Another motorhomer bites the dust

BusyBuilder

BusyBuilder

Joined
Jan 31, 2016
Posts
2,201
Likes collected
4,077
Location
Alness, Cromarty Firth
Funster No
41,524
MH
Hymer B534 DL (2017)
Exp
Well travelled
Neighbour has had 2 motorhomes over the past 6 years, he's not really had much luck with them really. First was a Autotrail low profile, which was in the dealers more than he had it, bearing in mind we are 20 miles north of Inverness and he bought it at Brownhills, so a 1000 mile round trip in both moho and car each time. I did joke with him that at least he was getting out in it :rolleyes:
Then in 2019 he got an Autosleeper Fairford Plus. This too has been back and forth to dealers, last time on a trailer, so he's had enough and given up.

On the other hand, my 2012 Hymer B544 (owned for 6 years now) has had a drop down bed problem, new water pump,replaced gas regulator (in Germany) new clutch and timing belt, and a resprayed front bumper after a bump with a fence post. So not fault free, but all fixed locally. It was bought in Warwickshire privately.

So is the answer to buy used and locally if possible ? or buy a Hymer :unsure:
 
Brought my AT second hand in 2012 and it’s been an absolute dream to own. I’ll always grumble at the build quality and AT should be disgusted with themselves over it, especially the amount of poor publicity they get as a result, but mines over the niggly craftsmenship on the interior.

But it’s dry, damp free, been really enjoyable to own and I love it.

Oh and a big no thanks ever to a Hymer…..
 
Last edited:
Had my Bailey for 9 yrs now , all niggles dealt with , asked A and E leisure and Durley garage to give it an unofficial mark out of ten and both gave ten ( ob v for its age ) .
If you take exceptional care of your exceptional stuff they usually give you good service .
As the previous poster said we are damp free and love Billy to bits , not even considering selling ( after NEARLY buying an iH in the spring ) , thinking about a total soft furnishings overhaul in the Autumn.
Hymer really don’t do it for me .
 
I’d always buy fairly local, from a dealer and with a warranty - the three second-hand vans we’ve had have all had initial niggles but all fairly easily fixable. I guess if your clever and more technical than us you can take more of a risk. An hour’s drive back to a decent dealer is fine for me.
From what I’ve read/heard I’d never buy new 🙂
 
current van was 3 yrs old; now had it 5 yrs, so we have had a slight leak into the garage area and a failed double glazed cab window (thank goodness it was £600 repair - Hymer is a little more) but that was about it. Nearly lost faith in the base vehicle though (Merc 519) as three recoveries in 2 years, all ABS failures but dealt with efficiently by Comfort insurance and Crouch recovery and expensively by Mercedes truck and van dealer……

Love the van. Everything we want and need (apart from it having a thirst bigger than mine and a very large fuel tank)

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
We're on our 3rd Auto Trail, this one from new, never had an issue which has been AT related... poor seal on a leaky toilet cassette due to Thetford dropping a pallet of them all over the warehouse floor and a faulty Fiat robotic gearbox. We'll never have another Fiat/Citroen/Pug. Buy local if possible but to be honest what's local... your own town or city?
 
On our 3rd Hymer had minor problems all sorted under warranty. Bought all of them in Belgium and over the 3 of then saved around £50k on UK prices.
 
PaddyM said:
Had my Bailey for 9 yrs now , all niggles dealt with , asked A and E leisure and Durley garage to give it an unofficial mark out of ten and both gave ten ( ob v for its age ) .
If you take exceptional care of your exceptional stuff they usually give you good service .
As the previous poster said we are damp free and love Billy to bits , not even considering selling ( after NEARLY buying an iH in the spring ) , thinking about a total soft furnishings overhaul in the Autumn.
Hymer really don’t do it for me .
Click to expand...
Couple of co-incidences here.
Our Bailey is called Billy.
Billy is going in to A&E today to have 9 warrananty jobs sorted. It's about 6 months old and done 6,500 miles.

As for AT. Had a AT Imala last year. In my view apart from the damp issues ( a certain dealer who gave a p.x valuation lied about the extent of the damp therefore tried to reduce the price) i think the AT is slightly better built than the Bailey.
 
