No More Motorhoming (1 Viewer)

[Lincolnshire Rover]

Our motorhome has gone to-day cheque's in the BS pick up new VW Golf Plus " Dune " 1.9 tdi special edition , pick up new caravan next week Lunar Stella awning and all the extras done a cracking deal on MH / Car / Caravan so off to new type of adventures no more touring Europe after the debackle with Fiat Camper Could'nt Care and the Rac alledged breakdown non service its like having an umbrella but when it rains you find it full of holes so of no use at all .
Just got to get rid of Taylormade screen cover / Headlight Protectors / France / German maps and travellers guides and hopefully never set foot on French soil again.

 

[DBSilverfox]

No regrets then?

 

[georgio]

evening all,

Must have had atough time ,

georgio

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[PenelopePitstop]

No regrets then?

Non, Je ne regret rien!!

 

[ourcampersbeentrashed]

As long as you are happy and enjoy life to the full thats all that matters xxxxx

 

[Snowbird]

Oops....I take it you dont like France then.

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[mick noe]

Our motorhome has gone to-day cheque's in the BS pick up new VW Golf Plus " Dune " 1.9 tdi special edition , pick up new caravan next week Lunar Stella awning and all the extras done a cracking deal on MH / Car / Caravan so off to new type of adventures no more touring Europe after the debackle with Fiat Camper Could'nt Care and the Rac alledged breakdown non service its like having an umbrella but when it rains you find it full of holes so of no use at all .
Just got to get rid of Taylormade screen cover / Headlight Protectors / France / German maps and travellers guides and hopefully never set foot on French soil again.

oh heck what happened did I miss something? GOOD LUCK ON YOUR NEW ADVENTURE

 

[PenelopePitstop]

Our motorhome has gone to-day cheque's in the BS pick up new VW Golf Plus " Dune " 1.9 tdi special edition , pick up new caravan next week Lunar Stella awning and all the extras done a cracking deal on MH / Car / Caravan so off to new type of adventures no more touring Europe after the debackle with Fiat Camper Could'nt Care and the Rac alledged breakdown non service its like having an umbrella but when it rains you find it full of holes so of no use at all .
Just got to get rid of Taylormade screen cover / Headlight Protectors / France / German maps and travellers guides and hopefully never set foot on French soil again.

You can still be a FUNSTER!!!

We do have the odd tugger on here ( I don't mean odd in a nasty sort of way of course!!)

 

[buttons]

Our motorhome has gone to-day cheque's in the BS pick up new VW Golf Plus " Dune " 1.9 tdi special edition , pick up new caravan next week Lunar Stella awning and all the extras done a cracking deal on MH / Car / Caravan so off to new type of adventures no more touring Europe after the debackle with Fiat Camper Could'nt Care and the Rac alledged breakdown non service its like having an umbrella but when it rains you find it full of holes so of no use at all .
Just got to get rid of Taylormade screen cover / Headlight Protectors / France / German maps and travellers guides and hopefully never set foot on French soil again.

I had the same dilemma a few years ago, fed up with the hassle of owning a motor home and very nearly went back to a caravan. We did tents hotels and cruising for a while and enjoyed all of that. We looked at all options and decided on a camper van. I’m now on my second one and wouldn’t change it for anything. Absolutely no hassle will go anywhere can be used as car transport to the local multi story or the school run, holiday’s weekends away or even tow a caravan if you like yet you still have most of the facilities that you had in the motor home. :man_in_love:riving2:

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[Lincolnshire Rover]

Oops....I take it you dont like France then.

We absolutely love France this being our 4th year and done 12 trips but the last trip was beyond a nightmare hassle and stress I do not need caused mainly by FIAT "WE DO NOT " camper care and the RAC after breakdown on the Sunday morning and waiting over 2 hours 1st they sent the wrong size vehicle to lift the motorhome after I had given them the full details of the MH size weight etc so another almost 2 hr wait for a larger vehicle only to be taken and dumped in a yard full of broken and crasshed vehicles miles from anywhere overnight , then next morning moved to a Fiat Dealers in Vannes.
After more than 6 hrs they decided to take a look only to say it will take 2 weeks to fix ( the gearbox was leaking oil 700 miles after having had the " gearbox Judder fix " by local Fiat Dealer in UK) MH just over 18 months old . After spending a fortune and god knows how many phone calls to try and get sorted and back to the UK . We were not offered any of the benefits as stated in the Camper Care Policy we were not offered as much as a glass of water, after a lot of getting annoyed and frustrated they eventually decided to make a "Temporary Repair " to get us on our way and just to get rid of us I think having just hung around the showroom for 3 days we got our "fix " then the best bit although we were still under warranty we were presented with a bill for the time and materials which I refused to pay so they siezed my vehicle until I paid them , by this time we had had enough and just wanted to get home so it was pay up good bye and cut short the holiday . Now we are trying to get our money back and also some compo for the loss of holiday and trouble we have encuontered at the hands of Fiat and the RAC/

 

[Jim]

Lincolnshire Rover No Never No More

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siQtzrI5w88[/ame]

 

[hilldweller]

hopefully never set foot on French soil again.

