Hymer Or Carthago?

Electraglide said:
I have been looking to by a Carthago from Germany. as you say the Fiat part is covered by Fiat. Would most of the fitted items, ie Alde, Truma , Dometic etc not be covered by their local agents if necessary, just leaving the Carthago shell to be taken back to the dealers for annual checks and any problems?
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Interesting you should say that as all those appliance manufacturers have a European network, and you'd be able to provide proof of purchase date too
 
Electraglide said:
I have been looking to by a Carthago from Germany. as you say the Fiat part is covered by Fiat. Would most of the fitted items, ie Alde, Truma , Dometic etc not be covered by their local agents if necessary, just leaving the Carthago shell to be taken back to the dealers for annual checks and any problems?
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No any European Carthago dealer no need to take to supplier. I have been importing for 20 years. have had vans with Alde and Truma problems all sorted here. alde the best came to our house!

I arrange yearly damp check when going on holiday. make it our first call..any convenient franchised dealer will do.
 
Peetee said:
I prefer Waitrose to Aldi, does that make Waitrose a rip off merchant.
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Can't believe you said that!lol...we are discussing the price difference on identical products.
 
Judgemental said:
Can't believe you said that!lol...we are discussing the price difference on identical products.
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But thats the point, they are not necessarily identical products
The whole proposition is different....., here are a few examples

One is LHD, one may be RHD

One is UK spec, the other is German spec

With one you go to your UK dealer, give him some money and drive your new van away, whereas with Germany you've got to buy and transfer foreign currency, arrange some kind of insurance, fly to Germany, swap over the speedo thingy, switch the rear lights round, get it certified in the UK, register it, etc etc etc

You may not get a trade in, if you buy in Germany

There may be service or warranty issues if your local dealer refuses to support you

The list goes on

I can totally understand why someone would choose to buy a van in the UK rather than in Europe, however there may be major savings to be made in the UK by finding the right dealer and negotiating.

Its not a one size fits all proposition
 
LHD - RHD true difference is £1670+ vat not £20,000. They are NOT UK spec as NOT rhd handed. Identical interior to lhd
Are you kidding I would not leave a uk dealer near my vans!lol

Some dealers takes care of all the changes...why are you trying to put people off importing I wonder..


Who wants RHD...personally does not interest many. Its actually off putting in my opinion as 90% use is in europe?
plus guaranteed a fair PX when I want to change. Not like the BS UK dealers come out with. Sorry your defending the indefensible IMO. An illegal monopoly.

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As I said earlier,I don't mind paying a premium for hassle free purchase and peace of mind.I have more important things to do then always look at the cheapest avenue and when we were looking for our spec,savings and the wait did not make it worthwhile to US..Not trying to put anyone off importing if that is the road they choose to make.
Just enjoy your motorhome(y)
 
Robert Clark said:
Like I say, that's 'your' value judgement
It's subjective, and everyone's values are different
If they weren't then we'd all be eating Aldi value sausages and there wouldn't be enough to go round !!!:rolleyes:
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I recon we save over 20 quid a week going to Aldi, may not have the range but the quality is great.:LOL::LOL::LOL:
 
Peetee said:
As I said earlier,I don't mind paying a premium for hassle free purchase and peace of mind.I have more important things to do then always look at the cheapest avenue and when we were looking for our spec,savings and the wait did not make it worthwhile to US..Not trying to put anyone off importing if that is the road they choose to make.
Just enjoy your motorhome(y)
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And if you've got s nice posh one, it won't look out of place in Waitrose car park !
 
There is no difference between UK spec & German spec, apart from 13 amp sockets and if that bothers you, you can change the sockets in less than hour. Both Hymer and Carthago work from the same option list regardless of supplying to the UK or German market, just spec the van the way you want it when you order.

And as I've said loads of times on this thread there aren't any warranty problems they both have pan European warranties.

Far easier to trade or sell a LHD van can only trade a RHD van in the UK, if LHD bothers you order RHD, our last Hymer was RHD brought in Belgium, current one is LHD.

Our van represents a large chunk of our life savings, don't want to throw 10 or 20 grand of it in the bin, which is effectively what you are doing, if you can afford to do fine, but please don't keep going on about what a great deal you got from a UK dealer and then go silent when asked for the figures.

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lennyhb said:
There is no difference between UK spec & German spec, apart from 13 amp sockets and if that bothers you, you can change the sockets in less than hour. Both Hymer and Carthago work from the same option list regardless of supplying to the UK or German market, just spec the van the way you want it when you order.

And as I've said loads of times on this thread there aren't any warranty problems they both have pan European warranties.

Far easier to trade or sell a LHD van can only trade a RHD van in the UK, if LHD bothers you order RHD, our last Hymer was RHD brought in Belgium, current one is LHD.

Our van represents a large chunk of our life savings, don't want to throw 10 or 20 grand of it in the bin, which is effectively what you are doing, if you can afford to do fine, but please don't keep going on about what a great deal you got from a UK dealer and then go silent when asked for the figures.
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Are you asking me what I paid?
 
