Hi All,
I was at the NEC this month and fell in love with the Familia (420, I think?). Having just retired, the lump sum was burning a hole in my pocket and I was also keen to get out of the tent and off the deck! However, I was alarmed by comments on this and other forums about the shoddy quality of the new Eribas and was seriously considering looking at another brand.
Can anyone advise whether I am being over cautious or not? I'm not particularly handy with fixing stuff and plan to do a lot of touring over the next few years so having something where things were breaking/malfunctioning and required going back to the dealer etc doesn\t appeal. I also wondered about buying an older model - thinking that the initial snagging will have been sorted?
Another plus with buying a used model is that all the extras will likely be included.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Fiona

Thanks a lot Colin - some very helpful advice there. I have been trawling obsessively the last while and have a rough idea of what I'd like - probs the 5.54 m length with sofas that can be turned into single beds ( so no night time clambering). Perhaps go for the one that has the additional dinette as that could be turned into another bed if/when grandchildren appear. We don't have a massive car (Ford CMax 1.6 diesel) so need to be careful not to get too ambitious with size/weight of van.
However, I will start seriously looking at the used van market - very good to know that you would give a thumbs up to the 2005-8 models!!! Btw I think it was your posts that rang alarm bells originally about newer models and quality issues.
If anyone is reading this who is thinking of selling then please feel free to send me a message!
Fiona

Thanks Randa that's really good to know. It's difficult to tell whether you can sleep lengthways from some of the info online. You assumed correctly that the onboard loo is one of our must haves. We've spent too many years in a tent with bladders like footballs come the morning....
Also very relieved to hear that you managed fine with your Ford Focus.
Will keep an eye out for an early 540 then. Although having said that, will probably be a bit flexible with sleeping arrangements if a good deal comes up.
Fiona

Hi Fiona,

We were in a similar position to you and decided to buy a 2010 420 in April this year. We didn't want to spend too much money as we were unsure if we could cope with such a small caravan. After 7 trips in it over the summer it is now been put to bed for the winter under its Protec cover.
We love how easy it is to tow and manually move around. Build quality is excellent and never leaked even during storm Babet last week. We will probably keep it another year with a trip to France next summer. In the long term I might be tempted to trade in for a slightly bigger version - a Troll. But at the moment we are very happy with our purchase.

Debbie

The quality question pops up regularly, just to add a bit of perspective there are pros and cons for old and new, you will hear more of things on forums regarding new vans with snags that need addressing in the first couple of years just like a car. The older vans probably had the same scenario many years ago however they will now have settled down and run in so it will be more age related faults. I have had an old 1993 Puck I bought 2nd hand and two Familia 320s from new. The Puck had age related issues I had to fix such as Draw bar, tyres, brake failure, window seals, batteries, tap, fibreglass gas locker, veneer flaking off, bed extender, external paint very thin, internal roof covering very delicate etc. The Familias 2012 & 2015 had issues that was fixed under warranty, the major ones were wiring corrected, fridge element , locker door changed. The big thing to look for which will cost a lot of money to fix is a rotten sub frame on the pre 2012, Eribas post 2012 have a galvanised chassis. Quality wise with old and new ( most folks regard pre 2012 as the old version) which is basically the French built verses the German built, the French have heavier made cabinets where as the German vans use a composite vaneer wood to keep the weight down. In my experience and personal opinion I prefer the newer vans, either way if you get a good pre 2012 you won’t be disappointed. 😊

Just to balance things out. Our Triton 430 is 25 years old. The only problem we've had was an element in the fridge that was cheap to get fixed. We paid 7200 E in 2015, we've added a mover and changed the hitch as it got stuck on the car and I was seriously thinking I'd have to take her to work...... that's all. We love her.

Thanks everyone for your responses. I've been googling used Eriba's like a fiend. Something of the right age/model hasn't appeared yet but I will keep looking. There is a slight downside in that almost everything I've come across has been in the far south and would mean a monster drive for a viewing. It may well come to that..... I better try and find a towing course pronto!

Leisure first in Poole has the largest second hand stock in the country , I bought an Eriba from them in the past and they delivered it to my house in Manchester for a fee.

https://www.leisurefirst.com/eriba-approved-used/

Randa - I'm about 20 miles from Glasgow. There are a few eribas in a place in Livingstone but very limited stock.

Poptop - thanks so much for the info. I've been looking at that site but it's at the other end of the country so had been hoping for something closer. But knowing they deliver puts a different spin on things!

Hi Fiona,
You’re not too far from Adventure leisure at Tebay then. (Well, probably as close as us in Sheffield!)
They’re certainly worth a try.
Steve.

Colin you are an absolute Eriba Maestro!!!! LOL
What you say is very reassuring. I think that the very fact that there are still some very old vans on the market speaks volumes. The fact that there is a forum of dedicated owners also points to dedicated followers. I got worried after reading that thread of posts that you started a number of years ago so it is really helpful to have that put in context of your reflecting back a number of years later.
Anyway, the only thing holding me back now is my OH who is still slightly dragging his feet - tbh it's a big step to go from cycle touring with a small tent to towing a caravan. He keeps catching me looking at vans online and thinks I'm obsessed.... I will try his method - keep at it until he gives in :)
Fiona

PS Thanks for the offer - I might well PM you to ask some questions when I find something.