Has the Nuevo been over-developed?

I have just bought a 4 year old Nuevo and am a bit gob-smacked at all the gizmos they have loaded it with. I believe it has been around for donkey's years and it seems to me that A/S have had to add some new thing each year to make people buy the latest version. When are they going to run out of gadgets to add?
Personally I would rather pay £10k less and do without the TV aerial, the tank heaters, the funny second fresh water tank filling mechanism, the outside gas supply, the electric cooker, the mcrowave and oh I could go on and on. It is a basic layout that has been in the caravan industry since Noah left the Ark and has a timeless appeal as it does make the best use of the floor space. So it will continue to sell well, even without the flash bang extras. I just like the basic build quality and will have to put up with all the rubbish which I will never use. It came with two plastic bags with water hoses in them, still sealed, never opened so the previous owners didn't use the silly extra water filler feature either. I'll remove the TV aerial in case I go on a Peage motorway in France because I think that takes it over 3mtr high so I would pay the same as an articulated lorry HGV. However I can't very well remove much other junk without leaving holes in it. (As for TV aerials, if you have gone somewhere that is so boring you have to resort to watching TV, then you should just pack up and go somewhere intesting).
Many other manufacturers make a basic model and a deluxe model and charge more. Perhaps A/S could do that with the Nuevo.

Perhaps you should have bought a tent

Coincidentally I've just made a similar point in another thread.
The things you point out are the reasons why I'm sticking to my original model Nuevo.
It comes with a basic electrical control system, switches and an analogue water/battery indicator, which works perfectly well 15 years on.
An external water pump that is still original fitment.
No waste water indicator, which in my opinion is a waste of time.
No microwave, a drinks cabinet instead which is far more useful!
No silly water filling gizmo, just a hole in the side.
No electric step, just a buzzer to warn it's out when the ignition is switched on.
No silly swinging partition in the bathroom.
Discrete door catches that don't get in the way like modern versions.
Sprung hinges on all the cabinet doors.
Proper heavy duty metal runners and rollers on the beds, no wooden support legs to bother with.

I could go on, but these are some of the things I noticed when I briefly thought of upgrading to a more recent Nuevo..
Al.

in fairness a TV is handy for checking weather and catching up with the news when away but I get your point. Maybe AS would be better observing a stricter quality control instead of all the extra gizmos by the sounds of it, or maybe think about external storage in the form of a proper garage type locker and floor storage like virtually every other manufacturer is doing... (nowadays)

60 years ago I had a old van that I used with just a sleeping bag & a bucket -the only good thing about it -it was really cheap.

What Gassy said 100% - well, nearly. And 90% with Al to!! 

Gassy. The TV aerial doesn't take the van over 3 metres at French peages. For all the (lack of) use ours gets though, it may as well be taken off. If the TV is used at all it's to watch a video during two or more days of incessant downpour when we are suffering from cabin fever.

Al. We find the microwave useful at times. Didn't think we would, but it's very handy for re-heating pre-made soups, stews etc.. Having said that, we never take much food with us, but prefer to enjoy the local eating experience.

The silly swinging partition in the bathroom is handy for me as I'm big, and it gives me room to flail my elbows without getting tangled in a clingy curtain. And it keeps the loo seat dry.

N.B. By 2015 when we got our van, the bed bases had gone back to sturdy and reliable metal. Not before time either, as the wooden ones needed strengthening in several places with steel brackets!!

Apart from those minor differences, I'm with you all the way. Bring back agricultural engineering I say. If a clout with a hammer doesn't fix it, reach for a bigger hammer!! 

Dave

It just depends what you want from the van, we're all different.

Buy new and you can specify what you do and don't want (within the options) such as not bother with tank heaters etc.  As you've bought second hand you get what the original owners bought and now you simply make it your own, in the same way if the previous owners didn't have a TV and you wanted one, you'd be having to climb on the roof and drill holes etc.

