Coachman

[Highland Lassie]

Hi

New to this site. Thinking of changing my 'van. Been reading about the Coachman Laser with fixed bed model number 640/4 I think. Would welcome feedback and comments about this 'van. Also on dealers in the North West of England. I want a 'van that will last me for years. Will probably be the last one I buy. Want quality. Want it to last.

Many thanks.

[Lefthand Down]

Welcome to the Forum. Good luck in your search.

[Pierre19]

Hi Lass,

 

We have a 545 . .. and we love the fixed bed . .... so comfy . ...

 

Good luck in your search . ....

 

Cheers

 

Pete

[WispMan]

and the North West is a big place! We use Bardsea Leisure of Ulverston, Cumbria - about 1/2 hr from J36 of M6.

 

Nice people to deal with and you can wander around peacefully. Never had to use their warranty so have to assume they are very honest to deal with warranty issues.

[Lee E]

Just bought our first coachman a few weeks ago - love it loads. It appears much better put together than our last explorer group one. Very happy with it and only one very minor fault noted.

[Scarletman]

Cannot comment on the model you have mentioned but we are on our fifth Coachman, despite problems we would not change to another manufacturer as the back up you have with the factory id second to none IMO

[Caravanner1]

Don't do it

[kiaboy]

You get problems with many makes, if you look in the various sections, and people will give you their opinions as to stay away from their own experiences, I have had 2 ABI, 4 Avondale, and 3 Coachman all bar one ABI suffered damp within 6 months and other issues, but I would not hesitate to buy another Coachman, my advice is check the model out if it suits your needs and price and is in good condition either new or second hand go for it.

Happy vanning

 

[J & S]

Hi we're getting rid of our coachman 520/4 it's a 2013. JUNK !!! This is our fourth coachman all bought new All had faults to many to list. so best of luck if you buy one YOU WILL NEED IT!

[PapaT]

To post such a negative posting as that, you must have been very unlucky with what you bought. Coachman has not failed to impress us and we are very proud owners of a 2012 VIP 560/4, with nothing negative to say over the almost three years of ownership, and well used caravan.

[The Coachman]

I've been using my 2007 ViP 520/4 for two years now and just love it. Not a sign of dampness and it still looks like new both inside and out.

 

It quite amazes me that so many people are having so many problems with much newer caravans.

[J & S]

This is not just one caravan but our fourth so you're point is ???? I never mentioned dampness . And we used these vans regularly and had them serviced as per manufacturer . We loved our vans and looked after them And with each new one we thought this is the one but no more faults and more faults how many chances do you give a company after paying roughly £20000 a caravan ?

[Chris308]

Don't do it

 

 

Hi we're getting rid of our coachman 520/4 it's a 2013. JUNK !!! This is our fourth coachman all bought new All had faults to many to list. so best of luck if you buy one YOU WILL NEED IT!

 

Ignore the above.

 

If you followed the negative advice from everyone on this forum you would find that there isn't a single caravan manufacturer left to choose from!

[J & S]

If you followed the positive advice from the ( I own a coachman and they are just the only caravan to own ) you should maybe take in to consideration the problems as well as the wonderful !! I take it you have had no problems with your vision so every one should ignore folks that have? So it follows that if you say just jump of the cliff it'll be ok ???

[Chris308]

I am all in favour of constructive advice but neither of those 2 comments I highlighted offered any helpful comment to the person originally asking for advice enabling them to make an informed decision based on facts.

 

Caravans are made of components, many of which are shared across all manufacturers and therefore are just as likely to fail in one manufacturers caravan as another's. If you read any manufacturer's section on these forums you will find comments just like those comments above.

[J & S]

So two of the new caravans that came from the factory with body panels that had been resprayed badly was some one else's doing ? You could see the repairs and the rubbing down scratches. Also when washing and polishing you could see the edge of the new painted sections where the original had been over sprayed . need any more facts ?

[Chris308]

No, but that could be useful information to the original poster, unlike the comments I quoted.

 

Your original comment didn't any clue as to what your issues were with your caravan.

