AEC0303 Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 Well, the point is getting closer when me and OH take a punt at our first motorhome. Thanks for all the advice on my last message - VERY helpful and very much appreciated. Now we're focusing in on a Swift Bolero 630R (14,000 miles) or a Bessacarr E520 (4,000 miles) 6 months warranty on both.Bessacarr is currently £1,2500 more. Currently..... Yes, they are pretty much the same thing, rear lounge, Fiat based etc etc - you know this better than me. One is at SouthernMotorHomes in Taplow and the other at BuyAMotorHome near Southampton. Anyone got any experience at either of these ? sales and/or aftersales ? The guy at Southern is clearly a dedicated fan of motorhomes, and the chap at BuyAMotorHome knows his stuff too. Both are open to a decent deal. Appreciate any thoughts... Cheers Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 2009 so could well be 2008 manufacture so COULD be prone to the dreaded "judder" make sure they have had all the fixes..personally I would not go near anything before 2010 simply for peace of mind dont buy if no a/c or cruise control.. I suggest you read up on various forums how poorly these swift vans are put together... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 No personal experience of either Dealership. It appears Southern must be doing something right (from their website) 2011 "GOLD AWARD" for pre-owned Motorhomes awarded by Practical Motorhome Magazine. 2010 "Best Supplying Dealer" in Practical Motorhome Magazine Owner Satisfaction Awards 2009 Winner - MMM Southern Dealer of the Year. But they are both a long way from you, if any problems crop up. Or factor in an amount to cover fuel & time travelling. Another possible alternative - Autocruise Stardream, same layout but on the AL-KO chassis. (much better IMO) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Dwight Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 Southern motorhomes are pretty good, Sam and Mike have always been very pleasant and helpful when we have called in. They once did a very quick and reasonable priced job for us when we called on the spur of the moment as we were off on a trip. They bothed worked for one of the big MH dealerships and left when they were fed up with the attitude of that company, and have been doing good ever since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Needlesnotpins Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Despite the comments from Judgemental regarding aircon and cruise, you can have either retro fitted so don't let that sway you too much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 ....you put your location as "Midlands" which covers a multitude of sins. Both dealers are well South of what I would call "Midlands", one significantly so. Most posters on here would (I hope) agree that you are likely to get (at least) a few niggly problems in your early ownership of a 'van (even if, or possibly because, the previous owner has done some "fettling"). Consider how happy you would be to return, possibly more than once, to the original point of purchase in order to get such problems sorted out. The 'vans you are looking at are not entirely rare, so you might want to consider buying more locally. OTOH, if you are happy with the particular 'van and deal, buy in full knowledge that you may have to plan some time "commuting" to your dealer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Needlesnotpins - 2012-06-16 3:23 PM Despite the comments from Judgemental regarding aircon and cruise, you can have either retro fitted so don't let that sway you too much! really...that is easy is it. and how much? possibly £3-4000 would you think for both ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peacock312 Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 Hi, keep reading about the so called dreaded judders,my November 2009 Fiat Ducatto3ltr 160multijet carrying a Adria s670sl mgw 4005kgs has never juddered once,in foreward or reverse,its now covered over16000mls,many of them towing a clio on a Aframe,up and down hills in Spain and France plus UK. So not every van suffers these problems as some reports suggest, am i just lucky, or am i a better driver? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolandrat Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 The 3ltr transmission is totally different to the 2.3ltr and judder shouldn't be a problem but it has been pointed out that the 2.3ltr has had judder related problems and is very true. The genuine 2010 onward models have a different gearbox setup and are judder free. Regarding air con and cruise control you are better buying one that is already fitted with them, I certainly wouldn't go down the road of having air con retro fitted, just a load of hassle. Southern motorhomes I think would be your best bet if you need to travel out of your area to buy one. Good Luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 PLUS an after fit a/c will probably invalidate the Fiat warranty 8-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AEC0303 Posted June 17, 2012 Author Share Posted June 17, 2012 UPDATE --- UPDATE--- ALMOST THERE, but NOT quite... Well, what an exciting weekend….but still no motorhome !! We went to dealer#1 and saw again (second time there) a nice looking Bolero, spend an hour playing with it, and then were joined by the sales chap for a test drive. I really don’t know what made more annoying noise the motorhome or the flippin sales man who just would not shut up!!. Felt like he was wittering away simply to distract me from the deafening rattles and squeeks, and no matter mow much he said that they could all be fixed with a few rubber pads, I’m sorry, but somehow his incessant chatter just didn’t make me feel easy. He let slip that he’s selling the Bolero on behalf of a previous customer and did not actually own the thing…is that normal?? Seemed willing to negotiate, but would not name his price. Basically his sales patter )and boy was there a lot of it) was ‘take it leave it’ but at the same time ’please, please, please, please buy it…please’; very strange. Afraid that the confidence drained away the more he wittered on…and on… and his comment that ‘all the rattles would be sorted out pre-collection’ just was not convincing. We all know from owning cars that rattles can drive you mad and are bloody hard to sort. Hmmmmm. Dealer#2 has the Bessacarr E520 equivalent – same layout, different trim. Seemed to make a nice effort with getting things looking nice for us to view (OH very taken initially, esp with all the clever blinds drawn and the little lights glimmering). Beautifully presented, no knocks, was absolutely ‘as new’ condition, only 4,000 miles on the clock, price about OK (all about value for me, and not price). (…and had Aircon!). Driving had a fraction of the rattles of the