Swift Elegance

[Dustydog]

Just catching up 0n my CC September 2014 mag.

What a shame the Swift model supplied contained a number of stupid faults.
Very poor show on Swift and the supplying dealer.
Considering the CC mag reaches at 330,000 caravanners it beggars belief Swift didn't try harder.
No wonder the honest customer has problems!

 

[woodsieboy]

Hi Dusty

I couldn't agree more.I have often seen new vans offered for sale at dealers that are clearly less than perfect,trim hanging off, cupboard doors that don't close properly etc.I would always walk away from any such van as I would be wondering what else the manufacturer or dealer hadn't bothered to fix.It shouldn't make a difference what the cost of the van is but somehow the niggling faults described in the article seem worse on a top range caravan.
We have an independent assessor due to view our 2011 caravan regarding faults, will tell you more once we find out his opinion and recommended course of action

 

[ProfJohnL]

I don't wish to point out one specific manufacturer, but how many times do we have to keep reading about poor attention to detail, which simply blows out of the water any claims by manufactures that they have "effective" quality control systems.

 

[Raywood]

I agree on the poor quality of caravans for sale to the public but you would think that the ones presented to the press would be checked thoroughly before being given to them. This must have cost sales and looks to be very basic.

 

[MichaelE]

As a matter of interest what would stop you accepting a new van on collection?
When we have picked new vans up before we have had small scratches in the woodwork , touched in but noticeable, a kerbed alloy ( which we made them change from another van) and drill bit mark on the outside when they had gone to drill in the wrong place or slipped, the later i repaired myself.
Not all on the same van i might add.
The marks were on plinths and units so would require a lot of work to replace.
Caravans are the hearly same money as a car and yet i wouldn't accept a new car if it had been touched up etc.
Would i be really picking in refusing it?

 

[colin-yorkshire]

As a matter of interest what would stop you accepting a new van on collection?
When we have picked new vans up before we have had small scratches in the woodwork , touched in but noticeable, a kerbed alloy ( which we made them change from another van) and drill bit mark on the outside when they had gone to drill in the wrong place or slipped, the later i repaired myself.
Not all on the same van i might add.
The marks were on plinths and units so would require a lot of work to replace.
Caravans are the hearly same money as a car and yet i wouldn't accept a new car if it had been touched up etc.
Would i be really picking in refusing it?

Hi, simple answer anything I found that would spoil it's [as new] condition before taking it away. afterall I would not accept a new washer with a dent or an ill fitting door so why would one accept a van with these faults when it probably cost 40times more, I don't want to sound pragmatic or bullish but to be honest if I were to buy another new van I would arrange to collect it at 3pm and turn up at 12. spending the 3hours going through it with a fine tooth comb any faults found would be reported and the van would stay where it was untill either repaired or replaced. once it has left the forecourt, it's too late. why rely on SOGA and some warranty to put it right after. sorry it's not good enough.
the problem is we see this nice new shiny box and think wow I own that now, and can't wait to take it home.
then one sees the blemishes and things that are not quite right, but by then it is too late ... Elvis has left the building???
once it is in your possesion it is yours not his.

 

[MichaelE]

We are only talking about small scratches is that something you shouldn't accept?

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

We are only talking about small scratches is that something you shouldn't accept?

Would you accept a brand new car with scratches on??

 

[MichaelE]

Outside no, but im talking about interior fitment scratches, i think they would just laugh to be honest, and then get a scratch repair pen.
Somethings i know i can do a better job than a rushed salesman so just accept.
Some we found when we got home home and packed it.

I have accepted a new car before with a small paint run on one of the corners of the door, they offered to repair but knowing how difficult it is to match in a metallic colour i thought better of it.

 

[Raywood]

The level at which you accept a small fault is going to vary from person to person. Not sure where we would draw the line as so far we have not found anything when we have picked them up but we have been lucky.

 

[ProfJohnL]

The level at which you accept a small fault is going to vary from person to person. Not sure where we would draw the line as so far we have not found anything when we have picked them up but we have been lucky.

Hello Ray,

Why should we have to accept anything that less then perfect? Do we specify on our orders that we don't mind if its not right? Idealistically we should reject faulty goods, but I do know that often when collecting a new caravan we are under pressure to get it home, vittled, and ready to roll for a particular date.

But that's letting the industry off. For too long customers have simply rolled over an allowed the manufactures of the hook. There really is no reason why a caravan shouldn't be perfect if only the manufacturers would adopt proper working methods to prevent faults during manufacture.

When you consider the relative degrees of complexity in a caravan vs cars, caravans are far less technical, yet I'll bet the number of faults on a caravan probably far out strip those found in even the most basic car.

There are some who will claim you shouldn't compare the automotive and caravan industries, but I totally disagree, the principles of manufacture apply across the board, the utilisation of methods to prevent incorrect manufacture or assembly can be applied in all manufacturing areas.

We should all be more assertive with our dealers and reminding them of their legal responsibility to provide fault free goods.

 

[MichaelE]

You are both absolutely right , the product should be perfect.
We rejected a Fleetwood years ago, when i spoke about to a dealer nr Banbury a few years later, his response was that people expect too much?

 

[Dustydog]

When do you finally part with your hard earned cash?

At the dealer handover do you say No? I
Fix it before I go home or pay.?
Tongue in cheek I suggest most people don't check their new unit out well enough or their dealer doesn't do a proper hand over.
I've said many a time a good dealer can make or break a good caravan experience.

 

[ProfJohnL]

You are both absolutely right , the product should be perfect.
We rejected a Fleetwood years ago, when i spoke about to a dealer nr Banbury a few years later, his response was that people expect too much?

Hello Michael
I know you are only reporting third hand, but that kind of response from a dealer makes my blood boil. Dealers are legally required to ensure the goods they sell are fit for purpose....etc.........(SoGA). We, and the dealers, know the manufacturers let some caravans out of the factory that do contain faults. That should make dealers ever more vigilant to check the caravans they receive from the manufacturers. They should be rejecting faulty goods back to the manufacturers so the manufacturers feel the real pain of handling shoddy workmanship. Unfortunately I know that many dealers are contractually obliged to undertake finishing of caravans rather than rejecting whole caravans back to the manufacturer (trade sales do not have the same type of protection that retails sales have.)

I wonder what the dealer thinks is reasonable for us, the buying public, to expect?

 

[Raywood]

What you accept might depend on how far you have to travel to pick up the caravan. We wanted a Lunar but there is no dealer in the immediate area and had to go about sixty miles to get one. To reject the caravan for a small fault might entail another 120 mile round trip and the costs outweigh the benefit. If we had bought one from a dealer five miles up the road the level at which we would reject it would probably be far lower.