Practical Caravan - Owner Satisfaction Awards 2014

www.practicalcaravan.com | MARCH 2014 | 83

“We believe in telling it how it is!”

Awards coordinator, Gentleman Jack Bancroft“We believe in telling it how it is!”

Awards coordinator, Gentleman Jack Bancroft

WELCOMETOTHIS, our second Practical CaravanOwner Satisfaction Awards, which is the only awardsscheme in the press today that features both newand pre-owned caravans and their supplying dealers.Using information based entirely on

owners’ experiences and judgements, we’ve comeup with satisfaction scores for the manufacturersand suppliers (dealers). We’ve awarded thosewho have impressed you one of our covetedand prestigious Gold or Silver Awards.Buying any caravan can be a complicated

business. Not only do you have to track downa van that suits your needs and is within your pricerange, you also have to find a dealer or private sellerto whom you’re happy to hand over your cash.Factor in the possibility that it’ll cost a fair

wedge of your ‘hard-earned’, then add your emotionalinvolvement with caravanning as a leisure pursuit,

and it soon becomes clear how important it is thatthe whole process goes as smoothly as possible.At Practical Caravanwe are well aware that, while

themajority of people are satisfied with their dealerandmanufacturer, there are both saints and sinnersout there. There’s always room for improvement, andwe believe it’s time all retailers andmanufacturersput the customer first and that owners’ experiencesachievedwider recognition.At Practical Caravan, you’re all equally

important to us whether you have spent £500 or£50,000 on your caravan, andwe believe in tellingit how it is – however uncomfortable thatmay befor owners, dealers ormanufacturers.Turn over the page to find out the results.

We run the Owner Satisfaction Survey in association with specialist insurer Coast,which is committed to ensuring quality customer service.

Tel 0800 614 849, www.coastinsurance.co.uk

Owner SatisfactionAwards 2014Over the past year we’ve asked readers to give us their feedback

on buying and owning a caravan. Now we reveal the results.Don’t buy your next caravan before reading the following pages!

Owner Satisfaction Awards 2014

84 | MARCH 2014 | www.practicalcaravan.com

Survey resultsNew caravans

Gold AwardsLeisure Sales (Cheshire) 95%Caravan World (Essex) 94%Sussex Caravan Centre 94%Teeside Caravans (Cleveland) 94%Top Road Tourers (Angus) 93%North Staffordshire Caravans 91%Dickinson Caravans (W Yorks) 88%Bardsea Leisure (Cumbria) 86%

Silver AwardsVenture Caravans (Northants) 84%Reads World of Leisure (Lancs) 83%Chipping Sodbury Caravans (S Glos) 82%Duncan Caravans (Lanarks) 82%GT Towing (Herts) 82%Roundstone Caravans (W Sussex) 82%Stewart Longton Caravans (Lancs) 82%Sharman Caravans (Suffolk) 81%Newport Caravans (Gwent) 81%Chichester Caravans (Hants/Worcs/Surrey/Sussex) 80%Reading/Swindon/Oxford Caravan Centres (Berks/Wilts/Oxon) 80%Derby Caravans 79%Stowford Caravan Centre (Devon/Mid Glam) 78%Grantham Caravans (Lincs) 77%Golden Castle Caravans (Glos) 77%Michael Jordan Caravans (Surrey) 77%White Arches (Northants) 77%S Yorks Motorhomes & Caravans 76%David Hope (Suffolk) 75%Raymond James (Warks) 75%Salop Leisure (Shrops) 75%Kimberley Caravans (Notts/Co Durham) 74%Knowepark Caravans & Motorhomes (West Lothian) 74%Highbridge Caravan Centre (Soms) 73%Lowdham Leisureworld (Notts/ W Yorks) 72%Brayford Leisure & Coupland Caravans (Lincs) 70%Broad Lane Leisure (Warks) 70%Flintshire Caravan Sales (Clwyd) 70%Greentrees Adventurestore (Norfolk) 70%

Gold AwardsAdria 97.5%

Sprite (Swift Group)† 94.5%

Silver AwardsCoachman 84%

Bailey 83%

Lunar/Venus 82%

Swift (SG) 81%

Sterling (SG) 80%

Elddis 80%

Supplying dealersSatisfaction scores awarded

by respondents

1 Reading/Swindon/Oxford CaravanCentres 2 Chichester Caravans

3 Catterick Caravans4 Cambells Caravans

5 Highbridge Caravan Centre

SELLERS OF NEW CARAVANSTO RESPONDENTS WERE(IN DESCENDING ORDER)

ManufacturersSatisfaction scores awarded

by respondents

TOP 5 2013 AwardsGold Dorvic Carvans, Stowford Caravan Centre, Salop Leisure, GranthamCaravans, Broad Lane Leisure, Lady Bailey Caravans, Chipping Sodbury

