How to track progress of new campervan (deposit paid)

[70321]

Hello, We paid a deposit on a new campervan a couple of months ago and delivery (from Germany) due mid August. We emailed this week asking if progress was going as expected and had no reply. Phoned them after a couple of days of no response and they told us they would update us next month. (This was my husband who did the emailing and phoning...I would have been a bit more pushy tbh)

They seem totally disinterested in us as customers (spending an awful lot of money). Is there a way I can actually track the progress of the new build? Is this lack of customer service usual?

 

[TM59]

Welcome to the world of motorhomes. A law of its own in my opinion. Perseverance. Keep hassling the dealer.

 

[Grianan]

Hi, we were in similar position 2 years ago ... our June delivery van was eventually delivered in December. Getting information was not easy ...
You’ve not said what make you have bought but, as an example, the Globecar factory shuts for factory holiday in August.
I also heard that there was a backlog of orders waiting for fiat chassis to be available before they could be built.

 

[70321]

We have put a deposit on a Hymer Sprinter (Mercedes). We have agreed (in the contract) that we can pull out if not delivered by mid Sept. They surely have an idea if the factory is on track to deliver...would you not think? Should I try and get the factory info in Germany and give them a call? Do people do that?

 

[Brains]

I think you will find many tails on here of late and very late delivery of new vehicles.
Even in normal times it is not unusual to see 6 month delays.

I suspect now with multiple shortages of parts and staff that the lead time for new vehicles will need to be extended by many months.

Our vehicle, also a Hymer Mercedes, was ordered in September 2016, due for delivery April 2017, it was finally delivered in September 2018, we bought it in December 2019.

Our vehicle was the dealers demonstration vehicle, they were trying to sell them!
By the time it was finally delivered Hymer had stopped making that exact model, which meant they must have lost many sales.
It was good for us, as we were the first registered owners of a 14 month old vehicle with 5,500 miles on the clock and most of the gripe list dealt with

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[70321]

Brains Not what I hoped to hear! We don't want to hang around as we've both lost our jobs (and this is our escape plan). Mr Kiddo might get work back in a year's time (if lucky) but I won't have work at all. He finishes at the end of this month so our plan was to set off when we get the van.

Is there a way of confirming what stage the build is at? I'd like them to be honest so we can try and make other plans (and try and buy another van if our one is not due on time)

 

[AXO66]

How about approaching them from the contractual point of view.
somthing along the lines of

“Can you confirm you are able to honour your contractual obligations?“

 

[Garfields]

Push the dealer to try and find out
The chances of you getting the right contact in the factory that is willing to help is low
The guys on production will not know one persons van from any other
It will likely be bar-coded which is what they will refer to for anything different from standard spec
It wont have a lable with for Beatrix Kiddo on it I;m afraid

 

[Sapper520]

We ordered and put down a deposit in January. When the dealership reopened after lockdown, we had a telephone call from the dealer, saying Sunlight (part of the Hymer) had notified them and confirmed our van is due in the dealership during the week starting the 3rd August.

We will then go up to check it over, point where we want all the extras bolted on, then collect first week in September............we’ll see what happens in 2 weeks time, fingers crossed.

 

[sallylillian]

Push the dealer to try and find out
The chances of you getting the right contact in the factory that is willing to help is low
The guys on production will not know one persons van from any other
It will likely be bar-coded which is what they will refer to for anything different from standard spec
It wont have a lable with for Beatrix Kiddo on it I;m afraid

Our Morelo had a build number, my name and the name of the dealer on a placard attached to the van as it moved through the factory. So firstly ask your dealer for its factory build number. I have no idea who your manufacturer is however if google around you may get the name and email of the international sales manager and write to him/her enquiring on progress and ask for some pictures. Maybe you will hit a wall, but maybe not. Good luck.

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[Brains]

Brains Not what I hoped to hear! We don't want to hang around as we've both lost our jobs (and this is our escape plan). Mr Kiddo might get work back in a year's time (if lucky) but I won't have work at all. He finishes at the end of this month so our plan was to set off when we get the van.

Is there a way of confirming what stage the build is at? I'd like them to be honest so we can try and make other plans (and try and buy another van if our one is not due on time)

I totally understand where you are coming from, we are in exactly the same position job and future wise, the only difference is we intended on buying a vehicle at the end of this summer, but were offered such a good opportunity that we bought it 9 months earlier than intended.

I think your first port of call is the dealer.
Who is it ?

Personally I have found that it's impossible, from the UK, to deal with Hymer direct, they do everything through their dealers.
The central dealer for the UK is the Erwin Hymer Travelworld Centre which is north of Birmingham, maybe worth a call ??

Other option is could your dealer fill the gap ?
Do they rent out vans ?
September is low season, we rented our van for a week from our dealer before we bought it, and they refunded the hire cost in full.

