Dealer Woes

[hogger]

Hello all

Just introduced myself and already a question!! determined to get my money's worth tut tut
We have been to three dealers here in Scotland which I won't name as it may be a bit unfair. The trouble we are having is the attitude basically. I know it's a difficult time right now but we have found so far it's like drawing blood trying to get decent customer service.

The first dealer we went to, we felt as though we were a nuisance asking to see two models, the guy had to walk some distance back to the office for keys. we tried to engage him but nothing....not interested, not a smile in sight and we left feeling deflated and decided there and then we would not return.
Second dealer who has good reviews. Same thing. torn face salesman who just looked like he could not be bothered.

Third and last dealer visited for a second time today. we went last weekend and were attended to by the owner. We left with the opinion that he was the ideal salesman. not pushy and willing to talk and answer our questions. We asked about a test drive and stated we would return the following weekend. They got the day mixed up and had the van ready yesterday despite me emailing beforehand to arrange for Sunday.
We took the van out and were happy enough with it apart from the brakes.

I was dealt with by one of the salesman and once again the couldn't care less attitude prevailed. They could not find the documents for the motorhome we were interested in, a Swift Bolero. The could not tell me when it was last serviced and he looked up the MOT whilst we stood there trying to get information out of him.
This is our first motorhome and we were going to push our budget for it to 50k. Do they really expect you to put a deposit down before they will show you everything's in working order? or how the heating works etc?

I have to say I'm still confused now. We have decided dealers are not worth visiting and have decided to buy privately as that is where the dealers get their stock from then sell on at a profit. I think we will probably have a better experience dealing with a private seller now to be honest.

I understand the perils of buying private.....I think

Your input would be greatly appreciated

Steven (grumpy old git)

 

[Just smiffy]

I’ve only bought privately on here in the classifieds as the first dealer I went to sold me a stolen motorhome

Buying privately you can check on it more from members on a forum or from their travels, pictures etc.... I sold my Hymer this way which went yesterday and they were pleased to see me enjoying the van in Europe from the pictures I showed them... gives confidence...

good luck..

 

[David and Sally]

 

[gus-lopez]

 

[Phill D]

£50k is no small amount of money in anyone's wallet! I would expect to be given a full review of the van and its condition by the salesman, mot, servicing, hab checks. damp checks, cambelt or not, what warranty i would get and under what conditions. who would be your contact for any follow up work / warranty. If it is the hapless guy what chance have you got after he's taken your money.

i would be telling the sales guy that if he was interested in selling then you need to feel like a valued customer.

maybe you should use your Scottish charm;
and ask him to tell you what day should you come back when he has more time.

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[Nanniemate]

Do they not get commission on the sales and customer feedback

 

[Podney]

It’s seems very common for dealers to be useless.
The only one any good near us is Becks in Gt Yarmout,and that’s a two hour drive for me..........and probably a day for you!
Perhaps other funsters in Scotland can recommend someone.
Have you got Jim’s Buyers Guide off here.....vg. Then buy privately.

 

[Blue Knight]

Hello all

Just introduced myself and already a question!! determined to get my money's worth tut tut
We have been to three dealers here in Scotland which I won't name as it may be a bit unfair. The trouble we are having is the attitude basically. I know it's a difficult time right now but we have found so far it's like drawing blood trying to get decent customer service.

The first dealer we went to, we felt as though we were a nuisance asking to see two models, the guy had to walk some distance back to the office for keys. we tried to engage him but nothing....not interested, not a smile in sight and we left feeling deflated and decided there and then we would not return.
Second dealer who has good reviews. Same thing. torn face salesman who just looked like he could not be bothered.

We had the same treatment with Dixon's of Perth - and the deal they were prepared to give us for a new van was £12,000 less than any other UK competitor.

A good friend of mine (who in the end travelled to central England to buy his new van) had the exact same issues as you did from multiple Scottish dealers.

Personally speaking I would travel South as you deserve better.

