Sorry, very dull thread but damn excited and I've run out of family and friends to tell - put a deposit down this weekend on a Geist Aktiv 565
Pick up the new (seconhand) car this week some time (Hyundai Santa Fe) and then the caravan on the 27th - unfortunately, won't be able to get away until the end of October which is HUGELY frustrating but not much I can do about it...
Hi, i would also like one of these models Aktiv 565 but cant afford it just yet, do you mind me asking where you have ordered from and did you get a deal, freebies thrown in etc or is it a case of paying list price. I would love to see some photos of the interior if this is possible when you have got it, the website does not show everything and it is a long way for us to see one in the flesh as such.
Hope you enjoy your new caravan, i am sure it will be wonderful.
Quote: Originally posted by Janette Rix on 14/9/2009
Hi, i would also like one of these models Aktiv 565 but cant afford it just yet, do you mind me asking where you have ordered from and did you get a deal, freebies thrown in etc or is it a case of paying list price. I would love to see some photos of the interior if this is possible when you have got it, the website does not show everything and it is a long way for us to see one in the flesh as such.
Hope you enjoy your new caravan, i am sure it will be wonderful.
Janette
We got ours from Elite caravans in Northampton. It is a 2007 model but not been owned before - my guess is that it has been sitting in a warehouse for 2 years in Germany. Because of that, however, we got £3.5k off the list price - we paid £10,500 and normal is £14,000.
Elite do not do discounts or freebies of any sort - as they say, if you go to the offical importer and pay the full price, then they will probably throw in a battery and spare wheel - fair point, IMO
If you go to the GeistforLife website (the official importer), they have an excellent virtual tour function which gives a very good impression of the interior - we had the same issue and had to travel 2 hours each way on the weekend to go up and see the van for the first time. However, really helped because we were going to get the 560 but decided that the 565 was better because of the full-size end bathroom. Strangely, Elite charge the same for the 560 and the 565, even though the official price is £1,000 different.
I must say that, although I know it is a German caravan and they are supposed to be the bees knees, initial impressions didn't suggest it was any better built than a Bailey, for example. To me, and it is my first caravan admittedly, they all seem to be pretty flimsy feeling - doors and walls are thin, floors give under my (18 stone) weight etc. Having said that, they're much more solid than our current tent
Very pleased for you, we love the 565 layout too but needed more seperatable living areas as we are in the process of becoming foster carers so the seperate side dinette and bunks at the back worked out better this time as the kids can be sort of seperate
If we hadn't needed this the 565 would have been our definite choice, Lovely van.
Very excited for you, Post some piccys when you get it,.
------------- Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.
Thanks - we spent about 2 hours going backwards and forwards between the 560 and 565 !!
We actually preferred the more open space of the 560 but one problem was the upholstery - white vinyl!! With kids??! It would be black in a week...the one we saw was already sold but Gary wasn't sure what the upholstery would be on ours if we had ordered it. The 565 had a nicer brown cloth on the main lounge (still the white vinyl on the side dinette but we'll live with that).
Also, we just thought that having the separate shower would give us the option to go to some of those smaller sites which didn't have full facilities....I would never fit in a normal caravan shower/bathroom!
So, just got to wait until November before we can use it...
The white vinyl sounds strange, we haven't heard or seen that on the UK spec vans is it one of the Australian spec's? Which might explain the price difference to the UK spec Geist have on their website? In which case you might need to be careful when looking at the Geist Direct website as the vans may be a different spec.
Quote: Originally posted by Ecocamping on 14/9/2009
The white vinyl sounds strange, we haven't heard or seen that on the UK spec vans is it one of the Australian spec's? Which might explain the price difference to the UK spec Geist have on their website? In which case you might need to be careful when looking at the Geist Direct website as the vans may be a different spec.
J
They insist they are UK spec but they are 2007 models, so maybe the materials and patterns changed between then and now?
The plate on the side of the van still showed the MTPLM as on the Geist website and I believe the Aussie-spec version was quite a bit heavier?
Personally, it doesn't bother me which spec it is, considering the cost saving. In fact, I might have preffered the Aussie spec as the extra weight, I believe, was in extra chassis strengthening and anything extra in that respect can only be good, no?
------------- 'In later life, you will be more disappointed with the things you didn't do than with the things you did.' - Mark Twain
White vinyl? That sounds odd, ours isn't like that although I must say the seat cushion coverings aren't the most pretty I have ever seen, doesn't matter to us though as we put throws on(kind of necessity with children and two dogs)
The 565 is very nice, you will have to join us on our hopefully upcoming Geist meet so we can have a nose, (no dates set as yet)
------------- Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.
Hope your pleased with your new car when you pick it up, we love our Hyundai (although not a santa fe) its a brilliant car and very comfortable.
We test drove the santa fe and both loved it but we decided we may need the 7 seats occasionally on the Trajet so bought that in the end. Would have loved a santa fe though!
We have 2006 AK 565 and friends have 2007 and none of us have the white seat covers. But then I do use white Ikea fleece throws!! which protect covers as they wash and dry easily and double up as blankets when its cold!
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: Spiffingly excited
