RV Dealers (1 Viewer)

[wbd2000uk]

Good Evening to all you RV owners.

I just wanted to introduce myself. I'm Craig and i'm really looking forward to posting on this really informative forum.

I am based in the Bristol area and was wondering if anyone knew of any RV dealers near to me that I could visit. Would be most greatful if you could give me some feedback on some dealers as I have read some others posts on here and someone posted that dealers have change milege on clocks, driven commission vehicles to spain etc. and I would really like to know who these dealers are so I don't end up dealing with them.

Thank you in advance,

Craig

 

[Forestboy]

Hi
Welcome to the FunForum

There is a RV dealer in Bristol Griffin I've met him a couple of times a really nice bloke. Heres a link Griffin American Motorhomes
I'm not far away from you i live just over the old bridge in The Forest of Dean

 

[Lindy-C]

Moreton in Marsh isn't far from Bristol :Cool:

Welcome to Fun Craig.

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[Forestboy]

Moreton in Marsh isn't far from Bristol :Cool:

Welcome to Fun Craig.

OOPS sorry Linda:Blush::Blush::Blush:

 

[Jim]

Hi Craig, you are spoilt for choice at the moment for dealers, have a look in our review section there are a few there, and in the links section there are plenty more. Its a buyers market at the moment so shop around and negotiate hard. Best of luck .

Oh by the way, welcome to the fun:thumb:

 

[moandick]

Hi Craig

Click onto the Big Pitch Guide website and look at their RV links page as well - every RV dealer in the Country, as far as I know.

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[vetgirl]

Hi all,

Dont forget Freedom motorhomes who sell USA motorhomes and i believe have just opened another site also in Tewkesbury, Glos

:thumb:

 

[Forestboy]

Hi all,

Dont forget Freedom motorhomes who sell USA motorhomes and i believe have just opened another site also in Tewkesbury, Glos

:thumb:

Thats right they've taken over the adjoining site for European Motorhomes, big operation now.

 

[wbd2000uk]

Thanks for all your replies. I have looked on Griffin's website and they seem to have some nice units at resonable prices. I don't really know much about them, can anyone shine a bit of light on this dealership? They're not the dealership that rewind the miles back or drive commission motorhomes to spain are they?

Craig

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[moandick]

A respectable firm set up a couple of years ago - Father and son outfit - I have only ever heard good reports about them. Based in the Bristol area - they have only just brought in a new Forest River 'Berkshire' series - good looking RV for it's price. There has been some discussion on here about their claim to a soft-start electrical conversion which goes some way toward removing the problem of the electrical surge when you initially plug into a hook-up.

 

[wbd2000uk]

Thanks for that moandick. Did you buy your rig from them? I did notice the Berkshire, what a great looking piece of kit, have you been in it? Has anyone else had any dealings with this dealership? I'm still very anxious about the whole changing milege and trips to spain in other peoples vehicles. Maybe someone could send me a message about this rather than post it on the forum.

Craig

 

[moandick]

No, I didn't buy from Griffin because I bought my Cayman three years ago and they were not in business then - I do know the family having met them at various Shows - and I have been onboard the Berkshire - to photograph it for an article to go into the ARV Magazine.

Mo and I honestly think that if the Berkshire had been in the Country three years ago we may well have had one in preference to the Monaco BUT things have changed so quickly in the last year - interior layouts are changing to a much more user-friendly living quarters rather than show house caravans.

I am not sure where we would go now if we had the same money to spend as a few years ago - other than to say we WOULD definitely go over to the States for a couple of weeks to see the vast range of RV's available.

Might cost a couple of Grand for a sightseeing tour but when you are considering spending tens of thousands on an RV what is a couple extra - and the experience has got to be a worthwhile venture, just being able to talk to a Dealer in a knowledgable fashion would probably help you to beat the price down by the cost of your American Trip!

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[mandjhumph]

Hi Craig

We are also based in Bristol and have just brought a Winnebago. We also did the tour of dealers.

We found that Bradley at Griffin was very helpful and helped Martyn with his HGV training/licence.

Linda at Stateside didn't actually visit them for van sales, but she has been great at gettting us parts/spares.

Nikki at Freedom (Twekesbury) is great but they didn't have what we wanted at the time.

Eric at Itchyfeet (Newquay) also very helpfull but not the right van at the right time.

We did visit Travelworld (Telford) but they were very busy at the time and we were left a bit on our own but vans were nice.

Dudleys of Oxford lots of choice but lots of the vans are "for sale on behalf of" so not always the cleanest or cheapest around, but staff friendly

Eventually brought from Les at Ridgeset up near Sheffield good vans and couldn't fault the service and not actually as far as it first sounds as its all motorway or duel carriage way to get there.

Hope this helps

Jane

 

[wbd2000uk]

Well I finally went to Griffin's premises on Monday and have to say that everything everyone said was correct about them. I booked an appointment with Bradley and told him that I had a very open mind to what I was looking for and explained to him that I was new to RVing and he took the time to explain everything from driving them in the UK to emptying waste tanks which seems a lot easier than I thought! Bradley explained to me the difference between pushers and pullers and let me roam around his selection of RV's with no sales pressure at all. One thing I was very impressed with was the presentation of the vehicles at their site as they were very spaced out which meant you could step back and view the vehicles without interupted views. For a change it was nice to talk to someone not in a suit but in their overalls who actually knew what they were talking about as Bradley tells me he does all the conversions and servicing on the vehicles. This visit has given me a lot to think about and Bradley tells me he is holding a open weekend on the first weekend of April which I will definately go to. It would be nice to maybe meet a few other forum members at this sort of event and talk about life of the road etc.

