sean.clarke Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 Hi, we are looking to purchase a new Auto Trail motorhome shortly and I wonder if there is any mileage into waiting and seeing about a deal at one of the Motorhome shows? There are always good deals at things like the Southampton and London Boatshows and wondered if it is similar for Motorhomes. We attended the Chelstons spring fair yesterday and they had some good deals on the Cheyane and Chieftain, but we are looking at an Arapaho and they seem a bit thin on the ground (West Country Motorhomes have a stonking deal on a new Chieftain with the 160Bhp engine etc. - but again, sadly no Arapaho). Any advice? Many thanks Sean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 You've jumped the first hurdle, which is to know exactly what you want. The second hurdle is to be absolutely sure what is on offer. Obvious, I know, but make sure the full specification is available, and then check it against your requirements, including anything that may be missing. The third hurdle is price. Check the basis on which this is presented, to be sure that, for example, any credit deal has flexibility to pay it off early if you wish without excessive penalty, and that there is no cost penalty if you wish to pay cash. Check whether the seller will accept card payments, and whether there are cost limits, and if they will not, what form of payment they will accept. Finally, make sure everything, including any extras or omissions, is confirmed, in writing, on the order. Check who the seller actually is, and where they are based. Some of the converters have stands staffed with sales folk from all over the country, so you may find yourselves buying from a dealer several hundred miles distant and, yes - motorhomes do have to be returned to the dealer from time to time - even though at the price, you might think they'd be better assembled than a Swiss watch! :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mel wood Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 I think that the last point which Brain makes is very valid. I have heard of and spoken to folks who have bought motorhomes at shows, have been very happy with their purchases, have had no problems and have felt that they obtained very good deals. Equally, there are folks who have bought at a show but the supplying dealer was hundreds of miles from their home and they have had to take the motorhome to the dealer (at their own expense) to sort out problems, including warranty issues. There is a letter from such a person in the April issue of The Caravan Club Magazine. The writer implies that numerous long return trips to the dealer makes him wish he had bought from a dealer close to his home. There have also been reports that some dealers are unwilling to undertake warranty work on motorhomes not purchased from them. From personal experience I can say that it took 4 months and many visits to the dealer to sort out problems on our Auto-Sleeper. We were so glad that the delaer was only 6 miles away....but that was bad enough! Whatever you buy and wherever, I wish you all the best and hope that you enjoy motorhoming. We think that it is great!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leake Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 If you are talking AutoTrail there should be no problem with warranty work. AutoTrail will accept this being done by any of their dealers. We had ours serviced recently and had some minor work done under warranty by the nearest dealer to us who was not the supplying dealer as last year he sold Hobby motorhomes. Other than the fact that the dealer had to supply details of the work required and obtain the agreement of AutoTrail to the work there was no problem. In case you are wondering all that was required was to replace a rope of LED lights that I felt unable to gain access to. Nothing serious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 mel wood - 2012-03-25 2:53 PM There have also been reports that some dealers are unwilling to undertake warranty work on motorhomes not purchased from them. Yup, that is definitely true, fortunately we 'found' a company who were still registered with our motorhome manufacturer to be able to undertake warranty and service work, despite them not selling new motorhomes anymore. Our suppliing dealer are 250 miles away, and the 'registered' company we used are 70 miles away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 Colin Leake - 2012-03-25 6:55 PM If you are talking AutoTrail there should be no problem with warranty work. AutoTrail will accept this being done by any of their dealers. We had ours serviced recently and had some minor work done under warranty by the nearest dealer to us who was not the supplying dealer as last year he sold Hobby motorhomes. Other than the fact that the dealer had to supply details of the work required and obtain the agreement of AutoTrail to the work there was no problem. Auto Trail will be more than happy for ANY of their dealers to do the work as it doesn't make a jot of difference to them so long as it is repaired to the required standard. It is the DEALERS who will determine if they will do it as they have to accept the warranty labour rates that Auto Trail pay out which are generally lower than their standard labour rates for non-warranty work. To make up for this, when a dealer sells a motorhome they usually build some 'contingency' into the price to supplement the usually lower labour rate paid by manufacturers for warranty repairs. It may be that the 'new' Auto Trail dealer was happy to undertake this work as they wouldn't have many on their books already to do services etc work on but I would be extremely wary of assuming that this would be the case in the future, or that ALL Auto Trail dealers would carry out any warranty etc work if they haven't supplied the van ... it would be extremely unsual in the 'motorhome world'. :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 sean.clarke - 2012-03-25 1:21 PM Hi, we are looking to purchase a new Auto Trail motorhome shortly and I wonder if there is any mileage into waiting and seeing about a deal at one of the Motorhome shows? There are always good deals at things like the Southampton and London Boatshows and wondered if it is similar for Motorhomes. We attended the Chelstons spring fair yesterday and they had some good deals on the Cheyane and Chieftain, but we are looking at an Arapaho and they seem a bit thin on the ground (West Country Motorhomes have a stonking deal on a new Chieftain with the 160Bhp engine etc. - but again, sadly no Arapaho). Any advice? Many thanks Sean Hi Sean, welcome to the 'mad house'! :D Be aware that the 'old' new stock will more than likely be Euro 4 compliant, not the new Euro 5, so if you do go for a Euro 4 one, you should expect to get a very good discount. As you are very specific as to what you want, you may have to shop around/be patient to get it for a good price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 Hi Sean and welcome to the forum, MMM have negotiated some special deals for magazine subscribers at the National MH show at Peterborough in a few weeks time, see this recent editorial article Link. One dealer mentioned is Tyne Valley who are an Auto-Trail dealer. You don't mention whereabouts you live in the country (but possibly South by your mention of Southampton?) but it would certainly be worth asking any dealer at a show for a 'Special' price or deal such as extended warranty. Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean.clarke Posted March 25, 2012 Author Share Posted March 25, 2012 Mel B - 2012-03-25 7:19 Hi Sean, welcome to the 'mad house'! :D Be aware that the 'old' new stock will more than likely be Euro 4 compliant, not the new Euro 5, so if you do go for a Euro 4 one, you should expect to get a very good discount. As you are very specific as to what you want, you may have to shop around/be patient to get it for a good price. Hi Mel, yes, I am well aware of that tactic! - the ones I saw were genuine 2012 with the Euro5 engines and 2012 upholstery colours etc. not sure about some of the ones I have seen online though. - but valid concern! Spoke to a dealer in Chichester today who mentioned I may have to wait for a 2013 model if there weren't any 2012 chassis going through the line.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean.clarke Posted March 25, 2012 Author Share Posted March 25, 2012 Keithl - 2012-03-25 7:41 PM Hi Sean and welcome to the forum, MMM have negotiated some special deals for magazine subscribers at the National MH show at Peterborough in a few weeks time, see this recent editorial article Link. One dealer mentioned is Tyne Valley who are an Auto-Trail dealer. You don't mention whereabouts you live in the country (but possibly South by your mention of Southampton?) but it would certainly be worth asking any dealer at a show for a 'Special' price or deal such as extended warranty. Keith. Hi Keith, thanks for the link, well spotted!! - that is almost the perfect spec with the only exception being the interior fabric choice!! It even has the upgraded 4 dinette seats with 3 point belts (upgraded from just the 2 in the forward facing seats - thought it odd why you would have 6 berths but only 4 belted seats!!). Yes, I am indeed in the South, although being a Pompey boy I always give my location as Hamble rather than Southampton :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 If it's there, and it's what you want except the upholstery, consider getting the seat covers etc. changed. You may get some discount from the dealer if you pull a long enough face at the present ones! :-) Not changed for an Autotrail set (though it may be worth asking how much at the point of sale to see what the dealer can do), but by taking the van to one of the independent re-trimmers who can do you a new set in 24 - 48 hours. Some make to measure while you overnight in the vicinity, some already have patterns so will pre-assemble and then fit when you arrive. Not, I gather, as expensive as you may imagine, and you should get a much wider choice than AT offers into the bargain. I think several folk on here have had them done, and have been very please with the result. Try starting a new string to see who comes out to play. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean.clarke Posted April 4, 2012 Author Share Posted April 4, 2012 Just a quick update.... Order placed - New AutoTrail expected to be delivered in.... August. A bit of a delay, but it has everything we want. Got a good deal from Dolphin with a lot of dealer fitted options as well. :-D Sadly I think things will feel like life is on slow motion between now and August... :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Sean Very wise to buy local, saves a lot of headaches when needing warranty work done. PJay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogerC Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Now you've done your deal this isn't relevant to you but to get back on topic about is it better to look for a show deal my advice is research first (which is what you did) and check those 'show specials' prices properly. At the Malvern show last year (2011) a well known dealership was showing a 2010 MH 'exactly' the same as our 2010 MH for a 'show special' price £3000 in excess of what we paid for ours brand new in Aug 2010. It raises the question ''just what are these 'show special' prices''? Are they inflated to catch the unwary (those with 'viewing overload) or are the dealers being 'chancers' by inflating the screen price in order to make themselves look to be 'nice guys' when they offer a £000's reduction when you haggle? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertieburstner Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 A friend of ours bought a secondhand RV at the Shepton Mallet show a few years back. It had a big sticker saying "special show price!" It was special as when he went home and looked in his MMM it was being advertised for £5,000 less than the "special show price" :-D :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly58 Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Our 1st motorhome from the Explorer Group was purchased from the NEC show in 2006 through Brownhills and without a trade on we got a cracking deal ,but because we went to an Explorer Approved Dealership local to where we live for the habitation service / check Brownhills refused to carry out any warranty work a bad move on their behalf. hence our current motorhome was purchased from Marquis who give a fantastic after sales service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mandale Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Don't agree with big show discounts. I would not like one of my customers who has ordered a Motorhome to visit a show and find that I have set a "Special Show Discount" making their new van seem expensive. I think free optional extras are a better idea for show offers. ps: If you can give a big discount on it, it was over priced to start with! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WildBill Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 We have just bought a new van. Last year we went to the NEC and looked to buy new. We were given a good deal of attention when we became interested in a new van about £52 K and were offered £13 K for our van in PX. We were told that if we waited till this year we would probably lose another 2-3K on our van. We waited. We looked to buy one of two vans, the first for £56K and were offered 20 K for our van. The other van was £52K and we were offered 18.5 K for ours. We are glad we did not buy at the show as in hindsight, we feel that in our opinion we would have been well and truly ripped off. WB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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