Caravans, Kimberley CaravansSilver Michael Jordan Caravans, Torksey Caravans, Robinsons Caravans,

Highbridge Caravan Centre, Chichester Caravans, Duncan Caravans,Lowdham Leisureworld, White Arches Caravans, Lee Davey Caravans,

Leisure Sales, Greentrees Adventurestore

2013 AwardsGold Bailey, Sprite (SG)

Silver Adria, Bessacarr (SG), Compass (Elddis), Vanmaster, Sterling (SG),Coachman, Lunar/Venus, Swift (SG), Abbey (SG), Elddis


Without further ado, we’ll reveal the winners. But please also take the timeto read our FAQ, Analysis and Myth Busting sections on the following pages.

In association with

Pre-owned caravans

Gold AwardsBeechwood Leisure (N Yorks) 95%

Chipping Sodbury (S Glos) 92%

Newport Caravans (Gwent) 92%

GT Towing (Herts) 92%

Highbridge Caravan Centre (Soms) 91%

Northam Farm (Soms) 90%

Pearman Briggs (Glos) 88%

Pioneer Caravans (Cambs) 87%

Salop Leisure (Shrops) 87%

Silver AwardsDon Amott Leisure (Derbys) 85%

Raymond James Caravans (Warks) 82%

Ropers Caravan World (N Yorks) 82%

Reading/Swindon/Oxon Caravan Centres (Berks/Wilts/Oxon) 82%

West Midlands Caravans (Warks) 81%

Venture Caravans (Northants) 80%

The Caravan Company (Leics/Northants/Berks/Dorset) 78%

Broad Lane Leisure (Warks) 78%

Grantham Caravans (Lincs) 78%

Reads World of Leisure (Lancs) 78%

Lowdham Leisureworld (Notts/W Yorks) 76%

White Arches Caravans (Northants) 75%

Robinsons Caravans (Derbys/Notts) 72%

Campbells (Lancs) 71%

Michael Jordan (Surrey) 70%

Gold AwardsSterling (Swift Group) 91%

Adria 89.5%

Coachman 89%

Lunar 88%

Bailey 87.5%

Swift (SG) 86%

Silver Awards

Elddis 82%

Sprite (SG) 84%

1 Reading/Swindon/Oxford CaravanCentres 2 The Caravan Company

3 Glossop Caravans4 Lowdham Leisureworld5 Michael Jordan Caravans

SELLERS OF PRE-OWNEDCARAVANS TO RESPONDENTSWERE (IN DESCENDING ORDER)

Supplying dealersSatisfaction scores awarded

by respondents

ManufacturersSatisfaction scores awarded

by respondents

TOP 5

2013 AwardsGold Adria, Coachman, Abbey (SG), Ace (SG), Bailey, Sterling (SG),

Avondale, Compass (Elddis)Silver Lunar, Elddis, Swift (SG), Sprite (SG), Bessacarr (SG)

2013 AwardsGold Chichester Caravans, Highbridge Caravan Centre, GreentreesAdventurestore, White Arches Caravans, Lowdham Leisureworld,

Chipping Sodbury Caravans, The Caravan Company,Knowepark Caravans and Motorhomes

Silver Sussex Caravans, Stowford Caravan Centre, Glossop Caravans



In association with

QWhy did you start thisawards scheme?

AOurmost important aimwas to open a channel of

communication between folkabout to buy and those who hadalready done so. This is realisedby rewardingmanufacturers anddealers who acheive consistentlyhigh levels of customersatisfaction, thereby driving upstandards so that buying acaravan becomes less of a lottery.

QWhy did you decide tofeature pre-owned

caravans in the survey?

AWe think it is vital to featurepre-owned vans because

many of our readers buy them.We also feel that buyers of

new and buyers of pre-ownedmodels can gain valuableinsights by seeing how the othergroup has rated products andservices. For example, it givesbuyers of new caravans an ideaof howmanufacturers’ oldermodels are valued by owners,and some guidance on how theymight stand up to years of use.

QWhy don’t you callthem 'second-hand' as

most people do?

A‘Second-hand’ suggests thatthe caravan has only had

one previous owner and that youwill be the second. In reality,many will have hadmore thanone previous owner.

QHow reliable are thesurvey results?

AVery. The responses wereanalysedmeticulously and

the computations wereundertaken by an independentdata-processing company.Finally, ameaningful sample waschecked by an auditor and thecompiler subjected it to stress

and validity tests.We received2332 useable responses, which isamightily impressive numberand a 34.8% increase on last year.This year pre-owned caravanswere well up and counted for47% of the responses, whichshows how thismarket isstrengthening after recession.

QHow representative isthe survey?

