Oh Dear, I'm at it again another moan about my van. (1 Viewer)

[Gorse Hill]

Because it's the great British rip off, damp check in Belgium €70, went up last year had been €60 for 10 years.

I get that Lenny but it’s still a rip off at £50, everything GRP and Galvanised
Not just Hymer the industry in general and yet the product manufactured by many is not up to scratch

 

[Lenny HB]

I get that Lenny but it’s still a rip off at £50, everything GRP and Galvanised
Not just Hymer the industry in general and yet the product manufactured by many is not up to scratch

At least with German vans they don't insost on you spending £200-£300 on a waste of time hab check to keep the warranty.

 

[peterc10]

Agreed, I bought Hymer cheaper brother a Burnster and apart from a few little issues am also pleased, however the point I was trying to make is as far as I can tell the floor on both are GRP and in my case the chassis has been painted so assume the same with the Hymer.
So why does Hymer want too spray the underside of the van for £150 to maintain its damp warranty yet Burnster don’t and there manufactured by the same company.

The chassis is only painted if it is on the Fiat chassis. If it is on the Alko chassis it is galvanised.

I too do not know why Hymer insist upon the underbody spray. However it is not just that which is carried out. It also includes a damp check of the interior, as many other manufacturers insist upon. I can understand the need for that to maintain the warranty, given that it is best to pick up any water penetration as soon as it starts rather than waiting until the damage shows. But at the end of the day I willingly bought my Hymer knowing what was required, and, like most Hymer owners, I am happy with my purchase.

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[bellabee]

And good quality speakers as well probably worth more than the cheap radios that come in vans with them already fitted.

Yes, the speakers are excellent. For us, they really add to our quality of time in the evenings, when we like to relax with a drink, and listen to music.

 

[Lenny HB]

The chassis is only painted if it is on the Fiat chassis. If it is on the Alko chassis it is galvanised.

.

The Fiat chassis is galvanised then painted.

 

[jdk62]

Yes, the speakers are excellent. For us, they really add to our quality of time in the evenings, when we like to relax with a drink, and listen to music.

The speakers in my van are great (2 in Cab, 2 in lounge area, 2 in bedroom) which is great as the music drowns out all the rattles when driving along....

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[jdk62]

When I bought my Hymer the absence of a radio was not a concern, though I was pleased to hear that all the wiring and speakers were in place. I certainly didn’t think anyone was taking the ____. If I hadn’t liked the deal I had the option of walking away. My choice.

I am not going to pretend Hymers are faultless, clearly they can have problems. However the underlying quality of materials and workmanship still appears to me to be good compared to many other motorhomes I have looked at. The problems I have experienced have been resolved by a dealer who seems keen to preserve his reputation and that of the products he sells. For me the big lesson in this unhappy tale is that picking a good dealer is as important as picking the motorhome.

Are there any really good dealers....? Few and far between and then there is the old chestnut of dealers refusing to carry out warranty works if you did not buy the Motorhome from them. Even if the are a manufacturer approved dealership....

 

[peterc10]

Are there any really good dealers....? Few and far between and then there is the old chestnut of dealers refusing to carry out warranty works if you did not buy the Motorhome from them. Even if the are a manufacturer approved dealership....

Yes there are. I am very happy with mine and would recommend them to anybody - Becks in Norfolk. On occasions they have gone well beyond what they needed to to help me.

But then most dealers are only as good as their clients. Come in shouting and demanding and you will probably get the same back. Come in explaining and requesting and you may well get a better service. Does not work with some of course.

 

[Lenny HB]

Are there any really good dealers....? Few and far between and then there is the old chestnut of dealers refusing to carry out warranty works if you did not buy the Motorhome from them. Even if the are a manufacturer approved dealership....

Plenty on the Continent.

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[Lenny HB]

which is great as the music drowns out all the rattles when driving along....

Not a Hymer then.

 

[Pausim]

Are there any really good dealers....?

Premier near Chichester have looked after everything we have brought to their attention without any fuss or bother.

