Club 80-90 Forums

As promised here's what happened...

Elite towed my camper from Yorkshire to essex... Mick was the person who did it, he was polite and friendly and arrived when he said he would. They had the Camper on wednesday and i picked it up at the weekend.

I had a long journey getting down to Essex (via London) and they came to the station to pick me up. They were very friendly and explained everything they had done in detail. They found a few bits and pieces along the way that needed attention - blocked fuel lines, fuel lines corroded, and the water pump was faulty (there was some other stuff too that i can't remember, but I'll post what they did when i get the receipt of work done). The overall price was definitely affordable and seemed fair. It all came to £1500.

I'll get it serviced with them and get the two years warranty on the engine. That's an important thing for me.

I drove the camper back to Bradford at 50mph on the b roads (running it in for 500 miles). The engine purred (although the whiney gearbox got in the way of that - that'll be the next thing to do probably) the temperature stayed consistently normal even in traffic; I didn't need to change gear on any hill and it had power at the lights. I only used half a tank for 220 miles.

It was a great journey home - it was a beautiful day, the sunset in suffolk was incredible and there was no traffic on the roads all the way to bradford... at 45-50mph it was all behind me. .

I checked the levels the next day - all normal. clear oil. No drips. no leaks. no smells.

I was nervous of doing this because of comments about Elite on this site... so i thought i'd share my experience for those that might be in the same situation as me - a dud camper with no t25 experience... so far, I am very happy.

Here's a bad picture of the newly installed recon engine. I'll take some better ones tonight and i might shoot some footage of the engine running for the doubters.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/y9ycej7pphkujc7/Sl6emIDb8Y" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

thanks for that.cheap that,did they repair(recon)at a fixed price and stick to it?Thanks adam

dbz864 wrote:thanks for that.cheap that,did they repair(recon)at a fixed price and stick to it?Thanks adam

yes. They did. Very straightforward. I am waiting for the receipt of the work done... their printer was down. other than that, everything was done as they said it would be.

Very interesting and reassuring. Just wish their was an equivalent over here. I'm looking at at least €2200 for a second hand engine and fitting

81AirCooled wrote:Very interesting and reassuring. Just wish their was an equivalent over here. I'm looking at at least €2200 for a second hand engine and fitting

I make that approx a £400 difference (depending on what extra bits were done on the OP's van and waht extra bits might need doing on yours) - and that's still secondhand vs reconditioned.

Is it worth you actually making atrip over here? Might end up cost neurtral but with a recon engine under warranty?

Not worth me coming over, I'm losing oil all over the place and I'm not going to be responsible for someone coming off their motorbike.

To be honest I'm looking at around €700 to 1500 for a second hand engine of the non-tested type plus fitting at high risk. €1850 plus fitting for a partially reconditioned engine and €2350 -3000 for a fully reconditioned engine plus fitting.

Now if I was running and original westy in otherwise superb nick then it would be worth mothballing for a while until the cash is together. As it is I'm running a half decent telekom/post office conversion which I've spent a lot of money and time on. At some point I have to say yes the van is infinately better then when I bought it but no more can be spent.

What upsets me most is the fact that it was my own error/stupity that has put me in this situation.

Your not alone in your error,im on my third VW van and had to replace the engine in each of them!!.
And i know how to check for engine defects!!

I'm happy with my engine from elite although the service was rubbish. I was quoted £1700 with pick up, ended up at £2600. You were lucky. Your not the only one who has been sold a dud, I was too but it's getting there now. I've done new engine, gearbox, clutch and complete brake replacement. A cheap holiday home lol

£2600 for a recon engine I am in the wrong buisness

About £500 of that was recovery cosy to and rom the Midlands to London. There was allot of brand new parts added too, full recon. Not half a job.

Well faggie set up in business then.

no time to busy with my new hobby