Ace (Swift) Motorhomes (1 Viewer)

longdog

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I would appreciate any honest first hand experience of Ace (Swift) motorhomes, there is an '09 Ace Adventurer 635 EK for sale locally and it looks quite good.

Is there anything I ought to know about these vans?
 

DuxDeluxe

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Suggest to have a search on here for Swift Motorhomes including damp floors.... Ace was a badge engineered Swift.
 

TheBig1

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the above is excellent advice, i can only add buy yourself a damp meter and buyer beware

on the design level, not bad vans at all, but let down by build quality and quality control. oh and the worst aftersales service you will experience

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camocam1

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I have an 07 ace milano and have to say for an entry level van the internal quality is excellent cushions maybe cheaper foam Yes had a small issue with slight damp but nothing like some vans and having studied this I would say 09 vans are mostly okay and the one your looking at is a higher spec van and can't say I have heard of any of those having damp problems but I could be wrong, let's be honest and face the facts that most manufacturers have problems with certain ranges of vans and I get fed up of people knocking swift just for the same of it
Yes check for damp ( but you would do that anyway)
Had our van almost 2 years and looked at lots on newer vans but I have to say none seem to give me any better quality than I have in my "budget range van"
 

OllieUK

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I have an 09 Swift Voyager 635ek it goes for a service and hab check next week. I beleive its the same design as an Ace Adventure. I have owned it since August last year and to be honest I am very pleased with it,s performance, it is a 5 berth but I travel solo with 2 dogs so there is plenty of room.
I have been put off when I read over and over again about Swift floors going soggy I just hope that when the hab check is done next week mine will be ok.

Previously I owned a Mercedes Compass Commodore. I sold it at a loss because of the damp it had inccurred. It has now been restored by the new owner who had the knowledge, time, and money to put it right.

The moral, I do believe all vans can be effected by water ingress.

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DuxDeluxe

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I would appreciate any honest first hand experience of Ace (Swift) motorhomes, there is an '09 Ace Adventurer 635 EK for sale locally and it looks quite good.

Is there anything I ought to know about these vans?

I will also add - check out the payload and what you are likely to carry. I seem to recall that payload is not great ( at least when I looked at a Bolero some time ago, but may have been a different model)
 

Peter JohnsCross MH

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on the design level, not bad vans at all, but let down by build quality and quality control. oh and the [HI]worst aftersales service you will experience[/HI]


With respect it depends on which dealer you bought it from, we did not have any problems with our warranties


Peter
 
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I have owned 2 very dry reliable swifts. However I have just p/exed my very damp "superior ger
man" motorhome. So make your own mind up.
 
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longdog

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I have an 09 Swift Voyager 635ek it goes for a service and hab check next week. I beleive its the same design as an Ace Adventure. I have owned it since August last year and to be honest I am very pleased with it,s performance, it is a 5 berth but I travel solo with 2 dogs so there is plenty of room.
I have been put off when I read over and over again about Swift floors going soggy I just hope that when the hab check is done next week mine will be ok.

Previously I owned a Mercedes Compass Commodore. I sold it at a loss because of the damp it had inccurred. It has now been restored by the new owner who had the knowledge, time, and money to put it right.

The moral, I do believe all vans can be effected by water ingress.

We have only been motor-homing for 2 years, our first van was a Hymer 524 Swing. We bought it because it had 2 rear bunks for the grand-sprogs. Hey, we only took them twice in 2 years!

We decided to go for a low profile coach van and saw a CI Cipro 55 on a Mercedes Sprinter with a Sprintshift semi-auto 'box. This was THE one for us.

Fast-forward a week and it's wet.......... Wetter than a wet duck that has been swimming under water in the rain......!

I was assured it had a habitation check before I picked it up and I was assured it would be rectified within 3-4 weeks........ Naïve fool that I am, I trusted the dealer........... We used it for a long weekend, (it didn't rain), and it was fine.

2 weeks ago, we had a drop of rain, (yes, it happens here in Wales from time to time), what do you know? Yes, Niagra Falls in the cupboards at the back.

Cue me losing my rag, (I am normally very calm except when someone takes the proverbial), this resulted in me returning the van as "unfit for purpose", the dealer has said they will "try and get me a van to suit".

