To buy or not to buy British

[RollingRog]

We are looking to purchase a motorhome having just sold the Eldiss Evolution that we made the mistake of buying!

Looking around on different chat rooms etc, the overriding opinion seems to be that foreign vehicles are of better quality.

Your thoughts would be much appreciated

 

[funflair]

You might find that Continental vans are more expensive as well so you would need to weigh that into the equation together with the fact that layout and furnishing can be quite different from British to Continental models so no use buying what you think might be better quality if the layout isn't right, it sounds like you have had an Elddis and not enjoyed the experience so was that build or layout?

 

[RollingRog]

You might find that Continental vans are more expensive as well so you would need to weigh that into the equation together with the fact that layout and furnishing can be quite different from British to Continental models so no use buying what you think might be better quality if the layout isn't right, it sounds like you have had an Elddis and not enjoyed the experience so was that build or layout?

The build, cheap and full of damp after 10 months, it was a 22 plate

 

[1967bowesj]

There will be plenty along to give their opinions, mine are from 4 vans over a lot of spread out years.
Old swift royale never buy another swift!
Bessacarr when they was Bessacarr excellent van
Autocruise before they turned swift excellent van
Now have a 2011 Pilote, excellent build quality no damp or rot and was well specified when new.
Would look at as many vans as you can to see what style you like then look for the best example of it you can find.

 

[RollingRog]

There will be plenty along to give their opinions, mine are from 4 vans over a lot of spread out years.
Old swift royale never buy another swift!
Bessacarr when they was Bessacarr excellent van
Autocruise before they turned swift excellent van
Now have a 2011 Pilote, excellent build quality no damp or rot and was well specified when new.
Would look at as many vans as you can to see what style you like then look for the best example of it you can find.

We have had BESSACAR end lounge which is our preferred layout never had any problems with BESSACAR, thought we d go for a more modern newer van and got the evolution worst mistake ever!

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[Coastal Cruiser.]

The build, cheap and full of damp after 10 months, it was a 22 plate

Have German built van that is towards the top end of the market and am currently waiting for another visit to a dealer to have another leak sorted!!
First one was a few months old and it had to be taken back to Germany to be fixed.

Unfortunately the more expensive the van is does not guarantee you won’t have problems

Good luck with the search.

 

[Lenny HB]

Having had a Brit built caravan that had more water in the walls than the garden pound, I've never & would never buy a Brit built van.
You do get the odd problem even with German vans but far less chance they do build 10 times the number of vans in a year than we do. Also they way they are constructed far less chance of any serious damage if you do get water ingress.

Look for a van with internal walls of aluminium they are far superior in construction.

 

[PP Bear]

Try looking across YouTube, as there’s a few videos of how they’re constructed. I have an early Autotrail and love it, the layout and no damp issues at all. Would I buy a new AT, no way, as watching how they’re constructed and being an engineer I certainly wouldn’t touch them. Try looking for some videos and see for yourself.

Good luck

 

[RollingRog]

Try looking across YouTube, as there’s a few videos of how they’re constructed. I have an early Autotrail and love it, the layout and no damp issues at all. Would I buy a new AT, no way, as watching how they’re constructed and being an engineer I certainly wouldn’t touch them. Try looking for some videos and see for yourself.

Good luck

We always bought the older vans never had any issues, seems like the new builds are cost cutting exercises in how not to build!
We won’t make the mistake of going for a new shiny one again!
Like ourselves we think the older ones are the best

 

[dally]

After 4 British caravans and 1 motorhome against 3 continental motorhomes I am firmly in the continental camp. Other than 2 Ace caravans, everything else was a nightmare. Including a new Lunar Delta. Our only British motorhome was a 2007 Autotrail. Absolute rubbish. We had problems with every aspect of that van, almost gave up.
Best continental built van for quality for me was a 2006 Hobby. Since then we have had a Burstner without issue and now have a Pilote that hasn't ailed a thing in 4 years.

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[Nanniemate]

Having had a Brit built caravan that had more water in the walls than the garden pound, I've never & would never buy a Brit built van.
You do get the odd problem even with German vans but far less chance they do build 10 times the number of vans in a year than we do. Also they way they are constructed far less chance of any serious damage if you do get water ingress.

Look for a van with internal walls of aluminium they are far superior in construction.

A garden pond that's posh

 

[Al n Val]

I can only speak of my motorhomes, first one was a brand new Autotrail Comanche in 2018. Owned this for 3 years and it was superb tbh. No damp, nothing dropping off, the odd led striplight poor connection, door. catches needing adjustment. Everything worked as it should, infact it was probably the one we should have kept.

The dealer was exemplary which I feel is a major factor in any motorhome purchase.

Our 2nd motorhome is a Rapido i1090 Distinction, we’ve owned this one 2 years from brand new, tbh we absolutely love it.

