help and advice on buying autotrail (2 Viewers)

[Realist]

So on the flip side then what is the better makes to look at if Autotrain and Hymer and poor quality?

 

[TheBig1]

So on the flip side then what is the better makes to look at if Autotrain and Hymer and poor quality?

they all have their own issues, but Rapido are very well built

 

[romany]

Try looking at the smaller companies, and checking their customer service reviews.

firstly I would in hind sight find a layout I think I want then hire from a company and use it and see if its really practical for you then look around the smaller companies as above.

But as regards auto trail just google auto trail problems absolute nightmare

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[Realist]

I have a feeling that Autotrail have issues but would I not be correct in thinking is if you purchased a 2nd hand van issues would be resolved by then over a few owners?

But I will look into the Rapido range as well thanks.

 

[romany]

I have a feeling that Autotrail have issues but would I not be correct in thinking is if you purchased a 2nd hand van issues would be resolved by then over a few owners?

But I will look into the Rapido range as well thanks.

Its a valid point but i would still not buy a van from a company that has shown a complete disregard for its customers in the past. It also depends how good you yourself are at putting fault right

 

[Realist]

If purchased a brand new van and had loads of issues as others then yes I would be well pegged off but, way I’m thinking is if you purchased a 2nd hand van then hopefully most of the issues would be fixed, unless they are major.

Currently running a 22 year old Ford Herald Squire CK 1998 and although she’s had loads of work done and drives like a dream I’m looking for a upgrade so anything newer I feel is better than what we currently have.

My main points we are looking for is two single beds, large fridge and biggish freezer, window blinds, all round heating and if possible a large rear garage for two bikes or bike rack.

Seen a few up the NEC Saturday but god small mortgage was needed crazy prices.

Regards.

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[peterc10]

From memory I think that single rear beds over a large garage layout started to get more popular in new European built motorhomes around 2005 to 2010. They remain very popular to this day, but you won't find many UK built ones in that layout. Our first motorhome was a 5 year old 2008 Adria with that layout. We liked it so much that when we changed we went for a bigger Hymer with a similar layout.

 

[Vipar]

It is a mine field out there

 

[TheBig1]

I have a feeling that Autotrail have issues but would I not be correct in thinking is if you purchased a 2nd hand van issues would be resolved by then over a few owners?

But I will look into the Rapido range as well thanks.

the issue with autotrail is in some regards less what the minor snagging problems are, but more how autotrail dealers are very slow to fix the issues.
Then comes the huge issue, that so many of them are badly assembled and leak. When in warranty leaks can be fixed but come back a couple of years later. It will be an ongoing problem for the life of the vehicle with no warranty support after the first few years

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[Realist]

Minefield that’s for sure trying to find middle ground with something that suit us as above.

 

[138go]

We have a Laika and we’re delighted with it.

 

[Realist]

Never heard of that make will look into it.

Thanks.

We have a Laika and we’re delighted with it.

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[TCG]

2013 ....3 Litre Autotrail delaware... last hab check not one reading above 7%. goes like a train even tugging the toad. great layout, cream leather through out.

Love it.

 

[Jim]

I’ve owned a couple of AutoTrails No problems with either. In fact one of them was the best van we’ve ever owned

 

[Realist]

All the motor dealers are miles from me and to travel around, look, make deals, test, decide can take weeks and by then the van has been sold.

Think it’s going to be a long ball ache for us looking and deciding what to get but hence questions are asked and advice gained with thanks.

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[Realist]

Looking around the net and came across this..... 2009 (05) EURAMOBIL I810EB FIAT DUCATO 2.8 JTD.

It has two single beds and a large garage that will take our two bikes but it’s has 50000 miles on the clock and priced at £29995.

lot of mileage has put me off but the layout is what we are after.

 

[Gellyneck]

Looking around the net and came across this..... 2009 (05) EURAMOBIL I810EB FIAT DUCATO 2.8 JTD.

It has two single beds and a large garage that will take our two bikes but it’s has 50000 miles on the clock and priced at £29995.

lot of mileage has put me off but the layout is what we are after.

Remember the base vehicle is a "commercial" unit designed \ built to run a lot more miles than that (potentially every year!).
At 11 years old that's only 4.5k / year which is very low for a commercial unit.

 

[tandc]

No problems with the dealer regarding repairs on our autotrail Motorhome Todd’s of Preston.

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[romany]

I’ve owned a couple of AutoTrails No problems with either. In fact one of them was the best van we’ve ever owned

I note the past tense Jim I think like many others there was more pride and workmanship in the older vehicles that company's made

 

[Conal]

We have an Autotrail Delaware registered April 2016 bought 6 months old from Brownhills.

I think you need to look at the sales and after sales as well as the manufacturer.

As many have stated, we can only give our own experiences and those of people we know. We have the 2.3 Comfortmatic 150bhp and are very happy.