You are in a tiny minority there then.

But when you see the error of your ways you will find that they do allow Brit caravans.

PS. Just seen you disaster report ( again ), OK, but you are blaming the frogs for serious deficiencies in your chosen suppliers. Not fair.

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[buttons]

PS. Just seen you disaster report ( again ), OK, but you are blaming the frogs for serious deficiencies in your chosen suppliers. Not fair.

He was just being diplomatic. There are a lot of Fiat owners around here.

 

[hilldweller]

He was just being diplomatic.

Not to our dear neighbours the French who offer us a glorious country and massive facilities. They even speak English some of the time.

Early days. Let him trundle around Britain's congested roads and pay Britain's congested prices for a while and the penny will drop.

 

[Wildman]

Not to our dear neighbours the French who offer us a glorious country and massive facilities. They even speak English some of the time.

Early days. Let him trundle around Britain's congested roads and pay Britain's congested prices for a while and the penny will drop.

You do England an injustice Brian, I have been motorhoming for over 40 years and first trip to france Iin our own van) in a few weeks. By the time I get to dover and pay ferry costs there is almost enough for a decent holiday in the UK without the hassle. Yes I know only 20% of the population speak English in a dialect I can understand but what the hell. foreign food, well so is Lava bread in Wales or Haggis in Scotland, We even produce passable wines and Spirits. As to a lack of aires in the UK is has never stopped me. Never stayed on a site apart from a showground.

After such a nightmare on foreign soil I probably would give up altogether. so good luck with the caravan plenty of others on here have gone that route already and no doubt plenty more will before the year is out.

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[buttons]

Not to our dear neighbours the French who offer us a glorious country and massive facilities. .

I think that what he is probably saying is France is a wonderful country as long as you are not driving a Fiat....Brrr.......It gives me the judders just thinking about it.riving2:

 

[Lincolnshire Rover]

i think that what he is probably saying is france is a wonderful country as long as you are not driving a fiat....brrr.......it gives me the judders just thinking about it.riving2:

" exactly in a nutshell "

 

[Heyupluv]

You do England an injustice Brian, I have been motorhoming for over 40 years and first trip to france Iin our own van) in a few weeks. By the time I get to dover and pay ferry costs there is almost enough for a decent holiday in the UK without the hassle. Yes I know only 20% of the population speak English in a dialect I can understand but what the hell. foreign food, well so is Lava bread in Wales or Haggis in Scotland, We even produce passable wines and Spirits. As to a lack of aires in the UK is has never stopped me. Never stayed on a site apart from a showground.

After such a nightmare on foreign soil I probably would give up altogether. so good luck with the caravan plenty of others on here have gone that route already and no doubt plenty more will before the year is out.

Roger..... I think Brian, is speaking the truth...if it was me and I had not been over yet when the sun is shinning ....I would listen to some body that has done both...then after you have been over in the summer, maybe, just maybe, you will change your mind.....
The trip we did in winter going down to Portugal was NOT how you should see France in the snow when its Frozen..and all switched off
And not everybody is happy wildddddddddd camping.....

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[hilldweller]

You do England an injustice Brian.

I may well do. It's my gut feeling. I get across the channel and it all seems so exciting. Certainly less congestion on most roads, not surprising, France is a massive country.

We just been touring with the ACSI book in one hand, 8000 sites for €15 or less. Plus thousands of aires and municipal sites for even less.

We are biassed towards Europe, simple as that. We've only 3 years MH experience and initial experience in UK was poor, wherever we wanted to go was full.

Getting to Dover ( or wherever ) is indeed a real problem to most of us. Not much we can do about that. In our case it represents about £120 in fuel, then the ferry so say a round £200 return. That hurts for sure. But living near Manchester, going to the popular holiday spots also hurts in fuel terms. I love the Highlands, that's further than Dover. Same Cornwall. The Lakes are reasonable but usually full to overflowing.

I hope you come back from France with a big grin, it's got *everything* on offer, beach, mountain, rivers. Just take your pick. But don't expect to find "cheap".

 

[hilldweller]

I think that what he is probably saying is France is a wonderful country as long as you are not driving a Fiat....Brrr.......It gives me the judders just thinking about it.riving2:

Our Fiat just did nearly 3000miles over there. Mind you it is a pre-judder Fiat. What Fiat have recently done to their customers is beyond contempt. I doubt he'll get that treatment from VW.

When we in Morocco last year we can across a tribe of Dutch people who towed there caravans down there every year, so he's in no way limited by his new transport. Loads of NL caravans on the Rhein campsite we were on, but it's only a couple of hours from NL.

 

[buttons]

What Fiat have recently done to their customers is beyond contempt. I doubt he'll get that treatment from VW. .

If my experience is anything to go by then I must agree hillweller.
During the full three year warrantee that covered every part of my vehicle including the sink tap that was changed at 2 years 11 months I never made a single complaint. They were totally excellent far and beyond their duty of care.