The fact is most people buying these now expect a little comfort in a motorhome, especially when spending so much.  A TV aerial is a basic essential these days I'd say.  I know some don't use them but look around any campsite and most people have the TV's on at some point these days.  AS know this and an aerial really is an easy add-on for them to include with the van.

The microwave I agree I could take or leave.

I've used it a few times but wouldn't miss it, and it's useless unless on EHU of course so I can understand those wanting to get rid if they go off grid most of the time.

As for the external gas supply - do you mean the BBQ point?  That's a brilliant add-on, use ours all the time with the Cadac Safari BBQ.

At the end of the day I'd say you're better off having things you don't use than the other way around, and from a value point of view, you'll get the value back when you come to sell it as it has the bells and whistles on it :)

I agree with most of your points gassygassy, and would add that the inet box is superfluous to requirements in our van.  I would keep the microwave though; we make a lot of soup and take it with us in the cooler months - we have two soup mugs designed for using in a microwave.  Less washing up, more convenience!  Horses for courses as they say.
On the subject of useless additions, does anyone know how the holder containing the little tooth glass thing is attached in the shower room?  It’s a waste of time for us so we thought we’d remove it and fit a soap dispenser (thanks to RogerThat for the idea) instead thus covering the hole left behind.  All the fittings are hidden very well.

Thank you Peter.  The van is in for repairs at the moment (new back panel after being rear ended some time ago) but we have a list of things to look at when it comes back.  Now we know how, removing the tooth glass can move up the list.  Acquiring fridge retainer bars is now on the ist too - this forum is so useful!

Page Turner wrote:Acquiring fridge retainer bars is now on the ist too - this forum is so useful!

We bought a second little narrow shelf for the top of the door. Miserable gits only provide one, and it's very handy for eggs, butter . . . . and anything small. Uses up what would otherwise be wasted space in quite a small fridge, and there's a space all ready for fitting it.

It only cost about three times as much as it should!! 

Edit . . . Four times as much!!!   >> SEE HERE <<   (Be sure you check the model number of your fridge. There are dozens!!)

I've got two wire shelves for the main part of the fridge plus two container things that slot into sticky-out things on the door. I presume that is normal because that is what I have had in three recent new motorhomes. By recent I mean 2014, 2015, 2017

gassygassy wrote:I've got two wire shelves for the main part of the fridge plus two container things that slot into sticky-out things on the door. I presume that is normal because that is what I have had in three recent new motorhomes. By recent I mean 2014, 2015, 2017

I think we had the same Gassy. A deep one at the bottom for milk and beer bottles, and a shallow one at the top for eggs etc..

We wanted a second shallow one.

Will check next time I'm in the van. Something we look at several times a day when on holiday, and I still can't visualise it reliably!! 

That seems another bit of penny pinching on the essential things, my fridge has the two narrow shelves as standard. Plus the fridge has the upturned part on the racks to stop things falling out..
Al.

As with cars, it's all about thinking of things other manufacturers haven't thought about such as wireless mobile phone charging, lots now have it, are we incapable of plugging a lead in now. In motorhomes are we now unable to turn a switch on the fridge to select gas, electric or 12v , instead we have to have AES (automatic energy selection) fridges because other manufacturers have them (and because Dometic or Thetford say we must have them because they don't make ones with switches any more). I doubt there is a maker of simple control panels so we put up with complicated ones that cause no end of problems. Unfortunately it's called progress.

As said, horses for courses. 

We have no microwave in our van and I've tried taking our kitchen one with us but it's just too big. The chief use is to warm Mrs SDA's cherry stone pillow when she has a sore back and when she goes to bed. So. yes, if we had one it would get well used.

Maybe A/S could offer a basic, maybe Classic Nuevo and the very latest zippedy doodah version too and see which sells best.

It's probably asking a bit much I know (and would be of real interest only to purchasers of brand new vans) but it would be good if A/S could offer the very basic van Andy suggests, with a checklist of optional extras the customer would like to order.

