Bailey Alu Tec

[TheTravellingRooster]

Hi to you all out there. Whilst I was at the show on Thursday I made a point of going onto the Bailey of Bristol Stand. I found it very difficult to communicate with a rather evasive member of the company. When asking him a very straight forward questions I was getting Politicians' Spin Doctor ' Responses,I was eventually told that the services were:- Year 1 £150.00. Year 2 £250.00. Year 3 £350.00. There was no indication of whether these figures were for all of the ranges; through the shortest to the large twin axles. These figures were what Bailey of Bristol "Told their dealers that they were to charge",also," They could charge less if they wished,but could not charge any more". I pointed out that in 3yrs time the projected figure of £350.00 could be totally insufficient should we be subjected to Inflation and Pay Rise Demands. When I asked what was the time scale to do the part of the service that required the Alu-Tech system to be inspected and attended to if necessary; I did not get a clear indication of the additional time over & above the regular service schedule time that is allowed/costed for. The inspection consists of removing small panels in all of the required locations except for a number that are not only difficult to get to but could not be adjusted if needed. I asked the question;"well what is the point of inspecting less than all of them,and in particular if they cannot be got to anyway"?. The response was Gobble-de **** to say the least. I then stated that it would appear that Bailey of Bristol will sell you any of their products as long as it is Alu-Tech and nothing but. The response was the first real direct one that I got,Yes. To this I replied,well that is my next caravan sorted; of a fashion,there is now one less manufacturers product to consider.
Previous to the Alu-Tech or nothing,we were looking very intently at The Senator Louisiana and The Pageant Limousin.
I think now we will be sticking with Elddis,and looking in the direction of the Twin Axle Avante and in the hope that a lateral island bed will appear and in doing so will pick up some of the advantages of decent build and moderate weight; so that my Volvo T5 CD Auto will be an ongoing choice of tow-car.

 

[GrahamDerby]

Its a pity that Bailey will not come on the forum and answer some of the questions directly.

 

[MichaelE]

Caravans wallls flex/move and i think its a case of the nuts not coming loose but needing to rechecked to tightness due to wear as all it is is a clamp on the inside so as the panels flex its possible they will rub.
After the first batch of 3 year old caravans go through the system they will know more and i believe all will be ok,ithink they are on the lets be cautious side of the fence just a shame its not included in the annual service and doesnt involve extra cost.
Out of interest will the cost still be £350 in 3 years time as my annual service goes up every year and they are giving you a fixed price 3 years in advance.Labour rates and parts goes up every year,you already know its 2.5 % extra from next year.
I presume what he quoted at the show was the new 20% VAT rate?
It will be interesting to see if the rates projected rates are for singles or twins (double the wheels and one shot nuts),twins are £200 plus a service as many will agree so what are they not doing to charge only £150 or is that the real price and we are all getting mugged???