Problems with my Broadway FB

I'm not being complacent but having working in retail management for 26 years I know that the type of customer that rants and raves gets very little genuine customer service, in fact gets the opposite. Retailers respond to a sensible approach which will receive a sensible response. If you go in demanding things be put right immediately, what are they to do with the other customers who are also waiting for their pride and joy, tell them 'oh sorry but this customer gets priority', I don't think so. Be reasonable in your time demands and you'll get a much more responsive attitude. The dealers don't want hassle and it is up to them to tell the manufacturers to get the product right in the first place but if that means dropping that marque, then what are they to do. I'm glad I'm no longer in retail but sometimes I have sympathy for them, that's all I can say.

ajrm wrote:Bertie, our issues are minor and have all been fixed. AS are coming to look at some loose insulation, none of these problems have stopped us using the van, and in just over a year we have clocked up almost 12000 trouble free miles. We haven't seen a van that we prefer either, these are mostly well built and substantial vans. We had looked at loads of other vans and the interiors of all of them seemed flimsy and there are stories around listing problems for almost every make of van.

Mrs BB (the finance director) has stopped hyperventilating now . All our prodding about in various vans supports what you say but there are so many genuine complaints about abysmal components provided by large companies that have a virtual monopoly that we sometimes despair.  I'm still concerned that the lady who started this thread has not had full use of her van for the best part of 11 months. I'd love to know the dealership involved, going on her general location I think I already do and they're not on our purchase shortlist anyway.
Many thanks for taking the trouble to respond though, it's most appreciated by us both

I hope it's not the one we used, I've found them very friendly and helpful, and we got a very good deal on the screen price last June.
I hope when the OP comes back on she gives us a clue as to who they were.
Allan

If you go back to the OP's second post she says 'I almost live in it'. If she means that she is virtually full-timing in it, then despite the mileage this van has probably had more use than most of us get in year.

Do you know what? It was our intention to buy a new campervan every 3 years, but we decided this year that it is better the devil you know!! At last we feel that our Nuevo is running perfectly, so why change? I think AS should take note if they want to continue doing business!! This is a piece of advice for you at AS!!

It would be nice to think someone at AS scans through the forum every now and again. They would pick up so much about how their vehicles perform and customers ( as well as potential customers) opinions.
Much like actors read reviews of their latest performance.
After all, if companies didn't have customers, they wouldn't make any money. I think we are pretty important!
Allan

I did have various issues with our new van and I did get pretty upset after spending a life time of savings. This forum has helped a lot;  calmed me down and gave good advice. I still have a few issues but none stop me using the van. I did adopt Paul's attitude by being pleasant but firm and was thanked for same by the dealer (Marquis Tewkesbury) who has done most of what I have asked. (I have had some very shoddy work carried out though by other marquis outlets but that is another issue).
AS have always been very responsive and sorted almost all my probs with one visit to factory.
Marquis Tewkesbury have also offered my next habitation check free gratis due to all the hassle. I doubt I would have had that offered if I had been too 'loud'.
So, sum up: yes had probs, mostly fixed, still think AS is the best marque of motorhome and hope I don't have any more probs.

Peterm does have a good point and I will make sure AS hear of the various issues I have had.

Jaytee wrote: I did adopt Paul's attitude by being pleasant but firm and was thanked for same by the dealer (Marquis Tewkesbury) who has done most of what I have asked. (I have had some very shoddy work carried out though by other marquis outlets but that is another issue).
AS have always been very responsive and sorted almost all my probs with one visit to factory.
Marquis Tewkesbury have also offered my next habitation check free gratis due to all the hassle. I doubt I would have had that offered if I had been too 'loud'.

Exactly what I advocated.

Dear Mr Motorhome manufacturer,

I would like you to build me something that I can sleep in, wash in. cook in, it has to have a fridge and freezer and a microwave, curtains and screens of course and naturally a central heating system. Oh yes and I want to carry lots of fresh water and my waste water and then there must be a tank with the loo for collecting the ......yes you know the one. By the way I want to hang my bikes on the back, tow a car with it and maybe even have a ladder on the back and put a big box on the roof next to the satellite dish for the TV it has to have.....that is for all the stuff I cannot get inside, you know we just need so much of that don't we.

Oh yes, it must weigh about 3500kgs and give me 20 plus MPG and all within 8 meters on a van chassis.....you can do that can't you!

