# Swift faults on new mh



## christineofescrick (May 27, 2012)

We bought a new swift motor home from lowdhams on the 22 April. 19 problems so far including a leaking water tank, fridge stopped working, rear window leaking water gushing in, shower rail falling off the wall which has never been used etc etc etc. Most worrying of all the leisure battery exploded, filling the cab with carbon monoxide, fortunately while it was unoccupied.


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## Techno100 (May 8, 2010)

Where did the carbon monoxide come from?
I think you mean the cab was sprayed with electrolyte after the hydrogen gas ignited causing the battery to explode :roll: 
Has it been established what went wrong?


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

Sadly Swift no longer monitor this forum and their forum is useless IMO - I posted a question 7 months ago and am still awaiting the answer.......

When they used to be active on here they were good at sorting things, but theen they started their own and gave up here - you cannot post negative comments on theirs as they remove them rapidly...... (my negative post did not appear for very long before being pulled)

Take it back to the dealer IMO - that is who your contract is with and they should sort it da**ed fast IMO.

Dave


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## User1 (Apr 13, 2012)

You are right about SWIFT FORUM. Applied for membership but not been accepted yet. Perhaps they know whats in store.

I have had to book my NEW SWIFT Bolero in for a PHOTO SHOOT. Lowdham then send off the pics and see if they can claim it back under warrantee.

Problems so far.

Front seat fabric coming undone
Head rest fabric coming undone
Door stay fell off
Wast bin fell off
Shelf in bathroom on upside down
Seat material that runs when it gets wet
Faulty skylight cover
Front blind sags and does not go back without help
Water filler cap will not lock

etc ...

But we like the layout 

Met a guy in Cornwall with an Adriel. Under guarantee he had most bits replaced some more than once. His fridge packed up again but it was just outside warrantee although it was replaced only a couple of months before the warrantee ran out.

So we are not the only ones .....


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## coppo (May 27, 2009)

User1 said:


> You are right about SWIFT FORUM. Applied for membership but not been accepted yet. Perhaps they know whats in store.
> 
> I have had to book my NEW SWIFT Bolero in for a PHOTO SHOOT. Lowdham then send off the pics and see if they can claim it back under warrantee.
> 
> ...


Love that bit''But we like the layout'' :lol:


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## Easyriders (May 16, 2011)

Take it back, get your money back. Not fit for purpose. Simples.


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## anneandgeorge (May 1, 2005)

Really feel sorry for you having spent your hard earned money. The initial excitement of getting a motorhome is ruined with all the worry of things going wrong. How pleasant these people are when selling you a motorhome but what a difference some of their attitudes are when you tell them of the faults - its as if it doesn't matter, they have youy money and then the fight starts to get it put right. Naming and shaming I think is the only way to stop this behaviour. What a stressful situation to be in


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## rosalan (Aug 24, 2009)

We recently bought a Motorhome, favourites for us were various Swift models, the Bolero for one and a Bessacar for another, we liked their layouts and the habitation door was on the right side.. Reading the various threads here on MHF put us off.....damp in the floor pan and bits badly fitted being another, as described above.
We bought a German Motorhome (twice actually as one was stolen shortly after buying it) To date, neither van required anything done by the supplier, not anything at all and I am a bit nit picky.
There is a very serious message for British industry.... I remember the Triumph Herald and all the other cars we used to make and own. I now drive a Kia Ceed and my wife a Toyota IQ. It would be great to buy British but would rather not.... which enough to make me buy from overseas.  
Alan


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## oilslick (Oct 3, 2007)

*dealer responsible*

Take it back to the dealer, they are responsible.

Dont listen to the "we will put a claim in". Recouping the cost from swift is between the dealer and Swift, nothing to do with you.

Get an independant estimate, then you can start county court procedings against the supplier if they dont get on with it. Usually this, along with the exposure on here starts things moving.

My last three purchases were all nightmares, but I got the money when I did not get the repair.

It is actually nothing to do with Swift, but they are a waste of time anyway.

Although we own Swift and also love the layout, I would have to go for better quality next time...

Good luck...


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## Twm-Twp (Jun 14, 2012)

rosalan said:


> There is a very serious message for British industry.... I remember the Triumph Herald and all the other cars we used to make and own. I now drive a Kia Ceed and my wife a Toyota IQ. It would be great to buy British but would rather not.... which enough to make me buy from overseas.
> Alan


Although we have found a number of defects with our Augusta (Autocruise is now part of the Swift Group) ....... so far, we have had all our issues dealt with quickly by our local dealer; Lee and Turner in Bridgend. Their customer service has always been excellent and their habitation fitter is probably one of the best in the business.

