Bobcannon Posted January 12, 2016 Share Posted January 12, 2016 Good evening all, I was hoping to gain a few words of wisdom from anyone with a view. I am about to purchase my first motor home and have about 30-40k to spend. I have seen a 2015 roller team model, brand new that I like at 38k. I have also seen a Kontiki 675 that I also like, but it is a 2007 model and is 33k. My question, is it better to buy a better quality used model, or go for a brand new one that is not such good quality. Many thanks for anyone with a comment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverback Posted January 12, 2016 Share Posted January 12, 2016 welcome to the forum, if it was me i would buy the roller team, why? cos it will come with full 3-5 year warrenty, and even tho it is a budget van the build quality will be fine as long as you treat it with respect. i had a roller team 171 for 9yr had no probs remember the base vehicle ie ford/fiat are all the same wether they are 38K or 100K my roller was 2001 and i sold it on and it is still going strong today, welcome to the motorhome world which ever you chose. jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted January 12, 2016 Share Posted January 12, 2016 Hello Bob & welcome to the forum The 2007 Swift Kontiki could be on either the "old" Euro 3 base Fiat base vehicle or newer Euro 4, so IMO you need to determine which first. If the pre 2006 model it would be preferable to be with the 2.8litre engine based on the size of the Kontiki range. If on the post 2006 major facelift model, there were problems with the gearbox reverse gear ratio (especially reversing uphill) & water ingress into the engine compartment due to the scuttle drain. Both of which should have been addressed by the previous owner, but it is worth checking. Again preferably the larger 3.0litre engine. Check the MAM on the Kontiki as some models were on the heavier chassis, requiring C1 licence (i.e. above 3500kg MAM) to drive them. Swift had problems with water ingress to floor around the time of 2007, although I don't recall any reported with the Kontiki models it would still be prudent to insist on a damp test prior to purchase. IIRC Roller Team have changed their construction materials & now eliminate wood framing in the body shell. (other forum members may be able to elaborate on this aspect) Afterthought - have a look at the current thread -" Should I buy a Bessacarr" it comes out of the same Swift factory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogerC Posted January 12, 2016 Share Posted January 12, 2016 Firstly buying new or used....are you prepared to take the depreciation hit from day one?If yes.....question 1 and most important..... Which layout suits you best. Remember you have to live with the decision and regrets can be 'uncomfortable'. A new RT will need servicing/habitation checks annually and base vehicle as per makers schedule to ensure warranty conditions are met and they remain current. Don't think because it's new it won't matter. If any issues arise warranties on both base vehicle and habitation side are worth their weight in gold. These checks/servicings will cost in the region of £300+ per year. RT currently offer 5 yrs warranty on base vehicle (which is strange to understand) and 10 year body construction warranty. The terms of both should be available at the dealership. And as for quality there's nothing wrong with RT quality.....I consider them to be of a pretty good standard, value for money and far better in terms of layout and finish than a great many others we have looked into at motorhome shows and we have looked at probably hundreds of MH's. A 9 yr old vehicle will? should/might/possibly have dealership warranty only so no 'requirement' to spend out £300+ per year in warranty upkeep.Does the KonTiki have any history...does it have a habitation/base vehicle history/ current damp check report? What are the running costs and service intervals for the base vehicles.....what is the mpg? It can be considerably different between vehicles. Some can average over 30 mpg. Our Transit twin wheel 2.4 ltr turbo with an over-cab 6 berth body does 22-24mpg. So the questions/considerations are quite extensive and very much a personal consideration. However as a basic question and all other considerations aside a new vehicle or a 9 yr old one?...................new every time. It might be that 9 years has seen all the 'bugs and niggles' sorted but in the final assessment it has had 9 years put on it and things do wear out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverback Posted January 12, 2016 Share Posted January 12, 2016 good posts and relevant Roger & John, just one point the warrenty is 5 years, 2 years from ford then an insurance backed warrenty for 3 years, but like you say it has to be serviced every year and hab by the relevant dealers as you say £300+ but if you were to keep the vehicle for along time this is well worth it, and these warrenties can be passed on. (wish i could spell warrenty!! LOL) jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brock Posted January 12, 2016 Share Posted January 12, 2016 Most motorhomers make their decision based on emotions rather than facts. If I had your budget, I would buy neither. The Roller will be a good budget buy and generally robust. The Kontiki will ooze class. Both will depreciate like stones falling off a cliff. So would you buy a new Ford Focus or a second hand BMW? To answer your question in your penultimate paragraph, I would buy a better quality 2nd hand unless the new one was of sufficient quality. I've bought new most of the time. I can afford to take the depreciation. I only change motorhomes when new is significantly better than what I have - safety issues always feature high on my list whereas new accessories do not. I choose the dealer first because how they look after me during ownership is more important. Then I choose which make/model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverback Posted January 12, 2016 Share Posted January 12, 2016 a new ford focus every time, they do the job A to B, and 15K cheaper, but i'm from Yorkshire so i'm tight! but if the japanese did a MH i would buy that.....i have a 19 yr old celica in top condition no probs, its not the status its the value for money jonathan ps the initial depreciation is bad but like i said if you are keeping it, it doesn't matter say my celica bought 1997 for 16K now ? said RT i bought mine 20K 2003 sold 2012 for 14K is that