I'd suggest at least a week or two in the UK before you head off into the sunset, as there is a lot of 'stuff' you need to buy, and I'll also guarantee that by the end of a week you will have a page long list of 'snagging issues' that will need to be fixed by the dealer.

You will also need to look into extra items that are not fitted as standard, alarm, solar panel, gaslow system, tracker. Our very first trip was from the Dealers was to a shopping centre for bedding, kitchen stuff and food and then straight to Van Bitz for the first 2 nights where they fitted the alarm, tracker, solar, gaslow.

 

[Coolcats]

Brains Not what I hoped to hear! We don't want to hang around as we've both lost our jobs (and this is our escape plan). Mr Kiddo might get work back in a year's time (if lucky) but I won't have work at all. He finishes at the end of this month so our plan was to set off when we get the van.

Is there a way of confirming what stage the build is at? I'd like them to be honest so we can try and make other plans (and try and buy another van if our one is not due on time)

I placed an order for a Hymer Jan 2018 ‘should be ready beginning of June‘ the dealer said the sales team have little understanding of the product they sell ( and I was dealing with the head of sales) trying to get them to answer a simple question was like pulling teeth. June came and went July...good news your van has been built great I say when is delivery due, dunno said the dealer Ok said I and called back a month later the sales guy wasn’t there and had a call back from the receptionist who said Great news your van has been built....it was still sitting in Hymers compound! So after pushing I found there was a delivery date and called to check......it wasn’t actually delivered it was the dealers demo and one other Grrrr, I am then told the dealer had a call from Hymer to arrange collection of our van great what’s the tracking number I ask...oh there is no tracking number. I managed to find out who the shipping company was emailed then and also found a big button on their web page that said track your delivery....

long story but it was delivered and we picked it up that September.

keep on top of your dealer and ask what the actual process is and where they are in the process.

 

[Garfields]

Our Morelo had a build number, my name and the name of the dealer on a placard attached

Going for a Merelo you are stepping up a bit
Bit like ordering a Morgan car if you wanted pink leather with yellow stitching they would do it
The higher number producers its just the next box on the line
Dealers can and should be doing more

 

[Emmit]

Anecdotal evidence would suggest that dealers are having no trouble whatsoever selling their stock.

I hope your dealer isn't trying to upset you, hoping you will back out leaving them with a new van to sell on at a higher profit margin.

I appreciate that's not what you want to read but there are sharks out there who would take the pennies off a corpse.

 

[Coolcats]

Anecdotal evidence would suggest that dealers are having no trouble whatsoever selling their stock.

I hope your dealer isn't trying to upset you, hoping you will back out leaving them with a new van to sell on at a higher profit margin.

I appreciate that's not what you want to read but there are sharks out there who would take the pennies off a corpse.

Not sure dealers are that devious, and this bubble will burst as all boom times do. Others who have decided to give to a go may find its a long way off an all inclusive holiday, and if jobs are lost due to CV-19 etc some may have to sell thier MoHo's

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[70321]

Brains I've sent you a private email as I don't want to put dealer's name on here (they might be watching!)
Thanks for all your advice. I'm going to call them.

 

[SpeedyDux]

How about approaching them from the contractual point of view.
somthing along the lines of

“Can you confirm you are able to honour your contractual obligations?“

Before going down that route it would be prudent to read the T&Cs of Sale. Ususally the small print on the back of the Sales Order form. Here's an example:

Any estimated date quoted for delivery of the vehicle is approximate only and the Seller shall not be liable .. blah blah blah etc etc. [There may be a proviso that in defined circumstances gives the buyer the right to cancel and get the deposit back.]

 

[70321]

We ordered and put down a deposit in January. When the dealership reopened after lockdown, we had a telephone call from the dealer, saying Sunlight (part of the Hymer) had notified them and confirmed our van is due in the dealership during the week starting the 3rd August.

We will then go up to check it over, point where we want all the extras bolted on, then collect first week in September............we’ll see what happens in 2 weeks time, fingers crossed.

Sapper520 FYI, we've had an update on our Hymer. Going to workshop in Germany next week, arriving in UK probably 14 days later BUT apparently because of delays at DVLA the van won't be available to us until end of September!

 

[Sapper520]

Sapper520 FYI, we've had an update on our Hymer. Going to workshop in Germany next week, arriving in UK probably 14 days later BUT apparently because of delays at DVLA the van won't be available to us until end of September!

Thanks for the update. I asked our dealer this week if we were still on schedule. He told me he hadn’t been notified of any delay........hopefully it will be in the country sometime next week.

 

[Coolcats]

Thanks for the update. I asked our dealer this week if we were still on schedule. He told me he hadn’t been notified of any delay........hopefully it will be in the country sometime next week.

A question you can ask your dealer is who is the shipper and is it Hymer or the Dealer who organises the shipment. In our case it was the dealer.

