First Night Out In The Rain.........and......

Blue Knight said:
Yes, a very good point. It's quite sickening when you read the crap that goes into some of these MMM and CAMC mags.
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Really feel for chappy Blue Knight, hope he get things sorted. Thought you were going to say it was a Swift, pleased that it wasn't. Good luck and tell chappy to give Auto trail a real b...... ck.... g. We pay a lot of money for our dreams having worked hard to achieve them, so they should be accountable for this. Cheers Smudger55
 
We went to have a look at an Autotrail f70 on Monday. Very nice looking van but even without the leaks the finish is poor and would soon look tatty. We asked a couple of questions and got the salesman's reply " I don't know, I only sell them". Probably why the whole range was in the showroom and not outside.
 
Googlebot said:
Reminds me of the Bailey Caravans I had from new. Both leaked like a sieve, both axles collapsed and required replacement.

Only surprise was I was stupid enough to buy 2......
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Shame about your Caravans, My Bailey motorhome has been with me for 3 years now and so far had no issues with damp but as said previously there is good and bad in all brands even the top end European makers have been know to have issues though wouldn't like to raise the old British versus European marques discussion (yet) again :unsure::whistle:(oops probably too late now:censored:).

The strange thing about Auto Trail is that when I first started looking at Motorhomes many years ago I recall being told many times that Auto Trail were a very highly regarded make (never had one to confirm this) yet when I finally got enough money together to sell my beloved tent and buy a motorhome that had changed to what is being said now, not sure how this ties in with them becoming part of the European Trigano group, though I would assume not with that group also including brands like Adria, Benimar, Chauson etc etc
 
Just to level the playing field a little. I had a product of the Hymer group costing the thick end of £100k and had precisely the same experience within the first month.

In fairness to the dealer and manufacturer, they realised the seriousness of the matter and the vehicle was replaced without demur and without my having to formally reject it. I've also seen a Carthago with a very similar problem.

It's certainly not simply a problem with British 'vans.

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Gerby said:
Shame about your Caravans, My Bailey motorhome has been with me for 3 years now and so far had no issues with damp but as said previously there is good and bad in all brands even the top end European makers have been know to have issues though wouldn't like to raise the old British versus European marques discussion (yet) again :unsure::whistle:(oops probably too late now:censored:).

The strange thing about Auto Trail is that when I first started looking at Motorhomes many years ago I recall being told many times that Auto Trail were a very highly regarded make (never had one to confirm this) yet when I finally got enough money together to sell my beloved tent and buy a motorhome that had changed to what is being said now, not sure how this ties in with them becoming part of the European Trigano group, though I would assume not with that group also including brands like Adria, Benimar, Chauson etc etc
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I don’t disagree, all makes leak. It was the appalling customer service from Bailey that did it for me. The second time they tried every way to wriggle out, leaving me a £1500 bill. Thankfully I had the sense to read forums and other people’s problems before I went back to the dealer so I was well armed.

We did consider a Bailey motorhome but the experience put us off. That plus the low chassis which I know full well I would rip bits off as we regularly go off tarmac.
 
A friend of mine bought a brand new Burstner Elegance 810. ( £90k+)
During the first year it spent a total of nearly 6 months back at the dealers having repairs to prevent the overhead bed being soaked every time it rained!
 
Jaws said:
This is why we wanted ( and got ) an Autotrail no newer than 2007
Apart from a self made leak ( read DELUGE ) it has been a damned good van
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We were at a show once and talking to a "friendly"dealer and we told him we might want to trade in our 2007 Auto Sleeper. He said to not do this as vans made after 2007 (post financial crash) were all poor on quality and to hang on to the one we had if we were happy with it. We took his advice and love our van to bits..........

The TIncas
 
TinaL said:
Its difficult to see where the water would come in from pictures of The F70, other than the roof trims as the back roof is rounded down into the rear panel by 300mm or so.
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High level brake light not sealed properly?

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It must be poor quality control.
Over a 27 yr period I've have four GRP yachts between 26 and 32 feet long. None of them leaked a drop above or below the water line (hatches, windows, deck wiring glands, through-hull fittings) often swept by solid green seawater, except a drip or two at the stern gland where the prop shaft exits the hull which is quite normal, even from new.
 
