SwiftvBailey or vica versa

[Alex_374296729]

We are considering changing the van next year. Currently have Aventura (Swift). The replacement, a Charisma seems to be about £500 more than the Bailey.

As a discussion point, what advantages does one have over the other? We have been pleased with the Abbey, but it is a big investment.

Thank you.

 

[Mr C]

We have an Abbey freestyle, new since April 2007 , and so far we are very pleased, sometimes on here you get the feeling all caravans are crap and all caravanners are moaning old gits , well we have to say we go away a lot and have had no complaints.

 

[weejock]

I think Alex it is just down to personal preference.

Basically the kit inside is from the same suppliers whether it be fridges or heaters.

I do think that Bailey give you a bit more kit for your money but I think they look terrible on the outside with to my eyes a very bluff front end and pretty cheap looking stickers that resemble the thing's I attach to action man and Barbie toys at Christmas.

There is also the layouts to consider with Bailey's triple rear bunk being very popular with families.

Then the killer point is your local dealer. What are they like and how near are they.

 

[Zafiral]

Granted the Baileys have a bluff front, but it does give you better internal headroom right to the front of the van

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

bailey no question

 

[Alan_374342797]

bailey no question

Hi

In my opinion as a new Coachman owner and very satisfied, of the 2 when we looked at them, I think the Swift is a better buy for the following reasons.

Dont like the colour of the Bailey.

Dont like the very boxy looks.

Dont like one piece front & Rear panels with the joint on the roof, which could cause issues with age.

Dont like the squared off wheel arches.

Dont like the

 

[Ian_5040589]

Wouldn't touch a Bailey with the proverbial barge pole!

We currently have a Swift and you cannot compare the two. Where Bailey had left rough edges and didn't fix things on properly, Swift went the extra yard with a much better finish. The exterior paint finish is much better on the Swift and all in all it feels much more solid (albeit heavier).

Further, when things went wrong with our Bailey the manufacturer and dealer didn't want to know. Swift and their dealer have been second to none.

Its the old adage of you get what you pay for -

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

alex im the oposite to ian. i rejected to streling because of serious and minor faults. i wouldnt touch a swift/sterling/ace/abbey with a bargepole because of what we went through to reject them

i now own a bailey series 6 wyoming and love it.

some will agree some disagree but thats just caravanning, lol.

jo-anne

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

ill be honest i did go for the sterling because of its looks but where did that get me.

jo

 

[Jan_374241992]

We have owned Swift vans for many years - to us the finish is much better than in Baileys (or other marks for that matter) - we have a 2006 Sterling with virtually no problems since new BUT we have a very good dealer who makes sure the PDI is carried out properly and if there are any problems they are sorted very quickly. So choose your van carefully but choose your dealer just as carefully.

Jan

 

[J.Lo]

ill be honest i did go for the sterling because of its looks but where did that get me.

jo

jo-anne, A friend of ours bought a new Wyoming last year. He had no end of problems with it, he rejected it when the rear windwow fell out and had a fuull refund. he is now back with a Swift, I do think that Baily caravans are very flimsey in the cabinet making.J.Lo

 

[RichardS1]

Having owned both makes my preference is towards the Swift brand. I agree that the interiors just seem to be finished off so much better.

Regarding service we currently have a small problem with our van and a quick e-mail to Kath at Swift and the van was booked in with the parts to the dealer within a cople of weeks.

It took Bailey two months to send new window seals to the dealer when they needed replacing on our last van.

 

[BobT1]

Have just purchased my 4th Bailey Pageant after buying nothing but Elddis caravans.

As far as I am concerned you cannot get better than Bailey.

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

j.lo i rejected two sterling vans with major and minor faults. the repairs they wanted to do were not acceptable.

i belive the bailey is a far better quality van in my opinion. the wiring is all trunked away, you get more on the van, and the service is second to none.

i cant complain out bailey but im sure theres good and bad in every manu.

jo-anne

 

[Dustydog]

It has to be Bailey every time.