AMost responseswere fromreaders of the print or

digital versions of themagazineand visitors to its website. Surveyformswere also available atshows and dealers.We attracteda good cross section of thosewhobought new or pre-owned vanssince January 2009 and ownedthem for at least sixmonths.We know that some buy their

new caravans inmainlandEurope but we didn’t receiveany responses from them. Theunfavourable exchange ratewill have had some influence.However, our understanding ofthe situation is that althoughsome choose to buy abroadbecause of a perceived costsaving, most do so for otherreasons. Either themodel theywant isn’t available in the UK, ormost of their caravanning isabroad, or they live inmainlandEurope andwant a ‘Euro-handed’model plus access to alarge European dealer network.As last year, we didn’t get

many responses from owners offolding caravans, by which wemean those with hingedwalls asopposed to ‘pop-tops’. Last yearwe had no responses at all fromowners of fifth wheelers; thisyear, there were three, all ofwhich were US imports.

QHow do the ownersatisfaction awards

fit with the PracticalCaravan Tourer of theYear Awards?

AEach performs its ownparticular function. The

Owner Satisfaction Awards addan owners’ perspective, and list‘switched-on’ dealers who thinkservice should have a capital ‘S’.The Tourer of the Year Awardsrecognise product quality.

QHow do you decidewho wins a Gold

Award and who a Silver?

AGold is awarded to thosescoring between 86% and

100%. Silver is awarded to thosescoring 70%-85%.

QHow are theresponses scored?

AThe first few questions arefor background information

and are not scored, just collated.The graded sections requestedrespondents to rate an element‘Good’, ‘Acceptable’ or ‘Poor’.Those answers scored 10-5-0marks respectively or 30-15-0,depending on importance.Under ‘Faults Reported’, 1-3faults scored -10 for both dealerandmanufacturer, 4-6 faultsscored -20 for both, and 7+ faultsscored -30 for both.The final questions are the

most significant in the surveybecause they represent aconsidered overall judgementandwere therefore loadedappropriately. The questionswere, “Would you buy anothercaravan of thismake?” and“Would you return to this dealerto buy another caravan?” In eachcase ‘Yes’ scored 50marks,‘Perhaps’ scored 25marks and‘No’ scored 0marks.Finally the total scores for

eachmanufacturer and dealerwere totalled and expressed asa percentage.Gentleman Jack still feels that

there is some over-marking byenthusiastic owners, but hassteered clear of downgrading any

responses. He does wonder, forexample, whether dealers shouldbe highly rewarded for puttingright problems that should havebeen spotted in their pre-delivery inspection (PDI).

QWhat have been themost frequently

voiced complaints?

AWe’d hoped that thismighthave been a shorter section

than last year. In fact, the ‘sinbin’ contains the same oldoffenders and consistentlyhighlights the same three things.In descending order ofoccurrence, they are:■ Sloppy PDIs■Dealers’ failure to returntelephone calls or emails■Difficulty obtaining spares.Not rocket science, is it? It was

disappointing to find that somecompanies are still not payingsufficient attention to theseareas despite only just beginningto climb out of a deep recession.Inmany cases advertisingmaterial andmission statementspromising care and attention didnot filter through to the frontline all of the time.Compounding our

disappointment is the fact that,most of the time, these problemsdon't seem difficult to put right.

QWhat hadrespondents tearing

their hair out?

AAlthough the discovery of afault (or several) was

disappointing enough, it was thelack of engagement by the dealerand/ormanufacturer incorrecting it/them that reallywound people up. There was afeeling among correspondentsthat some companies (notusually our Award-winningdealers) didn’t care once you’dhanded over themoney anddriven off into the setting sun.

Helping you to buy betterWe reveal how we scored your responses to produce our satisfaction league tables

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The Caravan Club’s Insurance. In July lastyear we were on our way to Modbury,Devon when another unit was coming inthe opposite direction. We both stoppedas passing room looked almost impossible.I got out of my vehicle to see if I couldreverse into a relief for the others to passbut traffic had built up very quickly behind.As soon as I got back into my vehicle theother person decided to make a passingattempt…and clipped the rear of my van.

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We exchanged details in the conventionalway but the other driver wanted to go‘knock for knock’ to which I refused – asfar as we were concerned we were theinnocent party because we were stationary.

As the traffic had built up it wasembarrassing to ask for witnesses as themain concern was to clear the tailbacksand some of the abuse we received justcould not be repeated – I am sure fellowcaravanners can imagine. I made a claimand insisted that this was a ‘no fault claim’

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Having just bought a new caravan thisyear we have had no hesitancy inrenewing our insurance withThe Caravan Club.

