Bessacarr

StevenLynne
StevenLynne Forum Participant Posts: 13
edited March 2016 in Motorhomes #1

Any advice on things to look out for when purchasing a second hand Bessacarr 700 series motorhome?

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  • young thomas
    young thomas Club Member Posts: 11,357 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited March 2016 #2

    which year.....X/250 post 2006 chassis?

    some early models (2006-8) suffered from a reverse shear that was too high which caused a judder, especially up a gradient...

    a free fix from fiat was available

  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Posts: 23,149 ✭✭✭
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    edited March 2016 #3

    But according to Fiat the 3 litre didn't have a problem - at least that's what they said in 2008 - so no fix was available when we had our 2007 model.

    That's reverse gear, not shear.

  • young thomas
    young thomas Club Member Posts: 11,357 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited March 2016 #4

    you may be right, i assumed the gearboxes were the same, maybe not.....

    i guess we need to find out which year/model '700' we are actually talking about....Happy

  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Posts: 23,149 ✭✭✭
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    edited March 2016 #5

    No, the boxes aren't the same, BB.

    Quite right - we need to know what year. We also had problems with the Bessacarr 795 hab unit which might, or might not, be relevant to detail here.

  • StevenLynne
    StevenLynne Forum Participant Posts: 13
    edited March 2016 #6

    The motorhome we are looking at is a 2009 Bessacarr E765 S on a Fiat 3litre turbo

     

  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Posts: 23,149 ✭✭✭
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    edited March 2016 #7

    Very similar to our 795, Steve, and not that far apart in terms of age. I think by 2009 Fiat were starting to fix faults but see my previous post re the 3 litre. I would certainly during a test drive try to reverse the van uphill and see what happens. Another problem was water ingress into the engine bay on top of the engine. Corrosion could be stopped by fitting an engine cover and another trick was to seal the scuttle to the windscreen. Imagine the job of having to replace the windscreen at some point!

    With regard to the Swift/Bessacarr hab unit, there were a few build quality issues. Not least was the fact that they omitted the insulation from the front roof section which allowed condensation to collect and, on a gradient, literally pints of water would pour down through the light fittings. The MH had to go back to the factory for a fix. The leather faced trim of the upholstery started to wear in no time at all. There was a recall to replace the wheel spats as they had been inadequately fitted and some people reported them coming off on motorways.

    Ours was a 2007 on the Ducato X250 and, hopefully, the 2009 will not be similarly affected either in the base vehicle or the hab unit but I hope I've given you a few things to check for. We bought a Merc based MH this time around which might tell you something.

     

  • QFour
    QFour Forum Participant Posts: 442
    edited March 2016 #8

    We had a 2012 Swift and I was glad to see the back of it. Looked good in the showroom but not put together very well. Bits kept comming un-glued and screws fell out. Ours was mostly held together with silicon seal. You need to check it has had ALL IT'S HABITATION
    SERVICES done by a SWIFT APPROVED Dealer otherwise Swift will not want to know if you have problems. You also have to have it done EVERY year to keep the water ingress warantee.

    Don't complain on the SWIFT Talk forum about their products they don't like it and you get banned. They only like positive comments.

    I would do a really good search on the Internet and have a look what problems you may get.



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