Swift build issues
Hi people,
I have read in CT about poor build quality and/or problems on a few makes of caravan.
I am also aware of Swift's reputation in the past, and I wondered if anyone has took delivery of a new Swift or Sprite in the last 2 years? And if any problems were apparant.
Comments please ta.
Dave
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'spose that includes all walks of life!
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I think with any make there will be a few where the operatives have taken "their eye off the ball", not as some would like everyone to believe just uk built LVs, the only way to minimise any warranty issues it if possible buy local ,rather than 200mile round trip each time if problems do arise
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Our 2015 year model Sterling Continental 570 has had over 25 faults.
Well documented on Swift Talk. Hence how it is now described as a heap of crap of thrown together poor quality common parts at the circus in Cottingham.
We have just had it back from a raft of work that went to a specialist repairer to do as the dealer, who has been supportive throughout our ownership and all the faults, wasn't able to undertake fully.
There are a couple of other Sterlings recently rejected by buyers that are documented on CT.
Swift have provided parts gratis, reimbursed travel costs and are paying for the next service. Despite a reported Continuous Improvement programme initiated after ours was thrown together in the summer of 2015, there are still volumes of poorly assembled poor quality common parts purporting to be flagship caravans leaving the circus at Cottingham.
This is our first caravan, a flagship product at over £25k. It will be our only purchase of a caravan. We should never have bought it, after having a MH for nearly 10 years.
We have kept the faith in Swift and the dealer in order not to foist the heap of crap on some unsuspecting mug who may have bought it if we had chopped it in. Still not recovered enthusiasm for the heap of crap, but hopefully some forthcoming trips will go some way to reinstating the original excitement of viewing, ordering and first sight of over £25k of flagship caravan.
The recent CC / camc / wotever and Practical Caravan surveys show 27% of new caravans have faults.
It's an odd world this caravan cartel, where folk repeat buy poor quality common parts thrown together, time after time and don't use their statutory rights to reject poor quality. No wonder the assemblers have no incentive to improve. Must be an awful lot of fat in the price customers pay given the volume, 27% of faulty caravans.
My publications on the issues are at odds with a lot of folks views, but I say it as it is. Must do better.
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A motor caravan is a basically a trailer caravan wth a cab and engine replacing the a frame so with the now push for profits in place quality it seems it is a lottery what ever LV we buy
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Have been buying lottery tickets since it started. Am currently ahead in terms of winnings
Will profits be sustainable if quality continues to fall? and folk reject poor quality as their rights?
The next generation of explorers may not be so forgiving with their hard earned, expectations are higher with the entitled generation
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Oh c**p . . . .
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Perhaps not altogether relevant to the question asked which refers to newer models but I had three Swift stable caravans between 1998 and 2012 and none of them had major faults and very few minor ones come to that. Is it a problem with newer caravans?
David
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We had a 2006 Bessacarr cvan (a Swift Conqueror by any other name) and a 2007 Bessacarr (Swift) MH. Both were riddled with niggling faults.
We had a 2003 Elddis Crusader cvan which darned near fell apart and a 2010 Coachman cvan which let water pour in around the windows.
I wouldn't condemn any brand on the basis of our experience. There are good and bad in all makes. It's pot luck I'm afraid.
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I have never owned a trailer caravan but I find it remarkable how badly some products appear to be build compared say with mainstream motor cars. Of course there are always "Monday morning" or should it be " Friday afternoon" examples in both industries but difficulties with cars are very often due to component failure/design rather than contruction as such and in general terms cars of 2017 are vastly superior to those in earlier years, whereas I suspect that the model life and design cycle of a caravan makes in uneconomic to attend adequately to design and specification. If the fundamental engineering is not prioritised then it doesn't matter how well the people on the shop floor build it.
In my past life 99% accuracy (build quality by analogy) just wasn't good enough and could have been disastrous but I doubt many manufacturers set their sights that high.
Not an answer of course but a possible explanation.
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Not if it is a panel van conversion and there are ethical and skilful fabricators in the marketplace.
I am picking up mine today .
