, an Elddis, led us to discover that there was a service centre near us-well near by Cornwall standards-that was approved by all the main manufacturers to carry out warranty work.
Apart from one item carried out on a Bailey by Chipping Sodbury, as we were going past the door, all our servicing and warranty works have been done at this service centre.
This means that we can consider vans from a far wider area that if we were only going to look at local dealers.
I also feel that, as the service centre has no 'brand loyalties' that we are looked after better as the focus is on us not keeping the manufacturer happy.
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Hiya folks.
It’s been a while since I last posted on this, so an update. TBH, I’ve been dragging my heels due to the nagging doubts. I’m fully aware that leaking is something that afflicts most brands, but since looking at reviews for after sales service, Lunar seem to come out very poorly. I’m now looking at a Swift Challenger 580. I was looking on another forum, and quite a few were saying how impressed they were with any major works carried out by Swift. Apparently, Swift have their own in-house facility for such works. A bit heavier than I would have liked, but still within guidelines. Going to see one in the flesh on Saturday 🙂
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Freddy55, I would have thought that this time of year, dealers would be looking to clear as many 2019 caravans out as possible, before the new 2020 models come out in late Aug/September, so would be prepared to offer a good deal - don't pay anywhere near list price would be my advice, and if you aren't in a hurry, wait a month or two.
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I really liked the Clubman, nice layout and finish, but it’s the aftersales that makes me nervous. I read one tale of an owner that had to wait over 6 months for a replacement part, being bounced between the dealer and manufacturer.
Good luck with the Coachman, hopefully you won’t need it 👍
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Technically, it could mean your car might not legally tow it with its increased MTPLM.
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Hi Freddy. It must be a bit of a dilemma deciding what to do for you, and just to add to it, I am going to throw another suggestion into the works😁
Why do you want a brand new caravan? We often ponder on whether or not we should (new van or new MH) but then certain important factors put us off. Initial purchase price and the huge hit you take on buying new. The unreliability of delivery dates, the uncertainty of getting a trouble free model, the tooing and froeing to get servicing done, being tied to expensive servicing deals, then if anything does go wrong, the often long waits for warranty work to be carried out. And it goes on.
We have never bought new. But we have bought good quality, good condition pre owned from excellent independent dealers who have given us a decent initial purchase price, ensured that every aspect of the van or MH is working perfectly, have given us a warranty of at least six months so that we know our purchase is clear of unwanted issues, have been there if we need any follow up advice. We have our purchases serviced locally, doing away with being in a queue of thousands of others. We have never had to have any warranty type work done on either our caravan or our MH at all. Whatever issues they might have had were sorted before we owned them, although the service records for MH don’t indicate any problems anyway.
We could have had umpteen new to us vans for the price of a new one. Don’t get me wrong, our MH has had the odd niggle, a Spanish fitted alarm system caused us the most grief, but a local automotive electrician solved this in a couple of hours while we did some shopping locally. And we had a bit of a leak after five years of ownership on heki which OH resolved quickly and cheaply. No damp, no cracks, no fridge or cooker not working, no windows falling out, no leaking pipes, no heating/ hot water failures, no won’t start after being stood for a few weeks, etc......
So, I would be tempted more to look for a good pre owned bargain, ensuring that everything that might have been wrong with it has been put right, getting a decent initial purchase price and negotiating a good post purchase warranty, then find somewhere close to home that offers a quality service check and can carry out competently any other work you might need. If you are lucky, they might even be mobile and can come to you.
The only caravan we would ever consider buying new is just way too small for us, Eriba. They ooze quality and robustness. Most others look and feel as though bits will drop off, wear out, let in water less than a few months into use. I would want a great deal more for my £20,000+
Peace of mind, less stress, more happy touring. 😁
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Everyone has different ideas, and its the choice only you can make.
Personnally, my peace of mind comes from a 3yr warranty on everything, and a 10 yr body warranty. Its not the cheapest option, and as pointed out by many, its no guarantee of build quality, but although delayed repairs are a niggle, if serious damp occurs, cracks appear in panels etc, and its not covered by the manufacturer, the repairs are costly.
There are secondhand vans out there that dont get much use or abuse before being traded in, and provided they are serviced on schedule, the damp warranty would be in place, but finding them isn't easy.
A new van, purchased at the right time of year, be it last years model, can often be nearly as cheap as a 1 or 2yr old used van from a dealer in my experience.
Whatever your final choice, if it turns out to be a 'good-un', keep it as long as you can, because regardless of manufacturer, its a lottery!