I took advice from the Trading Standards people and they say I have grounds. I have done everything they have said and the dealer's attitude has changed.

I am pretty reasonable and I have given them until the end of this month, I am prepared to make some compromises just to get a van, the Ace Adventurer 635 EK looks pretty good. I had then run a meter over the van today and it had 6% - 10% inside one or two cupboards but the rest looked fine. I didn't know anything about soggy floors, so where is best to check?

It is a family van but there will be just 2 of us for the most part. I also looked at two Elddis vans, both 2012, a 145 and a 130. Both appear flimsy compared to the Ace. To be honest, the Ace appears to knock spots off the build quality of the newer Elddis vans and also the CI Cipro that I unceremoniously dumped back at the dealers.

Oh yes, just one more thing, they offered me a beautiful 2010 Roller Team 694, 1 owner, 6k miles, yearly habitation checks done. Yes it was lovely, we almost went for it until my wife asked then to put a damp meter on it...... 60% around the habitation door, 0% everywhere else then 100% on the back wall!!!! The beautiful irony of this little tale is that we rejected the Roller Team van, but the dealer phoned a couple with "the perfect van" for them. The couple in question just happen to be our best friends!
 

camocam1

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From what I have read and from first head experience you need to check the following

Check if underside has a PVC /plastic film (these seem to cause most problems but think 09 was newer black paint)
Check all 4 corners (underneath) for soft plywood
Check along the sides (underneath) as on some models the side skirts were not sealed properly and water got in and sat on the bottom ledge and soaked into the floor
Also check under any lookers under the seats
Other problem area seems to be around the habitation step area

Most ace/swift problems seem to have been caused by poorly sealed side skirts and as the underside is not checked at habitation checks its only found when its too late
Hopefully all will be well

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TheBig1

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With respect it depends on which dealer you bought it from, we did not have any problems with our warranties


Peter
also with the greatest respect peter I am not referring to any particular dealer, more the swift attitude to problems. I am not the only EX customer of swift who had major problems that swift refused to authorise the dealer to fix

Had I purchased from you I am sure you would have done all you could to fix problems. but when a whole roof is loose and vibrated in the wind causing leaks I am sure you would of chased swift for authorisation to sort it. swift sent an supposed engineer out to view my problem van and their claim was they are all like that and its within manufacturing tolerance. not good for customer service or after sales support. or would you disagree?
 
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longdog

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From what I have read and from first head experience you need to check the following

Check if underside has a PVC /plastic film (these seem to cause most problems but think 09 was newer black paint)
Check all 4 corners (underneath) for soft plywood
Check along the sides (underneath) as on some models the side skirts were not sealed properly and water got in and sat on the bottom ledge and soaked into the floor
Also check under any lookers under the seats
Other problem area seems to be around the habitation step area

Most ace/swift problems seem to have been caused by poorly sealed side skirts and as the underside is not checked at habitation checks its only found when its too late
Hopefully all will be well

Thanks for this excellent advice, I shall do just that.
 

sedge

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Have to say when we bought our Swift Bessacar van, it was 09 registered but built in 08 everything we read, on here and other places on t'internet, indicated that slightly older vans were the ones with the damp floors etc problems. We had a warranty issue and it was sorted out with Swift pdq and to our entire satisfaction - in fact we were gobsmacked at how exceedingly well the dealer and Swift themselves performed.

We never had to create a fuss or have histrionics. In fact - it was the dealer who told us that the van had a prob in the first place and we went on two holiday NP (yes including in the rain) before they sorted it - they would have had it back months earlier - but we wouldn't let them have it till the winter because we wanted to use it! And it was only cosmetic at that stage, the actual problem having been sorted out pronto by the dealer.

Didn't stop us enjoying using it one little bit.

I don't doubt people have had problems with vans of any make you care to mention, but you rarely hear ALL the satisfied people of which there are hugely more, piping up on the same thread!

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Peter JohnsCross MH

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Had I purchased from you [HI]I am sure you would have done all you could to fix problems.[/HI] but when a whole roof is loose and vibrated in the wind causing leaks I am sure you would of chased swift for authorisation to sort it. swift sent an supposed engineer out to view my problem van and their claim was they are all like that and its within manufacturing tolerance. not good for customer service or after sales support. or would you disagree?

