3 Battery charger / mains units (Third one replaced by swift for a stelling unit after the dreaded nordelectronica problems
3 Episodes of Damp, all repaired by Swift, but second repair badly handled by Lowdham Caravans who basically lied to me for 6 months about the replacement parts:( and the damp re appeared in the same area as the first that Lowdham were supposed to have repaired?
Toilet seal leaked in the first year
Fridge tried to kill us 3 times, twice with carbon monoxide in the van (thank goodness for detectors, and yes it was supposedly serviced), 3rd time it packed up altogether causing food poisoning and despite numerous repair attempts and £300 in parts it is now gone and replaced with a compressor fridge and additional solar capacity for the off grid caravanning we do! Really bad sealing and ventilation/flue system on the Thetford fridges. Compressor fridge has got to be the way forward for caravans now. Really quiet, very cold in all temperatures, including above 25 celcius when normal 3 way fridges can struggle, and with an extra battery and solar we could easily cope indefinitely without hook up!
Hot water heater blown fuse, weird but been OK since?
"Chimney" on top of heater flue fell off in first year, not covered under warranty according to Swift???
Flush pump on toilet replaced twice under warranty, now with uprated pump and no problems. (anti freeze in the system over winter!)
Flush switch on toilet failed twice, now OK after repair by myself again
Front cabinet just fell to bits, so had to be repaired by myself again
All in all, not a great van. We often joke when we go away as to what will fail this time, but hopefully I have repaired most of the things myself and in my opinion it is a better caravan than new with the Mods I have done. I would be slightly reluctant to buy a swift again, but on the whole we do like our van now, and have had some great holidays in it!
Quote: Originally posted by akwillows on 02/9/2015
Swift Charisma 560, 2008, bought new in 2009
Where to start??
3 Battery charger / mains units (Third one replaced by swift for a stelling unit after the dreaded nordelectronica problems
3 Episodes of Damp, all repaired by Swift, but second repair badly handled by Lowdham Caravans who basically lied to me for 6 months about the replacement parts:( and the damp re appeared in the same area as the first that Lowdham were supposed to have repaired?
Toilet seal leaked in the first year
Fridge tried to kill us 3 times, twice with carbon monoxide in the van (thank goodness for detectors, and yes it was supposedly serviced), 3rd time it packed up altogether causing food poisoning and despite numerous repair attempts and £300 in parts it is now gone and replaced with a compressor fridge and additional solar capacity for the off grid caravanning we do! Really bad sealing and ventilation/flue system on the Thetford fridges. Compressor fridge has got to be the way forward for caravans now. Really quiet, very cold in all temperatures, including above 25 celcius when normal 3 way fridges can struggle, and with an extra battery and solar we could easily cope indefinitely without hook up!
Hot water heater blown fuse, weird but been OK since?
"Chimney" on top of heater flue fell off in first year, not covered under warranty according to Swift???
Flush pump on toilet replaced twice under warranty, now with uprated pump and no problems. (anti freeze in the system over winter!)
Flush switch on toilet failed twice, now OK after repair by myself again
Front cabinet just fell to bits, so had to be repaired by myself again
All in all, not a great van. We often joke when we go away as to what will fail this time, but hopefully I have repaired most of the things myself and in my opinion it is a better caravan than new with the Mods I have done. I would be slightly reluctant to buy a swift again, but on the whole we do like our van now, and have had some great holidays in it!
sounds more like a bailey,anyway,enjoy,guy next door has a swift,nice but his awning rail leaked,and its 4 years newer than mine.good looking van though
------------- i dont sell cheap tat.I sell tat cheap
Yes,
we are very happy with our 2005 Lunar 462 that we bought privately, part-exchanging our 1998 Bailey Pageant Magenta for a good price too. It's lighter than more modern caravans but with all the necessary facilities.
We have been to France and Spain as well as the UK with no problems
Those of you criticising the so called "moaners", has it occurred to you that there might be some justification in their moaning, which might just be justified criticism.
I have taken the trouble to count the number of second hand caravans I have owned since I started caravanning and I would say that I have been happy with the first seven, which were all second hand including the first one which cost less than 400 quid.
My current caravan, also my first new one, a Bailey Unicorn Valencia, purchased six months ago, is the most expensive mistake of my life.
I won't go into the numerous faults, but every holiday finds new ones and I started it off on a previous post not long after I bought it, so I won't drone on about it.
I have to keep it to try to get some money's worth before I can ditch it, but was it a YTS project or am I misguided in expecting some value for the 22 grand I parted with.
All I can say is that I will eat my own liver before I buy another Bailey.
I should say that the Dealers have done their best, the Service Dept. at least, although I can sense their embarrassment.
