# Careavan for re-upholstery?



## rosalan

We are on the point of booking our van in for re-upholstery.
Careavan at the Newbury show had a nice selection of materials and the right price but has anyone had any experience of their work?
Regal put me off by offering two different prices on two different days.
Tappers do not seem popular with other upholsterers and the only other company we have seen at the shows would talk the hind leg off a donkey.
It is hard enough trying to choose a material let alone know who to trust.
Alan


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## THEPOET

Hi Alan,

Don't know about CAreavan? but Peter Hambilton uses A1 Re-upholsterers at Knottingly Yorks.

I will be looking to get mine done this year hopefully.

Pete


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## rosalan

Thanks Poet!
I would have had a look at A1 and Regal but there seem to be some conflicting viewpoints about both on these pages, so rightly or wrongly I have given them a miss. I will let you know what I find on Tuesday with Careavan when we go to select a colour scheme.
Their internet credentials look ok.
Fingers crossed
Alan


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## brillopad

sundial had his done by them, give him a pm for info. Dennis


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## The-Cookies

see my post for pics of ours


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## DJP

CAREaVAN had an Autotrail on their stand which they had recently re upholstered. did you not look in it?
The workmanship was excellent and the material looked and felt to be of very good quality. The owner (Paul IIRC) was a genuine guy and was not at all pushy. Friends we were with were quoted, given sveral options on flooring and have booked a date for the job. They can stay on Care a Van forecourt over night the night before and they also have a customer waiting room to spend the day/s in whilst the job is being completed. They did visit other refurb companies. Care a Van was not the cheapest but offered the better customer service and materials.
I have no connection with Care a Van, just an observer last weekend.


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## rosalan

Thanks for your observations on Careavan. At the weekend we had time to look around the sample van and some of their materials. They gave us a detailed and fair quotation but with no knowledge of the company, I wanted to take advantage of others experiences before going ahead.
I am very grateful for the quick and positive responses received which convince me to go ahead with this company.
I will try and supply before and after pictures in due time.
Alan


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## firewood

careavan did a mattress for us.
we ordered it at the nec show october and was told it would be 2 weeks we also stated that we wanted it cream in colour .
well it took 4 weeks before we got it and the colour was blue and cream not what we wanted at all .
i would not use these ever again .
thay dont seem to listen or do what thay say thay will.


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## Rapide561

*Mattress*

Firewood

How was the issue resolved? On a similar theme I ordered some bedding from Jonic and the wrong colour arrived, but it was sorted asap. From memory, I had the new covers the day after my call - and they are still going strong!

Russell


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## DJP

firewood said:


> careavan did a mattress...................... we wanted it cream in colour .
> it took 4 weeks before we got it and the colour was blue and cream not what we wanted at all .
> i would not use these ever again .
> thay dont seem to listen or do what thay say thay will.


Did you not choose a design from the samples on display or did you just say you wanted a cream colour?


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## rosalan

Now commited ourselves to Careavan, visited their 'factory' and played with the dozens of samples available there. Oddly ending up with the ones we liked in Newbury.
Father and son were both very helpful in advising possibilities and we got a 10% reduction for having a 3M's card. Even with several extras their price was around £1400 including £100 for having the mattress recovered, less than their competition before the extras.
For people who live in their M/H they provide a B&B nearby, although we were told that we could sleep in the vehicle yard if we wanted to.
They seemed very busy with at least two vans being kitted out while we were there, plus static caravan business which is another string to their bow.
The place is a bit chaotic but business-like.
I will post when we get the work done in a couple of weeks time.
Alan


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## rosalan

We just collected our re-upholstered van from Careavan.
Were they any good?
Yes!
They seem to be a father and son business, son goes to the shows and father runs the business.
They do seem very busy, with several vans coming and going after being kitted out.
Did they do the job in two days? No, we decided to leave it for a week and they phoned on the Thursday asking for an extra day due to staff illness. Decided to collect on Monday and found a curtain tie missed and not fixed to the wall; this was fixed in 1/2 an hour.
Quality of the work? I would be pleased to show my van; which answers that.
Job done? No! We have decided that the carpets need replacing and other sundry items to match the new colour. Asked how much and quickly shook his hand and booked it in.
The whole job, carpets, leather trim, re-covered main bed, all furniture, wall panels and sundry decor; around £1600.
Alan


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## CliveMott

All the upholsterers try and maximise their profit on jobs so don,t be suprised if you got two prices on two days. Whoever you use you must haggle. Regal did do a quality job for us though while we waited.

C.


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