So considering the value of the asset the shipment will be tracked the dealer should have the ability to track the shipment don’t be put off by any bluff. Tyne Valley had ours shipped they said there was no tracking yet the shipping company had a customer portal that allows the customer to track the shipments progress.

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[Rosemary1]

A question you can ask your dealer is who is the shipper and is it Hymer or the Dealer who organises the shipment. In our case it was the dealer.

So considering the value of the asset the shipment will be tracked the dealer should have the ability to track the shipment don’t be put off by any bluff. Tyne Valley had ours shipped they said there was no tracking yet the shipping company had a customer portal that allows the customer to track the shipments progress.

Companies manage to track an item worth a few quid so I can’t believe some of these dealers when hand on heart they say there is no tracking system on a vehicle that costs tens of thousands of pounds. I think they know deadlines are rarely met and they just try move us month by month by steath

 

[Sapper520]

A question you can ask your dealer is who is the shipper and is it Hymer or the Dealer who organises the shipment. In our case it was the dealer.

So considering the value of the asset the shipment will be tracked the dealer should have the ability to track the shipment don’t be put off by any bluff. Tyne Valley had ours shipped they said there was no tracking yet the shipping company had a customer portal that allows the customer to track the shipments progress.

From the conversations we’ve had with the dealer, it appears Sunlight do the shipping. The dealer told us they are notified by Sunlight when the vehicle is shipped from the factory.

 

[Coolcats]

Companies manage to track an item worth a few quid so I can’t believe some of these dealers when hand on heart they say there is no tracking system on a vehicle that costs tens of thousands of pounds. I think they know deadlines are rarely met and they just try move us month by month by steath

Spot on, transport insurance companies would demand it and that tracking information is available to the receiving parties.

 

[Geo]

When i get a split tin O beans I take it back or raise inquiries with Tesco
Never Ever crosses my mind to Call Heinz
Why do owners and prospective purchasers insist on bringing in the manufacturers
You have neither bought nor ordered anything from them ???
you have no contract with them either,____Puzzled?

 

[Coolcats]

When i get a split tin O beans I take it back or raise inquiries with Tesco
Never Ever crosses my mind to Call Heinz
Why do owners and prospective purchasers insist on bringing in the manufacturers
You have neither bought nor ordered anything from them ???
you have no contract with them either,____Puzzled?

In a way you are right, but I do not think anyone is saying go to Hymer, Sunlight or whatever.

There should be a transparent process, as we are aware the Dealer network is not really a network but a hotch potch of suppliers who make the rules up as they go along. In the case of our dealer they explained that the vehicle is ready to be picked up from Hymer mid June (I assume this is the same for Sunlight) the transport company has a contract with the Dealer (not Hymer). Due to the delays in delivery I was told they paid a premium to get the MoHo to the UK by late August (which I am appreciative of, but if it was managed they would not have had to do this and absorb the extra cost).

I was told, that transport company was Theofaussen , I was also told by the dealer that the transport company does not do track and trace...........https://theofaassen.coso.nl/Auth/Account/LogIn oh yes they do, again not being told the full story by Sales !

Dealers often blame the manufacturer yet if there were an honest dialogue and a real understanding of the process's by the dealer (Salesman) many issues could be avoided.

Part of me thinks that the sales guys need a pre-sales engineer someone who has worked on the vehicles provide the technical support to sales and that would remove 99% of issues customers experience during the sales process, waiting for delivery and post sales.

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[Sapper520]

Great news.......our van is at the Dealers, as per the information given to us 3 weeks after our order was placed, back in January. With all that’s been going on this year, I’m amazed the timetable stayed on track.

We can’t get up to see it and discuss locations for extras etc until 15th.

Pencilled in 7th September for collection.

 

[Coolcats]

Great news.......our van is at the Dealers, as per the information given to us 3 weeks after our order was placed, back in January. With all that’s been going on this year, I’m amazed the timetable stayed on track.

We can’t get up to see it and discuss locations for extras etc until 15th.

Pencilled in 7th September for collection.

This sounds like a good news story hope all keeps on track for you It’s all very exciting

 

[Sapper520]

Thanks. Been waiting a long time for this.

Already booked in at Vanbitz for a Growler system to be fitted in September. Now searching for a recommended towbar fitting company near me. LNB Leisure in Bristol come recommended......but they’re quite expensive.

 

[Coolcats]

Enjoy your stay at Cornish Farm Vanbitz is one of those companies you know you are buying a great product from. Are you having a fixed or removable tow bar? I have Brink on the Hymer and use Westafalia on other vehicles. As you say not cheap but its proper stuff.

 

[Littlewheels]

Not sure dealers are that devious, and this bubble will burst as all boom times do. Others who have decided to give to a go may find its a long way off an all inclusive holiday, and if jobs are lost due to CV-19 etc some may have to sell thier MoHo's

l am afraid they do exactly this,there was a post a week or so ago on a Morelo l think, the dealer did sell it to another buyer and returned the original buyer his deposit.

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