Not Happy, Autotrail Delaware 1 Year Old Failed Habitation Check - Damp

[Robert Clark]

About 18 months old.. Various and repeated charging issues was the main discussion points, though there were others too

I remember this from a while back
At the time I Googled "Carthago electrical problems" which from memory only came up with one relavent result, which dates back to 2009.
Maybe an isolated incident, rather than a worrying trend?

 

[Teuchter]

Thoughts on the Rapido and Knaus? why did you change ?

The Rapido was a Mercedes 966M twin bed automatic, 11 years old and whilst we loved it we decided to buy a newer model (being as there are no pockets in shrouds)

We wanted another Merc Rapido but Rapido has seemingly stopped using Mercedes - in fact I think, of the more popular MoHo manufacturers, only Hymer are now using Mercedes

So we went in search of a new twin berth automatic looked at a few merc Hymers and liked them but the model we liked was about £70K and had a 4 to 6 month waiting list! We then stumbled across a Knaus Sky TI 700 MEB - twin beds, auto and an end bathroom we were very impressed with the quality (not a Merc but a Fiat 2.3 multijet 150) brand new with awning and bike rack at 12K less than the Hymers we looked at and there was one left in stock so we bought it in May of this year!!

Only issue was it had no spare wheel but one of those "puncture fix it" packs and so I had a Fiat chassis mounted wheel carrier and new spare wheel fitted (not cheap but worth it for the peace of mind)

So far we have done just over 3.5K miles in France & UK and absolutely love it!!

 

[Paddywack]

Not acceptable i am afraid, i expect this on older vehicles not on vehicles that are pretty new, this is Autotrails issue and although they are of course going to fix it that is not the point. I have lost faith in this company so I think it is now time to move on but as always that will depend on what money i have lost on mine which i am expecting to be a lot.

It is clear that the van AT / the dealer sold does not comply with the Sale of Goods Act, I would go see a solicitor and get them to send a "letter before action", give the solicitor a full list of all the faults and the costs to you so far - both time and money. Offer them the opportunity to buy back the van at a price close to what you paid - your time and money spent so far will offset the loss on the mileage you have put on the van enjoying it. Give them a month to meet this requirement and if they don't tell them you will sell / trade in. Any difference between what you have asked for and what you get you will hold them responsible for. Don't agree to them fixing the van one last time - they have had enough opportunities, it clearly wasn't of merchantable quality when it left the forecourt. Your claim is against the dealer but they can ask for AT to be joined in any action as ultimately the dealer would be claiming off them.

You don't have to pursue the claim if you don't want the hassle - you are simply reserving your position and the solicitors letter shouldn't cost more than £200. If the dealer / AT have any sense they will come back with a counteroffer but this will still be more than you might get elsewhere.

 

[Judge Mental]

Does not take much due dilegence on the net to discover what overpriced, heavy rubbish most UK manufactured vans are

 

[Jaws]

I remember this from a while back
At the time I Googled "Carthago electrical problems" which from memory only came up with one relavent result, which dates back to 2009.
Maybe an isolated incident, rather than a worrying trend?

Quite possible.. But I was told by the owner it was on going and his dealer had told him 'they are all like that sir' ( but then, if said dealer was trying to fob the chap off it is exactly what he WOULD say ! )

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[jumar]

Sorry to hear you have problems with your second van. Hope you get it sorted or third time lucky. Just make sure that any new van has a BIG wardrobe for S.

 

[KUSKUS]

Brother purchased a new autotrail in 2012, same story first habitation check rear end full of damp.
Went back to factory to be sorted, new garage doors and rear floor area replaced.
I owned a older Autotrail and had problems with roof seal leaking and water coming in through fridge vents. wont be buying another !

 

[Speve]

We have changed our 2013 Autotrail Tracker for a Hymer Exsisi698 we had lots of minor problems with the Autotrail and felt that had they done a proper pre delivery inspection a lot of them could have been avoided it was our second Autotrail.however we decided to change and went for the Hymer and have found it to be so much better the finishing is superb and to date just a couple of minor problems which are being sorted without any hassle even though it's imported.Autotrail gave the impression once they have your money they aren't to bothered about you anymore.
Don't regret the change at all and even have better payload.

 

[zac]

Sorry to hear you have problems with your second van. Hope you get it sorted or third time lucky. Just make sure that any new van has a BIG wardrobe for S.

Thanks Jumar, yes she is very fussy lol, it will not be sorted before we come down your way over Xmas but if i have my way it will be soon after as if i order a new one a the NEC show it is going to take 5 months for it to be delivered so that wont be till April next year. If i am going to change I want to ensure this is the last as 2 new vans in the last 2 years is enough and this will then make 3. (First van was an Elddis Autoquest 155, very bad service from dealer in Hull as mentioned before on here).

The dealer has been very good at fixing the issues and in a way it is not really there fault it is Autotrail's and there lack of Quality Control.

