First in 15yrs š
Well have put down a holding deposit today on our first Caravan in 15yrs š Because itās in Wales we have wait until their lock down is eased before we can collect it š Just need to get the towbar fitted on the car now ,which is being done 2nd week in June.We sold our motorhome 18months ago ,and are now ready to get back out & about š
Ā Brian & Jo
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It may be a few weeks before you can go on your first outing, but I think we are all waiting on the starting line. What van have you brought,Ā enjoy your new van.Ā
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Hi there CGB ,itās a Swift Conquerer 560 .Dont really know if thatās a good model or not but we like it š
Brian & Jo
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Will it be an F1 or a Le Man start? I may need to do a bit of "short sprint" training.
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Not wishing to be negative, but after our experiences with our Swift my advice is to open all the cupboards and lockers and check that the heating pipes are all correctly attached to each other and that the water pipes under the sink are too before you turn things on. Also the first time you use the shower get other half to stand outside and make sure there's no water coming out from anywhere it shouldn't beš!
Other than that hope you have a fantastic time when you do eventually get out in your vanš
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Hi there the bells ,thank you for your info and yes we will check those points.I guess itās the same old story about there being good & bad in everything hope ours will fall into the good category šĀ
Brian & Jo
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I have the Challenger 560 Hi-Style which is a dealer special version. Ā Nice level of upgrades it had but thatās where it has stopped. Ā I bought three years ago and has experienced incessant warranty work being required. Ā The finish is pretty awful by Swift. Ā My advice is before picking it up, tell the dealer to check all the hinges for a start and make sure they all have the requisite level of screws...ours had one per hinge!!
Unfortunately other faults were not so easily fixed as required warranty approval from Swift. Ā Long list over three years. Ā If you want any further details I can email you. Ā Hopefully you will be luckier than me but my experience underlined the importance of using a dealer near home for the purchase as increasing numbers of dealers are refusing warranty work from caravans bough from other dealers (some of which have gone bust)
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Hi MDD10 ,thx for the info but rather than e-mail your experience surely it would be better to put it on here and let other Swift owners benefit from your bad experience.Ā
Brian & Jo
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I have done previously. Ā I donāt think Iām anywhere unique but the latest just before lockdown when serviced at three years was:
Brakes - need replacing again. Ā Only done 12 months ago under warranty. Ā Dealer had messed about with them trying to fix, and after researching in here I found there was a known fault. Ā
Has the known swift recall fault with the chassis separating from the body...loads in this situation but shouldnāt affect a 2020 model
Dealer stated that the pipes etc, ie gas need replacing.
Replacement tyres required due to cracking...not due to misuse but degrading. Ā
Oven grill defective
Front locker latches have fallen apart several times. Ā The hinges separated from the locker due to all being held by one grubb screw
Front locker locking mechanism regularly falls apart
Pretty farcical really.
The lists at each yearly service and in between have been longer. Ā Iām just lucky it doesnāt have damp yet
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Wow thatās quite a list, Iām concerned now about the body separating from the chassis because ours is a 2018 model not 2020 š³
Brian & JoĀ
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Welcome Brian &Josie. On a more positive note I hope all goes well for you with your caravan and you have many years of caravanning. Can I ask why you are changing from a motor home to caravan? I ask as we are considering going the āother wayā. We are at the beginning of our journey in regards to fact finding etc. Obviously we are unable to view any layouts etc at the moment.I would be very interested in your comments. Good luck with your new adventure.
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Hi Ginny, can recommend caravanfinder.co.uk as a great source of info on layouts and prices.
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Just make sure you get the body warranty from Swift (10 years I assume) transferred to you; failure could be a costly omission in 7 years time if you have a problem.Ā I have a 2009 Bailey which I have towed all over Europe, it is still trouble free and I'm sure you will have many great experiences in your Swift.
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Feel sorry for Brian an Josie the amount of negative posts, we all have some form of trouble with vans, of the of the six l had over 17 years the only real problem l had was damp on the Bailey Madrid front lockers, done under warranty then l sold it, all the others were niggley things, most l sorted, couldn't be bothered to take it in to the dealers, they always gave me the part for free and l fitted it myself. Brian Josie we went the other way moved to a MH but enjoyed 20 years of towing vans. Theirs plus for both, with touring you have the convenience of the car, we changed to the MH for health reasons, l felt it less stressful than towing but l see many a lot older than l still towing that seem to love it, l am quite sure you will enjoy your new van, by the way there isn't manufacturer that doesn't produce a van without faults, just work round them
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Hi there Heethers thanks for the post .We have been camping in some form since Jo came over from the Philippines 26 yrs ago .We started with Pennine folding campers ,had two of them then moved onto caravans ,our first was an Abbey and then an Elddis twin axle .Then we went onto motorhomes which included about 10 yrs with American RV,s.We decided about 2yrs ago that we wanted to do something different so we sold our Niesmann Bischoff Motorhome .We had always wanted a Jaguar so we bought an F-Pace and love it.But now 18months down the line have discovered that we miss the camping side and so to enable us to use our car we decided to go back to caravanning and that way hopefully we will have the best of both worlds.So that was our reason for going back to a Caravan allenandjean .
Brian & Jo
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Welcome Brian & Jo. Most of us with motorhomes or caravans have had some issues. My advice would be to check over the van again to make sure you are happy with it before you pay the balance. Make sure the warranty is comprehensive and not limited to something stupid like Ā£500 per claim. Remember the sale of goods act should provide you with some protection. If you are still concerned, call a good recommended mobile service engineer (there are quite a number) and get them to give it a really good once over. Surprising the detail the engineers find that slip through the dealer inspection. Hopefully, your van will have had most of the gremlins sorted on the first couple of services. Can't do anything about the lockdown, just hoping Wales will open on 4th July for our first sortie! Enjoy and hope all goes well.
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Hi Dave T, Yea Iām hoping Wales will become accessible again very soonš¤We are buying the Caravan privately,itās the first time we have ever done that ,but the guy seems very genuine and has had to stop caravanning because of his health .He has only used the van 3 times and itās fully loaded so seems like a good deal for us .Ive just put a holding deposit on it for now until we can get up there to inspect and finally bring it home šJust had a towbar fitted on the car on Wednesday so all set to goš
Brian & Jo
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