Are CI Motorhomes really that bad?? (4 Viewers)

[upopup]

As i've posted before, we are still looking for our first m.h. and got quite interested in the 'CI Mizar Living'. ( link below)

There have been three on ebay , two with dealers.

At the Lincoln show we got talking to ' a local company salesman' about this option and he said " don't buy a CI as they always have damp somewhere in them".

Now this has put us off this model but cant find anything better at the price, we know they are not top of the range as far as construction but the damp issue is a worry.

All you CI owners, are they really that bad??

Tony

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[ukbill]

i have a ci as do quite a few funsters from what i know there used to be a issue with damp but that was resolved ours is great i think it was a issue before a certain year ours has done at least 15k this year alone we have doubled the milage since we bought it and never had a issue with it apart from the normal day to day things you would expect i assume this salesman didnt have a ci for sale then

 

[upopup]

i have a ci as do quite a few funsters from what i know there used to be a issue with damp but that was resolved ours is great i think it was a issue before a certain year ours has done at least 15k this year alone we have doubled the milage since we bought it and never had a issue with it apart from the normal day to day things you would expect i assume this salesman didnt have a ci for sale then

Yes you're right, we did note he had none on show! :thumb:

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[MichelleRyall]

Have a look at the Rollerteamownersclub website, they have info on CI as well and Rollerteams.

 

[Terry]

CI are one of the largest co's making MHs so there must be an awful lot around --been going for yrs A lot better than some makes
terry

 

[Red Sonja]

We have had 3 CIs and never had a problem with any of them. If we hadn't gone the A Class route I'm sure we would have bought another one.

Sonja

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[DuxDeluxe]

I always thought that they were fairly well put together; certainly no worse than most and better than a lot

 

[Phill D]

we had a 2008 ci carioca 746 from new for 3 years, great layout for a family, nice big lounge, looked nice.

habitation door was noted as twisted and let in water / wind within a week of taking delivery and took 18 months to get sorted. that was between CI and Autotrail ( who are the uk agents ). interior roof delaminated in one place, replacement habitation door inner skin delaminated.

would i buy another oh:

we got a good price when we bought it £7k off as it was September and the 2009 vans were due in. and we did get a good price when i sold it because of the layout lost only £2k in 3 years :thumb: against all the odds i have to say as some dealers offered half of its original price.

the CI range has been dropped and it is my belief that that is the case because of the poor reputation. habitation spares come from Italy and can take a lifetime.

but, they are an entry level van and there are some good ones about. perhaps we were just very unlucky.
if your happy with the layout , condition etc and you thoroughly check it out :thumb:

 

[haganap]

Had a CI
had Damp
Loved it :thumb:
Solid dependable and reliable.


Had an Adria
Had damp
Loved it
Solid dependable and reliable


Have a Bessacarr costing twice the price of the CI
had damp
Still love it,
love it more every day
far better refined than the CI and the Adria but
not twice as good..


So the choice is yours,

I know owners of every make and model that have had some damp at some point. No substitute for regular servicing or getting a good damp meter a tool box and some knowledge in how to tackle the problems.:thumb:

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[Ralph-n-Bev]

We love ours. It was a better quality build internally than the other British vans we looked at in the same price range. We've had it for coming up 4 years now . Had no problems what so ever with it. Touch wood. We preferred our older model to the newer one. Infact we could have bought the newer version( as in your post ) for only a few grand more , but chose the 2006 for the build quality and fantastic layout , which unfortunately ci no longer do now.

You hear good and bad about lots of motorhomes. Only last weekend in Masham someone was telling us that their brand new hymer was a pile of tinny cr@p
They had spent a small ( price of a terraced house ) fortune on it. They said they wished they had not traded in their old hymer for it.

 

[rolandrat]

I saw one in a local caravan/motorhome body shop having a damp problem attended to half of the body from the back was stripped off, it was riddled with damp. It was in the workshop for some time as part of the procedure is to let it dry out naturally. I knew the owner and the bill was eye watering. He had bought it privately as seen. Another friend in the MCC bought one brand new 2 years ago and only kept it a year due to recurring damp in the over cab area which had been back to the dealer for rectification. He said, never again.

 

[Ralph-n-Bev]

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Like I said Roland rat , there are problems with lots of motorhomes, what're make or model. Your just lucky if yours isnt one of them.

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[upopup]

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Like I said Roland rat , there are problems with lots of motorhomes, what're make or model. Your just lucky if yours isnt one of them.

Just read this link! :helpsos: My god!!, What make do we buy????.........

 

[rolandrat]

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Like I said Roland rat , there are problems with lots of motorhomes, what're make or model. Your just lucky if yours isnt one of them.