The annoying thing is though, that we have had to complain in the first place about the build quality of a brand new m/h (our second Augusta) that cost a little bit shy of £60k on the road. Ridiiculous defects that either should have been picked up before the van left the factory or at the dealership.

It's almost as if the Swift workforce a paid on a piece work rate and making sure the build quality is right only slows the job down.

Are the Swift management really so stupid as to ignore the lessons already handed out to the British manufacturing industry by the Germans, Japanese etc? I think the answer to that question is already becoming clear to a lot of Swift customers.


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## GerryD (Sep 20, 2007)

Well, we have a Swift motorhome, our second, and no issues at all. Before that we had many new caravans, most Swift, again with no warranty issues.
Why would I not buy British when from personal experience I have no problems.
There are plenty of complaints on here currently about Hymer service and quality.
Like most products, the worst place to find out about it is on a Forum that was put into place with the specific aim of letting owners voice their complaints. How often do you see praise on a Forum.
If you want the facts, speak to owners at a Dealership where you can hear both side of the argument.
Gerry


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

Our MH is a Swift, purchased from Marquis, to give them credit they did not say it was Swift's fault and did (eventually) sort out the problems we had.

BUT their customer service was to say the least poor...... and that's being kind.

My contacts with Swift when they were on here were fast and efficient and they helped us frequently and rapidly.

Sadly once they were no longer involved on MHF that has not been the case......

we joined their forum when it first started and have sought help on a couple of occassions, the first was dealt with quickly although the hassle of having to put the VIN number in reduced the feeling of customer satisfaction since I am sure their database rapidly cross references from e.g. name or registration number........

The second time was aquestion about taking the vehicle permanently to France and the lights at the rear - I am still waiting after more than 7 months and have now solved the problem via another route......

I do not know what has happened but something seems to have changed since Ash was so helpful on here.......  

We chose our vehicle because we like the layout and in general the finish of the vehicle has been OK, there are a few odd squeaks that cannot be resolved but we can and do) live with that.

Dave


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## Twm-Twp (Jun 14, 2012)

GerryD said:


> Like most products, the worst place to find out about it is on a Forum that was put into place with the specific aim of letting owners voice their complaints. How often do you see praise on a Forum.
> If you want the facts, speak to owners at a Dealership where you can hear both side of the argument.
> Gerry


No my friend, .............. the worst place to find out about it (poor build quality) is when you are a campsite in the south of France when you discover one of the footlockers flooded because the kitchen water waste pipe has come apart (not chafed) but actually come apart underneath the plughole. Resulted in us not being able to tip any water down the kitchen sink for the remainder of our stay in France because it was to difficult to access the bit that needed to be repaired.

That particular 'mishap' came just a week after the same footlocker had become waterlogged due to a loose water pump connection.

These two defects are down to poor finishing - nothing to do with parts - the connections had simply not been tightened properly.

If you read my thread again, I think you'll find I'm more than happy to give credit where credit is due. Lee and Turner, Bridgend had the van in as soon as we came home and repaired it same day. No issues about warranty, they just did the job - no fuss, no charge.

And no, I don't have any connection with Lee & Turner. I just happen to be a customer who went to them twice because of the way I was treated the first time round.


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## User1 (Apr 13, 2012)

It will be interesting to see what they say about the side seats. I fitted a couple of small shelves as there is nowhere to put a drink down with the seats turned round apart from getting the table.

What I failed to notice as I drove off was the glass of water  that was minding its own business on the shelf.

I heard it drop ( luckily plastic ) and we then noticed the wet seat. We now have a tide mark ( dark blue ) where the spill got to.

Why oh why do manufacturers insist on using none colour fast material 

I remember we had a tent like that years ago. The inner part was made of cotton. Part of in was dark green with a red stripe. Looked really nice until it got wet while putting it away on a rainy day. Made a right old mess.


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## 100127 (Jul 20, 2006)

I too have a Swift ( Auto cruise ) 2011 and apart from a few niggling things at the onset, I have had relatively problem free motorhoming in it. It goes to JCM for its' first hab check and they are going to do the Base vehicles first service as well. Can't fault them at all.


