Buying British - Is it being a true patriot or a fool?

[596]

I try to buy British when I can, I bought a British brand of motorhome and quite frankly after seeing German models it was really an act of charity giving this manufacturer my money for the sake of the industry and country, but how loyal can you be, can you be too loyal and forgiving for lack of quality?

I take all my own BRITISH meat and as much BRITISH food and BRITISH beer and wine to France when I go for 6 weeks in the summer, my plan is to spend as little as possible in France and to eat known food and drink real beer.

How do you support Britain and British industry?

 

[klaatu]

I buy local products wherever I can, wherever local happens to be. Not sure you can apply that to motorhomes.

 

[Jim]

If it's not Yorkshire tea I won't drink it.

 

[Ninjabob]

Buy the layout that suits you best. If that happened to be made in Russia then you might go through some soul searching. No one is going to look badly upon you from buying German for instance. Anyway tell me a British Motorhome that is built on a English Chassis/Cab.

 

[HandyAndy]

Nothing at all wrong with supporting your own countries industry....
Unless that industry is turning out poor quality overpriced crap.
I'd rather they went bust than buy UK made stuff in that instance.

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[Two on Tour]

What about those Canadian Mirror protectors of yours then ?

 

[Themselves]

Used to have a similar argument back in the seventies about British or Japanese motorbikes. Dear Lord but it all became hideously tedious. The correct choice was Italian.

 

[596]

What about those Canadian Mirror protectors of yours then ?

I did say I thought I was buying British, I had no idea ether weer two identical products, it was only when I got the tracking I was surprised it was coming from Canada, I doubt anyone else knew they existed either! They are much better though

 

[gus-lopez]

How do you support Britain and British industry?

I live in Spain.

 

[autorouter]

Just my opinion, but I'd say both.

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[peterc10]

Nothing at all wrong with supporting your own countries industry....
Unless that industry is turning out poor quality overpriced crap.
I'd rather they went bust than buy UK made stuff in that instance.

I agree with that. It is daft to buy an inferior product just because it is British.

 

[Mark and Mindy]

As far as our van went we had a Devon Colorado for our first one from a UK converter, it was a good build and exactly what we wanted (at the time) with no problems or issues, we changed to our current van because it had the permanent rear transverse bed with plenty of storage underneath, and while it may be a Hymer there wasn't anything else on the market at the time which fitted our layout and van length requirements.

I eat local, wouldn't take food from home except maybe for the first day or if its something we don't eat loads of like butter or cooking condiments (oil, vinegar, herbs, spices etc).

Part of going away for me is eating food from where I am, whether in the UK or abroad.

 

[Jewellbags]

I’ve got a French MH , a jap bike and a American car . But all my taxes go back into Blighty so my conscious is clear

 

[Grianan]

I remember my parents buying a British car because of high unemployment. A white Mini Metro that broke down on the first day of ownership ?.

I can’t afford to buy inferior products just to be patriotic. We bought German.

As for food a large part of the joy of travelling is experiencing local food.

We do take our Twinings Everyday tea though ?.

 

[Bluemooner]

I bought British and it has a better build than the Germans have pure quality

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[pagey]

I try to buy British when I can, I bought a British brand of motorhome and quite frankly after seeing German models it was really an act of charity giving this manufacturer my money for the sake of the industry and country, but how loyal can you be, can you be too loyal and forgiving for lack of quality?

I take all my own BRITISH meat and as much BRITISH food and BRITISH beer and wine to France when I go for 6 weeks in the summer, my plan is to spend as little as possible in France and to eat known food and drink real beer.

How do you support Britain and British industry?

I fear the latter

 

[wiljoy]

They may make motorhomes in the UK (badly) but most of the content is imported. I see all the foreign truck's delivering parts to Elddis/Hymer/Thor or whatever they call themselves now. My Local diaries UK milk comes from anywhere in Europe.
We don't really know what we are buying from where nowadays.

 

[Bluemooner]

They may make motorhomes in the UK (badly) but most of the content is imported. I see all the foreign truck's delivering parts to Elddis/Hymer/Thor or whatever they call themselves now. My Local diaries UK milk comes from anywhere in Europe.
We don't really know what we are buying from where nowadays.

Well think of it this way if you are buying a Hymer you are buying an Elddis

 

[Langtoftlad]

It's simply impossible to buy a multi component product that is the output & retailed of a single nation.

I tried to buy British Butter...

 

[MyrtleGuru]

If it's not Yorkshire tea I won't drink it.

Yes, I always get excited when it comes to tea harvest time in Yorkshire

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[Mrsambulancekidd]

If it's not Yorkshire tea I won't drink it.

