CARTHAGO STAND - NEC SHOW, Funsters Offer! (1 Viewer)

[zac]

if the warranty work you are worrying about was serious it would have to go back to Germany anyway, minor issues can be sorted by post or getting work done here and sending them bill. Where there's a will there's a way

Maybe your reticence derives from the appalling service and build quality you have experienced in the UK...

If you insist on buying an in stock van in UK check the build date!

For some odd reason autotrail popular here should be straightforward to sell on...

My concerns i have no doubt are down to the quality issues on my delaware, I would also not expect the van to go back to Germany for any kind of repair regardless of what it was. But if it did i certainly would not want to be sorting this out myself, i would prefer the dealer sort it and cover the costs. For me buying a Carthago in europe based on the reviews i have seen made by others would just not be worth the extra hassle. However if i were buying a Hymer this would be different as they seem to cover of warranty work regardless of where you brought it. I have not ruled out buying a Hymer yet as i havent had any figures back so until i get these everything is open

 

[Judge Mental]

My concerns i have no doubt are down to the quality issues on my delaware, I would also not expect the van to go back to Germany for any kind of repair regardless of what it was. But if it did i certainly would not want to be sorting this out myself, i would prefer the dealer sort it and cover the costs. For me buying a Carthago in europe based on the reviews i have seen made by others would just not be worth the extra hassle. However if i were buying a Hymer this would be different as they seem to cover of warranty work regardless of where you brought it. I have not ruled out buying a Hymer yet as i havent had any figures back so until i get these everything is open

I am veering away towards Hymer as well for the same reason..ease of ownership and cheaper as well. OK not as pretty or flash as Carthago but i'm an ex boy scout for goodness sake..used to have to light fires with two sticks! matches a luxury!

also the Carthargo suffer quality issues along with other makes. its all about the ability of the company and how they react to it. I was at Carthago city this summer and the Aire packed with vans booked in for warranty work the next day, and its a big facility...... I'm weary after having two trouble free PVCs for 5 years regards going back to coachbuilt/A class. They all seem to have a ticking clock attached and far more hassle to run and own

Eddie

 

[zac]

I am veering away towards Hymer as well for the same reason..ease of ownership and cheaper as well. OK not as pretty or flash as Carthago but i'm an ex boy scout for goodness sake..used to have to light fires with two sticks! matches a luxury!

also the Carthargo suffer quality issues along with other makes. its all about the ability of the company and how they react to it. I was at Carthago city this summer and the Aire packed with vans booked in for warranty work the next day, and its a big facility...... I'm weary after having two trouble free PVCs for 5 years regards going back to coachbuilt/A class. They all seem to have a ticking clock attached and far more hassle to run and own

Eddie

Couldn't agree more with the statement "its all about the ability of the company and how they react to it" i would pay more if i knew i could get top notch service and quality. That i am afraid like many others have said is just a dream, i expect issues but i need them addressed in a timely and professional manner. Carthago are at the premium end in terms of cost and from what I can see looks and features but all this is on the surface.

Let us know which one you go for and where as always good to get feedback from people you have been down that road.

At present it is open and the choice wont be made till NEC at the earliest depending on cost and p/x.

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[Robert Clark]

I am veering away towards Hymer as well for the same reason..ease of ownership and cheaper as well. OK not as pretty or flash as Carthago but i'm an ex boy scout for goodness sake..used to have to light fires with two sticks! matches a luxury!

also the Carthargo suffer quality issues along with other makes. its all about the ability of the company and how they react to it. I was at Carthago city this summer and the Aire packed with vans booked in for warranty work the next day, and its a big facility...... I'm weary after having two trouble free PVCs for 5 years regards going back to coachbuilt/A class. They all seem to have a ticking clock attached and far more hassle to run and own

Eddie

You're welcome to your opinion, but Carthago have won numerous awards for quality
Broken Link Removed
Not everyone is looking for 'cheap' - some people prefer quality
It's s bit like comparing Toyota with Lexus / I've owned both and I know which I prefer.

