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Subject Topic: choice of 2 caravans....help me pick 1!!! Post Reply Post New Topic
Personmon1o
15/12/2009 at 3:38pm
 Location: Halifax West Yorkshire
 Outfit: Ford C-Max Sprite Musketeer 1990 View mon1o's Profile View Profile   Reply to mon1o Reply   Quote mon1o Quote  
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hi all, ok so ive been going on for a while now about wanting to upgrade my van. Shirls is lovely but i feel i need a newer and younger model now. Ive been to see 2 today the difference in price is around £2000 once our part ex value is taken into consideration.

The first one is an abbey freestyle 560SE (2006) with fixed rear bunks and some extras including a PIR alarm (not that i know what one is you understand lol) a layout i love and its within weight restrictions also. the only thing bugging me is the length of the thing!

The second one is a coachman amara 500 (2001) 5 berth with double dinette. again has a few extras and upgrades compared to vans of the same age. Lovely and clean inside and out.

I love both vans and both are in our price range. Both are almost like new no scratches or dents anywhere and no sign of the dreaded damp. So do i pay a bit more for the abbey or stick with the coachman? the dealer is the same one where we bought shirls from and im definitley going to buy one or the other i just dont know which.

Help please!!
Monica


PersonTonkarav
15/12/2009 at 3:45pm
 Location: Fife
 Outfit: Adria Adiva 552PH View Tonkarav's Profile View Profile   Reply to Tonkarav Reply   Quote Tonkarav Quote  
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If the length of the Abbey is bugging you...Is the Coachman any shorter? and if so does that tip the scale?

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Mine's a Pint!


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Personmon1o
15/12/2009 at 3:54pm
 Location: Halifax West Yorkshire
 Outfit: Ford C-Max Sprite Musketeer 1990 View mon1o's Profile View Profile   Reply to mon1o Reply   Quote mon1o Quote  
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it is shorter but only slightly. both vans are big enough for us (currently a family of 4 and hoping to soon be a family of 5) my children are only 5 and 2 so at present if we were to get the coachman we wouldnt have to open out the beds at the back the seats are big enough to be left as is with a sleeping bag over the top.

my hubby says being indecisive is my worst quality.....i am starting to agree with him! i think im more for the coachman hubby likes the idea of the abbey being newer but has left it up to me.


Personjennifernn
15/12/2009 at 4:03pm
 Location: NW of Glasgow
 Outfit: Sterling Searcher 2008 Volvo XC90 View jennifernn's Profile View Profile   Reply to jennifernn Reply   Quote jennifernn Quote  
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You need to go with the one that is most suitable for your needs, but I would say £2000 extra for a van that is 5 years newer sounds good to me.

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Jennifer


Persondeltaman
15/12/2009 at 4:44pm
 Location: Lincolnshire
 Outfit: Compas Rally 634 View deltaman's Profile View Profile   Reply to deltaman Reply   Quote deltaman Quote  
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The coachman should have a better build quality but 5 years newer is a lot for the price difference, have you compared the prices with other dealers to see how they check out.Could be one is overpriced, or is the other cheaper for some reason.

Best of luck.


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PersonBill Terry
15/12/2009 at 5:23pm
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I think both vans are nice, But i would go for the Abbey. see theres 1 forsale £9,995 on the net 2006 model.

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Roughing it in style at Calloose caravan and camping holiday park nr St Ives.(seasonal pitch)
Its not a hangover, its wine flu!


nant mill.N/Wales
just dont go there.


Personjoty
15/12/2009 at 5:33pm
 Location: Wiltshire
 Outfit: Kalahari 10 View joty's Profile View Profile   Reply to joty Reply   Quote joty Quote  
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We are a family of 5 and started out with a twin dinette caravan but then moved on to a 6 birth van with the same layout as the Abbey.

We found that our oldest son very quickly out grew the 5th berth in the 5 berth van. And I found putting up the 5th bunk a real pain because all the cushions had to come off the rear seats and be re-arranged. I would suggest if you haven't already getting someone to show you how the rear bunk goes up, I think some are easier than others!

