Caravan purchase minefield
Like to think I'm fairly switched on when it comes to buying stuff but buying a van seems to be fraught with danger.
Have decided that our current van has to go so what to do for the best.
We have a basic criteria on layout, weight etc, etc. Most continental vans are excluded due to both our criteria also I don't particularly want to spend £38K on the one Continental I like.
So been diligently searching the interweb and narrowed down where we want to be in terms of manufacturer and model, now here's the problem. After checking what the dealers have, price etc., I do a search for customer reviews and here's the rub, buying the van in the majority of cases is no problem at all and is a relatively positive experience. That all goes out the window when it comes to the service department. I don't mind travelling to buy the van but if I have another pup I don't particularly want to travel up north or to the west country.
No doubt it will all come together but in the meantime it is a little disconcerting
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Oneputt wrote:
That all goes out the window when it comes to the service department.
Unfortunately that has been our experience with the new van we bought last year.
We had a recall letter from Swift so contacted them, who then told us to contact the dealer. When we contacted the dealer Service Department they tried sending us back to Swift saying it wasn't their problem. Only when pointed out that Swift specifically told us to contact them did they take the van in for the necessary checks.
They were also supposed to fix another problem, which they haven't, so I passed this on to the finance company, as technically it is still their van.
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We also got new van last year, the sales department great service department you wouldn’t trust them with doing a big shop at Tesco’s. so we contacted a mobile engineer that came recommended, happy days.
You have to remember the dealer wants to sell you a caravan you want best deal, just think about yourself and your pocket.
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It surely is a minefield, One. Having seen the numerous reports of people having to return faulty vans to dealers, I think there’s a lot to be said for buying close to home. It’s been my choice despite a slightly worse financial deal.
Most dealers are really good when they’re selling and taking your money but, as we all know, it’s the after sales service that matters.
No doubt you'll use a credit card for part of the purchase just in case.
Good luck.
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Which caravan manufacturer are you considering? The dealer we use is superb in our experience, both for sales and their after sales/service department.
The dealer is Sussex Caravans
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My information is a bit out of date as the last caravan I had serviced was nearly nine years ago. Having said that my experience with Nene Court Caravans was excellent but unfortunately they have gone out of business! My last caravan came from White Arches at Rushden (as have my two motorhomes but from their motorhome site) It is a large dealer and whilst I had no problems with servicing its perhaps not as personal as a smaller outfit. The motorhome side is a bit more personal.
What about mobile servicing some of which can undertake warranty work. Whilst it might not always benefit my pocket I do prefer the idea of buying relatively local to me. Prefer to drive 20 miles to get something fixed than 120!
David
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as TW says, there are so many stories about certain brands that I wouldn't go near one of them (not that I'm looking for a caravan) even if the dealer were in the same town...
roofs leaking, floors rotting, Windows falling out, front lockers shipping water, axles breaking, poorly fitted appliances...the list goes on, and these are supposedly new vans.
i wonder what layout (and weight) excludes most continental brands?
the OP (OP
) doesn't want 'another pup', so once bitten?id not be chancing it again, even if I had to make a small compromise on layout..
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Surprised to hear that, I can only share what we have experienced over the last 4 years. they gave us a good price on our Coachman PX and when we had problems with our Elddis they sorted it all out very quickly. Once for a failed PCB in the water heater and a shower wall replacement due to a crack appearing. We use the Colestock cross branch.
How long ago did you get your current van from them? I assume you have not used them to service it ?
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We told our local dealer that if main service engineer goes somewhere else we'll follow him. Salespeople would sell you their Grandmother but Good Service Engineers are worth their weight in gold.
Best of luck Onep. Some people really enjoy changing their outfits regularly, even when there's nothing wrong with them. Beats me as I hate the experience.
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Yep, best of luck from me as well, that last van was a shocker. I am absolutely no help whatsoever in terms of dealers. We have never bought new, I have zero tolerance if something I buy isn’t fit for purpose, so we just don’t go down that road.
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Best of luck in find the preferred van of choise, OP. Hope you have much better luck than you've had with the current one.
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Sounds like we’re in the same boat Oneputt. I’m at this point opting for a Lunar Clubman SI, but I have great reservations. Not because it’s a Lunar, but because it’s a caravan, which is most likely to have at least some problems which will require rectification. If I was buying a Bailey, the choice of dealer would be easy, Chipping Sodbury Caravans which is only a few miles from me. I bought my current van from them. It had a few problems which were quickly and adequately sorted.
The nearest Lunar dealer is around 90mins away, so a 3 hour round trip. So, that would be 6 hours for any given problem. Then there’s the time it takes to fix. The last thing one needs is problems with the dealer. If only I wanted a Bailey....
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If you bought from Sussex Caravans, a nearby dealer we bought from, is Chichester Caravans who sell Bailey, Swift and Lunar brands.
Chichester have been superb throughout the buying process, servicing and more importantly the nearly 40 faults with our flagship Sterling Continental 570 over the term of our ownership.
We have chosen to keep our caravan, despite the issues. A cracked rear panel will be repaired in the summer at its next service. Until it becomes unserviceable we'll continue to get it repaired by Chichester.
However we will not buy a new caravan again due to the abysmal throwing together of common poor quality parts by the caravan industry.
Better the devil you know.
Despite written assurances that Swift were taking action to improve build quality, the evidence on forums and campsites demonstrates its a lottery buying a new caravan. At least on the lottery you win sometimes.
