Results of the Leisure Vehicle Survey are in...

RochelleCC
RochelleCC Forum Participant Posts: 337
100 Comments

The Leisure Vehicle Survey – commissioned by The Caravan Club – is the UK’s largest ever survey of its kind.  It compiles over 40,000 responses and collected over 7.5million pieces of data from caravan and motorhome owners it takes an in-depth look at their vehicles, the manufacturers that dominate the market, satisfaction levels and future innovations.

You can see the full report on our website. Click the link below for more information.

http://www.caravanclub.co.uk/news-and-events/news/club-news/2016/sep/leisure-vehicle-survey-results

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Comments

  • Metheven
    Metheven Club Member Posts: 3,987 ✭✭✭
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    edited October 2016 #2

    Oh dear, the link doesn't work for me

    How about <HERE>

  • RochelleCC
    RochelleCC Forum Participant Posts: 337
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    edited October 2016 #3

    Thanks DaveFL2, must have been a typo in there!

    Link has been updated

  • kaenergas
    kaenergas Forum Participant Posts: 171
    edited October 2016 #4

    Great survey, I can see many thousands of posts on here interpreting the results, on  my first read through my eye went to the large volume of units leaving the factory with leaks.  Happy reading 

  • Kennine
    Kennine Forum Participant Posts: 3,472
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    edited October 2016 #5

    Read the survey, I enjoyed reading the spin and bias towards not wanting to offend any of the Manufacturers. 

    One item which they couldn't completely skip over is the reported poor build quality, particularly in relationship to Leaks and Dampness. This standard of build quality is totally unacceptable and the survey conclusions should have made this abundantly clear .

    I noticed that the survey did not even make any build quality comparison between  Bailey and Swift. Two of the most popular makes in the UK.

    Was the survey worth the time and effort ??

    Will the survey be of any assistance to anybody either buying a first caravan or buying a replacement for their current van.??.

     No doubt we will all have our own opinion on those questions. 

    Cool

  • EJB986
    EJB986 Forum Participant Posts: 1,153
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    edited October 2016 #6

    The original link doesn't work....if it's impossible to correct it can it not be removed?

  • DSB
    DSB Club Member Posts: 5,666 ✭✭✭
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    edited October 2016 #7

    The original link doesn't work....if it's impossible to correct it can it not be removed?

    I've updated the original link and now it should be working fine.

    Regards

    David

  • SteveL
    SteveL Club Member Posts: 12,300 ✭✭✭
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    edited October 2016 #8

    It is somewhat shocking to see that 21%  of vans and 22% of MH's report rain water leaking in. Although many of these may be minor, as quantities are not specified, manufacturers should hang their heads in shame at these figures.

  • Boff
    Boff Forum Participant Posts: 1,742
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    edited October 2016 #9

    Well done it's a hard job, some would say an impossible task.  But you the caravan club have pulled it off with style (well lots of graphics)

    Thats right you have succeded in insulting my intelligence, what a whitewash. 

  • ocsid
    ocsid Forum Participant Posts: 1,395
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    edited October 2016 #10

    I am left totally unimpressed; it is not even a pale shadow of the early 21st centurary surveys, but I expect they were under great threats to this time make sure it is valueless to buyers.

  • Bakers2
    Bakers2 Forum Participant Posts: 8,192 ✭✭✭
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    edited October 2016 #11

    Blank post so but arly in a thread never mind system update first quarter 2016

  • compass362
    compass362 Forum Participant Posts: 619
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    edited October 2016 #12

    Excellent well laid out & very easy to understand   but that's my personal opinion , I'm sure there's members   out there will be more than happy to disagree............

  • Boff
    Boff Forum Participant Posts: 1,742
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    edited October 2016 #13

    I am left totally unimpressed; it is not even a pale shadow of the early 21st centurary surveys, but I expect they were under great threats to this time make sure it is valueless to buyers.

    I agree it is valueless.  How does this help anyone make an informed choice on where to spend their money. I think it is a disservice to members.  

