# Carthago e-line 49I - general advice needed by newcomer



## HeatherChloe (Oct 18, 2009)

Hi there - thanks for reading my post.

I recently hired a motorhome and travelled in Europe for six weeks with my dog. I hired a Chausson Welcome 95. 

I know that I wanted the fixed bed, and a spare bed for visiting friends, but I found the toilet / shower too tight for a long trip - okay for weekends. 

I went to the motorhome show yesterday and looked at EVERYTHING. I loved the shower and toilet combination on the Carthago motorhome and the quality of the e-line and fell in love with it. 

I've put down a deposit and need to decide this week whether to go ahead with the purchase, and it's a lot of money, so need some help from experts in making the decision. 

My concerns are:

It's 7.4m long - is that too long? The Chausson was 6.3 and that was fine - I'm comfortable driving with that, but would 7.4 be very difficult? 

Where will I keep it? I can't get a residents' parking permit for a vehicle more than 6m long, so I would need storage. I am in central London and would be happy to take a train to the van and never have it at home at all - but will I find somewhere? Would I be likely to jump on the train and take off in the van on a whim? Or would the distance away be offputting and lead to me not using it? 

Are there enough sites open all year round for me to use it in the winter too? Nice place to go to?

Can I use it other than on sites? Park up places? Is that illegal? Or Safe?

Is owning a van a lot of hassle? Or not too bad? 

I felt I knew exactly what I wanted, and this van I think fits everything I want, but it's such a lot of money that I'm a bit scared.

Does anyone have any idea how best to negotiate the price downwards? I'm buying the show van from the show. 

Just some helpful comments for a new comer would be great.


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

Go for it you will not notice the difference in length. Storage will require some research. Plenty of places to go all year round. Lovely van, you can not take your money with you, we are spending ours. Enjoy, Alan.


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## Sonesta (May 10, 2005)

Hi Heather,

Firstly it is a little scary when you buy your first ever motorhome and I remember when we bought our first one, having the very same feelings as you. However, once on the road and out there enjoying all the wonderful adventures and freedom that owning a motorhome provides you with, you will soon discover that any reservations you had will be quickly replaced with excitement, joy and a completely new zest for life!

We too have just ordered a new motorhome (this will be our 3rd one) and like you, by the time we have added on all the extras, we are talking a lot of money but you know what Heather, this time we have no qualms whatsoever and to be honest our attitude is .................. we deserve it!  We work hard in our own business (well not so much now as our son in law who manages our shop for us is starting to do more and more, whilst we try to do less and less  ) and this I suppose really this is what all the hard graft has been about? Life is short Heather and you only get one crack at it and if you can afford it then go for it I say and before long you will be too busy enjoying the wonderful world of motorhoming to worry about anything much at all!  

With a quality motorhome like you are buying you will be fully winterised so the world is your oyster when it comes to travel, so you are not just restricted to touring in the UK alone. You can of course wildcamp in out the way places if that appeals to you but if you prefer the safety of a campsite then more and more campsites are open all year round these days, so you have nothing to worry about on that front I promise you.

I'm not very good at negotiating prices down myself as I always feel a little unfcomfortable about it but many do and many get excellent deals as a result. My hubby clinched the deal on ours and managed to get a couple of extras thrown in and we got a great part exchange price for our current motorhome too, so it is definitely worth coming up with an offer that you feel is a fair one. Perhaps you could say something like "if you are prepared to throw in x, y or z with the price then you've got yourself a deal" or "if you come down to £xxxxxx then I am happy to shake on it!" Who knows the dealer might just shake your hand and say "DEAL!"  

We looked around the Carthargo stand at the NEC and when we looked at the Cathargo Liner we were drooling - did you look around that model too? If that mh is anything to go by then I can appreciate the quality of all their models and I think you should grab it with both hands quick before anyone else does!  

Keep us informed and stop worrying!  

Sue


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## patnles (Oct 26, 2006)

I can't help much but it would be best to make enquiries about storage before you decide. My next door neighbour's parents, who also live in London, have recently bought a caravan and have so far been unable to find storage for it. I don't know any details but I wouldn't think it was anything to do with costs but more to do with availability and location. Hope you have more luck.
Lesley
Sorry, forgot to say  Welcome to MHF


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## PhilK (Jul 1, 2005)

*Cathargo......Heather*

Never ever ever ever pay the asking price. Have no sympathy and take no prisoners. Get to the person that is in a position to agree figures and deal only with them. Give the dealer no opportunity to send a salesman back and to.

We have had a Laika and then three Hymers in nine years and to date have not lost one penny.

I admit its getting a little harder as the Euro rate has eaten profitability, because dealers have only been able to reflect some of the change in price rises. Even so, its hard out there and many dealers will sell a new motorhome for no profit to generate the used stock that sells and makes profit. PM me with any thoughts you want to knock about.

Dealers commonly want to replace discount with extras, dont value those extras at figures that they do, they will include for good profits.

Phil and Karen


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## geraldandannie (Jun 4, 2006)

Hi HeatherChloe (which is which? :wink: ) and welcome to the forums

I'm sure you will have already absorbed every sentence of the Beginners' Guides 8O but you might want to refresh your memory, especially section 2 >> here << which deals with negotiation (and features some tips from one of our members here who is an experienced salesman - G2EWS).