We really liked the layout with the fixed bunks as each of our 3 children were able to have their own beds and didn't have to share with each other. That layout worked well for us, as we had 2 seating areas and the fixed bunks which meant that on a wet day in the van there was lots of room for us all to spread out.

Think about how you will use the van, do your children share beds easily?

Joty


Personjoty
15/12/2009 at 5:33pm
 Location: Wiltshire
 Outfit: Kalahari 10 View joty's Profile View Profile   Reply to joty Reply   Quote joty Quote  
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We are a family of 5 and started out with a twin dinette caravan but then moved on to a 6 birth van with the same layout as the Abbey.

We found that our oldest son very quickly out grew the 5th berth in the 5 berth van. And I found putting up the 5th bunk a real pain because all the cushions had to come off the rear seats and be re-arranged. I would suggest if you haven't already getting someone to show you how the rear bunk goes up, I think some are easier than others!

We really liked the layout with the fixed bunks as each of our 3 children were able to have their own beds and didn't have to share with each other. That layout worked well for us, as we had 2 seating areas and the fixed bunks which meant that on a wet day in the van there was lots of room for us all to spread out.

Think about how you will use the van, do your children share beds easily?

Joty


Personmon1o
16/12/2009 at 3:21pm
 Location: Halifax West Yorkshire
 Outfit: Ford C-Max Sprite Musketeer 1990 View mon1o's Profile View Profile   Reply to mon1o Reply   Quote mon1o Quote  
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thanks for all your input.

well the decision was taken out of my hands - the abbey sold. so we had a good look around the coachman with my youngest in tow and there is so much space. the plan is to keep this one for around 5 years until our eldest is too big for the bunk and then upgrade again. hubby was very taken with it and for the price its a bargain. not a mark on her.

Will be very sad to see my sprite go because i love that van but we need something slightly larger and a bit more modern now so although the coachman is an impulse buy (well, a semi impulse buy) im sure it will be fabulous!

Picking her up on 30th december so hoping to get some weekends booked away in jan.

Thanks again for your advice,
Monica


Personsuzanne1230_1
17/12/2009 at 12:37pm
 Location: Lancashire
 Outfit: Elddis Avante 630FB& 3.0 DI Nissan Ter View suzanne1230_1's Profile View Profile   Reply to suzanne1230_1 Reply   Quote suzanne1230_1 Quote  
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Hi

I started with a 5 berth van and after a year i got feed up of making the back bed so we sold it and went for fixed bunk van much better and the kids have they own space. and we love it. 



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PersonLe Phantom
17/12/2009 at 5:05pm
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I don't think age matters as much with a van it's whether a) It's been well looked after and b) Meets your needs.

IMO you got the better van! I like Coachman a good quality maker, hope you enjoy it.


Personstrax
18/12/2009 at 9:34am
 Location: Leeds ish
 Outfit: Bailey Pegasus 546 View strax's Profile View Profile   Reply to strax Reply   Quote strax Quote  
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We're a family of 5.

We have the layout you've got, it was perfect like you say, for the first 6 years. Now my youngest is 8, its time to move to fixed bunks. Prior to this though, its lovely to see them all in the rear bedroom, its a lovely den for them. You have the perfect solution for now, I think.

Strax


Personpinkfloyd
18/12/2009 at 1:42pm
 Location: The Beautiful Lake District
 Outfit: Buccaneer Clipper Autotrail Cheyenne View pinkfloyd's Profile View Profile   Reply to pinkfloyd Reply   Quote pinkfloyd Quote  
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We currently have a Coachman and have to say that it is the best build quality van we have ever had. I have to add though we have never had an Abbey so it  might be a bit unfair at this time to say go for the Amara. There are good points mentioned on earlier replies for both vans,but you need to weigh up (a) how long do you intend keeping the 'new' one? (b) which van will be more practical for your family in 3,4 or even 5 years time as the family grows? One final point, have you actually had the vans tested for damp with a meter or just a visual look?Before you spend you welll earned cash I would check them both properly...Good luck with the van whichever one you decide on....



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