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In association with

We analyse the findingsWe crunch the numbers to extract data and identify trends among caravan owners

CANCARAVANSALES be aharbinger of economic growth?That is one of the tantalisingideas emerging from the datain Practical Caravan’s latestOwner Satisfaction Survey.

Heirs and eBay-ersThe sluggish economymay bebehind one development shownin figure 1 (right), whichillustrates the split betweenthose who bought pre-ownedvans privately and from a dealer.This year wewere stunned

that no respondents had gottena caravan as an inheritance, asa gift or for a nominal price.Perhaps this indicates that oldercaravanners were delaying thereplacement of their tourers.One of the predictions our

statisticianmade last year wasthatmore pre-owned vans wouldbe sold via the web, whether byeBay-only traders or, morefrequently, private sellers. Itwas likely, he argued, that thestrongest growthwould be overthe next five years. In fact, theopposite occurred for eBay-onlycaravan traders, whilemorerespondents reported buyingvans from private sellers whoadvertised on eBay.

US-stylediscountersTherewasnoevidence that theUSphenomenonof a‘clearinghouse’ approachhadcrossed thepond–yet!This iswhen remainderednewstock is boughtoff franchisedretailers as stock for thenewmodel year arrives.Thebuyers actas a largenationwide,multi-sitediscount salesoutlet.An outletmay sell anything

frommobile phones to earthmovers. Frequently, the pricesare heavily discounted, but thegoods are sold without anexplicit manufacturer’swarranty; purchasersmay beoffered insurance-based coverfor extra cost instead.

Behind the raw dataRespondents firmly believedin buying British; UK brandsaccounted for 96.7% of allnew-caravan purchases by

respondents. Themost successfulimportedmake inour survey wasAdria, builtin Slovenia.

Three respondents ownedAmerican fifth wheelers.We’dalso expected a sprinkling ofAirstreams, but there was none.

Pressure sellingTherewere a fewrespondents inthe latest survey (not included inthedata)whoansweredmostofthequestionsbutwhohadneverownedacaravan, although theywere in theprocessof buyingone.They felt that too few lightweightcaravansweredisplayedprominently atdealers.Twohadcompanycars (aFordFocus andaVauxhallAstra), oneaprivatelyownedKiaRio andoneaFordOrion.All couldbematchedwith a suitable van, but therespondents felt thatsomedealerswereonamission to sellluxurious twin-axle tourers.

We thought this practicehaddisappearedand that all salesstaff are awareof theneedtomatchoutfits correctly,especiallywhenselling toinexperiencedcaravanners.Wewill keepa close eyeonthis over the comingyear.However, beforedamningevery salespersonunfairly,itwouldbeapposite topointout that I havewitnessed theopposite atmy local dealer.When comparing the size

and type of dealers fromwhomrespondents bought pre-ownedcaravans with those supplyingnew ones, there was a far greatervariety in the former. A fewwerenot actually caravan dealers atall, but car dealers who hadaccepted one or two caravansin part exchange. Other (fringe)‘trade’ sellers included campsitemanagers selling vans on behalfof owners whowere giving upthe pastime. No one indicatedthat they had bought froma ‘trade’ auction open to thepublic, but we feel that this routewill becomemore popular.

Big brands dominateManyof the samemanufacturersdominated thevoting for

2014

Fig 1 Buying patternsfor pre-owned caravansamong respondents.The outer circlereflects responsesfor 2014, the innercircle is for 2013

Fig 2. Bighitters’ league— marketshare ofleading

manufacturerswhose caravans

were bought newby survey respondents.

Swift Group (Sprite, Swiftand Sterling) led the field

Fig 3. Bighitters’

league —market share

of leadingmanufacturerswhose caravans

were boughtpre-owned by surveyrespondents. Bailey took

the lead from Swift Group

2014 2013

■ Bought privately 20% 20%

■ Trade purchase fromretail premises 80% 72%

■ eBay-only trader/gift/inherited/exchange 0% 8%

20142013

2014 2013■ Swift Group (SG) 33.3% 27.5%■ Bailey 33% 35.5%■ Lunar 12.5% 14%■ Elddis/Compass/Buccaneer (E) 6% 10.5%■ Coachman 5.6% 8.5%■ Adria 1.9% N/A■ Rest 2.3% 4%*

(* inc Adria)

2014 2013■ Bailey 32% 25%■ Swift Group (SG) 30% 39%■ Elddis/Compass/Buccaneer (E) 17% 15%■ Lunar 10% 7%■ Coachman 7% N/A■ Rest 4% 14%

20142013

2013


We analyse the findings (continued)

In association with


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Fig 4 Price paid by respondentsfor new caravans. In 2013 (lightblue) the peak of sales wasbiased towards the moreaffordable end of the market.A sign that we may be climbingout of the economic doldrums isthat the past year’s sales weremore evenly distributed eitherside of the median price point

