- Feb 14, 2021
- 4,901
- 11,990
- Funster No
- 79,219
- MH
- Burstner Lyseo 727G
- Exp
- 3 years 30,000 miles UK and Europe.. Campsites and off Grid.
Copied and pasted from a Facebook group but a interesting and horrendous experience...
Apologies for the saga, this has been building for a while. I ordered a new TD736 Lyseo Harmony Line from a dealer (will remain unnamed for now) at the MH and Caravan Show in Birmingham last October, for delivery in May, when my wife and I were travelling from New Zealand for a 5-month holiday of a lifetime around Europe.
I joined this group in May and expressed some concerns about Burstner quality, given the number of issues people seemed to be having (in this post https://www.facebook.com/groups/125153337825407/permalink/2322937524713633/)
We took delivery of our new motorhome, only it wasn't the motorhome we ordered, and had more than a dozen faults - most due to a very shoddy dealer prep and non-existent handover.
We rejected it and, faced with no accommodation or transport, reluctantly paid another GBP20,000 to upgrade to an I736 Lyseo Harmony Line (A-class) which was already on the yard and we could see what we were getting. We flew to Portugal for 2 weeks, at our cost, to allow them time to prepare it, but once again found a less-than ideal preparation and another poor handover.
The first problem occurred when the automatic window failed in the open position, in the rain on a motorway in France - not ideal (posted here https://www.facebook.com/groups/125153337825407/permalink/2350436541963731/). Quickly resolved thanks to a friendly Burstner dealer.
The next issue was posted about here, asking what the Automatic Transmission Failure light meant (https://www.facebook.com/groups/125153337825407/permalink/2360629514277767/).
What I can tell you is that the Automatic Transmission Failure light means that your automatic transmission has failed. A brand-new motorhome with a 9-speed automatic Fiat Ducato gearbox, failed after 5 weeks and around 2,200 miles.
Should be fine though - under warranty so off to the first of 2 Fiat garages in northern Spain (Santander then Oviedo). The first had no idea but applied a software upgrade which got us another 65 miles before the lights came on again. The second drained and refilled the gearbox oil (didn't help) then went through the diagnosis with Fiat Technical and advised that the gearbox needed to be replaced, but there were no new gearboxes in stock and no date when one would be available.
We thought that was it - second new Burstner motorhome rejected - but then Burstner in Kehl decided that the problem was in fact the external temperature sensor! They wanted the Oviedo garage to replace it, but they refused for a few reasons, mostly that it was madness.
Burstner then tried to get a local Fiat or Burstner service centre to apply the miracle cure, but none could be persuaded to attempt it, so they sent a transporter and shipped it back to Kehl, where they flew in a Fiat technician to work the miracle. This will come as a shock, but it didn't work.
Nobody could give us a date by which the motorhome would be repaired, and everyone was going on a month's holiday the next day - this is the end of July now, and the problem occurred at the end of June - so we rejected this one also and were promised a refund.
It is now more than half-way through November. The motorhome is still unrepaired and sits in Kehl. The dealer won't refund us (despite offering 50% as a goodwill gesture, then reneging) until it is repatriated, Burstner won't repatriate it until Fiat repairs it, and Fiat has proven unable to diagnose and repair their own gearbox for almost 5 months.
It's the ultimate Catch 22 - everyone is looking out for their own interests, and nobody is looking after the customer. In truth though, why should they bother? Everyone's been paid and the schmucks that shelled out for this lemon (and the first lemon too) are 12,000 miles away - happy days!
We have been denied the use of a drivable motorhome, the dealer has our money and despite many written and verbal promises to refund us, refuses to do so. Our holiday of a lifetime has become a recurring nightmare with no sign of an end, and we're looking on our 2020 Dethleffs Pulse, which we live in fulltime in New Zealand, with renewed fondness - it works!
If you've made it this far, thanks for your patience, and if you were one of the many people who offered advice and support when these issues started arising, thanks again for the support - it means a lot.
I don't know how this saga will end - we're very much being held to ransom by a dealer that refuses to do the right thing. What happens to the motorhome now is not our concern; we gave the dealer the money in good faith and were prepared to put the motorhome on the ferry from Bilbao or Santander to the UK, but that option was taken away from us when Burstner and the dealer insisted on taking it to Germany, where it now sits.