If your van was like that and we had supplied it as a new vehicle and a converter refused to sort it, I am sure we would have rejected it as unfit for purpose but I do not know the history of the van or its model so cannot comment.

When we have had a problem with a van, we have never had to get 'heavy' with Swift to get a problem solved, maybe my workshop know what they are doing!

Peter
 

TheBig1

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If your van was like that and we had supplied it as a new vehicle and a converter refused to sort it, I am sure we would have rejected it as unfit for purpose but I do not know the history of the van or its model so cannot comment.

When we have had a problem with a van, we have never had to get 'heavy' with Swift to get a problem solved, maybe my workshop know what they are doing!

Peter
Well Peter, you dont own Marquis, or things would be much better there too. It was a brand new swift lifestyle purchased back in 2004. I took legal advice regarding rejecting it and priced up the potential legal costs. as i was undergoing lifechanging surgery at the time we chose to cut our losses and sold it on at a loss with under 2k on the clock. very much a shame really as it was a show special edition with various extras, and we really liked the layout and colours etc. just couldn't be doing with a protracted legal battle with a useless dealership and worse manufacturer. my solicitor told me I had an excellent case but it could take a year or more to settle in court.

since then I wont buy any swift group vans and going by the continuing bad press they get from other dissatisfied customers, it seems that is a sensible decision

buying any motorhome is a risk, even though it shouldn't be. can you imagine any other product in the same price bracket being sold with such a poor level of quality control. clearly there are a few ethical dealerships about including your own. however some others seem happy to take money from customers and give them little support or even a decent PDI to make the process of spending a small fortune a pleasant experience
 

sedge

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Oh that's really strange Big One!

Guess where we had our Bessie from? Marquis at Billing Aquadrome!

Marvellous people to deal with in July 2009 and thereafter for a few months. Nothing was too much trouble .....

Can't speak for them before or since.

We can only judge firms on our own personal experience.

ISTR that Swift have a larger slice of the UK market than any other manufacturer so numbers of complainants isn't the correct unit of measurement for comparison purposes here.

We would need to know the percentage of purchasers who are left dissatisfied, wouldn't we?

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Heyupluv

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We have just been parked at the side of a welsh couple in France..they had not long purchased a Bessacar 3 to 4 year old
motorhome about 7 meters long (not sure of the model) when he checked underneath a lot of the floor was rotten:Eeek: and damp:Eeek:...the motorhome had to go to a specialist firm to repair...under warranty:Doh:...
I think Bessacar are the same company as swift/ ace/ group
 
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Terry

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Just a little more info re damp -Swift 2005 to 2007 models were affected -no specific ones more than any others -Swift did a lot of repairs at the factory and sent instructions to dealers to seal the side skirts when vans came in for hab /service checks -They appeared to get on top of the situation and made a promise to fix any and all vans affected as and when they showed damp no matter what age -they have now back peddled on this -and more recently a few 2009 model vans have been shown to suffer from yet more damp floors :Eeek:It would be interesting to get Swift's response to this problem (they monitor sites like fun) if they have the b---s to answer :Smile:
I still think they make some of the nicest looking vans around but they should back there product :thumb:and admit /fix the problems they have instead of letting it get out of hand on forums like this :thumb: it only takes a few to shout up and lot's take notice IE bad news travels a lot faster than good as the then CEO Peter found out -he did a sterling job reassuring people on the quality of his product and that Swift would stand by it no matter what -how times change :Doh:::bigsmile:
terry
edit YES Mel Swift -Ace- Bessicarr, top the range---and now Autocruse are all Swift vans
 
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Heyupluv

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Well Peter, you dont own Marquis, or things would be much better there too. It was a brand new swift lifestyle purchased back in 2004. I took legal advice regarding rejecting it and priced up the potential legal costs. as i was undergoing lifechanging surgery at the time we chose to cut our losses and sold it on at a loss with under 2k on the clock. very much a shame really as it was a show special edition with various extras, and we really liked the layout and colours etc. just couldn't be doing with a protracted legal battle with a useless dealership and worse manufacturer. my solicitor told me I had an excellent case but it could take a year or more to settle in court.

