Hymer B508CL Driver door Problems

[Kaycee]

I bought a new B508 CL in June which has twice had a failure of the drivers door locking/latching mechanism.The first failure was an inability to unlatch the door from the locked position from the inside.The second time was a complete failure of the latching lever and consequent inability to open the door from the inside.

The second failure occurred during our first,and only , trip so far ,and was compounded by water pouring down the rear wall and soaking the clothes in the wardrobe,apparently from a split seal on the upper rear brake light housing.We abandoned the trip and returned home.

Brownhills apparently are having problems obtaining spares from Hymer.

I would be interested to hear if anyone else has had problems with the door as I am in dispute with Brownhills about a resolution to this situation.

They told me their was an 'issue' with the door on this model and that Hymer know about it ,but cannot or will not tell me if they are working on a modification to resolve the problem.

This is our first venture into Motorhoming and has left us with a bit of a sour taste so far.

[colin]

I vagely recall someone posting that Brownhills have had falling out with Hymer since management buyout, any one comfirm that?

The failure of the door latch such that you cannot exit vehicle in a timely manner must border on a VOSA safety issue especialy if it is a known problem, maybe you need to contact them.

[Kaycee]

Thanks for the advice Colin, I will look into it. My wife worked out today that the vehicle has been fully serviceable for 9 days since we bought it.It is now awaiting collection but I am reluctant to take delivery without a written assurance of the integrity of the mechanism, which they will not give,only that the vehicle warranty will cover it.

This effectively means of course that it could keep on failing until the warranty runs out ,after which it's my problem.

I understand that I am within my rights to reject the vehicle.Unfortunately I drove it straight to an accessory shop after delivery and had a load of expensive items fitted which complicates matters somewhat.

I wrote a letter to the CEO of Brownhills relating the experience(I only gave a brief summary of the saga in my initial post)and ask for his comments,he did not have the courtesy to acknowledge ,much less reply to my letter.His statements in a recent interview in the magazine ring a bit hollow!

[colin]

I may be wrong, but my understanding of consumer law is that the repair 'in affect' carries it's own warrenty, so if latch was repaired and failed within 12 months it has not been repaired and they must repair again, but even if I'm correct you would meet great resistance to this and of cause it's a pain for you to put up with, but hopefully Hymer will get out a fix.

This leads me to a pet theory of mine, as we all know even large vehicle manufacturers make mistakes even with their massive investment in design, motorhome convertors are much smaller and it is likely that bespoke parts will not have been anywhere near as extensivly tested, in the 'good old days' there where a lot less 'fancy' parts fitted to motorhomes and I think a lesser expectation of everything working 100% such that a lot of users have a 'make do and mend' mentality, but nowadays the market has moved on, more people expect a motorhome to work 'straight out the box' after all they are not cheap compared to a car which the buyer may be more used to. If you where to spend £40,000 on a car you would expect to get a high quality and if any problems arose thet would be sort with no quibles, but for a motorhome at that price you are at best dealing with the middle of market.

[Brian Kirby]

I think Hymer are having a lot of trouble with these doors.  I met a Frenchman and a Brit recently, both with similar vans/door problems.  I don't think it is just Bh.