autosleeper saga

[charleydog]

Handover,7th Sep. arrived as requested 930am.seen by the salesman at 10.15.wrong number plates fixed to camper, tow hitch ordered with purchase not fitted.2.5-hour wait for this. rush of paperwork .left at 2.45.with a wave of the hand from the salesman.One two night stay on campsite,now total failure of 12volt system,booked in for repair 29thSep.Not bad for £61000 >:-(

[Randonneur]

Thats disgusting.

[Don636]

Unfortunately your experience is not uncommon. I was talking to a couple on a site last week who had an Elddis coach built that they bought last September. They had done 1,000 miles since (Covid remember) and 600 of these miles were multiple trips to the dealer Brownhills to have a number of serious issues dealt with including water ingress!! This was their first motorhome post retirement and they were at the end of their tether. This is a totally unacceptable standard of build quality and aftercare. I reckon a lot of manufacturers and dealers are just not interested in delivering an acceptable standard of product and service and believe these issues are merely little teething problems that are to be expected.

I chose our PVC based on the perceived rock solid build quality and level of after sales service (Van bought direct from the manufacturer rather than a middle man dealer) and my decision has proven to be sound with no problems in six years other than a few minor adjustments and breakage of minor fittings that were taken care of at the annual hab service, usually at no charge.

Hope you get it all,sorted.

[breakaleg]

We have ordered a Nuevo on a ducato with the nine speed auto box for delivery around March, many of the Sargant control panels fail but there have been reports of a software update that seems to have fixed this.

Our present van is an Elddis Autoquest 115 Sunseeker and had few problems from new the van is five years old and is going in for a water ingress fix on Monday next week under warrantee.

Hoping that the new van is trouble free, I wonder if one day we won't have to hope (to much to ask for?)

Pete

 

[charleydog]

Thanks for the replies, had to have a rant >:-)

[ron.]

Your not alone 2. A few years back we bought a new top of the range AutoSleeper from Marquis and on getting home attempted to fill it with water. This resulted in leaks from nearly every joint in the water system, both internal and external. The van had to go back to AutoSleeper for the first of several visits with a multitude of faults. So much for AutoSleeper quality and Marquis PDI.

[charleydog]

Ron, see you have a chausson630,that's what we changed for the auto sleeper ,thought we were buying British quality in downsizing to a pvc. Liked the 630 too. *-)

[Fred Duck]

Marquis PDI. Now there's a contradiction in terms. Our van bought 12 months ago from them looked fine when we collected it. It wasn't new and we didn't expect a new van. However, we had hoped that they would have done such things as clean the carpets rather than simply covering them with that cling film like covering that gives the impression they've been cleaned, that they would have removed what appeared to be the remnants of a maggots nest from under the floor inspection panel between the front seats, that they would have cleaned the cup stains from the table folded up in the wardrobe and even that they would have emptied the toilet cassette that was full to the brim (and I mean FULL) with the previous owners 'droppings'!! It went on and it took us a good month to properly clean the van. They apologised, profusely, of course when they finally replied to our complaint (even that took over a week) and they supplied new carpets. However, we take pleasure in those of our motorhome owning friends who saw what the van was like vowing, like us, never to even think about buying from Marquis in the future. Indeed one of them cancelled an appointment they'd made to view a van they would have probably bought.

 

FD

[Don636]

I must admit that I would not touch a used van that was sitting on the forecourt in that condition. To me it suggests that the previous owner did not look after the van properly and had low standards of cleanliness so I would not trust it. I would never hand over a vehicle in trade-in, be it a car or a motorhome, that was not presented in pristine condition. Alternatively I would expect the motorhome to be fully valeted and serviced before being put onto the forecourt for sale. To do otherwise implies to me that the dealer will try to get away with doing the minimum if someone is prepared to buy it in its current condition on the understanding that it is properly prepared. It is disgusting that this sort of thing happens but unfortunately it does happen often so buyer beware I say - trust no one.

[ron.]

charleydog - 2020-09-17 6:51 PM

 

Ron, see you have a chausson630,that's what we changed for the auto sleeper ,thought we were buying British quality in downsizing to a pvc. Liked the 630 too. *-)

 

It’s a strange old world. We did the opposite and went from a pvc to the Chausson for the extra room. That it certainly had and I don’t know how they do it, including a full sized garage, in just 7m. I don’t think anyone would claim that Chausson are a top make and yet its the only van (including the top makes) in fifty years that we haven’t had a single problem with. As I said, a funny old world.

PS. I hope that you don’t miss the space.

[paulmold]

Funny isn't it - Auto-sleeper and Chausson both part of Trigano group ! (As is Marquis).

[Derek Uzzell]

The Trigano Group currently includes the following brands

 

Adria Mobil

Auto-Sleepers

Sun Living

ARCA

Autostar

Tribute

Forster

Auto-Trail

Challenger

Karmann Mobil

Benimar

Chausson

Mc Louis

CI

Font Vendôme

Mobilvetta

Elnagh

Notin

Roller Team

Eura Mobil

Kentucky

Rimor

Xgo

Randger

 

(Although Trigano has a controlling stake in Marquis, the latter is a UK dealership network and does not manufacture motorhomes.)

[Grumpyman]

I would have sat on there premises and told them to fix it .

