NO NAME NO SHAME

[Corky 8]

I have a 2008 Burstner motorhome bought new from a Large dealership,foregoing the Problems I had before with the first motorhome I purchased from them  and which I got them to take back against this one,I have also had teething problems with this Motorhome excluding the Judder syndrome, I have had an automatic air suspension system,I was told "you press this rocker switch under the air pressure gauge and it inflates the air suspension but you have to deflate it by pressing the middle of the Schrader valve all done from the drivers seat" ,which turn out not to be automatic you have to connect an air supply to the valve to inflate the suspension, I was told I misunderstood what was said  a long protracted you said ? no we didn't followed till I gave in "you cant win against people who dont tell the truth " Next loose bare terminals under a cup holder, and electric mirrors which stopped working ( blown fuse )a round trip of 260 miles is involved to have these repairs carried out under warranty, In  beginning of June last year while away in the Highlands the Habitation Door Lock barrel came out with the key when unlocking the door, This is the only Door in the Motorhome,I then found out the door would not lock from the inside even with the lock barrel put back in,so we couldnt lock the door from either inside or outside, We were Lucky enough to find a locksmith and he took the back of the door lock off to find a screw had come out which retained the whole locking assembly,and a plastic lever retainer was broken which operated the door handle to the lock,he put it back as best he knew he didn't know if there were parts missing ,but he managed to give us a door that locked, on returning home mid June 2009 we contacted the dealer and informed them of our situation,we were told it would be six weeks before a replacement lock could be got,eight weeks went by without a word so I rang them and was told the lock had not yet arrived,August went by as did September no lock October came and went no Lock , I sent emails to Burstner requesting a replacement lock /part were sent to my dealer, the beginning of December when I phoned the dealer I was told the Part were now with them, we arranged to go over in December and have the part fitted ,I thought while I was there I would have them do the first service on the Motorhome and a habitation service owed from the first motorhome I had from them also the  electric door step would move out slightly when we were on the move ,  we drove the 130 miles and left the M/H with them early morning went into Darlington and did some shopping, returning some five hours later to Good news Bad News.    Good news the Service was completed and the Habitation service also completed without any findings , Bad News the door lock sent / ordered was the wrong one and the step required replacing,this would take another six weeks for parts to come,We are now in March 2010 and still no door lock despite telephone calls e mails to a very helpful Group service Manager and e mails to Burstner Germany, I have now asked the fitting of these Parts when/If they arrive should be done at another of their dealership Premises,this was /has been organised by the group service Manager  two week ago and I have yet to hear from the other Dealer, Is Patience a virtue or a hindrance,where do I go from here.

[flicka]

Hi Corky

Put your complaint in writing (sooner rather than later) IF you have a diary of events, include those details, include copies of e-mails to Burstner & give the dealer a time by which he has to acknowledge & reply. Also have a word with Trading Standards (local to the dealership).

A quiet work from them, focuses attention.

 

Possibly too late to reject on the "Unfit for Purpose" grounds, but Trading Standards should be able to clarify your position, given facts & dates.

[747]

Hi Corky,

 

I know the company you are having problems with. I too have a Burstner, bought 2nd hand from another branch of the same company.

 

I have given up phoning your branch for parts or information. They are absolutely useless at Management level. I have had to find other sources for my needs and thankfully some of the info has come from internet forums.

 

My branch, a little further North have been really good and I have no complaints. Saying that, the van has performed well and they have not been tested. If you wanted to use them, the staff are very good but you would be no better off if you needed Burstner parts. An example of their organisation in a nutshell is my saga when ordering a TV aerial. They did not have the model in the branch, so I ordered it from them. One month later, I am still waiting. In fact, this morning I bought one from Screwfix.

 

Their whole setup needs a good kick up the backside. If nobody believes me, Go and Discover for yourself.

[Corky 8]

Thanks Flicka took note of your ideas,  747 spot on,but group Service Manager has been trying,  Going further south to see if they are any better,Chorley area, just completely fed up,no wonder the UK is in a mess. 

