Hi
Our Barcelona as had the brake issues, but that is with AL-ko for them to sort out.
And at 8 months i would not expect that.
We did look at an 8' Elddis, and found that build quality was poor on the side dinette, end bed model that we was looking at.
So we stayed with the Bailey, and they are not perfect by any means!!!!!!
Its about time that all manufacturers, and dealers, whoever they are hold to account more than they are at present.
We all pay a lot for the van we buy, be it second hand or brand new.
And we all should expect a better service.
As for the main clubs feeding back to them, they are only in it for the money as well, along with the dealers, and do not want to rock the boat to much.
Why are we paying £££s to attend a caravan and camping show, it should be free.
The manufacturer should foot that bill. (In your Dreams).
If it was not for us the buyer, they would not be business to sell the van or motor home to us.
Things need to change, but they not as the clubs are that far up the ass of the manufacturer.
I took the then caravan club to task about a Bailey Unicorn that came out of the factory with a nose weight well over 100 kg which was max for the chassis.Add. Calor lite and you would have serious problems.The Club said they were aware of the problem .However they had not warned customers in the magazine.
I also asked why they had not tested the van as it was a best seller ,first of the Alu tec style. They said they only test vans submitted to them by manufacturers. Thus no bad ones would be tested.
Quote: Originally posted by misterg on 13/11/2019
I took the then caravan club to task about a Bailey Unicorn that came out of the factory with a nose weight well over 100 kg which was max for the chassis.Add. Calor lite and you would have serious problems.The Club said they were aware of the problem .However they had not warned customers in the magazine.
I also asked why they had not tested the van as it was a best seller ,first of the Alu tec style. They said they only test vans submitted to them by manufacturers. Thus no bad ones would be tested.
Both clubs claim to act on behalf of us, but nothing could be further from the truth.
We swapped our no problem Lunar Clubman for a brand new 2018 Coachman, the problems started from day 1 when we left the dealer without the van to be collected 4 weeks later. Every time we went away we ended back at the dealer as the van was unsafe......no external lights; water scalding hot; doors falling off onto us; shower rail falling off and finally gas leak from the back of the fridge. We owned it for 1 year but only managed 17 nights away as the rest of the time it was at the dealer. Gave up and sold it back to the dealer after one year of ownership, final straw was the squeaking floorboards which were blamed on ourselves and our towing......having owned caravans since the early 80’s I think I can safely say we are not boy racers when it comes to towing!
------------- Started with a motorbike and tent.......my gallery, my life.
Quote: Originally posted by issym on 02/12/2019
We swapped our no problem Lunar Clubman for a brand new 2018 Coachman, the problems started from day 1 when we left the dealer without the van to be collected 4 weeks later. Every time we went away we ended back at the dealer as the van was unsafe......no external lights; water scalding hot; doors falling off onto us; shower rail falling off and finally gas leak from the back of the fridge. We owned it for 1 year but only managed 17 nights away as the rest of the time it was at the dealer. Gave up and sold it back to the dealer after one year of ownership, final straw was the squeaking floorboards which were blamed on ourselves and our towing......having owned caravans since the early 80’s I think I can safely say we are not boy racers when it comes to towing!
Hopefully you got a FULL refund plus compensation from the dealer.
We bought a Sterckeman five years ago ... it has been brilliant, and, still looks brand new ... a couple of minor glitches (a drawer slider and a cable clip) are the only problems we've had over 43 weeks of touring.
I think that you just pay your money and take your chance with any manufacturer. Our previous two caravans were Bailey and we didn’t have a single problem with either of them, not even minor glitches. However, we met people on sites with exactly the same caravan as us, made in the same year, and they were overrun with problems. Our current caravan is a Swift and we had no end of problems with it in the first year. Our very good dealer sorted them all out very quickly and hopefully now we are approaching the end of the second year, most things are sorted. There are still a few minor issues that have arisen this year which will be sorted at our second service in January but no major issues. However, we have met many swift owners who have never had any problems with the same caravan so I think a lot of it comes down to luck!
To be honest, the most important consideration in my opinion is to buy from a dealer who has an excellent reputation for looking after their customers after they have bought from them. Many dealers are great, up to the point you hand over your money and then, they couldn’t care less about the problems you have and it becomes a very stressful situation to get things sorted out.
Choose your dealer very carefully and hopefully whatever make of caravan you buy, they will be able to sort out any problems that arise quickly and easily.
IMHO the quality of the caravan depends on when you order the caravan. If early in the year before the October NEC you will have very few problems. If ordered late for delivery in June/July then expect a caravan with loads of problems as the workers are tired of doing the same job every day for the past year and just want to finish to go on holiday.
Quote: Originally posted by iank01 on 12/12/2019
IMHO the quality of the caravan depends on when you order the caravan. If early in the year before the October NEC you will have very few problems. If ordered late for delivery in June/July then expect a caravan with loads of problems as the workers are tired of doing the same job every day for the past year and just want to finish to go on holiday.
😂😂😂
------------- a tent, folding camper and 6 caravans later ... June
I had a Swift Conqueror for 8 years and only one minor problem that was sorted by the dealer under warranty.
We've just bought a 2020 Elddis Avante 454 and I've been making a few "improvements" to it. Mainly fitting extra sockets as I like to be able to charge my phone next to my bed at night.
I've been underneath it and in many nooks and crannies inside it and frankly I'm impressed with the build standard.
I will continue to carry a few tools, screwdriver, pliers, spanners etc just in case there is a problem but it all looks really well built (and having the fixed bed in a two berth van is luxury)
------------- We camped for years. In 2019 we bought an Elddis Avante 454. We like it as it is short (6.9m) and fits in our driveway and has a fixed bed.
We had 127 nights away in the caravan in 2023.
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: Build quality
via mobile 19/11/2019 at 3:30pm