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TTDA, thanks for taking the time for that write-up.
I can see the sense in what you say. I guess it boils down to a few things with brand new. Firstly there’s the reassurance that if at some point water gets in (my dread), it’s covered by the 10 year warranty. Secondly, we get to choose exactly what we want. Thirdly, I’m assuming this will be our last van, and as I’ve just retired, I guess it’s our ‘treat’ to ourselves.
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Well, the deed is done, put down a deposit on the Swift Challenger 580. I have to wait for ATC to be fitted, and a couple of other things, so should be picking it up in a couple of weeks. We do though go away for two weeks early June, so might have to wait until after. We got a deal I was happy with, hopefully they won’t find too much wrong with ours (trade-in). I took the time to check out the noseweight, and although nose-heavy as one would expect, not overly so, unlike our Senator. Fingers crossed now that not too much goes wrong 😬
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We took delivery of our brand new Swift 'van in January but couldn't try it out until much later due to inclement weather. Several trips later faults began to appear.
Panel in the wardrobe came adrift.
Radio didn't work.
Boiler was intermitantly shutting down and refusing to relight.
Back to the dealers and they took action to rectify the said faults. Panel repaired and, checked Radio - faulty ariel - needs factory replacement. Boiler checked - it's not the boiler but the power supply - awaiting factory replacement.
It went back on 9th May and is still there. ( now 26th May ).
Full marks for the dealers for exhaustively testing the equipment and fault-finding, but, Oh dear, the replacements are taking time to acquire from the manufacturers.
I think we need some better quality control on the parts that go into making our caravans.
I agree that the panel was a Swift problem, one which I'm sure they will correct in future builds. The other problems are down to the makers of the parts that Swift fit into their 'vans. So I can't blame Swift or the Dealers.
I guess these things happen, but it kinda puts me off buying Swift again, should I wish to change my 'van at a later date.
I'm also sure that other caravan makers will fit parts made by the 3rd parties also. so I'm thinking this isn't special to Swift.
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That’s reassuring
Something I’ve been pondering on. Let’s say I go to pick it up, give it a good looking at, and spot a fault or two. Do I take it on the proviso that it gets sorted later on, or insist that it’s sorted before I take it? Bearing in mind that they’ll have my old van, won’t they? I think I know the answer, but would like others thoughts.
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Insist the van is fixed before you take it away or, if you take it, negotiate a retention sum of an appropriate amount. That is, you hold back funds on the understanding they do the work before you hand over the balance. If they fail, you have that sum to cover your costs in getting it fixed elsewhere.
They can’t keep your old van until the deal's done and you sign the paperwork.
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Not sure if it's been mentioned yet, but have they looked at your PX yet.
Dealers have a nasty habit of offering you less on the exchange day because they have just noticed X Y or Z needs repairing. this then puts you on the spot.
It's really worth letting them see it in the flesh and get the PX price agreed prior to collection of your new one.
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And get it in writing!
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Yes, something I’d considered. As it stands, I’ll be taking my old one in for a ‘looking at’ a few days before picking up the new one. I have no doubt they’ll find something wrong, in a way, it’s in their interest. If in my view they’re going OTT, then there might well be a ‘crunch’ time. Not quite sure how I’d handle that...
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Walk away and I bet they ring you later and backtrack.
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I took my Lunar into the dealer so they could give me price against the new (to me) van. As I had recently I knew all the faults. I ask the engineer to give me a price for repairs, van just out of warranty. I knew within a couple of pounds the cost and to be fair the dealer came up with roughly the same price. I lost about £2.5k if the van had no faults. I was happy with price as I just want rid off.
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Took it down this morning. Unfortunately found some damp (40%) in the wardrobe area. A sum of money was subtracted from the initial offer, but it wasn’t outrageous, imo. I still got more for it than an offer from another dealer. Overall, I’m happy with the deal. I’ve had ATC fitted and my MM will be swapped over. I’m due to pick it up Wednesday, we go away Friday for 16 nights. A bit nervous about that as we’ll be a long way away should anything go wrong, or not understood.
Im sure it’ll be fine🙂
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Picked it up late yesterday. A bit nervous about towing it back to storage, as it’s heavier than the previous Senator. Needn’t have worried, it towed really well. We did though have a problem putting it away. At storage there’s a small ramp to get over. The motor mover (offside) kept slipping against the tyre. So, it’ll have to go back to get sorted, that’s a pain. We go away Friday, so will drop it in on our return. We gave it a good look over, and all seems ok, but that’s not the same as living in it for a while, so time will tell.
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