What did you think of the NEC Motorhome Show Feb 2024

Jo662

Jo662

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After many years of attending this show,and being abit disappointed with it last year, I was wondering what everyone thought of it?
What did we miss?
 
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3 and a half hours of my life (+travel time) I will never get back, limited range of vans, mainly British vans they can't sell, and for some reason about 5 stands with 2 coachman vans each (I assume the margins on these are massive and everyone wants to sell them?)
Difficult to view anything as so busy.
Seemed to be mainly geared up to caravanners, loads of caravans, awnings etc.
Didn't bother with the food as ridiculously priced (saw £9.95 for a hotdog!)
 
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Wh05apk said:
3 and a half hours of my life (+travel time) I will never get back, limited range of vans, mainly British vans they can't sell, and for some reason about 5 stands with 2 coachman vans each (I assume the margins on these are massive and everyone wants to sell them?)
Difficult to view anything as so busy.
Seemed to be mainly geared up to caravanners, loads of caravans, awnings etc.
Didn't bother with the food as ridiculously priced (saw £9.95 for a hotdog!)
Click to expand...

It’s the NEC it’s always expensive to buy drinks and food.

The Lego Movie predicted this if you haven’t seen it there is an ‘everything is awesome’ emit pays $37 for over priced coffee which reaches $42 later in the film

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I quiet enjoyed my visit. Wasn't going to go originally as I have been for the last 2 years and to be fair not much changes in the camping and motorhome business.

However, I had nothing much on on Thursday to went anyway - on my own without the wife. I quite enjoyed that, just whizzing around looking at stuff I liked.

Mostly enjoyed the really expensive (out of my reach) stuff like the flash 4 wheel off road drive sprinters and experimental stuff. Bit like going to a motor show and enjoying the Ferraris I will never be able to buy.

No point in looking at all the run of the mill motorhomes and campervans - they are all the same and I have one at home!
 
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We went on Saturday, very busy and queues on the motorway to get into the carparks. Went with a shopping list of bits and pieces which we managed to get. Nice to look at some of the new off road stuff.
Good advice from the Avtex stand who even passed us on to a stand that sold thier products with a decent reduction.
Coffee and food were not much dearer than we experience in London unfortunately.
Overall it was worth us going
 
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We went on Friday, busy getting into the car park and onto the shuttle bus but once inside it didn't seem too busy we started at Morelo and there seemed to be a never ending queue to look in the Empire Liner on the Mercedes truck chassis but we joined the back of it and were in pretty quickly. Plenty of other stuff to look at and could certainly fill the day, the Eura Mobil 4x4 coachbuilt looked the bizz as did some of the 4x4 PVC's and we spent a fair bit of time looking at the Frankia's with rear lounge, lovely kitchen and lounge area and the drop down bed over the cab seemed OK as well but let down for me my them not modifying the dashboard and moving the driving position further forward but I suppose that would impact on the price and take them into Concorde and Morelo territory where they possibly don't see themselves, nice van all the same :giggle: quite a few little stalls around the outsides of the halls and you can always find something to look at so all in a good day, coffee and a cake might have been expensive but we knew that before we went.

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We’ve been before and really only went this time because some friends were keen to go for their first time. Having said that, there were a couple of accessories we wanted, which were cheaper at the show, so found it worthwhile. Not many Motorhomes on show, but quite a few PVC’s.
October show is definitely the one to attend if you want to see more.
 
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Having been to the NEC for the past few years I can say the range was the worse Ive ever seen. Not one single thing attracted me and I couldn't find a thing I wanted. There was nothing new and innovative in either accessories or vans.
By the footfall I could tell that traders wouldn't be happy, and I was correct. Is it the end for this type of show? Less traders, less new products and less visitors. Personally, I think the venues have screwed traders over for too much for too long and now many just dont bother. Fewer traders mean less public. I wonder what other shows will be like this year?
 
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Glad we didn't bother, missed seening my cousin's son who is usually on a stall somewhere, was selling silk duvets last couple of years.
 
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jezport said:
By the footfall I could tell that traders wouldn't be happy, and I was correct. Is it the end for this type of show? Less traders, less new products and less visitors. Personally, I think the venues have screwed traders over for too much for too long and now many just dont bother. Fewer traders mean less public. I wonder what other shows will be like this year?
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Although we did well, you're correct in that quite a few traders were fed up with the NEC for one reason or another and don't plan to come back. But as it was our first NEC show as a trader I don't have a point of reference. I do know that some that don't plan to do the NEC in future are now re-looking at Warners.

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I've only been once and have to say we were seriously underwhelmed, although we did buy an Adria Twin! If folk really want to see a huge range of motorhomes/campers and related 'stuff', go to Caravan Salon in Dusseldorf. We used to go when we lived in Germany, but are going this year, tying it in with a late summer European trek. It has a campground/stelplatz with showers, EHU, toilets etc and some very dodgy entertainment. You'll need two days and will walk miles (sorry kilometres) but it's a whole different experience to the NEC.
 
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Our local caravan dealer Teesside Caravan's claimed that during the show dates they were running the exact same offers and prices at the dealership as those that they were offering at the show.

I haven't checked if that was the case but I wonder if any others did the same.
 
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I dont know how the Feb show will compare to October but I do think that if you are just looking out for your fist van these shows are a useful show room that it is not easy to get by just going round local dealers. And most can’t get to Düsseldorf.
We didn’t go, haven’t been for a few years. Don’t want a new van, long way to go just to look at accessories that we probably don’t need.
We live close enough to go to Lincoln or Newark for a day if we really want to.
 
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Perhaps there’s only a need for one show a year, usually only go to the October one.

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jezport said:
Having been to the NEC for the past few years I can say the range was the worse Ive ever seen. Not one single thing attracted me and I couldn't find a thing I wanted. There was nothing new and innovative in either accessories or vans.
By the footfall I could tell that traders wouldn't be happy, and I was correct. Is it the end for this type of show? Less traders, less new products and less visitors. Personally, I think the venues have screwed traders over for too much for too long and now many just dont bother. Fewer traders mean less public. I wonder what other shows will be like this year?
Click to expand...
Same happened in the Bike Trade.... the show's used to have a Trade Day....but now they have stopped it...mainly due to the big traders and brands getting done over for their show spot and online makes it easier....obvs since the "B" thing it's made matter worse in the Cycling arena.... I can only assume the same applies to many other business areas, especially as most is imported from Europe. In the cycle trade most of the manufacturers of bikes and parts have EU/Asia/U.S HQ's so were never going to set up the UK as a single import territory...
 
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JRT said:
Our local caravan dealer Teesside Caravan's claimed that during the show dates they were running the exact same offers and prices at the dealership as those that they were offering at the show.

I haven't checked if that was the case but I wonder if any others did the same.
Click to expand...

I never believe all this 'at the show price'. If you go into the the dealer the next week and haggle a deal with them you'll do just as well. I thought some of the show deals were pathetic. Buy a motorhome for 80K and get a free wifi system fitted. wow! :rolleyes:
 
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Jo662 said:
After many years of attending this show,and being abit disappointed with it last year, I was wondering what everyone thought of it?
What did we miss?
Click to expand...
We went on Saturday which was very busy but we did end up buying a folding electric bike.
 
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I've never been to a m/home show but for years I used to go to the London and the Southampton Boat Shows but found that the bored staff were recruited just for the show and had very little knowledge of the products or boating. If I was seriously interested in a product I'd visit a dealer or agent before or after the shows, avoiding the jostling crowds, catalogue collectors and paying ten quid to stand in a corner with a cheese roll and an anaemic tea.
 
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