Guest peter Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 When i bought my used Rapido 710F from Browmhills last july I noticed that the electric control panel was damaged. It looked like someone with sharp fingernails had gone through the membrane pad of the battery state switches. I pointed this out to the salesman and he arranged for a new panel to be ordered. I thought, I won't hold my breath on that. Well the good news is that 6 months later I now have a new panel. they contacted me to arrange for it to be fitted and I asked if they could send it to me and I would fit it myself, to avoid taking it in to Newark. This would save them and me time and hassle. This they agreed to and it arrived today and I fitted it in 30 Min's. So it's nice to be able to give Brownhills a pat on the back for a change. After all the adverse posts on here. I can only say that they have made the buying experience a pleasure unlike my previous purchase from White Arches in Wellingborough, which was most unpleasant. So, wel done Brownhills, I would definately deal with them again. One happy motorhome owner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark lambert Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 hello Peter I was just wondering if 6 months wait is normal/acceptible? i'm not having a go at brownhills, its just that i haven't been around motorhoming very long or had much go wrong apart for a split fridge door seal which took 3 months to get sorted by barry caravans, they did say that the door seal comes complete with a new door which i thought a bit excesive when you consider the rubber seal would have cost a few quid, luckily for me it was under waranty. Do most things take longer to get sorted on motorhomes? if so, why? would we accept this service on our cars or homes? just wondering! choppa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
empress Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 Hi Mark, we once waited over 9 months for some plastic trim/inlay after repairs to a back locker and side of our Top Driver. Even though we sent photos of what was required we continually received the wrong material It seemed at that time Don Amott no one spoke Italian so communication with the manufacturer was difficult! Things may be much better now and certainly was in France last summer when our damaged wing mirror (all singing Mercedes one) was ordered and repaired within two days. Very reasonable price also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 Hi Mark, you have to remember that my M/H is 6Yrs old and the wait was down to Rapido. If they didn't have a control panel in stock, it would have to be made up by Scheiber the manufacturers. Also M/H's are made on a tiny scale compared to cars and the budget's of the manufacturers are miniscule compared to car makers. I suppose in the car context it's a bit like trying to get a bespoke part for something like a 6 Yr old TVR Chimera or something equally exotic. I would have thought that the panel is not normally regarded as a consumable item, so would not have been in stock, especially as they tend to be model specific owing to continual model changes. Mostly for no apparent reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 mark lambert - 2007-01-24 10:19 AM hello Peter I was just wondering if 6 months wait is normal/acceptible? i'm not having a go at brownhills, its just that i haven't been around motorhoming very long or had much go wrong apart for a split fridge door seal which took 3 months to get sorted by barry caravans, they did say that the door seal comes complete with a new door which i thought a bit excesive when you consider the rubber seal would have cost a few quid, luckily for me it was under waranty. Do most things take longer to get sorted on motorhomes? if so, why? would we accept this service on our cars or homes? just wondering! choppa MarkIt is not so unusual and is something to be aware of. Peter's right, they change models, furniture, and bits of trim endlessly. Cars tend to be relaitvely unchanged over several years, and then just "facelifted", leaving the underpinnings running on a few more years. Motorhome manufacturers, on the other hand, change at least the fabrics, but often the furniture "wood" type as well, almost every year. You'll get spares for the base vehicle so long as they are in circulation, but the conversion? Fortunately, most of the components such as fridges do remain fairly constant so bits can be obtained from the likes of Dometic and Truma, but bits made by/for the manufacturers, even things like sheet aluminium for sidewall repairs, can become unobtainable as soon as the manufacturer switches his style, colour, or supplier.It is a disgrace, but it is how it is, and I can't see it being changed. If it's of concern, it'll pay to buy from those manufacturers with reputations for keeping some stock of spares. I believe Hymer are quite good, and Burstner have earned praise for coming up with spares for older vans. Beyond there two, I don't know, but doubtless others will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 There is a letter in February MMM that commends the service received from Brownhills. Its nice that we hear