Dealer supplied motor homes. (1 Viewer)

[Bobby22]

Motorhomes are becoming very popular and are expensive for what they are.

If you have bought a motorhome from a dealer, be it new and ordered in or bought from their forecourt new or used. Have you had problems with it?

Is there anybody ever bought a van and never had to report a fault?

I have bought 2 new vans from main agent dealers and have had niggling problems drag on.

A problem being anything that has had to be reported back to the suppling dealer. Or delays in delivery/handover.

 

[sonny]

Not had a problem with the dealer ,just the van.

 

[Bobby22]

Not had a problem with the dealer ,just the van.

Dealer as opposed to private sale. Dealer as in Pre delivery inspection.

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[sonny]

Thing with dealers they sell and have little back up where a garage have skilled repair men/women.

 

[denisejoe]

We've bought 3 vans from different dealers. Although we've had problems they have always been sorted out very quickly.

The best dealer we've bought a van from was Becks in Norfolk. Given a one year guarantee (not insurance based). Had a problem after 11 months 2 weeks which necessitated a new wiring loom which we had dealt with at our usual garage and the bill was paid in full by card with no hassle over the phone by Becks. Our local garage said he doesn't usually do warranty work but as we said we'd pay for it if there was any problem he went ahead and did it. When we collected it he said he'd do any warranty work for Becks in future but would still be wary of other dealers!

 

[Puddleduck]

Had minor problems which were always fixed by the dealer with no quibbles

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[Clarky]

Has there ever been a new motorhome sold that didn't have some sort of problem/fault?
If so, I don't think there would be very many.
Had three new vans, different brands, different price points and different dealers. All have had a list of faults that had to be sorted under the warranty.

Richard.

 

[hilldweller]

Motorhomes are becoming very popular and are expensive for what they are..

Well I don't think so. A hand built incredibly complex product built in small volumes, they are incredibly good value unless you move on the the gin palace end of the market.

 

[DuxDeluxe]

Well I don't think so. A hand built incredibly complex product built in small volumes, they are incredibly good value unless you move on the the gin palace end of the market.

According to a few funsters, for some reason my van is literally a gin palace........ no idea why. I suppose a Le Voyageur is a bit gin palace-y though....... does everything the Pilote did but has very shiny toys attached.....

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[nicholsong]

Has there ever been a new motorhome sold that didn't have some sort of problem/fault?
If so, I don't think there would be very many.
Had three new vans, different brands, different price points and different dealers. All have had a list of faults that had to be sorted under the warranty.

Richard.

I was reading a comment on the N+B(Niesmann+Bischoff) Owners Forum recently that if one of their MHs has to go back to the factory at Polch for a design or manufacturing fault, they consider it a major failing on their part and want to do their best to rectify it.

This seems contrary to many reports of faults with other manufacturers and their dealers.

Yes N+B MHs are expensive - for the first buyer, but on the second-hand market not much more than other marques, and one is inheriting the Quality Control illustrated above.

Geoff

 

[Euphony]

Had some snagging issues with ours but promptly and professionally rectified by the dealer.

 

[jdk62]

The dealer of our second motorhome (new) was absolutely appalling. Did not respond, did not rectify faults, washed their hands of any issues...

My advice is avoid 3A's of Carmarthen....

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[stewartwebr]

I was reading a comment on the N+B(Niesmann+Bischoff) Owners Forum recently that if one of their MHs has to go back to the factory at Polch for a design or manufacturing fault, they consider it a major failing on their part and want to do their best to rectify it.

This seems contrary to many reports of faults with other manufacturers and their dealers.

Yes N+B MHs are expensive - for the first buyer, but on the second-hand market not much more than other marques, and one is inheriting the Quality Control illustrated above.

Geoff

Certainly not my experience both of N&B in the UK and back in Polch. I found them very cold and unapologetic. They were very efficient at putting things right in Polch ( not in UK) but did not give the impression that the faults I had was deemed a major failing on their part and that included communication with their CEO who was at times a little curt and rude.
They must be feeling the effects of major defects at the moment with the major paint issues on the vans, but of course that is being dealt with by compensating customers but tying them into gagging orders as part of settlement.
So no N&B are no better than any of the rest IMHO. Cost plays no part.

 

[Southdowners]

Not our experience with N&B in the UK either.

We bought two N&B vehicles and both had numerous fairly serious faults. OK, it isn't the end of the world.... however, the after-sales service was appalling. It was so bad that we made the decision to buy a Concorde rather than continue to be dissatisfied with the N&B dealership in the UK.

 

[nicholsong]

To answer both Stewart and Southdowners above posts.

I was commenting on one post on the N+B owners' Forum.

I do accept that there has been a lot of adverse comment about the UK N+B Dealership. It is diasppointing that N+B have not been seen to take much action. Although they have authorised another company to do N+B work.

In Poland there is no dealer, but maybe it is better to have no dealer than an incompetent one. At least N+B have confirmed that I can deal directly with Polch on new and used MHs, so that cuts out a middle-man's cut.

Anyway I am happy with our 15 year-old Arto at 45,000 miles so we truck on.

Geoff

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[Chris]

Bought ours new from Johns Cross.

They did a thorough PDI and in the next few months we had a few minor ( and I mean minor) issues which they sorted out quickly and efficiently.

I have decided that the dealer is more important than the manufacturer when it comes to enjoying your van.

 

[stewartwebr]

To answer both Stewart and Southdowners above posts.

I was commenting on one post on the N+B owners' Forum.

I do accept that there has been a lot of adverse comment about the UK N+B Dealership. It is diasppointing that N+B have not been seen to take much action. Although they have authorised another company to do N+B work.