Brownhills were very helpful when we met them at the NEC and gave us a reasonable deal when buying this from their site. Now I have had a chance to read of others’ purchase strategies, in hindsight I probably could have negotiated a better deal but I am not complaining.

There were a few niggles at point of sale but Brownhills sorted these out. They took longer than was reasonable to supply replacement parts but that was partly due to delays at the factory. To me the most important thing was that they kept us informed and we had no pressing deadline. This delay also allowed us to benefit from advice on here and have gaslow lpg fitted.

David, our sales person, made it clear that sales did not deal with the more technical aspects of after sales but the head of the services section was patient and accessible. This reduced the layers of bureaucracy which I prefer.

I was willing to make as many journeys to Brownhills as required and made that clear. If you buy from them you have free use of their overnight stay area and their pool (Brownhills Club) both of which we have used.

They also offer access to a very reasonably priced and good quality body repair service carried out at their premises.

Their service prices are high but they are always busy, and there are other places to get work done.

We chose the Delaware for the island bed but had very little experience of motorhomes. Either we were lucky, as we have had few problems, or there are a majority of satisfied Autotrail owners who keep quiet.

We do not hesitate to recommend our Delaware but your problem is that, as with any other makes, quality seems to vary. If I was buying again, I would hope to purchase from someone on this forum who had already dealt with any faults.

We have toured for 31 days on two occasions, and are leaving for a 66 day trip in March. The size and layout make it an ideal vehicle for touring.

Hope this helps.

 

[Jaws]

Our Autotrail has been wonderful.
But I would not buy one made after 2007 !

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[Blue Knight]

If purchased a brand new van and had loads of issues as others then yes I would be well pegged off but, way I’m thinking is if you purchased a 2nd hand van then hopefully most of the issues would be fixed, unless they are major.

Just hold that thought for a second. If you ever research the contents of the Autotrail Unhappy Owners Club then you'll soon realise that a whole load of brand new Autotrail vans get rejected each year, just days after their initial delivery to their first owners.

I got rid of my new Autotrail at the 3-month point as it seemed much-much easier to get rid of the thing than to go through the heartache of having the many problems repaired; some poor sod got a duff van for sure but hey-ho.

Just be careful of any nearly new ATs on dealer forecourts.

Good luck,

Andrew

 

[PeteH]

I note the past tense Jim I think like many others there was more pride and workmanship in the older vehicles that company's made

See My comments in Post #23. I live in the area where many are made, and as such come across many of those who work / have worked in the past for "caravan manufacturers", The feeling is that in general Q-C has been sacrificed to the "god of Mammon". A guy in our village who re-carpets huge numbers of the "statics" on the Coastal Parks. Has some horror stories to tell about that side of the "industry". Leaky vans, water and power faults, poor installations etc;. Before he was made redundant, he ran the Touring Lines for ABI. (who now no longer do tourers), so a lot of experience there.

 

[Kev and Carolyn]

Having had 4 Auto trails.....I would rather shave with a spoon than buy another!
Two companies who have sold Auto trails for the last 5 years have now decided to stop selling them . The reasons for that was quality...(Or lack of) Also one company in particular has said quote " We have far too many in the workshops suffering with damp problems. We have just had enough !"

Think it says it all really...

Edited...There are some out there that have no problems.....Just not many?
kev

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[Speve]

We have owned two Auto trails and now on our second imported Hymer the first AT was a 2004 Cheyenne 696g merc and was a lovely bus little bit of damp but nothing serious, then bought a new 2013 AT Tracker FB a great van after I sorted out a few things like cupboard doors falling off and odds and sods but no damp at all reason for changing was after uprating it to 3850kg it was still not able to tow a car trailer due to payload as fitting a towbar just made it unusable for us. We then bough a 2105 Hymer Exsis I 698 4250KG 2.3 man 150 a great van towing capability and good payload had for three years then traded for our current 2018 B678DL 4500kg auto 2.3 180 again a great van with loads of storage and large garage tows really well.Both Hymershave had virtually no problems, the Exsis none that I can recall and current van has had a new headlight and a new reversing camera both on warranty and I carried out the jobs myself after being sent replacements from Germany.
So in respect of both manufacturers We have had good vehicles (some would say lucky) but we would always favour Hymer LHD as we travel in Europe majority of the time however I do believe that with pressure on manufactures to build lighter vehicles they have lost a lot of the quality of the older models which is a great shame.?

 

[Jasz]

I have a feeling that Autotrail have issues but would I not be correct in thinking is if you purchased a 2nd hand van issues would be resolved by then over a few owners?

But I will look into the Rapido range as well thanks.

My view would be to see how long the last owner had it. We've had ours 4 years now from new with no plans to change it as it's only had minor issues. It seems that people with more major issues would get rid of it quicker than that.