 

[Judge Mental]

You're welcome to your opinion, but Carthago have won numerous awards for quality
Broken Link Removed
Not everyone is looking for 'cheap' - some people prefer quality
It's s bit like comparing Toyota with Lexus / I've owned both and I know which I prefer.

the point was no matter what you pay all can have issues.. a fact of life I'm afraid. There were people with top end 200K Cathargo Liners there who would never have one again, well pi$$ed off, as I would be at that price point. The liners are built there..the other ranges built in Czechoslovakia I think? German neighbour on Aire explained why others were unhappy. It was this experience that started me taking Hymer more seriously..flash does not count for much at the end of the day...Personally just want a practical good value van.

 

[Robert Clark]

the point was no matter what you pay all can have issues.. a fact of life I'm afraid. There were people with top end 200K Cathargo Liners there who would never have one again, well pi$$ed off, as I would be at that price point. The liners are built there..the other ranges built in Czechoslovakia I think? German neighbour on Aire explained why others were unhappy. It was this experience that started me taking Hymer more seriously..flash does not count for much at the end of the day...Personally just want a practical good value van.

Value sadly is subjective
And as many have said on this forum, modern Hymers are not a patch on the old ones - trading on a previously good reputation for quality I've head said
The salesman at our local dealer was quick to point out the inferior quality of the Hymer and Burstner vans - infact he cut his finger on the rough edges of the bonet of one of the 'cheaper' vans I mentioned., in front of our very eyes,
An important lesson I leaned in life was, 'quality is remembered, long after price is forgotten'

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[Judge Mental]

Value sadly is subjective
And as many have said on this forum, modern Hymers are not a patch on the old ones - trading on a previously good reputation for quality I've head said
The salesman at our local dealer was quick to point out the inferior quality of the Hymer and Burstner vans - infact he cut his finger on the rough edges of the bonet of one of the 'cheaper' vans I mentioned., in front of our very eyes,
An important lesson I leaned in life was, 'quality is remembered, long after price is forgotten'

On other forums I have seen reports of problems with them yet alone what I saw at factory...member on here said he had many issues but yet to explain.....

My mate knows the editor of a well known motorhome magazine, he had one with so many problem's with bits falling off, would never have one again!

Motorhomes are not cars, panel vans as reliable maybe..

 

[Robert Clark]

On other forums I have seen reports of problems with them yet alone what I saw at factory...member on here said he had many issues but yet to explain.....

My mate knows the editor of a well known motorhome magazine, he had one with so many problem's with bits falling off, would never have one again!

Motorhomes are not cars, panel vans as reliable maybe..

Maybe you could post some links to these forums?
When you were at the factory did you do a survey on how many owners had taken their vans there for routine service?
Care to name the Motorhome mag you refer to? Or are we to accept this as just here say ?
Ps. Smileys don't work well on an iPhone. Please feel free to insets as appropriate

 

[Judge Mental]

Maybe you could post some links to these forums?
When you were at the factory did you do a survey on how many owners had taken their vans there for routine service?
Care to name the Motorhome mag you refer to? Or are we to accept this as just here say ?
Ps. Smileys don't work well on an iPhone. Please feel free to insets as appropriate

do what yo want!lol I thought I explained my German neighbor pointed each van to me explaining the problems, he was there with his own Chic. not a happy bunny...all the owners were standing round in hurdles complaining

Enough to say I snapped out of the delusion, particularly when we were looking at the budget 5o-55K van range (75K here) Plus the fact that Carthago don't appear to enforce the Pan European warranty on their UK dealers, the last nail in the coffin to be honest..The irony being UK dealers will expect the warranty to be valid abroad

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[Robert Clark]

do what yo want!lol I thought I explained my German neighbor pointed each van to me explaining the problems, he was there with his own Chic. not a happy bunny...all the owners were standing round in hurdles complaining

Enough to say I snapped out of the delusion, particularly when we were looking at the budget 5o-55K van range (75K here) Plus the fact that Carthago don't appear to enforce the Pan European warranty on their UK dealers, the last nail in the coffin to be honest..The irony being UK dealers will expect the warranty to be valid abroad

I have an email from Cathago Customer Service team who are happy to confirm that all dealers will undertake warranty work - though the supplying dealer will do this as a higher priority
Anyone wanting a copy of the email please PM me their email address

 

[Judge Mental]

I have an email from Cathago Customer Service team who are happy to confirm that all dealers will undertake warranty work - though the supplying dealer will do this as a higher priority
Anyone wanting a copy of the email please PM me their email address

does that include LHD imports

 

[Robert Clark]

does that include LHD imports

That's a good question!
Why not email them and ask?