In Poland there is no dealer, but maybe it is better to have no dealer than an incompetent one. At least N+B have confirmed that I can deal directly with Polch on new and used MHs, so that cuts out a middle-man's cut.

Anyway I am happy with our 15 year-old Arto at 45,000 miles so we truck on.

Geoff

Geoff,

As I said in my post, I didn't find Polch to be much better. They were efficient at put things right but did not seem to phased that after spending a considerable amount of money on their product I then had to travel almost 2500 mile round trip to put things right. All the CEO had to say was that lessons would be learned for future. The word Sorry was never mentioned.
Like Southdowners I voted with my feet, although I think the Flair is a lovely van I decided to move to another manufacturer, who has until now been excellent.

 

[AXO66]

New Chaosson, from Highbridge.

3 issues........so far. All sorted without issue under warantry.

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[iandsm]

Just wondering what will the op do with the results of this survey?

 

[Bobby22]

It would seem all manufacturers are putting out vans with issues/ snags. Dealers are not checking them before handover, and only deal with them when pointed out by the buyer.

Is it alright to have issues as long as the dealer sorts them out quickly and efficiently?
I know some dealers don't have the facilities to repair but i have also heard of some main agents that won't do warranty work as the converter will not pay enough to do it.

Booming markets , sloppy workmanship, dealers overwhelmed with issues.
Are we protecting OUR brand/dealer too much?

 

[Blue Knight]

Booming markets.......

Our local dealer is struggling to flog his old and new motorhome stock these days. He has just had to knock £5,000 off everything to help restart sales - I don't think it is working either.

It seems that a couple of manufacturers have over-produced their lines so (IMO) some dealers will want to sell-sell-sell without much concern for the aftersales bit.

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[motorhomer]

Over the years we have had 5 motorhomes from 4 dealers. The worst van was not from the worst dealer! 3 of the dealers, I would say did their best and I would buy from again. The 4th I would not. I would buy any of the Motorhome makes again, although every one had some faults. The chassis were 3 peugeot, 1 fiat and 1 merc. The merc was by far the most troublesome and I would be reluctant to have another.

 

[Bobby22]

Our local dealer is struggling to flog his old and new motorhome stock these days. He has just had to knock £5,000 off everything to help restart sales - I don't think it is working either.

It seems that a couple of manufacturers have over-produced their lines so (IMO) some dealers will want to sell-sell-sell without much concern for the aftersales bit.

Don't let that fool you. I bought a new van in 2013 for 34.5k traded it for 30k 3 years later. The dealer had a 33.5k sticker price onit and it sold the day i exchanged.
The same van, new today, has a 46k. windscreen price, go figure.

Edit.......Brownhills quoting £50,995 for their own edition of the SAME van.

 

[Blue Knight]

Don't let that fool you.

His stock turnover is not good at all - I check it out every week. His sales momentum in terms of units sold is certainly slowing down.

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[thidwick]

Has there ever been a new motorhome sold that didn't have some sort of problem/fault

Well we just picked up our brand new Hobby yesterday, and spent one night on a site last night on “systems testing”.
Tested almost everything...... found no faults so far...... (reaches for wooden items w both hands).
Found lots of complexity and sophistication that we haven’t been used to in our old (2000 vintage) van. Despite a pretty comprehensive handover we still had to consult instruction manuals!

 

[Clarky]

Well we just picked up our brand new Hobby yesterday, and spent one night on a site last night on “systems testing”.
Tested almost everything...... found no faults so far...... (reaches for wooden items w both hands).
Found lots of complexity and sophistication that we haven’t been used to in our old (2000 vintage) van. Despite a pretty comprehensive handover we still had to consult instruction manuals!

Great!
Long may your good fortune continue. Enjoy your new van.

Richard.

 

[Bobby22]

His stock turnover is not good at all - I check it out every week. His sales momentum in terms of units sold is certainly slowing down.

Time to buy from him then, he'll be want to give them away. His 2017 stock of new vans will be very cheap very soon. The big shows will soon be showcasing '19 models.

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[Nicepix]

To be fair when I was in the motor trade we got loads of undeclared faults on cars traded in. Sometimes these only became evident when the new owner took delivery. You can't expect a motorhome dealer to be able to fully check over every trade in vehicle. They are hardly likely to be able to cook a roast joint in the oven and then take a hot shower while it is on the pitch.

 

[Bobby22]

To be fair when I was in the motor trade we got loads of undeclared faults on cars traded in. Sometimes these only became evident when the new owner took delivery. You can't expect a motorhome dealer to be able to fully check over every trade in vehicle. They are hardly likely to be able to cook a roast joint in the oven and then take a hot shower while it is on the pitch.

.
No, you are quite correct about the motor trade.

But a motorhome is totally different. In my opinion. If you see what a dealer does to prepare a motorhome for sale (I have spent a few days in the compound of one).

The cleaner alone spends a full day cleaning a traded in motorhome internally,not to mention outside and polish if needed.
If i bought a motorhome that had a shower and an oven in it i would expect them to work perfectly, along with every other part of it.

I did buy a brand new motorhome that had a fault with the fridge on he day of delivery.....the dealer sent an engineer to a rally field 100 miles away, to sort it that very day and were very apologetic.

For one the gas oven should be fully tested in every way before being sent out.

If i am paying fifty grand for a motorhome i expect it to be fully pd inspected. And if the dealer sold me a van that wasn't fully inspected and showed up many problems he would soon know about it.

I believe, in todays age of social media and forums, poor dealers will be weeded out.

Right now motorhomes are very popular and people have got access to the funds to buy them, but poor service will be noticed and reported.

BTW no wonder used car salesmen get a bad name.

 

[gus-lopez]

If you see what a dealer does to prepare a motorhome for sale (I have spent a few days in the compound of one).

I know of one that does nothing until he has a buyer.

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