Bad service from Rapido

[Flyboy]

I have a Rapido 786F that according to their brochure can be upgraded to 3.850 When Rapido were approached by Brownhills they flatly refused to upgrade it. It's now costing me £230 to have it done by a private company. What kind of service is this from a major manufacturer?

[tonyishuk]

Have a word with Rapido at Wokingham, They have no connection with Brownhills.

 

Could be something Rapido do at the factory so that an after sales regrade is not possible, Could be Brownhills ( they have a varying reputation for service), or could be just a non cooperative manufacturer.

 

Rgds

[bognormike]

Hello Flyboy

 

I seemed to remember your request on motorhomefacts about this; the most plausible explanation on this (as was suggested there) is that rapido can upgrade to a 3850 chassis rather than 3500 when manufacturing the motorhome, not later. As many people have said, they are constructed to be 3850, but are downgraded to 3500 for licensing requirements etc. The only route is as was suggested on MHF - get it to the 3rd party people who are authorised to do it.

[Keith T]

Hi Flyboy....I'd be surprised if it really is Rapido who created this problem....more likely they order the chassis from FIAT already at the higher weight spec, and the dealer omitted to order the correct one at the outset. I'm sure it's not something Rapido, who really only do the bodies, would carry out.

When I ordered my new Burstner earlier this year I had a choice of about 4 different chassis, so I made sure the order stated the correct one. If this was a brand new vehicle why don't you check out the order form you've got (or should have) to see whether the correct version was actually ordered, and also what you've paid for??

If they ordered the wrong one, or charged you for the higher spec and didn't deliver it, then surely you have a case that they haven't provided what you ordered/paid for?

If its not a brand new one, then there's no reason for either the dealer or manufacturer to upgrade the chassis?

[Flyboy]

I bought the van second hand, it has a GVW of 3.500. It has not been down rated. Rapido were contacted via Brownhills who copied me in on their E-mails. It was Rapido that said no to the upgrade. Their brochure clearly states that it can be upgraded to 3.850 but they refuse to do it. They have not said why and have returned the original weight plate. I have contacted SV Tech who have said there is no problem upgrading this vehicle to the higher weight. I am going to have them do it, but it costs. I am afraid Rapido are the ones causing the problem. I have tried e-mail them but they will not reply. Not the sort of after sale service one would expect from such a prestigious manufacturer. :-|

[Charlieme]

My view that its nothing to do with Rapido. You say the vehicle is second hand and therein lies the problem.

 

It can be changed easily when new but not once used.

 

Therefore you will be charged for the time and officialdom for requesting a change (of use)

[Keith T]

Sorry, Flyboy...can't agree with you stance on this. Why should Rapido do it......you dounght the venicle 2nd hand, knowing the chassis weight, and once sold they really have no involvement other than warranty claims.

I really don't think this reflects on them in any way, nor really on Brownhills in this case.

You bought as seen, unless you previously agreed with the dealers they would get it upgraded for you, either at no cost, or at your cost, and I think either would have been made quite clear on your order with them.

 

Taking a lateral view point, if you bought a 2nd hand cooker for your kitchen (if you have one), and it had 3 hobs, can you really go back to themanufacturer and expect them to fit a 4th one? I see no difference.

 

The cost of the upgrade seems pretty reasonable to me, and it's your request on something presumably you purchased knowing what itoffered to start with?

 

[Keith T]

Hi Flyboy...further thinking about this raises a couple of questions in my mind..really just to see how you actually arrived at this position.....

 

1 when you agreed to purchase the vehicle from Brownhills, did you enquire the weight on the Chassis?

2 assuiming you were told correctly it was 3500kg, did you then ask if it could be upgraded, and if so what was the response?

3 did you ask Brownhills to arrange it for you, and if so was it at your cost or theirs?

4 was there any offer (By Brownhills) that Rapido would or could arrange the papework for it?

5 why are you holding Rapido apparently repsonsible for this?

 

Unless you were told by Brownills they would arrange it and at their cost, in which case you may feel they are responible for misinforming you, I cannot see any reason for you to complain of bad service from the manufacturer.Would be interesetd to hear your commments on these points, though.

[fred grant]

flyboy you really do have your wirescrossed - and neither do you seem to be helped by your dealer who should have explained to you in full. rapido offer the option of two chassis - which as to be ordered from new. they cant take off your caravan bit after they sold it and attach to a new chassis can they? RU lisensed to drive over 3500kg, do you want to pay more for tolls. Unless you want the extraa payload, which is presumebly why yous want to regrade to 3850kg, then the SV techie way is the cheap option. Us would count our chickens that a regrade is even possible on your van as for many is not posssible. be thankful rather than moan

 

techdead fred

[Robinhood]

As the owner of a 983F, shipped at 3850kg, I think I'd take a middle line here.

 

The great majority of Rapido models have in the recent past been built as standard on the maxi chassis, which can be shipped at 3500kg (standard), or at no extra cost at 3850kg. The only difference between two such vehicles would be the Rapido-affixed weight plate, and then only the one figure, the PTAC, on that plate. No other vehicle modification at all. (My 'van has three weight plates - Fiat, Alko and Rapido, with the latter one the only one at 3850kg).

 

The vehicle was registered from scratch at 3850kg.

 

So, in practice, Fyboy needs to get hold of a revised weight plate from a competent body, go through the process of re-registering the vehicle at the DVLA, and he is OK (tell the insurance company).

 

SvTech charge for issuing a revised weight plate. AFAIK this is both to cover admin costs and because they are taking a certain amount of risk as a 'competent body' if the re-plating action is called into question at some later date as the result of a weight-related incident. There is a matter of liability here.

 

All things being equal, however, Rapido already accept that risk at no cost on new vehicles, and could, if they chose, issue a revised weight plate simply at admin cost.

 

I don't blame Flyboy for trying this route, but Rapido have chosen not to go ahead because either there is a real issue with upgrading (IMO unlikely) or because it is just too much trouble for an aftermarket job for other than the original customer.

 

It's their choice: I wouldn't necessarily call it bad service, more neutral, but they appear to have lost a relatively easy chance to deliver good service - and I think that is unfortunate.

 

FWIW, I note that the great majority of Rapidos on the x/250 chassis are NOT on the maxi (and it would appear, without the option), and therefore are restricted to 3500kg. A great pity, as the payload now looks marginal on almost all models

 

 

[Mel B]

To add another tack to this, could it possibly be that because the vehicle is not new, ie straight from the factory and uprated before delivery, they will not uprate it because they have no idea what the current condition of the vehicle is and whether it is therefore safe to upgrade it without seeing it? I suspect it's more to do with an insurance issue, and liability as has already been suggested, than being awkward. At the end of the day they are there to build and sell new motorhomes, not cater for second hand ones. Can you imagine what the situation would be if they were willing to upgrade for free or for a small fee ... they would probably get innundated!

 

Just my thoughts anyway.

[tonyishuk]

(My 'van has three weight plates - Fiat, Alko and Rapido, with the latter one the only one at 3850kg).

.

 

 

Plan B maybe, ?

 

I have 2 plates on my 709F, one Rapido and the other Fiat. They have similar specs,

 

Maybe your Fiat plate may be higher rating than the Rapido plate ? In which case you could remove the latter ?

 

rgds