since then I wont buy any swift group vans and going by the continuing bad press they get from other dissatisfied customers, it seems that is a sensible decision

buying any motorhome is a risk, even though it shouldn't be. can you imagine any other product in the same price bracket being sold with such a poor level of quality control. clearly there are a few ethical dealerships about including your own. however some others seem happy to take money from customers and give them little support or even a decent PDI to make the process of spending a small fortune a pleasant experience


I agree with you on the above marked in red...Most motorhomes manufactured level of work is very poor for the price people pay...it seem's there is NO quality control or a check list when signing off a motorhome....what they do is let you quality check and they will repair any fault you find under warranty....that is if you find the faults before the warranty runs out..because most people don't use there van enough to find the faults..a couple of weeks a year the rest it is sat on there drive or in lock up...BUT when a motorhome is manufactured..from bottom up inside out, to repair it is not that easy and can make a worse mess than the original fault...dealers no matter how good they are not of the original assemblers, so they are trying to make good the best they can... as the saying goes "Jack of All Trades Master of None? "
I don't blame the dealers in many cases ...But do blame the manufactures.... the problems motorhomes are not just the UK it is most UK/European vans...
They also have another clause they use as a get out....we build the outer shell...so we are only respossible for the shell and furnishings....any chassis problem you will have to see Alko....same with the front...that is FIAT not our problem...or so RAPIDO main company at Mayenne said,,,,,,to me who ever sell's motorhome is responcible for everything.

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longdog

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Thanks for the information everyone, it is food for thought and yet something else to look out for when buying a motorhome! Somehow, I have never thought about damp checking the floor!

Swift group vans appear to be very popular as you see so many of them out and about, I guess my reasoning is that there must be a lot of satisfied owners out there? It is true that you only tend to hear the bad things about anything, so maybe it would be interesting to find out the percentages involved?

OK, back to the thread, I am still very open to any help and assistance about the Ace Adventurer 635 EK (and it's cousin the Swift Voyager 635 EK), that would help me to make the right educated choice and for potential future ownership.
 

DuxDeluxe

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Don't be put off by all the horror stories! There are thousands and thousands of very good vans out there with few issues. It really is a case of caveat emptor - check, check and check again and get everything in writing from the dealer. Buying from the very high level dealers such as Johns Cross (other good dealers are available!) may not prevent issues but certainly will make it a whole lot more bearable. Sometimes, you do get what you pay for.

I took a chance and purchased from a dealer who has been much criticised for poor service, but I did it with my eyes wide open and the deal was simply way better than anything else. The van and manufacturer I bought was also researched with no issues showing up at all. Admittedly a Swift product would have been quite a bit cheaper........

Edit - to answer your question, check it out and if it feels right after the checks then go for it. Remember though that it is like buying a Ford Focus - there are a whole load of them out there so if this one doesn't feel quite right then there will be another
 
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longdog

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Well thanks for your help and the contact that you provided Dux, I have done the deal on an Ace Adventurer 635 EK today and will be picking it up in a couple of weeks :thumb:

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longdog

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Well after enjoying our old Hymer Swing, we decided to spend some hard earned cash and buy a low profile with a French bed.....

What a disaster! It was a CI Cipro 55 and it was damp..... No, it was wet! Anyway, I quoted Trading Standards and returned it as not fit for purpose and it looks as if we have had a result. Mind you, after our experience with the sales person, we went to one of the Directors and things took on a positive outlook.

Well now we will be picking up the van and we can get on with our holidays and our life too :thumb:
 

Mousy

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Well done Longdog, we are near you, so if you need any help or a mini meet, give us a shout. :thumb:

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longdog

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Well done Longdog, we are near you, so if you need any help or a mini meet, give us a shout. :thumb:

Thanks Mousy, we are due to pick up our new van w/c 12th. May, our first outing will be on Friday 30th. May for 2 nights to Bosherston Lakes, near Stackpole Key and Broadhaven South. We often get down to Newport, (Cardigan) and Manorbier for a weekend but we will not be able to make the Carmarthen Show this time around, but it would be good to have a mini-meet sometime.
 

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