Oh heck ... yet another very, VERY expensive show ...

[Northernraider]

What is the posh name for a Swift? I guess I will get fed up of the ladies whistling at me as they pass ?

Seive

 

[Northernraider]

You might regret asking that question!

Longest was nearly 4 years, there was an overlap with the first 2 and the last 2.

Late 1995: Autosleeper pop-top on a Commer - H reg 1990 (1y 10m)
Aug 1997: Home converted Ford V6 Ambulance - C reg 1985 (1y 9m)
May 1999: Elddis Autoquest 320 - H reg 1990 (1y 4m)
Sept 2001: Swift Suntor 590RS - FE51 PEO (1y 8m)
May 2003: Rapido 709F - FN03 CUX (3y 10m)
Feb 2007: Rimor Sailer 645TC - FJ56 YPM (3y 2m)
Apr 2010: Chausson Flash 04 - WA10 AGZ (2y 4m)
Aug 2012: Autocruise Accent - FX12 DCF (2y 9m)
May 2015: Globecar FamilyScout L - FX15 RRZ (2y 11m)
Apr 2018: Globecar Campscout - WFZ 8708 (1y 6m?)

They weren't just changed on a whim though, the Commer was lovely and all we could afford at the time but wasn't ideal as it was small for us and the dogs, that's why I converted the Ambulance over winter (blooming freezing but great fun!). We then went from having 4 dogs to 2 dogs within the space of 15 days (old age/illness) so having more freedom we got our first coachbuilt (Elddis) which was great but it was heavy on the steering so only hubby could drive it and we got it for a really great price so couldn't complain. Then we were tempted by the Swift at a good price and being newer it had power steering, warranty and more modern fittings so we bit the bullet getting a very good PX for the Elddis, quite a bit more than we paid.

What a mistake getting the Swift was ... it was cold as the heating was cr@p and we had quite a few issues with it the most major being a swimming pool under the side sofa due to Swift forgetting to fit a vent cover in the bottom of the gas locker (located just behind the sofa) so that water was sprayed up from the rear wheel and got in to the letter box sized hole! It took them 3 weeks to dry it out. We weren't overly happy with the Swift as you can imagine and when at the NEC in Spring we saw the newly launched baby Rapido 709F and it was love at first sight but we resisted as it wasn't cheap despite Rapido doing it at a great price in order to get it out in public's eye. We went to 2-day MH show at Driffield a couple of months later and saw it again, we still loved it just as much as when we first saw it and we chatted about it all day, going back to have a last look at the end of the day and found that the dealer's hadn't sold much so just wanted to shift something ... so we pounced and after a lot of hard negotiation and nailing the dealer to the flag pole we ordered one.

After nearly 4 years it was getting a bit too small for us as we were doing longer holidays, including in winter, so wanted a bit more space ... hence our search and finding the Rimor ... going from 5.53m to 7.14m! The Rimor was beautiful, a luxury MH with everything we could want and we really enjoyed having it but as our holidays changed we decided that something a bit shorter would be better and whilst we were considering a PVC at that time it was a step too far so instead changed to the Chausson at 6m which was a lovely MH but nothing like the quality of the Rimor and whilst it was shorter it was chubbier ... we had some issues with it but nothing that couldn't be sorted, however being 'fat' it eventually got to the point that it was stopping us doing what we wanted, we therefore looked again at PVCs.

Eventually we bought our first PVC, an Autocruise Accent, we saw it at the Stratford show originally but decided to think about it a bit more and eventually bought it at a later show. It was great and worked really, really well but we decided that something with a bit more storage for our stuff which was easier to get at, would be better. ludo kept 'teasing' us with his lovely Globecar so eventually we gave in and got one too, a FamilyScout L; the quality was great overall but we did have issues with the shower tray, graphics etc and the aftersales from Globecar and the dealer were slow to put it mildly.

When we were on holiday in autumn 2017 we realised that we needed to seriously think about changing the camper as on my bad days I couldn't get in/out of the transverse bed easily as I had to clamber over hubby to the far side, but it wasn't practical for me to sleep on the 'access' side as hubby often got up in the night for the loo. This brought us to the conclusion that we needed to look again at what we needed and the Campscout model fitted the bill with separate single beds with steps, but the cost to change from our FamilyScout was silly so we didn't do anything about it then. It was only when we were away again when the issues were even more apparent that we realised something needed to be done. We occasionally had a browse on the web to see what was available and on a Sunday spotted a Campscout for sale which was a good price so meant we could change without 'silly' cost. We made a call in first thing on the Monday (from Spain!) and put a holding deposit on it, seeing it just over a week later when we got back to the UK and decided it was just what we needed ... it meant we ended with with TWO Globecars for a while but that's another story!

The Campscout has been great but as we want to go for even longer now, plus having 3 dogs, one of which has illness issues so needs bedding changes a lot due to a weak bladder, we were coming to the realisation that we needed just a bit more space but didn't want to go any larger than a PVC. Also although the insulation of the Campscout is good we want to go to the colder countries (Norway, Sweden, Iceland etc) but as I really do suffer in cold temperatures and I was made even more aware of this having had a bit of a 'do' on the way back from Spain this year, so it has become an even bigger concern than it was.