All the best,

Andrew

 

[hogger]

It’s seems very common for dealers to be useless.
The only one any good near us is Becks in Gt Yarmout,and that’s a two hour drive for me..........and probably a day for you!
Perhaps other funsters in Scotland can recommend someone.
Have you got Jim’s Buyers Guide off here.....vg. Then buy privately.

No not seen that yet but thanks for the info I'll do a search for that. I guess I got distracted from the real question during my rant lol

 

[peterc10]

Unfortunately the market is so hot with people buying that the dealers do not need to try. If you don't buy it, somebody else will be along soon to buy it.

We were very lucky with the purchase of our present motorhome. Bought it off of Becks and they have been brilliant from the moment I walked into the place to have a look around and in the 5 years of ownership since. The only trouble is that they are in Norfolk and we are in Kent, We are going up there again in November for MOT, damp check and a couple of problems to be fixed.

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[hogger]

We had the same treatment with Dixon's of Perth - and the deal they were prepared to give us for a new van was £12,000 less than any other UK competitor.

A good friend of mine (who in the end travelled to central England to buy his new van) had the exact same issues as you did from multiple Scottish dealers.

Personally speaking I would travel South as you deserve better.

All the best,

Andrew

Thanks Andrew, Yes we visited Dickson's. they were the first one I talked about. I'm not looking for the old hard sell merchants but at least a smiling salesperson, even a badly attempted one would be a start

 

[hogger]

Unfortunately the market is so hot with people buying that the dealers do not need to try. If you don't buy it, somebody else will be along soon to buy it.

We were very lucky with the purchase of our present motorhome. Bought it off of Becks and they have been brilliant from the moment I walked into the place to have a look around and in the 5 years of ownership since. The only trouble is that they are in Norfolk and we are in Kent, We are going up there again in November for MOT, damp check and a couple of problems to be fixed.

Many thanks for taking the time to reply. Wish we were nearer to Becks!

 

[hogger]

I’ve only bought privately on here in the classifieds as the first dealer I went to sold me a stolen motorhome

Buying privately you can check on it more from members on a forum or from their travels, pictures etc.... I sold my Hymer this way which went yesterday and they were pleased to see me enjoying the van in Europe from the pictures I showed them... gives confidence...

good luck..

Many thanks for your reply. I have been thinking of buying through here but they go fast. probably not the best time for buyers right now as we all have the same thing in mind right now. A self sufficient motorhome is a good way to see places and stay apart.

 

[hogger]

£50k is no small amount of money in anyone's wallet! I would expect to be given a full review of the van and its condition by the salesman, mot, servicing, hab checks. damp checks, cambelt or not, what warranty i would get and under what conditions. who would be your contact for any follow up work / warranty. If it is the hapless guy what chance have you got after he's taken your money.

i would be telling the sales guy that if he was interested in selling then you need to feel like a valued customer.

maybe you should use your Scottish charm;
and ask him to tell you what day should you come back when he has more time.

Yes exactly. Business must be so good they don't have to put in any effort at all.

 

[hogger]

Many thanks for taking the time to reply everyone. I'm getting mixed up here with who I'm replying to. I'm using the quote function.
I'm looking on gumtree right now but wary as there are some ratbags around

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[hogger]

I’ve only bought privately on here in the classifieds as the first dealer I went to sold me a stolen motorhome

Buying privately you can check on it more from members on a forum or from their travels, pictures etc.... I sold my Hymer this way which went yesterday and they were pleased to see me enjoying the van in Europe from the pictures I showed them... gives confidence...

good luck..

what chance do you have when a dealer does that

 

[hogger]

£50k is no small amount of money in anyone's wallet! I would expect to be given a full review of the van and its condition by the salesman, mot, servicing, hab checks. damp checks, cambelt or not, what warranty i would get and under what conditions. who would be your contact for any follow up work / warranty. If it is the hapless guy what chance have you got after he's taken your money.

i would be telling the sales guy that if he was interested in selling then you need to feel like a valued customer.

maybe you should use your Scottish charm;
and ask him to tell you what day should you come back when he has more time.

