New Bailey Leaking

From the outset of this CC ( CMC ) forum and others, there has been considerable adverse feedback about Bailey Caravans regarding water ingress. ( we won't mention wheels falling off or other build quality issues.)

I'm slightly surprised that, in the light of those customer experiences and feedback, that Bailey products are still considered by some, when choosing a caravan. 

Personal responsibility has to come into the equation. Careful product research is a great help when choosing a van which will meet the prospective buyer's requirements. 

K 

I could be wrong, but I get the impression that Bailey sell a lot of vans, so one would expect more complaints, all things (%) being equal. Of course, that doesn’t make it alright. Meaningful data would be useful.

Kennine

The same could be said before people post on here !! But still some people post things without really researching the facts .....

I wonder how the OP (and the several others with issues a year ago) are getting on? be good to see some feedback.....

it isn't mandatory to buy a caravan from Bailey, Elddis, Swift, Coachman, however these will be the ones stocked by local dealers.

caravans, and very good ones, are made by other manufacturers (Knaus, Hymer, Adria etc) but the dealerships require a bit more effort to find them...

ok, in the past, continental makers have only imported 'foreign' layouts, which were, well, foreign to many British buyers, but these days the Continental manufacturers (caravans and MHs) are producing UK type layouts and some even have the door on the UK side, such is their desire to get it right....

having had two 'foreign' vans I'd have no worries about another (not for a good while as we are delighted with what we have)

Their is always the consideration though of how far is the nearest dealer. Same with any make

true, but although our van was purchased a two hour drive away, we've had no problems in 14 months....

how useful is a dealer on the doorstep if your pride and joy is with them all the time?

the other thing is to have a meaningful conversation with other dealers in your area to 'negotiate' a local place for warranty work in lieu of putting some service/hab check work their way....

although not needed, it has worked for us....

I can tell you’ve never bought a new caravan, BB. 

I’m all in favour of facts. Maybe you could point me in the right direction?

...no I haven't, TW...and looking at the threads that fill this section of CT it's a wonder anyone does.....

the recurring themes should have alerted manufacturers years ago. the pattern is almost the same every time in this type of thread...

buy a new caravan....delighted by latest upholstery, new decals and new brochure 

take a trip, find umpteen faults, a mix of poor design, sloppy manufacture and awful PDIs

get to first year service, find damp at frightening levels, dealer can't fix it, no parts, blames manufacturer....manufacturer can't fix it, no parts, blames 'continental' supplier, customer pulls hair out, posts on CT and other forums and FB pages of Swift, Bailey, Elddis etc.

this forum is full of similar threads...it doesn't bode well...

having said that, it's not just caravans...

I spent a wet couple of hours at a large MH dealership last week and what I saw wasn't good....I think, hand on heart, I wouldn't have bought ANY of the stock there, incl the new vans....upto around £75+k

im sure there are reasons for drawers that don't open/close properly, similarly doors with handles falling off, 'fixed' panels that move as you walk through the van, anything plastic so cheap it looks like it will break if you touch it, anything 'wood' looks like plastic that will break if you touch it...

'design' isn't any better....doors that can't fully open due to other things in the way, lockers with no shelves or retainers in them, locker doors with no retaining catches, vans with no external access meaning all dirty kit has to be carted through the van, large cupboards with tiny doors making access difficult, beds too short and way too narrow et al, et al.....

just really poor standards all round....

if caravans are (generally) built like these then customers are getting a poor deal...nothing would have caused me to part with my cash for what I looked at.....and that included Panel Vans and Coachbuilts....

no, I won't be buying a caravan (nor a MH of the type I saw...)

truly depressing, in fact, and very sad....

A misunderstanding, please ignore.