The Sales people are the same as sales people anywhere - full of bull**** and once they've got your money, they move on to the next sap.
Having said that, the paint job is nice, the lighting system is good and I've just had a nice holiday, but don't expect me to bull**** myself that I've got a good caravan - I've just got to live with it.
To see if we would like the idea of caravaning we bought a 2002 Bailey Pageant Monarch which we have had for 5 years now, and it has been faultless. We love the van, and because of it we love caravaning.
Strangely, I spoke to a person in the trade recently, with many years experience, and when I told her what I had her words were "those were the days' a REAL Bailey" So what has happened? I am looking to buy a new van, brand new, and love the look of the 2016 Bailey Unicorn Seville, it is without doubt the best two berth to look at with the full height fridge and all. But reading the horror stories with new vans, not just Bailey I must add, I am thinking I may just revamp the old girl for a grand or so and keep her.
TBH, if I did spend that kind of money on a new van and experienced issues, I would personally kick in the doors of the manufacturer and cause them so much grief they will pay me to go away......I would never give up. If your product does not work it is not fit for purpose,take it back and demand a refund, involve the Consumer Ombudsman, Trading Standards, CAB, CCC/CC and this wonderful forum. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 gives you the right to a 30 day refund by law as of today also.
Sadly Mike your rights are still pretty limited. Yes I could kick the doors down both at Swift and at Baileys. Their first option is to repair the van. Yes my Bailey is now repaired and now better than new, which does not say much for the new condition. I now have a van which is just over a year old, which I do not trust with a silly seam across the middle of the roof kept watertight by a thin strip of plastic and a bit of mastic. However, there was no recompense for the ruined holiday or the 5 weeks at the start of the season it was off the road.
I cannot complain to any of the people you mention, because the van has been repaired. The 30 day refund is of little use when the van is 11 months old and water pours through the roof and onto the fixed bed. My options are now to sell it and lose out selling after the first year, or keep it for several years until I do not lose out too much, or find a campsite where I can be certain it will be swallowed by a sinkhole in the middle of the night and claim the insurance.
I fully agree with your last sentence, and if we want better built vans that don't cost the earth then forums like this perhaps give us our best voice.
Such a sad situation with the above post, I genuinely feel very sorry for you, it is just not good enough. The industry needs to sort itself out.
If or when I buy a new van, we will live in it for a week or two and if anything stops working it will be taken back within 30 days and a full refund demanded or a replacement van. We should all do this and perhaps the industry will give itself a good shake. Perhaps we should make it absolutely clear to both the dealer and the manufacturer that this is what will happen before we buy, effectively a trial period.
Now that would ensure quality checks/PDI is done to a high standard!
I am sorry if this has high jacked an absolutely fantastic topic.
I have a Elddis super sirocco 2014. Biggest load of s*ite have ever bought, to many things to list, Its on seasonal pitch and am not towing it to a dealer and dealer wants £40 every time he has to come to us. so give up on that one and found cheaper to sort things out myself. Wish i still had the swift conqueror 645.
------------- Roughing it in style at Calloose caravan and camping holiday park nr St Ives.(seasonal pitch)
Its not a hangover, its wine flu!
Quote: Originally posted by Mike3003 on 01/10/2015Such a sad situation with the above post, I genuinely feel very sorry for you, it is just not good enough. The industry needs to sort itself out.
Trouble is this was not my only dodgy new caravan. We've had 4 new vans. The first a Stirling (Swift Group) had a major damp repair in the first year, with Swift Customer Service non existent. It lasted another 3 years before it was a write-off with damp. We got a Bailey- damp in the first year. Very disillusioned we bought a French Trigano Silver, which we had for 5 happy years. No problems whatsoever, and no damp when we sold it.
Thinking that Alu-Tec would solve the damp issues we went back to a Bailey. How wrong we were.
Either British caravans are C$$$ or I ought to have won the lottery several times by now.
Well, due to this excellent topic SWMBO and I have decided to keep our 2002 Bailey Pageant Monarch, which has been faultless for 5 years and totally dry, instead of buying a new van.
The old girl will get a makeover, new external gas and power outlets and perhaps a shiny new solar panel. Apart from the upholstery I will do it myself and then finish it off with a dammed good servicing. Just like a new one without the hassle and depreciation.
Not to mention living where we do, I will not be too precious about the Devon hedge rash.
Our Avondale Sandmartin is 20 years old and we have had her for 18 years. We lived in her whilst working for the C&CC until we retired in 2002 and have been all over the country in her since. We love her to bits but she is beginning to show her age (like us) and so is our old car. It depends which gives up first --us, the van or the car. I am still the only driver and my hubby is 83 next. I will be 79 the end of this year so we shall see???
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: are you happy with your caravan
