Had a near miss at the NEC today (1 Viewer)

[jongood]

The equivalent Hymer was over 100K

Sorry I was thinking real Hymer prices, The NEC isnt the place to buy one.

 

[Bobby22]

E

Hi Bobby, Spinneys only have two reviews. Please click the review button here. https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/reviews/spinney-motorhomes.50/ Cheers

All done.

 

[Stretto Boy]

wow 77K for an autosleeper! you could get a good Hymer for that.

Based on my experience (I can only speak as I find), Auto-Sleepers are superbly crafted and certainly as good as any continental van unless you are going up into N&B territory but that wouldn't be a fair comparison. I for one am a very satisfied owner

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[John Stanton]

Based on my experience (I can only speak as I find), Auto-Sleepers are superbly crafted and certainly as good as any continental van unless you are going up into N&B territory but that wouldn't be a fair comparison. I for one am a very satisfied owner

Seconded ... we've never owned one but the factory is just 15 minutes from us and we've been lucky enough to have an "unofficial" tour ... these guys really do care about their product and have a pretty loyal following. Let's hope Trigano inject some capital into the business so they can progress even further.

 

[Lenny HB]

The equivalent Hymer was over 100K

Only if you pay stupid UK prices, buy sensibly cheaper than Autotrails & you get an A Class that they can't even make.

 

[John Stanton]

... but of course not everyone wants an A Class so who cares I'm not sure that causing offence to all the happy A-T owners on this forum is really what this thread was intended to achieve ...

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[Lenny HB]

... but of course not everyone wants an A Class so who cares I'm not sure that causing offence to all the happy A-T owners on this forum is really what this thread was intended to achieve ...

Not trying to cause offence but not comparing like for like, and pointing out that Hymers are overpriced in the UK but you don't need to pay those prices.

 

[John Stanton]

Not trying to cause offence

Too late ...

 

[sallylillian]

Lenny I have heard you mention many times of the advantages of buying a moho over the channel, even so far as to say we are doing it wrong by purchasing from a UK dealership.
Please enlighten me on the following:
How easy is it, whats involved, to get the COC forms sorted out with the DVLA?
Who does the Uk conversion on things like speedo KPH to MPH, Driving lights front & rear Fogs, UK style 240 volt sockets,who does it, and who pays for that? you, or the continental dealer?
I take it you have to pay UK import tax?, or is there a way round that?, as I did speak to a guy that had had his van registered for 6 months or so in Germany to get round it?If so how does that work?
Why do UK insurance companies ask if the vehicle is an import?, is it to ensure that the COC form is correct and that the aforementioned changes have been made?
Who do you take your van to for warranty work?, UK dealer or back to your continental dealer?
How much in monetary terms at the end of the purchase and import procedure in percentage terms today can be achieved?

This info would be helpful to me and others for chossing our next Continental made MH.
Thanks for any enlightenment on this topic

Ye Gods, Lenny will be a week writing his memoirs for this lot, if you search on here "importing" all this list has been covered by many successful members who have imported, I am sure Lenny will be along..........eventually!

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[Lenny HB]

Lenny I have heard you mention many times of the advantages of buying a moho over the channel, even so far as to say we are doing it wrong by purchasing from a UK dealership.
Please enlighten me on the following:
How easy is it, whats involved, to get the COC forms sorted out with the DVLA?

Missed your post until Michael quoted it.
Very easy just takes a bit of time mostly waiting for them.
You need a garage/MOT station inspection to confirm lights, speedo conform, simple form to fill in from VCA to get your IVA certificate so you can register the vehicle.

Who does the Uk conversion on things like speedo KPH to MPH, Driving lights front & rear Fogs, UK style 240 volt sockets,who does it, and who pays for that? you, or the continental dealer?

New speedo overlay £50 10min job to fit, most vans have twin rear fog lights otherwise you will have to fit a new o/s lamp, headlamps on A Class normally adjustable for flat dipping otherwise fit new headlamps. Dealer will do all these for you at a cost but easy enough to do yourself.
Why bother changing mains sockets I'm happy with continental ones.

I take it you have to pay UK import tax?, or is there a way round that?, as I did speak to a guy that had had his van registered for 6 months or so in Germany to get round it?If so how does that work?