 

[Lindy-C]

When you do go and see them Craig, don't forget to tell them about all the good publicity they are getting on Motorhome Fun

Best of luck with your quest

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[moandick]

Hi Craig

Pleased you had a good visit to Griffin - they are a good outfit BUT not too much different from several others. Why not book a weekend down at Carvynick Country Club, put up in one of their time-share cottages, and spend the entire weekend browsing around the thirty or so RV's they have on display. You say about no sales pressure - that's the motto at Itchyfeet.

Itchy Feet - Dealers of Quality American Motorhomes

or call 01872 510716 and speak to Eric Randle or his son Michael.

Bring a bottle of red wine with you, visit Mo and myself and we will talk your back legs off about RV full-timing and the BPG etc. No pressure - we just like red wine!

 

[wbd2000uk]

Dick,

I have heard many mixed comments and feelings towards Itchy Feet and after investigating I found out that they were the dealer that took commission sales to spain. Is this just chinese whispers? Also, Cornwall is quite far from me and I like the idea of a company local to me so I can ask questions as and when I need to and visit them for servicing etc. I assume you live at Itchy Feet? Will you be coming to Bristol for Griffin's weekend in April?

 

[moandick]

Hi Craig

I am not part of the Itchyfeet Organisation - other than they sponsor the Big Pitch Guide - but yes we do use Carvynick as a base for the BPG for several reasons - Itchyfeet allow me to occupy space on the show stands (which I couldn't afford to do otherwise) and I can get Mo's necessary Class A drugs (morphine) from the local doctor BUT we don't live here - it's just that we are here more than we are anywhere else.

I have been 'associated' with the site for about three years now and have seen (and waved them off) the last three annual 'organised' trips to Spain and I can quite categorically state that on each of those occasions the only people that I have seen driving RV's on the trips ARE THE OWNERS! As you said 'Chinese Whispers' fly around all the time - and most of them in my opinion are started by other 'green-eyed' dealers! :Angry:

I do agree with you about distance from the dealership to home - however, one other thing I can quite categorically state is that if you were to purchase an RV from Itchyfeet - they would ask you to stay on site in the RV for at least a week free of charge in order to thoroughly investigate the entire vehicle. Then, if something went wrong when you got home, their mechanic would come to you - not the other way round - their chief mechanic KJS lives in the Midlands and commutes to work in Cornwall - so he can just about cover the entire Country from his home-base.

Having said all that about Itchyfeet, you have to remember that there are dealers who specialise in lighter RV's (car licence - Freedom at Tewkesbury) - there are dealers who specialise in the cheaper end of the market (too numerous to mention) and there are dealers who specialise in top end coaches at top end prices. (Dudley's, Travelworld, Itchyfeet etc.) but one thing that nobody can ignore is that Itchyfeet have built a business from nothing to a multi-million pound dealership in five years. Read all the threads about other dealerships such as Brownhills and you will soon appreciate that Nobody, just Nobody, could do that without the goodwill of their customers - and you don't earn that reputation from abusing other peoples coaches.

End of sermon - I suggest that if you read the articles in the ARV magazine recently, you will appreciate that it is not just my sentiments being expressed on paper here.

PS 'Categoric' was in the Telegraph Crossword the other day - and I can't get it out of my head!

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[wbd2000uk]

Dick,

Thanks for the last post regarding the dealers. You seem to be very protective of Itchy Feet and on occassions quite biased in articles that I have seen in the ARVM magazine. Its a shame that 'green-eyed' dealers start these rumours but I would be interested to know why you think they start them? To be honest I don't really see much difference betweens the dealers except from their stock. If a dealer has got the right vehicle at the right price then surely thats where you would choose to purchase from. I am aware that Itchy Feet ask you to stay at their premises but this seems to be the same for Dudleys, Griffin, Travelworld etc. As for warrenty work and servicing I rang a few dealers yesterday and some of them also offer mechanics to come to you. It would be interesting to hear some other peoples views on this.

 

[moandick]

Hi Craig

I really don't want to hog your time, or this thread, but the reason that a lot of these silly rumours appear - and everybody will tell you the same - is that there is a lot of profit to be made selling RV's. Maybe not just at the moment because there is a money shortage, but as far as I am aware none of the many dealers have gone bust yet. No, it is simply a case of - when there is a twenty or thirty thousand pound profit up for grabs - most people will use any means possible to get their hands on it.

As for being protective of Itchyfeet - maybe I am - BUT I am just as protective of other dealers that I have used and trusted in the past. If you read my first articles a couple of years ago you would have seen that I was (and still am) just as protective of Freedom Motorhomes in Tewkesbury. I only left them because I was offered a better deal for a bigger RV - but I almost went back to them to purchase their 'Charlestown' when they first imported it - unfortunately the Bank Manager wouldn't let me complete the deal, she hid her handbag before I could get hold of the cheque book.

In the same way, I am protective of ALL RV'ers, especially members of my Club - I have virtually been banned from talking to the Caravan Club about complaints from my Club Members.

And - I didn't even mention Itchyfeet in your original thread until after I had mentioned Griffin - so I'm not that biased - but at the end of the day, Itchyfeet sponsor me and in so doing, they help to put the food onto my dinner plate.

Whatever else happens - I do wish you the very best of luck in your choice of RV and the offer of a drink and chat with you and your family will stand for as long as you want to talk about an RV.