Dealing with dealers far, far away...? (1 Viewer)

graham_bell

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Although I've posted this in the "The Beginner" forum, I'm actually a pre-beginner, we're looking for an M/H at the moment.

A question though regarding buying from a Dealer. If I were to see a M/H that I liked at a dealer from the other end of the country, what are the potential issues I'll have?
I mean I wouldn't have to get it serviced there would I? I'm assuming that if I had a problem I'd have to take it back to the deliver I bought it from (during any warranty period)

Living in darkest Essex there aren't that many dealers, also we're looking for a specific MH at the moment, so choice is limited even further still! :cry:

Thanks,
Graham
 

madbluemad

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I dont know a lot about this stuff Graham but I would imagine that if its a Dealers Warranty then you would have to take it back to the Dealer. If its a manufacturers warranty then you would be able to take it to any garage approved by the manufacture.

You may even get a dispensation so to speak from the dealer to take it some where else. You would have to enquire at the point of purchase/enquirey what the terms of the warrranty are.

I would imagine that if you purchase a second hand mh from a dealer and you had problems with it then the dealer would want to have it back with him for any rectifcation work. Thats all hassle as is actually making contact with an unhelpful dealer.

There are a few questions that you need to ask yourself. Its a risk analysis and you need to decide upon the level of risk that you are prepared to take.

Distance isnt a problem as long as the risk is minimul and you are confident.

I bought my mh from Texas. I arranged all of the shipping and export/import requirments including uk registration, bla, bla, bla.

I had carrried out a thorough risk assessment and was confident that I knew what I was doing.

Result, I got the mh I wanted and am over the moon with it so, distance shouldn't be a barrier as long as you do your homework, question everything.

Good Luck

Jim
:Smile:
 
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hilldweller

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If I were to see a M/H that I liked at a dealer from the other end of the country, what are the potential issues I'll have?
Graham

Grief. Death. Madness. Suicide. Don't do it.

What's wrong with John's Cross ?

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graham_bell

graham_bell

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There's absolutely nothing wrong with John Cross, in fact, having read items on here, and on the dark side, John Cross would be my preferred dealer. Peter seems a perfectly decent chap and I'd be more than happy with 5 years free habitiation servicing voucher, thank you very much :winky:

At the moment our favourites are an Autotrail Apache 700 (56) or a Bessacarr 495 (57) both newer shaped cabs. Our third choice is a Swift Escape 686, which potentially could be a new one, I know John Cross have one on their site.

If I saw an Apache 700se 2006/7 motorhome on their site, I'd be there in a flash!:thumb:

Graham
 
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hilldweller

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which potentially could be a new one
Graham

That's another grief, death, suicide move in my opinion.

Nearly new - let someone else take the Big Hit and sort the teething troubles.

Surely Peter will waken up soon and offer you a deal of a lifetime.

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graham_bell

graham_bell

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Hmm, Spain is a long way!

We bought the caravan we've just sold from Germany new, and had no problems at all (didn't need to take it back) I wasn't at all concerned with a warranty or anything.. We got a good deal though, when the currency rates were more favourable..

However, since joining these forums I've become a quivering wreck :Eeek: and have become convinced whatever I buy will fall to pieces as soon as I drive it away :ROFLMAO:
 
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Bevis on wheels

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Dealing with dealers far far away

Stop quivering! Vans are great but occasionally have little problems in the same way as your house or car does ( but you don't have to wind steadies down and they give so much pleasure)
To try and answer your thorny question,we've had experience of dealers near ( Baldwins of Halifax) and far ( Swindon Brownhills and Freeborn, Surrey)
I'd go for dealers near every time however ...this time we bought our Autotrail Apache 632 from Freeborn and we discussed with James this very issue as it was what was holding us back from buying the van we wanted that we couldn't get anywhere else except new ( and we don't do new) He organised with Baldwin's to do the warranty work so the situation is great for us. Swindon Browhill's organised warranty work to be done at Newark which is nearer than Swindon for us but still a bit of a haul and meant waiting till the work was done rather than drop the van off and collect it later which is what we do now.
It is an important part of getting a van especially if you're like us and just aren't practical enough to do stuff like fix a stuck step or fix the computer when it trips off. ( Whitby - watch out for Filingdales if you've got an on board computer )
What you need is someone helpful at the end of a phone who can advise, backed up by a team who can get the job done. We've been very lucky with Baldwin's and Steve's service team so I hope you find somewhere that's right for you.
ps we love Autotrails! Good luck.