[mel wood]

Corky 8 - when I was able to follow your post I thought "What a mess!" and also "What dealer was that?". I was glad that another correspondent gave a clue which helped me to 'discover' which dealer it was.

 

I am sure you had your reasons for buying there but the long round trip is unfortunate. Motorhomes seem to be coming from factories and dealers with inherent faults and poor or no PDIs. I am so glad that we were able to choose a dealer only 8 miles from home. Even so that was bad enough having to return numerous times in the first 3 months of ownership.

 

Problems are frustrating, annoying and some of them should never have arisen but I more or less agree with your tagline - we found out by their actions how good or otherwise dealers are. How they deal with the problems is important.

 

 

[tazdog6007]

come on corky 8 name the useless (it's not nice to insult people)s. this is a forum and no one will sue you the mag has not got the bottle to so this info is important

[Corky 8]

tazdog6007 - 2010-03-26 6:09 PM come on corky 8 name the useless (it's not nice to insult people)s. this is a forum and no one will sue you the mag has not got the bottle to so this info is important

I think 747 mentioned someone in his last Paragraph

[flicka]

Hi Corky

You have a PM

 

 

[Guest peter]

Don't the Discover group sell Burstner's ?

[tyreman]

No wonder they had to close so many sites,they we`re rubbish in Newport

[silverback]

tazdog6007 - 2010-03-26 6:09 PM

 

come on corky 8 name the useless (it's not nice to insult people)s. this is a forum and no one will sue you the mag has not got the bottle to so this info is important

 

err!!! tazdog6007 you need to go discover this for yourself ;-)

jonathan

[Ian Stewart]

Regarding first, the manufacturer. My previous motorhome was a Buerstner, a 1991 model. The local dealer, unfortunately no longer in business, ordered

the graphics for the sides from Germany for me. These arrived in SIX weeks.

( at that point, the van was around 12 years old !)

 

My current van is a Weinsberg, purchased new in Germany. I too had a problem with the habitation door lock (under warranty). It took the same

dealership chain SIX MONTHS to eventually rectify the fault. The vehicle is now out of warranty and on the two occasions I have required parts, I have ordered these from a German dealer and received them within 10 days !!!

 

So yes, the problem lies with the abysmal level of service offered by UK dealers.

 

[GypsyTom]

Ian Stewart - 2010-03-27 2:43 AMRegarding first, the manufacturer. My previous motorhome was a Buerstner, a 1991 model. The local dealer, unfortunately no longer in business, orderedthe graphics for the sides from Germany for me. These arrived in SIX weeks.( at that point, the van was around 12 years old !)My current van is a Weinsberg, purchased new in Germany. I too had a problem with the habitation door lock (under warranty). It took the samedealership chain SIX MONTHS to eventually rectify the fault. The vehicle is now out of warranty and on the two occasions I have required parts, I have ordered these from a German dealer and received them within 10 days !!!So yes, the problem lies with the abysmal level of service offered by UK dealers.

I think that what you may mean is the abysmal level of service offered by some U.K. dealers and sometimes only occasionally. My dealer has been superb. I'm not sure how anyone can label all British dealers as abysmal having only experienced one!

The next thing is that these disgraceful people will go bankrupt and will be unable to service the motorhome that you imported from Germany. How selfish is that of them?

Surely they should be made to stay in business so that people can bring in 'vans from abroad so that they can save a few bob? Let's all complain to our MPs!

[Brian Kirby]

Denis

Have you tried contacting Burstner UK direct?  They are (at least were!) part of Burstner, and not just a re-branded UK dealership.  Our previous van was a Burstner, and I found them very helpful in dealing with a couple of minor problems the dealer could not resolve.

Second, and obviously not the greatest help if you don't want to go abroad, but the Burstner factory is in Kehl, which is almost a suburb of Strasbourg on the East bank of the Rhine.  They have a customer service department that has an excellent reputation for efficiency and resolving problems.  You have to let them know you are intending to go but, once there, they have an overnight parking area with hook up and a, by all accounts, decent restaurant.  Strasbourg is a fascinating town, and there are good sites etc down through France, including the excellent municipal at Obernai, which is within about one hours drive of Kehl.

