Newbie should i buy a CI

[ams13]

Hi
Please help out a newbie I am 99% certain i will be getting a motorhome my dilema is which one. I have looked at a Transit based Chausson welcome 28 but missed out on that one the latest is a CI Riveira 181g. Both have the rear garage with double bed over the top we are a family of four with 2 girls 10 and 13. and the Labrador nearly forget her. My questions are
1.have many of you tried this layout for simmilar family(pros and cons)
2.Which is best base model Ford Fiat Etc
3.Is Ci any good

My reasoning is that a garage will allow us to store alot of gear including the 4 bikes and the 2 fixed beds mean we can leave the dinner set up all the time.
As for base i like the idea of a ford as i believe it will be reliable however fiat seem to be the main contender for motorhomes
as for the CI i have read and was told by a dealer they are quite low market however the Riveria looked ok to me. Is it a build quality issue?

Sorry for all the questions my budget is £20k
thanks for any replies
Andy

 

[Terry]

Hi Andy I have not read any complaints about CI but they have been going a lot of yrs so if they were bad I am sure they would be full of complaints (the only ones I have read have been about supplying dealers)As you say they are considered a buget buy but that is no bad thing as many are happy with what they get/got :thumb: This will reflect in the price you pay / get come selling time,again no bad thing.As to tranny / fiat base that is your call as to which you prefer driving,personaly I am not a tranny fan but thats just me,thousands are sold as works vans and not all can be wrong :thumb: then again Fiat base vans come with there own well known probs
terry

 

[Peter JohnsCross MH]

Hi
Please help out a newbie I am 99% certain i will be getting a motorhome my dilema is which one. I have looked at a Transit based Chausson welcome 28 but missed out on that one the latest is a CI Riveira 181g. Both have the rear garage with double bed over the top we are a family of four with 2 girls 10 and 13. and the Labrador nearly forget her. My questions are
1.have many of you tried this layout for simmilar family(pros and cons)
2.Which is best base model Ford Fiat Etc
3.Is Ci any good

My reasoning is that a garage will allow us to store alot of gear including the 4 bikes and the 2 fixed beds mean we can leave the dinner set up all the time.
As for base i like the idea of a ford as i believe it will be reliable however fiat seem to be the main contender for motorhomes
as for the CI i have read and was told by a dealer they are quite low market however the Riveria looked ok to me. Is it a build quality issue?

Sorry for all the questions my budget is £20k
thanks for any replies
Andy

Hi Andy,

Dont know where you are hased, but you could always ring our Andy as he is a fellow MH owner of many years. You would be in safe hands with him.

Good Luck

Peter

 

[The Kar-Mann]

Hi
Please help out a newbie I am 99% certain i will be getting a motorhome my dilema is which one. I have looked at a Transit based Chausson welcome 28 but missed out on that one the latest is a CI Riveira 181g. Both have the rear garage with double bed over the top we are a family of four with 2 girls 10 and 13. and the Labrador nearly forget her. My questions are
1.have many of you tried this layout for simmilar family(pros and cons)
2.Which is best base model Ford Fiat Etc
3.Is Ci any good

My reasoning is that a garage will allow us to store alot of gear including the 4 bikes and the 2 fixed beds mean we can leave the dinner set up all the time.
As for base i like the idea of a ford as i believe it will be reliable however fiat seem to be the main contender for motorhomes
as for the CI i have read and was told by a dealer they are quite low market however the Riveria looked ok to me. Is it a build quality issue?

Sorry for all the questions my budget is £20k
thanks for any replies
Andy

Hi I have had 2 C I motorhomes a 181 on a 06 plate and a Mizar on a 07 plate, I was very happy with both motorhomes, I do prefur the new chassy though, the 181 I had was the 6 berth with the dinner not the garage on a 2.8 jtd engine and pulled very well.
Both mine were bought new from Geoff Cox in Denby Derbyshire . Great service ect. He has also got in a choice of Roller team in at very good prices with simalar layouts.
Good luck
Andy:thumb::thumb:

 

[haganap]

Im a CI owner and can only say that my experience is very positive.
However I think your answer to your question is within your post. You say your budget is 20K. therefore your quality will revolve around what you want for your money. Our van was just 2 years old when we brought it. To us it was more important to have as newer base vechile as we can on the layout we wanted. This would thereticaly give us more reliability when touring.

The CI is not as a dealer descibed "low market" (no doubt he was trying to get you in to something else) they are built to a budget.

good luck with whatever you buy.:thumb:

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Red Sonja]

Hi Andy
Having had the 181G Riviera I feel that I can comment on it. As Haganap says they are built to a budget but they are built very well. Very solid and we had no problems at all with it. You could sleep a family in the back double bed. (My son and his two children have) You can also sleep two adults in comfort over the cab (done that as well) You can if you have to put a blow up matress and sleep another two adults in the garage (done that as well - there was an opening into the motor home though :thumb The only reason that we changed vans was that we found for us there wasnt any real lounging area. That was the only drawback for us. If thay had the layout that we wanted in a Ci we would have bought another one. Also you have six seat belts in the 181 Rivieria and with the 2.8 engine pulled very well.

Anyway good luck with whatever you buy and Happy motorhoming. (Wish we had done it when our children were younger).

Sonja

 

[ams13]

Thanks for all the replies
as i said it did seem well built to me i just wanted some advice from people who have had them. my only concern now is as red sonja has said is ther enough seating. i think i am stuck with a choice between a lounge at the back giving more seating and less storage or the garage and less seating. too many decisions and really just want to buy and get out in one. just can not afford to make the wrong decision.

 

[adventure]

Hi Andy

I have a ci riviera 181 although I have not been away in it very often :Sad:

I have found the CI to be of very reasonble quality, the fibre glass sides make a lot of difference and do not mark or dent as much as aluminium, all of the appliances work well and the electric system never misses a beat which is more than can be said for the more expensive motorhomes.

I also had a swift 630 garage model and can relate to what you say about the storage etc but when we went away in it (three of us ) I found that there was little room inside, no storage space for the essentials like cornflakes bread etc and all of the other items we had to load into the garage which has no shelves or storage area's

But this is just my opinion I do like the rear lounge models, it gives more living space, like every one else said I am sure you will be happy with your choice

Nick

 

[Red Sonja]

Andy

What we used to do is make the dinette up into a small bed (You can make it bigger) in the evening and put large cushions on it to lounge and then make it back up into a dinette before we went to bed. Worked well. However in good weather you dont need to do this as you are normally outside. There is plenty of room in both beds for the kids to amuse themselves and lounge about.

Sonja

 

[656]

I have an 06 CI Carioca 656 and very pleased with it.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[pappajohn]

we bought a CI Carrioca 10 on an impulse and we were quite pleased with it at first. build quality was good but basic.
we went in too fast and found ,after a few months, it wasnt suitable (size and layout)for what we needed and lost a lot of money (5k)trading it in.
take your time, dont rush into buying.
only real issue was the very continental layout, nothing seemed to be in the right place.
it had TWO dinettes!....seven dining seatsbut only 4 berths and the TV shelf was OVER the dinettes:Angry: and nowhere to lounge!

cant comment on any other models though.

john.

 

[johna]

Have you looked at the Auto Roller

Hi, We have the Auto Roller 600G double bed at each end and a huge Garage, based onthe Transit. Love the transit, and they are becoming more and more popular, they are not the best selling van for no reason. We thought the interior trim was nicer than the van you mention, but obviously personel preferance, and well worth a look, think you will be impressed.