Comfortable spacy layout, fixtures and fittings cabinet wise i’d say is probably as good as you’ll get or certainly as good as i’ve seen. Motorised everything, both double beds, windscreen blind, tv lift, coffee machine lift.
First week the windscreen blind broke, repaired no issues but the cord was frayed so it’s been replaced but now bowing down at the top and sometimes won’t raise so needs replacing again.
The TV lift mechanism has failed so i’ve had to remove the TV and prop it up the side window so we can watch it, needs replacing.
I’ve had to have 3 replacement hab door fly blinds as they keep on creasing and losing tension around the area where you pull it to, and no we’ve never accidentally had the hab door close on them.
All of the window blinds are that flimsy they are falling apart, blackout blinds are crumbling away and letting light through, roof and window blinds are that stiff, even after cleaning and spraying with silicon.
Door blind coming away at the top so needs replacing.
LED strip lights failing needing repairs after failing.
1st winter, Alde boiler auto airbleed valve failed and dropped all the Alde fluid on the floor outside whilst in Spain.
2nd winter the Alde boiler itself has burst or sprung a leak and dropped all the fluid inside the motorhome, this happened in january this year in Spain again and we’ve had no heating since from Alde system.
Cracked gel coat both top roof corners, repaired. Cracked gel coat above drivers side window needs repairing.

The 9sp gearbox, fantastic.

It was double the cost of the Autotrail btw.

So far the dealer has been good, sorted everything even things they’ve damaged.

BTW all the Autotrail blinds were far superior and much much better quality.

I’ll get all these things replaced or repaired under warranty I know, i’ve missed out on dozens of other less serious things tbh, but it’s been a tiring 2 years of ownership thus far.

Would I buy German? Well it’s probably a no, as even they break and you pay a £60-80k + premium for the privilege.

And they ALL have issues regardless of what the owners tell you trust me

That said Morello owners tell you nothing

Did I say it was double the cost of the Autotrail

 

[seasideBill]

Personal choice, but too many UK vans have drab interiors full of beige upholstery and dark wood making the accommodation a bit sombre and gloomy.

 

[Al n Val]

Personal choice, but too many UK vans have drab interiors full of beige upholstery and dark wood making the accommodation a bit sombre and gloomy.

Ooh! we might clash here Bill

That’s one of the reasons why we were put off a lot of Germans vans, dark gloomy reddy brown furniture

Another make which i’ll not mention, very dark grey cupboards/doors (which dropped off), leather seating and floor, god it was depressing

 

[Lenny HB]

Personal choice, but too many UK vans have drab interiors full of beige upholstery and dark wood making the accommodation a bit sombre and gloomy.

That's sounds like German vans of old, thankfully they have improved.

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[Folkranger]

The build, cheap and full of damp after 10 months, it was a 22 plate

You were lucky. Three of my British caravans were found damp just after the 3 year warranty.

 

[Folkranger]

There will be plenty along to give their opinions, mine are from 4 vans over a lot of spread out years.
Old swift royale never buy another swift!
Bessacarr when they was Bessacarr excellent van
Autocruise before they turned swift excellent van
Now have a 2011 Pilote, excellent build quality no damp or rot and was well specified when new.
Would look at as many vans as you can to see what style you like then look for the best example of it you can find.

I had one of the last truly Bessacarr caravaans. Loved it and only changed to get a motorhome.

 

[Folkranger]

Having had a Brit built caravan that had more water in the walls than the garden pound, I've never & would never buy a Brit built van.
You do get the odd problem even with German vans but far less chance they do build 10 times the number of vans in a year than we do. Also they way they are constructed far less chance of any serious damage if you do get water ingress.

Look for a van with internal walls of aluminium they are far superior in construction.

Even though some of the internal fittings are so flimsy as to be unfit for purpose as in the Hymer DL range which aimed at hitting the 3500kg weight but fails in practice to do this. But yes they are damp proof.

 

[hja]

Of our caravans and motorhomes the worst we had was. Deflect, all sorts of problems. Mixture of British and European vans. Current van is German, one or two minor problems, at least one caused by hot weather (tambour washroom door). Design needs real good look at. Eg our Autosleeper had two very irritating design faults, cutlery drawer didn’t open fully without had door being open (didn’t notice because when viewing vans door is usually open!) also difficult to get to under bench storage from inside because the flap on the side of the cupboard obstructed lifting seat.

 

[Spriddler]

I've had my 27 yr old solidly built Compass (cost £13k) for 12 years, faultless apart from consumables and no trace of any damp.

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[meanders]

We had two British, 03 Eldiss Autoquest 100, then upgraded to get an extra half metre to 08 Bessacarr. The first had a good few niggles like the pull it bit for the second bed was always an issue, and a fold down worktop came adrift. Biggest issue was lack of space with three of us.

The Bessie went back to the factory twice. Once to put the missing insulation in the overcab. In doing that they left an ingress for mice that were then in the ceiling. Second time to replace a skirt that was unsupported so cracked with vibration. Has a locker door come adrift, the front blinds never did fit properly and numerous other annoyances.

