Hi folks
We live in County Down, N.Ireland and we're contemplating the purchase of our first van. Can anyone from these parts advise me on who to try for an insurance quote? (As you may or may not know, many of the big name insurers don't offer cover in N.I).
By the way, on the subject of the van itself, any thoughts on a Hymer Camp 544 GT ??
Hi Glenn, we just purchased our new van two weeks ago. Fully comp. insurance with full breakdown cover for £325 through Dolmen insurance in the Republic. You have to have a full car policy as well to get this price otherwise I think it is over £500. Hope this helps.
Are you buying fom a dealer? We dealt with Motorhome Ireland in Banbridge.
Thanks Paul,
I had no idea where to start looking for cover although a search on one of the forums did turn up the name Dolmen, but I assumed that they only offered cover in the south.
We're considering trading in one of the cars for a used Hymer at Thompsons of Dromore (We're from Banbridge) but it's a big step and it's decision time this week, so the old stomach is really churning......
Is this your first Van? Can you offer any Encouragement???
Hi Glenn, I traded my caravan against my Elddis Autoquest and was going to trade the car as well but thought i would hold onto it in the meantime. This is our first m/home and we are impressed with it. A lot less hassle than a caravan in my opinion, although we have found that there is less room on board for storage etc.
It was a big step for us as well as we were finance free but we really wanted one and who knows what could happen in the future. I take it you have either caravanned or camped in the past?
Have you been to Motorhome Ireland? Call in there and see Gordon. Tell him Paul and Pat sent you. He'll probably run a mile as we hounded him every week while we were waiting for delivery of ours!
Shop around before you decide. There are plenty for sale around the country. Look on the www for prices of the particular model you are after and compare with what Thompsons are asking and try to get as much thrown in with the deal.
If you can afford it , go for it , you will have many great trips out. We have had ours almost three weeks now and been away for two w/ends and one day trip so far. Heading to France in August for two weeks.
Let me know what you decide and If I can be of any assistance give me a shout. All the best.
Hi Paul,
The Hymer in Dromore is LHD and I had decided that it would be OK, after all I drive in France while camping with my own car, so what's the difference?
However when I went down to take a test drive and close the deal, I couldn't reconcile myself to feeling comfortable on the 'wrong' side, so it's back to square one. It's a pity because although it was a 2002 it only had about 15000 miles on it, was a 2.8JTD and had a double floor etc.
We'll have to redouble the efforts to sell the car privately and maybe consider going to buy in England as MH Ireland don't seem to have any used continental vans in our price range. Let the dreaming continue...........
Glenn
P.S We camped when there were just two of us, then had a caravan when the kids were very young and have now reverted to a family tent for going to France (Didn't fancy towing a van all that way) but have discovered that camping for four is a lot more hard work than camping for two....
Hi Glenn, sorry to hear it wasn't to be. No point in buying something if you are not 100% about it. There are loads more vans out there and one has your name on it. Good luck in your search and I hope you find what you are after.
We often stay in Kilbroney Park. The last time was three weeks ago on our way up to Donaghey Motorhomes In Letterkenny to buy our 4'th Motorhome.
Give them a try phone no.074/9129235 www.irishmotorhomes.com ask for Michael they have a lot of second hand Motorhomes in stock i'm sure you will find something to suit you..
Glad to hear you're partaking of the local beauty spots here. Needless to say, Wicklow will be one of our first weekends away once we do get fixed up with a van. ( We've stayed in a B&B in Blessington on a couple of occasions, which was very nice) What's brilliant now is that Dublin & beyond is so much closer with the advent of the new road and will get even better once the Dundalk-Newry section opens - Happy Days!!!
I've had a look round Donaghey's before but the last visit was almost a year ago so we're due a visit anytime now.
It's just a pity they don't give an idea of price on the website.
Any other dealers of note in the Dublin / southeast area?
Thanks, someone mentioned Dolmen earlier in the topic and I looked up their website - It really does look to be an excellent deal and I don't think I need to look any further for insurance.
You may want to try Stewart Kerr & Co.in Randalstown. They also do motorhome insurance. Maybe a wee bit dearer than Dolmens but wouldn't do any harm to give them a call.
Caravanguard are now insuring in N Ireland, competitive, and european breakdown may be included. Saga also will match or better current quotation. Certainly shop aroung and read small print as my quotes varied widely.
Thanks everyone,
It's good to hear that there are quite a few options on the insurance front, and that it isn't going to be prohibitively expensive. All I need now is a van to insure....