That's very true, if you've never had a motorhome that's had some form of it you can consider yourself extremely lucky. I once owned an AutoTrail that wasn't 24 hours old, the nearside over cab window hadn't been fitted correctly on the production line, it was a source of trouble throughout ownership until I part exchanged it.

 

[Steve101uk]

Hi

I have owned caravans and this is my second motorhome. they all have one thing in common, they all get problems with damp! My advice is to ensure a through habitation check before any purchase. Make sure you trust the person doing the checks. If you regularly check for damp then you have a better chance of catching it early before it causes any major problems.

I have an 05 CI Mizar living which I bought in March. this year we have done around 4000 miles in it including France and Scotland and North Wales. I am very happy. I started a small blog on mine with the idea that it keeps a record of servicing etc so you are welcome to take a look. Its due an update!

http://lemizthemotorhome.blogspot.co.uk/ (start reading from the bottom!)

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[ukbill]

just remember the ci will have lower range fittings than a higher range make but thats no problem update the things like lights etc mine had a battery compartment that was beneath the van so moved it to the end storage as for parts yes they do come from italy but when i needed a new leisure fuse panel i paid just another 6 quid for express delivery took just 5 days to arrive its really horses for courses and the luck of the draw like whats been said you can have a 100k van and still get damp and if you listen to most scare stories it would be dangerous to get out of bed in the mornings

 

[rangi]

I got a Carioca (02) with a 1.9tdi donkey, People say it's under powered, it's not if you know how to change gear, and more importantly, when! (and still 25mpg).

They are a good "starter" M/H What nick nacks you add to make life more comfortable is up to you, apart from a couple of lights, the interior with it's fixed bed is ok with us

 

[Ralph-n-Bev]

just remember the ci will have lower range fittings than a higher range make but thats no problem update the things like lights etc mine had a battery compartment that was beneath the van so moved it to the end storage as for parts yes they do come from italy but when i needed a new leisure fuse panel i paid just another 6 quid for express delivery took just 5 days to arrive its really horses for courses and the luck of the draw like whats been said you can have a 100k van and still get damp and if you listen to most scare stories it would be dangerous to get out of bed in the mornings

Though that would depend on the exact model. We were unaware being newbies to motor homing about our fixtures and fittings , concentrating more on the layout.
Though the mizar gtl living top class , was the top range model we found out , with wooden cabinets and cupboards etc not the flimsy plastic , or sticky back plastic covered ones we saw in most motorhomes. The Webasto and winterisation were a bunus .
It was the luck of the draw.
An old bloke at our storage place came in ours and was very impressed. Being used to seeing the basic ci models on the road. He compared a lot of the features to his elderly hymer.
I think it's all down to luck. You either get a good one or a dud. Just cos it's new doesn't meen it won't be a dud, but at least you get the warranty. Personally I think an old build has a more robust quality. Plus all the niggles have been sorted out by the previous owner , hopefully .
Our old Mizzi will suit us fine till we downsize. Unless she gets riddled with damp , and with all the rain today , I hope she's watertight :thumb:

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[Rainbow]

c i Mizar

We have a 2006 c I Mizar which we bought 12 months ago. We have had no problems with ours

 

[ukbill]

yes it is the luck of the draw and like you say a new model can sometimes give more grief than a used 1 i remember when i was looking for our mh i had already joined here before i got 1 and the main advice i got is what you have said buy used then someone else has sorted any problems out for you

 

[DP+JAY]

Had a Riviera Garage for 3 years & looked at buying a Mizar Garage but it was to high to go in my garage. Good van, we did 16000 miles almost without problems.
Hope the Adria we have just bought proves to be as good.
Any van can have damp regardles of age or make so have it checked & paperwork to prove.

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[Mr Colpot]

We had a Carioca 656 for about 3 months earlier this year. We changed it primarily because the Layout didnt suit us. The problems we had were - Fiat - the EGR Valve needed replacing - CI - payload to carry 4 plus baby in a six berth we had to uprate to give us enough spare. Also on the way to the dealers to let them buy it back (at 5k less than we paid for it) we realised the front window in the overcab leaked and we had to stop and dry it. I think it only leaked when water was sprayed upwards so we might not have had an issue if we hadnt decided to clean it. I also noticed the the toilet locker inside appeared to be mainly built up with sealant so may have had a probelem before. Dealer had carried out a damp check but I didnt see paperwork for it. We made the mistake of falling in love with the van and signing the deal before we actually checked it over completely.

 

[irnbru]

Ci Carioca 200

Thinking of buying a used one. Anyone else out there got one? What do you think of it? My heads getting puzzled with what to buy and what not to buy.

