Robbie, I am mindful that a round trip to Longtons is 200 miles. Plus my local dealers also give good service. In the end I think it is going to come down to the difference in savings. If my locals are not too much more expensive than Longtons then I will be tempted to buy more locally. What is still in my favour is that there are at least two local dealers willing to do a deal.
Freeatlast thanks for the tip off on a smaller awning. I will have a look, but we are more a "sit in the awning" family than a "sit in the van" family and as there are 6 of us, space is a priority
jaiash - I am beginning to think that the starter kit is a bit of a red herring. As you say, we already have all the peripheral stuff. Interesting that you couldn't get as good a deal on a Sterling Eccles - perhaps the mark up on them isn't as big as other manufacturers ?
'Cost to change' is the most important factor, if that figures falls within your budget and the dealer is local then that is the way forward. You will struggle to get your local dealer to take on warranty work if you bought from far away.
We are in the process of replacing our van with a newer one, I found 3 suitable 2010 vans within sensible distance of my house. In the end the figures were very close and we went with the dealer we were most comfortable dealing with.
We did consider selling privately but we got a good price for ours and I think to do well privately you really need to sell the van in a 'ready to go' state with all the paraphernalia thrown in. Then you have to buy a new awning, mover, aqua roll, hook-up etc for the new one. Not worth the hassle in our case.
Quote: Freeatlast thanks for the tip off on a smaller awning. I will have a look, but we are more a "sit in the awning" family than a "sit in the van" family and as there are 6 of us, space is a priority
Try pegging out the space in the garden and see how much room you have with 6 chairs, table and other odds and sods out. You might be surprised!
Its 3.9m by 2.4m, and all of the internal space is usable.
Incidentally we had torrential rain and high winds first time out and not the slightest problem. Do buy the extra roof "poles" though these are essential IMO. About £15 each from Ropers. These are the black horizontal things you can see in the bottom left piccy.
If you do decide to buy from Stewart Longton, go to the Standish branch. It's the smallest and gives excellent, personal service. Ask for Graham Lane, he's the manager, and you'll get a good deal. Graham is also very, very reliable.
Probably not the absolute cheapest price, but they made the effort and were open and honest throughout the process. Two weeks until we pick it up. Now very excited.
Thanks Robbie. I have a decent relationship with the guys at Teesside Caravans and I think that counts for a lot. Now - must get tunnel booked for jaunt to France