My dealer supplies ex vat and I just have to pay UK VAT, some dealers charge the VAT and refund you once you have paid UK VAT.
Vehicles registered for over 6 months or have done 6000km there is no VAT liability.

Why do UK insurance companies ask if the vehicle is an import?, is it to ensure that the COC form is correct and that the aforementioned changes have been made?

They sometimes ask only one that it made any difference that was ABI.

Who do you take your van to for warranty work?, UK dealer or back to your continental dealer?

Hymer (and I think Carthago) have a Pan European warranty take mine to a local dealer 20 miles away.

How much in monetary terms at the end of the purchase and import procedure in percentage terms today can be achieved?

First van in 2008 about 10k would have been more but Euro went from 1.45 at time of order to 1.125 when we paid cost us an extra 7k but still saved 10k.
Last van 2014 about 12K Euro moved 2k in our favor on that one.
Current van March this year about 24k, saved 12k on van and got 12k more for my trade in than I could in the UK and hardly any exchange rate risk.
Savings based on getting a reasonable discount from a UK dealer or about 20% off list price.

As Michael says loads of threads on it just need you use the forum search.

 

[Steve and Kat]

... but of course not everyone wants an A Class so who cares I'm not sure that causing offence to all the happy A-T owners on this forum is really what this thread was intended to achieve ...

I agree, but this is Lenny. He likes to put a downer on any British Built Motorhome. Just to add John, when we bought our 2016 AutoTrail Comanche last year, we could have easily saved a lot of money and got a Hymer... But the cramped interior and finish on he ones we saw wasn't a patch on the sheer space and quality of our MH..

But each to their own..

 

[Lenny HB]

I agree, but this is Lenny. He likes to put a downer on any British Built Motorhome. .

With good reason I had a British caravan it had more water in the walls than my garden pond I would never buy anything British built in this market again.

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[MillieMoocher]

You can get a Smove for nearly that too !!!

These Motorhomes are getting more and more expensive every year.. it’s quite scary really..

Soon, it’ll be like house prices.. the young folk will never be able to get on the Motorhome ladder !!

Just to put the cat among the pigeons...

At Travelworld today having some minor adjustments done under warranty (TW were excellent BTW), they have a new Smove in with a screen price of £79k, before any negotiation is done....

 

[Steve and Kat]

Just to put the cat among the pigeons...

At Travelworld today having some minor adjustments done under warranty (TW were excellent BTW), they have a new Smove in with a screen price of £79k, before any negotiation is done....

Did they indeed.. rubs chin

They do (I think) different size Smoves, so maybe a baby one.. has it been registered yet did you notice ?

 

[John Stanton]

I agree, but this is Lenny. He likes to put a downer on any British Built Motorhome. Just to add John, when we bought our 2016 AutoTrail Comanche last year, we could have easily saved a lot of money and got a Hymer... But the cramped interior and finish on he ones we saw wasn't a patch on the sheer space and quality of our MH..

But each to their own..

Well we switched from a trouble free Auto Trail to a poorly made brand new Hymer after being sucked into the Hymer "spell". So ours was a bad experience resulting in the vow never to darken a Hymer entrance step again but I acknowledge that there are many happy owners out there and I would never disrespect their own personal choice. We've switched to Rapido now - shortly to be collected but getting back to the point of the original post while Auto Sleepers wouldnt suit all of our requirements I do like the way they are put together so I wish the OP well with whatever they choose to do

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[Blue Knight]

RHD can be supplied but you will wait about 6 months longer for delivery and cost an extra €1500.
I wouldn't touch a RHD now, LHD so much easier to sell or trade as you can sell / trade in any country.
Our first one was RHD we were getting a bit panicy when we hadn't sold it a few weeks before the new wan was due and we were stuck with selling in the UK. Last van was LHD traded it for more than we could have sold it for in the UK.

Cheers Lenny, I wasn't expecting them to provide the RHD models so that comes as a very pleasant surprise.

Food for thought!