We'd seen the slimline Carthagos previously and liked them a lot but at the time they were out of our reach but now we can do it and it has all that we want ... and more ... good insulation, double floor, loads of payload, a great layout that we know works well for us, along with it being an ideal size. It will mean bread and water for a while but it'll be worth it!!!

So, whilst we've changed over the years, they weren't just 'on a whim' but due to changes in our requirements/needs at the time. The Carthago though will definitely be a keeper for a long time, we know the layout works for us, we know there's nothing else we could ask for so barring a disaster this one will not only be our 'baby' but grow up to be our 'toddler' and 'teenager' too!

A commer on a 1990? That can't be right they went out of production years back

If an h reg don't you mean a 1970 ?

 

[Northernraider]

Nooooooo, don't have the PIR sensor, had one in the last van pain in the butt.
They set the alarm off if you leave the roof vents open when you go out also if you leave the heating on and when the battery goes flat in them.
Very unlikely anyone will get in the rear windows with the height of them.

I have pir sensors on mine but a second button on key fob deactivated them so I can leave dogs in van and skylights open etc but alarm armed and only goes off if a door or locker /garage is opened

 

[Lenny HB]

I have pir sensors on mine but a second button on key fob deactivated them so I can leave dogs in van and skylights open etc but alarm armed and only goes off if a door or locker /garage is opened

You are confusing PIR sensors with being able to turnoff the ordinary internal sensors.
The Autowatch alarm has ultrasonic movement detectors as standard. The PIR is an option to give more coverage inside the van and they detect heat. The problem is when you leave the alarm fully armed. The normal sensors are fine but the additional PIR ones will trigger with gusts of wind if the roof lights are open or with air movement of the blow air heating is on.

Ultrasonic.

PIR

 

[Minxy]

A commer on a 1990? That can't be right they went out of production years back

If an h reg don't you mean a 1970 ?

You are correct of course, I cut and pasted that part of the line from the Elddis and didn't alter it ... ?

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[jezport]

You are confusing PIR sensors with being able to turnoff the ordinary internal sensors.
The Autowatch alarm has ultrasonic movement detectors as standard. The PIR is an option to give more coverage inside the van and they detect heat. The problem is when you leave the alarm fully armed. The normal sensors are fine but the additional PIR ones will trigger with gusts of wind if the roof lights are open or with air movement of the blow air heating is on.

Ultrasonic.
View attachment 338087

PIR
View attachment 338088

The way round that is hang something over the PIR

 

[Lenny HB]

The way round that is hang something over the PIR

Or just don't have it. Had one on the last van never again.

 

[barsteward]

Seive

Now that wasn't very nice of you was it? are you trying to start an argument or what?

 

[Minxy]

I thought I'd better update this thread with some info about what's been going on ... make yourselves a nice cuppa, also some popcorn or a biscuit (or packet!) to nibble, get yourself comfy and have a read ... some of it has already been mentioned previously/on other threads but I thought I'd put it all here for ease (apologies for any errors etc ... its taken me awhile to put it all together and I'm going bog-eyed! ?):

Collection day: We noticed that it hadn't had a valeted so was still dirty from the show with the wheels having mud all over them, some green algae in the bottom of the cab window frames, and the windscreen was still tacky where the stickers had been. The interior lights were on and there was some water in it, but there were no door racks in the fridge however that was quickly sorted. As we have had motorhomes/campers for over 20 years we didn’t need an 'in depth' explanation of how most of the things worked so just went over the items we were not familiar with (digital heating/boiler controls, fridge, control panel etc) before having check to make sure there weren't any obvious problems etc. We noticed that the Truma control panel still had an 'error' message showing which we'd spotted when we saw the MH at the Lincoln show, we were told it was because there was no gas connected and would disappear once we'd put our gas system in. As time was getting on and we needed fuel we departed and drove home, tired but happy!

Over the coming couple of weeks we found other 'issues':