[g3ttc]

I bought a new Autosleepers Nuevo EK last October (it was already in stock so I escaped the extra government tax) and took it home, SORNed it and covered it up for the winter. When I used it for the first time in April to visit relatives in Dorset for a 2 night stay without hookup I found all the domestic electrics didn't work. No lights, no heater on a very cold night. I couldn't sleep for the cold. Then I realised I had my Silver Screens in a locker so I doubled over the windscreen piece and put that over me and I managed to sleep. It turned out to be a faulty power control panel over the rear door, a regular fault. (That's van no.3)

Regarding Marquis, I wouldn't go to them again. I bought van no 2, one of the 50 limited edition 2011 Executives. I asked for a Gaslow system with 2 gas bottles. I found they'd fitted the filler on the gas bottle door. As the door might be opened several times a day to turn the gas on and off flexing the pipe, I asked them to move the filler to a fixed panel but they refused. Once I got home I did the job myself! I used a modelling filler (forgotten the name-it comes in a tube) to fill the redundant hole in the door and moved the

'Danger LPG' label to cover the slightly different texture. Simples!

Keith g3ttc

[gassygassy]

Some years ago I was manufacturing an approved accessory for one of the major motor manufacturers. I seem to remember that one fault in 2,000 would require an investigation with a report, what was found wrong, and what was being done in production to prevent it happenning again.

At that rate no motorhome would ever leave a British manufacturer, and most European ones as well. I had the most abysmal experience with a Rapido: the electric bed has an 8 pin pulg and socket that had not been assembled properly. When the operative had pushed the two halves together he MUST have seen that one of the pins was left sticking out of the plug body where it should have gone right inside. Brownhills failed to find it on three return visits and it was left to me to get the wiring diagram and installation manual from the bed manufacturer in Italy. Consequently I will never have a Rapido again. My last motorhome was a 3,000 mile Autosleeper and bits and pieces were already coming adrift / loose / fading / shrinking. I took one of the locker doors to the A/S stand at the NEC and showed them the vinyl wood-effect door covering had shrunk away from the edge. Was he prepared to replace the door? No. Here, phone this number and they will get the price of a new one for you. No thanks, I said, I'll sell the vehicle and not buy another one of yours.

I have now got an 11 year old German Hobby. It's brilliant, everything works, nothing is peeling off, there are no sticky-tape joints between panels because everything is made of tree wood including joint coverings. It is a joy to sit inside and look at the wood grain everywhere. I suspect that I paid the same amount for it as it cost new back in 2009, but at half the price of a new 'cardboard' motorhome I think it is good value. It's just turned 30,000 miles.

Oh. The air conditioning was faulty and my local garage fixed it - I'll ask the dealer to refund that. I knew it wasn't working when I bought it, but got it anyway because the dealer is 200 miles away. Lesson learned: Go 200 miles to see a nice camper. Leave a deposit to secure it. Go back on the appointed date and really check everything, including air con, heater, door knobs - everything. If something isn't working tell them to fix it now, or if they can't, you keep you money in your pocket, go home, travel another 400 miles to return when they really have fixed everything. They shove a tick sheet under your nose when you are all excited and agreed to buy it and you sign that you have checked everything. If you haven't then you are likely to find yourself fixing and paying for faults which they should have done.

[John52]

g3ttc - 2020-09-23 12:18 PM

 

without hookup I.....no heater on a very cold night. I couldn't sleep for the cold.

 

I still have memories of eberspacher diesel heaters failing when the diesel was too cold to pump - anything below about -2C, just when you needed them most.

So I never rely on any vehicle heater and always take enough clothes to keep warm without them.

I can recommend Primark jogging trousers - £5 a pair and stretchy enough to wear 4 pairs at once. I have been sat in the van watching TV when its -9C and still plenty warm enough :-D

[rooster63]

Not an Autosleeper issue but a timely reminder to check everything a dealer says or does. We bought our first PVC 4 years ago from a local dealer having done a lot of research into what we wanted and thought we had found our ideal van (which it is in many ways). We had to pay the balance a week before pick up, which we went along with as otherwise it was no sale. Being newbies when we went to view the van initially there was a lot to take in but I did ask if there was a spare wheel and was assured there was, but didn't ask to see it. The salesman also pointed out that there was a Gaslow refillable system and also included was a Safari room. When we went to pick up the van after finishing the paper work we had the hand over briefing during which the salesman mentioned that he had made a mistake and there wasn't a spare wheel, well there was but the previous owner carried it loose around in the van as the underbody cradle had been removed to make space for the water tank. Were we happy to have an emergency puncture repair kit instead? Seemed like a good idea so we agreed. Whilst he was demonstrating the gas system I noticed that the Gasflow had been replaced and there was a red propane cylinder instead. He said they had to condemn the Gasflow system. At this point I did wonder whether to cancel the sale but we had spent 6 months looking for the right van (rear lounge, 2 berth) at the right price so went ahead with the purchase and generally speaking have been very happy with the van. Just to add when I tried to put the Safari room up I discovered half of it was missing but seeing as that half took up a whole locker I wasn't too bothered about that.

So when buying a new or used van it pays to check and double check everything! And maybe its not a good idea to go van viewing on a wet, cold December day!