Going Off The Idea Of An Elddis

[Will86]

My view is that I would only ever buy French or German. For what reason ? History has proved that German engineering was way ahead of all Europe, and French because it too, is a big country.

 

The UK was renowned for being wet, yet their transport industry failed to believe it mattered.

 

[rupert123]

Will86 - 2017-07-21 7:51 PM

 

My view is that I would only ever buy French or German. For what reason ? History has proved that German engineering was way ahead of all Europe, and French because it too, is a big country.

 

The UK was renowned for being wet, yet their transport industry failed to believe it mattered.

Really. If german enginering is so great when mercedes wanted a gp car they had to come to the UK to get it built.

[John52]

As I see it the choices are;

1) Buy a Hymer in the UK and get taken for a mug and ripped off :-(

2) Go to all the bother and risk of buying a Hymer abroad, to get one at a half reasonable price (it will still be more than the rest of Europe pays when you take into accont your expenses, getting it changed to DVLC spec etc etc) :-(

3) Buy a UK built van in the UK at a reasonable price :-D

[goldi]

Good morning,

 

 

German motorhomes are just as much Italian as German . To be German they would all have to be built on the Mercedes chassis or some other German vehicle. The fittings and fixtures are pretty much the same overpriced stuff through all the manufacturers.

 

norm

 

 

[Brian Kirby]

This debate goes round and round. Those who have never had damp problems with motorhomes almost invariably take the view that whatever makes they have owned are OK. Those with contrary experience take the opposite view, and tend to say they'd never again buy from the same manufacturer. Neither really tells us much.

 

All motorhomes are essentially hand assembled, and since hand assembly involves humans and not robots, are liable to involve errors, some of which will result in water ingress. Methods of construction, and the materials used, will also influence the van's susceptibility to ingress, and the damage that results.

 

The claims that this or that brand is superior are invariably based on reputations, and the reputations are based on collective experience, so are inevitably historic. Reports of failure will draw immediate attention to "Brand A", while an absence of failure reports relating to "Brand X" will inevitably take longer to become apparent. It's that thing about reputations taking a long time to build, and minutes to destroy! I therefore think the claims that good reputations have since been made redundant new developments are of little validity.

 

Ultimately, one is trying to reduce risk. Damp issues tend to take a year or two to emerge, and most new vans come with ingress warranties - with a variety of attaching caveats should be read with great care - covering periods from 5 - 10 years. With a new and untried construction method, the duration of the warranty is no guide to the durability of the product. It is a manufacturer's expression of confidence and, if they are wrong, they may, as Rupert123 says, go bust. Ultimately, the new method has to be tested in the field, in real world conditions, and only the buyers can do that. Here begins the reputation, for good or ill.

 

So, the best you can hope to achieve is a van that is less likely to leak than others. That will inevitably be reputation based, which means recent innovations in construction are probably best avoided, because they are untested. It must be remembered that innovations in this field are generally fault and reputation driven (indicating the earlier technical design was weak), or production economy driven. Strangely, the marketing people generally disregard these factors in favour of claimed customer benefits!

 

Those manufacturers who have not changed their basic construction methods for a number of years, and whose products are not generally criticised for water ingress or rot problems are likely, all things considered, to present the lowest risk, and those with newly developed construction methods, or whose products are more frequently criticised for damp related problems, a higher risk. Which is not to say the former will never leak, or that the latter inevitably will.

 

If the van should leak, it will inevitably be the dealer who is the first point of contact, and who will be expected by the manufacturer to fix the problem. Does the dealer have the skills and resources to do this? Few, in my opinion, really do, tending to apply sealant at various possible ingress points until they get lucky, or admit defeat. This may mean you lose use of the van while trial and error leak chasing takes place. In some cases, when the dealer is defeated, as a last resort, the van will be returned to the factory for remedy. All this is inconvenient and costly, and is the main reason, IMO, for choosing from the lower risk manufacturers.

 

Final point, and rather less clear, is the manufacturer's attitude to warranty claims. Some are excellent, and accept the dealer's word that there is a problem, and authorise repairs promptly and without prevarication, others prevaricate. So, a brand with a good reputation for speedy and efficient fault remedy under warranty is an added bonus. After all, these are expensive toys.

 

To those named above as lower risk, I'd offer Burstner, Rapido, and Pilote, whose construction methods seem to have survived the test of time with relatively low incidence of failure.

[Will86]

rupert123 - 2017-07-21 9:48 PM

 

Will86 - 2017-07-21 7:51 PM

 

My view is that I would only ever buy French or German. For what reason ? History has proved that German engineering was way ahead of all Europe, and French because it too, is a big country.

 

The UK was renowned for being wet, yet their transport industry failed to believe it mattered.

Really. If german enginering is so great when mercedes wanted a gp car they had to come to the UK to get it built.

 

Maybe but they do produce other products. Musical instruments and optics are but two and we narrowly missed being annihilated by rockets. As said I go by historical facts.

[rupert123]

Will86 - 2017-07-22 6:27 PM

 

rupert123 - 2017-07-21 9:48 PM

 

Will86 - 2017-07-21 7:51 PM

 

My view is that I would only ever buy French or German. For what reason ? History has proved that German engineering was way ahead of all Europe, and French because it too, is a big country.

 

The UK was renowned for being wet, yet their transport industry failed to believe it mattered.

Really. If german enginering is so great when mercedes wanted a gp car they had to come to the UK to get it built.

 

 

Maybe but they do produce other products. Musical instruments and optics are but two and we narrowly missed being annihilated by rockets. As said I go by historical facts.

But we were not and I seem to recall we won.