Hi again lol, my sister has a Avondale argente 550/4 2007 and she loves it, she's had it for nearly two years, it's lovely inside and seems really good quality, she was concerned about finding parts for it should ever the need arise, and her OH broke the front locker door, and they found one with no problems. She was told that a lot of parts ie lights fixings shower parts are generic on vans, so wouldn't have any issue finding replacements, and most parts can be found on eBay or at breakers. They love it and have no urge to change it, also as they are no longer in production, you seem to get lots more for your money.
------------- "I'm a fool for my dogs"
Adopt a rescue, rescue dogs make great pets, don't support puppy farms.
The road can be tough and rough,but what you put in you get back 10 x more.
I had the avondale sandmartin and loved it. We had to sell it due to financial circumstances but if I'm ever in a position again where I can afford storage then I'd definately buy another avondale
------------- Good cakes aren't cheap. Cheap cakes aren't good
our 1st caravan was an Avondale orestes 2 berth, she was our introduction to caravans and proved to be reliable, easy to tow ,if a bit basic, she was nowhere near the size of argente.
how-ever we've now moved onto a swift corniche but only because the price was right,if i could have found a similar Avondale at the same price we would have stuck with name.
i'd definitely have another avondale
------------- no tin tent outings booked as yet ,just another cruise in Sept' booked so far
we bought a rialto this year 11 year old looks like new dry as a bone its a 2 berth we down sized from a top of the range sterling twin wheeler that was 7 year old and can honastly say we prefer the avondale
Avondale caravans were manufactured about 7 miles from where I live so you get to hear local news fairly quick especially on the rally field and the reason why the company finally went into liquidation was due to Avondale's new customers sufferring from poor customer service as returns were increasing due to various faults. Dis-satisfied customers were expressing their angry views and some customers even part exchanged to a different brand name because they were fed up with the increasing problems after parting with hard earned cash. The company eventually started to get a bad reputation and so eventually the orders decreased until the company couldn't survive and compete against the other British caravan manufacturers. What I am advising is beware what you buy with an Avondale especially if it was one of their latest models as there could be underlying faults that are not visible. Older Avondale caravans did have a good reputation so it may be safer to look for an older model.
Watch out for cracks in the front and rear panels in 640/6's. Nice vans but badley made. Do a search on here you will find my comments from 2004/5 regarding Avondale. Good luck.
------------- "common sence is not so common"...Voltaire
We have a Dart 510-5 and been very happy with it. I have managed to update loads with e-bay and a local breaker. For what we paid we had a good van but showing its age now - 14 years old!!! The bathroom sink has cracked but we dont use it. The front door is rubbish, terrible trouble locking it. Floor has de-limated however doesnt effect its use.
The external damage is mainly due to husband and our employers reversing into it or dropping machinery next to it hence a lot of mastic filler.
Sadly its going next year for an ungrade to a 6 berth.
hate to throw a spanner in the works here , but we had an avondale dealer special based on the dart 510/5 , it was that bad we nick named it the crapondale , it spent more time at the supplying dealer ( south yorkshire caravans ) , for various endless faults, even they got fed up and fobbed us off to where we had to deal direct with avondale whom where nothing short of useless we bought it new and sold within 2 years with a whopping loss of approx 9k , i for one am happy avondale have gone bust , just desserts ?? i would not have one given me . i now own a swift, my second previous to these ,2 abbeys. and 1 elddiss , the swifts by far being the better van
------------- derbyshire bloke, born & bred, strong in t'arm, weak in t'ead
and remember only dead fish swim , with the flow!!
We have had our 17 year old Sandmartin for about 14 years now and love it. OK certain parts now need replacing but it is dry, comfortable and still looks good. The 'birds' were well made. We also had another Sandmartin before this one which was just as good.
We have a 14 year old Leda Pentland 6 berth caravan which we keep in France so only use 3 weeks a year. Every time we arrive on site we are always relieved to open the door and find the caravan in very good condition. The interior still looks quite modern, the layout suits our needs and the build quality is still very good. We would certainly recommend the older Avondale caravans.
we have an avondale 545/4 because after owning an elddis hurricane we wanted another avondale (before the eldiss we had a avondale mayfly)we are pleased with the present one and the feel of it
enjoy your caravan
------------- greyhounds love the caravan so much so they think it is their mobile kennel
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: Avondale owners