• Truma control panel: when we installed our Gaslow system the 'error' code was still there and the heating/boiler would not work on gas or hook-up. Hubby found the meaning of the fault code but didn’t know how to get rid of it and after trying for a couple of hours eventually rang aftersales and was told to leave the panel on for 15 minutes then click through to the fault and press OK to clear it – this worked thank goodness
• Spare wheel: as mentioned previously the one provided had the wrong PCD (stud spacing) so would not fit our hubs (we are on the light chassis and it was for the heavy chassis) it was therefore of no use to us at all, the chap in the workshop was very apologetic about this and it turned out it was just down to his assuming we had the heavy chassis. The correct rim was sent and we had the tyre swapped over locally and they arranged for the wrong one to be collected; they agreed to pay for the change-over.
• Inflation kit: The inflation/emergency tyre repair kit was missing and, even though we were getting a spare wheel, it should still have been provided so one was sent to us whilst we waited for the tyre to arrive just in case we wanted to take the MH out and have something with us.
• Fridge clip: the plastic door lock clip which is used to keep the fridge door ajar but lockable when not in use was missing.
• Cab seat flap: the flap under the passenger’s cab seat had a lug broken off which I found lurking at the rear of the seat base when we removed the case with the jack etc in.
• Mains socket at front: this is located between the rear of the cab door and the side dinette seat and hadn't been swapped over to a UK one (all others in the motorhome had been).
• Toilet: the toilet flap handle only slid half-way across which meant that the flap itself would only open about 2cms, okay for a pee but not a poo! Checking on the internet this is apparently a known problem if the saddle/cog which moves the slide/flap isn't put in correctly so we presume when Carthago installed the SOG kit underneath it wasn't lined up correctly.
• Rear 12v socket & USB: we wanted a 12v socket in the back over the bed instead of, or as well as, the existing USB and asked for it to be changed making it clear we wanted to be able to charge our laptop there and was assured that even though it was a USB originally the wiring would be sufficient to take the extra power draw for this. Before it was changed I got a call to check exactly what we wanted it was agreed to leave the USB alone and put a matching 12v socket adjacent to it, and I again checked the wiring would be sufficient for our laptop and was assured it would be. We finally got round to trying the new socket and it didn’t work and neither did the original USB. We tried to contact after sales but they had left for the day so we located where the fuse was (2 amp) and found it had blown, assuming it was done accidentally or a faulty fuse so hubby replaced the fuse and stayed by the fuse board then plugged a 12v/USB converter, which has a small light to show when it's live, into the new 12v socket. I then immediately shouted "Take it out, its smoking" and quickly removed the USB converter whilst hubby took the fuse out. We weren't sure what was wrong but something most definitely was … we didn't risk trying the USB!
• PDI/check: It was obvious that not only had it not been cleaned/valeted it hadn't been 'properly' PDI'd/checked either as some of the issues would definitely have been found.
• Weight: It took AGES for it to appear on the DVLA website, about 4 weeks I think, and when it did we were a bit taken aback as they'd registered it at 3700kg and NOT 3850kg as we'd stated we wanted (and is on the sales form).

Are we happy? Yes and no … we were happy to have our nice new MH but not with the problems we'd found - we shouldn't have had this lot to deal with, regardless of the price we paid, it was the retrofitted 12v socket that caused us the greatest concern though - if we had put a fuse in and plugged a phone etc in to charge we are in no doubt that there would have been a fire and we'd have likely ended up with no motorhome … or worse. It really does NOT bear thinking about - having had a 5ft 'blowtorch' inside a motorhome previously due to a dealer's badly installed BBQ point piping which came apart it is NOT something we ever wish to experience again!

Back to the dealer: Due to the socket fault we had no choice but to take the MH back to the dealer to get it sorted and whilst there have the other bits and bobs done too; as the socket problem was down to their faulty installation they agreed to pay the fuel costs. Consequently hubby went early last Thursday in all that horrendous weather and terrible traffic (it took him nearly 4 hours to get there and again to get home, it should have been 2½ hours each way) then spent hours just kicking his heels, although he did have a loan car for the day so went to a town nearby for a potter round and the workshop techies set too sorting things:

• Fridge clip & Cab seat flap: the replacements were fitted.
• Mains socket at front: this was swapped for a UK one.
• Toilet: as suspected the toilet flap saddle/cog was misaligned so it was corrected.
• Rear 12v socket & USB: a new cable was fed from the 12v socket, down to the main fuse board and fused independently (the cable was well hidden in the existing upper cupboards' false bases and vertical conduit in the corner out of the way); the USB was checked and a new 2amp fuse put in; all were tested and found to be working correctly
• PDI/check: they made a thorough check of everything and nothing else was found.

Time to go home? Hubby was expecting to be called late afternoon when it was all done but when the call came it wasn't quite what he expected … the work was done BUT they said they had something to show him and he wouldn’t' be happy when he saw it … and he wasn't. They'd scratched it!!! Apparently one of the technicians had walked past and caught the offside garage door with the end of a drill bit so there was a wavy scratch about 10 inches long horizontally across the centre of the door! Hubby was extremely unhappy as you can imagine and told them that I'd go 'ape sh*t' when he rang me ... fortunately I didn't do that, but did go a bit 'monkey poo'! ? To cut a long story short I spoke to the workshop chap on the phone who offered to have it painted but no way was I gonna accept that as, having had a Rapido 'professionally' painted in the past due to an issue with a failing door, we know how crap it could be (door replaced in the end). The next option was to change it for another door as they had another new Carthago with the same size door BUT it didn't have the flock interior. They therefore suggested that they use the replacement door and have the interior covered in the same flock material as we already had (from Carthago) BUT it won't be held 'behind' the door frame itself (as it's put on before the door is framed) so would have to be stuck to the interior panel and just butt-up to the frame ... this was the only realistic option so we reluctantly agreed to this and also that they would come to us to fit the new door once it has been flocked.

As it was dark when hubby got home I couldn't look to see what the scratch was like but the following morning I saw it and it wasn't pretty however it hasn't 'dented' the door so we reconsidered what to do as we really didn't want to risk them doing something else to our pride and joy when they come to fit the new door and/or in case there's an issue with the replacement. In the end we suggest that they compensate us instead and we'd live with it or look to get some quality decals to put on it in the future if we want to. They agreed to this as it meant we don't have any more hassle now when we really do not need it, and also saved them the cost of getting the replacement door 'flocked', coming to us, fitting it, taking ours away and then still having to repair it.