Bolero, still had a couple but they were ok. Nicer to drive too, but couldn’t say how…just that feeling. Was ‘right on the cusp’ with the E520 and then some ‘inner voice’ was saying to me ‘pause’. What did it was the dreaded satnav. Not the satnav per se, but that set off a little train of confidence knockers. Supposed to be a manufacturers fit, with integral reverse camera display, (looked so like an aftermarket unit, detachable display etc), but the unit was not there for us to see functioning. Reluctantly the sales chap went and got the unit, and I plugged it in …and it didn’t work. This right after listening to him say that ‘absolutely everything had been fully checked and was in full working order’. I asked for a quick view of their inspection reports…errr, no. Damp check report….no. MOT….no. 1st service record/log…errr no. But if I were to pay the price (today, in full), then it’d all be available when I came to collect in a couple of weeks time. So, I’m in that horrid place …rock and hard place. I definitely want one, the Bessacarr E520 is really nice and I’d be totally happy with it…but am not quite confident in the seller to part with £30-odd thousand quid Am I nuts ???? Should I snap his arm off ?? I’d be pretty sure he’d accept a lower offer, saving me a couple of thousand at least…. If it were a car dealership who couldn’t answer these sort of basic questions, then I’d be out of there faster than you can say “Watchdog”. But….should I have a different mindset with Motorhome dealers ??? ...and if so, why?? Would really appreciate the views on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnerontheroad Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 AEC0303 - 2012-06-17 9:41 PM UPDATE --- UPDATE--- ALMOST THERE, but NOT quite... Well, what an exciting weekend….but still no motorhome !! We went to dealer#1 and saw again (second time there) a nice looking Bolero, spend an hour playing with it, and then were joined by the sales chap for a test drive. I really don’t know what made more annoying noise the motorhome or the flippin sales man who just would not shut up!!. Felt like he was wittering away simply to distract me from the deafening rattles and squeeks, and no matter mow much he said that they could all be fixed with a few rubber pads, I’m sorry, but somehow his incessant chatter just didn’t make me feel easy. He let slip that he’s selling the Bolero on behalf of a previous customer and did not actually own the thing…is that normal?? Seemed willing to negotiate, but would not name his price. Basically his sales patter )and boy was there a lot of it) was ‘take it leave it’ but at the same time ’please, please, please, please buy it…please’; very strange. Afraid that the confidence drained away the more he wittered on…and on… and his comment that ‘all the rattles would be sorted out pre-collection’ just was not convincing. We all know from owning cars that rattles can drive you mad and are bloody hard to sort. Hmmmmm. Dealer#2 has the Bessacarr E520 equivalent – same layout, different trim. Seemed to make a nice effort with getting things looking nice for us to view (OH very taken initially, esp with all the clever blinds drawn and the little lights glimmering). Beautifully presented, no knocks, was absolutely ‘as new’ condition, only 4,000 miles on the clock, price about OK (all about value for me, and not price). (…and had Aircon!). Driving had a fraction of the rattles of the Bolero, still had a couple but they were ok. Nicer to drive too, but couldn’t say how…just that feeling. Was ‘right on the cusp’ with the E520 and then some ‘inner voice’ was saying to me ‘pause’. What did it was the dreaded satnav. Not the satnav per se, but that set off a little train of confidence knockers. Supposed to be a manufacturers fit, with integral reverse camera display, (looked so like an aftermarket unit, detachable display etc), but the unit was not there for us to see functioning. Reluctantly the sales chap went and got the unit, and I plugged it in …and it didn’t work. This right after listening to him say that ‘absolutely everything had been fully checked and was in full working order’. I asked for a quick view of their inspection reports…errr, no. Damp check report….no. MOT….no. 1st service record/log…errr no. But if I were to pay the price (today, in full), then it’d all be available when I came to collect in a couple of weeks time. So, I’m in that horrid place …rock and hard place. I definitely want one, the Bessacarr E520 is really nice and I’d be totally happy with it…but am not quite confident in the seller to part with £30-odd thousand quid Am I nuts ???? Should I snap his arm off ?? I’d be pretty sure he’d accept a lower offer, saving me a couple of thousand at least…. If it were a car dealership who couldn’t answer these sort of basic questions, then I’d be out of there faster than you can say “Watchdog”. But….should I have a different mindset with Motorhome dealers ??? ...and if so, why?? Would really appreciate the views on this. Walk away there are loads of M/H out there, if it does not feel right it is'nt. Keep looking Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 AEC0303 - 2012-06-17 9:41 PM and then were joined by the sales chap for a test drive. I really don’t know what made more annoying noise the motorhome or the flippin sales man who just would not shut up!!. The oldest trick in the book of dodgy second hand car dealers! *-) they chatter away, asking questions etc...to take your mind of the test drive. I was ta an electric bike show saturday and the same thing happened....Was test riding a £3k + bike and salesman insisted on riding along, kept asking me stuff and nattering away all the time, so I could not concentrate..the ride was a waste of time, as I can honestly say I was as clueless afterwards as before *-) "He let slip that he’s selling the Bolero on behalf of a previous customer and did not actually own the thing…is that normal??" NO not normal, but not uncommon and another con trick....as when you go back with the faults they will say nothing to do with them...You also need to check the providence as have they the right to sell it? For heavens sake just buy privately, a good few vans on MMM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Have a look at the link for a dealer nearer (SYMC) to you & their Swift Motorhome event starts Wednesday. http://www.swiftgroup.co.uk/dealer-events Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred22 Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Hi have a look at Stafford Motor homes on the A5 between Gailey Island and Weston. Seems a decent guy although most of his stock is sometimes LHD http://www.stafford-motorhomes.co.uk Also a large dealer at the rear of Dobbies nursery on Gailey Island. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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