All the best,

Andrew

 

[MillieMoocher]

@Steve and Kat sorry but I didn’t notice as I was only wandering the showroom while I was waiting. Certainly didn’t have any number plates on it, but remember the price as I was surprised by it - parked in the shadow of another N&B at £148k and a pre owned Flair at £195k.

 

[CazPaul]

Missed your post until Michael quoted it.
Very easy just takes a bit of time mostly waiting for them.
You need a garage/MOT station inspection to confirm lights, speedo conform, simple form to fill in from VCA to get your IVA certificate so you can register the vehicle.

New speedo overlay £50 10min job to fit, most vans have twin rear fog lights otherwise you will have to fit a new o/s lamp, headlamps on A Class normally adjustable for flat dipping otherwise fit new headlamps. Dealer will do all these for you at a cost but easy enough to do yourself.
Why bother changing mains sockets I'm happy with continental ones.

My dealer supplies ex vat and I just have to pay UK VAT, some dealers charge the VAT and refund you once you have paid UK VAT.
Vehicles registered for over 6 months or have done 6000km there is no VAT liability.

They sometimes ask only one that it made any difference that was ABI.

Hymer (and I think Carthago) have a Pan European warranty take mine to a local dealer 20 miles away.

First van in 2008 about 10k would have been more but Euro went from 1.45 at time of order to 1.125 when we paid cost us an extra 7k but still saved 10k.
Last van 2014 about 12K Euro moved 2k in our favor on that one.
Current van March this year about 24k, saved 12k on van and got 12k more for my trade in than I could in the UK and hardly any exchange rate risk.
Savings based on getting a reasonable discount from a UK dealer or about 20% off list price.

As Michael says loads of threads on it just need you use the forum search.

Missed your post until Michael quoted it.
Very easy just takes a bit of time mostly waiting for them.
You need a garage/MOT station inspection to confirm lights, speedo conform, simple form to fill in from VCA to get your IVA certificate so you can register the vehicle.

New speedo overlay £50 10min job to fit, most vans have twin rear fog lights otherwise you will have to fit a new o/s lamp, headlamps on A Class normally adjustable for flat dipping otherwise fit new headlamps. Dealer will do all these for you at a cost but easy enough to do yourself.
Why bother changing mains sockets I'm happy with continental ones.

My dealer supplies ex vat and I just have to pay UK VAT, some dealers charge the VAT and refund you once you have paid UK VAT.
Vehicles registered for over 6 months or have done 6000km there is no VAT liability.

They sometimes ask only one that it made any difference that was ABI.

Hymer (and I think Carthago) have a Pan European warranty take mine to a local dealer 20 miles away.

First van in 2008 about 10k would have been more but Euro went from 1.45 at time of order to 1.125 when we paid cost us an extra 7k but still saved 10k.
Last van 2014 about 12K Euro moved 2k in our favor on that one.
Current van March this year about 24k, saved 12k on van and got 12k more for my trade in than I could in the UK and hardly any exchange rate risk.
Savings based on getting a reasonable discount from a UK dealer or about 20% off list price.

As Michael says loads of threads on it just need you use the forum search.

I thought it was both Lenny regarding vat liability when buying abroad, 6 months AND 6 thousand km, not either or.

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[funflair]

If you want to buy van abroad and have warranty work done here in the UK I would check with your chosen UK dealer first, I have been told "don't think that you can come to us for warranty work" I think Lenny is lucky that he has a cooperative dealer just down the road but not all are as obliging.

Martin

 

[sallylillian]

If you want to buy van abroad and have warranty work done here in the UK I would check with your chosen UK dealer first, I have been told "don't think that you can come to us for warranty work" I think Lenny is lucky that he has a cooperative dealer just down the road but not all are as obliging.

Martin

Thats true Martin, and it is a problem for UK N+B owners who purchased in Europe, TW made it clear they would not support warranty work on what they termed as a "grey" imports, however from what I have gleaned from many other N+B owners they prefer to visit the factory due to unsatisfactory experiences so maybe no bad thing. However I have found a different approach in Europe having had warranty work done at 2 enthusiastic dealers whilst travelling neither of whom were the supplying one. My German supplying dealer is also happy to send me parts to do the job myself, this last week I had a back up camera assembly sent to me here in Spain, outside warranty now, but no charge.

