What Next

romany

romany

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Jul 3, 2018
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Oxfordshire
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54,729
MH
Wildax aurura xl
Exp
since 2014 camping since1968
Ok folks after the Auto trail disaster and me saying I refuse to get involved with the caravan or motor home industry ever again, I have one of those things called a wife :whatthe: who seems determined to make my life more of a misery than Auto trail did.

So here is the problem I am told I must at least look at some other vans and have been given a small list by HWMBO to look at so we start with an Elddis Accordo 125 so ok its on a Peugeot chassis and engine which having done my apprenticeship in a Peugeot garage many many years ago I am a fan off, although today's engines and systems bare very little resemblance to what I used to work on.

Problem 4 years ago I had to take elddis to court for a caravan unfit for purpose so in a nut shell their after sales and warranties were non existent, wifes attitude is that the motor home section must be separate from the caravan section and it was a long time ago and I should move on as she puts it (I think she likes the layout ) I prefer (or did prefer:() PVC 6 mtr mark with front and back seating areas.

Again most base vehicles are either Peugeot who seem to have Adblue problems and Fiat which seems to have ERG problems and brake sensor problems putting the vehicle into limp mode.

So should I stick to my guns and keep well clear of the obvious minefield or listen to her indoors just to get some peace at home:unsure:

PS also looked at wildax and Autosleeper who are now part of trigano which own Auto Trail:mad:
 
You've had awful experiences so far but there are thousands of happy motorhome owners out there so you've just been 'unlucky' (give the rabbit it's foot back!).

With the knowledge you have gleamed though you are in a very good position to be able to check for the issues you had on previous 'homes' and make sure they aren't on any 'new' vehicles you look at (as far as is possible of course). I wouldn't let having 'lemons' put me off, if I had we wouldn't have had motorhomes for as long as we have and/or I'd have converted another one myself.

Don't just settle on one make, decide what you want, then have a good look round to see what manufacturers make that or a similar layout. There are loads to choose from and you don't necessarily have to get a brand new one.
 
Yes, “get back on the horse”, but don’t concentrate on the make of your motorhome.

Layout is all important. Get that sorted first then the rest can follow. You have certainly had bad experiences to date but don’t be put off.

There are real adventures to be had out there. Good luck.
 
Given your misfortunes may I suggest you only look at things that are already on forecourts. That way you'll have plenty of opportunity to really clamber all over the motorhome and suss out some of the build quality concerns you may have. Ok some mechanics may be less obvious. But if you pre-order, you'll have a very limited window to look at a van between delivery, PDI and your collection.

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Why not look for a decent used van? There are a lot of very well looked after vans out there and with the money you save you can afford any necessary changes and/or repairs that are needed. Without all the warranty conditions you can also choose where and who services it.
 
keades said:
Why not look for a decent used van? There are a lot of very well looked after vans out there and with the money you save you can afford any necessary changes and/or repairs that are needed. Without all the warranty conditions you can also choose where and who services it.
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I have thought about that the only misgivings I have about that is the problems Peugeot seem to have with their Adblue system and Fiats ERG problems, both can be fairly expensive to fix and having had the local Fiat garage trying to fix the Autotrail say to me "make sure you have bought the extended warranty some parts of this ERG system is expensive labour wise to fix".

Having said that I have found Fiats customer service to be exemplary almost old fashioned in a good way:clap: .

The other slight problem is the price difference doesn't seem to a great deal ok if your selling not so great if your buying with a reduced warranty.
 
You can buy an extended warranty yourself if you're concerned about big bills, no need to get it from a dealer, so buying second hand isn't such a 'worry', saying that with the issues you've had with new vehicle warranties I'm not sure having another new one would give you much peace of mind anyway.
 
Minxy Girl said:
You can buy an extended warranty yourself if you're concerned about big bills, no need to get it from a dealer, so buying second hand isn't such a 'worry', saying that with the issues you've had with new vehicle warranties I'm not sure having another new one would give you much peace of mind anyway.
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This is very true although as many have said how things are dealt with by companies is probably what counts I have found that Hyundi (wifes car) and Fiat seem to run very similar systems. their free breakdown system has worked (sometimes RAC used) and both companies have always followed up with a phone call to ask if everything was put right and with the Auto trail they also phoned after it had been in the garage to make sure it was done to my satisfaction.

so no issues regarding those two companies
 
Really pleased the wife won:D

Wishing you all the very best in finding something trouble free that you can both enjoy plenty of trips away in(y)

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Lenny HB said:
Don't understand why you are looking at another manufacturer whose reputation for water ingress is not better than AT.
If I were you I'd be looking at German vans.
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Thanks Lenny since doing some more research Elddis seem no better than they were 4 years ago the problem I find with continental vans is one usually much higher cost beyond my budget and most seem to run compressor fridges which seem to struggle with my off grid camping style(y)
 
romany said:
Thanks Lenny since doing some more research Elddis seem no better than they were 4 years ago the problem I find with continental vans is one usually much higher cost beyond my budget and most seem to run compressor fridges which seem to struggle with my off grid camping style(y)
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Do what we do buy aboard, on our third Hymer all bought in Belgium, saving around £50k on UK prices.

