Buying a motorhome but 3 owners in 3 years (1 Viewer)

[themountaintiger]

I want to upgrade motorhome. been looking at 2011 tag swift 649 (at a dealers), but what concerns me is that its had 3 owners in last 3/4 years. The last owner only doing about 1000 miles in it. In my mind I cant work out if its a problem with the motorhome (albeit it would only just about have come out of its warranty) or is it just the previous owners didnt quite understand what they are taking on?
Surely prior owners would have understood MPG, Size etc, researching before buying (its £52k now so not an off the cuff purchase.. Am I answering my own question here in that it might be an issue with motorhome,.. or can it be 3 prior owners didnt think it was for them??

Any thoughts please...

 

[busby]

SWIFT.....enough said.....BUSBY.....

 

[Wildman]

Swift seem to have a reputation for falling apart if actually used. Up until now everything has been replaced under warrenty. I'd contact previous owners if you can.

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[Gellyneck]

As Wildman says. Ask the dealer to see the V5c and get the previous owners details off there.

 

[martin2603]

I purchased a 669 in very similar circumstances 6000miles on it when I purchased it, It had just not been used, I 've put 6k on in 1 year
no major issues, a few niggles sorted out under warranty, I now have a 3 year warranty up to £1000.00 per claim for £100.00 per year, this is the suppliers own warranty. I did replace both front tyres as one was starting to minor signs of cracking wear in the walls.
If you do not have a issue with a bigger vehicle go ahead. If it is a 180bhp you should get 25mpg driven sensibly not towing.

 

[scotjimland]

can it be 3 prior owners didnt think it was for them??

I think quite probably.. at almost 30ft it is a big van and while many say length is not an issue, that wasn't my experience with a 36ft RV ..

so yes.. they may have taken advice about the size then found out that in reality the longer a van is the fewer sites that suit and the fewer places it can park..

but just in case it is a lemon.. may be worth while contacting the previous owner..

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[Theonlysue]

I've noticed a lot of tags for sale and I think that size may come into the equation. It's horses for courses and may not suit everyone. Those extra few feet can make a lot if difference
Build quality may well be a factor.

 

[Judge Mental]

Looking at it and living with it entirely different things. Sorry but would not touch a swift with a barge pole

 

[themountaintiger]

do you think then the dealers would forward on prior owner details to me (with prior owner permission)? I had thought of phoning dealers for their opinion seeing if they would tell the truth. I had found a prior advert for same motorhome when it had 2 owners.

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[DBK]

My guess the low mileage is a clue, the vehicle has hardly been used by at least one of the owners and I can't believe they didn't use it because of quality issues though you do need to be assured it doesn't have damp problems.

The first owner looks at all the models on display, perhaps at a MH show, and comes to the conclusion they couldn't possibly live in anything smaller. So they buy the biggest they can afford then find it doesn't suit them when they actually take it on holiday. Ditto the other owners.

This is not to denigrate large MHs, they have great virtues but I don't think they are for everyone.

It could also be one or other of the previous owners was still working and found they couldn't get away enough to justify the depreciation cost of it sitting on the drive unused most of the time.

My local Fiat dealer told me they service a lot of MHs which are only used two or three weeks a year.

 

[Ber090]

Hi, Just to add a bit of balance we are delighted with our Bolero and we were delighted with our 2 previous Swift Caravans. Now at 2 year old and 12000 miles and over 300 nights we would deffo buy another. For some reason there are some people who always are ready to have a go at Swift. some are ex owners and some know somebody who knew somebody who once heard that somebody they met knew somebody who they think may have had a Swift!

 

[themountaintiger]

thanks DevonBeeKeeper... yes good points...


and Bero090.. i was keeping quiet on that one.. didnt want to have my question turned into that direction...

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[Judge Mental]

swift build quality issues have been public debate for years. That some have been lucky, many have not. Try a google search and be prepared for a long read.....

apart from professional damp survey which is essential! you also need to weigh the thing including axle weights to see if its in anyway practical in use

 

[tonka]

Most of us on here are seasoned users and make the most of our vans..
However there are the "sunny, weekend" buyers.... Those that only visit a dealer on a nice sunny day, think what a great idea and earning a good wage to add another weekend toy....
Within a few hundred meters of my house we used to have a Brownhills branch and the various managers used to tell me tales of brand new sales made in the summer and then the people wanted to sell them in February as they had not used them !!! Also you do get people who never buy the right van first time. I am guilty on that, had 3 vans in 18 months until we hit on the layout that was right for us...

Could be several reasons, Ref the damp issues I would not rely on a dealer saying it's ok.. Get an independant check proir to the sale..

 

[Ber090]

Hi, Judgemental, Of course you are right. A google search for Swift problems gives a big read. Similar to a search for Hymer problems or Autosleeper etc. Which other builder is happy to have their own forum and answer issues openly and quickly. Which Swift van did you have?