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Jim

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Buying new, I would always recommend a dealer within a reasonable distance. Secondhand then I will go further as the warranty will be less and it seems its the new ones that need to keep going back.

In my experience, if everything is still working when it has bedded in and has 6000 on the clock, the chances are that things will still be OK at 60,000. Best of luck:thumb:
 
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rainbow chasers

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The warranty with cover you to have any rectification work done at ANY VAT REGISTERED garage. That is to say, you local dealer, main dealer, or competant garage...just not a back street job that pays no tax!

So if you bought some distance away, you can use your local garage or motorhome dealer for work. You can always clear it with yur local dealer before you buy if you want piece of mind.

A warranty is just an insurance policy.
 
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Peter JohnsCross MH

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The majority of used vans out of manufacturers warranty have an insurance based warranty which in unless it is backed by a dealer prepared to fight your case for you are not worth the paper they are written on as there are so many get out clauses.

At the end of the day the dealer is responsible for any warranty problems irrespective of any warranty that he issues with the van.

We don't have any problems with our warranties I would add because we will back up our customer and get it sorted should the occasion arise

Peter

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Dawnbreak

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However, since joining these forums I've become a quivering wreck :Eeek: and have become convinced whatever I buy will fall to pieces as soon as I drive it away :ROFLMAO:[/QUOTE]

:ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:know exactly what you mean.....buy this buy that...don't buy this don't buy that...buy pre-owned/ buy new......as pre MHowners too.....totally giddy going round in complete circles...sometimes feel like just going on regular holidays and giving up on the whole thing....sometimes seems too much hassle/stress and goodness knows what else when I read all the bits and bobs on here....but the pull is toooooooooooooooooo strong for one...oh dear!
 
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graham_bell

graham_bell

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Haha, maybe these forums are best for pointing out issues with existing MH owners and not for those looking to buy ::bigsmile:

I've gone from Swift, to Bessacarr to Autotrail as you say round and round in circles:RollEyes:

I'm sure it'll be worth it in the end though. The ultimate question for me is do I go for a motorhome I really like, or not necessarily get our ultimate favourite MH and go to a dealer I think I can trust :Doh: I know no one can answer that question for me, I also know people are probably thinking I'm making more of this than I should - just go and buy one. Thing is, when buying a car it's normally just up to me and Mrs B doesn't really care. But with the MH see's more excited about it than me, so I feel the pressure's on :whatthe:

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Dawnbreak

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We've had the same thoughts too....MH we like or dealer trust. Hmmmm after much deliberation we will decide on dealer (we thought no use having fav MH and pathetic dealership....if help advice needed.....it would just taint things).....like yourselves, we've gone from Eldiss to Swift to Bessacarr ...also looked at Chausson...:Eeek:had to reign hubby back as MHs were getting more and more expensive.....you see we like the Bessacarr but unfortunately there is only one dealer near us that sells them...and the dealership...erm! doesn't really bode well apparently. But the dealership that sells Swift....(well seems the sun shines out of the proverbials:ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:) according to the lovely funsters on here....and they do seem awfully helpful and not once have I seen a bad word against them. Happy looking/learning:thumb:

p.s. and no I don't think your making more of it than you should...these MHs are expensive.
 
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evans88

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Dawn. I agree these forums, while extremely useful, do tend to awaken you to the possibilities of things going wrong making you wonder whether to bother.

I recall asking a question a few years ago about satellite TV. The responses were so so complicated. There was talk about various satellites, the difficulties of getting a signal, stations falling off etc etc so I gave up the idea. A couple of months later I decided to buy a dish and sat box. Setting it up and getting a signal took all of 15 minutes and I really don't know what the fuss was about.

If you want a van. Buy it. Its not rocket science.
 
