New van when Wife retires

[Heethers]

Took her that has to be obeyed to see the Sterling Elite Searcher yesterday, if you remember on a previous post l thought she was going to insist on buying it, big surprise she said we have 12 months to do the rounds before she retires next April, yes the NHS has finally done for her, last straw not paid her petrol expenses which by next month will amount to £400 or more, so at the moment l am subsidising the PCT here in Cheshire so she can do her patient visits, rant over back to the more important issue.

As l say wife will retire April 2011 what we plan to do for next 8 months is look at all the twin axles and get the van that suits us as this van l am sure will be the last, so we have to get it right.

If you see two people with 2 Yorkies eying your van on site, we are not being nosey just making a list of all the twin axles we see, only joking will be doing the caravan shows and the dealer rounds.

Anyone got advice on how they went about it, as every time you hit the dealers out come the sales pitch, l know they have to do their job.

The problem l found with the shows especially the big ones is l get overwhelmed with information.

Your thoughts, by the way Jennifer not discounted the Sterling by a long way thank you for you info.

NigelH

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

nigel, i would phone or go on line and get every manu to send you every brochure on twin axels they have.

they i would look at things like what extras do they have, have much does the van cost, what sizes are the front seats, what sizes is the fixed bed etc etc.

then i would list them in order of preference.

nearer the time i would go on line and print out a dealer list. ring every dealer in the country and haggle. play one against the other. i did and i got 2k off my new van at the time and loads of extra aswell.

same with an awning if your gonna get a new one aswell.

hope this helps

if i was changing my 2008 wyoming the only other caravan i would have is a eldiss super sirocco. stunning caravan total quality oh and a huge fridge freezer lol.

jo

 

[Heethers]

Thanks Joanne, yes will be looking at the Sirocco in two weeks time as the daughter has moved to Bolton which is near where l bought the Ace and will be paying a visit while we are their, along with a look at the Baileys, Swifts and the Eldis, but won't be considering the Pegasus unless Bailey do something about the interior for next year.

NigelH

 

[Dustydog]

Hi Nigel

Your choice of layout is virtually the same as ours, except we have a nearside as opposed to offside bed. Knowing the layout you want is half the battle.

Our Wyoming is no longer made and I suspect the Pegasus will gradually make its mark.

Back to the Sterling, mmm lovely.

As you are pretty well focused my best advice is be certain to buy from a dealer you can trust or one you know to have a first class customer care reputation. Reads of Blackburn are not far away . They have been very supportive on this forum. They do Swift but not sure if that includes Sterling.

I agree with Jo-anne the new Elddis super scirocco looks the part. Howeverno one says much about them. Is that good or bad??

Are the Yorkies biscuit and raisin flavour??

Cheers

Dustydog,

 

[Parksy]

Hi Nigel

During the next 12 months list everything that you like or dislike about the Sterling Elite and have weekend afternoons going round caravan dealerships looking inside similar caravans.

Sit inside these caravans and examine every aspect of them, is there anything which represents an improvement on the Sterling equivalent? When approached by sales staff say that you are 'just looking' and they won't pester you.

We did this for a year before we bought our Abbey 620,the dealers became used to us and we had many interesting visits to caravan dealerships wherever we happened to be at the time.

We have owned the Abbey for just over two years now, there is nothing that we would want to swap it with and we're very happy with the choice that we made.

 

[Hamer_5041128]

NGH,

Bear in mind that come September most new models will be announced.

As has happened to us in the past the new model was not to our taste.In our case we really liked the then current years Senator but took a total dislike to the new model.

So if you like a particular twin axle try and source one from a reputable dealer just as the new years models are released. Then if you don't like the new models you can hopefully jump in for one of the last of the previous years model. We missed out as for the past 20+ years i have and will only deal with one dealer Golden Castle Caravans at Staverton Airport. However the following year the Senator was again revamped to our taste and we bought one.

Hamer

 

[Heethers]

Thanks for all your comments will take them on board, one thing that we will have to add is a mover, the Truma S that we have fitted to the Ace won't do a twin the only one that l can find to do above the 1800Kg seems to be the Truma Te model which is around

 

[Stephen_374341239]

Hi NGH

My Wife Retired due to being made redundent last May and only just going to get her years TAX back next month.

Keeping these MPs in the life style they have come a custome too.

Regards Janet & Steve

 

[anotherDavid]

I too live in Cheshire so it wouldnt be too far for you to have a look at what Fendt's they have at Harrisons of Southport. I limited myself to a single axle van but if you want double they should have more choice even if you go over the 2.3 meter width it now apears that there shouldnt be any problem towing it legally. I have found the customer service there very very good and the quality of the product first class.

Dave

 

[Pamela_374424154]

We have just upgraded from a Senator Wyoming to a Supersirrocco. The Bailey was nice but the Elddis is fantastic. Lovely finish superb fridge/freezer and wonderful bed with a memory foam mattress. Sheer luxury. The kids even bought us matching bedding and china for Christmas.Please don't ask me to part from it yet.

 

[Wigandiver]

I too live in Cheshire so it wouldnt be too far for you to have a look at what Fendt's they have at Harrisons of Southport. I limited myself to a single axle van but if you want double they should have more choice even if you go over the 2.3 meter width it now apears that there shouldnt be any problem towing it legally. I have found the customer service there very very good and the quality of the product first class.

Dave

Save your self a journey. I had a ride out there at the weekend and was told that they had "lost the contract" to sell Fendts.

There also had no tourers for sale. Seem to be concentrating on statics.

Jim.