Only seen compressor fridges in PVC's and very small CB.
 
ALWAYS do what your wife wants you to.

This life is NOT a dress rehearsal.

You only get one chance.

A happy wife is a happy life. ;)


JJ :cool:

PS. With respect, I strongly recommend avoiding referring to a wife as a "thing". :whistle:
 
We won’t buy another British built MH! We’re extremely happy with our Laika. I would suggest you look at some of the European models. Your dealer is also important, we live in Nottingham but bought from Southdowns in Portsmouth after a recommendation. We are very happy with the service you get from Southdowns.

Mrs QFour

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Invest the money and spend it on off peak breaks, either here or flying abroad. Where ever the best offer is.
 
I’m so glad your wife is talking sense :D. I know you’ve had a bad experience but I’m sure, with lots of advice, and the added benefit of hindsight, you can find the perfect van. Good luck! I look forward to hearing about your new purchase.
 
JJ said:
ALWAYS do what your wife wants you to.

This life is NOT a dress rehearsal.

You only get one chance.

A happy wife is a happy life. ;)


JJ :cool:

PS. With respect, I strongly recommend avoiding referring to a wife as a "thing". :whistle:
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As regards the wife I don't tell her which forums I use or screen name if I did an Auto trail disaster would never have happened I'd be dead:sneaky:
 
Ivory55 said:
Invest the money and spend it on off peak breaks, either here or flying abroad. Where ever the best offer is.
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My three children well adults now apparently keep saying this although I think it has something to do with an ulterior motive;)

They are not in favour of my SKI favoured life style (Spend Kids Inheritance):cool:
 
QFour said:
We won’t buy another British built MH! We’re extremely happy with our Laika. I would suggest you look at some of the European models. Your dealer is also important, we live in Nottingham but bought from Southdowns in Portsmouth after a recommendation. We are very happy with the service you get from Southdowns.

Mrs QFour
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Your the second person to recommend this company their quite a distance from oxford though if any problems do occur

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romany said:
My three children well adults now apparently keep saying this although I think it has something to do with an ulterior motive;)

They are not in favour of my SKI favoured life style (Spend Kids Inheritance):cool:
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We would probably be flying off etc if the other half was ok with flying. At a guess I bet the costs are about the same when everything is taken in to consideration.
 
romany said:
Your the second person to recommend this company their quite a distance from oxford though if any problems do occur
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They are even further from Nottingham but we manage. You can stay overnight outside their showrooms with EHU. We get there the night before so we’re up early for the service department. We always make our trips down there into a short break. There are plenty of places to visit, including Hayling Island, the Hampshire coast and the New Forest.
 
Ivory55 said:
We would probably be flying off etc if the other half was ok with flying. At a guess I bet the costs are about the same when everything is taken in to consideration.
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Already do a fair bit of flying 4 times this year so far My dearly beloved comes from Valencia and her mum is of the age that we have to drop everything and fly out to her.

I hate The M25 Gatwick Airport and the whole experience nothing gets my angina going as quickly (apart from Auto Trail) than a call from Valencia because her mum has had another turn life can be very cruel when you get to her mums age I'm sure a lot of the time these days we don't prolong life we are just prolonging suffering.
 
I know I'm about to get alot of "they get nicked a lot" replies but I would look at a Ford based Chausson. They are part of Trigano but it seems to me the other bits of the group have way lower reported problems

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Blue Knight said:
@romany

Have you looked at the Rapido, Adria and Globecar PVCs - all of which are really good quality.
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yes I have we quite like the globecar not looked at the rapido will do that now. we are also looking at the German Sunlight PVC but again concerned about the compressor fridges with our style of camping.
 
Here are two more; Autosleeper and Autocruise which may tickle your fancy. I reckon in both cases you could get £3K off the price:


Screenshot_20190311-200941_Samsung Internet.jpg


...............and the Autocruise:


Screenshot_20190311-201210_Samsung Internet.jpg
 
romany said:
Your the second person to recommend this company their quite a distance from oxford though if any problems do occur
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QFour said:
They are even further from Nottingham but we manage. You can stay overnight outside their showrooms with EHU. We get there the night before so we’re up early for the service department. We always make our trips down there into a short break. There are plenty of places to visit, including Hayling Island, the Hampshire coast and the New Forest.
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Our dealer is in Derby which is quite a trek from Scotland - but we do as @QFour does and make a holiday of the hab check (5 years included in the purchase price). Any other work gets done locally.

Ivory55 said:
We would probably be flying off etc if the other half was ok with flying. At a guess I bet the costs are about the same when everything is taken in to consideration.
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Cruise or trains?
 
romany said:
the problem I find with continental vans is one usually much higher cost beyond my budget and most seem to run compressor fridges which seem to struggle with my off grid camping style(y)
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If you go for a PVC it is less likely to leak. It's also a bit easier to drive around IMO.
The (german) Globescout Plus I ordered at the show was cheaper than another other comparable PVC and has (the german spec says, I didn't look as I don't care) an absorption fridge.

If you want to be really cool you could order the big white VW Beluga Whale they had at the show... ;)

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