arjxh56 Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 Hi, I had the MIzar GTL Living (2008) for a period of time and it was great. Dont ask why, but i ended up selling it and now want another one! Anyway.. I have struggled to find one for sale, let alone in the spec i would like, despite trying to look everywhere possible, even abroad, i am now considering the Kontiki 649 as it had a similar layout in the dining area. I would like a god dining layout for kids to eat, but also when kids go to bed this becomes our lounge for the evenings. I have no knowledge of the Kontiki and have tried registering on the swift forums but admin hasnt come back and approved the request yet. So what do you think of the Konitki? Has anyone got one and can give me any tips? Things that concern me are... * Damp Ingress / build quality - I am paranoid about damp due to being bitten in the past. Its a nightmare to deal with and so would like to avoid this at all costs! * Its about 5ft longer than the Mizar and so wondering if people find this a nightmare for villages, parking, etc.. The Mizar was fine most of the time. * The prices are WAY higher than i thought they would be second hand. Is this the norm or do they depreciate fast? I realise the 649 only came into production late 2009? * Single beds/lounge - The mizar had bunks for the kids (age 2 and 3) and this was great. Has anyone used the rear lounge as kids beds? Does it work well? The other thing i was also going to add... i notice that Kontiki have now changed the scheme on the vans (from Silver back end to white with stickers). Do you think this will impact the value of the silver ones drastically? Other than Euro 5 Fiat and the colour scheme, do you know if the build has changed in any way??? Many thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 arjxh56 - 2012-10-08 2:10 PM Things that concern me are... * Damp Ingress / build quality - I am paranoid about damp due to being bitten in the past. Its a nightmare to deal with and so would like to avoid this at all costs! If you are paranoid abut damp why would you consider a Swift - they are the market leaders in damp. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 Have to agree with Lenny last van I would consider!......I think you are right to be concerned and your list makes sense.....Surely better vans around from the likes of Adria/hymer/Hobby/burstner/Rapdo/TEC etc...etc... are you sure you looked properly on www.mobile.de as even though £ sliding a bit, if Mitzar a CI van 74 on there form 2010. Euro vans make economic sense as long as happy with LHD regards kids, they dont stay little for very long....and will soon prefer to sleep in a tent outside :-D I would also be very concerned re payloads with 4 and all their stuff *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arjxh56 Posted October 8, 2012 Author Share Posted October 8, 2012 Are Swift Kontiki really that bad for Damp/Water ingress? I didnt realise. Is it the build quality or the way they're built etc.. whay are they so bad and what should i look out for if i do decide to go don the Swift route ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolly1965 Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 I'm Swift are no worse than the foreign brands such as Adria/hymer/Hobby/burstner/Rapdo/TEC etc...etc... You may find many people are anti British for some reason or another But then I own a Swift group van... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnerontheroad Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 Bolly1965 - 2012-10-08 7:42 PM I'm Swift are no worse than the foreign brands such as Adria/hymer/Hobby/burstner/Rapdo/TEC etc...etc... You may find many people are anti British for some reason or another But then I own a Swift group van... The same reason you don't get any British M/H made in LHD and sold in Europe they are cr*p, I would love to buy British. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 Doh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 Swift have a terrible name for damp & water ingress almost as bad a Lunar (I'm talking from experience with Lunar) I would never buy a British Motorhome absolute rubbish. Quote from a previous thread " My little Autoquest 115 has exposed wood all round the rear wheel arches with the trim piece only covering about 3/4 of the exposed 1" thick wood skirt. As a result of this constant spray the wood has softened and the retaining screws on the trim are no longer secure." Now that's British build quality for you.