Swift Bolero 650 FB

[lennyhb]

But Chris you are the man looking at buying a Hymer :D

 

Yes, its not a Hymer but its a well put together as a lot of midrange continental vans and great value.

as for any used purchase, do the necassary checks. good luck.

 

Hymer is only a mid range continental van and Swifts are not in that class.

[rupert123]

Leaving aside all the stuff on here the main damp problems in the floors of Swift were pre the X250 models, no problems reported with the model you are looking at. All makes have damp and as has been pointed out Swift sell more vans in the UK than anyone else, in fact more than the rest put together. Companies like Hymer sell hardly any but still get complaints, in fact a company to avoid with hardly any backup in the UK, mainly living on past reputation, current ones not great. You will never get full approval but Swift do not have some 80% of the UK market for no reason, they are now very good.

[bolero boy]

Two things; firstly my comment was about "leisure" batteries being underslung not what was put by the wonders of predictive typing....

 

Secondly, my comments are given as someone who actuallyives in our van for 6 or 7 months each year, not someone who has the odd weekend away plus a couple of weeks in the summer.

We have done (by the time we get home in a week or so) a shade over 20k miles in 3 years and nothing has fallen off.

 

Some 'leading' Continental vans are falling apart after a few days as a show demo! Yes, I realise that the real integrity of any van is more than skin deep, and that less wood makes more sense, dampwise, but 7 mtr Hymer vans are not a direct comparison on price.

 

I know about German engineering strength, I have driven Audis for the past 15 years, but someone looking for a Ford Focus won't be testing an A3 or A4.

 

Lenny, yes I am looking at a Hymer, and other brands like Pilote, Rapido and even Carthago but these are mega purchases and in a different price league to the Bolero.

I can only comment on the van that I have now, any thoughts on a different van will come after I've owned it for a while.

In the meantime, the Bolero does a good job as our 2nd home.

[lennyhb]

bolero boy - 2013-06-27 10:06 AM

 

 

Lenny, yes I am looking at a Hymer, and other brands like Pilote, Rapido and even Carthago but these are mega purchases and in a different price league to the Bolero.

 

Just had a look a Swift prices they are not that much cheaper than Hymer or some of the Cathago's. unless you buy in the UK. UK Cathago dealer quoted me £90k for what I could buy in Germany for £62k, some of the option packs were 50% dearer on the UK price list.

[andy mccord]

I am relatively new to owning a motorhome, this is my 5th year and my 2nd van, the reason I bought a swift was because there was plenty of them around to look at and the EW layout suited us. In hindsight after 3 years of ownership it was a mistake, we got fed up making the bed up everynight, it had no storage space and it leaked water in after just turning 3 years old.

 

So I now own and Adria, which at a new price of circa £53k, is comparable to a new bolero, but it appears to be off much better build quality & ticks all the right boxes for us.

 

I am not saying all swift are like this, but mine was and I am reporting my actual findings and facts of 3 years of swift ownership in reply to the OP

 

Regards

Andy

[bolero boy]

Sorry, Lenny, as my lovely old Spooneristic boss used to say (and there was a whole glossary of these!) 'you're comparing apples and oranges, old son!'.

It's hardly conceivable that a UK Swift purchasing customer is likely to consider buying a LHD Hymer for cash on the Continent.

Andy, it was Adria that all the catches were falling off at the NEC.

[lennyhb]

bolero boy - 2013-06-27 2:35 PM

 

 

It's hardly conceivable that a UK Swift purchasing customer is likely to consider buying a LHD Hymer for cash on the Continent.

.

 

They shouldn't be driving a Motorhome then because they must be blind. :D

 

Really I don't see that if you are spending 50-60 grand surely you go for the best value, perhaps it's because I not well off enough to throw 10-15 grand away.

 

My own experience is having had leaky UK built caravans no way would I buy a British one ever again. I decided to by a German caravan at the time UK price for the Caravan I wanted £13,500 I contacted a German dealer who could not have been more helpful, a few emails & phone calls ordered it, picked it up when ready and paid £8,400 a 38% saving. So when it came to buying a Motorhome never even thought about going to a British dealer, my Hymer was brought in Belgium and it's RHD.

 

it was Adria that all the catches were falling off at the NEC.

One reason we went for a Hymer we visited the Düsseldorf show on the last day of the show and after thousands of people passing through the vans the Hymer's appeared to have stood the test better than the rest in our price range.

[bolero boy]

Obviouy it won't help the OP, who is after a used Bolero, but if I could get a nice Rhd Carthago A-class for £62k from Continental dealership, I'd be over there pretty sharpish.

[lennyhb]

I think it's only Hymer that will supply RHD on the Continent, I made a mistake buying RHD next van will be LHD as 85% of our mileage is over the channel.

[Airstream]

As the owner of a 2008 Bolero range Swift I can confirm that Swift models with the pvc membrane on the underside of the habitation area will already have rotten floors or will in time

The problem is with the choice of floor structure where the composite board has a thin pvc membrane covering untreated plywood on the underside

The design of the side skirts directs water down from the side walls into the unsealed edge of the board and is then trapped between the pvc membrane and the ply

I discovered the problem on my van not by any hab check (these do not cover the exterior of the vehicle) but looking underneath I had large water filled bubbles down both sides of the van

Swift repaired my van out of warranty after a lot of hassle and stress and we had to join a very long queue of other poor folk who's vans were being re-floored

The problem is not always picked up until its to late - Sundance type vans its the fact that the step falls through the floor , Bolero the battery box ditto,

I have horrified lots of Swift owners by showing them the rot whilst on sites etc and none of them realised they had a problem

My advice get under and look if the underfloor has a pvc membrane remove it and treat the timber with preservative - this is what Swift do at the factory after replacing the damaged areas of ply and insulation

Do not rely on a habitation report unless the underside is included in the report and the report is less than a few weeks old

Swift owners are great at denial and if you get a good one great - my own Swift experience has been a catalogue of disasters from day one and well covered in this and other forums

Six Hymers no problems one Swift lost count - batter chargers, control panels, fuse boards, three habitation doors, rotting floor, wheel arches falling off,peeling furniture board,cracked roof etc etc

 

Good Luck

[bolero boy]

Thanks for the heads-up, I sympathise with anyone caught in that position.

I have just had a look under the van at both wheel arch areas and the battery box as you mentioned.

There is no PVC layer on our underside and all areas mentioned seem bone dry.

As ours is a 2010 model, I wondered if the floor design was changed in the light of what you describe. The van will be going in for a full service on our return in a week or so, I'll get my man to give it a thorough check over then.

[Airstream]

Hi,

PVC membrane floors were used between 2005-2009 registrations Vans that have been back to the factory for repair will still have the pvc at the middle of the floor area but removed from around the perimeter and a black preservative brushed on to protect the ply

 

We love the layout of our van and just wish the build design and fit /finish were as good as the continental vans seem to manage

 

Swift did, with considerable pressure from us and support from our dealer fix most of the failures and problems we encountered at no cost

 

Ray