maggyd Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 We have been told our Autocruise Alto will be ready end of Sept, Brownhills have asked if we could pay end of August their financial year apparently is beginning of Sept; Ive told them Im not happy with that as they already have our £1.000 deposit 10 days before is what we had arranged What do you say?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 maggyd - 2012-08-28 2:32 PM We have been told our Autocruise Alto will be ready end of Sept, Brownhills have asked if we could pay end of August their financial year apparently is beginning of Sept; Ive told them Im not happy with that as they already have our £1.000 deposit 10 days before is what we had arranged What do you say?? Sounds like they are simply trying to boost their earnings on paper for this financial year. No doubt they have targets to meet, ( and if they meet them it could be that someone is due for a bonus). I personally wouldn't change the original arrangement simply to suit their books. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertieburstner Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 how many times NO NO NO NO NO!!!!! You can pay them after you have received the keys AND you have done a thorough pre delivery inspection. Brownhills have been bust in the recent past, and IF you pay them before you get delivery of your vehicle you may lose all your money. The fact that it is the end of their "financial year" is a total red herring. It may be that the sales rep wants to earn his commission in August not September. You should not pay any dealer (regardless of being Brownhills or not ) before you receive the vehicle, other than the deposit you have already paid. Remember just say no! (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 On handover, and not a minute before!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 Robinhood - 2012-08-28 2:41 PM On handover, and not a minute before!!! FOLLOWING handover, and not a minute before!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :-D If they have your money, and then go bust (as they have before) you are merely an unsecured creditor liable to get little to nothing back, and you can whistle for the van as well. They haven't got your P/X yet have they? If so, that will also be regarded by any receiver/liquidator as part of their legitimate stock, and it will be for you to prove otherwise - and that won't be easy!!!! :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike B. Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 Totally agree-on handover. If they want to boost their figures for August tell them to deliver the van early! Definitely don't pay for the van before you are 100% happy with it on delivery otherwise you are not in a very good position to argue about anything-or get anything done you are not happy with. Mike PS If you bought it on finance the HP company would not pay them until you took delivery so why should you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidmac Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 Hi looking at other threads about quality control I would say not until you have gone for a 10 -15 mile drive and had an hour or so lifting, pulling,pushing and inspecting every part of the M/H you can get to, Regards David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggyd Posted August 28, 2012 Author Share Posted August 28, 2012 Well thanks everyone for your replies :-D the financial manager rang asking me if we had a problem paying end of August " I told him YES you would have our money and the van, and if anything happened as has happened with other dealerships ! where would that leave us" His reply was that Autocruise would still honour the deal. Yes Well that is easy said. !! He still thinks we are going to see him about 10 days before hand over though as he hasnt seen our van only on e.bay he looked at the photo,s they need to do damp checks etc; were not worried about that as Webuyyourmotorhome.com checked it when we went to Nottingham there offer wasnt as much as Brownhills but we werent buying off them so there was no strings to that. Reading this back I think we will wait and see they dont do any adjustments to the deal then we will pay. My hubby though thinks Im being too careful !! but you cant be can you not when doing business unless you want to come a cropper . :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Dave Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 Don't even for one minute consider parting with any cash before you have picked up your van and are completely satisfied, Consider any assurances given as just a ploy to get you to part with your money. Your contract and deposit was an agreement to purchase the van not to give them a free one month loan. If Brownhills did go bust just how would Autocruise fulfill your order as they would not have your money Brownhills receivers would have it. It seems a bit odd, no very odd that the financial director would ring you begging for money this would make me very wary. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Jones Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 The others have said it all Maggy. Too many dealers have gone bust in recent years for any of us to have confidence that they'll keep their word. And there's no way anyone further up the food chain would pick up the tab. You've paid your deposit in advance - now it's up to them to deliver. Which means with a full handover, demonstrating that everything's working properly, and a thorough inspection on your part. You should only pay the balance when you're quite ready to drive away into the sunset with your new pride and joy. Even if you originally, in a fit of generosity, agreed to pay in full 10 days before delivery, you should tell them you've changed your mind about that bit, as you'd forgotten it's YOUR financial year end. After all, what can they do? They're not going to call off the deal at this stage! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggyd Posted August 28, 2012 Author Share Posted August 28, 2012 Your so right we just needed to hear the voice of all you experienced motorhomers. We have only had the one motorhome and four caravans three were new from the dealers and not once have we paid before we picked up the vans. :-D Thanks again for all your welcome advise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wooie Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 Absolutely NO WAY !!!!!!!!!! Given the history of Brownhills. Regards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 Never ever pay before you have the van. I have a friend who was buying a van a few years ago sent a cheque in the post on the Monday so they could clear it before he picked up the van went to collect his van on the Friday of the same week, the premisses were locked up and administrators in control. To add insult to injury the liquidators contacted him to sell him the van he had already paid for. With Brownhills history I think you could be classed as insane if you trusted them. (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 maggyd - 2012-08-28 3:54 PM..................He still thinks we are going to see him about 10 days before hand over though as he hasnt seen our van only on e.bay he looked at the photo,s they need to do damp checks etc; were not worried about that as Webuyyourmotorhome.com checked it when we went to Nottingham there offer wasnt as much as Brownhills but we werent buying off them so there was no strings to that..................... I don't think you have a contract at all, in that case! It will be subject to agreeing the price on your van: expect damp to be found and the offer to drop. If they are playing the games they are already, I'd simply phone them and tell them exactly where they stand. You'll take your van to them immediately, for them to see and agree the P/X value, and record its condition. You then take your van away and return with it when they confirm your van is ready to collect, meaning they first confirm it is all PDI'd, meaning all tested and working, water in tank, gas in gas locker, and full demonstration of all equipment. When fully satisfied you'll hand over your P/X as