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[buttons]

Anything like my Konleaky that I had from new, I would recommend an umbrella for use while inside the van.

 

[mjltigger]

If you're spending that much money be right before you spend. If in doubt walk away IMHO

 

[Gellyneck]

do you think then the dealers would forward on prior owner details to me (with prior owner permission)? I had thought of phoning dealers for their opinion seeing if they would tell the truth. I had found a prior advert for same motorhome when it had 2 owners.

The dealer is legally obliged to hand over the V5 to you immediately upon purchase so you can do the Transfer of Ownership. You will therefore have the previous owners details at that time.

Whether they will do this prior to purchase probably depends on the dealer. You can only ask.

If they refuse to do so it's up to you to decide whether they are trying to hide the reason behind "early" trade-in. What do they say about the reasons? It may have been a trade-in with them against another, perhaps, smaller vehicle?

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[Judge Mental]

Which Swift van did you have?

No interest in UK market, all overpriced rubbish.....

 

[chaser]

Don't think I would be spending 52 grand on something I wasn't sure about, but saying that there are hundreds of vans about that have done very few miles, think , this could of been standing in dealers yards for most of its life if it's had three owners in three years, they might have only had it a couple of months, ran out of money,illness even dead, just no knowing, could have even been registered to a dealer or two, all just unknown could be bargain of the year or the dog.
Got to make your own mind up unfortunately, no one can really be much help.

 

[bernardfeay]

If I were you I would compose a letter to the dealership outlining what you expect in the form of a three month guarantee. Anything that is seriously amiss will show up in that time. They like to think that if the clutch goes while you drive home it is your fault and down to normal wear and tear. If they won't do business with you under your own reasonable conditions then leave it alone. I always feel better with my opinions and concerns in writing. It helps a bunch when you go to court.

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[Minxy]

Assuming it's on a Fiat you could get the details and go into a Fiat garage and ask them to check the 'repair' history ... it could highlight if there have been any 'juddering' issues etc which could be another reason it has not been used much.

 

[Minxy]

Assuming it's this one:

Broken Link Removed

I've just done a vehicle registration check with the DVLA and came up with:

https://www.vehicleenquiry.service.gov.uk/

It would be interesting to know exactly WHEN the base vehicle was produced and Fiat could tell you this.

 

[Theonlysue]

When in doubt, don't!
And there is definitely doubt here.
And it's too much money to put at risk, and there have been after sales problems with both the manufacturer and dealer
My van is over 8 years old, and I'm only the second owner.

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[deleted-member02]

I don't think it's a case of spending 52k having done proper research.
For many (the majority ?) it's a case of buying on a whim and deciding the monthly payments.

Just my observation after years of attending shows, unprincipled dealers and naïve customers mostly...

 

[sedge]

Why not talk to Mark at Central Leisure Services ?

He (obviously LOL) is a Trade Member on Fun and does not adore Swifts enough to not buy a Burstner - it was all-singing, all dancing, the puppies privates in fact. So this time last year when we were on the same Fun rally at Lady Hayes, we went looking for him to see this marvellous thing (and book our first Hab service for the Pilote we'd had in March 2013)

Imagine our surprise when we saw a Swift van had a satellite dish on the roof with 'CLS' emblazoned on it and no sign of any Burstner with same. So we wandered along to the Swift, the hab door was open and there sat Mark and his wife! Hello, thought you had a Burstner, Mate? We came to have a nose!

He cut a long story short, he'd had to swap it back because of problems he'd had and lost a LOT of dosh in the process. Not a happy chappy .........

And we had a Swift Bessacar for 3 years before the Pilote which had one problem when we bought it (pointed out by the dealer as we hadn't even noticed) so Swift had it back and sorted it. No problem. We had a slight judder in reverse - approached Fiat Customer Service, who got it sorted it out locally to us, no problem. Excellent service from both and excellent van.

 

[irnbru]

We only kept our first MH for 6 months then changed to a different layout. One year later we are looking out for another different layout. Nothing wrong with either MH, maybe the 3 previous purchasers decided the layout wasn't for them. Perhaps you could try posting the reg and see if it may have previously belonged to a funster.

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[Jaws]

We bought the Miller when it was barely a year old. Had ( from memory ) under 3k miles on it.
We actually met the previous owner.
Turned out they bought it, then moved to a bungalow.. The van was bigger than the house and it drew a lot of attention from neighbours :-(
They sold it to buy smaller.. no other reason

 

[martin2603]

Take a look at MMM December, Russell the 'Kontiki Kidd ' has an article in that issue, he does some serious touring and is now on his fourth Kontiki. I have also seen articles on German marques going back to the fatherland for damp issues, and recently a new one has now had electrical issues with no dealer in the country they are visiting.
Horses for courses . If funds were no object we would all be driving top of the range models at 200k
You pay your money and take your choice.

 

[Gellyneck]

Don't know if Russ is a member on here but he's a moderator (Kontiki Kid) on Caravan Talk.

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