Autocruise Starfire 2004

[norman_374478717]

I have been offered the chance to look at an Autocruise Starfire 2004 with 9500 miles on it. I don't know anything about this make, so would welcome any info you might wish to impart.

Regards.

Greylag

 

[Flicka]

Hi Greylag - Although Motorhomes tend to do low annual mileage, 9500miles on a 10/11 year old vehicle does appear surprisingly low. They were built by Autocruise (in Mexborough Sth Yorks.) that subsequently went into liquidation in 2008 & then purchased by the Swift Group, who subsequently dropped production of coachbuilt Autocruise badged motorhomes. The Autocruise name is still in use by swift for Panel van conversions. 2004 is a period when Autocruise were at their peak (IMHO) & had a good reputation. They also manufactured Dealer badged specials (mainly for Marquis & Brownhills, IIRC) which had additional specification to the standard model.
See:- http://www.marquisleisure.co.uk/motorhomes/stock/type/low-profile
for a couple of examples & layout

 

[chirene]

That is Very low mileage. Ours is 06 reg and has done 45, 000+ miles. Been standing around a lot, so be careful as we have found things go rusty, like brakes. Just had to have new brake pads on ours, and when the garage went to take the wheels off, the bolt sheered , so had to have a new hub as well, Turned out expensive !! We use ours for 3 months and maybe another 6 weeks later in year, so ours stands around a lot. So I say be careful, it may be too good to be true !

 

[norman_374478717]

Excellent advice, watch this space, many thanks.

Greylag

 

[GillandMike]

We owned an Autocruise Stardream for a few years and I have to say that the layout, quality and design were excellent. We liked it so much that we then bought a Bentley Indigo (a company started by two of the Bentley family who started Autocruise).
Yes the mileage is low but do not worry too much about mileage - a modern diesel engine should be good for many many years. My advice would be to focus on how well it has been looked after, has it been regularly serviced (engine and habitation), is there damp in it (a damp meter could be useful, look for damp stains too), has it been involved in an accident etc.
If you are satisfied with this and the layout suits you it should give you many years of enjoyment.
Let us know how you get on

 

[chirene]

We owned an Autocruise Stardream for a few years and I have to say that the layout, quality and design were excellent. We liked it so much that we then bought a Bentley Indigo (a company started by two of the Bentley family who started Autocruise).
Yes the mileage is low but do not worry too much about mileage - a modern diesel engine should be good for many many years. My advice would be to focus on how well it has been looked after, has it been regularly serviced (engine and habitation), is there damp in it (a damp meter could be useful, look for damp stains too), has it been involved in an accident etc.
If you are satisfied with this and the layout suits you it should give you many years of enjoyment.
Let us know how you get on

Agree with all you say, BUT an 11 year old vehicle with 9500 miles less than 1000 a year, has been standing around, and the problem would be with rust on brakes, wheels, chassis maybe?. I don't think the engine would be great either, would surly be stiff. If bought you would need to have a good service, almost a rebuild for peace of mind.

 

[rayjsj]

I owned an Autocruise Starlet 2 ( a Marquis special Edition of the Starburst) a 2005 model, I found it to be a very good vehicle, the Autocruises were very 'Water Tight' compared to other brands, mine also had an Eberspacher Diesel Heater and water boiler, which I found far superior to my my present Truma Combi 4E. Had a 'Low Line' Alko chassis which made it very stable on the road, only downside a very large turning circle. But I forgave it that.
The low mileage is a bit worrying, where did it spend it's 'Down time' ? is there any explanation ? a good check underneath should be done. Otherwise, it sounds a good 'Find'. The Autocruise Coachbuilts were very good vans, with a lot of innovations that others copied, Shame they are not still making them (NOT the Swift Ones).Good luck.