New Autotrail Tracker FB initial impressions (1 Viewer)

[Jeffreyhill]

Very happy with the van layout and internal and external finish. However we have had some real problems with electrical stuff. This should not be the case with a motorhome that has been properly tested, surely.

The entertainment system is potentially great, if it works. Our was wired up incorrectly and therefore we had no TV, Bluetooth facility or Satnav. Spinneys have now sorted out all but Bluetooth, looks like we need a new system to get that working. Unbelievably the status aerial was also completely dud, now replaced with new one.

The final decision on which model to buy was made on the large fridge/freezer in this model. How ironic then that the fridge does not work at all. How can a brand new fridge be fitted that does not work? Dometic engineers say it is a failed cooling unit, difficult to think it has failed before working. Does not make me confident about future use as and when Dometic get an engineer to it to replace faulty unit. Another trip to Spinneys to organise this in the next week or so.

Am I unlucky or do Autotrail need to get there testing sorted?

 

[hdvrod]

Am I right in thinking this is a brand new motorhome ?

 

[journeyman]

If it is brand new, Spinneys have failed miserably on the inspection regime, so has the manufacturer? If it isn't Spinneys have still failed!

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[knokinonabit]

Am I unlucky or do Autotrail need to get there testing sorted?

Auto-Trail need to get their quality control sorted, definately. :Angry:

See my thread "Auto-Trail woes".
Ours is nearly one year old now and the issues are still ongoing.
If the factory had done proper checks before it was delivered everything would have been picked up and, hopefully, sorted.
How can you build a MH and say that it will take two 13kg gas bottles and then find that the gas locker door won't close with them in ? How can the fresh water and grey water drain taps both be leaking badly if the checks have been done ?
As I said, read my thread. I am still waiting for lots of answers and solutions.

 

[Jeffreyhill]

This is a brand new van.

 

[MikeD]

Autotrail FB

Ours, bought new is a year old now and we have had lots of niggly problems with it.

Most I have sorted out myself as a trip to the people we bought it from (Elite near Banbury have been good) costs about hundred pound.

But the entertainment/sat nav system is something I suspect you will always be disappointed with. It really is not worth anything like the £1k cost.

Our fridge also plays up, we have also had intermittant failures of the heating system (Which is not fitted with a frost protection valve, even though the instructions states it is.)

But I love the layout, the beds are comfortable, the Fiat part of the van has behaved with only a minor problem of a spurious warning light. It comes with lots of kit that are extra's on other makes.

But would I buy another Autotrail - Juries still out

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[Chris]

We are very pleased with ours.

The dealers (Johns Cross) dont let rubbish leaver their workshop.

We have a little issue with the sat nav where we await a card to make it work but thats not down to the dealer, and isnt a big deal (for us) anyway.

 

[joner8888]

Production numbers are all that matters nowadays.
The guys fitting them out have no time for pride --time is money.
It is how many units are produced to keep banks and share holders happy.
Silly things as any interior fitments not working cannot stop prodution runs.

!0 mins to fit that /7.525 mins to fit this/45seconds to fit that---NEXT:thumb:

 

[MikeD]

so true

Production numbers are all that matters nowadays.
The guys fitting them out have no time for pride --time is money.
It is how many units are produced to keep banks and share holders happy.
Silly things as any interior fitments not working cannot stop prodution runs.

!0 mins to fit that /7.525 mins to fit this/45seconds to fit that---NEXT:thumb:

You have hit the nail on the head with this:thumb::thumb:

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[Jeffreyhill]

Thanks MikeD, I could not find the frost protection valve and assumed it was my lack of technical know how. We have tested the heater very well over the last few weeks and it does work well.

 

[journeyman]

Surely this is also a dealer issue as its a new van. As Peter from JC has pointed out in the past, if the dealerships do what they're supposed to do and check thoroughly on receipt of the van the customer won't have to go through the stress of spending £40-50k on a product that is riddled with faults. If dealers do that and refuse delivery, it follows that the manufacturers will have to improve their own quality control. I'm sure they don't set out to sell faulty vans.

 

[Jeffreyhill]

I think it reflects badly on both manufacturers and dealers. I was hoping a British manufacturer would come up trumps, still am in fact, but a poor start to my relationship with Autotrail. Moved from Swift as we felt the previous van was poorly finished off, although everything worked.

Spinneys have been good in my dealings with them and are keen to fix the problems. But a couple of hours of testing (in the case of the fridge, much less for the TV etc) would have alerted them to this problem which they were always going to have to solve.

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[journeyman]

Its simple stuff JH, i'm sure if you were selling something on ebay, you would ensure it was working before you dispatched it to the buyer, its common sense and good for business. You must be pretty disappointed, hopefully Spinneys will get all the issues rectified quickly.

Good Luck.

 

[plumbomb]

We had ordered a Autotrail Apache 634 at NEC show in October for March delivery, we got in April. We were disappointed that it was late we missed out on two outings that we booked, our first trip out was up to Scotland for a long weekend and then down to Peterborough last weekend. we are very pleased with it ,everything works fine up to now and the layout is just perfect for us also we bought from a local dealer (Danums from Doncaster) so if any problems occur its not far for us, This is our first MH and we are confident in this family dealership but only time will tell.

 

[Mart grump]

Auto trails

I always thought auto trails were really good it's appalling that motorhomes leave factory's like this . We bought a swift kontiki 669 a year ago had no problems with swift just the dealer although we did have a new gearbox after 800 miles we nearly went the auto trail route somehow it needs to be sorted that these vans are checked properly :Angry:

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[Daveo2006]

Sadly its all about getting the money in and sort the problems after it seems.Thats been my experience with our purchase anyhow.:Sad:

 

[motorhomelover]

its a Eurobox
Yep it is enough said oh:

 

[Jeffreyhill]

Update on Autotrail problems/Dometic fridge

I am still awaiting a repair on the fridge. New van collected at end of March and the fridge has not worked yet. I am now told by the dealers that 2 more new vans have been returned with failed Dometic Fridge/Freezers. The Dometic rep. says that he is awaiting parts for up to 10 failed units. The model number is RMD 8555. Apparently a German make or at least the failed part the cooling unit is made in Germany. Why are Autotrail continuing to put these seemingly useless fridges in their vans?