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[Mel]

If I am not mistaken Eddy(Judgemental) dd you not say you had been unable to see the Hymer due to roof damage.
If I am correct that would put me off the Hymer.
You could hold a dance on the roof of a Cartago without damage

Mel

 

[Robert Clark]

If I am not mistaken Eddy(Judgemental) dd you not say you had been unable to see the Hymer due to roof damage.
If I am correct that would put me off the Hymer.
You could hold a dance on the roof of a Cartago without damage

Mel

And Lenny is having electrical problems with his Hymer in Greece as we speak

 

[Judge Mental]

If I am not mistaken Eddy(Judgemental) dd you not say you had been unable to see the Hymer due to roof damage.
If I am correct that would put me off the Hymer.
You could hold a dance on the roof of a Cartago without damage

Mel

GRP roofs on a hymer are an extra, personally would not have a van without. the one on the way to the show room obviously did not Could have been an excuse for not having one there, who knows. But at Carthago city the showroom was 90% empty due to Dusseldorf show. but got a test drive which was good

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[Judge Mental]

And Lenny is having electrical problems with his Hymer in Greece as we speak

clutching at straws!lol, I have banner batteries as well along with 50% on here I would hazard a guess. and its an import he will proably buy new and send bill to dealer. or sort it on way home if one holds out? can happen with any van (yours has gel so better I think)

 

[Robert Clark]

clutching at straws!lol, I have banner batteries as well along with 50% on here I would hazard a guess. and its an import he will proably buy new and send bill to dealer. or sort it on way home if one holds out? can happen with any van( yours has gel so better I think)

No not clutching at straws, just pointing out like you did earlier that all brands can have issues.
Yes Carthago come with Gel Batteries - added 2 extra for extra resilience

 

[Judge Mental]

just pointing out like you did earlier that all brands can have issues.

and on that we can now agree...At any price point

my birthday boys...no recipes please! they say you should not have favorites, but I lurve big hairy pussies

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[Speve]

GRP roofs on a hymer are an extra, personally would not have a van without. the one on the way to the show room obviously did not Could have been an excuse for not having one there, who knows. But at Carthago city the showroom was 90% empty due to Dusseldorf show. but got a test drive which was good

Our Exsis came with grp on roof didn't pay extra all part of my import deal.
Any warranty issues dealt with over here.

 

[zac]

I have an email from Cathago Customer Service team who are happy to confirm that all dealers will undertake warranty work - though the supplying dealer will do this as a higher priority
Anyone wanting a copy of the email please PM me their email address

That sounds interesting as I am pretty sure I read a thread in here a while back saying that they had issues. Is this letter a recent communication?

Could assist anyone thinking of buying in Europe.

 

[funflair]

It does say that the supplying dealer will do it as a higher priority, so who knows what that means in the real world when you have water coming out the bottom of your motorhome or the habitation door lock has broken and locked you out.

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[Freespirit1]

and on that we can now agree...At any price point

Ok - so that mean you want a Carthago now then Eddie!

 

[Robert Clark]

It does say that the supplying dealer will do it as a higher priority, so who knows what that means in the real world when you have water coming out the bottom of your motorhome or the habitation door lock has broken and locked you out.

You'd naturally take it back to your supplying dealer if urgent work was required and your local dealer could not fit you in as soon as you wish. Or ask them if they would cover the cost of a repair from an independent repair guy.
Premium Motorhomes at Bawtry said they would happily support any Carthago owner - wherever they bought their van from
Others may be the same.
It was the salesman at Southdowns who said they wouldn't - but he doesn't answer the phone in the service dept so I've no way of knowing for sure

 

[Robert Clark]

That sounds interesting as I am pretty sure I read a thread in here a while back saying that they had issues. Is this letter a recent communication?

