Discounts on Hymers !!

[Guest Gordon]

Sorry it was not Shepton Mallet that the Hymers were reduced in price last year. Was on the Hymer UK stand at Stratford Racecourse in June 2004. S-Class,B-Class and B-Classic Hymers were selling with a 17.5% discount.Clearance stock of course ?. Will it happen again this year ?? OK this was printed in MMM Sept 2004 .

[Guest Docted]

Just goes to show how much the mark-up is if prices can be reduced by 17.5%. You can bet your bottom dollar they are still making a profit at the reduced price.

[Guest PeteC]

JUST WHY PEOPLE BUY hYMERS BEATS ME They are no better in quality than several other makes They have less facilities and less engine power & use more fuel than my own van wich was 50% cheaper and has 100% more payload

[Guest William R Dunstone]

Hi PeteC, That's a very provocative shout you have just made, I am sure backed by lots of research into all the different models. I haven't done that research but I suspect that there are hundred of thousands of us who say you are wrong. It may even be that the other makes which are no better are also amde by Hymer!! Enjoy your 'van. BillD

[Guest Derek Uzzell]

Me, I couldn't care less why people buy Hymers. I'm sure those who do have as good reasons for so doing as I do for choosing not to. However, if you are one of those motorcaravanners who think there is nothing to surpass a 'van with a Hymer badge on the front, there is statistical evidence to give PeteC's claim credence. In December 2003 the German magazine "ProMobil" published results of its 'satisfaction' survey that involved responses from 19,000 motorhome owners. The survey gave owner satisfaction ratings for the various makes by design type (over-cab, low profile or A-class) and overall. Hymer's overall score placed it 15th on the list and, even if we ignore small-production makes such as Phoenix (the 'winner' incidentally), this was still behind major players like Eura Mobil, Frankia, Rapido, Hobby, Laika and Adria. Even in the A-class category - a Hymer speciality one would think - Concorde was a clear leader, with Frankia and Flair in 2nd and 3rd, and Hymer well back in 5th place just behind Eura Mobil. One man's (or woman's) perfect motorhome will invariably be another's loathe-at-first-sight, particularly if you are a picky beggar. At the 2004 NEC show, I recall telling a Brownhills salesman I would never buy in RHD form the latest Rapido Fiat-based A-class 'van, nor a RHD Hymer A-Class. I maintained that neither design had been properly adapted to RHD and the Hymer (with a large price premium for RHD) even had a LHD windscreen-wiper pattern still. This last comment triggered a tirade from the salesman about Hymer's attitude to the UK market and to their customers generally. The Brownhills guy said he had witnessed at the Dusseldorf Show a German Hymer rep being openly rude and aggressive to someone who had dared make a mild criticism of Hymer caravan design. Apparently the rep had said something on the lines of, "If you can't recognise the best designed and built caravan on the market, there's no hope for you," turned his back and walked away from the dumb-founded fellow. The Brownhills salesman then proceeded to give an unasked-for opinion on Hymer A-Class prices versus Rapido's (the latter representing good value and about 50% of the former's extra cost being justified, with the remaining 50% just for the Hymer name), followed by disparaging (and, for all I know, accurate) comments on the UK Hymer Club's elitism. Controversial stuff motorcaravanning, eh!?

[Maddie]

I must say that there are loads of people who love Hymers. If you have a look through the adverts, it is mostly Hymers that are for sale. We have owned 4 Adria's and our last one the Adria 660sp, which is a LHD, is up for sale. Not because I don't like them anymore but for health reasons. It is just so personal. Maddie

[Guest JudgeMental]

I am always amazed at how personally some take any criticism of hymer. they are not as highly regarded in Europe and surveys show them well down the list on quality they must spend a fortune on advertising and creating attractive (on the surface anyway) product .Always having the main hall at major shows etc and swarms gather around the super flash product. but the skin and under it tells a different story. Hymer trade on past glory's a bit like Mercedes. in the past they built indestructible campers which are still on the road. I slept in a 90's one at dealers recently when work was being done on my van. it was so well built it felt like an airplane rather then a motorhome, quality was everywhere except for the faded upholstery.... now days they are nothing like this. low tech old fashioned and heavy production. wood frames and lots of screws and aluminum shells. when more enlightened manufacturers such as EuraMobil have moved with the times and use modern aircraft style technology. GRP shells (stronger & damage resident) aluminum frames (lighter stronger) and even their low cost models have double floors and use better windows then hymer..... EuraMobil De. need their collective heads examined, as Brownhills are main UK dealer. Consequently they hardly promote EuraMobil at all, and never have them at shows(not when I was looking anyway)They are far to busy with Hymer.*-) So a great marketing strategy keeps them well regarded, but as others have said on this thread they are no better then a lot of far cheaper manufacturers and a long way behind the better ones......

