Avondale Osprey

[Darin_5040161]

I'm planning to change vans later this year and have decided to buy a brand new Avondale Osprey. Any thoughts on this vans would be very much appreciated, I'd also like to hear thoughts on dealers with 100 miles (or so) of Ipswich.

Thanks in advance

Darin

 

[Wendy-Norfolk]

I have no experience of Avondale caravans, but the main dealer in Norwich is Drayton Caravans.

We have bought a couple of pre-owned vans from them in the past, and always found them good to deal with.:O)

 

[spj]

Hi Darin,

I bought a new Avondale Argente in 2004, the worst thing I ever bought. Some of the problems I had include; front and rear panels were replaced, the oven nearly fell out as screws kept falling out, the fridge was wired up incorrectly, the water heater failed [wiring fault again] and the blinds fell to bits, most of these were covered under warranty as they were in the first year, but when the cusions started to sag after around 15 months Avondale did not want to know, they also refused to change the tyres as they were found to be cracking on its second service at 22 months old, all vans can have problems but the way the dealer or maker deal with them can make a big difference, Avondales warranty covers everything for 12 months, a further very limited warranty covers the second and third years, Avondale call this a 3 year warranty. I liked the Avondale, it was a nice van but Avondales severe lack of customer service let it down and I would never buy another, the tyres were a cheap budget brand which surprised me, if they skimp on a major saftey item like these what else is done on the cheap?

If you are looking at the 'bird range' these are not cheap, you can get a much better quality van for your money, try Coachman, Fleetwood or the german vans, they are all far better.

spj.

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

hi we bought an avondale dart 556/6 godiva (special edition)in oct 2005. after 10 months all the seat covers needed restitching but the dealer didnt put the warrenty claim through so i now have to pay for this. the fridge lock keeps breaking, the table kept falling off the wall and the dealer put this back on with double sided tape and put the screws back into the holes that were already to big so it fell off again. the bottom bunk slatts keep falling through the runners because its poorley made so its a good job my 4 year old is only light. the ariel was never wired in correctly.the door seals are so poorly made that i think you would get bubble gum to stick better and keep the draft out. avondale cust services are no great help really. if you want my opion stay away.

they are also very nose heavy. we had to change our car because of this.

cant wait to change it for a fixed bed from the swift group.

hooray.

jo-anne

 

[Hamer_5041128]

Darin,

You say you are changeing later this year for a brand new caravan. Avondale's caravan model year goes from the 1st September to 31st August so if you buy after 1-9-07 you either have an old model which will be already classed as a year old,or you will have a 2008 model which will most probably be quite different to the current years model.Just something for you to think about.

Hamer

 

[Nidge1]

Hi Darin,

I have got to agree with spj.We had a Avondale 5 berth Golden Mayfair (upgraded dart).The work top needed replacing 3 times, Grill door needed replacing, we had 4 water pumps, shower tray split, wash hand basin had to be replaced, the floor delaminated, front window rained in, and numerous door catches broke.

The front locker never did fit even after numerous visits back to the dealer.He just gave up in the end and said it was a poor design that Avondale could not get right!

We had both tyres shred on us and put it down to the cheap supplied tyres.

The van was a good layout and the decor was spot on pity it was let down by very poor workmanship.

I admit that the vast majority of the problems were sorted under warranty, however the time and lost days taking it back and forth to the dealer were not compensated for.

We have now got a German Hymer Nova and what a cracking van.Very well put together and virtually bullet proof.I know they come at a price and are heavy, but if you can I would certainly look at the foreign made vans.

I was talking recently to a caravan technician and he did say that the Avondale's were no better or worse than any other British van.

I hope this helps and the best of luck in your search for a new van.

Regards Nidge

 

[jacky3]

we have a 2004 golden osprey,only problem we have had is panels on front and back of van have been repaired due to stress fractures.this was a well known fault with several manufacturers vans around this period.the van itself is well made and can honestly say its been the best van we've had so far.doesn't matter which manufacturer you buy from,you will always here of badly constructed vans from that particular manufacturer.i think they are better constucted than most vans and would consider buying avondale again

 

[Pelyma1]

Biggest problem with Avondale van's is Avondale themselves, hopeless customer service. As others have said all vans can have problems, it is how they are dealt with counts - Avondale nil point

 

[RobRoy]

Hi Darin,

We had a budget Avondale - a Perle Orestes SE which we bought when it was three years old and kept for nine years without any problems whatsoever.

Rob S.