Rapido 997M....... opinions please.

The Nomad

The Nomad

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RAPIDO 997M.

Does anyone own one, or did anyone previously own one dating from around 2006?

If so, I would really appreciate your comments on what's good, and what's bad about them; and things to look out for before we may go to view a 2006 example of this motorhome in the coming days.

Many thanks.
 
I had a 995m 2006 which is very similar, I had it for a year and put 10k trouble free miles on it. Loved the power of the merc and the build quality was very good, it had the red upholstery when bought and we had it recovered by Regal with a lighter fabric which brightened it up...

I really miss the big garage and the separate shower/toilet. As said build quality was good with hardly any wear and tear.
It had air suspension on the back but I thought it still leaned a bit around corners compared to my Fiat..... we found the dinette lounge a tad small for us. At 7.2m it wasn’t too bad fitting in.

I sold it to @Silver-Fox who I think loves it....

I would certainly have another but are happy with our hymer b544..... if only it had a merc engine...:D2
 
This is the one we might wander over to have a look at next week:

BROKEN LINK
 
Its the Sprintshift which would be a No from me, the 2.7 is a good engine but in manual or full auto for me and it seems a bit expensive for a 2006 model

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Agree with full auto being so much better, we had problems that never got fixed with our sprint shift merc

Also not sure how tall you are, I am tall and on the large framed side but really struggled with getting my legs under the steeering wheel on one we tried but rejected it also was lacking in headroom but I am 6’ 2 or was when it mattered :)

Nice spec but ....
 
Smith and Sharp said:
Very much like the 955m we had but it has the bigger lounge, I noticed it has a few toys on it and can’t determine if is auto like we had but I think it’s over priced here is one example..
http://www.southdownsmotorhomecentre.co.uk/used-rapido-997m-motorhome-u2688.html
Click to expand...


Issue is that motorhomes here in Spain hold their value much more than in the UK, and are quite a bit more expensive, like for like.
Costs of rematriculating a foreign MH onto Spanish plates is very substantial.
 
The Nomad said:
This is the one we might wander over to have a look at next week:

BROKEN LINK
Click to expand...

I just cannot pay the prices asked. Frightening .

Smith and Sharp said:
Very much like the 955m we had but it has the bigger lounge, I noticed it has a few toys on it and can’t determine if is auto like we had but I think it’s over priced here is one example..
http://www.southdownsmotorhomecentre.co.uk/used-rapido-997m-motorhome-u2688.html
Click to expand...

No that is the going rate here.

The Nomad said:
Issue is that motorhomes here in Spain hold their value much more than in the UK, and are quite a bit more expensive, like for like.
Costs of rematriculating a foreign MH onto Spanish plates is very substantial.
Click to expand...

As soon as I saw the link I knew many would comment on the price asked. I don't think they have noticed the mileage (Kms) yet ?:D2
 
gus-lopez said:
I just cannot pay the prices asked. Frightening .



No that is the going rate here.



As soon as I saw the link I knew many would comment on the price asked. I don't think they have noticed the mileage (Kms) yet ?:D2
Click to expand...


No I didn't notice the mileage, a double no from me although I am going on the price for the UK.
 
Equally I would now pick a medium to high miles over a low, my low mileage ‘bargain’ has cost me close to £10K just in low mileage related issues o_O

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CazPaul said:
No I didn't notice the mileage, a double no from me although I am going on the price for the UK.
Click to expand...
Here are another 4 available on this site in Spain.Makes @The Nomad s one look good value.

& that is normal milage here for most.

Broken Link Removed
 
How do you fancy for that money a 2009 rhd merc 3.0 full auto hymer S800 :LOL:

I will throw in a spare headlight (y)
 
As @Smith and Sharp has said, I love ours.
Very well appointed drives nice and plenty of room inside.
Ive spoken to a few mechanic re sprint shift and they all said do the oil changes as required and keep an eye on the linkages and you should be all good.
I think they are well nailed together, we went to the NEC show and apart from a 150k moho didn't see anything we would change ours for.

Worth a punt id say

As @Smith and Sharp has said I love ours (y)
 
Also worth mentioning perhaps that there is a LOT more wiggle room on asking prices in Spain than people may be used to in the UK.

In Spain, sellers routinely ask maybe 20 to 25% or even more above what they realistically expect to get; in the UK maybe 5 to 10%.

The negotiation dance is normal in Spain.

Spanish sellers of cars/houses etc simply cannot believe their luck when Brit buyers only offer maybe 5% less than their overinflated original asking price, and some Brit buyers often don't even haggle at all.

A Spanish seller asking (say) €47K is actually quite likely to be prepared to take €40K for cash, rather than say the 45k that a Brit seller would probably accept if he'd advertised at that same 47k
 
We have a 999m and its very good. Engine 3L manual 6 speed is excellent. They are a bit heavy so watch the weight. Ours was originally 3850kg gvw and we uprated it to 4000, only a little bit but worthwhile.

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The Nomad said:
Issue is that motorhomes here in Spain hold their value much more than in the UK, and are quite a bit more expensive, like for like.
Costs of rematriculating a foreign MH onto Spanish plates is very substantial.
Click to expand...

gus-lopez said:
Here are another 4 available on this site in Spain.Makes @The Nomad s one look good value.