My dealers are sympathetic but await the man from Dometic. They have contacted Autotrail but as yet I am not aware of their attitude. Are there are any other campervan owners with Dometic issues on this forum?

Good news on the Bluetooth front, complete new entertainment system put in by dealer to replace the 2 month old one that had a failed Bluetooth and TV element!

The excitement of taking delivery of new van has been seriously diminished by events to date. Fortunately I have been able to combine visits to dealer in Cheshire with other visits that were already planned so no extra expense. However further visits will be at my expense so the dealer is trying to get Dometic to come to me.

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[journeyman]

Many thanks for the update. Just one question: Who identified that the fridge on this brand new van wasn't working, you or the dealer?

 

[voyagerstan]

personaly i would never buy abrand new van because of all problems associated with them 12months old all sorted . however i do sympathise . enything else bought which does not work it would be a case of return and refund . when you pay such a large amount of money you would think they would get it right :Sad:
stan

 

[Jeffreyhill]

Hi Journeyman. Detected initially by my wife on first outing, not obvious at first as it was freezing outside and the freezer was working. Eventually freezer failed as well as fridge. On return to dealer they confirmed it was not working after testing it on gas.

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[MikeD]

My Tracker FB fridge has played up in the past but is working at the moment.

I had to take the van back to the dealer just before we went away at Easter to get it checked out as a fault light came on.

I don't do this lightly as it costs around £100 every time I it in.

But its running ok now :thumb::thumb:

 

[journeyman]

Hi Journeyman. Detected initially by my wife on first outing, not obvious at first as it was freezing outside and the freezer was working. Eventually freezer failed as well as fridge. On return to dealer they confirmed it was not working after testing it on gas.

I feel your pain and I hope its rectified soon. You've spent £40K+ on a brand new vehicle and the company that has taken your money has failed to ensure that they have throughly checked the vehicle before passing it to you. So you get the stress, but they still get their money. How is that right. As a dealership on this sale, they've failed the 1st test!

You say Spinneys mentioned two more vans returned with the same fridge problem...does that mean they failed to spot them as well???

This is one industry that needs proper regulation. If "some" dealers were fulfilling their sale contract with due diligence, customers would not be taking brand new vans fitted with faulty fridges.

I'm pleased you feel the "aftersales" is a little better. Good luck.

 

[K9Brian]

We bought an Autotrail Navajo early in 2012. Having had 12 issues with our last Autocruise we took a very long time on the handover ensuring that everything worked on leccy and gas etc before we took it away. First trip away and noticed water dripping out of sender unit in the waste tank. Back to dealer and they filled the waste tank with a hose and it leaked everywhere - the tank had never been sealed at the factory. I'm also disappointed with the tv reception - it works but gets a lot less channels than our Avtec connected to the status aerial.
First service and damp found on both interior walls - smalll section but at under 12 months old . Dealer replaced wall board and resealed - factory hadn't used enough sealer. What is worrying is that they had another 2012 Autotrail comming in for a similar repair the following day and that was both walls full length.
To say I'm disappointed with Auto Trail is an understatement and no I won't be getting another. That's Autocruise and AutoTrail off my next to buy list.

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[Jeffreyhill]

An update on the fridge! Finally repaired on 10th June, reminder new van collected on 29th March. If I had bought a new fridge for the house I expect that if it was faulty it would be replaced immediately. The world of campervans/caravans really is a different world.

It is difficult to be sure but the problem seemed to be the lack of urgency on behalf of the Dometic engineer. When we threatened a visit to Trading Standards we got action within 24 hours.

Anectdotally it appears that the fridge/freezer fitted in this van is prone to problems so beware fellow Autotrail owners.

So at long last we now have a motorhome without any faults. To be fair we have continued to use the van and are absolutely delighted with layout, quality, finish etc. I just wish they would check them better before sale.

 

[f6c]

I hope you can enjoy your van now

 

[knokinonabit]

Glad you are sorted.
I am still waiting. :Angry:

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[Chris]

Found out last weekend that the microwave doesn't work properly but I think that can wait until the van is in the dealers next.

I am loving our Autotrail:thumb:

 

[DMS]

Well
I picked up a brand new comanche from elite motorhomes in banbury last august. 16 miles up the M40 the engine blew up.
When Ford built the engine they didnt tighten the big end bolts, so the unit fell apart internally. However Fiat were brilliant. They Courier'd a new engine from milan and a few days later we were on our way. The dealers Elite have been excellent too. As for the autotrail side of thing. Apart from the 3 new entertainment units a failed poly fuse, Everything has been good.
Am i happy with my van??? YES
Would i deal with elite again???? YES WITHOUT DOUBT
Would i buy autotrail again??? YES
I think the autotrail van is far superior than most of the british vans on the market today..

 

[Jeffreyhill]

Have just completed two longish trips over 5 weeks in the Borders and the Far North of Scotland covering 1500 miles.

We are very happy with the van now. Only two issues worth mentioning now:

The TV only picks up any channels with strongest signal, my son was with me at Dunnet Bay campsite and he had over 60 channels on his caravan TV, the TV in the Tracker picked up none. Fortunately I have my satellite dish.

Why do motorhome companies use the smallest screws they can find. I spend too much time replacing them with bigger,stouter ones.

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