 

[Lenny HB]

I thought it was both Lenny regarding vat liability when buying abroad, 6 months AND 6 thousand km, not either or.

Just checked you are right.

If you want to buy van abroad and have warranty work done here in the UK I would check with your chosen UK dealer first, I have been told "don't think that you can come to us for warranty work" I think Lenny is lucky that he has a cooperative dealer just down the road but not all are as obliging.
Martin

When I contacted Hymer regarding my last van when I had a problem in Greece as wanted to call into Bad Waldsee on the way back their initial response was " The dealers responsible for warranty work on your vehicle are the nearest dealer to your home address and your supplying dealer " and gave me the address of my local dealer.

Thats true Martin, and it is a problem for UK N+B owners who purchased in Europe, TW made it clear they would not support warranty work on what they termed as a "grey" imports,

That sort of reply winds me up, we are still in the EU which is a common market of free trade so it can not be a grey import if it was purchased within the EU or from other countries within the free trade agreement.

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[bellabee]

The thing is, would you trust a dealer who is clearly unwilling, because you bought your van abroad, to carry out any work, warranty or not, on your expensive pride and joy?
We have no faith in Travelworld since we took our last German-purchased Hymer there for its first damp check to maintain the warranty. They opened the conversation by telling us that they 'don't do other people's warranty work' and that, in any case, we needed a full hab check to maintain the Hymer warranty. We assured them that we were not looking for warranty work, and merely wanted the damp check (£170!), which they eventually agreed to carry out.
When they conducted the check, they said that the van had 'Redundant screw holes (sucking up water by capillary action) sealed with sikaflex.'
This rang alarm bells for us, as we were pretty certain that said 'redundant screw holes', were the drainage holes which Hymer put in the bottom edge of locker doors, allowing for any moisture to escape. I then checked on this forum, and knowledgeable members confirmed that these holes were there for a purpose and should be kept free of dirt etc at all times. If Travelworld had cared to check the brand new vans in their showroom, they could have confirmed for themselves, that each of these had similar 'redundant screw holes.'
Travelworld's Sikaflex was later removed by Hymer at Bad Waldsee, who also confirmed that these holes should be kept free at all times.
We now have a new Belgian-purchased Hymer, which will be going back to Belgium for any damp checks and other work. We live fairly close to Travelworld, and given the current poor exchange rate, may have considered trying to do a deal with them on the purchase of a new one, but as a result of the above experience, we decided to leave them well alone.

 

[MR. FUSION]

Just checked you are right.


When I contacted Hymer regarding my last van when I had a problem in Greece as wanted to call into Bad Waldsee on the way back their initial response was " The dealers responsible for warranty work on your vehicle are the nearest dealer to your home address and your supplying dealer " and gave me the address of my local dealer.



That sort of reply winds me up, we are still in the EU which is a common market of free trade so it can not be a grey import if it was purchased within the EU or from other countries within the free trade agreement.

Ah well.... obviously all the MH dealers voted for Brexit......

 

[andyman]

I’m on my way to the show and thinking of another Rapido but like you will walk away if there isn’t a decent deal to be done, any idea which dealer wasn’t going to give you the usual show discount ?

Hi, have you visited the show. More importantly did you negotiate a good deal.

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[DrRogerRam]

Hi, this is my personal experience of Autosleepers. We started with a Trooper van conversion on a VW chassis that we loved BUT on a 6 week hol to France SWMBO developed a crippling bad back. Sold her privately. Next was a Devon coach built on a Merc chassis less than a year old. Nightmare. Everything Merc was great, AS rubbish: microwave & shower curtain had permanent rattle, on our French trip the driver & passenger steps began to separate from the body & there was a strange intermitten electrical fault where everything died. Resurrection was via a strange ritual-turning everything on & off & disconnecting from power. Fixed eventually under warranty.

Our saviour was Lee Broadhurst formerly of Edgehill now at Oaktree-decent trade-in & UK dealer unmatchable price on Henrietta the Hymer 6.7M Exsis i. Belgian import-Lee did all the work. After we completed on our house & I shattered my tib & fib we lived in Hettie for 8 months in UK up to orthopaedic discharge then France 'til we found our French Sanctuary here in Gironde.