When we changed to the Euramobil we breathe a sigh of relief having heard all the stories about German vans. Generally to be fair the build is better but that too we took back to the factory after several attempts to solve problems with the habitation door. It got sucked open by an overtaking lorry on the A14, despite being locked. The factory found a good few issues we had not spotted and dealt with them too including replacing the rear nearside (UK) corner panel the full height of the motorhome. It's also had a fair number of internal niggles.

However good the conversion, with all three we have had many more mechanical/electrical issues. The first was Peugeot base, and the other two Fiat, but all I believe from the same factory.

We love the interior of the Euramobil. Beech and cream throughout and certainly not dark.

You pay your money and make your choice.

 

[lorger]

Rather than looking for vans from certain countries why not look for one that has wood free construction, at least then if you are unlucky enough to have a leak the damage will be minimal. We have a German van and have owned a British one too, in my opinion our current van is far superior and not that much more expensive than some Brit vans. When looking for our new van wood free was the main criteria along with layout, some will state they are wood free but be careful as this can mean just the walls and floor is still wood.

 

[EuroTrotters]

Eura Mobil - water Ingres
Frankia - water Ingres
La Strada - Fantastic Eggshell Fibreglass design, not a hint of damp.
Hymer Motorhome - Tea Bag
Hymer Caravan - Tea Bag

My brother bought an ACE (Swift) motorhome. First week it arrived, I sat on bench seat. The slats broke and it collapsed . I was about 90kg at the time

 

[scotzsue]

On proper conversion no 4
Romahome me conversion excellent, peugeot was a rust bucket, had it for 7 years though
Swift Escape, lightweight chassis, had for 4/5 years changed to be able to take a , wasn't plated for towing.
Then 2 italian vans
CI Mizar loved it, had a problem with water ingress, used van when we bought it, D rail had been fitted under the awning rail, screwed not glued and water migrated into the van, fixed under guarantee, no further problems till we changed just before covid hit to
Laika Ecovip 300 now back to a 3.5 van as couldn't do with our C1s needing renewing at the same time. Needed a rooflight resealing in that, and problem with comfortmatic
Despite that we have been happy with them all, although would have preferred a slighly smaller shower room and the extra space being given to the living space. Oh and cream upholstery is not the best choice for any motorhome unless it is wipeable leather. At least covers come off for washing.

 

[PP Bear]

Eura Mobil - water Ingres
Frankia - water Ingres
La Strada - Fantastic Eggshell Fibreglass design, not a hint of damp.
Hymer Motorhome - Tea Bag
Hymer Caravan - Tea Bag

My brother bought an ACE (Swift) motorhome. First week it arrived, I sat on bench seat. The slats broke and it collapsed . I was about 90kg at the time

Fatty

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[iamarobot1999]

PVC all the way. No joints, no leaks, no problems.

 

[Just us on Tour]

We are looking to purchase a motorhome having just sold the Eldiss Evolution that we made the mistake of buying!

Looking around on different chat rooms etc, the overriding opinion seems to be that foreign vehicles are of better quality.

Your thoughts would be much appreciated

A great post and a question I have considered many times . I have only ever owned 2 MH. Both were AT . One I had no issues with and one I had an issue . In fairness to AT they fixed my issues under warranty .
We really did consider buying an upmarket German van to avoid further the horror stories you see on line . However when we started to research we started to realise that no matter which van you buy or how much you spend you may be the unlucky one who gets issues including the dreaded water ingress. The layout and facilities of the German vans did not really suit us , we preferred the British layouts . That said yes , I believe the German vans are built better, however they do not come without their problems.They can also leak ! There is also the extra cost . Our AT retails now at about £112K yet the equivalent spec Carthago ( for example ) is over £200K . Even if you had a 5yr old van which was out of warranty the cash difference would pay for professional damp repairs 20 times over ! I guess it’s personal choice … you pays your money and takes your chances !
Any van can leak. If I have learned anything it’s buy the van you like . Buy one that suits your needs. Buy one with a good warranty. Buying a MH and expecting little or no problems is a throw of the dice !

 

[Carpmart]

Huge generalisations going on here! Not all British vans are poop and not all continental ones are brilliant.

 

[ceejayt]

Had an N and B Flaif from new, first van. Took a year for dealer and N and B to sort out why there was continual water running around inside the double floor and then agreeing warranty after multiple visits

Made me decide two things - wherever I bought from they had to be less than 50 miles away in case of going back and forth and ideally direct from manufacturer so no discussions between dealer and manufacturer re warranty

Had three vans now from RS British built fnear Retford since - cannot say I have had no problems but nothing serious and all fixed without issue or discussion.

 

[Jonno1103]

In reality there's only 3 British vans, Lunar, Swift & Bailey, the rest are either French or German/U.S.

Swift are cutting back production, Bailey have dropped a marque, Elddis are soon to be using Thor/Hymer build technology & Trigano/Auto Trail are building a 3rd production line.

It's going the same way with PVC's too. Westfalia & Wildax are owned by Rapido.