Motorhome choice, your help please (1 Viewer)

mickandkim

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Oct 3, 2011
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Purston Jaglin
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Greetings all,
We are 1 step nearer achieving our mission, we have finally got the pound notes in place, well not as much as we had hoped, but have a budget of 30k that can be pushed to 33k for added creature comforts i.e full gaslow system, safari room for awning, solar panel, extra or upgrade on leisure battery etc.

having searched the north of england and looked at hundreds of m/hs we have our ideal layout in mind, see below.

5 / 6 berth,
Rear u shaped lounge,
2 + Belted passenger seats,
Right hand drive,

I will be spending about 100 days a year in the m/h (on site with hook up very close to work ) and the m/h will be used mostly in the uk but with at least 3 x 1 week or 2 week trips to europe a year,
The uk trips will mostly be with our 3 yr old daughter but also we need the facility to also carry 2 other adults and another small child.

Now i assume that you regs on here get loads of these sort of posts but please humour me and all unbiased help / comments would be greatly appreciated,
The wishlist of motorhomes we have liked so far are below.. in no particular order of preference,

Swift kon tiki 645 ( can only afford up the 2006 but love the swivel seats )
Swift sundance 630 2008 (nice layout )
Ace firenze ( can go to 2008 and with 240v hotplate on hob )
elddis 180 can run to a 2010 model
lunar champ 670l, like the exterior styling
autoroller 600, budget but seem hardy and can run to 2010 version
bessecar 795 ( ticks all our boxes but like the kontiki, can only affordup to 2005/ 2006 high mileage
bessecar 495 nice spec and lavish furnishings
C.I riviera 181
Autotrail apache 700se , again can't afford beyond 2006
Autotrail tribute T 720 , I adore the layout but hard to find in price range
Swift Escape 686 ,

I am also hoping to view a 6 berth euramobile with end lounge at the weekend..

if you own any of the above, or think i have omitted any applicable m/hs, please give us your opinions.. in the end, we will make our own choice, but you cannot beat a bit of inside knowledge..

Mick and Kim
 
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mickandkim

mickandkim

Free Member
Oct 3, 2011
32
23
Purston Jaglin
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18,364
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hope to be mobile by dec
Exp
very very new
O.M.G. That is one very nice bit of kit....... end lounge and a garage, very tempting.
But i must stick to my budget... i must stick to my budget... repeat to fade.. :cry:

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tonka

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Jul 2, 2008
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www.apache700.freewebspace.com

Ticks all your boxes..!!

I even have a scooter rack that I might include plus screen covers, wind deflectors, ehu cable and gas bottle.. All ready to go...

Whatever van you decide to go for be aware that payload is important. Some vans especially 6 berth cannot carry 6 people and all their kit. So become overloaded and illegal.

Good luck with the hunt...
 
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Scout

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Apr 4, 2009
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dont forget the autotrail scout or the tag axle version the arapaho, there the same as the apachee 700 but have alko chassi (wider track./ lighter / more under floor storage).

there is a 05 arapaho with loads of extras on ebay for £30k with only 12.5k miles on

Item number: 170761199569

if your not up to checking them out yourselfe I have used these people

.

thier not cheap but well worth it
 
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mickandkim

mickandkim

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Oct 3, 2011
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Well, thats the scout added to my list, thank you SC 05 OUT,

Tonka, the loading weight is something i have been mulling over but thanks for reminding me and other viewers, i am looking to buy from a dealer, ideally as i will hopefully be able to get some form of warrenty that is worth a lot more than the paper it is written on and some appear to be willing to offer a decent discount for immediate cash by bankers draft with no trade in, funnily enough, kim really liked an apache 700 se that we saw at a local dealers over Christmas so you might be getting a call if we get near to Cannock in the near future:winky:

Mick

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Scout

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Well, thats the scout added to my list, thank you SC 05 OUT,

Tonka, the loading weight is something i have been mulling over but thanks for reminding me and other viewers, i am looking to buy from a dealer, ideally as i will hopefully be able to get some form of warrenty that is worth a lot more than the paper it is written on and some appear to be willing to offer a decent discount for immediate cash by bankers draft with no trade in, funnily enough, kim really liked an apache 700 se that we saw at a local dealers over Christmas so you might be getting a call if we get near to Cannock in the near future:winky:

Mick

if you do go down the 700 se route, look for one with an alco chassis, it was an option, it adds track width for better road handling, the ones with the fiat chassis tend to roll somewhat
 
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MET

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Jan 11, 2012
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Wilmslow, cheshire
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Dealer discounts

Hi,

My dad has just bought his second autotrail. He likes them because they are taller inside. These are the tips he gave me as we are in the process of looking for our first motorhome ::bigsmile:

Most dealers will give 10% discount straight away if you have no part exchange to trade in.