& that is normal milage here for most.

Broken Link Removed
Click to expand...

I see what you mean... is it that hard to import into Spain from, say Germany like the British do.? I thought this was Europe free trade and all that..:D2

I wouldn’t worry about the mileage, I’ll prob be on 100k miles in 3yrs on a 2012 plate:cool:
 
Smith and Sharp said:
I see what you mean... is it that hard to import into Spain from, say Germany like the British do.? I thought this was Europe free trade and all that..:D2
Click to expand...
No it is relatively easy but it depends on the vehicle age as to what it is going to cost to import. I don't know about @The Nomad but I am a registered resident so anything I import & replate will have a cost of 4,1% of the governments value of the vehicle. ( & yes there is a yearly issued government value for every make /model of vehicle sold in spain + 4x4's ,sailing& motor boats. + a % multiplier which reduces yearly up to 10 years when the % payable is 10%) & if the exact model wasn't sold here they will go to the nearest to it.

This is the same as when we buy/sell cars 4,1% transfer tax is payable on the official value multiplied by the age percentage.
So for example if I imported a MH & paid say 20k & that was also the government agreed value & it was over 10 years old then the fee would be 10% of 20k = 2k X 4,1% =820€ Add to this the ITV(mot) + engineers report + ficha tecnica at around 230€ +road tax ( which varies hugely depending on region & local council in that region)+ gestorias fee's if you cannot do the importing yourself.

To import a newish one could leave you being required to pay a fee that varies between 4,1 & 8% but based on emissions :(
 
I am assuming it’s a left hand drive. Definately overpriced, you should be able to get a 2008 model for that money with the 3 litre engine, auto gearbox and quite a few goodies. It would also be slightly longer. Nice vans ours is a 966m and we are very pleased with it. Good build quality and nothing falls to bits.

Spongy
 
spongy said:
I am assuming it’s a left hand drive. Definately overpriced, you should be able to get a 2008 model for that money with the 3 litre engine, auto gearbox and quite a few goodies. It would also be slightly longer. Nice vans ours is a 966m and we are very pleased with it. Good build quality and nothing falls to bits.

Spongy
Click to expand...


I agree but I would sooner have the older 2.7 with the full auto, more reliable I think.

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I have a 2008 996M and got to say its generally very good but one thing to look out for is on our model
there is no seal under the wheel arch and nothing to stop water going to the timber side panels .
I only noticed because the dashboard is bolted through the wooden side and was making a knocking noise as the timber had rotted and the bolt was loose.
there is a little access panel on the left hand side by fusebox you can get your hand in and remove the insulation and check for any damp in that area, on ours you could see daylight as the wheel arch under panel was just hanging there as the screws that hold it in place were falling out of the rotten timber.
Dealer was very good and replaced timber side panels , initially wanted £700 contribution but buckled when I threatened legal action. All good now.
 
KUSKUS said:
I have a 2008 996M and got to say its generally very good but one thing to look out for is on our model
there is no seal under the wheel arch and nothing to stop water going to the timber side panels .
I only noticed because the dashboard is bolted through the wooden side and was making a knocking noise as the timber had rotted and the bolt was loose.
there is a little access panel on the left hand side by fusebox you can get your hand in and remove the insulation and check for any damp in that area, on ours you could see daylight as the wheel arch under panel was just hanging there as the screws that hold it in place were falling out of the rotten timber.
Dealer was very good and replaced timber side panels , initially wanted £700 contribution but buckled when I threatened legal action. All good now.
Click to expand...


Very informative, timber side panels? very strange, not sure I understand exactly where the timber is though?
 
The whole of the side of the motorhome is wood panelling, you can see it above the dash on the left and right hand side. A section of the side panel had to be cut out and replaced both sides. complete wheel arch under trays and wheel arches have to be removed to get access, big job.
 
KUSKUS said:
The whole of the side of the motorhome is wood panelling, you can see it above the dash on the left and right hand side. A section of the side panel had to be cut out and replaced both sides. complete wheel arch under trays and wheel arches have to be removed to get access, big job.
Click to expand...


Is the wood panelling behind the insulation. From outside is it GRP, then insulation, then wood panelling, then interior wall covering?
 
Not sure about interior wall covering, mine has the wood panelling as the interior finish.

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IMG_20180512_201722579.jpg
IMG_20180512_201712973.jpg
 
KUSKUS said:
I have a 2008 996M and got to say its generally very good but one thing to look out for is on our model
there is no seal under the wheel arch and nothing to stop water going to the timber side panels .
I only noticed because the dashboard is bolted through the wooden side and was making a knocking noise as the timber had rotted and the bolt was loose.
there is a little access panel on the left hand side by fusebox you can get your hand in and remove the insulation and check for any damp in that area, on ours you could see daylight as the wheel arch under panel was just hanging there as the screws that hold it in place were falling out of the rotten timber.
Dealer was very good and replaced timber side panels , initially wanted £700 contribution but buckled when I threatened legal action. All good now.
Click to expand...

I believe this was a major problem on Rapidos of this year (2008) We had ours fixed when it was 4 years old at no charge and think we were only one of many. I was told that the factory had used a fire proofing material that wasn’t water resistant. Touch wood it seems to be ok.

Spongy
 

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