Oh, nearly forgot …

Weight: Due to the dealer not informing us that they were registering it at the lower weight which isn't sufficient for us they agreed to pay for it to be uprated to 3850kg so I spoke with SVTech to discuss the options open to us. Consequently we've decided to take the opportunity to raise the rear axle from 2000kg to 2240kg by having rear semi-air fitted by SAP which means we can make full use of the garage space especially since it's got a bit of a heavy bottom already! It's costing us £2,000 but we don't intend to change this one for a LONG time so might as well do it now and have the benefit. Its booked into have the suspension fitted on Monday at SAP who are over an hour away and as they want it no later than 9.00 am hubby's driving the MH there and I'll be driving the car which means I'm gonna have to get out of my pit early! It won't be done until late afternoon so we're gonna drop it off, go to our ex-rental bungalow and cut the grass etc, come home then drive back to collect it mid/late afternoon and drive back home.

So ... how are things now with the dealer? To be fair the staff have been pretty good at sorting our issues but they still shouldn't have occured/been there in the first place and have caused us hassle etc when we really didn't need it and instead we should've been enjoying our new 'toy', but hopefully they'll make sure that these things don't happen to others.

Phew … that was a long one … I need a lie down to recover! ?

 

[CazPaul]

Good write up of a buying experience, good and bad points for the dealer.
Incidentally who is the dealer I may have missed you saying.

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[Millcourt]

Ah...… the joys of getting a new MoHo!!!

I must have misunderstood, Mel. I thought what you enjoyed most about ownership is fettling. Looks as if you have made a good start.

Hope all goes well for you from now on.

 

[Just smiffy]

I thought I'd better update this thread with some info about what's been going on ... make yourselves a nice cuppa, also some popcorn or a biscuit (or packet!) to nibble, get yourself comfy and have a read ... some of it has already been mentioned previously/on other threads but I thought I'd put it all here for ease (apologies for any errors etc ... its taken me awhile to put it all together and I'm going bog-eyed! ?):

Collection day: We noticed that it hadn't had a valeted so was still dirty from the show with the wheels having mud all over them, some green algae in the bottom of the cab window frames, and the windscreen was still tacky where the stickers had been. The interior lights were on and there was some water in it, but there were no door racks in the fridge however that was quickly sorted. As we have had motorhomes/campers for over 20 years we didn’t need an 'in depth' explanation of how most of the things worked so just went over the items we were not familiar with (digital heating/boiler controls, fridge, control panel etc) before having check to make sure there weren't any obvious problems etc. We noticed that the Truma control panel still had an 'error' message showing which we'd spotted when we saw the MH at the Lincoln show, we were told it was because there was no gas connected and would disappear once we'd put our gas system in. As time was getting on and we needed fuel we departed and drove home, tired but happy!

Over the coming couple of weeks we found other 'issues':

• Truma control panel: when we installed our Gaslow system the 'error' code was still there and the heating/boiler would not work on gas or hook-up. Hubby found the meaning of the fault code but didn’t know how to get rid of it and after trying for a couple of hours eventually rang aftersales and was told to leave the panel on for 15 minutes then click through to the fault and press OK to clear it – this worked thank goodness
• Spare wheel: as mentioned previously the one provided had the wrong PCD (stud spacing) so would not fit our hubs (we are on the light chassis and it was for the heavy chassis) it was therefore of no use to us at all, the chap in the workshop was very apologetic about this and it turned out it was just down to his assuming we had the heavy chassis. The correct rim was sent and we had the tyre swapped over locally and they arranged for the wrong one to be collected; they agreed to pay for the change-over.
• Inflation kit: The inflation/emergency tyre repair kit was missing and, even though we were getting a spare wheel, it should still have been provided so one was sent to us whilst we waited for the tyre to arrive just in case we wanted to take the MH out and have something with us.
• Fridge clip: the plastic door lock clip which is used to keep the fridge door ajar but lockable when not in use was missing.
• Cab seat flap: the flap under the passenger’s cab seat had a lug broken off which I found lurking at the rear of the seat base when we removed the case with the jack etc in.
• Mains socket at front: this is located between the rear of the cab door and the side dinette seat and hadn't been swapped over to a UK one (all others in the motorhome had been).
• Toilet: the toilet flap handle only slid half-way across which meant that the flap itself would only open about 2cms, okay for a pee but not a poo! Checking on the internet this is apparently a known problem if the saddle/cog which moves the slide/flap isn't put in correctly so we presume when Carthago installed the SOG kit underneath it wasn't lined up correctly.
• Rear 12v socket & USB: we wanted a 12v socket in the back over the bed instead of, or as well as, the existing USB and asked for it to be changed making it clear we wanted to be able to charge our laptop there and was assured that even though it was a USB originally the wiring would be sufficient to take the extra power draw for this. Before it was changed I got a call to check exactly what we wanted it was agreed to leave the USB alone and put a matching 12v socket adjacent to it, and I again checked the wiring would be sufficient for our laptop and was assured it would be. We finally got round to trying the new socket and it didn’t work and neither did the original USB. We tried to contact after sales but they had left for the day so we located where the fuse was (2 amp) and found it had blown, assuming it was done accidentally or a faulty fuse so hubby replaced the fuse and stayed by the fuse board then plugged a 12v/USB converter, which has a small light to show when it's live, into the new 12v socket. I then immediately shouted "Take it out, its smoking" and quickly removed the USB converter whilst hubby took the fuse out. We weren't sure what was wrong but something most definitely was … we didn't risk trying the USB!
• PDI/check: It was obvious that not only had it not been cleaned/valeted it hadn't been 'properly' PDI'd/checked either as some of the issues would definitely have been found.
• Weight: It took AGES for it to appear on the DVLA website, about 4 weeks I think, and when it did we were a bit taken aback as they'd registered it at 3700kg and NOT 3850kg as we'd stated we wanted (and is on the sales form).

