# Augusta



## kaacee

Does anyone own an Augusta and if so could they provide me with pro's and con's as i am thinking of purchasing one.


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## Wupert

gudlucker said:


> Does anyone own an Augusta and if so could they provide me with pro's and con's as i am thinking of purchasing one.


We have an Oakmont on a 3l Peugot

Other than a number of initial build faults all now sorted (We hope) a fine MH.

Not sure if I'd buy a 3l Fiat manual though

Hope this helps a little

Wups


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## Briarose

Not much help I know..............but one was parked next to us a few weeks ago in Castleton, looked lovely.


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## cabby

A good layout, but oldfashioned in the seating style.
talking of seats, it only has 2 forward facing seats,and only the same 2 with seatbelts, these are the drivers and front passenger seats.
So you cannot carry any passengers in safety, not sure about the new seatbelt law that applies to new vehicles, check this out if you need to take extra persons. Being a new vehicle it should have the new gearbox, but do test drive it which must include reversing up a slope.
I might add that the Fiat cab is very quiet and the 3lt power unit is very smooth.found the seats very comfitable, but this might just be on our make of conversion, as they can vary.
Which dealer are you looking at.
good luck and let us know how you get on.

cabby


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## kaacee

Thanks for your input's, the 2 belted seats are ideal as no passengers to carry, just my wife and myself. The layout is ideal for us with the rear bathroom and 2 fixed single beds and the side dinette seats appeal too, so all in all our ideal choice and to be fair only Chausson Allegro 96, Dethleffs Esprit and Rapido 7065+ are other contenders.

We intend visiting 3 dealers up in Somerset in the next week or so to view these models in the flesh so to speak and possibly Johnscross at the end of the month when we are in Brighton sussing out daughters university place, she dosn't "do" motorhomes incidentally, so no need to look for additional seating.

Will let you know how we get on.


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## cabby

As you say a great layout, ours is similar, if you are coming from Somerset see if you have time to pop into the dealer in Porstmouth and look at the Fleurette 73LJ. not sure if I am allowed to give you a link, but will put it up and if the mods take it off fair enough,PM me.

www.southdownsmotocaravans.com

there are plenty of pics on there.
Good luck in your search, just remember the best deal is not always the best dealer. confusus say.
  
By the way if you need any information about Brighton ask spent 28 years driving around it.

cabby


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## rrusty

Hi, we just traded in our 2008 Augusta 2 weeks ago the main reason being that we wanted more belted seats and beds.
The 2 single beds were ideal at the time for us and we really liked the layout with the bathroom at the rear. The reversing judder was never a problem for us.

We had a slight problem with a couple of the trims falling off but easily sorted also the hab door & lockers started to blister but autocruise dealt with that as well, so all in all we were really sorry to see it go. 

Rusty


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## kaacee

Thanks cabby, i omitted to mention the Fleurette 73LJ which i did have on my short list, and the Southdowns site shows plenty of pics of that particular model, thanks for that.

With regard to Brighton, long time since ive been up there but the uni is actually in Eastbourne, again thanks for your kind offer.

I actually live in Cornwall, so travelling up to Somerset is one of the nearest options for me apart from a couple of dealers who only sell used M/H's and not very new ones at that.


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## martin1485

Our Augusta is a 2010 model which we collected on 10th January. We stopped over on the first night at minus 10 degrees and my wife was toasty warm - she would be the first one to complain about that so first thumbs up very quickly for the Alde heating! We took the van via France to Spain on 31st January and spent 5 weeks doing 2600 miles. 

Problems so far: the fresh water drain tap and pipe from the tank was too low and it was caught and is now lost. A couple of well placed wine corks got us out of trouble. 

There have been a few creaks and rattles from the front lockers which we have mainly resolved with felt pads although there are occasionally new creaks if the big front locker is not loaded properly. Swift - take note? It would surely only cost pennies to resolve this on the production line?

There's something wrong with the cooker - not sure what yet but the door does not seal properly. Need to get it back to the dealer to look at.

We used the double, pull out bed a few times whilst watching DVDs which has resulted in one of the hinges on the left hand settee coming adrift. It looks to be poor design to me as it's screwed sideways into plywood. 