[J & S]

Or the new van we pick up from the dealer and of we went for 2 week summer break. On the first site in Chester the electrics stopped working on the mains and discharged the battery as well . So we called the dealer and they arranged to send out someone to fit a new charger unit but when he stripped out the unit he found the multiplug had not been fitted correctly. Great all working again, after that we moved site to Broadway fridge not working fridge had no power so took van to nearest dealer they fitted a new circuit board still no joy on checking further he found the multiplug had not been fitted correctly and had fallen out . Now I know coachman don't make fridges or multiplugs so I guess it not their fault . But I wonder who fitted the charger unit, and the fridge and did not correctly fit or check the multiplugs ? Or the new van we picked up at the dealers when you sit on the n/s seat and sit back it gave of a loud bang and the base moved . The seat base was not in the correct position and allowed the seat to slip down past it . This was what the workshop foreman found and he had to remove and Refit the wooden base to the correct position ! But I guess that these things are nothing to do with coachman they only make and fit them.

[brilock1]

It does seem a lottery when you buy a uk built caravan, the lesson here is to spend a great deal of time when you collect it checking for faults make sure that everything is working as it should. At least you stand a better chance then of getting less issues later on. if you have serious faults then reject the van and ask for another, don't go for repairs.

[Chris308]

Unfortunately none of those faults are peculiar to Coachman and you will find the same issues with every other caravan manufacturer. Whether it is any better with non UK manufacturers is another debate.

 

My original point was that no matter which manufacturer section you read on here you will find those who say do not buy Bailey / Elddis / Swift / whatever and all for exactly the same reasons. As Brilock says, it seems to be pot luck. I wonder whether the dealer may have as much to do with this than the manufacturer. You do not say whether all of your caravans have come through the same dealer but you need to question whether a dealer is doing their Pre-Delivery Inspections properly if they consistently accept substandard caravans from the manufacturers and pass them on to THEIR customers.

[J & S]

Maybe you should read caravan testing at coachman on the coachman site and not blame the dealers who are getting vans that have already been through Vics 8hour stringent testing

[Chris308]

My point is that this is happening at ALL of the manufacturers though not just Coachman. Are Coachman any better or worse than the rest? I don't know. I have talked to people recently with the furniture in a brand new Bailey falling apart, a brand new Swift Challenger needing panels replaced due to damp, a brand new Bailey retreat with a catalogue of problems - the list goes on. If your post was 'don't bother buying a caravan' I could understand it but pushing people towards another manufacturer with inconsistent product quality, on the basis that it will be better, seems a bit mad. You can only make your choice on which caravan best suits your needs and hope for the best that you get a good one. I think that the majority do, but far too many have problems with their caravans irrespective of which make it is.

[J & S]

Can't find anywhere in my posts (don't buy a coachman ) also nothing about any other makes to buy ! Only facts I have posted are of problems I have experienced with owning "new coachman caravans"

[Mallah]

Owned our NEW Coachman for 2 months, No problems so far except the dealer forgot to put the battery in the smoke alarm !!!! hardly an issue to send the van back, oh and a small piece of rubber missing from the cooker which the dealer is about to send to me. Simple teething problems really, had similar with the Swift before that which we kept for 7 years.

Really enjoying the Coachman, it's certainly more robust than the old Swift. And the fixed bed - marvelous

[And0918]

Hi I'm a new posty on the forum so please bear with me.

I've now owned 3 Coachman Lasers. 02,07 and now own a 2012. The first 2 caravans was great with very little issues and when we had a issue it was easily sorted by the dealer. If it could not be sorted it was sent back to the factory and dealt with. In 2011 we was looking for a replacement and went to the lawns show to see the new Coachman We ordered it and took delivery in Jan 2012 of the 640/4? The caravan was pitched at a local site to test it out. Well this was the start of the worst experience we have experienced with Caravans. Issues we have had so far. Water system would not stop pulsing till caravan went back to factory for second time for modified damper 18 months later of hell. Charger been changed 4 times. Control panel has failed 5 times. Bulk head worked loose. Fixed bed mattress repaired as seem split. Alarm system would go off on its own without any reason alerting tracker. So not a good experience. Will I buy another? We will see as the caravan seems to be sorted now. but has left a bad taste especially due to the cost of these models. The problem being that most of these faults do not come to fruition till after taking delivery as they are hidden problems which cannot be detected on delivery.