Fig 5 Percentages of new-vanowners reporting different faults

Fig 6 Percentages of pre-ownedvan owners reporting faults

newcaravans (table 1, page84),but thewinners finished in aslightlydifferentorder.Missingthis timewasVanmaster,whichhitthe financial buffers early last year.It’s upand runningagain, so let’shope it cangathermomentum.Adria caravans were praised

by owners as being well-builtand properly inspected. Theyalso cited the caring andprofessional dealer network.Coachman is quietly climbing

up the table and is within awhisker of achieving a GoldAward for new vans. Its vansaren’t just good, respondentstold us – they’re consistentlygood. Anecdotal evidence froma straw poll of dealers indicatedthat a pre-ownedCoachman isa valued item of stock and thatthere is a high demand for themamong purchasers of one- tothree-year-old caravans.Figures 2 and3 (page88) reveal

just howmuch thenewandpre-ownedmarkets continue tobedominatedby thebighitters.Notlongago, around30brandsweremade in theUK;now90.4%of themarket (96% in2013) is sharedbetween fivemajorplayers. BaileyandSwiftGroupsell farmore thanall the restput together.This year, respondents bought

more new Swift Group vans andfewer pre-owned ones. It wasthe other way around for Bailey,fewer new andmore pre-owned.Among our respondents, the‘big two’ appear to have stolenmarket share fromLunar, Elddisand Coachman in sales of newvans, but lost out to them onpre-owned sales.

Dreams vs nightmaresPurchasersofnewSterlings (SwiftGroup) reported that theywerepleased farmore frequently thantheyweredisappointed, but itwasevenbetter forpre-ownedexamples.Owners see themasaspirational.They’ve soldwell andtheir consistentlyhigh scores from

a large sampleofownersprovethat aUKcompanycandesignandbuild really great vans.“PDI?What PDI?” a

dissatisfied customer wrote inlast year’s survey about the pre-delivery inspection of his van.All new vans should receive atleast two thorough inspections:one at themanufacturer beforedispatch to the retailer andthe other at the dealer beforecollection by the customer.Occasional accounts of

incompetence and rudenessmade our blood boil. On theother hand, all our awardwinners usually behavedprofessionally and did theirutmost to help customers.Amodern touring caravanhas

habitation systemsas complexasdomesticones, andwe thenbounce themalongour roads.Therewill beproblems thatonlyshowupaftermany trips, nomatterhowcomplete thePDI.Worryingly, some owners say

that a regular habitation service– in which potential problems

can be identified beforethey surface – is optional.Every purchaser should heed

one piece of advice regardless ofthe caravan’s age or price: neverdepart on a long ‘dream’ holidayright after taking delivery. Allowyourself time to become familiarwith its operating systems andto iron out teething problems.

Pre-owned preferenceAstudyof figures 5 and6(below) shows the improvementsmanufacturers anddealershavemade in regard to the frequencyofwarranty claims. (Thebars inpink showthe2013 surveyresponses, in red this year’s.)There isnodoubt about theimprovements in all areas, thoughthe timescalemaybe slightlymisleading.Our first surveyonnewcaravanswas in2013 andfeatured thoseboughtbeforemid-2012; 70%of thesewereboughtnewbetween2007and2010.This year’s survey featurednewcaravansofwhichalmost80%werebought frommid-2012toOctober 2013, so the significantdecrease in faults foundhas takenplaceover thepast six years,rather than inone.Although the reduction in

reported cases of water ingressis welcome, the incidence isstill far too high.

What jumps out from theresults is how a pre-ownedcaravan ismore likely to be lesshassle than a new one. Severalrespondents noted that, havinghad several troublesome newcaravans, frequently withmanifold problems from dayone, they’d never buy new again.Last year, we reported

on the suggestion that leaksmay partly be blamed on us,the end users: “Our relentlessdrive for ever-lighter vanswith ever-more equipmentis just incompatible withcurrent constructionmethods,which by and large haven’tchanged in decades.”Some contributors to the

Practical Caravanwebsite arguedthat this was the sort ofcommentmanufacturers anddealers would use as an excusefor producing what the postersfelt were poor-quality vans. Infact, the comment was part ofa report by two independentengineers after inspectinga two-year-old caravan. It wasreferred to in a summing-upof a case in which a readerwas suing a UKmanufacturerfor building a caravan that heconsidered to be too flimsy.Developments in the pastfew years, however, may bechanging the situation.

