the Lawns caravan show-what has happened to the caravans?

[CameronBurns]

for those that went to the lawns, you will know that it was a complete washout. most caravans were ruined in my opinion by mud all over the interior. do these caravns just get cleaned up and sold on? yes.

on eBay there are a few Explorer group caravans (sold by a private source, but the same seller) with pictures of the exteriors at the Lawns. the interior pictures show a brand new carpet wrapped up, but the seat cushions aren't. i also need to mention that they are next years models being sold for £2000 less than this years models prices. it mentions nowhere that these caravans are ex demos or show vans for the Lawns, but they look very suspicious. if you see next years models at bargain basement prices- be careful, the might have been ruined by mud.

 

[cheryl.mark@yahoo.co.uk]

Hi george

I wouldnt touch an ex demo with a bargpole, not just the mud you have to worry about but the 100s of people walking in and out of the van cant be good for the floor - delamination! How do you know if your van has been used as a demo or is a factory fresh model??? Where does it say anywhere the build date???

 

[CameronBurns]

no, we own a Swift, from the factory. i just spotted these caravans on eBAY and thought i would warn everyone.

here is the link to one of the caravans in question.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ELDDIS-CARAVAN-CRUSADER-CYCLONE-BRAND-NEW-2009-SPEC_W0QQitemZ300262522423QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item300262522423&_trkparms=39:2|66:4|65:3|240:1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14
if you go on 'View Sellers Other Items' you will see that there is more than one of these caravans.

you can see that it is at the Lawns and that the carpets have been repleced.

we were once offered an ex show van and ran a mile. the dealer wanted rid and was selling it dirt cheap. surely any warranties become void after a caravan has been used as a show van?

 

[RobE]

I can only agree with George 100% on this one, I too was at the Lawns (on the Sunday),180 mile round trip splodging around in mud. I almost felt sorry for the Salesman having to use a mop and bucket on a regular basis to try and keep the vans clean.

The event appeared very busy on the Sunday and I guess those vans took a real hammering,

So potential buyers looking for a bargain beware

Rob E

 

[caravanoracle]

they are being sold by east coast leisure who are an elddis dealer. they could be ex demo caravans, or they simply could be selling them cheap to get them moving. i know explorer were selling them cheap because they had a yard full of them. if you every want to know if any caravan is an ex demo just ask and make sure what is writen on your order form. if any doubt, note the serial number then ring the factory. this will tell you when it was built. the only thing is the caravan may have then been in a storage yard for several months before it is ever on a dealers forecourt.

 

[CameronBurns]

if you did see the article on eBAY, did you see the exterior picture of the Elddis? it was definatly taken at the Lawns. i am not suprised that it is East Coast Leisure, we have had trouble from them before. we got a new battery which went flat in the first 3 months, and we couldnt return it as they were trading through another company that denied all knowledge of selling dodgy batteries. i can't think why they would sell 2009 'vans cheap?

 

[Guest]

While I agree that buying an ex Show model is possibly not to everyone's taste one should always look at the big picture.

My current van was an ex demonstrator if you can count the fact that it sat on the dealer's forecourt for the summer and I am sure potential customers were shown the inside. However, there were no cushions in the van and obviously none of the equipment was ever used. When we purchased it the new cushions were installed and all the bits and pieces put together for us. If someone had walked the floor, then you could not tell. The van did not come with carpets so there was no issue there. A quick wipe with a damp cloth and the floor is like new.

The advantage to us was a heck of a deal on the purchase. A big discount and a great PX deal so i was happy to accept the possible shortcomings.

To my mind if a dealer offered me a good deal on an ex show van, and agreed to replace the carpets then I would consider it against the price of a new van to be delivered at some vague future date. The other possible advanatge of a show model is that it may have been fitted with more 'extras' for that purpose.

Obviously you look the van over carefully prior to any purchase, as you would with one straight from the factory.

 

[CameronBurns]

sounds like you were lucky. the point we are getting at is how much punnishment those caravans got over that weekend. thousands of people treading allover them.

we once looked at an ex-demo 'van and all the door knobs and cooker fittings and other small bits had been stolen from it over the course of a year. even with the discound, it would take time and money to put it right. if you have to spend money on a new caravan, due to replacing parts, you probably aren't saving much.

 

[trucker]

George I also bought an ex demo van a few years ago, nothing wrong with it at all execp the carpet never came up as clean as a new van, other than that you wouldnt have known the difference, I think you are scare mongering a bit arnt you

Kevin

 

[CameronBurns]

i'm not scare mongering, i just think that it isn't on selling someone a caravan without telling you it's past. there may be nothing wrong with the caravan now, but i bet it wears out quicker than a factory fresh one. some ex-demo vans are ok, it just depends on where they have been.

 

[nrdonnelly]

Dear All,

Don't panic.

The caravans on display at the Lawns from Explorer Group were its 'show van' fleet which are kept at the factory all year. They are all back at Consett being prepared for the next outing - the NEC show.

Speaking from experience, it's easier to get a good exterior picture of a caravan at a trade show than on a dealer forecourt, so there's nothing too sinister going on with the photos coming from the Lawns.

If you're not convinced, the show vans have a different door frame which has black blanking plugs in the top corners which are not present on production models. Also, the door stays on show vans are not production quality.

And as for prices, if you can scrape together the money at present, there are some unbelievable deals on new vans. A combination of finance being harder to get and people generally being being cautious is the cause.

Hope that helps

Regards

Nigel Donnelly

Editor

Practical Caravan