[ned]

Nothing like a big stick to stir the pot is there. The simple answer ,we have found is that there isn't a van to suit everyone and the Hymer officiandos obviously like their chosen product for a large number of reasons. It seems to me that the manufacturers products tend to go in cycles. ie the old sine wave system. I can remember the old Autosleepers domination of the quality end of the market and, in the complacency to market trends, eventually lost the plot for a while. It was an exspensive and painful clawback in order to identify what they did well and what was utter crap! I notice now that they seem to be aiming for a niche market and presumerably doing much better. Yes the quality of the fitting out has deteriorated in the Hymer range and I could list a whole catalogue of very small, minor blemishes that continue to be put into their design. However the market is developing fast with large conglomerates now holding onto the names of many marques to the extent that I bet 75% of those buying new vans haven't a clue who the 'parent' company is. We have owned 3 Autosleepers which we got rid of for a number of dated design reasons. We had a Autotrail 660 which gave us the best quality fit out inside but the rest of the van was dismal ( for our uses) when I retired and we went motorhoming throughout the year. We have looked at the continental offerings and the cheaper end of the market makes IKEA look like Chippendale furniture, whereas, Hymer, Frankia, Knuas, Cathargo all seem reasonably well built but 'loads of dosh'' Well like most other people we set our limit, did the rounds of the shows, decided not to buy new and went for the layout we really loved when we had our Amethyst Autosleeper and plumped for a...... wait for it... Hymer 544 for £35000 with 7000 miles and a year and a half old. Yes there have been little niggles with drawers that fall out and outside locker catches that spring out of the locked position at times but it does take us skiing three times a year in comfort and it rolls along nicely at 70 making 27mpg. Yes it is a compromise but we love it. The only thing is I don't go around preaching the gospel according to St Hymer. However, the wife is casting ominous glances across the buttocks of a Rapido 997DF A class? She seems to think it has all the masculinity of that rather large long haired French rugby player from the recent World cup. Ned

[davenewellhome]

Eddie, where do you get this idea that aluminium skin over timber frame with styrene or polyurethane insulation is heavier than GRP over timber or aluminium frame with styrene or PU insulation? The GRP skin is significantly heavier than the ally skin and 25mm sq 3mm wall ally tube is about the same weight as 25mm sq timber. D.

[Guest JudgeMental]

I dont think I said GRP as a material was lighter then aluminium. aluminium tears, dents, scratches and is far easier to damage then GRP. a severe hail storm can destroy an aluminium roof. and I have had a van that was torn by a branch that I did not see and quite severely damaged as well.... Plus moisture and wood frames don't mix that well either. they can absorb water and distort. wood is really unnecessary in modern construction methods. look on a building site you hardly see any wood compared to 20 years ago. if you are happy with heavy low tech by all means go ahead but why pay the inflated price that some charge when other similar vans are much cheaper. I know from my own experience of trying to find a family sized hightop van with reasonable payload that it is quite difficult. in fact I had given up until I discovered the one I eventually purchased. whilst it is not fault free it is a long way ahead of Hymer in technology and standard of fittings....

[davenewellhome]

[QUOTE]JudgeMental - 2008-02-06 4:52 AM I dont think I said GRP as a material was lighter then aluminium. aluminium tears, dents, scratches and is far easier to damage then GRP. a severe hail storm can destroy an aluminium roof. and I have had a van that was torn by a branch that I did not see and quite severely damaged as well.... Plus moisture and wood frames don't mix that well either. they can absorb water and distort. wood is really unnecessary in modern construction methods. look on a building site you hardly see any wood compared to 20 years ago. if you are happy with heavy low tech by all means go ahead but why pay the inflated price that some charge when other similar vans are much cheaper. I know from my own experience of trying to find a family sized hightop van with reasonable payload that it is quite difficult. in fact I had given up until I discovered the one I eventually purchased. whilst it is not fault free it is a long way ahead of Hymer in technology and standard of fittings.... [/QUOTE] Eddie, you need to look a bit closer at modern motorhome construction, almost all of them still use wooden frames, there are only a small number that use an alternative like ally tube for framing. I do accept that GRP sidewalls are more damage resistant than ally skin. "if you are happy with heavy low tech" There you go again saying that the alternative to your chosen construction is "heavy", it is not! "look on a building site you hardly see any wood compared to 20 years ago." Actually I totally disagree with this statement. There is more wood than ever being used in modern house building, most internal walls are timber framed and there is a growing number of houses being built with the main structure being timber framed and a single brick skin put up around it. D.

[Mickt]

Agree Dave on more wood then ever in new houses . I have just spent the last 30 odd years in the building trade and a modern house in a lot of cases is no more than an elaborate shed.

[Guest JudgeMental]

I was talking about large scale construction not house building. where the only job left for chippys was hanging doors.... Yes it is true that wood has made a comeback in housebuilding presumably based on cost not sustainability....

[davenewellhome]

That's a poor squirming method Judge, you never specified what type of building site. Anyway, I'd be prepared to suggest that there hasn't been much change in the amount of timber used in industrial construction over the last twenty years either. But all this is besides the point, the majority of motorhomes are still built on a timber frame, regardless of the final skin material. I know 'cos I drill holes in 'em 8-) ;-) D.

[Guest JudgeMental]

squirming? Dave, I can only speak from my perspective and experience? I have been involved in construction all my life and have been for the last 6 years on the Kings Cross project (800 million and rising) I can assure you there is no wood not even doors, so no work for the poor old wood butchers there either.... this is how EuraMobil do it with lightweight laminates as well as oposed to cheap chip board like some use (again based on my experience) Click here I had given up trying to find a winterised double floor family van within 3500Kg with a reasonable payload until eurasmobil introduced the "Profila" range

[davenewellhome]

So Euro Mobil use ally tube frames, no surprise there but they are still in the minority and they also still use some timber in the assembly of the body. As for the furniture, I can't remember ever seeing one that used chipboard. As for construction sites, well as I've already said industrial construction hasn't used much timber for decades. D.