agreed and pay the balance, and if they don't like that the deal is off, as they keep trying to strong-arm you into putting your selves at financial risk, which you regard as a breach of trust. Deposit back, untrustworthy trader! I'm sorry, but they sound to me as though they are on the skids again, and I wouldn't trust them as far as I could throw the lot of them. This is sheer desperation. "Autocruise would honour the deal". Just phone Autocruise and check out that idea! Seriously: do. I strongly suspect you'd find the "financial manager" is, to put it mildly, misinformed and, since if he is any kind of financial manager at all he'd already know that, it would make him a blatant liar. Just watch your step. Me? I think I'd now be looking for the quickest way out I could find that would get me my deposit back. Can't you find a reputable Autocruise dealer anywhere? Big RED lights going on here - hope I'm wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leake Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 I suppose if you felt really sorry for them you could perhaps send them the money! Thinking about it I don't think I would. I think this sould be ringing the old alarm bells again for all with regards Brownhills. I'm sure Autocruise would be interested in what they are claiming as it would no doubt ring the same alarm bells for them as they may well have some exposure to Brownhills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggyd Posted August 28, 2012 Author Share Posted August 28, 2012 Oh dear this is just getting worse and worse :-S when I put the phone down everything was amicable he understood that we aren't going to pay at the end of this month and he did say their monthly figures were no concern of ours, and they would be in touch again to keep us informed how things are going. Then I thought hang on why are we paying even 10 days before when others with partX aren't having to do this! it is an hours drive each way for us, so not just down the road ! and dont want to make unnecessary trips I wanted to see if anyone had had the same conditions paying up before the day? the salesmen and the financial manager where very nice and We didn't have any reason to mistrust them ! I dont want to cause them bad publicity and make people suspicious that they are in trouble when they probably are not, I just wanted reasuring that if we tell them were not paying until we get the van We Are In the Right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wooie Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 Margaret, you can`t help people jumping to conclusions. There`s no smoke without fire, Trust me i`m a doctor and all that sort of thing. Take into account what`s happened to Bentley Motorhomes and given what`s happened to Brownhills recently and then you hear they are asking for payment in full a good month before the van is due for collection. It`s bound to make people think. There isn`t a problem paying on the day by debit card, so long as the money in is the account and the bank knows a large payment will be made on your card then everything will be OK. Regards. Graham. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirage Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 Just to add to the other no`s NO NO NO. Something fishy here nobody in this world pays up front by that amount of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peter James Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 Doesn't necessarily mean Brownhills are in trouble. I got a better deal on my maxi van from Perry's (established over 100 years) by having it registered on 31 July even though it didn't even arrive at Perry's till 4th Aug, then had to be PDI'd. So I didn't get it till the 5th. Apparently Perry's got a bonus from Citroen for meeting a sales target. But as others have said I certainly would not pay for it a month early - why would you? I paid for mine by debit card when I had checked it over and was ready to drive away. I see no reason why you should pay for it earlier when the price has been fixed, even if it is only to help their sales target. Total no brainer. You would have everything to lose (if Brownhills went bust again), and nothing to gain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
747 Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 If you are buying from the North East branch in Birtley then there could be a reason for your predicament. It is rumoured that Marquis are buying that branch from Brownhills. I don't blame marquis as it is a busy dealership. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggyd Posted August 28, 2012 Author Share Posted August 28, 2012 Mmm now thats interesting I wonder if that is why they are trying to rush things on. We initially went to Newark but they just didnt seem interested in selling us anything!! we did find the service at Birtley much better and had no trouble getting the attention and help from the salesman, and the people that were looking around all seemed to end up in the offices being given quotes etc; but there again it is a much smaller area to cover. Im not losing hope of our deal going through yet just sticking to my guns. :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peter James Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 "Brownhills Motorhomes Limited" through their solicitors, Andrew and Co LLP, have requested that it be made clear on this website ( http://www.brownfools.co.uk/ ) that their company Brownhills Motorhomes Limited (Company 02999408) which commenced trading in April 2008 "is an entirely different company" to Brownhills Motorhomes (Newark) Ltd and Brownhills Holdings Ltd which traded from the same address and employed the same staff until placed in Administrative Receivership in April 2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Dave Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 Please don't feel sorry for the 'nice' salesman and the financial director they have to be nice to a customer as that is how they make their money if they did go bust (which i agree they might not) you would not even be able to speak to these nice people, the salesman would be off to the next job without a second thought and similarly the financial director off without a thought of you and your money. All the reply's here are to warn you of the potential of your money being lost, and the unusual practice of asking for payment prior to purchase. When they have your payment what incentive do they have to deliver on time? Money is hard to come by and easily lost keep hold of it as long as you can. I agree with Brian i bet you van will have some damp and require repair but lets just wait and see, i have never heard of a part ex deal being done or even considered without the px 'van being inspected and a value put in writing after all it is in the vendors interest to do this or they are risking their profitability. A quick call to Autocruise might be interesting just to see if the claim that they would honor the deal would hold water then you know the caliber of the person you were speaking to. swift group contact details. T: +44(0)1482 847332 F:+44(0)1482 841042 E:enquiry@swiftgroup.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverback Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 weve just picked up our new van, and the deal was they checked my old van out before the date of handover, i drove off in the old van and on handover day took my van in gave them it, then they showed me everything on new van then just before i drove off i paid em by debit card having arranged before hand with the bank...but this wasn't brownhills dont give em owt till you have the van keys jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wills Wagon Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 Lots of good advice already but repeat. 1. Dont pay until handover day 2. Dont pay until you are satisfied with the handover and have checked that everything works. 3. If there are any problems with the new van get them sorted before you hand over any money. There is only one rule "CAVEAT EMPTOR " let the buyer beware Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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