Took delivery of our new MH today
At long last we took delivery of our new Bailey 75-2 Motorhome today. It turned out to be a disaster!!!! To be fair not entirely the dealers fault because there was a bad traffic accident which meant Police closed the road to the dealers for most of the day. We were booked in for our handover at 2pm but didn't arrive until 3:30pm and the previous handover was only just beginning. The dealer was due to close at 5pm but we didn't start our handover until 5:15pm. It really was no ones fault just the way out worked out.
However there were 2 faults, firstly the microwave didn't work correctly it was a brand new one so thats just bad luck and they said they will get me a new one straight away. The 2nd fault was three dirty big drill holes where they tried to site the T/V but then realised the overhead cupboard wouldn't open so they re-sited it.The new T/V position does cover the holes but I know they are there. The dealer said they would order some plastic hole filler things that are exactly the same as the wood panel and we wouldn't see them but ...........
After the handover we were exhausted and I cant remember half off what was said. Is this normal can you remember all of your handover?
Comments
-
We always insist of a night or two on a site, paid for by the dealer, where we can get used to our new caravans. Don't know if this applies to M/Hs but I guess it's too late for you to do that now. Such a shame that your handover was delayed so much. There's always things that you are told that don't sink in.
0 -
How exciting lucky you. Shame about the holes, easy to say sitting here maybe you should have rejected it but you haven't so let's hope the plugs live up to all that's been promised. It may not even have crossed your mind you could reject it. I'm not sure it would occur to us at that point, excitement levels very high too along with the delay in arriving.
Handover is brain system overload it's often suggested that you record it so you can revisit over and over. You probably have missed or forgotten lots that you've been told 😆. Try to get away somewhere close to home, in case you've forgotten something vital 😂 as soon as possible to try everything out. Are you quite near the dealer so you can return as often as you need to check out operations you are unsure of? You can always ask on here, generally quick responses.
Enjoy 😃
0 -
As regards rejecting the Van, we had 20 minutes to look over the Van before we paid. We checked everything but missed the 3 holes because they were behind the T/V. We then paid and it was only during the handover that the holes were noticed.
0 -
We have never purchased new and to be honest I don't know at what stage we paid. I presume due to timing issues and folks wanting to go home so you were hastened through. I have learned much from CT and I hope that we'd do the handover and check before payment but you'd had a pretty stressful time getting there it's so easy to get swept along and led swiftly by the dealer. Don't let it detract from your pleasure in your new purchase, it certainly shouldn't have any issues other than you knowing they are there. It certainly isn't life or death.
1 -
It's not too late now to negotiate some freebie extras by way of compensation, FB.
Your tale should serve as a cautionary one to others.
3 -
Hope it all goes well FB,
Always look on the bright side eh? Be lucky
0 -
Hi fatbelly
I know there shouldn't be the holes there, but they're only cosmetic - you can't see them and hopefully they will soon be covered.
All vans have lots of screw covers and I imagine they will look something like that.
Nothing in life is perfect and if this is the worst thing wrong with your van try to forget it and enjoy all the good times ahead.
2 -
Before full retirement I worked at a caravan dealers despatching both new and used caravans. A full two hours was allocated for the handover covering every aspect of the caravan. Customers who had travelled distance were offered an overnight stop at our expense. On occasions customers have videoed certain aspects on their mobiles plus taking notes. My policy was to give customers my mobile and am pretty adept at talking customers through the operation of Alde heating etc. Many dealers will not fit tv brackets, and we were one, because its very difficult to measure exactly how big is a tv frame. All dealers are aware of the problems with tv brackets and to drill holes and find it doesn't fit is unacceptable. Comment has been made about rejecting the van. From my experience you can only reject if the caravan is fundamentally not fit for purpose ie leaking roof, water system etc. Holes, however unsightly, do not unfortunately prevent usage of the caravan. However you should be seeking some recompense from the dealer ie an agreed spend in the accessory shop.
0 -
Oh do let us know how your first few nights were. You, are Me next weekend (alt.hough not nearly as posh) - when I take out the MH (yet to be named) for the first time.
while you feel that perfection is blemished, it isn't. The memories and times you will have in your new MH will far outweigh the disappointment of a few drill holes 😬
1 -
Hopefully you will be able to get the faults corrected in due course and then try to put all this behind you.
For future reference of others, if collecting a new van I would be looking for an appointment at opening time and would want to allow a minimum of 4 hours. There is a lot of kit to check, find out how it works and have faults corrected.
If something prevents you getting there (and if the handover is delayed) then re-arrange it and negotiate a freebie for your inconvenience.
I would then stay at least a couple of nights nearby, in order to check everything, with an understanding that I would be calling back during those days to have any faults corrected.
If the dealer intends to do the full PDI that they are paid well to do, they should have no concerns about this arrangement.
A piece of equipment (micowave) not working is just unforgivable.
0 -
I collected our brand new Autosleepers a year ago. All went well until I got home and tried to park as close as possible to the brick wall at the side of our property. You guessed - nice deep scratches on the rear offside corner; probably £200-£300 to fix if I ever get around to it. I wouldn't worry about some holes in the panel! Just relax and enjoy and forget about such minor issues (which are not sufficient to reject the purchase anyway).
0 -
I'm sad to say that you will probably have many return visits to the dealer. If our experience is anything to go by, after three years we have, hopefully ironed out most of the faults. It makes me so wary of starting again with another vehicle. 🙃
0 -
there are always likely to be issues with MHs, they are a combination of a commercial vehicle and many pseudo domestic appliances crammed into a large box...
there may be issues with the vehicle, though most are as tried and tested as your private car, there may be issues with the appliances, though these should have been tested at least twice, once at the factory and again during PDI.
hopefully, there wont be issues with the integrity of the 'box' itself, however, despite 'new' processes for construction, there are still some sad tales...
additionally, the fitment of many post build extras could cause problems, but should be thoroughly checked at PDI.
if that PDI is done well, then the new van should be as close to 100% as can be, however, nothing beats proper use by us, the customers.
i spent a couple of days close to the dealer after collecting our van, and i did discover a couple of issues, which were resolved straight away.
we then did two more days close to Poole, prior to a planned long trip to Spain, with the ferry only being booked if we were satisfied that all was well.
we tested all we could and deemed the van fit for a nine week trip, so booked the ferry and set off.....
during the trip we learnt much about the van and noted things we would change or enhance. that list looks long and probably quite frightening to some, but they are small things that i could do myself.
we also discovered one electrical fault when we got home, that was not apparent during our stay away, this is being addressed this week.
the conclusion is that this van was well put together, the dealer extras and modifications were extremely well executed and that the PDI was pretty thorough.
so, for us, we are highly delighted, with my 'list' just being a few personal preference changes, all of which have been done in the three weeks we have been home.
so, dont dispair, set your sights high, but be realistic.....its long term usage that will root out the real issues if there are any.....a couple of screw holes can be easily sorted....there are many other issues that are far worse to try and resolve...
good luck.
0