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Better build quality?We set ourselves the task ofevaluating whether new buildmethods such as Alu-Tech(Bailey) and SoLiD (Elddis,Compass and Buccaneer) havesignificantly improvedbodyshells’ resistance to theelements. Caravan owners aremore worried about the risk ofwater ingress than any otherissue.We compared ourrespondents’ experiences withpre- and post-Alu-Tech Baileys,and found a slight reduction inreported water ingress, althoughthe system’smain advantage isthe stronger bodyshell.For pre- and post-SoLiD

Elddismodels, the evidence wasunequivocal. Before introducingSoLiD, Elddis did a better job ofsealing its vans than rivals,survey responses indicated. Inthe latest survey, it recordedlower incidences of damp thanother volume brands.

Motorised movingThe fitting ofmotormovers tonew vans for first owners hasincreased exponentially. Tenyears ago, less than 10% of newtourers were fitted with them; inlast year’s survey, it was 53% andin this year’s 66% – two thirds ofall respondents.Themost popularmake, with

53% of sales, was Powrtouch;Truma followedwith almost20%. Othermakers to figuresignificantly were Reich,Endura, Rhyno and Al-Ko.

Myth bustingOur respondents’ verdicts onsome frequently repeated ‘facts’

1. Entry-level caravans arecheap rubbish.

✗ FalseNewSprite vansunashamedlyofferVFM(value-for-money) in spades.Thatmaybewhy thebrandhaswonaGoldAward for twoyears in a row.

2. VFM ranges only winthese awards because theyappeal to first-time buyersand the inexperienced, whohave lower expectations.

✗ False (mostly) One doesn’tneedmuch experience tocommentmeaningfully onwaterpouring through the roof orcupboard doors coming off.In fact, the respondents’

inexperiencemaymake themmore judgemental, especially ifthey are parting with a largeamount of hard-earned doshfor the first time.

3. The more you pay, themore satisfied you are likelyto be with a new caravan.

✗ False Your choice of dealer isfarmore significant than price.

4. UK caravan makers arerubbish and owners willnever buy British again.

✗ False Our survey has shownthat despite experiencing someproblems, the overwhelmingmajority of owners of UK-builtcaravans would buy another ofthe samemake. Brand loyalty toUKmanufacturers is impressive.

5. Imported caravans aretaking over.

✗ False All importedmarquesare suffering because ofunfavourable exchange rates.Imports only accounted for 3.3%of purchases by respondents;most were from Slovenia-basedAdria. That said, there’s wickedstyling on newEuropean caravanranges for 2014. Onlycomplacent UKmanufacturerswould think that these won’tattract future customers.ManyEuropeanbrandshave

beenbeavering away, cutting theweightof theirVFMranges.Also,last year therewas ahuge increasein thenumberof teardrop-style,ultra-lightweight caravans sold inEuropegenerally, particularly intheNetherlands andGermany.Jack reckons they appeal stronglyto youngerpurchasers and thatthe alreadyestablished-but-fledglingUKmarket for thesewillexperience abig rise in sales.

6. There is no demand forolder caravans.

✓True and✗ FalseLast year,17%of respondentswithpre-ownedvanshadbought caravansthatweremore than 11 yearsold.Mostwere fromthe 1990sandasurprisingnumberwere fromthe1980s.This year, salesof tourersthatweremore thaneight yearsoldhave fallenoff a cliff. Is it astatistical blip, emergence fromrecessionorproof that there’s ashortageof suitableold-timersbeingoffered for sale?We’ll lookinto this over the comingyear.

7. Caravanners generally area very helpful bunch andwill pass on knowledge.

✓True Themagnificentresponse to this survey isirrefutable evidence of thiswelcome phenomenon.

From the awningItwouldbe remissnot to thankeachandevery respondent.Yourhelp is greatly appreciated, notjust byus, butmore importantlyby your fellowreaderswhoareabout topurchase.Special thanksto thosewhoprovided supportingevidenceandcorrespondence.Thank you also to Specialist

Insurer Coast, for supportingour initiative again this year.

And finally…All survey entrants were enteredinto a draw towin an iPad – thewinner will be revealed shortly.

We analyse the findings (continued)

In association with


50

40

30

20

10

Upto

2ye

arso

ld

2-4

year

sold

4-6

year

sold

6-8

year

sold

Over

8ye

arso

ld

“The responses reveal justhow much the new and pre-owned markets continue to bedominated by the big hitters”

Vote online for next year’s awards now at www.practicalcaravan.com/oss2015

Fig 7 PRE-OWNED TOURERS —model years reported in the 2013(pale green) and 2014 surveys

All results and informationreported in this OwnerSatisfaction Awards round-up reflect the opinion of therespondents themselves.All we’ve added is a précisof the statistical analysis.

49%

25%

17%

6% 3%

48%

33%

10%

4%

5%

WHITE ARCHES CARAVANS“Northamptonshire’s Premier Dealership”

Come and view thenew 2014modelsin our heatedshowroom now!