    With regards to threats. I assume you are implying legal action from the manufacturers well 2 points  firstly they cant really successfully sue if the information reflects the view of the respondents and has been collected in good faith.  Secondly the financial health of the club is sound I think that any sensible manufacturer would keep quiet rather than getting lawyers involved. 

    Maybe withdrawal of advertising so brand X stops advertising in the magazine just put apiece in the magazine remarking on the coincidence of the withdrawal and the publication of the survey. 

    Another interesting er trick is to divide the manufacturers into category one and two. What is the statistical significance of this?  Particularly when the numbers choosen to make the division are different for caravans and motorhomes.  

    The result of this means in the caravan category the foreign manufacturers are conveniently segregated from the domestic makers once again denying purchasers an informed choice.  

    The key conclusion of this whole charade is that most people are happy with there purchases but some caravans and motorhomes leak no names, no pack drill and this stunning conclusion has taken a year!!!

    As I said previously an insult to my intelligence.  

  • eurortraveller
    eurortraveller Club Member Posts: 6,828 ✭✭✭
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    edited October 2016 #14

    I'm looking to see which make of caravan throws up most problems, which make has purchasers most dissatisfied, which make has the worst record for leaks - but I'm not finding that information to guide me. Instead I am getting generalisations about manufacturers huddled together in groups.  Not altogether helpful to me.

     

     

  • Runrig
    Runrig Forum Participant Posts: 186
    edited October 2016 #15

    .

    You can see the full report on our website. Click the link below for more information.

    Rochelle

    Please excuse me, but the link does not appear to access a meaningful report. I only appear to be able to access 20 pages of random generalisations, meaningless statements and graphics.

    In the absence of a meaningful report, could you please provide the full raw data set in excel format, to allow members to draw their own conclusions, without any commercial interference. Looking forward to this at the earliest opportunity, it shouldn't
    be difficult.

    Thanks in advance.

  • EmilysDad
    EmilysDad Forum Participant Posts: 8,973
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    edited October 2016 #16

    As above ..... meaningless. No way can you look at the results & say I want this or that make because they have fewest problems or I want to avoid that make because they all leak

  • Wildwood
    Wildwood Club Member Posts: 3,581 ✭✭✭✭
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    edited October 2016 #17

    I could not get it to download but will try again but unles names are named then it is useless. The idea that naming names will lose you business or get you sued is clearly wrong as PC  have published the results of their surveys and no one has sued them
    and the advertisers still advertise with the manufacturers always at the bottom still dealing with them. The surveys do however confirm that most people are satisfied with their caravan as all makes get over 75% and Sprite and Adria get over 90. The PC surveys
    are generally consistant in their findings so I will have to go by them.

  • ocsid
    ocsid Forum Participant Posts: 1,395
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    edited October 2016 #18

    The surveys do however confirm that most people are satisfied with their caravan as all makes get over 75% and Sprite and Adria get over 90. The PC surveys are generally consistant in their findings so I will have to go by them.

    Using those figures, with 25% of buyers not being satisfied, though 75% are, whilst statistically is "most people" are satisfied, it is nevertheless a damning condemnation of the industry , IMO.
    Even Aria's 10 % not satisfied is really if thought about unimpressive, though again statistically is much better than 25%.

  • young thomas
    young thomas Forum Participant Posts: 11,356
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    edited October 2016 #19

    It is somewhat shocking to see that 21%  of vans and 22% of MH's report rain water leaking in. Although many of these may be minor, as quantities are not specified, manufacturers should hang their heads in shame at these figures.

    .....but we dont know which brands were the biggest causes of these issues.....

    it may have been that the majority only had a low level of damp faults yet one popular manufacturer was producing sievesUndecided

    this is where the survey failed completely.....

    it might be extremely important for a buyer to know which are the leakiest vans.....Wink

    a total non committal, pointless exercise.....

  • Boff
    Boff Forum Participant Posts: 1,742
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    edited October 2016 #20

    Sorry BB have to disagree when you say that the survey failed completely.  I am sure that the survey revealed the answers.  It is the reporting of answers that is the failure.

