Tomo3090 Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 Hi, I mentioned last week I was going to the Autotrail factory and some people suggested I report back, so here goes. Any impressions are mine and not suggested to be a recommendation or reflect Autrail policy in any way! This was the first time I have visited the factory and I was very impressed with the whole place. We are getting a Cheyenne 660 in May so we have a vested interest in the visit. The staff were very welcoming and were willing to discuss many items relating to the vans and it was possible to speak to people on the factory floor about an item they were working on. I will not be saying who, what or where because that would be unfair, but they were all supportive and proud of their product and did not seem to have a careless attitude about the job they did. From what I can gather all the vans that were ordered for March are now ready to go out to the dealers this coming week. All their orders for the coming month are on target for delivery as per schedule with no problems forseen for the near future, (well for now anyway!). It was interesting to note that the production set up was split into several departments and as the vans went along the production line the line managers were inspecting all the work done in their sector before it went on to the next one. The bit where the whole of the body, minus the roof but including the fixtures and fittings, is lifted onto the chassis and floor of the van was impressive. The gentle movements of the hoist as it was lowered into position was worth going there on its' own! The fitting of the roof and the electrics was done professionally too. Equally as interesting was the fact that the vans life support systems, water and gas, are pressure tested to ensure neither leak. The amount of final PDI and cleaning was reassuring seeing as we will be driving one soon! The whole van was gone over with a keen eye for finding fault. Any faults that are found are dealt with straight away and all the vehicles leave the factory ready for the owner to load up and drive away. I am sure other manufacturers are as equally keen on their own products too and while this seems thread seems like an advert for Autotrail it is how we felt about the visit. If you get the chance to go here, or to any other van makers, then do. As owners and users it is good to see what happens and to get to witness the birth of your new baby is a wonderous thing :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 They were equally welcomming and forthcomming 11 years back when they were building our special Scout. What bodes well is that many of the same people still work there who did when we visited to whitness the various stages of build of our MH. C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred grant Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 put it this way me ansum, if you left the factory less than impressed they wouldnt be doin there job would they my biddy. frecklessfred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ris Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 Did you not pick up that they are paid on a "piecework" basis and when we were there, there were shouts for items to be hurried up and that can often mean items not being finished correctly. My advice to you is go over your vehicle from front to back checking everything and note anything not correct. Ours had numerous silly and I mean silly faults eg loose carpets and scatter cushions missing to name but 2. And I was not the only one experiencing problems at the dealers. Rumour and it is only a rumour Autotrail give dealer an amount of money to sort out problems whether he needs to spend it or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian1 Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 Glad to hear deliveries for March are on time.For the first time in 43 years of motorcaravining we ordered a new van (Mohican 3000 Automatic with SE pack) at the NEC show without a guaranteed delivery.We were advised verbally that delivery is schuled for July but to date we are unable to obtain any detail from the Agents ( based in East Sussex) as they advise they have not received build details from Autotrail. Has anyone any details re deliveries of vehicles ordered at the show. We have also bookede a visit to the factory in April. Any advice re good hotels in the area would be welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zulurita Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 Thank you tomo for your report. I have never been to a factory visit so must try to get to one sometime. However we picked up our cheyenne 660Se last Nov and it is great apart from the Fiat water ingress issue (hopefully all recall work in scuttle/cover will be done on yours). Just the Juddering in reverse to sort out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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