both sides of the customers' experiences, good and bad. Stuart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark lambert Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 Brian Kirby - 2007-01-24 5:29 PMmark lambert - 2007-01-24 10:19 AM hello Peter I was just wondering if 6 months wait is normal/acceptible? i'm not having a go at brownhills, its just that i haven't been around motorhoming very long or had much go wrong apart for a split fridge door seal which took 3 months to get sorted by barry caravans, they did say that the door seal comes complete with a new door which i thought a bit excesive when you consider the rubber seal would have cost a few quid, luckily for me it was under waranty. Do most things take longer to get sorted on motorhomes? if so, why? would we accept this service on our cars or homes? just wondering! choppa MarkIt is not so unusual and is something to be aware of. Peter's right, they change models, furniture, and bits of trim endlessly. Cars tend to be relaitvely unchanged over several years, and then just "facelifted", leaving the underpinnings running on a few more years. Motorhome manufacturers, on the other hand, change at least the fabrics, but often the furniture "wood" type as well, almost every year. You'll get spares for the base vehicle so long as they are in circulation, but the conversion? Fortunately, most of the components such as fridges do remain fairly constant so bits can be obtained from the likes of Dometic and Truma, but bits made by/for the manufacturers, even things like sheet aluminium for sidewall repairs, can become unobtainable as soon as the manufacturer switches his style, colour, or supplier.It is a disgrace, but it is how it is, and I can't see it being changed. If it's of concern, it'll pay to buy from those manufacturers with reputations for keeping some stock of spares. I believe Hymer are quite good, and Burstner have earned praise for coming up with spares for older vans. Beyond there two, I don't know, but doubtless others will.I'm glad you said burstner, iv'e just ordered onethanks for the replies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonB Posted January 26, 2007 Share Posted January 26, 2007 Dont hold your breath Mark. How about a wait of over a year for an 'in production' body part from Burstner? Or at least Chelston are blaming Burstner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith T Posted January 26, 2007 Share Posted January 26, 2007 Hi Mark, Hi RonB... well here's hoping, as we also have just ordered a new Burstner... ....nearly gave it all up in consternation though, as the original delivery date was Jan 2008 (and that was from the Shepton Mallet Show just gone), and then all of a sudden, when we'd decided to stick with our present van, got a call to stay the factory had decdied to put in an 'extra' production line on our model, build date now May 2007.....! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bil h Posted January 27, 2007 Share Posted January 27, 2007 Brian Kirby suggests car parts remain reltively unchanged. I worked on modifying plastic car parts from the day they first come off the production line. One example was that to repair a rear light cluster originaly, one had to have the bumper removed first. Original M/H parts must be harder to locate and possibly have to be purpose made so any time waiting for spares must be unknown. bil h Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted January 27, 2007 Share Posted January 27, 2007 I have to agree Peter, All of our dealing with Brownhills buying our new Van were pleasant and courteous. By law of averages if Brownhills had the lowest % of complaints by a considerable margin of all dealers, it would still greatly outnumber many others, based on their volume of sales. It stand to reason that the bigger the dealership the more often their name will appear when something goes wrong. However they must be doing somethingsright or they would not generate the resourses to enable them to maintain their market position, never mind being able to expand. As with most suppliers it is a question of building a relationship, which in turn gets a result when something requires fixing. Flicka Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 Oh Flika, that last sentence sounded so perfect! In my experience it doesn't matter how nice the people are, and how well you get on with them, unfortunately this doesn't guarantee a good result when you need it. A result yes, not necessarily the one you want! I'm not saying that this is always the fault of the dealer but it's so ruddy frustrating when you need something sorting out. Sorry, I just needed to comment on something to take my mind of the other pressing matter at present ........! :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 Which is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 Peter, where have you been! I've been musing over buying another motorhome of course!!!!!! :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 Sorry Mel, Senior moment. So why is that a problem?. Have you found anything that takes your fancy?. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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