The habitation door seal caught at the top right which prevented the door closing properly. This righted itself with some careful closing over several days. 

The only other concern that I have are the fins on the radiators which are easily bent when accessing the side lockers so you need to be careful. 

We only view these as minor irritations as we are very pleased with the van. I use the cruise control all the time and am getting around 26 mpg according to the computer which I think is good for a 3 litre engine. The van is pretty solid on the road and is not affected by sideways pull from overtaking heavy traffic. We had everything including the kitchen sink and 2 bikes loaded when we went away - I took it to the weighbridge before we departed and found that I was still pretty well under the limit. 

Road holding and payloads were big problems on the previous van so very pleased with these aspects on the Augusta. We used Towtal in Stoke to fit a towbar and 2 solar panels together with a second leisure battery. Very pleased with both and the TV/Satellite and LED lights hardly make any difference to the state of charge, even after a full night's use. 

The washroom is great - I'm 6ft 1 and have had no trouble using the shower or loo. We considered an Autotrail Savannah and were on the point of ordering one but the group test in the December issue of "What Motorcaravan" made us rethink. Glad we did as we are both very pleased with it.


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## kaacee

Thank you Martin 1485,,,,,,,,,,

A very comprehensive outline of the niggles, which is surprisingly honest when you consider most people buying a new motorhome at that sort of price tend to cover up for whatever reason, but as you say, only minor stuff.


I also feel quite reassured that you appear quite pleased with the overall general performance of the Augusta.

We have not totally made our minds up yet, but all the feedback is slowly but surely getting us where we want to be.


Thank you again


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## cater_racer

Hi,

We've an 08 Augusta, been very happy with it mostly.

Done about 20,000 miles and two 3 month stints away.

It's a van for two people....... no doubts about it. But the layout is good.

We have chucked out the table and bought a shorter one, so as to increase the usable space in the lounge. 

The table we bought/made has one set of legs shorter, so that it compenstes for the two (2) different levels in the lounge area.

We discarded the sink cover, and made it into a foldable worksurface extention.

We removed the heat gaurd panels off the hob unit and put a stainless panel on the wall. (To increase hob space)

We also put small corner shelves up in the bedroom, otherwise you've nowhere to put the cup, last thing at night/first thing in the morning.

We also wired a shaver point into the bathroom.

The twin leisure batteries are a pure joy, never run out of power despite no solar panals. ( Not sure the're on the 2010 model)

Water tank is not large, but you get round it.

Other than that a good unit, love the reality of NOT sleeping in the kitchen or the BATHROOM.

We also undersealed our unit, as £50,000 going rusty in three years was not on our plan.


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## kaacee

Thank you cater_racer......more food for thought.


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## coppo

Is the Augusta fully winterised?

I,m not positive but i,m sure i read an article stating at least one of the tanks, not sure if fresh or waste, was situated underneathe the vehicle.

This could be an issue, if you camp all year, especially with the winter we have just had.

Paul.


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## kaacee

Coppo...According to the manual both tanks are heated


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## aldershot1

Hi not sure if you are still looking for views on the Augusta but thought I would share mine with you just in case.....

Have a 2010 model since last December and have used regularly since then during much of the bad weather. The Alde heating system cope magnificantly and ensures that the whole van is kept warm rather than specific hot spots.

The 3 litr Peugeot engine is a dream and although I had concerns regarding all the bad press relating to transmission etc these were misplaced. She handles exteremely well and has more than enough power to impress.

Like others I have had a number of 'nigglies' which although now being resolved do frustrate me particularly as one would never accept such shoody PDI's if buying a £50k+ car or boat but I guess its the norm for this market sector. In addition to the usual rattles and squeaks I had most problems with items we had fitted retrospectively, solar panel (wrongly wired), additional liesure battery (wrong amp and no fuse link, external bbq gas point (no drop vent)

Overall we have been absolutely chuffed with our purchase and generally feel that the build quality employed by Swift matches our previous Autocruise Starfire.

One final point I suggest you fully check out the single beds as although they are 6'3" long I find my feet end up touching the wall at the bottom of the bed and I'm only 5'11".

Hope it helps
A1


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## kaacee

Thank you A1, going to check one out week after next so will take note of your comment re bed size.

Glad to hear you are pleased with your Augusta overall.


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