Are we happy? Yes and no … we were happy to have our nice new MH but not with the problems we'd found - we shouldn't have had this lot to deal with, regardless of the price we paid, it was the retrofitted 12v socket that caused us the greatest concern though - if we had put a fuse in and plugged a phone etc in to charge we are in no doubt that there would have been a fire and we'd have likely ended up with no motorhome … or worse. It really does NOT bear thinking about - having had a 5ft 'blowtorch' inside a motorhome previously due to a dealer's badly installed BBQ point piping which came apart it is NOT something we ever wish to experience again!

Back to the dealer: Due to the socket fault we had no choice but to take the MH back to the dealer to get it sorted and whilst there have the other bits and bobs done too; as the socket problem was down to their faulty installation they agreed to pay the fuel costs. Consequently hubby went early last Thursday in all that horrendous weather and terrible traffic (it took him nearly 4 hours to get there and again to get home, it should have been 2½ hours each way) then spent hours just kicking his heels, although he did have a loan car for the day so went to a town nearby for a potter round and the workshop techies set too sorting things:

• Fridge clip & Cab seat flap: the replacements were fitted.
• Mains socket at front: this was swapped for a UK one.
• Toilet: as suspected the toilet flap saddle/cog was misaligned so it was corrected.
• Rear 12v socket & USB: a new cable was fed from the 12v socket, down to the main fuse board and fused independently (the cable was well hidden in the existing upper cupboards' false bases and vertical conduit in the corner out of the way); the USB was checked and a new 2amp fuse put in; all were tested and found to be working correctly
• PDI/check: they made a thorough check of everything and nothing else was found.

Time to go home? Hubby was expecting to be called late afternoon when it was all done but when the call came it wasn't quite what he expected … the work was done BUT they said they had something to show him and he wouldn’t' be happy when he saw it … and he wasn't. They'd scratched it!!! Apparently one of the technicians had walked past and caught the offside garage door with the end of a drill bit so there was a wavy scratch about 10 inches long horizontally across the centre of the door! Hubby was extremely unhappy as you can imagine and told them that I'd go 'ape sh*t' when he rang me ... fortunately I didn't do that, but did go a bit 'monkey poo'! ? To cut a long story short I spoke to the workshop chap on the phone who offered to have it painted but no way was I gonna accept that as, having had a Rapido 'professionally' painted in the past due to an issue with a failing door, we know how crap it could be (door replaced in the end). The next option was to change it for another door as they had another new Carthago with the same size door BUT it didn't have the flock interior. They therefore suggested that they use the replacement door and have the interior covered in the same flock material as we already had (from Carthago) BUT it won't be held 'behind' the door frame itself (as it's put on before the door is framed) so would have to be stuck to the interior panel and just butt-up to the frame ... this was the only realistic option so we reluctantly agreed to this and also that they would come to us to fit the new door once it has been flocked.

As it was dark when hubby got home I couldn't look to see what the scratch was like but the following morning I saw it and it wasn't pretty however it hasn't 'dented' the door so we reconsidered what to do as we really didn't want to risk them doing something else to our pride and joy when they come to fit the new door and/or in case there's an issue with the replacement. In the end we suggest that they compensate us instead and we'd live with it or look to get some quality decals to put on it in the future if we want to. They agreed to this as it meant we don't have any more hassle now when we really do not need it, and also saved them the cost of getting the replacement door 'flocked', coming to us, fitting it, taking ours away and then still having to repair it.

Oh, nearly forgot …

Weight: Due to the dealer not informing us that they were registering it at the lower weight which isn't sufficient for us they agreed to pay for it to be uprated to 3850kg so I spoke with SVTech to discuss the options open to us. Consequently we've decided to take the opportunity to raise the rear axle from 2000kg to 2240kg by having rear semi-air fitted by SAP which means we can make full use of the garage space especially since it's got a bit of a heavy bottom already! It's costing us £2,000 but we don't intend to change this one for a LONG time so might as well do it now and have the benefit. Its booked into have the suspension fitted on Monday at SAP who are over an hour away and as they want it no later than 9.00 am hubby's driving the MH there and I'll be driving the car which means I'm gonna have to get out of my pit early! It won't be done until late afternoon so we're gonna drop it off, go to our ex-rental bungalow and cut the grass etc, come home then drive back to collect it mid/late afternoon and drive back home.

So ... how are things now with the dealer? To be fair the staff have been pretty good at sorting our issues but they still shouldn't have occured/been there in the first place and have caused us hassle etc when we really didn't need it and instead we should've been enjoying our new 'toy', but hopefully they'll make sure that these things don't happen to others.

Phew … that was a long one … I need a lie down to recover! ?

Why oh why do dealers make the simplest of mistakes that let the whole process down and put you off for life.....

NEVER EVER will I buy a new Motorhome from a dealer..... or come to think of it a second hand one either.... even if I won the lottery ...

 

[Minxy]

Good write up of a buying experience, good and bad points for the dealer.
Incidentally who is the dealer I may have missed you saying.

Go European (aka GMC) at Gailey near Birmingham.