Storage? Have a look at the >> Cassoa << site for storage in your area (you don't say which part of London you live). 'Loading up' your van might be tricky if you're getting to it by train, unless you take a suitcase with personal items, and other stuff is already onboard. Often, storage places are in areas with cheap land, and possibly away from train stations. However, a few £ on a taxi might get you there.

Initially, you might be best to use organised camping / caravanning sites. Wild camping is possible in certain parts of the country (e.g. north Scotland), but increasingly less so in other areas. Our local council has recently erected new signs on a road with parking which overlooks the beach, which specifically precludes camping overnight in motorhomes.

Gerald


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## Sonesta (May 10, 2005)

Heather ..... After reading the replies from Gerald, Alan and Patnles - storage it sounds, could be a problem in your area which of course is a very important factor to consider. No point buying something before you have somewhere to keep it and I think you may find having to store it a long way away from your address takes away the spontanaeity aspect of owning a motorhome. Anyway, just a thought for you to consider but is there a friend, relative, neighbour or even a business nearby with a driveway, carpark or piece of land big enough to park the motorhome and if so, maybe they would be willing to rent the storage space out to you? However, a secure compound would be better but finding one in central London could prove to be a difficult one.

Good luck though and fingers crossed you will find a solution as I am sure you would love the motorhoming way of life! 

Sue

PS Try ringing a couple of campsites in and around London such as Abbey Wood and see if they do storage, as I have noticed during my travels that a lot of campsites seem to offer this service. http://www.caravanclub.co.uk/CaravanClubApps/applications/uk sites/Site details.aspx?csid=ABBEY WOOD

Plus look at this link and see if this is of any help: 
http://www.safehouse-ss.com/caravan-storage.html


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## HeatherChloe (Oct 18, 2009)

Hi - me again

Yes, storage seems to be the major problem. 

I have found somewhere reasonably convenient, but I can only get the van and drop it off during opening hours - and they're closed on Sunday and close at 5pm during the week. Possible, but limits me a bit. 

Will look around some more. Perhaps I should put a post in the storage section.


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## Jezport (Jun 19, 2008)

Hi Heather,

I would agree with others that your main issue is storage. Ideally you are best with it at home, as you will definatly use it more. However if you can find a convinient place to store it locally I am sure you will get plenty of enjoyment from it.

We started with Chausson flash 03 and have moved up to a 8.14mtr Frankia, and to be honest I prefer driving the larger van, HGV usually flash you in after overtaking and it feels more steady at speed. The extra space and luxury is well worth having a longer van.

Make sure that you are going to be happy with the storage before you commit to it, as its a very expensive garden shed if you dont use it!


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## HeatherChloe (Oct 18, 2009)

*Progress made*

Well, I've researched storage and called places and think I have found somewhere suitable - I'm going to check it out tomorrow. It's a site called Henfold Lakes Leisure which is a bit south of Dorking. There's a train which takes one hour from Waterloo and then it looks like walking distance to the site. They have availability (unlike lots of other places I called) and safe storage and it looks like a nice site, which means I can stay there when I don't feel like driving further, and would be quick to get to Folkestone if I want to go to Europe. Comments welcome.

I've also called and got insurance quotes.

I'm feeling a bit happier about the whole thing, and looking forward to seeing the van again on Friday and see if I'm still in love with it and how it drives.


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

*Re: Cathargo......Heather*



PhilK said:


> Never ever ever ever pay the asking price. Have no sympathy and take no prisoners. Get to the person that is in a position to agree figures and deal only with them. Give the dealer no opportunity to send a salesman back and to.
> 
> We have had a Laika and then three Hymers in nine years and to date have not lost one penny.
> 
> ...


Sound Advice


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## HeatherChloe (Oct 18, 2009)

*decision made*

well, I have investigated more today.....

I went to Waterloo, took the train to Holmwood (which took an hour) and then walked for about 20 minutes to the site.

The storage did not look very secure and did not have CCTV.

The site looked nice, although there are no toilet or shower facilities - but a friendly bar and good if you like fishing.

But overall, I realised that if I had to trek off somewhere just to get to the van, I think I won't like it.

Add insult to injury, three insurance companies have turned me down as the van is too expensive and apparently I "don't have experience of driving a motorhome" - despite having learned to drive over 20 years ago in a large Renault van (my dad's) and driven it for a number of years.

All the signs are telling me no...........

So, I'm going to start looking for one which is no more than 6m long and can be parked outside my flat in resident's parking and which I can just jump in when I want to, and is cheaper.

Thanks for all the advice - storage was definitely the problem.


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## ambegayo (Jan 7, 2007)

*Carthago Chic*

Hope you can get your deposit back, usually once you have signed on the dotted line your deposit is non-returnable, but then again others may have different experiences. It seems sensible to buy a van to suit YOU if you travel solo and one comfortable bed would be a lot cheaper.


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## ambegayo (Jan 7, 2007)

*Carthago Chic*

Hope you can get your deposit back, usually once you have signed on the dotted line your deposit is non-returnable, but then again others may have different experiences. It seems sensible to buy a van to suit YOU if you travel solo and one comfortable bed would be a lot cheaper.


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## HeatherChloe (Oct 18, 2009)

yes I got my deposit back - the dealers were good about it


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