 

[GWAYGWAY]

I’ve been under ours and everything that’s been sprayed is GRP or Galvanised. It looks like they haven’t changed the warranty conditions from the days they used plywood.

That would explain a lot.
However after my endeavours yesterday iy seems that it is now watertight, moving the frame and packing it out to meet the door has worked. I have also been told that my working on it has nulified all the warranty that it had left. That and no dampcheck done when it was up there for the big leak to be done. they could have thrown that in especially as they did not have to pay out for the carpets that I made and fitted.fitted when the original ones were not forthcoming, at £360 that was invoiced.

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[Lenny HB]

Did you ask them to do a damp check at the same time, if so it's down to them. Nothing to stop them issuing paperwork to say the damp check has been done apart from thier bloody mindedness.
As for totally cancelling the warranty I'd be straight on to Hymer telling them how useless the dealer is.
If it is only the dealer saying that just take it somewhere else if you have any other problems.

 

[Hettie's Crew]

I have also been told that my working on it has nulified all the warranty that it had left.

I wouldn’t worry about, ours had a rear wall leak that took Lowdhams over a year to finally identify and fix. My local AWS and me can do a better job. Luckily because of the materials used in construction there’s little to damage with a bit of water.
I resent having to go back for an ingress check and pay £135 when it gets checked as part of the £145 habitation service we have done at our local AWS.

 

[MillieMoocher]

I have also been told that my working on it has nulified all the warranty that it had left.

With my experience of Lowdhams, I can well believe they told you that, particularly if you were dealing with the Huddersfield branch. I was told with Millie mk1 that if I didn’t have the damp check done within the first 12 months then “my warranty would be void - oh and by the way, we can’t do it because we are too busy”. This meant that the earliest slot they had when they could have done it the van would have been 14 months old and I’d not have a warranty. I since learned that this was in fact horse sh1t.

But more to the point, I doubt very much if Hymer would deem the whole warranty invalid. They may say the damp part is invalid, but why would the entire warranty become voidable for things that you’ve not touched?
Maybe an email to Hymer themselves would clarify things - especially if you told them in it that you were forced to fix it yourself as the dealer were not capable of undertaking the job.

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[Molls-Phot]

Every Range Rover , Jaguar , Bentley and Rolls arriving at Southampton for export are all equipped with quality extras. Audio inc. they are not all made to order as there are thousands stacked in the multi storey car parks. As stated it’s the way the Germans market to the UK. From the length of this post German build quality is clearly now a myth in some cases .

Not motorhome related but the German defence procurement agency has recently rejected the first of a new class of frigates and returned it to the builders to sort out because it has so many problems including being overweight and with a persistent list. It's the first time they have done so. For a while last year all six of their submarines were out of action due to engineering issues. Seems their reputation for engineering excellence is on the decline.

 

[jdk62]

Not a Hymer then.

No... the speakers don’t need to be waterproof.....

 

[PeteH]

Cautionary tale indeed. I like I suspect many others, where not aware that the Germans did "Friday afternoon vehicles"?. As for the dealership, They are liable, The product had to be of "merchantable quality". They are the ones to argue with the manufacturer, Not you.

Not half a mile down the road is the dealership I bought my (very) second-hand Rapido from, they where absolutely excellent, and not only refurbished the gearbox (Fiat) when it lost 6th gear, without ANY argument, but then gave me a 12 month warranty on the refurbished `box, which was a life saver when about 10months after it got very noisy again, subsequently being fully rebuilt and a complete new Clutch pack as well! all FoC.

And recently we had reason to look at another `van, not withstanding, they went and offered me the best P-Ex, more than I reasonably expected!.

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[Ex-caravantugger]

Not motorhome related but the German defence procurement agency has recently rejected the first of a new class of frigates and returned it to the builders to sort out because it has so many problems including being overweight and with a persistent list. It's the first time they have done so. For a while last year all six of their submarines were out of action due to engineering issues. Seems their reputation for engineering excellence is on the decline.

And their Leopard 2 tanks aren’t much better.

 

[PeteH]

And their Leopard 2 tanks aren’t much better.

Sadly, I am sure I read somewhere, that they where still superior to the Challenger?.