 

[Judge Mental]

The Rapido was a Mercedes 966M twin bed automatic, 11 years old and whilst we loved it we decided to buy a newer model (being as there are no pockets in shrouds)

We wanted another Merc Rapido but Rapido has seemingly stopped using Mercedes - in fact I think, of the more popular MoHo manufacturers, only Hymer are now using Mercedes

So we went in search of a new twin berth automatic looked at a few merc Hymers and liked them but the model we liked was about £70K and had a 4 to 6 month waiting list! We then stumbled across a Knaus Sky TI 700 MEB - twin beds, auto and an end bathroom we were very impressed with the quality (not a Merc but a Fiat 2.3 multijet 150) brand new with awning and bike rack at 12K less than the Hymers we looked at and there was one left in stock so we bought it in May of this year!!

Only issue was it had no spare wheel but one of those "puncture fix it" packs and so I had a Fiat chassis mounted wheel carrier and new spare wheel fitted (not cheap but worth it for the peace of mind)

So far we have done just over 3.5K miles in France & UK and absolutely love it!!

Carry a spare tyre?

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[Teuchter]

Carry a spare tyre?

Yes sir - as has been debated many times on this forum!!

I now have two - one slung under the van and my own personal one wrapped around my waist

 

[swanseajack13]

our ROLLERTEAM had damp in the first year, 2013 the dealer was a arse hole trading standards crap, you are on your own ray

 

[zac]

our ROLLERTEAM had damp in the first year, 2013 the dealer was a arse hole trading standards crap, you are on your own ray

The dealer has been fine but i am presuming that is because Autotrail have approved the work (what else could they do in the circumstances). If they didn't i am sure all this would change, our van is one of ones that come with a 10 year ingress warranty but this is beside the point. I have no faith in this van or company and when that happens i start to look at other vehicles which then cascades on. I may not have a choice but to keep it but i will explore all options as if i can it will be going.

Another option would be to go the RV route as these seem to be cheaper but then i will have to way up the pros and cons of having a bigger vehicle i.e. not being able to get on certain sites, mpg etc etc

Thanks for all the replies to date.

 

[GAVLAD]

Autotrail are owned by the same company that makes EuraMobil, Chausson and Roller Team among others.
They are French owned and some say that was when it all started going pear shaped.

My Euramobil (2009) is great.
Dare I tempt fate! The only issue I had was someone had removed the Sat dome and rain water was leaking down the cable gland, so previous owner/dealer error rather than a manufacturers problem.
Build quality is really good, however ordering parts can be a challenge.

 

[raysalaugh]

We have a new Autotrail Delaware so I would be interested in how the water has found it's way in, also is there no visible indication of it's presence. What other problems have you encountered?

Ray

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[zac]

We have a new Autotrail Delaware so I would be interested in how the water has found it's way in, also is there no visible indication of it's presence. What other problems have you encountered?

Ray

Sent you a PM with some of our issues.....

We never had any indication of the damp and there were no signs either, i will find out Saturday where this was but from the phone call it was coming from underneath through to the garage where apparently it may not have been sealed properly.

 

[missmollie]

What about Knaus? Had one minor problem on our Sun TI which was sorted by Lowdhams, great build quality.

 

[zac]

What about Knaus? Had one minor problem on our Sun TI which was sorted by Lowdhams, great build quality.

Thanks, yes I will be looking at these as well.

 

[DuxDeluxe]

Massive issues with our Pilote in the 18 months we have had it........ fuel filler surround replaced as it was cracked (probably over tightened at build) and........ Err....... that is it. Could have lived with the fuel filler as you could hardly see it.

 

[Easyliving]

We have had our Swift for very nearly 3 years now and have had a few minor problems in that time, all sorted out by the dealer. Considering many of the parts installed in motorhomes are made by the same manufacturers - heating systems, windows, rooflights, doors, cookers, fridges etc it must mean that it is the assembly and construction of the bodyshell that is causing most of the problems.

I can't comment on other UK manufacturers but I think Swift have suffered from too much cost cutting. Rather than increase the price by a few thou and make sure the quality is up to scratch they seem to build their vans as cheaply as possible.

Having said that, we have been pleased with our van and would certainly buy another Swift. Since 2015 Swift vans have been of wood free construction (about time too) then this year they are bringing in Smart+ which adds more protection from the weather, new floor etc.

If you manage to get a good one I still think UK vans are good value for money.

Paul

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[DuxDeluxe]

Has anyone read @knokinonabit 's tale of Autotrail woe? Similar build issues.......

Similar to Eddie Judgemental, I would never buy another UK built van unless it was a PVC which is a bit harder to mess with the structure

 

[Lenny HB]

So out of interest who makes the most reliable motorhome? I realise this is an open ended question which will be open to interpretation based on individual experiences but I have to start somewhere. If i want to look at getting shot of this one and getting another, i want to know roughly which ones to aim for. I know there will be issues with anything but the amount i have had gone wrong with Autotrail far exceed what i consider to be acceptable.

I am looking for a similar design to the one we have but may consider tag axle as i dont have a restriction on what I can drive. There are only 2 of us so no need for additional beds aside from the island bed we would be after.