(lol) If you were ever so unlucky to get damp in a Hymer (most unlikely) it wouldn't do much damage they use their own patented Pual build system no timber in the bodywork and internal wall boards are marine ply. As Dave says they can't sell British vans in mainland Europe, the manufacturers don't even bother exhibit at the largest Motorhome show in Europe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggyd Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 arjxh56 - 2012-10-08 4:46 PM Are Swift Kontiki really that bad for Damp/Water ingress? I didnt realise. Is it the build quality or the way they're built etc.. whay are they so bad and what should i look out for if i do decide to go don the Swift route ? NO they are not, we have a 2003 KONTIKI 610 we bought it in 2005 we not only have had trouble free driving but we have NO DAMP anywhere. If you speak to some-one that has HAD a Swift KonTiki and tells you otherwise then I will believe that as any van there are some bad ones that might slip through, but it annoys me to death when someone comes on here and slags a product when they have never had one . Our van is well made unlike some of the others we had looked at, the cupboards and fittings arent flimsy and cheap looking and we have seen a few that we wouldnt touch with a barge pole. Cant advise you on size as ours is only a two berth and just over 20' long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliffy Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 Snip!I would never buy a British Motorhome absolute rubbish. Snip.I think the vast majority of Autotrail owners would argue your point!Unless of course you consider them not to be British. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 Having a laugh.....Plenty of VERY dissatisfied Autotrail owners on here also!lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ray love Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 My Autotrail Scout has just past it's third birthday and up to present this year has cost me over £700 in remedial work to stop water ingress. When I contacted the warranty manager at Autotrail he couldn't have been less interested. Now having problems with the electrics, solar panel not working,control panel shutting down. It's been a complete waste of money!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 Bolly1965 - 2012-10-08 7:42 PM I'm Swift are no worse than the foreign brands such as Adria/hymer/Hobby/burstner/Rapdo/TEC etc...etc... You may find many people are anti British for some reason or another But then I own a Swift group van... This is spot on. People like Lenny are talking out of their backsides, their info is about twenty years out of date. as to damp ask Eddie, Judge, about his last van, german and full of damp when he sold it. My last two vans have been Swift and neither had any damp in them when sold, the one before was a Hymer and no damp but just about everything else that could go wrong did, absolute rubbish. Would this put me of Hymer, well no, because it was six years ago and they may have improved by now. Swift are now as good as anyone in europe at a similiar price with a better backup than you will get from a euro van with their ever changeing importers. All makers will at times make a poor van, no one sells as many vans as Swift if they are poor, they are not. as to not selling in Europe most europeon vans do not sell well in the UK does it make them poor, of course not, it is a rubbish arguement by people who insist on living in the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 We,ve had our Swift Sundance for 6 years now, 30, 000 miles of trouble free driving. Yes we had a damp floor, which was due to a bad batch , which was repaired FOC by Swift. No damp elsewhere. Why do people slag British manufacturers? Surely we should try to help, and keep our OWN factories working? Maybe with some constructive support, to help. Think of the car industry, used to be big in UK . Maybe with more support , we would still have large factories, less unemployment , less imports Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 there was no practical evidence of damp in my CB none of the Swift trade mark spongy floors etc...etc... It only became apparent when at the changeover when I Part exchanged it...One phone call later, once dealer had ascertained 6 year warranty still valid, exchange went ahead at previously negotiated price, so hardly a drama..... I would rather have a Euramobil any day then a swift!lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggyd Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 Warrenty or not JM it still had damp !!! so unless you have had a damp Swift I dont think you are qualified to Judge >:-) I rest my case for Swift!!! Were getting another one and would stick with them as long as we have a trouble free vans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolandrat Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 A friend of mine owns a Swift. It developed damp round the habitation door floor area, then it developed damp in the toilet floor area which was put down to a dodgy water coupling behind the sink cabinet now it has develped severe damp in the rear nearside area which has been put down to a badly fitted water tank coupling. The toilet floor was a major repair involving removing all the interior furniture in the damaged area which was replaced with new boarding, now the nearside bunk area has to be stripped down to replace all that floor. The rear corner steadies were actually bolted to the timber floor but have now been remounted on the chassis as it was to rotten to support them. Would I buy a Swift? I am not saying that they are all like that but if I was thinking of buying one I would be putting overalls on and arming myself with a pointed prodder and getting on my back