Dealers don't sell as many vans in the winter so they are keen to make a sale, haggle hard.
My dads just bought his second autotrail, he got 10% off that even with a trade in.

Check for damp, double check, then check again! It can be VERY expensive to repair.

Haggle for extras.
Things like servicing will cost you quite a bit but it doesn't cost the dealer much if they have salaried mechanics on site. Get them to throw in a couple of years servicing, it's worth a fair bit to you.

They will also do things like take a satellite dish off another van they have in stock and put it on yours. Much cheaper than buying a new system.

People can spend a lot of money on extras (like satellite dishes). A lot of these extras stay with the vehicle when it's sold. You can save a bit of money by trying to find a van that already has the 'goodies' fitted.

Make sure it has a habitation check and a damp check.
Make sure it has a HPI check. If it turns out to be stolen you wont get ANY of your money back. :whatthe:


Hope that helps!
Good luck in your search :thumb:

MET
 
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spannermanwigan

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May 22, 2008
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The apache 700 se only has seat belts for 4, you require 6 from your post.

Vans with 6 seat belts are very few and far between.

Mostly found in latest models
 
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MET

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Jan 11, 2012
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2
Wilmslow, cheshire
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Hoping for one soon!
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Autotrails

Oh, and I've also been told to watch out for delaminating floor. Where the glue fails and they're not stuck down properly. Could be costly if out of guarentee..... Luckily my dads was still in guarentee! But apparently it's quite common :Sad:

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niggle

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:ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO: you missed rapidio and pilot both french as you will see the english try hard to copy them as they are more m/h freindly in france,,,, but if you go for auto trail after having 3,,,, 2 new ,, and one nearly new ,,,here are a few probs you will find but others will say they aint had

1 elecrtic low grade wire used on charge system
2 if you need a part from a/t under warrnty it takes 1/4 weeks if at all
3 common thing,, new ones ,,floor delamanation or ply striping from underneath ?
4 the lights are on some still halogen inside

i know sounds negative but the m/h 's from france are brill had mine for 7 months and not had any probs at all where as my auto trails had spent more time back at hull with them rather than with me and i had a cheiftan,and apachie and tracker
 
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stagman

Deleted User
Greetings all,
We are 1 step nearer achieving our mission, we have finally got the pound notes in place, well not as much as we had hoped, but have a budget of 30k that can be pushed to 33k for added creature comforts i.e full gaslow system, safari room for awning, solar panel, extra or upgrade on leisure battery etc.

Apart the the van you want one of the most important factors is the dealer make sure he is well recommended , you have a good list of vans you like but they all come with their faults so a good warranty is essential . I have bought several vans in the past different makes and model I kept going back to the same dealer as they looked after me , my latest Autotrail is coming to the end of it's warranty and touch wood no problems .Get some recommendations of dealers near you on here before you buy :thumb:
 
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Chybax

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Apr 7, 2010
47
9
Cornwall
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10,956
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Coach
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4
Ace firenze

Hi Mick and Kim

our first MH was a 2008 Ace firenze and it was lovely, we bought it in 2009. The reason for choosing it was that it had a dining area that had 4 seatbelts and the rear lounge was nice,light and spacious, when we bought it our youngest son was 15 so it was ideal for him to travell safe and the overhead bed was his "own space ". When the rear lounge was made into a bed it was a good size.
Needless to say our son no longer comes away :thumb: !! So we down sized to a Swift Bolero FB, we had no problems trading the Ace firenze in,they gave us a really good exchange price and sold it on within a day !! Its a nice family sized MH, Good luck:winky:

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Jan 11, 2010
2,743
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Well that`s our 13th year & still loving it.
autotrail

Have a look at the Autotrail Cheyenne 634, has a fantastic amount of open space and rear lounge, or an older Autotrail Arapaho, now they are big and comfortable.
 
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Oct 29, 2008
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My bit of advice is. Dont be worried about going for a slightly older van if it is low mileage and in good condition. This way you can look at higher quality vans. For example we bought our older Frankia cheaper than a new budget van.
 
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