 

[HandyAndy]

*shakes head

That's about all I can come up with at the moment as I'm still..

 

[Minxy]

Ah...… the joys of getting a new MoHo!!!

I must have misunderstood, Mel. I thought what you enjoyed most about ownership is fettling. Looks as if you have made a good start.

Hope all goes well for you from now on.

I don't mind fettling but usually I have the choice about what to do/when, rather than being 'fault' driven ... never mind, at least hubby has agreed I can swap the table top for a smaller one so that's another job to do but won't take long.

SVTech should have been paid this morning by the dealer and have already ordered the new plate and done their 'approval' paperwork in anticipation of the semi-air being fitted on Monday. We should get the docs from them by Tuesday at the latest so can send it all off to the DVLA and we might then have a new V5C before we go to Spain ... hopefully!

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[Northernraider]

Now that wasn't very nice of you was it? are you trying to start an argument or what?

I made a statement based on a poll of a million motorhomes.

Surely it's the person that responds that's trying to start an argument ?

 

[Pausim]

Thank you, a very helpful summary Minxy Girl . I still think the dealer was wrong to let you take the motorhome away before it was registered.

Ah...… the joys of getting a new MoHo!!!

We have had none of these problems with our new Carthago but we did have to wait 8 months between ordering it and taking possession. Our previous motorhome was new but had been used as a display model and there were more irritating little issues to resolve. If we buy new again we will again order it and put up with waiting whilst it is made.

 

[paddymcc]

Useful write up Minxy Girl . What compensation did you get for the scratch to the garage door? I guess it would have cost the dealer a fair bit to replace it as you describe and suspect you drove a hard bargain!

 

[Mr B]

Don’t they know “Who you are!!!!”......
You being part of the “Ull” Mafia
Someone will be waking up with a horses head in their bed..........

 

[Minxy]

Useful write up Minxy Girl . What compensation did you get for the scratch to the garage door? I guess it would have cost the dealer a fair bit to replace it as you describe and suspect you drove a hard bargain!

We knew what level of compensation thought suitable but didn't suggest a figure to them in the email we sent, all we did was point out the hassle and time to them for having to come and sort it out, ie cost of the flock material, paying for it to be professionally fitted to the replacement door, technician's driving time to/from us and whilst fitting the door (away from their workshop all day whilst they are very busy), fuel, and still having to fix the scratch on the door (which wouldn't match the MH they'd taken the door off as ours has flock on and the other MH garage didn't). They emailed us back with an amount which was acceptable so no hard bargaining was necessary fortunately.

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[Minxy]

Don’t they know “Who you are!!!!”......
You being part of the “Ull” Mafia
Someone will be waking up with a horses head in their bed..........

Nah, as fishing was Hull's main industry it will be a large smelly cod's head! ?

 

[Manic]

A good write up of your experience. It’s good your getting things sorted, it’s just a shame that it’s down to the customer to highlight the problems.

 

[loutalucat]

We bought our first new campervan in May and it was driven down from Lancashire to Vanbitz by the dealer where I met them and they handed over the keys after a look around. We had an alarm etc fitted and I was driven back up from Devon to pick it up the day after.
I’d got this pain in my stomach so was not entirely as excited as I ought to have been when driving back home but that was sorted the next day when Torbay hospital took away my appendix.
Over the next few days we realised that we’d made entirely the right decision and the van was indeed everything that we wanted.
However, when checking with dvla the van was not registered nor taxed and thus not insured etc.
it was obvious that the dealer was unaware as they’d illegally driven it across the country themselves. They did sort it just in time for our ferry crossing to Roscoff which was a relief and it seems that it was probably caused by a complication over the left hand drive status on the registration form.
This post is for information just to make everyone aware that this sort of thing is possible even when purchasing from a reputable dealer. We found out by accident and maybe would still have been unaware that we were driving illegally to this day.

 

[Minxy]

A bit of a set-back ... nothing to worry about though!

We drove to SAP this morning but unfortunately they had a caravan 'stuck' up in the air on the ramps and couldn't start on ours straight away so we decided to leave it with them and will go back tomorrow for it. We still went to our bungalow however we had a long detour down to Doncaster as the shorter route across had road closures (we assume because they are low-lying and possibly flooded). We were fortunate that the grass had hardly grown so didn't need doing which made up for the lost time.

We rang SVTech to confirm the semi-air fitting was being done but they still hadn't sent an invoice to the dealer so we got them to do it straight away and it has been paid at last which means we'll have the paperwork sent to us now ... hopefully!

Next 'task' will be to get the docs off to the DVLA and new V5C back in time for us to get away!

 

[Minxy]

Oh for goodness sake ... are people just plain stupid at times or is it something they work hard to develop?!?!?!?!?!?

Despite being in contact with SVTech several times about out requirements and what's going on regarding the dealer, paying the invoice etc, explaining numerous times that WE need the documents for the DVLA we still hadn't had anything this morning when the post arrived. Therefore we rang them and were informed that they now had the weight plate and were going to send it and the documents out today ...... TO OUR DEALER!!!!


It's a ruddy good job we rang this morning before they had a chance to sent it but to speed it up I the lady in the office agreed to send me the documentation via email so I could print it off and get the stuff done for DVLA.