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the only way to minimise any warranty issues it if possible buy local ,rather than 200mile round trip each time if problems do arise
Sorry JVB I don't get the relevance of your statement. Distance has got nothing to do with warranty! We brought our van about 150miles from home and had some warranty work done by local dealers to us with no problem. For the floor replacement we decided to return the van to the original dealer so we make a trip of it on the way down and on the way back. My advice would be to research the dealer as thoroughly as possible after all you may have a c**p local dealer who will cause you more problems than distance
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We current have a 2014 Swift Celebration 524 which we have had from new with no issues at all apart from the Microwave dying which was replaced under warranty with no issues.
Changing to Elddis Affinity 550 in May so keeping everything crossed that we are lucky again!
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I don't know of any caravans built in the country where my new car is built ( same brand, different assembly country ) available in the UK now the exchange rate has caused airstreams to not be imported
I wouldn't want an airstream anyway
Won't be making the mistake of buying a caravan again due to the experience of this current flagship heap of thrown together common poor quality parts. Once bitten, twice shy
I know there is no comparison between cars and caravans, but I have a German brand roadster that was built in the US with common parts as in the German built platform type. Never had a faulty part or poor assembly issues, so it can be done. That car is nearly 2o years old now and still gets admiring looks and comments.
With luck and a good wind the current car will be stabled alongside the new one
The new one will become the tug, and the current one will go to 500k miles, because it can 0 -
If you read the practical Caravan survey then you will find the respondents placed Swift more or less average but Sprite came out top for customer satisfaction so make of that what you will. Basically every make turns out the odd dog but most are not too bad and a few of us got the fault free one. It is just a lottery. Basically I think Swift are as good or bad as the rest.
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We have a 2015 swift challenger sport, so far we have had a new microwave, cooker repaired and 2 new parts fitted to the heater so sub standard parts supplied to swift? The dealeship were we bought it replaced the microwave OK but took 2 attempts to fix the cooker as when we got back home the first time it still did not work they said and I quote "its because its been shook up when you've moved it"
as for the heater in the end we took it to Truma who were brilliant and fitted a new part and removed the 4 fault codes after the dealer said they could not find any and there was nothing wrong with it. very scary. 0 -
As components are common to most caravan makes, there's no getting away from the faults in cookers, heaters, fridges etc. What matters is the structural integrity of the van.
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We have found in the past if warranty work is needed on any of the internal bits ie cooker/heater/fridge it is better to get the makers of those bits to send their staff rather than use the dealers "Jack of all trades?"our fridge on this van had a "no fault found" by dealer (twice)Dometic man found the fault in 20minsq
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Yay!!!
A glimmer of hope!.
The thing is the new van has been delayed twice now, and I had a couple of "heated" conversations with the dealer, who now assures me (again) that the can will be with them on Monday, I'm just a bit worried that if I keep pressurising them they will not be as thorough with the Pdi.
But I will be taking a very fine tooth comb with me when we collect it.
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I doubt it will make any difference to the usual sloppy standards employed by dealers when doing PDIs, GC. A fine tooth comb, plus notebook and pen, is highly recommended.
PS. Don't fall for the old chestnut of completing paperwork and handing over your hard earned before you check the van.
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I think it may work to your advantage to keep pressurising them, but from what has happened to us in the past I think very little is checked on pre delivery inspection, also borrow some step's from them and check the roof because we had a new van with a hole in the roof.
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Thank you CGB,
Duly noted.
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I called all the Lunar dealers in East Anglia and all said yes they would carry out warranty work as they wouldn't turn away business. Before I purchased the current van I telephoned all the dealer service managers.
Try calling one when you do have a fault and they are busy in sumer.
The reply might just be sorry
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The point is that, in theory, they will do it which a lot of others won't.
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Oi!! You lot,
Stop hijacking my thread!!
German vans ???
Lunar ???
What have they got to do with Swift/Sprite build quality ???
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British caravan manufacturing is not very good,designed to fail, seams on the roof stupid but cheap, the last British van I purchased was a Mardon,
it went via the damp route, soggy and rotten,so for the last thirty years I only purchased foreign vans and touch wood.... been dry ever since😊😊
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