underneath to check the floor. More so because it could be out of the manufacturing warranty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 maggyd - 2012-10-09 3:12 PM Warrenty or not JM it still had damp !!! so unless you have had a damp Swift I dont think you are qualified to Judge >:-) I rest my case for Swift!!! Were getting another one and would stick with them as long as we have a trouble free vans. Indeed......But there was no smell or patches of damp OR spongy floors OR the fear of falling through the floor onto the road while sitting on the toilet? unlike Rolands example! I have always thought the swifts rubbish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 Some years ago I was in the industry and been around a few factory's enough to put me of British vans for life (yes I have been to the Swift factory). I have a friend who has had two Swift caravans both had to go back to the factory with damp in the first year, I had a Lunar that disintegrated before my eyes. Just search the forum and look at all the Autotrails with water ingress problems. Hymer may not be without fault but at least they sort it without any drama (unless you brought it from Brownhills) even when they are out of warranty they repair things FOC. Loads of continental manufacturers are represented in the UK and there are thousands of vans on the road, I've yet to see a French, German, Italian registered UK built van. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jam151 Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 on your concerns about villages & parking, if you look around a village you would like to visit you will probably see a bin lorry in that area, if that can get round it ok im sure a m/h will cope no problem, as for parking a reversing camera will make life very easy as yo will see the back end better than a rear veiw mirror would in a car :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 maggyd - 2012-10-09 3:12 PM Warrenty or not JM it still had damp !!! so unless you have had a damp Swift I dont think you are qualified to Judge >:-) I rest my case for Swift!!! Were getting another one and would stick with them as long as we have a trouble free vans. My sentiments exactly Maggie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 JudgeMental - 2012-10-09 4:13 PM maggyd - 2012-10-09 3:12 PM Warrenty or not JM it still had damp !!! so unless you have had a damp Swift I dont think you are qualified to Judge >:-) I rest my case for Swift!!! Were getting another one and would stick with them as long as we have a trouble free vans. Indeed......But there was no smell or patches of damp OR spongy floors OR the fear of falling through the floor onto the road while sitting on the toilet? unlike Rolands example! I have always thought the swifts rubbish. Eddie this is exactly what i am talking about, old news and people refusing to move on. The Swift damp floor thing was pre the X250 base vehicle and Swift dealt with it. You are always going on about German quality, when your own recent experience, damp and resale, is bad and when you bought your next van, the Adria, you went for a Slovenia made van. Why not just accept the reality that all companies, at times, make mistakes as long as they correct them and do not repeat that mistake it is simply stupid to dismiss that company for all time. It is not so long ago that myself and a couple of others were the only ones on here to defend the X250 base. Many like Tracker clearly stated they would never buy one, how times have changed but at least they have moved on. You may not like UK makers and will not buy one, fair enough, but to slag them off in the manner you do is narrow minded and inaccurate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 I worked on large scale construction projects with responsibilities for quality, and later moved into H&S, so I have a keen eye and long memory, and know a bit about fit and finish......I have always considered the swift brand laughable especially at the price...... How was my experience bad? I did not know it was damp and deal went through at previously negotiated price, So no loss......... At least at 5 years in the warranty was worth the paper it was written on *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggyd Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Fair enough you have a valid point as your friend had a very bad experience. Like any maker they have bad models! Corner Steadies!! we dont have as its on an Alco chassis. But that doesnt mean that Swift should be boycotted when they have lots of good models out there! I have read on the Swift Forum of vans with damp being put right Free of charge that were out of warranty You can only judge by your own experience and as Ive already said ours has been good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crinklystarfish Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Just for the sake of balance, I'm of the view that crapness knows no bounds and transcends the nationality of the converter. OP would do well to research Swift group build quality though; easy to do via any well known search engine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.