As it stands most of the extras come in bundled packs, but they contain items, often expensive ones, that the customer may not want - but has to have in order to get the one or two he does want.

The Premium Pack is a case in point. At an extra £2500 it's not cheap, but many purchasers may not want all seven items, preferring (say) only the cab aircon and cruise control.

Is it too much to ask? 

A straightforward question . . . . 

Why would you not want to use the “silly extra water filler” when it fills the tank and stops filling the tank when full. I think it’s a great gadget.

As a comparator Eriba Touring caravans and other Hymer Group caravan offerings come as standard with a very, very basic spec and a large payload. However they also have a fairly hefty options list and if you add the options that bri g the van up to normal expected UK fit out standard, a large part of that payload gets used up. Some of the more popular options are wrapped up in a package that can be specified at a discount to purchasing the options individually. 
That policy seems to offer the best of both worlds and it's sad that UK leisure vehicle builders don't offer something similar.

Jamie D wrote:Why would you not want to use the “silly extra water filler” when it fills the tank and stops filling the tank when full. I think it’s a great gadget.

Depends on several factors Jamie, not least of which is the need to move the van when you need water, and the fact that it's another complex gadget to go wrong . . . which from reading on here, happens more than it should.

Individual preference again (and long may it survive  ) but many people prefer the simplicity of using a watering can to top up, rather than moving the van and having to level it again afterwards.

Dave

Don't need to move the van. You can use the hose with a pump on the end to top up from any suitable receptacle - even a watering can if you have one.  I'm a Whale fan!

Surely if you have a watering can, all you have to do is insert spout and tilt. Why would you opt to carry another bit of gear and find and fit it for each top up?

Gromit wrote:It's probably asking a bit much I know (and would be of real interest only to purchasers of brand new vans) but it would be good if A/S could offer the very basic van Andy suggests, with a checklist of optional extras the customer would like to order.

As it stands most of the extras come in bundled packs, but they contain items, often expensive ones, that the customer may not want - but has to have in order to get the one or two he does want

That is something we’ve often said. But I’d go a bit further, as I now think a full size cooker is not necessary. The grill is useless anyway, taking an age to cook anything other than toast. A small oven and grill combined without the useless ‘saucepan cupboard’ at the bottom would be a far better use of space and payload I think. There are many dispensable gadgets on the Broadway such as the microwave, and I agree the shopping list principle sounds great. 

However, we went to a dealer to look at some vans before buying the Broadway where some came with the shopping list of optional extras. When we added up everything we thought we needed it came to 10k above the asking price. Ultimately motorhome fitted extras are very expensive and buying an ‘inclusive package’ worked out cheaper for us. Imagine the joys of a bespoke van!

The justification for doing vans with a standard spec only (the UK way) is that it keeps manufacturing costs down and production isn't complicated by individual requirements. The premium pack 'scam' was dreamt up by some marketing bod, taking mostly desirable equipment off a van, to lower it's headline price and offer the stuff at a seeming discount, such that all the van's have the premium pack anyway.
The Continentals do it the BMW way, basic vehicle with an enormous options list and a line set up and capable of producing a different spec for every van built. That needs sophisticated stock, build and control systems and that needs investment. Mind, if a dealer comes along and orders 30 identical spec vans the Continentals will do them at a substantial discount because there are savings to be made in making a lot that are identical.
It seems to me that A/S are stuck in the middle somewhere. They want the upmarket; quality cachet but can't bring themselves to offer a full  house bespoke fit out.

Not quite the same motor home but in the proses of looking for a replacement for our Duetto I said we wouldn’t buy any thing new enough to involve modern electrics. The Rienza has the build quality of an older motorhome with everything we need for all year touring. Admittedly it has had a few age related problems but has not left us unable to use it until it could be repaired permanently once home.
The price of the newer motorhomes and the problems we here of would be a worry when buying to use into retirement.