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If I had a budget to buy ANY new caravan, I wouldn't risk it on a UK built caravan. The stats are published and as others have said, the amount of faults and problems people have to deal with, together with incompetent dealers and manufacturers who do their best to wriggle out of warranty claims. Worse still are the manufacturers of the chassis that your little tin box sits on!
It's disgraceful and nothing short of scandalous.
Obviously, many caravan owners will be happy with their purchase and some may be lucky enough to know a good service department (please don't call them service engineers because they are not - they're technicians) and will spend many happy hours with their purchases. They are the lucky ones - the other 25-30% are not which is why it's such a lottery.
I bought a new Adria after the model won design awards from this Club, together with customer service awards. I was disappointed at 4 years old when a window seal failed and I needed to make a warranty claim. YES - even foreign vans have problems! (It's only fault)
The difference is how it was dealt with by a non-supplying dealer and the manufacturer - no bother, no battling, no hassle. The dealer is right in the middle of England, Cara Motorhomes & Caravans in Stoke on Trent. Their service was exemplary.
Good luck in your quest Oneputt
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interesting video here from the Trudgians, a review of the issues of their new caravan after 7 months:
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I understand the problem with remote dealers. If you have a problem it can escalate as local dealers will not touch it and that means a long trip back to where it came from. In theory you can reclaim the cost but recovering it may be easier said than done and you already have the expense of towing the part exchange there.
If the offer is unseen the dealer will check everything and they often find damp whether it is there or not and refuse to honour the original price. You do need to have the caravan checked over before you go, another expense so unless the saving is massive it is probably not worth it in my opinion and the bigger the saving the more likely they are to quibble in most cases.
If the local dealers service is not up to scratch then I would not rule out using another NCC approved workshop for servicing and rely on the dealer only for warranty work.
Even if it looks to be costing more a local dealer is the safest bet.
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On our last caravan purchase OH did various adjustments (island bed screwed down out of alignment, wonky cupboards etc.) with the permission of the dealer to save yet another journey. Either that or he insisted someone came to us! After some initial re-working we had a good caravan. But it isn't good enough to read so many tales of woe on here. Personally I would not consider anything new now, hoping that a slightly older van would have had it's problems ironed out, is that a vain hope?
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I had wanted a caravan for many years but was rather nervous of the idea of towing on our now, very overcrowded roads, often with narrow lanes and of setting up on a site singlehanded so, after receiving a legacy a few years ago I opted for a 9 year old motorhome instead. Reading this post, perhaps I made the right decsion! It does indeed look like a minefield but surely there are many caravanners out there who have NOT had any problems with their caravans.
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I expect there are lots of people out there who are perfectly happy with their caravans but probably think it a bit pointless coming onto forums and saying so? I have mentioned before that I had several new caravans from the Swift stable which I was perfectly happy with and they all gave good service with no major problems. Of course things could have changed since I last had a caravan six years ago. As for testing them in magazines I would expect them to have been gone over with a fine tooth comb before handing over? The trouble with magazine tests is that they don't reflect real extended use only a snapshot. Do they still do long term tests as that is a better way of detecting faults and problems?
David
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David, C&CC used to do long term tests and published the results in their magazine. As we are no longer a member we don't get it any more so I'm not sure if they still do.
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I’m also sure that perhaps the vast majority of folk are happy with their vans but if you have a rouge it’s hard to be positive. Did go and see nice van last week which we really fancy but just got to weigh up whether to buy before we get the old van sorted, It’s sort of a moral question
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It is only the few with "problems?"that in all walks are the most vocal,and considering the thousands of UK built LVs that are still sold each year,it despite some posters, cannot be a real problem for the vast majority,but as i have learnt, stay local
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I dont think it makes any odds what make of caravan you choose.
they all have their faults as many forums will tell you.
As someone else wrote on here.
"Choose the caravan you want, but buy it off a good dealer"
We didn`t................ paid the price
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At Easter just gone we were at Baltic Wharf.
After pitching up we went out for provisions, took about an hour.
On return we sat outside the awning enjoying a cuppa, when neighbouring campers approached to tell us our flagship Sterling Continental 570 was losing water from where it shouldn't.
Fortunately with the now over 40 faults we have had with this top of the range flagship caravan made of whizzy materials to prevent absorption of water, we carry a tool box with sufficient tools to dismantle and reassemble the washroom panels, vents, cupboard doors etc to find the cause of the water loss. It was where the fins on the wet heating pipework had made contact with the hot water 'Y' joint and pushed the push fit joint apart. The heating pipework was not secured.
As a courtesy informed the fellow campers of the cause, repair and thanked them for their help in letting us know. During the conversation it was established that each of 4 caravans, including a VanMaster, had all had problems. We jokingly reeled off a checklist, heater, oven, fridge, microwave, plumbing, LED lights, Heiki roof lights, Omnivents, cupboard doors, locker handles, cupboard door catches, electrics, battery box doors, etc all faulty.
It was suggested the 10 year warranty is to give the cowboys who throw together common poor quality parts, the time to fix them. At which time you may have a caravan without faults.
It was remarked our flagship caravan looked pristine. I try to keep it in good condition as it is not a cheap purchase. Cost more than my first house in pure cash terms.
When it goes for its fourth annual service in July, the crack in the rear panel will be repaired.
There may be caravans that are perfect. There may be caravans that owners happily fix faults on and say nothing. There may be caravan owners who accept poor quality as they always have done. In our ownership of a flagship caravan, we have had over 40 faults so far. What will we find on our next adventure? The tool kit, Fred Carno guidebook, bodge tape and sense of humour is all packed ready for the off.
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