Could assist anyone thinking of buying in Europe.

It's about a month ago

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[Judge Mental]

Ok - so that mean you want a Carthago now then Eddie!

It was always between the two vans (hymer exsis i 474 & Carthago i 138)..but my health has taken a turn for the worse so plans on hold unfortunately..we live in hope

 

[Robert Clark]

It was always between the two vans (hymer exsis i 474 & Carthago i 138)..but my health has taken a turn for the worse so plans on hold unfortunately..we live in hope

Sorry to hear that Eddie - hope things work out for the best.

 

[Lenny HB]

And Lenny is having electrical problems with his Hymer in Greece as we speak

It's only the batteries and as I have 200 watts of solar it has masked the battery problem. At least Hymer fit Elektroblock systems as opposed to the cheap Italian CBE units Carthago fit.

On the way down we went to Carthago City spent a whole morning crawling over the vans, I was seriously thinking about a Chic, came away thinking my cheap Hymer Exsis has far better build quality we will stay with it for now, just wish we had brought one on the 4250kg chassis.
The only things, now this may sound silly that temps with a chic is the 170 Lt water tank with 250 Lt option & the slightly larger garage. The showers & washrooms were a bit grim much better engineered in Hymer's & the shower tray in our Hymer doesn't creak and flex like all the badly fitted ones in all the Carthago's.

My mate brought his Carthago from the Doncaster dealer they asked him to bring it back for a check over after 3 months, then they presented him with a bill for £130, not content with just making far more profit than a German dealer on the sale, as usual the great British rip off. They also made a total balls up of fitting a solar panel I've never seen such a bodged job, one dealer to steer well clear of.

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[Robert Clark]

It's only the batteries and as I have 200 watts of solar it has masked the battery problem. At least Hymer fit Elektroblock systems as opposed to the cheap Italian CBE units Carthago fit.

On the way down we went to Carthago City spent a whole morning crawling over the vans, I was seriously thinking about a Chic, came away thinking my cheap Hymer Exsis has far better build quality we will stay with it for now, just wish we had brought one on the 4250kg chassis.
The only things, now this may sound silly that temps with a chic is the 170 Lt water tank with 250 Lt option & the slightly larger garage. The showers & washrooms were a bit grim much better engineered in Hymer's & the shower tray in our Hymer doesn't creak and flex like all the badly fitted ones in all the Carthago's.

My mate brought his Carthago from the Doncaster dealer they asked him to bring it back for a check over after 3 months, then they presented him with a bill for £130, not content with just making far more profit than a German dealer on the sale, as usual the great British rip off. They also made a total balls up of fitting a solar panel I've never seen such a bodged job, one dealer to steer well clear of.

Strange what you say about the shower tray, ours is solid as a rock, as was the ones I stood in when testing them in the dealers.
I'm no electrical expert so can't comment on the Electroblock.
What I can say however is that with a life's experience working in the furniture industry the build quality of the interior of the Cathago is excellent. Every joint and panel are perfectly cut and put together, whereas the Hymers I looked at reminded me more of a flat pack kitchen. Many people would never notice the difference, but to me the little details make a big difference.
I guess like most things in life you pays your money and makes your choice.
Hope you get your battery problem sorted soon and that it does not spoil your trip.

 

[dabhand]

Would be interested what price a Chic S Plus with the Iveco 3.0L (205 HP) and new ZF8 Auto Gearbox would be ?

Your not having one silly boy!!

 

[Lenny HB]

When the first van you look in, in their flagship showroom has a chip out of the worktop, all the kitchen draw catches were sticking and very difficult to open & close the draws & of course the shower tray creaked. I went and asked the salesman if it was a used van and did they have a new one of that model, Looked at me with a blank expression until he realised I was serious, I think at first he thought I was winding him up.

As for the shower trays every single one creaked even in the €200,000 e-liner.
Also my mates Carthago the first time he used the shower the battery box flooded, due to the poor fit with shower door & tray and no sealing around the floor of the compartment.

P.S. For all that extra cash you don't even get a leather steering wheel, gear knob & gator like in my cheapo Hymer.

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