That's the one I like.

 

[lorger]

I try to buy British when I can, I bought a British brand of motorhome and quite frankly after seeing German models it was really an act of charity giving this manufacturer my money for the sake of the industry and country, but how loyal can you be, can you be too loyal and forgiving for lack of quality?

I take all my own BRITISH meat and as much BRITISH food and BRITISH beer and wine to France when I go for 6 weeks in the summer, my plan is to spend as little as possible in France and to eat known food and drink real beer.

How do you support Britain and British industry?

Is your van British or just put together in Britain, I’m guessing your base vehicle is Fiat. Your heater probably a Truma and fridge a Dometic (spelling), where are the walls, windows, and any other accessory manufactured.
I’d love to buy a good quality British manufactured van but not sure one actually exists

 

[Paddywack]

I try to buy British when I can, I bought a British brand of motorhome and quite frankly after seeing German models it was really an act of charity giving this manufacturer my money for the sake of the industry and country, but how loyal can you be, can you be too loyal and forgiving for lack of quality?

I take all my own BRITISH meat and as much BRITISH food and BRITISH beer and wine to France when I go for 6 weeks in the summer, my plan is to spend as little as possible in France and to eat known food and drink real beer.

How do you support Britain and British industry?

Where was the cab and chassis of your British Motorhome built?

 

[MyrtleGuru]

I bought British and it has a better build than the Germans have pure quality

Seems like a lot of this anti-British-motorhome stuff is based on very old experiences. There are some very good British motorhome manufacturers/converters around these days -- and quite a few are actually owned by companies from mainland Europe. Much like the car industry these days, the nationality of the manufacturer is far from clear-cut.

 

[Chris]

I always buy French if I can.

Except for food, beer, wine, cheese, cars, motor homes, property, clothing, cigarettes, holidays and shoes.

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[HandyAndy]

Yorshire tea... made from products produced in Assam, SriLanka and Kenya..

 

[Allanm]

We try and buy things locally, wherever we are and support local shops when we can, but most electrical goods and vehicles are made from components from around the world so are really only assembled or built in ( insert home country here) not really “made” there.
We’ve had two British built motorhomes, two German campervans, a US made RV and a German motorhome.
I’m afraid the British built motorhomes, good as they were, were really not as well put together as the others.

But nothing anywhere near as bad as the old British Leyland cars!

 

[MyrtleGuru]

When we bought our van (a PVC) we did a fair bit of online research and visited a few shows, then we opted for a UK converter. We did look at the German Globecar/Poessl range which was tempting (we had some doubts about the UK agents, though), but we prefer to support the UK economy. We buy UK-made furniture, for example -- twice the price of Chinese-made but it lasts forever and a decent UK maker will re-cover for a reasonable price when you wear out the fabric.

The choice of a good UK van converter also gave us the advantage of choosing the base vehicle options and allowing us to tweak the design for the conversion to better suit our needs. They did also put up with some last-minute changes of mind like adding solar panels (and an alarm to satisfy the insurers). Dealing with the converter directly also cuts out a level when it comes to snagging and warranty fixes.

However, as a country we don't seem to make a lot of things these days (at least when it comes to consumer goods), so the white goods have to be German (preferably Miele), although the de-humidifier and boiler are made in the UK. I have to say UK rather than British, because the boiler is from NI, I think.

 

[Podney]

I try not to buy anything.Simples. Most of what people buy,they don’t need. It’s just to make them feel good. Retail therapy. People fill their houses,motorhomes,cars,cupboards ...with “stuff” 80% not needed.
About 25% of the food people buy gets wasted,then they complain about the cost of food. Then they wonder why they’re so bloody fat...it’s because they’re buying too much.
Cost of living going up....stop buying so much crap you don’t need.
I feel better now. Thanks.

 

[TheBig1]

our van was assembled in France, with running gear from Italy, the chassis from Germany and most parts made in Germany. I run it on diesel imported from the gulf states most likely.

my truck is Japanese, built in Spain with a French engine

swift is the motorhome equivalent to the defunct British leyland. Really abysmal workmanship, built to the cheapest price rather than quality. Swift only survived til now by pushing out cheap high volume with very high profit margins using old building techniques. Nails, staples and mastic to hold body parts on, when top quality manufacturers use polyurethane glues and screws

if you want to buy a van inside a budget to look good on the drive and use once or twice a year, buy British. If you want a quality product that will last through heavy use, then buy a European made van and pay the extra that represents the quality of build

I support uk businesses in pretty much all I buy and the amount I pay in tax supports the country. But I try not to buy rubbish and refuse to just to be patriotic

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