Wednesday 16 May 2012

A Decision Made! Waiting for Billie.

Over the first few weeks in April we had made a final decision on the layout of our new van. We decided to take a trip to Marquis at Tewkesbury to have a look at the Autosleepers Malvern. A week later we had booked a test drive and with great excitement arrived at Tewkesbury.

We spent sometime looking around at various vans, "just to be sure!" The layout of two bench seats in the front and a fixed rear bed suited us perfectly. However, we were a little concerned at the lack of storage and the fact that the fridge was so small. On the positive side, it was on a Mercedes chassis which quite appealed. The driving moment arrived! Den confidently manoevered the van off the forecourt onto the road, whilst I as usual, supervised and listened for noises. It was easy on the road and a quick blast up the motorway and around the town went well. I always admire my husband in these situations, driving a (larger than we are used to) vehicle, in a strange place with a watcher, not an easy situation! I was just glad it wasn't me! 

Back at the shop we talked prices and were offered a good trade in price on our Pilot, it passed scrutiny and a damp check. Now decision time! We decided to sleep on it and have a few days "thinking time". To be truthful a few niggles were beginning to gnaw away and "storage space" was the biggy. A lovely van but also a lovely price. Did it really give us everything we wanted?

Back home the following day I was browsing the Caravan Club mag. The page fell open on the Bailey Approach large advert. As I read through it, I realised it could be another contender! I did a bit more web browsing and when Den came home from work ( luck me I'm the retired one!!) we rang Chipping Sodbury Caravans. I was convinced that a smaller place would not have one in stock, but after a brief conversation with them we were off in our Pilot to suss it out.

We live in Bristol and had decided that "Location, Location Location" was very important for our dealer, especially when things go wrong! Chipping Sodbury is on the outskirts of Bristol.A good decision, all the Bailey motorhomes were there. We loved the Approach SE 740, the only problem was, could we get it to fit on the drive. "No problem!" said Jamie the manager, I'll bring mine over and we can see if it will fit?  He did and it did!! One van sold.

An excellent trade in was offered and accepted, we put £1000 deposit down and signed the paperwork all in the comfort of our own home. A brilliant van with everything we wanted and hugely cheaper than the Autosleeper, infact we could get all the extras we wanted and still have some loose change.  Excellent service from Chipping Sodbury Caravans so far.

Next job deciding on the extras.

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