I'm not seeking to defend the incompetent, but the Burstner factory option has been used by many, and I have not yet heard ill of their performance.  Alsace is a great area for a break, so possibly one trip to resolve all your ills?  Start with Burstner UK, and see what they can achieve, and if they can't help see if they will arrange for you to visit the factory.  From what you say the problem you are having is with the dealership, not with Burstner themselves, who gave us an excellent, clean, well prepared van, and were able to supply bits and pieces quite readily, including some decal transfers, via more efficient dealers. 

As Tom (sort of!) says, if they don't fix their game, they'll just go bust.  Others manage it quite readily, but for some reason, it's never their fault!

[Keith T]

 

 

Ian Stewart - 2010-03-27 !So yes, the problem lies with the abysmal level of service offered by UK dealers.[/quote

I think that what you may mean is the abysmal level of service offered by some U.K. dealers and sometimes only occasionally. My dealer has been superb. I'm not sure how anyone can label all British dealers as abysmal having only experienced one

 

You cannot tar all dealers with the same brush.

I have owned some 5 motorhomes from 4 manufacturers over the past 18 years or so, the last two being a Burstner, and prior to that a Rapido. I also had two AutoSleepers and Compass. I have found excellent after-sales service from all the dealers I purchased from except the Compass, (indeed the MD of that one was by far the worst, and I don't think he understood what customer service was,or how important it was in retaining customers.....)and they are no longer in business.

However I do think that the way in which you deal with them also has some bearing, and find that being polite but firm, plus putting in writing what needs doing is a great help.

I'm sure a lot of info on good/bad dealers is exhcanged on 'the grapevine' simply chatting on sites etc, and it has been quite interesting especially with the latter two vehicles, to find the high level of satisfaction of others who have purchased from these same dealers.

[tyreman]

No doubt there are a lot of good dealers out there who will bend over backwards to give exceptional service but its absolutely amazing that some dealers just dont give a monkeys once you`ve handed over your cash,i would have thought that if you wanted to keep your job especially in a recession then you would go out of your way to help someone out,seems to me that the people working at the dealers in question in this thread either think the axe is going to fall anyway so why should i bother or the senior management are on such good wages they cant be bothered

[Corky 8]

I apologies for the late response,Grandchildren arrived ,Bedlam ensued,

Thanks Brian ,I have contacted Burstner UK and they told me to contact my dealer and as you say Burstner is no way at fault but they were one of my contacts to try and chase up the lacking Dealer,and if all else fail the trip to Kehl would be nice ,I like the Alsace area very much .Whilst the time factor in this Saga is elongated,the group Customer Service Manager has been trying to organise things ,but again its the length of time involved and the inability to be able to lock the door stop,s us from going away  from the M/H, I didn't mention that the door lock Barrel fell out somewhere between Darlington and our house, so we can now lock and unlock the door with a screw driver ( and so can all who have now read this), there is only 2500 miles on our Motorhome and 900 miles of that is going to and from our chosen dealership,who are only there till the warranty runs out ,then I will choose with care whom I take my M/H to. Thank you all for your input as has been said Not all dealers are this dreadful,and it may as it was also said about people worried about loosing their job may not give of their best.  Safe Journeys to you all Dennis

[Corky 8]

peter - 2010-03-26 8:51 PM Don't the Discover group sell Burstner's ?

 Hello Peter,    on my last search the said dealership had no new Burstners for sale throughout the country, one can only assume its the recession.   Dennis

[Brian Kirby]

My impression, based on what you have said, Dennis, is that you'll just have to give up on the dealership, go over their heads to Burstner UK, or Burstner Germany, and do your own "project management"!  Just keep badgering away at them.