I don't divulge figures on an Internet forum,that is upto the individual to negotiate with the dealer.ours was an early retirement present so happy in every way and you are not in any way going to spoil that(y)
 
lennyhb said:
Quite happy to give my figures.:D
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Quite happy to put up with scrutiny as well:) so much for sharing and helping each other eh!lol

Still want to see the humer 474 before we make our minds up. As I haven't had a quote for that yet from my favourite dealer....I think it's possible to spec up the humers to an acceptable level as long as it adds up.

@lennyhb is the garage small on the 474? We saw the smaller shower room in another van and its acceptable and the wife likes the single bed idea:(

Will have to try and see a 474 in the UK I guess
 
Judgemental said:
Quite happy to put up with scrutiny as well:) so much for sharing and helping each other eh!lol

Still want to see the humer 474 before we make our minds up. As I haven't had a quote for that yet from my favourite dealer....I think it's possible to spec up the humers to an acceptable level as long as it adds up.

@lennyhb is the garage small on the 474? We saw the smaller shower room in another van and its acceptable and the wife likes the single bed idea:(

Will have to try and see a 474 in the UK I guess
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Garage door same size as mine so must be the bigger garage, we find the single beds much easier & you have still got the double up front for nights of passion.(y)
"Humer" pronouncing it the German way then.:D
 
AM
lennyhb said:
There is no difference between UK spec & German spec, apart from 13 amp sockets and if that bothers you, you can change the sockets in less than hour. Both Hymer and Carthago work from the same option list regardless of supplying to the UK or German market, just spec the van the way you want it when you order.

And as I've said loads of times on this thread there aren't any warranty problems they both have pan European warranties.

Far easier to trade or sell a LHD van can only trade a RHD van in the UK, if LHD bothers you order RHD, our last Hymer was RHD brought in Belgium, current one is LHD.

Our van represents a large chunk of our life savings, don't want to throw 10 or 20 grand of it in the bin, which is effectively what you are doing, if you can afford to do fine, but please don't keep going on about what a great deal you got from a UK dealer and then go silent when asked for the figures.
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Well said!:D
 
lennyhb said:
There is no difference between UK spec & German spec, apart from 13 amp sockets
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What about the speedo?
And the rear fog lights?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not looking to deter people from buying in Europe. I was certainly planning to myself until I got a deal I could not refuse from a UK dealer, and I would certainly look at buying in Europe again in the future.

To some people, simply getting the power points changed is a major concern
They may not want Left Hand Drive
They may not want the hassle of getting the speedo converted and the rear fog lights, and getting the vehicle tested when they return to the UK
I understand that some European dealers may offer a conversion service - but do they all?

Obviously you're delighted with the deal you got (y)
@Peetee is delighted with the deal he got (y)
And I'm certainly delighted with the deal I got (y)
So everyone's a winner :D:D:D:D
 
Hymer & Carthago both have twin rear fog lamps, headlamps is just the flick of a leaver to change & swapping a speedo dial takes less than 10 min.
Like I said earier swapping sockets is easy I use adapters for the very odd occasion I use a EHU, if you order RHD Hymer they come with UK sockets.
 
The only reason it is cheaper is the strength of Stirling to euro,you would make more saving by trading the fx and less hassle but it's horses for courses.:):)
 
lennyhb said:
Hymer & Carthago both have twin rear fog lamps, headlamps is just the flick of a leaver to change & swapping a speedo dial takes less than 10 min.
Like I said earier swapping sockets is easy I use adapters for the very odd occasion I use a EHU, if you order RHD Hymer they come with UK sockets.
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Thanks for that.
 
Headlamps on the Carthago are not a flip of a lever

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lennyhb said:
Hymer & Carthago both have twin rear fog lamps, headlamps is just the flick of a leaver to change & swapping a speedo dial takes less than 10 min.
Like I said earier swapping sockets is easy I use adapters for the very odd occasion I use a EHU, if you order RHD Hymer they come with UK sockets.
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On a different note, one thing my new Carthago didn't come with was a power lead :cry:
I was gob smacked when I went to pick it up
My Bessie came with one, so I assumed the Carthago did - (and had advertised it as being included with the Bessie, so couldn't keep it)
Thankfully the nice man at the dealers, gave me one when he saw the look of horror on my face :)
Together with a bottle of champagne and a big bunch of flowers for Mrs C :)
 
Robert Clark said:
My understanding (as told by my dealer) is that they dip to the center, not to the left, so no adjustment necessary
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That is because you have LHD headlamps adjusted to straight dipping so your van is not a true RHD.:LOL::LOL::LOL::LOL:

There is a lever on the back of them that adjusts from the LHD (beam kick up to the right) to a flat beam.
 
Robert, if you had purchased in Germany you have received a bottle of Strawbery Hock and a bunch of Eldelweiss.:LOL::LOL::LOL:
 
Peetee said:
The only reason it is cheaper is the strength of Stirling to euro,you would make more saving by trading the fx and less hassle but it's horses for courses.:):)
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When I paid for mine it was 1.26/£ still saved over 12k

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