Do I cancel my new Swift van? (1 Viewer)
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Reject and buy an Autotrail pre 2011
That about some it up you budget van I understand
Reject and buy an Autotrail pre 2011
Northernraider
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It's a swift
We all know or should know by now they are the lada of motorhomes
We all know or should know by now they are the lada of motorhomes
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wiring on my self build was better than that
- Apr 12, 2010
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We have 2 friends with swift kontikis. They are in no way similar to what you are showing. You have to inspect your van before you make a decision. Best of luck.
Phil
Phil
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We ordered a new 2017 Swift Bolero 714SB with 150 engine and auto box upgrades.
We were ext tuggers and were on the Swift Talk forum for a couple of years, so knew about some inherent faults across most swift vans.
I then kept reading about the new black front roof valence problem with it rattling and making a hell-over noise at anything over 50MPH. Swift fix for this was to send a guy round to lift up the edges and place sticky double sided foam tape under the offending edges.
The van was late in being built, so were many Kontikis that year, many by well over 3 months with no reason or apology from Swift.
Our new Bolero was 67K on the road, at the time, and I was worried about what I would eventually end up with quality wise.
I then opened a thread on Swift Talk Forum and asked Swift directly what they could do to assure me that when they did get round to building my new van that it would not come with the now known list of build defects that others had endured.
I wont list them all on here but the list was mentioning some major defects such as front roof valences becoming detached on one side, and rattling in the wind at speed, also garage and external locker doors warping, wheel arches and side valences coming off on motorways etc, etc.
Well within a fortnight I had so many Swift owners telling me to cancel my order as Swift did not make any attempt to answer my questions. After a few more weeks my van had still not been built and the list of Swift owners attacking Swift for not answering my queries was ever increasing.
I then gave Swift an ultimatum, in that I gave them 10 working days to put my mind at rest or I would cancel the order!
Swift said nothing, so I cancelled the order.
My dealer was upset with me at the time, as they said they were committed to taking delivery even though it was late and hadn't even been built yet.
They were holding a substantial amount on deposit as i had traded our newish caravan in with them in part exchange.
I think we were all happy in the end though as we drove out in a new Carthago C Tourer and haven't looked back since, yes we were very lucky I think in choosing a German Van for our first motor home, the build quality is amazing and yes it costs a bit more, even with a lot less toys than the Swift.
Lots of compromises had to be made over English van layouts, which we thought suited us, but it was quality and peace of mind we were after in the end, so the "shuffle round the table" Euro lounge layout apposed to the Brit lounge sofa each side,ended up being a smaller compromise than we thought initially.
I cannot advise anyone what to buy or not to buy as there are good and bad in most brands, but buying a German van seems to reduce the risk of bad workmanship in the build.
Good luck.
Les
We were ext tuggers and were on the Swift Talk forum for a couple of years, so knew about some inherent faults across most swift vans.
I then kept reading about the new black front roof valence problem with it rattling and making a hell-over noise at anything over 50MPH. Swift fix for this was to send a guy round to lift up the edges and place sticky double sided foam tape under the offending edges.
The van was late in being built, so were many Kontikis that year, many by well over 3 months with no reason or apology from Swift.
Our new Bolero was 67K on the road, at the time, and I was worried about what I would eventually end up with quality wise.
I then opened a thread on Swift Talk Forum and asked Swift directly what they could do to assure me that when they did get round to building my new van that it would not come with the now known list of build defects that others had endured.
I wont list them all on here but the list was mentioning some major defects such as front roof valences becoming detached on one side, and rattling in the wind at speed, also garage and external locker doors warping, wheel arches and side valences coming off on motorways etc, etc.
Well within a fortnight I had so many Swift owners telling me to cancel my order as Swift did not make any attempt to answer my questions. After a few more weeks my van had still not been built and the list of Swift owners attacking Swift for not answering my queries was ever increasing.
I then gave Swift an ultimatum, in that I gave them 10 working days to put my mind at rest or I would cancel the order!
Swift said nothing, so I cancelled the order.
My dealer was upset with me at the time, as they said they were committed to taking delivery even though it was late and hadn't even been built yet.
They were holding a substantial amount on deposit as i had traded our newish caravan in with them in part exchange.
I think we were all happy in the end though as we drove out in a new Carthago C Tourer and haven't looked back since, yes we were very lucky I think in choosing a German Van for our first motor home, the build quality is amazing and yes it costs a bit more, even with a lot less toys than the Swift.
Lots of compromises had to be made over English van layouts, which we thought suited us, but it was quality and peace of mind we were after in the end, so the "shuffle round the table" Euro lounge layout apposed to the Brit lounge sofa each side,ended up being a smaller compromise than we thought initially.
I cannot advise anyone what to buy or not to buy as there are good and bad in most brands, but buying a German van seems to reduce the risk of bad workmanship in the build.