I gather from your comments about the door lock that your's is an "A" class, so only has the one entrance.  Having to leave that unsecured - in fact more or less wide open - is totally unsatisfactory and Burstner should pull out all the stops to get you the right lock.  Don't know what the insurance position would be if it were nicked, but I'd guess not good!  It might be worth pointing this out to Burstner.  I know the dealer is where your contract lies, and he is legally liable etc, but Burstner appoint the dealers and should police their performance.

I was given to understand there is an instant call off system, or similar, that prioritises certain items for urgent treatment, and I think your lock should always have been in that category.  Try asking for Ian Knowles (who may have retired) or Steve Phillips.  Can't guarantee either will still be there, but the names may get you to someone who will pull out a few stops.

If I remember right, Burstner's WBU number, is the key (no pun intended!) to the factory build record of your vehicle.  It will be "WBU" followed by a string of about 14 numeric characters.  If that was misquoted by the dealer, it will have generated the wrong lock for the van.  The number may be somewhere near the door, on the side of the van, along with the chassis number, on a Burstner plate (ours was, in fact, a self adhesive plastic job). 

The second thing to check is that they have the number of the key, to make sure you get a lock barrel to fit the key you already have.  All the best.

[Herri]

If its any consolation, I too had a lock break and went to a german Burstner dealer. They made a hash of my order, kept me waiting for a couple of months. I complained direct to Burstner Germany who didn’t even answer. I did get a phone call from the dealer apologizing but in the end it took about 3 months to get sorted. Luckily it was during the winter when my van is locked away in a barn.

 

Herri

 

[Corky 8]

Thanks Brian for the impartial words of wisdom, your right I have an A class with one door only the Habitation door which is a Hartal door,this should make no difference as all the locks are keyed alike as you have already worked out,the Insurance does worry me ,so much so that I have a motorbike chains and locks through both front wheels and bulldog wheel clamps on both rear wheels,and the gate is locked and chained every night,apart from sleeping in the M/H I think Ive done all I can to keep it secure,I have put another urgent e mail to Burstner Germany  to a Herr Claude Trautmann who appears to be dealing with this matter and as you suggested I have included the WBU number to allay any misunderstanding ,and  I now feel more confident in keeping up the pressure on them ,before I felt I was not being Patient, Thank you again Brian, this really is a brilliant Forum with Top Class Advisor,s Thank ,s to all who have commented on this thread I,m obliged to you all,   Safe Journeys , Dennis

[Rayjsj]

Strange, The 'No Name' Dealership has no ads in MMM anymore ?

I got very Miffed with them because they Bought up a whole host of dealerships in the South/West and Wales then promptly shut them all down

retreating to a 'Knot' of dealerships in the North, Leaving those who bought from them with huge distances to travel to get any work or servicing done. I don't exactly wish them ILL, but I certainly wouldn't ever Buy from them. Eyes Bigger than their belly ! Ray 8-)

[catinou]

Corky 8 - 2010-03-29 7:56 PM

 

Thanks Brian for the impartial words of wisdom, your right I have an A class with one door only the Habitation door which is a Hartal door..... Dennis

 

Hi Dennis, we have a Burstner A class on order - now allegedly a few weeks away from delivery. We opted for an additional (passenger) door as we were concerned that when we looked at a few Burstners on forecourts with the Hartal doors, they were all difficult to open/shut properly (about 5 of them). We were told by one salesman that the 2010 versions are having a different door as the Hartal locks / catches had proved so troublesome. Not sure now what we will get next month..... *-) I hope your problem is soon sorted.

[Corky 8]

Hi Catinou,

             the Hartal door on our Motorhome was troublesome till I found all three hinge were loose,all the studs needed tightening  (PDI What PDI) and I took my time to line them up to engage the door catches correctly, the door closes without and trouble now,but I have spoken to people who have said their hartal door expanded that much in a hot climate that they couldnt open it till they cooled it with water ?.but we have not had those problems we always face the door into shade, the Burstners are well made I think its more of suppliers of ancillaries that let them down, good luck with your new Motorhome I,m sure you will find it ok if your dealer is Trustworthy and will do a proper Pre-Delivery Inspection before you get it.  safe journeys ,  Dennis