On our second Hymer and like them however spares can be very expensive and harder to get since leaving the EU?
have also owned two Auto trails and had relatively few problems and no damp with either and yes we would have another if the need arose😊
 
We bought our Autotrail from a dealer in the South of England. Before we left their yard we had to get them to fix the habitation door lock. After that we drove it around the UK for six months and then shipped it to New Zealand. Fortunately, we've never had any significant problems with it 'cos we certainly couldn't take it back for any warranty work. However, we never travel without a tube of Superglue and a tool kit for those niggly repairs to the lightweight cabinetry and interior fittings.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Sadly, with pre-loved, you have to buy the right van at the right price, regardless of where it is situated. We do however, have it serviced locally, both the Fiat and habitation side, different places like.

It strikes me that owning a motorhome is one down from a boat, which in turn, is one down from a plane. You need to spend the money to keep the motorhome working as intended. I have been surprised at the expense of ownership.

I hope your neighbour BusyBuilder isn't too sore with his experience.
 
KiwiKampers said:
We bought our Autotrail from a dealer in the South of England. Before we left their yard we had to get them to fix the habitation door lock. After that we drove it around the UK for six months and then shipped it to New Zealand. Fortunately, we've never had any significant problems with it 'cos we certainly couldn't take it back for any warranty work. However, we never travel without a tube of Superglue and a tool kit for those niggly repairs to the lightweight cabinetry and interior fittings.
Click to expand...
Don’t forget Gaffa tape. 😎
Phil
 
Our new Hymer 2017 spent more time at the dealers (Lowdhams) than with us after 3 years we had enough and got rid.
 
We have owned our 2004 Rapido for 6 years now. We have had a few problems - mostly electrical stuff and some problems with Truma boiler. I found that none of the dealers I contacted were in the slightest bit interested in helping me to fix anything ( with the nearest one in Kenilworth being the worst - not just unhelpful but quite rude as well). I expect that this is because I didn't buy the m/h from them and due to it's age. However, I have found some fantastic mobile repair people who have helped me to fix any faults at very reasonable prices and all done on my own drive. Truma in Derby are also very good with technical advice over the phone.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
We’ve still got our first van, a Hymer, after six years with no intention of changing. A bit of early warranty work had to be done then it’s just been servicing. Love the design and layout; fixed bed over a large garage. I would never, ever though buy a new Hymer again. Or any other new van.
 
The only problem I had with my Rapido in the 12 years I had it was a leaky water tank due to it not being fitted correctly causing a bolt head in the seatbelt frame eventually knocking a hole in it.
There was also a fridge problem, though not a Rapido part. The build quality of the furniture is not up to that of my present Hymer of similar vintage.
Only changed to come down to 3500 at 70 and single beds due to nocturnal bladder problems.
 
Just back from Don Amott (vowed i would never go there again) looking for a table..........................yes still looking.
Anyway they appear to have a good bit of new/used stock. AND a lot with SOLD stickers on them. Few new ones laying around, don't know if they are sold as wont talk to anyone in there.
The coffee was nice in the cafe(y)
 
Phoenix motorhomes are not well known in the UK but there are plenty of them in Germany and some in France. We bought ours in 2014 after visiting the factories of all the similar builders. The only thing that has gone wrong with it is the satellite dish which refused to retract - since sorted. The fit-out is excellent and the insulation second to none. If I was going to sell it I'd buy another Phoenix but why do that when it's as good as new?

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Carado T334 bought new in Belgium in 2015.
Lost 6th gear in Germany, on the advice of a Fiat commercial garage we just carried on a bit slower, using 5th as top; box rebuilt under warranty once home.
Had a split in the oil / water cooler rad, out of warranty but Fiat did the parts FOC and 10% off labour.
The Carado bit has been perfect and fault-free; mileage now on 60,000
 
Bought my first motorhome some 70 miles away. A fifteen year old Burstner Mobile on a Peugeot Talbot. Dealer purchase.Had to service the fridge myself. It passed every MOT for the following 16 years and is now in use with my son full timing. I paid £12,500 for it. Just passed another MOT. Old and beautiful.
 