I doubt we'll get the new V5C back from the DVLA before we go away but I can hope - at least WE know we have had the suspension done to ensure we are 'safe' if we go over the original rear axle weight.

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[Lenny HB]

We rang SVTech to confirm the semi-air fitting was being done

If they are fitting VB semi air why not treat yourself and pay the extra for full air all round. You know it makes sense.

 

[Minxy]

If they are fitting VB semi air why not treat yourself and pay the extra for full air all round. You know it makes sense.

Bog off Lenny ... we're on breadcrumbs and the poor dogs are having to forage for squirrels to munch on ... do you expect us to just eat grass (or moss in the case of our garden)????

 

[Minxy]

Did a bit of 'fettling' today, odd bits and bobs including putting a cord on the large garage door as suggested by another funster to prevent it being blown open (apparently the existing damper can let it go too far back). I finally got round to removing the original table top and fitted my own which I'd used in previous MHs/campers, it's a perfect fit and will make it easier to get through from the cab area.

Hubby did some PPPP ... pooch piddle penetration prevention ... he used some vinyl flooring offcuts (left over from when we had our kitchen vinyl replaced) to cover the existing floor, this means that if Romy has a piddle it won't drip into the floor lockers and as a bonus 'hides' the locker hatches from view. It looks very smart and can be taken out to have a good wash if needs be (it's in 2 pieces) and means we won't need to take the portable stick vacuum with us as a dustpan and brush will suffice.

 

[Nirvanauk]

I thought I'd better update this thread with some info about what's been going on ... make yourselves a nice cuppa, also some popcorn or a biscuit (or packet!) to nibble, get yourself comfy and have a read ... some of it has already been mentioned previously/on other threads but I thought I'd put it all here for ease (apologies for any errors etc ... its taken me awhile to put it all together and I'm going bog-eyed! ?):

Collection day: We noticed that it hadn't had a valeted so was still dirty from the show with the wheels having mud all over them, some green algae in the bottom of the cab window frames, and the windscreen was still tacky where the stickers had been. The interior lights were on and there was some water in it, but there were no door racks in the fridge however that was quickly sorted. As we have had motorhomes/campers for over 20 years we didn’t need an 'in depth' explanation of how most of the things worked so just went over the items we were not familiar with (digital heating/boiler controls, fridge, control panel etc) before having check to make sure there weren't any obvious problems etc. We noticed that the Truma control panel still had an 'error' message showing which we'd spotted when we saw the MH at the Lincoln show, we were told it was because there was no gas connected and would disappear once we'd put our gas system in. As time was getting on and we needed fuel we departed and drove home, tired but happy!

Over the coming couple of weeks we found other 'issues':

• Truma control panel: when we installed our Gaslow system the 'error' code was still there and the heating/boiler would not work on gas or hook-up. Hubby found the meaning of the fault code but didn’t know how to get rid of it and after trying for a couple of hours eventually rang aftersales and was told to leave the panel on for 15 minutes then click through to the fault and press OK to clear it – this worked thank goodness
• Spare wheel: as mentioned previously the one provided had the wrong PCD (stud spacing) so would not fit our hubs (we are on the light chassis and it was for the heavy chassis) it was therefore of no use to us at all, the chap in the workshop was very apologetic about this and it turned out it was just down to his assuming we had the heavy chassis. The correct rim was sent and we had the tyre swapped over locally and they arranged for the wrong one to be collected; they agreed to pay for the change-over.
• Inflation kit: The inflation/emergency tyre repair kit was missing and, even though we were getting a spare wheel, it should still have been provided so one was sent to us whilst we waited for the tyre to arrive just in case we wanted to take the MH out and have something with us.
• Fridge clip: the plastic door lock clip which is used to keep the fridge door ajar but lockable when not in use was missing.
• Cab seat flap: the flap under the passenger’s cab seat had a lug broken off which I found lurking at the rear of the seat base when we removed the case with the jack etc in.
• Mains socket at front: this is located between the rear of the cab door and the side dinette seat and hadn't been swapped over to a UK one (all others in the motorhome had been).
• Toilet: the toilet flap handle only slid half-way across which meant that the flap itself would only open about 2cms, okay for a pee but not a poo! Checking on the internet this is apparently a known problem if the saddle/cog which moves the slide/flap isn't put in correctly so we presume when Carthago installed the SOG kit underneath it wasn't lined up correctly.
• Rear 12v socket & USB: we wanted a 12v socket in the back over the bed instead of, or as well as, the existing USB and asked for it to be changed making it clear we wanted to be able to charge our laptop there and was assured that even though it was a USB originally the wiring would be sufficient to take the extra power draw for this. Before it was changed I got a call to check exactly what we wanted it was agreed to leave the USB alone and put a matching 12v socket adjacent to it, and I again checked the wiring would be sufficient for our laptop and was assured it would be. We finally got round to trying the new socket and it didn’t work and neither did the original USB. We tried to contact after sales but they had left for the day so we located where the fuse was (2 amp) and found it had blown, assuming it was done accidentally or a faulty fuse so hubby replaced the fuse and stayed by the fuse board then plugged a 12v/USB converter, which has a small light to show when it's live, into the new 12v socket. I then immediately shouted "Take it out, its smoking" and quickly removed the USB converter whilst hubby took the fuse out. We weren't sure what was wrong but something most definitely was … we didn't risk trying the USB!
• PDI/check: It was obvious that not only had it not been cleaned/valeted it hadn't been 'properly' PDI'd/checked either as some of the issues would definitely have been found.
• Weight: It took AGES for it to appear on the DVLA website, about 4 weeks I think, and when it did we were a bit taken aback as they'd registered it at 3700kg and NOT 3850kg as we'd stated we wanted (and is on the sales form).

