I was going to buy a new 08 Avondale but then found out on this very useful forum that Avondale are in trouble should I still Buy? The van was a dart 630 anyone have one? are they any good? I need the extra space with a low MTPLM. Our curent Dart Malvern (556/6)is a bit tight on room.
Should I Buy A Avondale
- Thread starter robin_374370707
- Start date
Thanks Alan. The aftercare and warranty is what i am now worried about. The only thing is that they are on sale at a used caravan dealer not a Avondale Dealer maybe I think due to the problems that Avondale seem to have. The only thing is the price is quite good. I am not sure what warranty is being offered as I have not got that far yet.
Robin.
Robin.
Damian
Moderator
Robin,
With Avondale in liquidation you must consider the possibilities.
As far as the on board equipment goes, like water heater, cooker, fridge, fire etc, parts for those are standard across the whole range of caravans,
The problem comes when you need Avondale specific items, like panels etc, unless Avondale find a buyer, those parts will not be available as there are no stocks as such, which is why some items take months to obtain.
Personally I would look elsewhere, the price may look attractive but is it really worth it in the long run?
With Avondale in liquidation you must consider the possibilities.
As far as the on board equipment goes, like water heater, cooker, fridge, fire etc, parts for those are standard across the whole range of caravans,
The problem comes when you need Avondale specific items, like panels etc, unless Avondale find a buyer, those parts will not be available as there are no stocks as such, which is why some items take months to obtain.
Personally I would look elsewhere, the price may look attractive but is it really worth it in the long run?
Thanks Damian.
I think I am going to hold off and wait to see what happens. I am glad I had not gone ahead a few days ago before the news started on this forum. I am just glad that I look at these topics. I feel for anyone who has only just bought one in the last few weeks.
Robin
I think I am going to hold off and wait to see what happens. I am glad I had not gone ahead a few days ago before the news started on this forum. I am just glad that I look at these topics. I feel for anyone who has only just bought one in the last few weeks.
Robin
Hello Robin,
As ever when a business is reported to be in financial difficulties, it is difficult for the public to gather all the relevant details. I have only seen reports in the forums about the demise of Avondale, I have not been able to confirm any of the reports as yet.
However where a manufacture does cease trading, there are always questions about the probity of buying one of their products. If the product is a simple device with little to go wrong then a good deal may be made, but if the product is complex, then the decision is more difficult.
You can have a complex product that has proven to be highly reliable, for example a television, in which case there s a good chance that even though the manufacture is not around the product may be highly effective, and not require any spares or repairs for a reasonable number of years.
On the other hand if you have a complex product design that has a history of failures requiring
unique parts from the manufacture, then it may not be such a wise choice.
In theory products from a manufacture that has gone bust, should be heavily discounted, but the level of any discounts is largely dictated by the supply chain. It is up to you to decide if the risk of Filure is offset far enough by the reduced purchase price.
Warranty. All to often the issue of warranty is misunderstood and often mixed up with guarantees. These two elements are significantly different:
The Warranty is a legally binding requirement placed on the seller (not the manufacture) and it requires them to sell good fit for purpose, and free from design, workmanship and material faults. So even if a manufacture no longer exists, the warranty is still held by the seller.
Most manufacturers offer a guarantee, which establishes how they will respond if a product becomes faulty after the point of sale. Notably it will contain exclusions, and seek to increasingly limit liability a time goes by. This is not a legal requirement, and if the manufacture ceases to exists, so does the basis of the manufacturers guarantee.
Extended Guarantees, are something else again. These are essentially an insurance policy, and when you pay to extend your guarantee, you are effectively paying an insurance premium. They are usually administered by a specialist insurance company, and they should remain in place and active even if the manufacture fails.
Even if you do have warranty, and or extended guarantees, they are only of full value if the parts to repair the product are available.
Sadly in common with a number of other manufactures Avondale have suffered a history of problems with large moulded panels. This would be a unique product for Avondale caravans, and if the manufacturing base is lost, the supply of these panels will of course dry up. In many cases the types of problems that occur with the panels can be repaired, but the repair will leave some marks on the panel, so frequently such problems were resolved by replacing the whole panel.
If you took your chance and were to suffer a failure of the panel, you may have to be prepared to live with a less than perfect cosmetic job.
Most other none bodywork related issues are likely to be from products that have direct or very near equivalents and thus should not detract from the function of the caravan.
The choice is yours!
As ever when a business is reported to be in financial difficulties, it is difficult for the public to gather all the relevant details. I have only seen reports in the forums about the demise of Avondale, I have not been able to confirm any of the reports as yet.
However where a manufacture does cease trading, there are always questions about the probity of buying one of their products. If the product is a simple device with little to go wrong then a good deal may be made, but if the product is complex, then the decision is more difficult.
You can have a complex product that has proven to be highly reliable, for example a television, in which case there s a good chance that even though the manufacture is not around the product may be highly effective, and not require any spares or repairs for a reasonable number of years.
On the other hand if you have a complex product design that has a history of failures requiring
unique parts from the manufacture, then it may not be such a wise choice.
In theory products from a manufacture that has gone bust, should be heavily discounted, but the level of any discounts is largely dictated by the supply chain. It is up to you to decide if the risk of Filure is offset far enough by the reduced purchase price.
Warranty. All to often the issue of warranty is misunderstood and often mixed up with guarantees. These two elements are significantly different:
The Warranty is a legally binding requirement placed on the seller (not the manufacture) and it requires them to sell good fit for purpose, and free from design, workmanship and material faults. So even if a manufacture no longer exists, the warranty is still held by the seller.
Most manufacturers offer a guarantee, which establishes how they will respond if a product becomes faulty after the point of sale. Notably it will contain exclusions, and seek to increasingly limit liability a time goes by. This is not a legal requirement, and if the manufacture ceases to exists, so does the basis of the manufacturers guarantee.
Extended Guarantees, are something else again. These are essentially an insurance policy, and when you pay to extend your guarantee, you are effectively paying an insurance premium. They are usually administered by a specialist insurance company, and they should remain in place and active even if the manufacture fails.
Even if you do have warranty, and or extended guarantees, they are only of full value if the parts to repair the product are available.
Sadly in common with a number of other manufactures Avondale have suffered a history of problems with large moulded panels. This would be a unique product for Avondale caravans, and if the manufacturing base is lost, the supply of these panels will of course dry up. In many cases the types of problems that occur with the panels can be repaired, but the repair will leave some marks on the panel, so frequently such problems were resolved by replacing the whole panel.
If you took your chance and were to suffer a failure of the panel, you may have to be prepared to live with a less than perfect cosmetic job.
Most other none bodywork related issues are likely to be from products that have direct or very near equivalents and thus should not detract from the function of the caravan.
The choice is yours!
Avondale have not yet gone ino liquidation. They are in fact trying to find a buyer for the business as we speak, whilst all the staff are on lay off.
There should be more news 28th August
Thank you Podge, and may I offer you my sincere support for a satisfactory outcome. I have also gone through the redundancy mill and I know how stressful it can be. In my case it became an opportunity to branch out as a consultant.
My comments where general, and I alluded to the fact that there is no clear statement of position from Avondale in my first paragraph, thus my comments were hypothetical and quite general.
The specific issue of difficulties with moulded front panels is not unique to Avondale, so my comments should not be taken as a presumption that Avondale is no more.
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