TMI but no problems & we love Hettie still-she is LHD Auto so I was able to drive safely round the block still wearing my Ilizarov frame-look 'em up if you want putting off your food ❤

 

[gwyntaxi]

Took a long hard look at the Autosleeper Burford Duo on a Merc chassis.

It would have replaced the Augusta which I bought new in April 08. Sat down with the salesman, configured the Autosleeper specification and it came to £77,500 OTR.

The salesman asked us what we thought we wanted for the Augusta , knowing nothing about value I said high thirties? He said he would ask his boss (usual stance) about my trade in value, his boss was busy so I went walk-about.

SWMBO and I discussed it over lunch and came to a conclusion that we could afford to put £42,000 up but no more. So that meant we needed a trade-in of £35,500 .

We waited for the salesman to phone my mobile, and he never came back????

So we asked another dealer what our Autocruise was worth and he told me £30-£32K tops, so obviously matey's boss thought "flying a kite" and decided to ignore us. Can't say I blame him, probably busy as hell with more realistic customers.

But I might have done a deal at £33-£34k. Phew close call.

A-S used to be a nice van, we had an A-S Legend on a smiley face transit for a few years and loved it but they are not built like they used to be,becoming a bit of a cliche that,but seems it’s true we’ve met lots of disgruntled A-S owners lately,and all with a tale of woe about their A/S and not just a light not working or minor things but a long list of real problems, and to add the after sales service from Marquis into the mix they are really pee’d off after having spent upwards of 70 grand.At the end of the day I think you got the best deal by keeping yours.

 

[Stretto Boy]

. . . on a 6 week hol to France SWMBO developed a crippling bad back. Sold her privately.

Hope you got a good price!

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[DrRogerRam]

We did-buyer was a VW ethusiast, know someone here who loves restoring 'em, using for a bit then waiting for a good offer

 

[csx355]

We went to the NEC with a hitlist of vans to view and ended up placing an order for a Mobilvetta MH80 due in March 2018 - Very happy camper Bunny.

We had a potential part ex which the dealer would take from us at a much reduced price than we would like but he tried to accommodate us on the balance to change. So we Placed a deposit.

Marquis agreed to carry out all the extra's and factory mods for us so we got exactly what we asked for / wanted and have the benefit of a reasonably local point of service - no compromise there either.

As an independent retailer (sports goods) myself I totally understand and accept that the internet is here to stay and that product will always find it's way to market via 'Unorthodox' channels often cutting out layers of distribution. It has the effect of bringing down the base price of product which is good for the consumer BUT not all these new distribution channels are actually making money and sometimes are not viable or sustainable. This does not mean that these channels will disappear because should one fail someone else often steps in to fill their space. The supply chain continues but may not be consistent.

The buying public has to realize that any profit that a dealer makes on any product goes to in some way cover both actual AND perceived warranty liabilities. The perceived issues - that we all face - are more likely to be dealt with as goodwill by a dealer who has enjoyed a share of the initial purchase. I know how far we go / and the costs involved to help all our customers. Satisfactory customer service is not cheap. I also know that a personal relationship with a dealer can often be invaluable when discretion is the deciding element in an issue.

We all have the choice - ultimately I was happy to spend where I felt that I had a good deal - I am happy with what I am going to pay I knew what the screen price was before I started negotiating and I wont feel guilty in any way asking for or expecting a high level of local backup and service. For instance when I buy a new car I expect and get a courtesy vehicle should the need arise. Often my dealer collects my vehicle when there is a recall (that can be a can of worms at arm length) or service requirement - I think this needs to be factored into the purchase price. It might not all add up to the 10 / 20 / 30 £k savings that may be made but still worth considering.

Prior to this we had a Rapido that was excellent - now sold privately - and prior to that an old Autosleeper Clubman - that was also excellent.

Not sure if any of this is relevant but I felt that there was some symmetry with the thread and

We didn't have a near miss at the NEC

 

[Duck Truck]

I would not buy a new van now for the following reasons
1) Lack of money
2) What the bloody hell is happening over diesel engines.

So I am stuck with my van which I am entirely happy about

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