Regards
Mr Customer

Well no you can't actually, not without compromising the quality, I would love my bed frame to be made of something other than matchsticks, the cooker to be of domestic quality and to have solid oak doors throughout but that just isn't possible in meeting what we all want unless you are prepared to take something that weighs 7 tons and needs a 6 litre gas guzzling engine to power it.

Today I walked round my local dealers and looked at A/S, Autotrail, Swift all the usual makes and yes they all had the ubiquitous Crapice Rattler cookers, bits hanging off and some the bits that were attached soon probably wouldn't be. My honest opinion was that the Autosleepers I saw were probably the best on the lot.

Please don't think for a second I am defending poor workmanship, I am not, but in order to do what they do, within the limitations we all set, motorhomes have to be built of lightweight materials. They will break in the first couple of years until they settle down so pray you have a good dealer to support you during that period. If you haven't go elsewhere.

I am not a supporter of the threaten to sue the b'...s approach, I have an excellent relationship with my local dealer and they cannot do enough for me. Who would you react to in a better way? " This B motorhome has broken down again, it isn't good enough, I want it fixed and I want it fixed now." or maybe " Hi you are not going to believe this, it has gone wrong again, I would really appreciate it if you could get it looked at as soon as possible as we were planning to..."


How many times do you hear people say "I would never buy a new van, my old xxxx does just what I want and does it fine"

Give it time and that will be you

From my experience dealers are increasingly being let down my manufacturers. The end product produced at the factories just isn't good enough when delivered to the dealers.

A brand new vehicle should be ready to go but it seems the public are becoming the quality control department finding out all the faults after purchase then toing and froing back to the dealer for repairs.

I was told that Marquis in Tewkesbury have rented extra space just for inspecting vehicles for pre delivery problems & damp (brand new vehicles).

I feel very sorry for people who purchase brand new vehicles and experience serious water ingress problems within the first year. Its unacceptable.

This is an industry wide observation, not directed just at auto sleeper vehicles.

jt2011 - Absolutely right, how do so many vans escape the factory with bits not connected, missing, misaligned or just falling off? Looked round a new Sw..t today and couldn't believe the state of it in terms of finish!.

Groundhog,
I think that's a great post that sums the motorhome experience to a tee,thankyou.

Our first motorhome was a used W reg CI ( rear lounge), bought at the Shepton Mallet show in 2002...We used it as a transit vehicle between our home in Swansea and our sailing yacht in southern Spain (We sailed it there from Swansea when we retired).... We got fed up with airport lounges! (We coveted the A-S monocoques , but they were too expensive for our budget at the time)...Absolutely no problems encountered with our first purchase! ...and a good trade in deal...BUT...

Next, we had a brand new Euramobil...Every whistle and bell in the book.  Rubbish after sales service...many many problems... and all up the M6 in Warwick, when we live in Swansea!  So.....Many nights slept on the dealer's forecourt, awaiting problem solving!

Now we have the monocoque of our dreams... the same age as our very first van!  Presumably, all the teething problems were sorted by previous owners?  But so far, so good! We have added a few extras like a reversing camera, a roof extractor fan and a stern mounted box... and a new silver screen, and a Lily Pad awning room.

We have been amazed by all the thoughtful little touches provided by Auto-Sleeper.  Every time you think " We need a thinghy to secure that"... there it is... all thought through .  The quality of the build is exceptional. All the little finishing touches are wonderful.  The cab, of course needs a little TLC, but we can cope with that!

I just hope that people who have these beautiful new vans (and they are super, aren't they?), can see past the teething problems and really enjoy their vans as we enjoy ours!

I looked around a brand new Warwick Duo today and was shocked at the poor build quality with fraying edges on trim and horrible, cheep fixings on show. Putting a bit of fabric over the hardboard panels of a van rear door surely is not the stuff of a premium product.

Groundhog mentions the difficulty of making a van to meet our requirements and suggests that it is therefor understandable that they fall apart. Why ?  My year 2000 Sherbourne meets these requirements with a GVW of 3300 kg and more than adequate payload. It manages to do this whilst having wooden doors and fittings that you can put screws into and it doesn't rattle or fall apart ( I shouldn't say that should I ). Poor build quality is just that and Auto Sleeper need to get there act together because whilst I'm impressed with my Sherbourne the new vans look poor and if the Warwick I looked at today is representative then the van conversions are sadly, amateurish.