Good luck.
Les
I have a 2012 French build motorhome bought second-hand that was £115K new. It has no external sealant or fit and finish problems but anything hidden is a different matter. This is something I wrote about it a while ago:
"This stuff, although found in my current motorhome, could be found in most in my (past) experience.
Switches. I know that the Continentals often fit switches differently to the UK. And that's fine. What is not fine is fitting them at random. In mine the living area switches are down for on except for the awning light which is up for on. The bath / shower area (3 switches) are all up for on but the bedroom is down for on.
Screws and their installation. I admit to having removed and replaced a few in the course of a few mods. Every one (countersunk whether required or not) is driven halfway through the 'wood'. The resulting hole is covered with a little adhesive dot that matches the rest of the surface. When removed it lifts and damages the surface and that prevents the dot from sticking down flat. The point of using a CSK screw in the first place is that it sits flush with the surface it's driven in to. I said whether required or not: attaching something made of plastic that doesn't have CSK holes by using CSK screw risks splitting the plastic. I say 'risks' but given the average ham-fisted assembly attempts by the converter it's a certainty. Screws used to attach one piece of wood to another might be expected to be of consistent length and diameter? Not likely - just grab a handful from the mixed screws box & carry on.
Cable and pipe restraint. Usually by means of various sizes of grey plastic clips. They're fitted at random intervals and are rarely in a straight line even when that is the intent. When boredom sets in they randomise the screw (CSK!) position by alternating from side to side to side of the cable bunch or pipe."
In another thread I complained about wiring. Brown and blue are used for a lot of 12v wiring. No issue with that. I do however object to their using 3 core mains flex and cutting off the yellow/green earth conductor at both ends. Unless they need 3 wires when, on a couple of circuits they've made use of it. An extreme example is the wiring to a small microswitch that operates to turn off the over-cab bed lights as it moves upwards into the parked position. On each of the two terminals is a blue wire. The brown and yellow/green being cut off. Two mains flexes with six wires to one tiny microswitch.
"This stuff, although found in my current motorhome, could be found in most in my (past) experience.
Switches. I know that the Continentals often fit switches differently to the UK. And that's fine. What is not fine is fitting them at random. In mine the living area switches are down for on except for the awning light which is up for on. The bath / shower area (3 switches) are all up for on but the bedroom is down for on.
Screws and their installation. I admit to having removed and replaced a few in the course of a few mods. Every one (countersunk whether required or not) is driven halfway through the 'wood'. The resulting hole is covered with a little adhesive dot that matches the rest of the surface. When removed it lifts and damages the surface and that prevents the dot from sticking down flat. The point of using a CSK screw in the first place is that it sits flush with the surface it's driven in to. I said whether required or not: attaching something made of plastic that doesn't have CSK holes by using CSK screw risks splitting the plastic. I say 'risks' but given the average ham-fisted assembly attempts by the converter it's a certainty. Screws used to attach one piece of wood to another might be expected to be of consistent length and diameter? Not likely - just grab a handful from the mixed screws box & carry on.
Cable and pipe restraint. Usually by means of various sizes of grey plastic clips. They're fitted at random intervals and are rarely in a straight line even when that is the intent. When boredom sets in they randomise the screw (CSK!) position by alternating from side to side to side of the cable bunch or pipe."
In another thread I complained about wiring. Brown and blue are used for a lot of 12v wiring. No issue with that. I do however object to their using 3 core mains flex and cutting off the yellow/green earth conductor at both ends. Unless they need 3 wires when, on a couple of circuits they've made use of it. An extreme example is the wiring to a small microswitch that operates to turn off the over-cab bed lights as it moves upwards into the parked position. On each of the two terminals is a blue wire. The brown and yellow/green being cut off. Two mains flexes with six wires to one tiny microswitch.
Last edited:
- Apr 27, 2008
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I had a Swift KonTiki and it was brilliant. No problems at all. Excellent workmanship and materials. Trouble is that was 1978.
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How much deposit would you lose if you rejected the van at this stage?
PeteH
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Popcorn Thread??.
But seriously. Q-C in the industry is a variant factor (not BTW an excuse). Swift per se are likely no worse than many other manufacturers. Some of the issue can be laid at the door of a system that pays by results, encouraging corner cutting. I started in industry before going into the M-N, More years ago that I wish to remember!!. We worked a "Bonus system" BUT the Q-C guys where right on the ball, and the minute you had more "defects" than where "reasonable", all of which BTW where rectified ON YOUR TIME. you could be moved off the line and put back on a job with "basic" pay. That could mean a 50% or more reduction in take home. In my view, The buck stops with managers. They are the ones who should be taking pay cuts, That might concentrate a few minds. Bad leaders make for bad outcomes ALWAYS.
