I was a bit worried reading the reviews about Glossop caravans but they proved to be very good & continue to do so. I purchased there ex demo Chatsworth 866.
Once I got it home & gave it a good look over I noticed a few minor issues As always its not the issues themselves but how they are resolved that determine good customer service & I have to say Glossop caravans excelled, without question apologised & they offered options to resolve & then kept to the promise to send all the items to resolve the issues I mentioned. I wouldn't hesitate in recommending Glossop caravans.
Quote: Originally posted by Opensauce on 26/11/2017
Usual issue with pile’em high sell’em cheap merchants is that they do not have sufficient workshop facilities or skilled staff to service their large customer base. So problems with pre sale preparation & after sales service are likely to arise.
I took the precaution of having our van inspected, and arranged to meet the engineer, so he could point out to me anything I needed to know. On the day there were 3 columns of vans awaiting PDIs, each column having about 20 vans in - yep, 60 odd! Glossop knew there was to be an inspection, but still buried ours almost in the middle of this lot - making life as difficult as possible for the engineer. Being the customer I was able to get it extracted, but I feel certain this wouldn't have happened for the engineer on his own. It might all have been innocent of course...
Hi fortyfoot
I bought my van last year from Bawtry caravans got a good part ex deal & 12 month warranty on the purchase, just had some work done under warranty with no quibble
Also had some good advice and purchases of equipment from Pleasuretime caravans in Castleford
Graham
Quote: Originally posted by Opensauce on 26/11/2017
Usual issue with pile’em high sell’em cheap merchants is that they do not have sufficient workshop facilities or skilled staff to service their large customer base. So problems with pre sale preparation & after sales service are likely to arise.
I took the precaution of having our van inspected, and arranged to meet the engineer, so he could point out to me anything I needed to know. On the day there were 3 columns of vans awaiting PDIs, each column having about 20 vans in - yep, 60 odd! Glossop knew there was to be an inspection, but still buried ours almost in the middle of this lot - making life as difficult as possible for the engineer. Being the customer I was able to get it extracted, but I feel certain this wouldn't have happened for the engineer on his own. It might all have been innocent of course...
I think some serious paranoia there IMO but one thing is does show is the level of trade a big caravan dealer does.
I see no paranoia. It is simply doing the maths. The price you pay for a discounted caravan is the likelyhood of poor pre sales preparation & poor after sales service simply because & as indicated the discounter does not have workshop space or staff to service their sales volume.
The caravan trade is not the car trade. You can buy a car cheap as you like anywhere in the country & get it serviced at your local franchise. Try doing that with your local caravan franchise they may say join the queue well behind our regular customers.
Quote: Originally posted by gray871 on 28/11/2017
Hi fortyfoot
I bought my van last year from Bawtry caravans got a good part ex deal & 12 month warranty on the purchase, just had some work done under warranty with no quibble
Also had some good advice and purchases of equipment from Pleasuretime caravans in Castleford
Graham
Thanks Graham, it's good to know of other dealers. We have visited Bawtry but not Castleford, neither have vans we are interested in. I check them out online every few days. I think we have settled on the 544 layout as she insists she must have a good worktop, a sink drainer and a few other stipulations.
Quote: Originally posted by Opensauce on 29/11/2017
I see no paranoia. It is simply doing the maths. The price you pay for a discounted caravan is the likelyhood of poor pre sales preparation & poor after sales service simply because & as indicated the discounter does not have workshop space or staff to service their sales volume.
The caravan trade is not the car trade. You can buy a car cheap as you like anywhere in the country & get it serviced at your local franchise. Try doing that with your local caravan franchise they may say join the queue well behind our regular customers.
Not your post Opensauce but the person quoting your post about his caravan being stuck right in the middle of all the pre inspection vans
Quote: Originally posted by acesup1504 on 29/11/2017
Quote: Originally posted by chrisn7 on 28/11/2017
Quote: Originally posted by Opensauce on 26/11/2017
Usual issue with pile’em high sell’em cheap merchants is that they do not have sufficient workshop facilities or skilled staff to service their large customer base. So problems with pre sale preparation & after sales service are likely to arise.
I took the precaution of having our van inspected, and arranged to meet the engineer, so he could point out to me anything I needed to know. On the day there were 3 columns of vans awaiting PDIs, each column having about 20 vans in - yep, 60 odd! Glossop knew there was to be an inspection, but still buried ours almost in the middle of this lot - making life as difficult as possible for the engineer. Being the customer I was able to get it extracted, but I feel certain this wouldn't have happened for the engineer on his own. It might all have been innocent of course...
I think some serious paranoia there IMO but one thing is does show is the level of trade a big caravan dealer does.
Out of interest did the engineer find much?
No paranoia I can assure you. To answer your question, the engineer found 40% damp in two hard to reach places. This was pointed out to the PDI staff at Glossop. This was 3 days before the planned collection date. The day before I got a call saying van is good to collect, so I ask if they found any damp and the answer was 'No'! So I remind them...and they go away to check. Next day on collection day, they ring 2 hours before hand over time to admit the damp and collection is off.
So you can see what would have happened without an inspection. This is why such care is required, even with 'respectable' dealers
Ultimately the van went back to Swift as the issue was an accepted problem with 2011 vans.
I haven't bought a van from Glossop but we did buy an awning from them and found them to be exceptionally helpful.
We have a Swift Basecamp which has the awning off the back. The bespoke Vango awning is huge and we were looking for a smaller alternative. Swift stated flatly that no other awning would fit. We, however, thought it must be worth a punt...
We phoned Glossop who invited us to bring the van over. They were then willing to unpack any awning we were interested in and try it on the van for us. A nice, young man came out and fitted it for us (just the rail, not pegged!) and we actually went for the first one they showed us.
I'm not sure what the etiquette for buying an awning normally is but I was very impressed.
They were also very friendly when we rolled up, helped us find somewhere to park the van, helped us turn it round, chatting about the van etc. (It was only our 2nd time out with a van so it made for a reassuring experience).
I bought my Kampa fiesta air from Glossop. when one of the air tubes developed a "slow puncture" a 2 minute phone call to Glossop resulted in a new tube being sent to me directly from Kampa within a week.
As with all dealers there are good and bad as there are with individual experiences.
With have dealt with them for over 20 years, buying a mixture of new and used vans.
There have been issues and these have been dealt with always with our full involvement in the process so we will definitely continue to give them our business
We purchased our Coachman from them in 2010 we got a better deal than we were offered from Coachman direct, we had our first service by them & ever since we have used a local mobile service chap, no problem with having service done by mobile, I would use Glossop caravans again.
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Glossop Caravans