I mentioned before the teething problems we have had, and also about other vans we looked at felt flimsy inside. 
Lots of people criticise new vans for their poor, cheap looking plasticky interior, and I agree. We looked at lots of new vans before we bought ours. We looked at a Burstner Ixeo, a couple of Hymers, Swifts, Roller Team, Bailey, Chausson, Pilote, Itineo, Auto Star, Autotrail and many more. 
Most of them, at first glance looked very impressive, but I remember trying to shut the shower screen on the Burstner and the whole thing shook. The Chausson (suite relax) we looked at was amazing inside, till we noticed the overhead oven and the fact that one person using the kitchen made it almost impossible to move to the back of the van. The electrically lowered bed took forever to come down and was noisy. The cabinet work looked very thin, but the leather seats were nice. An Autotrail had a collapsed bed base and cupboard hinges pulling out.
We almost bought a Swift Sundance, the one with the fold out travel seats in the rear lounge, but again, the cabinet work looked cheap, where do you store the seat cushions when the rear seats are occupied, and the cab just seemed so remote from the rest of the van.
I could go on forever.....
But, as soon as we saw our Broadway, we knew it was right. Solid feeling and looking cabinets. A proper bathroom door. Light and airy inside with plenty of room to move about. A decent cooker........etc
If they just paid as much attention to the final QC, it would be the icing on the cake.
But, there are a few things that I wish AS would change, or put more thought into, and maybe they will, in time.
A lot of people (us included) use their vans all year round for extended trips. They aren't used just for a couple of weeks away on a campsite in Devon. We want to go skiing in the alps, visit southern Spain, Morrocco, tour the world. Extremes of temperature are things that all motorhome manufacturers should be aware of when they build their vans. Our Fridge doesn't like working efficiently at temperatures above 35c and below -10c. The fresh water fill point is ok anywhere with a normal tap, but a fuel filler type trigger gun as seen on the Med won't fill the tank!  The water tanks should be properly insulated and heated ( in a false floor with heater outlets from the main system) ability to use the habitation heating or travel heating and lighting when travelling in sub zero temperatures is a must ( the cab heater just can't cope and we have to drive along in coats and hats, many Euro vans have proper travel heaters)
And finally, supply fitted bottom sheets to the fixed beds!
Apart from that, we love our van and wouldn't swap it.
But all this is getting away from the original post, I'd still love to know the supplying dealer......
Allan

Swansea Jac wrote:
I just hope that people who have these beautiful new vans (and they are super, aren't they?), can see past the teething problems and really enjoy their vans as we enjoy ours!

Spot on  After my initial despair at the money I had spent and the relatively simple problems we had (I hope, not done a damp check yet) the Swmbo has forced me to adopt the attitude you have noted; and yes it has worked. I am now really enjoying my beautiful new van. (Fingers crossed )

As I am awaiting delivery of my Broadway EK I too would love to know who the supplying dealer is too.

After we had the major faults put right by Auto Sleeper and I've repaired all the minor faults, We are really pleased with our Broadway EB. Nice living area and beautiful end Bathroom, more work top than we've ever had in any of the four previous motorhomes. It's just sheer luxury and our little old Jack Russell just loves it she can see out of the windows by stretching out on the settee backs.

John.

sarahspalace wrote:I didn't realisa i was going to spark a political debate lol
I will see how they get on with the 10 days they have to fix it 
made a list for them and will play the widow card/helpless female lol
Ill let u all know  thanks for your advice

Wonder what ever happened to this, Sarahspalace posted 4 times over this, no update, in fact hasn't been back to forum since as so often happens.

Yes, would be good to know.

Hope the issues haven't transferred to mine. First night in use she who is to be obeyed brushes teeth prior to going out and gets wet feet when draining the shower room sink. Quick inspection reveals the waste pipe is not even connected "PDI, WHAT PDI". I have also a light wired to the underside of the chassis as the can-bus management system wont accept the fact there is now only one reversing light hence the workaround until a resistor pack arrives to the dealer!!!

Great start 

Oh I forgot nearside side marker lights wired into chassis, offside side marker lights now wired into leisure side of vehicle, Can-bus issue again with new cab.

Yes, the PDI on mine was a complete joke but touch wood, now all settled it is brilliant. Couple of niggles to fix on hab check next week but thats all. Fingers crossed as well.

whats the under chassis light you refer to?

Its a get around because the canbus won't stop sending a warning light to the emu. It says there is a light out because AS have put only one reversing light on for this year.