Its been 3 weeks since we picked up our brand spanking new T63 MH.
The Handover
Prior to visiting salop leisure we were kept upto date with the progress in preping our van...The reassurance was indeed refreshing as I was indeed paranoid of getting stitched up. I arrived in Shrewsbury @ 10am to be picked up by Salop Salesman Stuart Mould ( Stuart is an ex Service Manager and he certainly knows how to handle a sale).
Firstly the paperwork was done, followed by the handover.....First impression was fantastic - the van was polished with the blacks siliconed to further enhance wow factor. The van was hooked up and all appliances were demo'd including heating, draining boiler, jump start point under boonet ect - all in all about 1hr.
The Extras - We had a 240v/12v and aerial socket added at front of van. 10/10 for workmanship hiding wires to status 530 in wardrobe. It looked like it had been fitted from new. We also had a Veba reversing cam and once again the work was top draw. In addition we had an F45 awning, 4 bike rack and roof rack / ladder fitted - Everything was fitted to a top standard( Iam an electrician hence qualified to comment).
The Van - we have hired a Swift Sundance(2009) several times now so I was always going to compare...The T63 is a ford transit based unit with a 2.2L 140BHP engine. Well I cannot believe the power in this engine - it absolutely flies however it is easy to stall if you don't get the revs right. Weve now got 500miles on the clock and she's averaged 32.7MPG. I love the torque in 6th gear - its really superb. The ride is harder than the fiat chassis but for B roads this is certainly a benifit. My other half commented on how quiet the T63 was on the M5 @ 70MPH compared to the swift but maybe this is due to ours being a low profile. A downside to the tranny is that the seats are quite high so touching the pedals could be tricky if you sub 5Ft8". The gearbox is an absolute delight as well. I would like to get the bumper colour coded to lose the DHL/ Fedex feel( maybe thats a little snobby). Another observation is that the tranny mirrors do not give such good visibility as the fiat( but they do not stick out as much).
The Van
Well our first experience was stressful with two little excited girls!! the rear bed is very comfortable indeed (both of us are 6Ft) and lifts up to access garage. The front bed is made up from lowering table in dinette and makes up quickly in a couple of mins -it is also very comfortable. The front seats swivel around which utilises the cab space to great effect. There are no posh blinds however just "popper" style cloth to blackout front - again basic but very effective. In terms of wardrobe size, this is the biggest of any MH we have seen. The "open plan" with level of staorage really swayed our choice. The shower is superb, good pressure from the truma but the best is that it has a proper tray with plugs that can ben used as a mini bath for kids - magnetic shutting door make it real practical. Its nice if someone want to use toilet after shower has been used - in the Sundance, you would get wet feet as the whole are got wet! The heating system is gas only (which I consider a downside especially if you are paying for electric) BUT again its incredibly effective.
At 22.5Ft she's not tiny but big enough for my wife and two young girls( and for my wife to take the kids off) . It has two very large double beds(permanent fixed at rear with massive garage underneath). The only other van like it was the CI694 but the Dethleffs felt massively better in terms of build quality. Being german it is quite bland but everything is highly functional with purpose.
The only snag so far is that the passenger seatbelt has stuck so we have had to book into Fords for a replacement. Fords have advised that the warranty has already been running for two years hence the van has been sat in Germany so I will be discussing with Salop Leisure as they confirmed a 3yr manufacturers warranty!
All in all we are really pleased with service recieved by Salop and content that we made the right choice of van - we decided on a T63 nearly a year ago but have been unable to find a used model....Now I know why
Hope Ive not bored you...And no flaming please!
Cheers to all for advice/ help..I hope this gives somthing back to this great forum.
MM
The Handover
Prior to visiting salop leisure we were kept upto date with the progress in preping our van...The reassurance was indeed refreshing as I was indeed paranoid of getting stitched up. I arrived in Shrewsbury @ 10am to be picked up by Salop Salesman Stuart Mould ( Stuart is an ex Service Manager and he certainly knows how to handle a sale).
Firstly the paperwork was done, followed by the handover.....First impression was fantastic - the van was polished with the blacks siliconed to further enhance wow factor. The van was hooked up and all appliances were demo'd including heating, draining boiler, jump start point under boonet ect - all in all about 1hr.
The Extras - We had a 240v/12v and aerial socket added at front of van. 10/10 for workmanship hiding wires to status 530 in wardrobe. It looked like it had been fitted from new. We also had a Veba reversing cam and once again the work was top draw. In addition we had an F45 awning, 4 bike rack and roof rack / ladder fitted - Everything was fitted to a top standard( Iam an electrician hence qualified to comment).
The Van - we have hired a Swift Sundance(2009) several times now so I was always going to compare...The T63 is a ford transit based unit with a 2.2L 140BHP engine. Well I cannot believe the power in this engine - it absolutely flies however it is easy to stall if you don't get the revs right. Weve now got 500miles on the clock and she's averaged 32.7MPG. I love the torque in 6th gear - its really superb. The ride is harder than the fiat chassis but for B roads this is certainly a benifit. My other half commented on how quiet the T63 was on the M5 @ 70MPH compared to the swift but maybe this is due to ours being a low profile. A downside to the tranny is that the seats are quite high so touching the pedals could be tricky if you sub 5Ft8". The gearbox is an absolute delight as well. I would like to get the bumper colour coded to lose the DHL/ Fedex feel( maybe thats a little snobby). Another observation is that the tranny mirrors do not give such good visibility as the fiat( but they do not stick out as much).
The Van
Well our first experience was stressful with two little excited girls!! the rear bed is very comfortable indeed (both of us are 6Ft) and lifts up to access garage. The front bed is made up from lowering table in dinette and makes up quickly in a couple of mins -it is also very comfortable. The front seats swivel around which utilises the cab space to great effect. There are no posh blinds however just "popper" style cloth to blackout front - again basic but very effective. In terms of wardrobe size, this is the biggest of any MH we have seen. The "open plan" with level of staorage really swayed our choice. The shower is superb, good pressure from the truma but the best is that it has a proper tray with plugs that can ben used as a mini bath for kids - magnetic shutting door make it real practical. Its nice if someone want to use toilet after shower has been used - in the Sundance, you would get wet feet as the whole are got wet! The heating system is gas only (which I consider a downside especially if you are paying for electric) BUT again its incredibly effective.
At 22.5Ft she's not tiny but big enough for my wife and two young girls( and for my wife to take the kids off) . It has two very large double beds(permanent fixed at rear with massive garage underneath). The only other van like it was the CI694 but the Dethleffs felt massively better in terms of build quality. Being german it is quite bland but everything is highly functional with purpose.
The only snag so far is that the passenger seatbelt has stuck so we have had to book into Fords for a replacement. Fords have advised that the warranty has already been running for two years hence the van has been sat in Germany so I will be discussing with Salop Leisure as they confirmed a 3yr manufacturers warranty!
All in all we are really pleased with service recieved by Salop and content that we made the right choice of van - we decided on a T63 nearly a year ago but have been unable to find a used model....Now I know why
Hope Ive not bored you...And no flaming please!
Cheers to all for advice/ help..I hope this gives somthing back to this great forum.
MM
