Swift Sundance advice needed

D

David Brundle

Free Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2019
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4
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Location
Cambridgeshire
Funster No
58,554
MH
Swift Sundance 620fb
Exp
One year
Hi all . I'm a seasoned caravan owner wanting to change over to a motorhome .
I've viewing a swift Sundance 2010 tomorrow. On the habitation report sent to me it has 55 percent damp in a corner of the first big roof window . Apparently it's been sealed now and checked for water coming in . They day it not leaking now and will dry out in time. Should I run a mile and not buy it or is it nothing to worry about and be glad it was found. Any advice please
 
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My advice would be to run. Even if now sealed, you really won’t know to what extent and for how long the roof has been leaking. What damage has it done. Is it mouldy or rotten etc.
 
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Plenty of others around.. I would walk away, even if it is cheap. Also with Swifts of that age, look for floor sponginess around the step and also the motor side for reverse judder, which was a common Fiat issue.

P.S. your £15 membership may have just saved you thousands.

w2f
 
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I can only find one the same for sale atm and the wife is stuck on that layout . It's also got gaslow fitted and bigger batteries and solar and b2b ect . So it's all kitted out .
Price wise I don't what's cheap or not . Its 2010 620fb looks clean . 30000 miles and it £30000 .motorhome depot selling it a there client. I got the impression price would be non negotiable. I going to look at it in the morning anyway as they took £1000 holding deposit.

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How can you seal something that is damp? You have no idea if it's fixed or not. There are plenty of others around that are not damp. Owning a Swift is more of a DIY Hobby. Most bits and pieces will either fall off or break and need fixing.

My advice would be to leave it alone even if they offer to pay you to take it away. You will not get any sort of guarantee with it if it is a private seller.

Hope you get your Holding Deposit back ...
 
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It's up to them to tempt you. 12 months warranty and written down, if still damp the job is done to new standards.

You won't get this !!
 
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How much would it cost to have the window took out . Dried repaired if necessary and refitted . ?
Struggling to find another mh with same spec anywhere .
 
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David Brundle said:
How much would it cost to have the window took out . Dried repaired if necessary and refitted . ?
Struggling to find another mh with same spec anywhere .
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The problem is where else the damp has spread internally. 55% is pretty soggy. Even with a particular layout it is worth waiting for the right one rather than buying in to a load of trouble

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David Brundle said:
How much would it cost to have the window took out . Dried repaired if necessary and refitted . ?
Struggling to find another mh with same spec anywhere .
Click to expand...

If it sounds too good and too cheap compared to others it says they want to get shot of it... too me it sounds like the repair didn’t work and it’s still leaking with untold damage.

You may think it’s the one but you need to be very careful and I really hope you get your deposit back and think hard that you don’t buy it just so you don’t lose your deposit..... it may cost you many more thousands to fix...
 
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David Brundle said:
How much would it cost to have the window took out . Dried repaired if necessary and refitted . ?
Struggling to find another mh with same spec anywhere .
Click to expand...

So look for something else. Swift love to stick all the bells and whistles in their models. Makes them look good in their showrooms just a pity they don't put some extra effort into build quality and finish. We visited our local Swift Dealer last year and his NEW Swifts had trim hanging off. Cloth trim was peeling off the wood underneath.

As for damp issue it will be a case of finding someone to do the work. Anyone with a good reputation will be upto his armpits in work this time of year. As for getting it dry it needs to be preferably inside and left to dry out which could take weeks. Then it needs checking and if any of the wood is showing signs of black mould it needs replacing. The other problem you have will be everytime it rains you will be looking to see if its leaking. It's going to spend more time with the repairers than you. Hope you have deep pockets you may need them. As for a warranty if it has existing problems the Warranty Company will not want to know. They are not daft and may well want to examine it. If they find out it was not declared they may well just cancel the policy.

It maybe why the owner is getting shut of it ..
 
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RUN ... seriously, I appreciate you need to look at it as they've got your deposit which will only be returned after viewing, but RUN ... never ever buy one that hasn't been properly dried out and sealed and doesn't comes with a guarantee for the work ... the damp could easily be throughout the whole side as it can run along the timber etc within the walls ...

Just in case you missed my advice .... RUN!

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We have a Swift Sundance 630g, a 2011 model although we bought it ‘new’ in late 2012.

So far it has been great and we have had no major problems. The dealer did find a small area of damp though and fixed it free of charge because the 10 year Swift warranty didn’t start till 2012 models.

Although I like Swifts I would make sure you get a ‘watertight’ warranty or walk away.

Paul
 
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Don’t limit yourself to one model, many available with a similar layout. Some exactly the same and still built by swift (Bessacarr E450)

Opens up the market for you to find a good one for the right price.
 
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David Brundle said:
I can only find one the same for sale atm and the wife is stuck on that layout . It's also got gaslow fitted and bigger batteries and solar and b2b ect . So it's all kitted out .
Price wise I don't what's cheap or not . Its 2010 620fb looks clean . 30000 miles and it £30000 .motorhome depot selling it a there client. I got the impression price would be non negotiable. I going to look at it in the morning anyway as they took £1000 holding deposit.
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Don't let your heart rule your head, if your wife persuades you because of the layout and it turns out that it's bag of worms, you will be falling out with her forever, there are plenty more vans out there.
 
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As ex-caravanners you need to be aware that you will probably use a motorhome very differently than a caravan. Much more touring and less staying for long periods on sites. So don't just look at motorhomes which replicate your caravan layout.

Get out and look at different makes and from other parts of Europe. That will be especially so if you are planning to go for long trips abroad in the warmth. Much less time will be spent sitting in the caravan, and much more time outside.

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As a 620 owner I should point out it is common layout. Elddis and Tribute near identical as are others.
 
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:welco:
Unless the inner wall has been stripperd off to emsure the water hasn't penetrated further you could be in for a repair bill running into thousands.
Get yer running shoes on, not worth the risk.
 
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There will be a New Post on here in a couple of weeks asking how to fix a leaking roof window. With his wife wanting a particular MH and a good salesman he didn’t stand a chance.

Could be very costly ..

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Motorhome depot still showing deposit taken, did you decide to stick with it? :tmi:
 
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