The main makes seems to be:

Hymer
Rapido
Dethleffs
Burnster
Frankia

Obviously not looking at any British makers, anybodys view of actually owning any of these welcome, the more information the easier it will be when choosing.

Had two Hymers from new, very pleased with the build quality. Never a problem getting warranty issues sorted most relate to non Hymer supplied parts anyway.
First van we did have a problem with the Harkel door even though the van was out of warranty Hymer replaced a very expensive door.

If you buy a Hymer in Belgium or Germany it will cost you a lot less than an overpriced leaky AT.

 

[zac]

Has anyone read @knokinonabit 's tale of Autotrail woe? Similar build issues.......

Similar to Eddie Judgemental, I would never buy another UK built van unless it was a PVC which is a bit harder to mess with the structure

I did see this after i purchased ours, would never of got it had i seen it before. I was praying we would not get the same troubles but as you can see that is not to be. I am at a loss as to the attitude of these companies, they must be doing so well they dont need to care about build quality

 

[zac]

Had two Hymers from new, very pleased with the build quality. Never a problem getting warranty issues sorted most relate to non Hymer supplied parts anyway.
First van we did have a problem with the Harkel door even though the van was out of warranty Hymer replaced a very expensive door.

If you buy a Hymer in Belgium or Germany it will cost you a lot less than an overpriced leaky AT.

This is something i am seriously considering but i would need to sell ours locally before i could do this and with high priced vans people tend to buy them from dealers. It is something i have been researching though as this would be our preferred route if we can.

 

[G7UXG]

You could buy an imported van, such as a Hymer, from one of the companies in the UK that sources them abroad and imports them to the UK. Edgehill Motorhomes is one such company... they specialise in second hand Hymers that they source from Germany.

Perhaps not as cheap as doing it yourself but they deal with all of the paperwork and convert the plugs and speedo to UK spec. It's also cheaper than using a UK Hymer dealer, and you could do a PX deal.

The downside (for some) is that their vans are all left-hand drive. Not really a problem, especially if most of your usage is abroad.

Mike

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[zac]

You could buy an imported van, such as a Hymer, from one of the companies in the UK that sources them abroad and imports them to the UK. Edgehill Motorhomes is one such company... they specialise in second hand Hymers that they source from Germany.

Perhaps not as cheap as doing it yourself but they deal with all of the paperwork and convert the plugs and speedo to UK spec. It's also cheaper than using a UK Hymer dealer, and you could do a PX deal.

The downside (for some) is that their vans are all left-hand drive. Not really a problem, especially if most of your usage is abroad.

Mike

I would actually prefer a LHD van as a lot of our time is in Europe, i will look this company up and see what they have...

Thanks

 

[Hughman]

You could try doing a p/ex abroad. We got a good p/ex on an old Burstner which dealers here had refused to take due to damp, although it was LHD which must have helped a lot. As per Eddie, we got a PVC from this lot http://www.duemo-duelmen.de/. They had a huge stock of Possl's, Globecars and various coachbuilts, and were very helpful generally.
I've since had cause to need parts for one thing and another, and they have always couriered them through very quickly,including once to a campsite in Croatia when I bust part of the roll-out awning.

 

[Lenny HB]

This is something i am seriously considering but i would need to sell ours locally before i could do this and with high priced vans people tend to buy them from dealers. It is something i have been researching though as this would be our preferred route if we can.

You would be surprised at how much people will spend on a private sale. Got to be worth 16 quid on an ebay classified, results may surprise you.

 

[zac]

You would be surprised at how much people will spend on a private sale. Got to be worth 16 quid on an ebay classified, results may surprise you.

Yes it certainly would be, I need to see what these things go for based on what they are offering to p/x it in presently which i have been told at a push would be 52k

 

[wiljoy]

Well to say i am not happy would be an understatement, my 12 month old Autotrail Delaware has just failed the Habitation check due to "significant amount of damp" offside in the garage area.

Since i purchased this last November i have had issue after issue with this vehicle and although they have been relatively minor they all take a considerable amount of effort to repair due to the distance we are from the dealers.

I do not expect any kind of damp in a 12 month old vehicle, Autotrail are just blaming normal unforseen events that can just happen. There is some serious lack of quality control on Autotrail's side for these vehicles. This could be the end of our relationship with Autotrail as now i am seriously considering getting shot of it. All the issues just mount up and i am very near the point of just tipping over and resolving the issues once and for all.

I am sure there will be issues with any motorhomes but without going into a full list i have now covered over 3000 miles in just repair work since purchase. Totally unacceptable, i need a manufacturer who actually cares about quality control and that doesn't appear to be a British one.

Rant over.

Very sorry for all your problems. We have been through the same and few times over the years. After 12 motor homes we decided this time to push all our resource into a quality van so purchased a Carthago. How wrong were we. It's the same as all the rest and is slowly dropping to pieces bit by bit. So in your quest for ANY perfect motor home either in the UK or Europe goodbye luck.
Unfortunately it is very much pot luck.

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