considering KNAUS Starclass? any advice welcomed

[purple_anya]

We purchased our first caravan (1999 Swift Alouette L) Sept 2008, have used approxmately 20 times to date and love it!
During a recent visit to our local dealer we saw the Knaus Starclass (2006) - wow really spacious.

Haven't been able to stop thinking about it since.

current van - 5 berth, twin dinette, side bathroom - suits us (2 adults and 8yr old son) our son has own area and can bring a friend.
Knaus 4 berth - side dinette so really light and airy and rear bathroom. looks huge (actually only 5" wider)

towing with Shogun Warrior 3.2Di-D 3dr so weight not an issue.are there any other issues I should consider ? (it is UK spec)

does anyone own a Knaus? previously owned one? or decided not to buy one? - all advice welcomed!

have spent the last few days on internet trying to find secondhand German caravan dealers located in UK! we are in South Wales any suggestions?

do any magazines offer advice / articles on Knaus Starclass in particular? back issue numbers welcomed.

 

[Lutz]

For what it's worth, we had a Knaus for 16 years from 1992 until 2008 and never had any problems with it (except for the washroom door coming adrift off its hinges while we towed the caravan over many miles of unsurfaced roads in Iceland)

 

[JTQ]

They were imported excusively by the now defunct Hants and Dorset Caravans at Purbrook near Portsmouth, for not much more than a couple of years. [Then ultimately pushed round various Discover dealers to clear stock when H&D were sold]
We looked very seriously at a long model with a rear fixed double bed, but in the end chose to forget it and keep the Hymer. An issue with us was they had to move the spare from the dedicated moulded location in the front to a rear underneath carrier. Failing to get convincing reasons behind doing that lost our confidence. They are undoubtedly very well made vans but were a niche market product and sales were very slow, ulimately leading to them dumping the remaining 2006 stock at silly prices. If the price is right, reflecting IMO their limited resaleability I would think they are a good buy. Remember though that it was a unique product for just one retailer and that Knaus themselves since changed hands and went through a big product culling and restructuring. This might make van specific spares very difficult if indeed possible to obtain and this ought to be reflected in the asking price.

 

[purple_anya]

thanks for your advice, we were impressed with the build quality and space.
Sorry for late reply - I've been unwell! unfortunately 'our Knaus' (as we'd started to call it, has been sold in the interim!!)
We will continue our search.