Are we happy? Yes and no … we were happy to have our nice new MH but not with the problems we'd found - we shouldn't have had this lot to deal with, regardless of the price we paid, it was the retrofitted 12v socket that caused us the greatest concern though - if we had put a fuse in and plugged a phone etc in to charge we are in no doubt that there would have been a fire and we'd have likely ended up with no motorhome … or worse. It really does NOT bear thinking about - having had a 5ft 'blowtorch' inside a motorhome previously due to a dealer's badly installed BBQ point piping which came apart it is NOT something we ever wish to experience again!

Back to the dealer: Due to the socket fault we had no choice but to take the MH back to the dealer to get it sorted and whilst there have the other bits and bobs done too; as the socket problem was down to their faulty installation they agreed to pay the fuel costs. Consequently hubby went early last Thursday in all that horrendous weather and terrible traffic (it took him nearly 4 hours to get there and again to get home, it should have been 2½ hours each way) then spent hours just kicking his heels, although he did have a loan car for the day so went to a town nearby for a potter round and the workshop techies set too sorting things:

• Fridge clip & Cab seat flap: the replacements were fitted.
• Mains socket at front: this was swapped for a UK one.
• Toilet: as suspected the toilet flap saddle/cog was misaligned so it was corrected.
• Rear 12v socket & USB: a new cable was fed from the 12v socket, down to the main fuse board and fused independently (the cable was well hidden in the existing upper cupboards' false bases and vertical conduit in the corner out of the way); the USB was checked and a new 2amp fuse put in; all were tested and found to be working correctly
• PDI/check: they made a thorough check of everything and nothing else was found.

Time to go home? Hubby was expecting to be called late afternoon when it was all done but when the call came it wasn't quite what he expected … the work was done BUT they said they had something to show him and he wouldn’t' be happy when he saw it … and he wasn't. They'd scratched it!!! Apparently one of the technicians had walked past and caught the offside garage door with the end of a drill bit so there was a wavy scratch about 10 inches long horizontally across the centre of the door! Hubby was extremely unhappy as you can imagine and told them that I'd go 'ape sh*t' when he rang me ... fortunately I didn't do that, but did go a bit 'monkey poo'! ? To cut a long story short I spoke to the workshop chap on the phone who offered to have it painted but no way was I gonna accept that as, having had a Rapido 'professionally' painted in the past due to an issue with a failing door, we know how crap it could be (door replaced in the end). The next option was to change it for another door as they had another new Carthago with the same size door BUT it didn't have the flock interior. They therefore suggested that they use the replacement door and have the interior covered in the same flock material as we already had (from Carthago) BUT it won't be held 'behind' the door frame itself (as it's put on before the door is framed) so would have to be stuck to the interior panel and just butt-up to the frame ... this was the only realistic option so we reluctantly agreed to this and also that they would come to us to fit the new door once it has been flocked.

As it was dark when hubby got home I couldn't look to see what the scratch was like but the following morning I saw it and it wasn't pretty however it hasn't 'dented' the door so we reconsidered what to do as we really didn't want to risk them doing something else to our pride and joy when they come to fit the new door and/or in case there's an issue with the replacement. In the end we suggest that they compensate us instead and we'd live with it or look to get some quality decals to put on it in the future if we want to. They agreed to this as it meant we don't have any more hassle now when we really do not need it, and also saved them the cost of getting the replacement door 'flocked', coming to us, fitting it, taking ours away and then still having to repair it.

Oh, nearly forgot …

Weight: Due to the dealer not informing us that they were registering it at the lower weight which isn't sufficient for us they agreed to pay for it to be uprated to 3850kg so I spoke with SVTech to discuss the options open to us. Consequently we've decided to take the opportunity to raise the rear axle from 2000kg to 2240kg by having rear semi-air fitted by SAP which means we can make full use of the garage space especially since it's got a bit of a heavy bottom already! It's costing us £2,000 but we don't intend to change this one for a LONG time so might as well do it now and have the benefit. Its booked into have the suspension fitted on Monday at SAP who are over an hour away and as they want it no later than 9.00 am hubby's driving the MH there and I'll be driving the car which means I'm gonna have to get out of my pit early! It won't be done until late afternoon so we're gonna drop it off, go to our ex-rental bungalow and cut the grass etc, come home then drive back to collect it mid/late afternoon and drive back home.

So ... how are things now with the dealer? To be fair the staff have been pretty good at sorting our issues but they still shouldn't have occured/been there in the first place and have caused us hassle etc when we really didn't need it and instead we should've been enjoying our new 'toy', but hopefully they'll make sure that these things don't happen to others.

Phew … that was a long one … I need a lie down to recover! ?

Do you wish you had stuck with your PVC?

 

[Minxy]

Do you wish you had stuck with your PVC?

No, I just wish we hadn't had the 'issues' we've had ... it's sods law, every time we buy a MH/camper there's always something to sort out! How I dream of having one with no problems from the off ... might as well dream of winning the lottery!

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