Shrimp said:
Our 20+year old Hymer is brilliant all the usual running costs, nothing drastic!
Click to expand...
Our first van was a 1990 Hymer 560, lovely old thing, the only problem I had was a rubber fuel line split because someone previously had fitted petrol quality tube rather than diesel-changed the tube and bled the injectors-jobs a goodun.
2nd Hymer bought in Scotland, 7 years old, we had a stick pierce the radiator on top of a Coll in the Pyrenees when we were following the TDF in 2013-had to be recovered to a garage. We spent the night in the van outside the garage and they fitted a new radiator the next day. The only other failure was a sensor on the Mercedes auto box-had that diagnosed and fixed by a Mercedes truck garage in Germany. Bought the van in 2013, sold it in 2020-mistake-downsized to an Autosleeper Warwick Duo in April 2021, missed the space of the A class so traded it for another Hymer in September 2021-no problems yet…….

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Just bought a Hymer van not used it yet as my son is here visiting from Poland. Hope to use her in a couple of weeks. Got her from Lincoln Leisure and the base van is a Ford. I like Fords.
 
I had my Dethleffs Trend for 6 years (from new). Bought it from Pullingers and they serviced it every year, both habitation and mechanics. Huge fixed island bed plus drop down double in lounge. Not one problem and very, very reliable. I can highly recommend both.
However, have now traded it in for a Chausson 630 (wanted more daytime living space) from a dealership closer to home, so time will tell if I have made a good or bad decision.
 
BusyBuilder said:
Neighbour has had 2 motorhomes over the past 6 years, he's not really had much luck with them really. First was a Autotrail low profile, which was in the dealers more than he had it, bearing in mind we are 20 miles north of Inverness and he bought it at Brownhills, so a 1000 mile round trip in both moho and car each time. I did joke with him that at least he was getting out in it :rolleyes:
Then in 2019 he got an Autosleeper Fairford Plus. This too has been back and forth to dealers, last time on a trailer, so he's had enough and given up.

On the other hand, my 2012 Hymer B544 (owned for 6 years now) has had a drop down bed problem, new water pump,replaced gas regulator (in Germany) new clutch and timing belt, and a resprayed front bumper after a bump with a fence post. So not fault free, but all fixed locally. It was bought in Warwickshire privately.

So is the answer to buy used and locally if possible ? or buy a Hymer :unsure:
Click to expand...

How about Manufacturers having a proper dealer network, dealers who push back and say 'you didn't buy it from us' should reflect on how this affects customer service
 
RichardandKaren said:
Truma in Derby are also very good with technical advice over the phone.
Click to expand...
I can thoroughly recommend Truma's service in Derby as well as their technical advice. Our Truma had a persistent E636 fault which is a tripped overheat switch. Took it to the local accredited Truma agent near Ringwood and they charged me 1 hrs labour @ £70 + VAT to check all the fuses but said it must be the PCB so wanted me to buy one at £210 + VAT which they were obviously going to fit. Not happy so rang Truma in Derby. They said they would be happy to look at it so a few weeks later we made the 170 mile trip to Derby. Dropped it off to them early morning. After a two minute conversation Tony, the technician, said he thought he knew what the problem might be. By lunchtime we had a message to come and get it and pay a bill for £37 for a faulty reset switch plus 1 hr labour @ £70 + VAT. We were delighted to get such excellent service and first class diagnosis. Moral of the story - beware of people who profess to know what they are doing, but simply throw new bits at the problem until they get it working.
 
Bought a Pilote from SMC about 18 months ago numerous faults with it trims falling off and cracking in the heat still waiting for a replacement radio from day one have now sent two trims both wrong colour and pattern everything blamed on brexit and covid for getting spares but they still get new MHs beggers believe.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 

Join us or log in to post a reply.

To join in you must be a member of MotorhomeFun

Join MotorhomeFun

Join us, it quick and easy!

Join us

Log in

Already a member? Log in here.

Latest journal entries

Back
Top