they did not seem interested in doing anything until we put a deposit down and committed to buying. I saw a review where the buyer lost £1000 deposit with them. I'll keep them in mind when times get tougher

 

[Blue Knight]

Thanks Andrew, Yes we visited Dickson's. they were the first one I talked about. I'm not looking for the old hard sell merchants but at least a smiling salesperson, even a badly attempted one would be a start

Hi Steven, we've bought a new Pilote C-Class and a new Globecar PVC in the last 30-months and, after dealing with every Pilote & Globecar dealer in the UK, I can say that I found the Scottish dealers to be the most expensive to deal with - and by a chunk too.

A friend up in the Highlands flew to England to buy his new van and saved a fair few thousand quid in the process.

Do a bit of research and ask as many questions as you can on here before committing.

Good luck and happy hunting,

Andrew

 

[irnbru]

Have you looked in the classifieds section right here on fun?

 

[Littlewheels]

Also check out the classifieds on the Caravan and Motorhome Club site and Autotrader.

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[Bailey 15]

I agree customer service seems to have took a little bit of a dive recently, unfortunately they no longer need the sales this year as most of them have busted their 2020 sales targets and stock is so low.
We keep local so as we can knock on door with problems and not have to drive 300 miles for repairs, this also seems to give us better customer service because we’re so close.
Welcome and good luck

 

[AndyPK]

‘Keeping local’ is very good advice.....as long as the dealer is up to scratch!
We have used Marquis Motorhomes for our last two ‘vans (their Tewkesbury branch is only a few miles from us), but even their branches’ quality seems to vary around the country! There are threads on the forum which may be worth reading.....

 

[Silver-Fox]

Why not try Simon on here.

Yes you will have to travel but if it’s the van for you at the right price it’s not and issue

 

[TUCANO]

to the pleasures of owning, when you buy, a motorhome.
Did I say that I would never buy from or recommend Campbells of Preston.

 

[lorger]

We looked at just about every Scottish dealer and found all of them to be useless, like you we felt they weren’t interested in us. We ended up buying down south.

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[Snoopy]

Hi and welcome, good luck with the search, don't get disheartened, or put off by negative dealers, you will find what your looking for, always great advice on here.

 

[hogger]

Hi Steven, we've bought a new Pilote C-Class and a new Globecar PVC in the last 30-months and, after dealing with every Pilote & Globecar dealer in the UK, I can say that I found the Scottish dealers to be the most expensive to deal with - and by a chunk too.

A friend up in the Highlands flew to England to buy his new van and saved a fair few thousand quid in the process.

Do a bit of research and ask as many questions as you can on here before committing.

Good luck and happy hunting,

Andrew

Thanks again Andrew. We will take our time as we are in no hurry. I will definitely look down south. I need to settle on one or two models so I can compare deals I reckon

 

[Coolcats]

It’s seems very common for dealers to be useless.
The only one any good near us is Becks in Gt Yarmout,and that’s a two hour drive for me..........and probably a day for you!
Perhaps other funsters in Scotland can recommend someone.
Have you got Jim’s Buyers Guide off here.....vg. Then buy privately.

That’s not our experience of becks.....but everyone’s experience is different I guess

 

[Coolcats]

Thanks again Andrew. We will take our time as we are in no hurry. I will definitely look down south. I need to settle on one or two models so I can compare deals I reckon

Try Tynevalley but as with all dealers keep on top of anything you order etc

 

[Blue Knight]

Try Tynevalley but as with all dealers keep on top of anything you order etc

We bought a new Autotrail from them immediately before the Pilote and they didn't even bother PDI'ing it.

We took it home (30-minutes from TVM) and parked it on our driveway. In the morning (and on further inspection) I realised that there were dings in several panels of the cab and, more worrying still a golf ball sized impact in the roof pod.

I went back to them the next day and they didn't want to know, stating the excuse of "that's what comes of putting your van in storage"!

........storage my arse - it was on our drive.

Sold it 3-months later with all of its many faults still not fixed.