 

[Snowbird]

Having waded through this thread am amazed to find that owners consider that all motorhomes have damp problems and seem to except that as a matter of course. Having owned more motorhomes than I can remember and none being less than 20 years old I have NEVER had a motorhome with damp other than a leaking fresh water pump. I just cannot understand why people except these problems as part of owning a motorhome. Motorhomes have never been a cheap purchase and some cost the price of a house. Whilst owners keep excepting that there vans will leak like a sieve builders will keep making them like that. There are motorhomes out there that do not leak, by way of there construction, the problem is that they tend to be older models and for some strange reason people are more interested in the number plate than quality of build. If I was paying upwards of £50000 for a vehicle, not only would it have to earn a living, it would have to last for ever.

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[Addie]

I wouldn't buy a 'new' CI in the UK.

Be aware that the CI 'brand' is no longer officially imported to the UK through the Trigano group and any new models are likely to be a 'grey' import ordered and delivered direct from CI in Italy. There was some shady dealing going on by Cordoba Gold who went bust and then setup again under the name Leeds Leisure Vehicles who also appear to have gone bust importing vehicles and selling them £5k below UK list price. I strongly suspect they weren't paying the VAT on purchases.

The 'official' CI group imported brand for the UK is Roller Team.

Anyway, that's not what you asked!

We owned a 2008 CI 694 and Sophie's Dad bought a 2012 CI 670 S-Line (same as a rollerteam, but £5k cheaper because the dealer wasn't paying the vat ).

The 2012 model had a nice fit and finish, although there was sawdust in every cupboard. The specification was nice (Wareco Reversing Camera, Solar Panel etc) but they had skimped on the electrics and the control panel was both bespoke to them and when we removed the back panel to see what a problem was had obviously been bodged at the factory with electric tape wrapped around where wires had been accidentally cut when crimping etc Because it was a grey import, warranty was non-existent.

We had a 2008 CI 694 and build quality was actually pretty good (better than the 2012) with the exception of the exterior panels around the cab were a bit 'loose'.

Recently we needed a new van and wanted to go back to the fixed french bed of our earlier CI 694. I went to look at a 2009 model which was the same price as buying a 2006 model Burstner Delfin. I bought the Delfin - the fit and finish just didn't come close.

Good vans, slightly lower end fit and finish - but if you're paying a budget price you can get more for your money (such as a newer base vehicle, if that is a consideration).

 

[Snowbird]

Unless I am missing something here. If they leak and have major problems when new, they are hardly going to improve with age. This is obviously a design fault and therefore no amount of bodging is going to cure it.

 

[daisy mae]

Auto-Sleepers with the monocoque sp bodies do not leak as there aren`t any seams, have been known to if the windows need resealing, not a major problem, have had serious damp and that was in a brand new caravan, so older models in my opinion are better built than new, as others have said used have usually any problems sorted,

At the end of the day it is what you are happy with, the number plate in my book has no relation to whether you are going to be happy with it, also the newer they are the more computerized they are.

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[longdog]

I saw one in a local caravan/motorhome body shop having a damp problem attended to half of the body from the back was stripped off, it was riddled with damp. It was in the workshop for some time as part of the procedure is to let it dry out naturally. I knew the owner and the bill was eye watering. He had bought it privately as seen. Another friend in the MCC bought one brand new 2 years ago and only kept it a year due to recurring damp in the over cab area which had been back to the dealer for rectification. He said, never again.

I don't think there are any guarantees against damp. Just the overall construction of a coachbuilt leads it to twisting and flexing and the problem with damp is that it can remain undetected for years but then it "suddenly" gets to the stage that you witnessed.

 

[rosalan]

The sad thing about writing anything about motorhomes failings, there will always be someone on here that has paid tens of thousands on buying what was their dream. Then they become better informed and it can only make someone feel bad if given very negative reports. Usually the person making the statement will have a' much better' van from Belgium, Sweden or the Gambia, where everyone knows they make the best vans.

Alan

 

[REKERLY]

Our CI is our 4th motorhome , bought new in 2012 and with the new construction materials and method . We went for the van because it provided a layout which allows us to take our g/ks away. They love it.
To date the van is fine and of course had its 1 annual service with no problems.
Shortly after delivery we had some faults:- reversing camera failed and replaced immediately, one fridge vent fell out and lost again replaced immediately.
Later I found some damp in the toilet cassette compartment and again the dealer attended and the damp is now within accepted limits and improving.
So together with refinement and additions I have made the van is now how we want it and we are happy.
All that said the previous vans gave good service. They were all new and all had several returns to dealers to have minor problems resolved. As I tend to repair, replace or improve items as much as I can I could make longer lists for all the vans. I am always happy to do as much as reasonable myself.
In these vans , a Compass Drifter, herald Insignia and an Autocruise Starquest we have only had one incident of damp and again that was dealt with early.

Now we look forward hoping this van will be providing the service to which we have become accustomed !!

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