Dealer supplied motor homes. (1 Viewer)

[Bobby22]

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

Fair dos, why spend a few quid only for it to sit there for a long while never having a visitor..... But....but...
If my wife went into a van that wasn't clean and tidy........there would be no questions asked!!
Imagine openning a cupboard to find rotting food.......
What is it they say?.......fail to prepare be prepared to fail.

 

[iandsm]

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?

I wonder if you could say who these dealers are because people might think twice, or at least do some more research before buying from them, I know I would.

 

[Bobby22]

I wonder if you could say who these dealers are because people might think twice, or at least do some more research before buying from them, I know I would.

If you go to the review section there is a load of info in there. The info in the poll also shows negatives from dealers.

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[MillieMoocher]

Got to say that the faults with my MH could not have been foreseen by the dealer...

1) after a few weeks use, the passenger intertia reel seat belt stopped allowing you to reach forward and would lock as soon as you move - dealer fixed by adjustment, no problem since.

2) Drop down bed difficult to latch up. Small adjustment and some technique advice, no problem since

3) step out warning buzzer would come on if if it was raining. Traced to a short caused by some swarf that the factory had left in the step area. Fixed, no problem since

4) heat guard for fridge rattled when you shut the habitation door (not when we picked it up, happened later). Shield bent slightly, no problem since

5) leak in garage caused by defective body seal from factory.

All the above were fixed promptly, courteously and efficiently by Travelworld.

The other issues have been Fiat recalls, again nothing the dealer could have done to foresee those .

 

[tonyidle]

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.

The base vehicle is complex but IMO not the conversion - which is little more complicated than flat-pack furniture. Faults are due to two things: poor design and very poor quality control.

 

[Bobby22]

The base vehicle is complex but IMO not the conversion - which is little more complicated than flat-pack furniture. Faults are due to two things: poor design and very poor quality control.

I agree, if quality control had the proper checks many return visits for adjustments would be avoided.

Number 5 on @milliethehymer s list should have been dealt with before it left the factory.

When the dealer goes above and beyond their obligations then you know your getting great service.

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[MillieMoocher]

I agree with you @Bobby22 re my item 5. A decent dousing with water to test at the factory would have revealed the problem.

We picked the MH up and immediate used it for a week, I noticed the garage was full of water on the last day of that trip. It had been raining but no more than a usual British summer..

As has been said, it’s how the dealer resolves things that once they’ve gone wrong that is important, and I know not everyone has the same experience with Travelworld that I do but really I’ve been nothing but delighted with them.

 

[hilldweller]

The base vehicle is complex but IMO not the conversion - which is little more complicated than flat-pack furniture. Faults are due to two things: poor design and very poor quality control.

If you say so but having working in a few caravan factories I was always amazed at how much work goes into them.

Show me a flat pack furniture with gas/water/electric/central heating/toilet/shower/seating/bed/cooking.

Totally agree on failures.

 

[tonyidle]

If you say so but having working in a few caravan factories I was always amazed at how much work goes into them.

Show me a flat pack furniture with gas/water/electric/central heating/toilet/shower/seating/bed/cooking.

Totally agree on failures.

The bit they get right, in general, is the manufacture of furniture, floors, walls, and ceilings. Their assembly methods of these are sound but carelessly executed (generalising a little). The installation of plumbing, heating, and electrics, is abysmal. Bodies are CAD designed and CNC cut. Pipes and wires are tossed in as an afterthought - often requiring ad hoc cutting of the bodywork to route them. Wiring is a mish-mash of colours, it isn't bound into a loom, connectors unknown to the automotive world are in use. Fuses are scattered in undocumented locations and often appear to be in-line afterthoughts. Pipes sprout through freshly-drilled holes and are forced into contorted shapes. Drainage takes no account of the fact that the vehicle may not always be accurately levelled with near-horizontal waste runs in evidence. I could go on I've seen all these faults in every leisure vehicle I've owned - including my latest.

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[Basildog]

The bit they get right, in general, is the manufacture of furniture, floors, walls, and ceilings. Their assembly methods of these are sound but carelessly executed (generalising a little). The installation of plumbing, heating, and electrics, is abysmal. Bodies are CAD designed and CNC cut. Pipes and wires are tossed in as an afterthought - often requiring ad hoc cutting of the bodywork to route them. Wiring is a mish-mash of colours, it isn't bound into a loom, connectors unknown to the automotive world are in use. Fuses are scattered in undocumented locations and often appear to be in-line afterthoughts. Pipes sprout through freshly-drilled holes and are forced into contorted shapes. Drainage takes no account of the fact that the vehicle may not always be accurately levelled with near-horizontal waste runs in evidence. I could go on I've seen all these faults in every leisure vehicle I've owned - including my latest.

But just imagine the cost of a tradesman built bespoke motorhome it would make the factory supplied crap look like they were giving it away !

 

[tonyidle]

But just imagine the cost of a tradesman built bespoke motorhome it would make the factory supplied crap look like they were giving it away !

Agreed. I'm not complaining about the materials or their preparation - just the inability (on occasion) to screw the stuff together neatly. A simple example: a wiring loom can be developed by a skilled tradesman in a few hours; subsequent looms can be assembled on pegboard by the same person much more quickly; trained monkeys can then install the looms in each vehicle. The price of wire isn't differentiated by colour. Consistency costs nothing. The correct connectors are as cheap as the incorrect ones. Every time I do electrical "tidying" work on the caravans and mhs I've owned I end up with a heap of wire removed - doing it right might turn out to be cheaper than doing it wrong.

 

[Basildog]

Agreed. I'm not complaining about the materials or their preparation - just the inability (on occasion) to screw the stuff together neatly. A simple example: a wiring loom can be developed by a skilled tradesman in a few hours; subsequent looms can be assembled on pegboard by the same person much more quickly; trained monkeys can then install the looms in each vehicle. The price of wire isn't differentiated by colour. Consistency costs nothing. The correct connectors are as cheap as the incorrect ones. Every time I do electrical "tidying" work on the caravans and mhs I've owned I end up with a heap of wire removed - doing it right might turn out to be cheaper than doing it wrong.

I know what you mean it is like our 2011 Swift we bought brand new, the drain pipe fell out of the bottom of the fresh water tank it was good quality pipe and fittings then spoilt by the manufacturers using cable ties that were screwed through ?
Pipe clips would have been pennies more but 100 percent better job ?
Wife still likes the Swift models as they look pretty !
She looked inside one , I refused to set foot in it but went under it , the Alde heating pipes run underneath insulated with cheap crap grey insulation not suited to external use !
Dealers were trying to say they have improved !!!

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[GWAYGWAY]

Now at the end of the warranty, It has been back twice for little jobs that were done, but the big Job I did myself as it just was not going to be worth going so far for a repair (bodge up) done byr the monkeys that work at the dealers. I prefer to do it myself and do it properly, there are few jobs I could not do except base vehicles electronics, as you need coding and workshop manuals which are not available to non main dealers. As for the damp checks, forget it I will find it before they would and fix it straight away.