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## KeiththeBigUn (Oct 3, 2007)

I feel your pain………We collected our first ever new van last October. We love the layout and the van but the quality of the build leaves an awful lot to be desired! :roll: 

We had a list of maybe ten things that were sorted by our dealer before the van was delivered to us. Another three required replacement parts to be delivered so we had to return by which time we had highlighted even more faults. Whilst they had the van they discovered even more! I am just about to book it in again to sort out even more niggles. So far nothing has stopped us from using the van (other than when it was in the workshop that it) but it is very frustrating. 8O :evil: 

My dealer has been first class with their communication and have not quibbled in the slightest with the problems I have had, my problem is why should they have to pout right what has reportedly passed the “quality control” at Swift as it left the factory?

I also agree with the point regarding the Swift forum, as good as useless! The best I had on there was a comment I made on the Swift forum was picked up by my dealer and they phoned me to offer assistance. :wink: They are very much missed from this forum.........

Keith


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## User1 (Apr 13, 2012)

More than can be said for Lowdhams. When we picked ours up we had a leak from the water tank underneath. They had it straight in the worksop to fix. Hour later it was back with an apology and don't fill it for 24 hours. So I left it and filled it next day. It was pouring out far worse than before. So I stuck a bung in it. Turned out it was a fitting further up the tank as well.

The service manager said they had RECUT the threads in the tank and refitted it all back together. Hmmmmmmm :lol:

They don't seem to appreciate that you have to work and as I have already said want the MH back for a photo shoot so they can reclaim it from SWIFT. It is not possible to do this on a Saturday as they only allow 15 minutes per appointment so it has to be done during the week and they expect it to take TWO Hours. Then I will have to book it in for repairs. More time off work. Then go and collect it :evil:

The problems with the seats have been from day one and they say they are still waiting to hear from the seat manufacturers.

Well I suppose I could have spent another £20,000 and still had the same problems. Its still cheaper than running a boat :lol: 

CONSIDERABLY ...............


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## User1 (Apr 13, 2012)

Right

So according to Solicitor vehicle should be free of minor faults when collected and the DEALERSHIP is responsible for sorting it out and then reclaiming it back from SWIFT afterwards.

You cannot reject the vehicle unless a MAJOR fault within a short period of time of purchase.


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## Mikemoss (Sep 5, 2005)

Sad to read of people having so much bother with new motorhomes, Swift included.

I've no way of know whether our 12-year-old Bessacarr suffered teething troubles when she was new, but we've had absolutely no troubles that could be laid at Swift Group's door in the seven years we've owned her. In fact there's evidence all around of thought in design and care in construction. Great shame if that is falling by the wayside.

Also sad to read that customer service standards not being what they were. A recall we had to beef-up the seatbelt fittings was handled superbly and professionally, and a couple of other pleas for help were also responded to very promptly and effectively.

I just had a quick peep at the Swift-Talk forum to see if queries and issues were going unanswered and it did seem that someone from Swift was still providing help even though the whole company is currently on holiday. So, at least a glimmer of hope there then.

To those still suffering, I really do feel your pain and hope the assorted problems get resolved quickly, although there's absolutely no excuse for poor workmanship and shoddy inspection.


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## Pat-H (Oct 30, 2009)

Well we purchased a used Swith (2007) last year and it's been perfect.
Looking back on the warranty work done (kindly supplied by Swift on request) and they'd done quite a bit in the first few years.

From what I gather it's not unusual for there to be many issues from new so we decided t stick with run in models


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## janet1 (Feb 10, 2012)

User 1. I may have a small consolation to one of your problems regarding the tide mark on the seat. We had the same problem on our beige upholstery owing to the odd slippage of white wine, the odd mark from bottled water but most of all from drips and spashes running over the draining board area down onto the suadette type fabric. We found that the more you tried to remove it with warm water...a weak solution of washing up liquid, etc etc the bigger the stain seemed to get. We thought we would have to get the 2 bench seats reupholstered.

Brought it home and tried the domestic steam cleaner on it. Did not even use any cleaning solution - just the warm/hot water in the tank and suction. Came up perfectly. Hope this helps.

We also had a problem with the upside down shelf on the bathroom wall. Also, all the shelves in the tall vertical wardrope in the bathroom all had their shelves upside down which meant when you opened the door all clothes were dumped on the floor. In the short term we inserted some lightweight 'barriers' which kept the clothes on the shelves but Brownhills at Newark took pictures and sent them to Swift, who authorised the insertion of new shelves as they could not be turned upside down owing to design. 
Sorry to ramble on.


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## User1 (Apr 13, 2012)

> they'd done quite a bit in the first few years


Seems to sum it up really. Perhaps its cheaper to just let it go and fix it if the customer complains enough. So much for quality control. I was told by another SWIFT Agent that the door stay was a load of rubbish yet our local agent say's they have never had a problem.


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