kaspian
Free Member
After our recent experiences with "Discover-ing" damp in our 'just bought' 17 month old motorhome we were naturally wary to say the least about buying another but after much thought we spotted a pre registered 'home for sale in Reading.It had the same layout etc and looked just what we wanted. Basic but honest -the Avantgarde 130. Seemed a good price and could not find another available before April 2010!
Problem is it was situated 425 miles from home so after many calls to Webbs Motorhomes to confirm condition we set off last weekend on a 10 hr bottom - numbing overnight coach trip to Reading to collect it. ( make note to self : renew passport to have future id required for INTERNAL GB air travel ! ) Salesman picked us up from the coach stop and took us to their premises where after a reviving cup of coffee we set about the introduction to our new toy.
After a few faults were spotted and quickly repaired it was time to part with the money and I inserted our Halifax bank card into the machine and was met with a transaction declined reply. Not to worry replied the salesman as this happens when transaction requires confirmation by phone so we called the bank only to be told that all Halifax banking services were down due to power cut at HQ and were not expected to be working before 3 pm at the earliest!
425 miles from home ,shiney new motorhome to pay for, only £100 in cash , now 28 hrs with no sleep and No Way of PAYING! There was no other way but to wait until 3 pm -5hrs- until payment was finally accepted after a swift ride to a nearby bank to ensure funds were available . Webbs staff saw the funny side and taxied us to a local hotel so we could grab some lunch etc during a monsoon with high winds -truly horrendous conditions etc. They even had a back up plan to get us a room in a local hotel if needed for Saturday night if Halifax system was still down when they closed.
Due to the Halifax payment problems we lost 5 daylight hrs and therefore travelled home most of the 9 hr journey in darkness in some hairy conditions with torrential rain and high gusting winds. Interesting to say the least! Must check the headlamp alignment as the new Boxer lights seem very short in reach on dipped beam headlight position.Drove well but would have gone better with a 100hp outboard motor-or a sail !
Hopefully the rain will stop before June so we can finally get to try out (for the second time) our new hobby! Looking forward to some better times and hope to meet a few of you on our travels. :thumb:
Problem is it was situated 425 miles from home so after many calls to Webbs Motorhomes to confirm condition we set off last weekend on a 10 hr bottom - numbing overnight coach trip to Reading to collect it. ( make note to self : renew passport to have future id required for INTERNAL GB air travel ! ) Salesman picked us up from the coach stop and took us to their premises where after a reviving cup of coffee we set about the introduction to our new toy.
After a few faults were spotted and quickly repaired it was time to part with the money and I inserted our Halifax bank card into the machine and was met with a transaction declined reply. Not to worry replied the salesman as this happens when transaction requires confirmation by phone so we called the bank only to be told that all Halifax banking services were down due to power cut at HQ and were not expected to be working before 3 pm at the earliest!
425 miles from home ,shiney new motorhome to pay for, only £100 in cash , now 28 hrs with no sleep and No Way of PAYING! There was no other way but to wait until 3 pm -5hrs- until payment was finally accepted after a swift ride to a nearby bank to ensure funds were available . Webbs staff saw the funny side and taxied us to a local hotel so we could grab some lunch etc during a monsoon with high winds -truly horrendous conditions etc. They even had a back up plan to get us a room in a local hotel if needed for Saturday night if Halifax system was still down when they closed.
Due to the Halifax payment problems we lost 5 daylight hrs and therefore travelled home most of the 9 hr journey in darkness in some hairy conditions with torrential rain and high gusting winds. Interesting to say the least! Must check the headlamp alignment as the new Boxer lights seem very short in reach on dipped beam headlight position.Drove well but would have gone better with a 100hp outboard motor-or a sail !
Hopefully the rain will stop before June so we can finally get to try out (for the second time) our new hobby! Looking forward to some better times and hope to meet a few of you on our travels. :thumb: