looked at some new caravans yesterday was wandering what some of you thought about bailey vans.are they any good and what is the after sales service like,on the brochure its got a 10 year bodyshell integrity guarantee on closer look you can buy 4 years at cost option.Thinking if they are that confident why dont they give you the 10 years.for the price it should last that long.
no better or worse than any other make.warranties are good if all services are maintained and on time.we have a 2003 bailey without any issues.thats 9 years of good service
------------- the only silly question is the one you do not ask.
We've got a Bailey and can't fault it.
We had one small issue with it which turned out to be a thetford toilet design fault... easily rectified too at no cost.
Build quality is excellent. Not the lightest of vans but certainly nice and solid. No flimsy hardboard cupboard doors like our previous van.
Also, layout wise, actually seem to be designed by fellow caravanners with kids.
Agree with Michael, you tend to only hear stories about the ones that go wrong. Like Snagz we have a Series 7 and any little problems, (and these were with commonly supplied parts to most manufacturers) were rectified easily & FOC.
Speak as you find, we are completely satisfied with build quality, layout & aftersales service.
We are on our third brand new Bailey since starting caravanning 6 years ago.
The charges have purely been for layout changes & spec upgrades. Granted there have been a couple of little niggles, but they have been sorted under Bailey's warranty with no issues. One other good thing is that warranty work can be done at local dealers, you don't have to go back to where you bought the van from.
Bailey appear to design with function as a foremost consideration with bigger lockers than rival vans & stow away tables in sensible locations rather than under fixed beds. This ease of use counts for a fair bit in the ongoing use of the van.
video part 2 video 3
The videos just cover this make there are lots of other makes to choose from, choise is yours have lots of fun finding the right one
Quote: Originally posted by alpiner on 24/8/2012video part 2 video 3
The videos just cover this make there are lots of other makes to choose from, choise is yours have lots of fun finding the right one
Look at the state of the Bailey factory floor and the fact that the workers don't even wear overalls.
This is supposed to be a hi tech product but it certainly isn't a hi tech factory.
Had I seen this video before I bought my Bailey I might have chosen another product. The quality of manufacture is reasonably good but certainly could be better. Bits of mastic missing and ill fitting doors at the front.
It all depends what type of camping you do. We have looked on several occassions but never bought one. Yes they have all the latest gadgets in-great for the Uk but this creates weight! Microwaves generally built in and placed high up. Ive heard several horror stories of servicing costs.
I always look at storage yards and yes there are 20 year old ACe caravans,Lunars ,Avondales,etc etc. but hardly any Baileys from that period-why?!!
Quote: Originally posted by alpiner on 24/8/2012videopart 2 video 3
The videos just cover this make there are lots of other makes to choose from, choise is yours have lots of fun finding the right one
Look at the state of the Bailey factory floor and the fact that the workers don't even wear overalls.
This is supposed to be a hi tech product but it certainly isn't a hi tech factory.
Had I seen this video before I bought my Bailey I might have chosen another product. The quality of manufacture is reasonably good but certainly could be better. Bits of mastic missing and ill fitting doors at the front.
The actual design of the construction is high tech, name other caravan manufacturers who have moved away from wooden frames.
As to the state of the floor, it's obvious you've never worked on a production line. Clean Down happens at the end of every shift, whatever is being produced, even food production does the same. Because the line moves at a specified speed, and to stop production just to sweep up, looses double the amount that could have been created in that time. Due to having to re-start the line again.
As for uniforms, well I only ever got supplied with clothing at one Production company, outside of Food manufacturing, which used disposable overalls and aprons/hats/gloves. And that was only a pair of piques with the company logo on them.
If Bailey's were made by robots, would you or anyone pay the cost they would have to charge, to cover the development and installation of the robots? Because the market is so small, you'd be looking at a caravan costing over £50,000 , maybe even £100,000. Car Manufacturers have economic reasons to use robots, because they produce hundreds of thousands of units, each individual line is produced in more units, per year, than the whole of the UK Caravan industry has produced in the last 30 years.
Bailey took a huge leap when they designed and produced the Alu Tec building system. Other Caravan Manufactures, are still using methods from the 50's and 60's and earlier, Wooden frames supporting a external skin.
Personally I'm amazed it took any Caravan Manufacturer, so long with today's modern materials and design abilities, to completely drop the out dated Wooden frame/Outer skin building method.
Dave
------------- 2015 Dates
April Llyn Rhys Farm
August Barleylands Essex
September TBA
Halloween field in Bala sharing with Birds of Prey
We're on our second new Bailey caravan. Both have been Pageant Provence models, the first was a series5 & this one's a series7. Both were bought from our local dealer which is just up the road from us & they've been excellent people to deal with.
We're considering selling up next week when our holiday is over but were we to replace our van we'd walk straight back up the road and see our local dealer without a second thought. IMO, there's a lot to be said for buying close to home when it comes to service time.
Unless they've changed it, I think the Alu-Tec models have to have all the body bolts retourqued on the third service thereby making this a more costly service but one which has to be done to keep the warranty conditions intact.
bailey after sales and warranty has been first class so far, fortunately !
as far as im aware Bailey dropped the re-torqueing at year 3 service a few months ago meaning its same price to service as any other van
as for the production line , we would be in bother working like that at our place . housekeeping is for the whole shift not just the end of shift and if that means the manager putting his overalls on and lending a hand then so be it . 3 jobs in 24 years and they all provided uniform, and the range off ppe in current job is fantastic.
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: bailey vans