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Gellyneck said:
High level brake light not sealed properly?
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Exactly what I am thinking too ... looking at the first picture the damp seems to be in a larger central area allowing a lot of water in and the only thing I can think of that would allow that is the rear of the brake light not being sealed up, a single gap in the actual body seal would tend to have a much narrower and taller patch or if a longer sealant gap spread across more of the rear. Hopefully we'll find out what the problem was for other owners so they can check theirs.
 
tonka said:
BUGGER.. I was going to say, even an Autotrail aint that bad..
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No you weren't going to say that Steve, ::bigsmile: you knew all along that it could only have an Autotrail badge on the back :smiley::smiley::smiley:

No one makes better water features than Autotrail. They are the market leader - Well done them for being the best.
 
It looks a localised leak that could have been compounded by angle of van during these extreme rain showers recently
 
pelican said:
I sure it could be fixed easier rather than all the trauma of rejecting
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The guy no longer has any confidence in the van or the brand and wants rid.

I can't blame him in all honesty as what else will go wrong.........

People may buy one Autotrail but very few buy a second these days as the reputation for shoddy quality is starting to sink in; they're still catching out the newbies which will help their sales numbers for a while.
 
AC/DC said:
Straight back to the dealer with an unfit for purpose and money back please Luxury Goods Act applies! Unable to test before due to Govt restrictions and kept under cover, Refund please or court action, makes you wonder about the rest of the build quality! However if you like it and are willing to get it repaired with a suitable contribution from the dealer for your inconvenience then go ahead................Then sell it! :rolleyes:
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Luxury Goods Act?????? No such thing.

I think you mean the Consumer Rights Act 2015. This covers everything, not just luxury goods.
 
thebriars said:
Luxury Goods Act?????? No such thing.

I think you mean the Consumer Rights Act 2015. This covers everything, not just luxury goods.
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My apologies it covers luxury goods! It is the Consumer Rights Act friend used it to get his money back on an Aston Martin so there are rogue vehicles out there
 
In the recent deluge even a small gap in sealant would let in a surprising amount of water. No excuse for poor quality control and sloppy workmanship. You wonder what percentage of warranty claims and rejections AT directors consider to be acceptable.

Yes, that water stain looks shockingly bad. I would be incandescent, having spent all that money.

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SpeedyDux said:
In the recent deluge even a small gap in sealant would let in a surprising amount of water. No excuse for poor quality control and sloppy workmanship. You wonder what percentage of warranty claims and rejections AT directors consider to be acceptable.

Yes, that water stain looks shockingly bad. I would be incandescent, having spent all that money.
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Yep, totally agree.

I read a note the other night from a recently retired Autotrail employee who said that Autotrail only instruct a person once on how do to the skilled jobs and then each person is left to get on with it.

He went on to say that in one reecent example they had a guy who left his job at a carvery on the Friday and by the Monday he was fitting fresh and waste water tanks on new Autotrails.

It could be the reason why the tanks on the new vans are starting to drop off, hence the recall, ::bigsmile:
 
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Jaws said:
This is why we wanted ( and got ) an Autotrail no newer than 2007
Apart from a self made leak ( read DELUGE ) it has been a damned good van
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I agree, have seen some nice vans Autotrail good build quality Upto a certain year, I thought upto 2006 but we won't argue over a year lol.
 
Blue Knight said:
The guy no longer has any confidence in the van or the brand and wants rid.

I can't blame him in all honesty as what else will go wrong.........

People may buy one Autotrail but very few buy a second these days as the reputation for shoddy quality is starting to sink in; they're still catching out the newbies which will help their sales numbers for a while.
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Its ridiculous that there are so many Autotrail stories out there these days. I met someone last year who had rejected 2. When there are 900+ members on the 'Unhappy Autotrail Owners Group' they should surely be tightening up.
 
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this is the poor man
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jongood said:
Its ridiculous that there are so many Autotrail stories out there these days. I met someone last year who had rejected 2. When there are 900+ members on the 'Unhappy Autotrail Owners Group' they should surely be tightening up.
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That's shockingly bad Jon; one rejection is quite enough for anyone but a second is just ridiculous on every level. It can't be good for someone's health either as the stress must be phenomenal.

I'm not certain the brand can be defended any longer with so many reports of badly constructed items being churned out by a factory with few QC principles.

You won't have any issues with your new new A-Class hough - I like it very much :cool:
 
Having had 3 caravans, the last 2 new ones both had issues relating to the structure and build.
Part of the reason to buy a Campervan made of metal.
 
Blue Knight said:
That's shockingly bad Jon; one rejection is quite enough for anyone but a second is just ridiculous on every level. It can't be good for someone's health either as the stress must be phenomenal.

I'm not certain the brand can be defended any longer with so many reports of badly constructed items being churned out by a factory with few QC principles.

You won't have any issues with your new new A-Class hough - I like it very much :cool:
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Thanks Andrew, a bit of a bargain as well 🤞

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