Come and view thenew 2014modelsin our heatedshowroom now!

2014SHOWNOWON!

NEC Caravan & CampingShow 2014Tuesday 18 Februaryto Sunday 23 February

Come andmeetMattand Paul on theBailey stand

Alan Conleyon the Swift/Sterlingstand

y 18 Februaryday 23 February

Over 250 caravans

all serviced

and guaranteed

best prices!

Wellingborough Road RushdenNorthamptonshire NN10 6AYTelephone 01933 353818www.white-arches.co.uk

Open: Monday - Saturday 9.00am to 6.00pmSunday 11.00am to 5.00pm (closedWednesdays)

FREE customer parking



In association with

Leisure Sales' accessory superstore

Meet the winnersBryony Symes talks to the companies you rated highly to share the secret of their success

Leisure SalesGold Award for dealers of new caravans

Leisure Sales is passionateabout providing the verybest customer care. We

realise that buying a caravan can

be a big and complex decision,

so our friendly and experienced

staff are on hand to help you

throughout the buying

experience, from towing, to

stowing, to exploring! Our

personalised hand-over

procedure and aftercare

package are a big part of

making sure people are

happy with their new van.

Leisure Sales wasestablished in 1978 and has

been passed from father to son,

keeping it a friendly family

business. Brian Talbot, the

owner, was in fact co-founder

of Lunar Caravans in 1969 in

a humble cow shed in Wigan.

We want to hear whatpeople think of ourcustomer service becausewe pride ourselves on it.We send out a short survey on

a regular basis asking for honest

opinions about the Leisure Sales

experience; recommendations,

concerns, questions and praise

provide us with invaluable

customer insights to ensure

each and every customer's

experience is enjoyable. We

also encourage our customers

to share their ideas and

experiences more informally

via our social-media sites.

All information is acted

upon immediately.

Customer service isparamount to our businesswith the belief that if acustomer is treated greatly,they will return. Our recent

2013 Caravan Talk award for

runner up in 'Best Caravan

Servicing' category also reflects

our company's consistently high

level of customer service.

Our wide-ranging facilitiesinclude a huge awning andaccessory superstore. We're

currently planning to extend this

still further, and all our stock will

soon be available online, too.

There's also an NCC Approved

10-bay workshop and deluxe

heated indoor showrooms on

our 17-acre site in the Cheshire

countryside. We have also started

work on a luxury, 42-pitch

caravan park on site, due to

open in the summer of 2015.

Customer satisfactionis the backbone of ourbusiness, and we believe

our dedication to ensuring our

customers are well looked-after

long after they have picked up

their purchase is crucial.

Happily, it has also resulted

in numerous awards for

us and the evolution of

a very loyal customer base.

Leisure Sales LtdTel 01477 535 264Web www.leisuresales.co.uk

Slavica Sterk, MD at Adria Concessionaires LtdGold Award for manufacturers of new caravans

Everything we do hasthe customer and theirsatisfaction in mind. Ourdevelopment process is fast andflexible, from selecting designproposals to focusing on qualityand, most importantly,educating and supporting ourdealers to provide high levelsof customer service. All ourproducts are built in the samestate-of-the-art factory using thesame construction techniquesandmaterials. Quality is key toour success and amain factor inour customer satisfaction.

We believe that after-salesis even more importantthan sales. From one goodexperience wewill gain oneadditional customer, but froma bad experience we could lose

manymore. Howwe react to acustomer's issue and provide asolution is vital, so we organiseregular after-sales trainingevents.We are also enlargingour service network to offer ourcustomers better coverage.

We actively encourage ourcustomers and dealers tosupply us with productproposals. These are discussedwith customers at rallies andwith dealers at focus groups.Weforward all ideas to the factory atour product developmentconferences, which are heldthree times a year. The factoryis able to followmost of theproposals andwe are alwaysproud to show our customersand dealers that we have listenedto, and acted on, their feedback.

For the 2014 season weintroduced completely newand redesigned Adora andAstella Glam caravans. Forthe 2015 season, wewill presentnew lightweight caravans thatmajor on contemporary design -sure to turn heads again!Wewillalso be launching updated vanconversions and newMatrix andSonicmotorhome ranges, allwith amodern interior andmanynew technical features which wecan't wait for the public to see.

Our vision is to offercustomers the completeexperience and not justproducts, so we have beenworking hard to widen ourexposure in the UK to bring ourproducts closer to customers.By sharing our enthusiasm aboutthe caravanning lifestyle, wehope to bring new customersinto the industry and givemorepeople the enjoyment of activeholidays, short breaks and back-to-nature weekends.

Customer-service awardsare the most satisfying. Theyare themostmeaningful andvaluable awards as they are votedby our customers who know usand our products. Thank you allverymuch for the votes in theOwner Satisfaction Survey.