    I am not sure that failure is the correct word, as it would imply an unforeseen accident.  There is nothing accidental or unforeseen about the way that these results have been reported IMHO. 

  • SteveL
    SteveL Club Member Posts: 12,300 ✭✭✭
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    edited October 2016 #21

    It is somewhat shocking to see that 21%  of vans and 22% of MH's report rain water leaking in. Although many of these may be minor, as quantities are not specified, manufacturers should hang their heads in shame at these figures.

    .....but we dont know which brands were the biggest causes of these issues.....

    it may have been that the majority only had a low level of damp faults yet one popular manufacturer was producing sievesUndecided

    this is where the survey failed completely.....

    it might be extremely important for a buyer to know which are the leakiest vans.....Wink

    a total non committal, pointless exercise.....

    I agree BB some names attached to the figures would have been of much more use. However, given the time to produce this report, and how easy it would have been for a computer to compile the data, it has clearly been sat on. Even now it has only been released
    on the web site where many will not see it. Although perhaps it will be a supliment in the November mag. I feel they have been more or less forced into releasing something, and this is the result. One set of figures where names should definitely be named,
    is those that show out of use percentages for new vehicles,  56% for vans and 62% for MH's. Those figures, for a new product, are all but unbelievable. Especially when half of those affected were taken out of use more than once.

  • young thomas
    young thomas Forum Participant Posts: 11,356
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    edited October 2016 #22

    regarding the out of use figures, i think this is a bit of an inflated one...

    for example, if there is an issue with any electrical/gas item (fridge, microwave, heater etc) this will entail a visit to the dealer for rectification which will surely go down as 'out of use' on the survey....

    also, these are the very devices we need with us at all times so will need to fixed...these may not be (van) brand dependent so perhaps a breakdown by 'gadget supplier/type' (dometic, thetford, etc) might have been more use than a blanket (meaningless) figure.

    looks to me like the survey has only gleaned a set of headline statements and yielded no method of further interrogation by the reader....

    a very poor effort.

  • Oneputt
    Oneputt Club Member Posts: 9,144 ✭✭✭
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    edited October 2016 #23

    Survey = pinch of salt

  • Quasar524
    Quasar524 Forum Participant Posts: 148
    edited October 2016 #24

    Well, having skimmed through the 20 pages of flim flam, I'm struggling to understand who this report is aimed at, or who it will actually be of any use to.

    The fact that the Sales Director of Coachman is able to enthuse about it (page 6) suggests that perhaps the main use will turn out to be as a source of quotes for manufacturers' advertising.

    Have any figures been released anywhere about how much this all cost?

  • brue
    brue Forum Participant Posts: 21,176 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited October 2016 #25

    New caravans, 25% are taken out of action due to faults. Most businesses would go under with this type of result, planes would fall from the sky, cars would crash, cash machines would go up in smoke! Frown

  • cyberyacht
    cyberyacht Forum Participant Posts: 10,218
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    edited October 2016 #26

    Like certain smartphones, then.

  • eurortraveller
    eurortraveller Club Member Posts: 6,828 ✭✭✭
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    edited October 2016 #27

    Spot the dog?  Not from what we have been told so far. 

  • Runrig
    Runrig Forum Participant Posts: 186
    edited October 2016 #28

    Like certain smartphones, then.

    H&S yes, but they recalled, literally millions of phones after only 92 alleged failures, worldwide!

    A hell of a lot less than 25%

  • IanH
    IanH Forum Participant Posts: 4,708
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    edited October 2016 #29

    I would like to buy a caravan that doesn't leak.

    Which brand, based on this survey, do I buy?

  • IanH
    IanH Forum Participant Posts: 4,708
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    edited October 2016 #30

    Oh, and what were they thinking of, giving all the manufacturers a space in tbe middle of the survey, in which they say "what a jolly good survey" or words to that effect.

    All credibility gone........

     

  • IanH
    IanH Forum Participant Posts: 4,708
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    edited October 2016 #31

    Speaking of credibility!

    BP