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motorhomer

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I don't think anyone else has mentioned this, but for the mechanical bits under the original warranty you can go to any main dealer, eg fiat or peugeot, depending on what the base vehicle is.

It is only the habitation part for which you may have to travel to the supplying motorhome dealer.

If its a used van and the only warranty is from the supplying dealer (unless its an insurance based warranty) then you may have to go there.

A final point is the sale of goods act. Under this your contract is with the supplting dealer only, so if you ever have to invoke this, it can only be with the supplying dealer.

Personally I would not want a huge distance to the supplying dealer.
 
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graham_bell

graham_bell

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Thanks to everyone for the replies. I think a trip to Robertsbridge is in order over Easter. I actually have a friend that lives nearby, I could just "pop in" whilst visiting him :Smile:

Are you open all weekend Peter?

Thanks again
Graham
 
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Kon tiki

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The quality of the dealer is more important than the distance they are from you. We bought from Germany & the dealer was excellent, any problem he would sort it out. A gas strut on the pull down bed failed on the day we were off to Spain, he organized one to be flown to a dealer in Toulouse for fitting. Our leisure battery failed & he gave me the allowance that he could claim from the manufacturer, he took my word for it that the battery had failed. I always felt he would try to get any problem we had sorted out without my having to ring numerous times & convince them it was their fault. ::bigsmile::thumb:

This is not the case with my current van, I have lost count of the number of times I had to ring the UK dealer over small problems. These were only resolved after about a year of my pestering him (even I was getting fed up of repeating the issues):Angry::Angry:

Go for a dealer with a good reputation regardless of their location, if you are buying in the UK you can drive anywhere within a day & stay over as you have your accommodation with you. I wouldn't even look at vans at our nearest dealer as they were so bad with customer support.

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graham_bell

graham_bell

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Thanks thats a very good point. And we had a similar experience with the german dealer we bought our caravan from. I had a problem with the lock, so I asked them the price for a new lock, which was 230 euros. He told me I didn't new a new lock, just one part of it, which cost 20 euros incl delivery. This was all done via email in about 30 mins from start to finish. He even sent me photo's of what I needed to do. BTW he also said I could send the lock and he'd fit the part and send it back to me. That's the sort of service you should get as standard.
If it wasn't for the euro rate I'd think about getting one from him (Knaus)
I've no doubt UK delivers offer that level of service also, once you find one.

As has been said elsewhere its probably better to buy from family concerns than multi location dealers, it's all a bit more personal then, which is good.
 
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Peter JohnsCross MH

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Thanks to everyone for the replies. I think a trip to Robertsbridge is in order over Easter. I actually have a friend that lives nearby, I could just "pop in" whilst visiting him :Smile:

Are you open all weekend Peter?

Thanks again
Graham


Hi Graham,

We are like the Windmill Theatre, we never close except at Xmas!

Watch out for the speed cameras on the A21 just by us 30mph and coming from Hurst Green you are going downhill !

Peter
 
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warwick

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I`ve yet to buy a caravan or motorhome (5 new so far) that has`nt had to go back a few times to the dealer, some more than others, for warranty work on the habitiation side - very risky buying a long distance away.

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graham_bell

graham_bell

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Thanks, speed camera's duly noted. Having said that I don't speed anyway :winky:
I'll be coming in from Wadhurst, which doesn't look too far at all..

Graham
 
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RichardnGill

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We have bought 2 new vans in the last 3 years, one dealer was 150 miles away and the other 290 miles away.

I went for the best deal at the time, yes both vans did need to go back for work but I have managed both times to get work done locally, it just takes longer. Our current van I waited until it was a year old and due for a Hab service, then contacted a local dealer with a good reputation and asked them about warranty work when doing a hab service. they were more than happy to do the work

You need to offset the saving Vs the hassle of getting work done. Also dont forget even if you live next door to some dealers that is no guarantee they will be easy to deal with.

If you limit you search to dealer close you could miss a very nice van for the sake of worrying about getting a few jobs done which in a lot of cases most of it can be fixed yourself.

Just my personal opinion.

Rich...
 
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