the end of the caravan industry is nigh

[Surfer]

What a load of baloney! Generally dealers never PDI the caravan, they just get it rfeady for us and leav it to us to advsie them what needs to be repaired and for this provilage we are charged in excess of

 

[emmerson2]

I've never had any problems, cos I've only ever bought second- hand, and only once from a dealer. Reading about all the problems some of you folks have with dealers and new vans, I'm afraid I'll never go down that road.

 

[caravanoracle]

Ian,

I tend to agree that a lot of dealers don't complete a proper PDI, that much is certain. We used to spend on average 2-3 hrs checking a new caravan for faults and making sure everything was working correctly, but in the last couple of years the quality of new caravans is appalling. Now we can spend anything up to 5 hrs on a PDI due to lack of attention and simple bad workmanship. Pipes leaking, taps leaking, furniture not fitted correctly and out of alignment, switches not working, furniture worktops and doors damaged/scratched, shower trays, sinks and screens scratched, electrical items wired wrong.. the list is endless.

If we did not sell new caravans it would not generate used caravans. Plus the sorry fact is that dealers cannot manage without the business which new caravans brings. As for taking legal action goes, most dealers wont rock the boat too much because a manufacturer would simply pull the plug and approach another dealer to sell their caravans instead. And if you ever read any of the caravan magazines, the advertising that the manufacturers provide, also brings much needed exposure for the dealers.

Most dealers do a very good job, selling caravans, and looking after their customers with good after sales service, but there are a growing amount of dealers who are falling short of the mark. The simple truth is the manufacturers just want to SELL, SELL, SELL, and nothing else matters.

The only thing which will make them sit up and take notice is if every dealer started to send the caravans back to them when anything went wrong instead of the dealers taking their crap and fixing their shoddy products. Don't get me wrong, nothing is perfect and I except you have to look after your customer when things do go wrong. But when you see the same faults year after year and no real improvements and quality dropping, that's when the dealers get frustrated, complacent and loose focus on customers.

 

[mauron]

I can understand CO's points and his view from the dealers side but basic caravan build quality is down to the manuifactures.

At the very least shouldn't a caravan be watertight?

I bought a nearly new van some 5 years ago only to find on its first service that it had been leaking water around the window seals, all along one side and the back = a bill of between

 

[rainman_374416682]

Ian,

I tend to agree that a lot of dealers don't complete a proper PDI, that much is certain. We used to spend on average 2-3 hrs checking a new caravan for faults and making sure everything was working correctly, but in the last couple of years the quality of new caravans is appalling. Now we can spend anything up to 5 hrs on a PDI due to lack of attention and simple bad workmanship. Pipes leaking, taps leaking, furniture not fitted correctly and out of alignment, switches not working, furniture worktops and doors damaged/scratched, shower trays, sinks and screens scratched, electrical items wired wrong.. the list is endless.

If we did not sell new caravans it would not generate used caravans. Plus the sorry fact is that dealers cannot manage without the business which new caravans brings. As for taking legal action goes, most dealers wont rock the boat too much because a manufacturer would simply pull the plug and approach another dealer to sell their caravans instead. And if you ever read any of the caravan magazines, the advertising that the manufacturers provide, also brings much needed exposure for the dealers.

Most dealers do a very good job, selling caravans, and looking after their customers with good after sales service, but there are a growing amount of dealers who are falling short of the mark. The simple truth is the manufacturers just want to SELL, SELL, SELL, and nothing else matters.

The only thing which will make them sit up and take notice is if every dealer started to send the caravans back to them when anything went wrong instead of the dealers taking their crap and fixing their shoddy products. Don't get me wrong, nothing is perfect and I except you have to look after your customer when things do go wrong. But when you see the same faults year after year and no real improvements and quality dropping, that's when the dealers get frustrated, complacent and loose focus on customers.

So could you request the anufacturer fix your faults rather than the dealer

 

[Heethers]

l take the moon isn't goner rise anymore and sun isn't goner shine in the Sky, great song.

NigelH

 

[Parksy]

You are allowed to name the manufacturer on the forum.

We can't name dealers in connection with complaints about caravans or service because the facts are open to dispute and the forum has no way of checking them.

The naming of a brand or model of caravan falls under slightly different rules and is classed in the eyes of the law as 'fair comment' which is a recognised defence.

A caravan forum has to be able to discuss the relative merits of different caravans and the only time that I'd advise caution is if a manufacturer disputed the facts with regard to a specific issue.

It would then be in a caravan owners best interest to deal with the manufacturer via his legal representative and public forum comment might prejudice the case.