depreciation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tall_Mike Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 My view is to buy a pre-registered demonstrator, - Whenever you drive a new vehicle away you lose somewhere between 10 and 15% of the value of the vehicle driving 10 feet out of the showroom, - This avoids that hit and you pay less. - Effectively - almost brand new. Usually you get the balance of any warranties,- try to get the most recent vehicle you can, (longest warranty possible) sometimes the model's change and it's possible to get the slightly older model as a demo while the dealer want's the new one on his forecourt, the differences between model years is often slight, sometimes the demo is up specified because the dealer want's the best in his vehicle. Our van was registered in Sept 15, we lost 3 months warranty, andit covered 900 miles before we collected it. The model saw a fair price increase but with little technical change on Jan 1st 2016, paid 2015 prices minus a fair discount in early 2016, and we got the "comfort pack" probably thrown in mainly because the trim looks better, colour matched bumpers, upgraded heating system, - Probably demo's better at shows for the dealer. When we come to sell it, (no plans but you never know) the fact that we are second owners will likely not be noticed, the existence of the comfort pack wont be picked up except by someone with a deep knowledge of the mark and we should only shoulder the annual deprecation which hopefully wont be huge, maybe 10% a year (or as huge as it might have been) So I hope anyway. Focused on things to make it re-saleable from the start, - 3500kg weight limit, Comfortmatic gearbox, etc and will look after it. Where we will lose is on the extra's, never make money back on those things, - Awning, TV, Microwave but we wanted them for our personal comfort so the value will be derived by snoozing with the tv on, hot chocolate or milk in hand, (sad) or sitting in the shade supping a cold beer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Collings Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 Just to toss another perspective into the ring. I have had two VW based Auto-Sleepers in the last 18 years and still have the last one. The first was bought when it was 5 years old and kept for 8 years. The current one was bought at 8 years old. In total we have done about 1800 nights and 130,000 miles. The current one with 80,000miles is still worth about £10,000 with no plans to change. Total depreciation over that time about £21, 000 or around £ 1,200 a year. Furthest north Hadrians Wall South - East of Gib and could see Africa. East Hungary , and W- Cape Cornwall with a couple of trips half way down Italy. Largest single repair costs a cam belt change at £ 400. Both totally reliable. Dealing with LEZs is easy -avoid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euroserv Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 What i know about the merits of one motorhome compared to another could be written on the back of a second class stamp; so i don't go there at all. What i do know about is base vehicles. Years ago i would have said that a Euro 3 Ducato would be fine and preferable in a lot of ways to an early Euro 4 but i am leaning towards the newer models now because while the earlier vehicles have mechanical and electrical simplicity on their side; they are getting long in the tooth now and parts supply will become an issue in the coming years. What you must not do though, is think to yourself: "I could buy an older one and get an after-market warranty to cover any problems". In my experience; mechanical breakdown warranties are a complete waste of money. They are not cheap, and the firms that provide them are generally obstructive and determined not to pay anything out. Even warranty books emblazoned with names that you can supposedly trust such as 'AA' and containing words like 'Gold' or 'Platinum' are actually provided by other firms that are just a nightmare to deal with. Their requirements for servicing rarely align with either common sense or the manufacturers stipulations and either you, or a garage that you entrust with a claim will spend hours on end, fruitlessly negotiating with their claim prevention officers, often on premium rate phone numbers. I have been involved with a couple of dozen warranty claims over the last few years and have only known one that successfully reimbursed the customer for all of the costs of the work required. About 75% failed completely to get any help at all. So; unless you feel lucky and roll the dice on an older vehicle, I say spend as much as you can on an ex-demo or pre-registered vehicle with a long warranty. Top this up if it is an option but only with a genuine warranty from the base vehicle manufacturer and DO get your first couple of services done by a franchised outlet because no matter which brand you choose; it will have a bearing on the amount of goodwill you will get if you have a problem shortly after the warranty runs out. Curtains and cupboard doors I will leave to the experts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 euroserv - 2016-01-13 2:51 PM What i do know about is base vehicles. Years ago i would have said that a Euro 3 Ducato would be fine and preferable in a lot of ways to an early Euro 4 but i am leaning towards the newer models now because while the earlier vehicles have mechanical and electrical simplicity on their side; they are getting long in the tooth now and parts supply will become an issue in the coming years. Yep agree with that ;-) ............I doubt if today's vans will be repairable in 15 or 20 years time :D ...... I foresee a glut of 4 wheel caravans :-> ....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Collings Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 My VW Lt is coming up to ten years out of production when spares start to really dry up. Working on the basis of cutting out the middle man I think my next trip could well be to Germany and find VW dealer with an English speaking parts man. The idea is to renew all the rubber and plastic bits with manufactures parts. With a bit of luck and regular oil and cam belt/w.pump and tensioner changes I might get another 5 years out of the old girl by which time I will be in ninth decade. By then I expect they will only allow drivers like me an electric 8mph buggy. One last thought. Buy cheap. Five grand in the bank can cover a pretty large repair bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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