But seriously. Q-C in the industry is a variant factor (not BTW an excuse). Swift per se are likely no worse than many other manufacturers. Some of the issue can be laid at the door of a system that pays by results, encouraging corner cutting. I started in industry before going into the M-N, More years ago that I wish to remember!!. We worked a "Bonus system" BUT the Q-C guys where right on the ball, and the minute you had more "defects" than where "reasonable", all of which BTW where rectified ON YOUR TIME. you could be moved off the line and put back on a job with "basic" pay. That could mean a 50% or more reduction in take home. In my view, The buck stops with managers. They are the ones who should be taking pay cuts, That might concentrate a few minds. Bad leaders make for bad outcomes ALWAYS.
sallylillian
LIFE MEMBER
The problem with MHs are that they are built in their hundreds and the design and build process matches the volumes. We expect car mass production standards where the volumes are hundreds of thousands. The gestation period of a new car model is 2 years, a MH is months. They bring a prototype to a show and see if they can get some orders, then they go back and start building. An over simplification I know but nevertheless representative. On my Morelo I can be nit picky and wind myself up to the nth degree but you do have to take a balanced view and manage your expectations if you are ever to get some enjoyment.
That said would a £200k Morelo or Concorde owner expect his van to look like a £60k van, definitely not, but the guy who buys a £60k van and expects his van to look like a Morelo or Concorde is bound to be disappointed.
I would have to ask about that exposed wiring I would assume that is standard and surely if that is offensive it should have been the basis of walking away before even placing a deposit?
That said would a £200k Morelo or Concorde owner expect his van to look like a £60k van, definitely not, but the guy who buys a £60k van and expects his van to look like a Morelo or Concorde is bound to be disappointed.
I would have to ask about that exposed wiring I would assume that is standard and surely if that is offensive it should have been the basis of walking away before even placing a deposit?
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In truth they were only told yesterday as my wife happened to be passing, as mentioned not worried about washing it and wanted her to see what we were buying and secondly to check on what I saw on the video this morning ?
Worse finish than mine, and mine is 9 years old. If that is how they finish what is on show, I wouldn’t want to own what is hidden.
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No deposit would be lost, dealer is very good about it and embarrassed, but I can’t find anything similar.
Caggsie1
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When we first decided on buying a mh, we put £1000 deposit on an Elddis 105. Then did research, needless to say lost the deposit but found a dethleffs. The difference in quality was noticeable. Things did go wrong on a few things but nothing fell off, tap blew, worktop hinge broke and had to replace the bathroom cabinet door in 6 years ownership. We didn’t lose any money on trade in. Since traded in for a hobby, the shower tray got replaced under warranty. So German vans aren’t necessarily trouble free, We have no intentions in the next few years exchanging for another van. However, even with the odd things needing work in both vans we haven’t had any wires floating like those in your van. For me the risk of catching them with something you put in the garage/ storage rendering what ever it’s running would be too much of a risk.
If you can lose the deposit and it’s not too excessive, go for it.
If you can lose the deposit and it’s not too excessive, go for it.
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Mikey RV
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I went to Germany because I was looking at a. Burstner 744, that had safety issues to me that are mentioned in another post so had a good look around and couldn’t find anything else, we want a rear lounge and big payload, the day I got back I decided to check out Swifts as we already have one, the Kontiki like we have was too long at 9mtrs for where we have it plus it was twin axle and not allowed on the site we use, I then found this 596 with a similar payload to the Kontiki so went in search of one, found one, drove 4hrs to see it, spent 3hrs looking and contemplating, realised compromise was the name of the game, bright up quality issues, assured they were a one off, Swift contacted me and told me the wires should be covered and was something the dealer would sort, paid deposit then found these other videos that have me concern that it wasn’t a one off issue. My van is now there, wife was passing within 30 miles today and I suggested she go and see what we were buying, she went and took the pictures I have posted, seems quality is just as abysmal PLUS the wiring they say should be covered is viable in mine as well as 2 videos of others I found and posted, so either lying to me or something not right.
Add all this together and you wonder whether buying a cheap van is the way to go, but even if we spent more it seems you could still get issues. I will speak to Swift tomorrow and get their take on things.
Minxy
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Cancel it and get your deposit back, there's no way on earth you'd be happy with it EVER!
In reality you should probably not have decided to buy it in the first place as you saw the state of the showroom example which is supposed to 'sell' them to people!
If you can tell us what is important to you in a MH, what layout, kit, weight etc, then we may be able to come up with an alternative without the build issues.
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I think if you read the hiring post on the forum that is running you will see why we don’t. Plus six weeks hire is an awful lot of wasted money during the summer!
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Minxy
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I want them to explain their workmanship!
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Minxy
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Any good????
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Chausson Welcome 711 Travel Line - Practical Motorhome
Exciting ideas are a Chausson speciality and in the brand-new 711, last season's head-turning 611 has been revised – does this rear-lounge floorplan work?
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