Wills Wagon Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 We bought a new motorhome last July and have a few problems to sort out. Phoned Brownhills Newark today April 3 for an appointment and cant get anything done until May 3. This will all be done under warranty. What do Forum Members expect from dealers they deal with. I dont find this acceptable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertandjean Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Find this surprising. Have always found Alison and service team at Brownhills very helpful and they try to fit people in ASAP. Is it they are waiting for parts from van converters? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BGD Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Truly? I expect to be lied to, ripped off, and told a pack of lies about:- the vehicle and it's history; the provenance of their "full service" on it, their after-sales backup, their insurance backed, cast iron warranty, the things they'll do to titivate the MH prior to collection, the qualifications of their technical staff, the financial stability of the Dealership, the date that it'll be ready, and the cast-iron assurance that everything will have been fully checked and tested. Were you, honestly and seriously, expecting anything other than the above? If so, why? Caveat Emptor. Every single time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordThornber Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Absolutely diabolical. Even allowing for something you may have not told us about, i.e. a part delaying matters, that is unacceptable. I'd be asking - if you haven't already, why such a delay and insist on an earlier time. Politely but firmly remind them that you are a customer and that no customer = no business. Bruce it's hard to argue with some (all) of your points. Martyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 How very sad to learn that nothing has changed at Brownstuff. I've never bought a van from them and I never will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Wills Wagon - 2012-04-03 7:33 PM We bought a new motorhome last July and have a few problems to sort out. Phoned Brownhills Newark today April 3 for an appointment and cant get anything done until May 3. This will all be done under warranty. What do Forum Members expect from dealers they deal with. I dont find this acceptable. So find another dealer... Simples! The ATOC seem to have struck up a good deal with Elite MH's near Banbury (if I remember correctly). Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Hi Chris Before jumping in all guns blazing - Ask WHy there is the delay. If Brownhills (or any dealer) are aware what the problems are & what is required to rectify them, they will need time to get authorisation for the warranty repair/work from the manufacturer plus supplies, spares, etc.. Although Autotrail have a good reputation for supplying spares, they may need to source some parts from third parties, before they can forward them to the Dealer. Better that they have all parts available when you go, than having a part job done necessitating a further visit sometime later. That WOULD be unacceptable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BGD Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 In truth, why should you have to ask why there is a delay? Why should you as the customer have to be chasing the supplier to find out why they have breached their promise to you of doing "X" by "Y" date? Surely a half-decent dealer would already have told you why, un-prompted; and would have at that same time offered some alternative solution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laimeduck Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Keithl - 2012-04-03 8:30 PM Wills Wagon - 2012-04-03 7:33 PM We bought a new motorhome last July and have a few problems to sort out. Phoned Brownhills Newark today April 3 for an appointment and cant get anything done until May 3. This will all be done under warranty. What do Forum Members expect from dealers they deal with. I dont find this acceptable. So find another dealer... Simples! The ATOC seem to have struck up a good deal with Elite MH's near Banbury (if I remember correctly). Keith. From my personal experience, Elite in Banbury will be no better than Brownhills & probably may even be worse. I now steer clear of all dealers - but I can with an older van. I would never ever buy a new van. Bruce's diagnosis is spot on in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caddies104 Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Never had problem with Brownhills, but do know they had the Sevice area re- furbished, a few weeks ago and had to move appointments to a later date.. So may have more vans being serviced this month..and as said before they are very helpful. Book yourself in for a few nights and regard it as a holiday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 BGD - 2012-04-03 10:05 PM In truth, why should you have to ask why there is a delay? Why should you as the customer have to be chasing the supplier to find out why they have breached their promise to you of doing "X" by "Y" date? Surely a half-decent dealer would already have told you why, un-prompted; and would have at that same time offered some alternative solution. Bruce Willswagon only phoned today for an appointment. So how has the Dealer breached their promise ???? There was no "promise to you of doing "X" by "Y" date." simply an appointment date allocated in response to his phone call. Many Dealers, particularly of continental motorhomes would require longer than 4 weeks to source parts. etc.. I'm not trying to defend Brownhills, simply being realistic. It's not the same as a Base Vehicle Dealership not having general service spares available. Even if the Dealer represented a single Motorhome Manufacturer, different habitation equipment, body parts are used on different models. Or should Willswagon travel miles to the Dealer, find parts are not available & have to make further visit(s) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caddies104 Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 With you on this Flicka..always thought you made a lot of sense, despite what everyone else says (lol) *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Newell Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 One possible reason for the delay is the time of year. This is the busiest period for motor home workshops due to being: A/ start of the main season. B/ the anniversary of many people taking delivery of their motor homes so servicing falling due. C/ the anniversary of many new registrations so MOTs falling due. D/ people getting their vans out of storage and discovering problems, leaking taps, dead leisure batteries etc. We are all but booked solid in our workshop to 1st of May, we can still squeeze small jobs in but mostly we're fully booked for April. D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 I shall shortly be making an appointment to have my motorhome serviced and MOTed in July. As I know that the dealership that will be doing this work is always busy I like to give plenty of notice. I would be very peeved if I discovered that my appointment made 3 months in advance was cancelled because other people who had given much less notice had been shuffled to the front of the queue. I would have thought (as Dave explains) it would be commonplace at the moment for there to be a one month lead-time on motorhome servicing/rectification. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek pringle Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Hi, If the work I was booking my van in for was routine work then I would expect and be prepared to wait a few weeks, providing the wait did not interfere with my travels. We have been extremely lucky as we got our van from Salop Leisure and whilst it is quite a journey from our home the service has been great. We had a problem with the fridge the day before leaving for the Channel Tunnel and they sorted it out with no notice at all. Definitely would not be happy if I had to wait for emergency work. Routine work needs to be booked quite a bit in advance at certain times of the year as already pointed out. Hope the delay is worth it and good travels derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Although I can't find much to disagree with in Bruce's initial post(..the three dealers we've had experience of have displayed most,if not all of the traits he mentions... :-S ) Although I suppose in the OP's case,if their dealer IS really fully booked up,then I suppose they can't wave a magic wand... ..Just curious..how long have these faults been known about?..have they been present for a while..(..but as it was only sitting on the drive for the winter,you weren't too bothered about it? ) To be fair,a lot of folk will be wanting THEIR MHs & Caravans fettled with, at this time of year... ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 So the combined thinking over a few posts seems to think that it is OK to spend mega bucks on a Motorhome and then for the dealer to be unable to rectify faults that might prevent you using your pride and joy whilst others can have non essential servicing work carried out? That said I too would be pretty peeved if my pre booked van service was put off for any reason. My experience with cars is that many dealers always retain some emergency capacity so that a customer needing emergency or important warranty work can always be fitted in at very short notice. Perhaps it's time that motorhome dealers took more notice of customer care and the good or harm it can do their reputations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero boy Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 An awful lot of surmise in this thread! The OP only posted once, stating that he tried on April 3rd to get an appt with his dealer only to be told that they were fully booked. No one has said anything about cancelled appts and being moved to the back of the queue etc yet there is lots of hissing and puffing about this possibility. Only Mr Newell offered sensible thoughts in that this is the absolute busiest time of the year for the reasons he stated and that dealers are overrun. Also, Rich (Tracker) suggested that MH dealers might be able to squeeze someone in for remedial work (rather than a scheduled service). This would be the case for my car (great local dealer) and probably for my MH as I feel I am a valued customer where i feel I get good service. As a comparison, my pal (similar aged van, purchased at same time) thinks our (same) dealer is rubbish - the difference, he goes in with both barrels blazing, shouting and screaming and wonders why they dont seem as receptive to my calmer requests for promt assistance. ps - I can do very grumpy when required, former contracts manager for IT company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wills Wagon Posted April 4, 2012 Author Share Posted April 4, 2012 No parts needed. They have not seen the van yet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wills Wagon Posted April 4, 2012 Author Share Posted April 4, 2012 We use the van quite a lot and the problems have developed over time but it is very expensive in terms of time and fuel to take the van back for each single problem. I appreciate that a dealer may be busy but if the largest dealer in the UK knows this then they can staff appropriately and take on short term staff. After all the quality of some of their work does leave much to be desired. It took three attempts for them to get my Phantom alarm working after they transferred it to the new van. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
francisgraham Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Wills Wagon - 2012-04-04 2:46 PM I appreciate that a dealer may be busy but if the largest dealer in the UK knows this then they can staff appropriately and take on short term staff. After all the quality of some of their work does leave much to be desired. It took three attempts for them to get my Phantom alarm working after they transferred it to the new van. Yes, what could be simpler? Look chaps, we're going to be busy next month, so let's take on three or four experienced mechanics/technicians for a few weeks and then get rid of them when things quieten down. And of course we'll have no problem finding qualified individuals, there must be dozens out there in our locality! One thing that I've learned in my short motorhoming life is that, when buying, customers expect the dealer to make little or no profit and will screw him to the ground. Then of course, when they want service, they demand a Rolls Royce experience and, if the dealer is busy, he's expected to take on a few of these readily available temporary staff! Whatever happened to a bit of give and take and trying to see each other's point of view? The repairs in question clearly aren't urgent as the OP has been saving them up for a time convenient to him and now expects the dealer to drop everything or take on extra temporary staff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wills Wagon Posted April 5, 2012 Author Share Posted April 5, 2012 Stalwart. You are being simplistic. All I want is reasonably quick service and I dont think 4 weeks is reasonable. When the dealer looks at my van and if it needs spare parts that will be another 4-6 week wait. Again not what I call customer service. If by chance I had a Rolls Royce I would expect the garage to come and get it, repair it and bring it back and most probably within a week. I also have a VW Golf and if I have a problem the VW dealer will look at it next day, get the parts and most probably repair it within a few more days. You and I both know that everything to do with motorhomes after intial purchase is laboured and drawn out and that is because the dealer doesnt know what customer service is and in fact doesn't care. And don't forget he will still be making a profit on everything he does or he wouldn't do it. As I get older I get more and more annoyed by businesses who couldn't care less about their obligations to customers because they cant get off their backsides and do things properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 I agree with Dave Newell on this front, if they are booked up there's not a lot they can do, they only have so many staff, so many bays etc. :-S To add to all that Dave has said: - it is also Easter so 2 days of 'servicing/warranty' work time lost - some staff will actually be taking holidays (remember when you had kids you had to take them during school holidays). So for 'non urgent' stuff, a wait of 24 'work' days (including Saturday but excluding Sunday) isn't massive. :-| Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 You could try booking on-line & see if a quicker date comes up. http://www.brownhills.co.uk/service/ Or if peeved off, inform their directors http://www.brownhills.co.uk/customer-service/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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