Adria Concessionaires LtdTel 01787 888 980Web www.adria.co.uk

Have your say for

2015!It’s time to start the search again to reveal the best

new and pre-owned tourers, and dealers. If you’ve boughta caravan since 2010, tell us all about the van and

your buying experience for our next Owner SatisfactionSurvey — and help others to buy better!

We’ll publish the results at the start of 2015, in theform of a league table of the very best manufacturers

and dealers, as reported by you.

Find our online form now atwww.practicalcaravan.com/

oss2015



Nick Page, commercial director, Swift GroupGold Award for manufacturers of pre-owned vans

The two things we measuremost closely are repeatpurchases and whether oneof our customers willrecommend us. Receiving anOwner Satisfaction Award isa vindication of all the thingswe’re trying to achieve.WhenSwift asks one of our customersfor feedback, it may be less thanfrank.When Practical Caravanasks readers for feedback, thenthey’re farmore likely to sharetheir experiences, warts and all.

If the customer’s notsatisfied, then they’re notgoing to come back and buyone of our caravans again.And people talk to each otherabout the products. If they’renot going to recommend you,you’re prettymuch dead in the

water. If the feedback’s positive,it’s more likely to lead someoneto look at or buy our products.

For caravanners whohave bought a pre-ownedSterling, we provide hugeback-up via Swift Talk, ouronline support-and-chat site.Weencourage people to talk to uswhether they’ve bought new orsecond-hand, because the ownerof a used tourer is a potentialcustomer for a new tourer.Weview technical back-up as a realservice that benefits customers.

We try to give owners ofpre-owned vans all thesupport and back up that wewould a customer of one ofour new vans. Obviously theyhaven’t bought if from us,

they’ve bought it from a dealer,but the principle applies: we tryto give them a good service, todeliver the parts when they needthem, to give them a good back-up via Swift Talk, andmake surethey’re embraced by the SwiftGroup family.

We try to work carefullywith dealers, so if they dodiscover any product-qualityissues, they’re able to feed itback to us so we can act on it.

Our parts suppliers makea commitment to providespares for caravans that areup to 10 years old. At thefactory, we have an area wherewe employ six guys who arespecialists in parts back-up. Allthe patents are kept for anythingwemake in-house. If youwant,for example, a cupboard dooron something we no longermanufacture, we’ll have thepatent for it.We’ve got a bespoke shop; all

six are craftsmen, and they canhelp out owners of pre-ownedmodels.We can’t say we’ll getthis to youwithin seven days,but those parts are available.We’ll have kept a supply of thatwoodgrain andwe can get thatpart. That’s recognised asa good service that we offer.

Swift GroupTel 01482 847 332Web www.swiftgroup.co.uk

We are a family owned andrun dealership establishedin 1992. Webuilt the businessup over the years and put oursuccess down to hard work,customer dedication and afriendly service. My sonEdward (pictured) is the salesadviser.We stock pre-ownedcaravans costing from £1000-£20,000 in a wide range oflayouts. Most are nearly newwith one previous owner, andare selected to ensure goodquality.We also offer a sourcingservice, if you can't find a van tomeet your needs in our currentstock. Our number one priorityis customer satisfaction.

To ensure that all ourcustomers are satisfied,

we assist as much as wecan, starting by advising themonwhich caravans are suitablefor their needs.We don't applyany pressure to buy.Wematchthe customer’s car to thecaravan and check the weightof the caravan against the car’sto ensure that it is safe to towand that together they'll makea goodmatch.

To get feedbackon how we aredoing, we ask allour customersabout theirexperiences andif there are anynegatives at all, weact on that straightaway to correct it.

The most important servicewe offer is a personal,friendly approach.

To set us apart from thecompetition, we do littlethings like including an awning,servicing the caravan, providinga warranty and a starter pack(step, mains lead, fresh- andwaste-water containers, a gasbottle and a steady winder).That way, new caravanners cango straight off to use the tourer

they just bought; all they have todo is load their personal things.We do a demonstration andcheck that everything isworking while the van is stillat the dealership.

This year, we plan tocontinue maintainingcurrent levels ofsatisfaction. Our plans for thefuture include expansion; wewould like to enlarge thepremises and build a bigger

storage unit.

This OwnerSatisfaction Awardshows that we aresucceeding withour business.

Beechwood LeisureTel 01845 523 500Web www.beechwoodleisure.co.uk

Mark Howey, owner, Beechwood LeisureGold Award for dealers of pre-owned caravans

Meet the winners (continued)

Family business: Mark's sonEdward is a sales advisor

at Beechwood Leisure

Practical Caravan - Owner Satisfaction Awards 2014

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