Good luck to all those whose experience has been a positive one, but we will never buy a Burstner again.
Apologies for the saga, this has been building for a while. I ordered a new TD736 Lyseo Harmony Line from a dealer (will remain unnamed for now) at the MH and Caravan Show in Birmingham last October, for delivery in May, when my wife and I were travelling from New Zealand for a 5-month holiday of a lifetime around Europe.
I joined this group in May and expressed some concerns about Burstner quality, given the number of issues people seemed to be having (in this post https://www.facebook.com/groups/125153337825407/permalink/2322937524713633/)
We took delivery of our new motorhome, only it wasn't the motorhome we ordered, and had more than a dozen faults - most due to a very shoddy dealer prep and non-existent handover.
We rejected it and, faced with no accommodation or transport, reluctantly paid another GBP20,000 to upgrade to an I736 Lyseo Harmony Line (A-class) which was already on the yard and we could see what we were getting. We flew to Portugal for 2 weeks, at our cost, to allow them time to prepare it, but once again found a less-than ideal preparation and another poor handover.
The first problem occurred when the automatic window failed in the open position, in the rain on a motorway in France - not ideal (posted here https://www.facebook.com/groups/125153337825407/permalink/2350436541963731/). Quickly resolved thanks to a friendly Burstner dealer.
The next issue was posted about here, asking what the Automatic Transmission Failure light meant (https://www.facebook.com/groups/125153337825407/permalink/2360629514277767/).
What I can tell you is that the Automatic Transmission Failure light means that your automatic transmission has failed. A brand-new motorhome with a 9-speed automatic Fiat Ducato gearbox, failed after 5 weeks and around 2,200 miles.
Should be fine though - under warranty so off to the first of 2 Fiat garages in northern Spain (Santander then Oviedo). The first had no idea but applied a software upgrade which got us another 65 miles before the lights came on again. The second drained and refilled the gearbox oil (didn't help) then went through the diagnosis with Fiat Technical and advised that the gearbox needed to be replaced, but there were no new gearboxes in stock and no date when one would be available.
We thought that was it - second new Burstner motorhome rejected - but then Burstner in Kehl decided that the problem was in fact the external temperature sensor! They wanted the Oviedo garage to replace it, but they refused for a few reasons, mostly that it was madness.
Burstner then tried to get a local Fiat or Burstner service centre to apply the miracle cure, but none could be persuaded to attempt it, so they sent a transporter and shipped it back to Kehl, where they flew in a Fiat technician to work the miracle. This will come as a shock, but it didn't work.
Nobody could give us a date by which the motorhome would be repaired, and everyone was going on a month's holiday the next day - this is the end of July now, and the problem occurred at the end of June - so we rejected this one also and were promised a refund.
It is now more than half-way through November. The motorhome is still unrepaired and sits in Kehl. The dealer won't refund us (despite offering 50% as a goodwill gesture, then reneging) until it is repatriated, Burstner won't repatriate it until Fiat repairs it, and Fiat has proven unable to diagnose and repair their own gearbox for almost 5 months.
It's the ultimate Catch 22 - everyone is looking out for their own interests, and nobody is looking after the customer. In truth though, why should they bother? Everyone's been paid and the schmucks that shelled out for this lemon (and the first lemon too) are 12,000 miles away - happy days!
We have been denied the use of a drivable motorhome, the dealer has our money and despite many written and verbal promises to refund us, refuses to do so. Our holiday of a lifetime has become a recurring nightmare with no sign of an end, and we're looking on our 2020 Dethleffs Pulse, which we live in fulltime in New Zealand, with renewed fondness - it works!
If you've made it this far, thanks for your patience, and if you were one of the many people who offered advice and support when these issues started arising, thanks again for the support - it means a lot.
I don't know how this saga will end - we're very much being held to ransom by a dealer that refuses to do the right thing. What happens to the motorhome now is not our concern; we gave the dealer the money in good faith and were prepared to put the motorhome on the ferry from Bilbao or Santander to the UK, but that option was taken away from us when Burstner and the dealer insisted on taking it to Germany, where it now sits.
Good luck to all those whose experience has been a positive one, but we will never buy a Burstner again.