Why?

My dealer , Chipping Sodbury Caravans , are brilliant.

Yes of course there were a few minor niggles, all fixed within one day. It is noteworthy that 85% of the niggles involved sub contractors parts eg cooker, Hartal door lock etc.

Overall on build quality when we did our scoring matrix between the Swift Conqueror and Senator Wyoming there was very little between the two. Last november we were quite prepared to spend the extra

 

[Dave_374330759]

We've had two Baileys, one 10 years old and the present one since new. Both have been really well built, I am impressed with the fit around the ceiling and overhead lockers. No squeaks or leaks on either van and the bluff front means that you've got full headroom right to the front of the van and you can sit everso close to the front without leaning forwards. Our next van will probably be a Bailey (she fancies the Wyoming, but we'd need a bigger car to tow it)

As Hugh Jass says you can moan a lot about trivial things but in the end you pays your money and takes your choice

 

[mark_374372336]

hi there

i would,nt touch a bailey if you gave me one free! i brought a brand new senator 2 month ago its been back to the deler twice and back to the factory once it had over 17 faults some minor but most major! such as warped walls, bathroom doors not shuting (to tight)last one that made me reject it was when red hot water came from the cold water tap and burnt my 2 year old daughter but as most people say you get good and bad in everything my dealer is brillant and has now taken the van back and im wait to collect a new one soon but not a bailey

mark

 

[Dustydog]

Hi Mark

That's a shame and clearly Bailey have let you down. What have you gone for now?

I'd love to know where all these customer rejects end up???

Cheers

Alan

 

[Glenn_5132962]

I have a 10 year old swift & was looking at new Bailey's the other day. They are very poorly finished off inside. No edging on the interior wall boards. Rough cut bare chip board at the top of doors etc etc. It felt far more rough & ready than my old Swift so I would never buy one.

 

[Rich]

The new Bailey has an almost unusable fridge with a salad draw which has a flip up lid. When this is used the two shelves mean you cannot have the lowest one just above the salad draw as it will not open and the gap between the top and second shelf os so small you cannot get your hand between them and reach to the back of the shelf! Even the Bailey rep on the stand couldn't believe the gap was so small and we said due to the poor fridge we would look else where. He agreed it was a poor design and couldn't find a way of convincing us it was OK! OK only one real problem but it was the first one which effected how we would live in the van while we were away and it was not acceptable.There may have been a few other issues but we stopped looking after that.

 

[WilliamLX]

The new Bailey has an almost unusable fridge with a salad draw which has a flip up lid. When this is used the two shelves mean you cannot have the lowest one just above the salad draw as it will not open and the gap between the top and second shelf os so small you cannot get your hand between them and reach to the back of the shelf! Even the Bailey rep on the stand couldn't believe the gap was so small and we said due to the poor fridge we would look else where. He agreed it was a poor design and couldn't find a way of convincing us it was OK! OK only one real problem but it was the first one which effected how we would live in the van while we were away and it was not acceptable.There may have been a few other issues but we stopped looking after that.

You always get this on the web, some people thinking the product is great others that it is rubbish. If you look at the Caravan Club website they did a survey in 2002 and again in 2005 looking at reliability of Caravan makes. In both Bailey did much better than any of the Swift group makes. I own a Series 5 Ranger and the only problem was one bit of wood inside was not well finished. I noticed this when viewing the van (which the dealer had in stock) and got the dealer to fix this before I took delivery. My last van was a Compass, and I have to say the Bailey (despite my van being in the entry series) is better in every respect.

 

[JEAN_374380561]

alex im the oposite to ian. i rejected to streling because of serious and minor faults. i wouldnt touch a swift/sterling/ace/abbey with a bargepole because of what we went through to reject them

i now own a bailey series 6 wyoming and love it.

some will agree some disagree but thats just caravanning, lol.

jo-anne

We are thinking of buying a bailey wyom we have a louisnna at the mo have you had any problems and how is the room inside tv etc