Last July just two months before the 3 years warrantee expired I had a minor problem with the roof hydraulics. The dealer let their enthusiasm take charge and changed a Hydraulic damper when all that was needed was some minor adjustment.
I wrote to VW stating that just one month was not enough time to test a new component that is only occasionally used for lifting the roof.

Would you believe they gave me an additional full year’s manufacturer’s warrantee making it 4 years in total. :thumb::thumb::thumb::thumb:

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[spikeyman]

Our motorhome has gone to-day cheque's in the BS pick up new VW Golf Plus " Dune " 1.9 tdi special edition , pick up new caravan next week Lunar Stella awning and all the extras done a cracking deal on MH / Car / Caravan so off to new type of adventures no more touring Europe after the debackle with Fiat Camper Could'nt Care and the Rac alledged breakdown non service its like having an umbrella but when it rains you find it full of holes so of no use at all .
Just got to get rid of Taylormade screen cover / Headlight Protectors / France / German maps and travellers guides and hopefully never set foot on French soil again.

Hi sorry to hear about your events, we are off to France in two weeks and being new to this we only hope we dont have any disasters, must be a nightmare trying to get it sorted. We have camper assist but by the sounds of it they are not much good, should we join another organisation do you think or are they all the same?

As an aside, if you have the headlight protectors would you be willing to let us have them, for a fee of course? We are also in Lincolnshire and can come and collect them.

Thanks for reading, Spike

 

[sedge]

Since we picked up the van last Aug and taking off immediately to France (well we packed it and fitted a Gaslow system then jumped on a ferry 5 days after) we have been there another 3 times (came home latest time just last Weds) and going again in Aug for near enough 3 wks.

Also been to Norfolk, Lincs, Wales, Hants, Essex, Sussex, Dorset - oooh lots of places lots of times in between.

It is better to travel hopefully than arrive Oscar Wilde said and we're with him, we always travel hopefully, although we usually enjoy arriving too LOL and of course in a M/H if the arrival is disappointing then you just move again, don't you?

But let's not pretend that France is cheap any more, cos it just isn't. But nowhere is.

And if all else completely fails including cash and debit cards*, wherever we are in the world, we have these other plastic things called credit cards we can always fall back on if we really need to. (*Bit of a shock when they failed to work in Oz - rang Bank who said Oz was so totally out of character for us - we only ever go to France - so they blocked em!! - suggest you let your Bank know beforehand if France is out of character for you as it can be quite expensive ringing ! oh

 

[barryd]

Im with Brian on this one. If I had my way I would get the ferry from Dover and just keep going and never come back. However. I have had two mechanical problems in France which were a nightmare. On one occasion we had a blow out in northern France (on a Sunday) and so I called the AA. After several confusing phone calls a mechanic arrived who was in a foul mood and refused to go under the van and retrieve the spare wheel having jacked up the van on what appeared to be a flimsy jack. I have arthritis in my knees and it was crippling for me to attempt to get to the wheel. In the end I lost my rag a bit and said if its not safe then get someone with a proper jack to do it, your the breakdown service, you sort it! After a bit of stalemate and chuntering he eventually retrieved the wheel and fitted it. He didnt get a tip but I complained to the AA.

On another occasion in Roqueforte the PEUGEOT scooter broke its drive belt. 7 dealers later the quickest they might be able to get a belt and perhaps fix it would be at least two weeks!!!! I had to order a belt from the UK for my French bike and have it flown out overnight.

Our rear lights went off in Germany. I called the AA and in perfect English they said they would send someone straight away. 10 minutes later I found the problem and promptly called them back to cancel the call. The chap said, thats ok we will come and check it anyway, the mechanic was there 5 minutes later. Checked all the wiring and fuses, even left me some spares and with a cheary smile promptly left. He did get a tip.

That said I love France to bits, its a fantastic country its just that when stuff goes wrong that its not so great. How they ever became a nuclear power is beyond me.

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[sedge]

Hee hee, we broke an indicator on a motorbike. Not the first time we'd done it. they stick out a lot further than anything else on a Triumph Trophy, hence they just become fragile and expensive 'crash bungs'.

Well Pete went and bought yet another tube of superglue and got it all stuck together again but this one day we were going along the road in Montpelier and said Oooh look - there's a Triumph motorbike dealer, so in we went. And asked. They did have one but it was green, ours was red, so they were desolee, we couldn't have it. We said we don't care. They also said it was a left hand one and we needed the right hand one. I burst out laughing and explained - in French - that they were in point of fact exactly the same both sides, you just turn one up the other way. They disagreed. We asked to see the Manager. Eventually the manager deigned to come out and he wouldn't believe us either, and didn't know why we were even discussing it as it wasd the wrong colour (maybe as it could be construed as a bit illegal to travel another 1500 or so miles in your country with a broken indicator the one side, maybe because we don't think it might last that long, what if it rains a lot?????, mabe we don't think it's really that safe going on motorways like that? but No matter, we most definitely could NOT purchase the thing.

So there was an end to that, we couldn't have it.

Anyway the repair lasted till well after we got home - but that's not really the point is it? LOL