What's This?
A new Web Site where previous and existing owners of Auto-Trail Motor Homes can share their experiences with Auto-Trails some times shoddy customer service, (along with photographs, letters and other correspondence)
Why Bother?
When Auto-Trail started 35 years ago, the customer mattered, now as they have grown, the importance of the individual customer has rapidly diminished. This web-site will serve to help the individual aggrieved owner. We will collect, and publish details and out-comes of issues reported to Auto-Trail. Hopefully this will remind Auto-Trail the importance of their customers, and will also serve as a warning to new customers - Buyers Beware!
Video Of My Motorhome after Marquis of Tewkesbury's Customer Care
The above video showed the state of my Motorhome, courtesy of Marquis Leisure of Tewkesbury.
This was after they dismantled the bedroom area, and then dumping it outside of my house, putting the keys through my letter box, before legging it.
Some of the credit for the shoddy treatment should also be given to AutoTrail.
Marquis were investigating why the wall of my Motorhome moves outwards when the awning is extended.
Auto-Trail denied any responsibility, blaming me for causing the defect, despite having 2 Independant Engineers Reports stating that this most definately is a Factory Defect - Poor Assembly, and should have been treated under Warranty.
Engineers comment:- "In my opinion this motorhome is currently unusable and not fit for the purpose for which it was supplied. It would have been faulty at the point of supply but this did not become apparent until the vehicle had been used. It would not have been detected by a pre-delivery inspection"
Engineers comment:-"In summary this motorhome has a serious structural problem. The roof has been fixed in a manner which has resulted in component failure due to a failure in the manufacturing processes."
Initially AutoTrail wanted Marquis to fill the wall with expanding foam.
I refused to allow Marquis to do this, I wanted this repaired correctly, and not bodged.
AutoTrail Refused to accept that this was a Warranty issue, even though this was caused during the assembly process in the factory.
Eventually, after threatening AutoTrail with a Radio 4 Programme investigating Motorhome Manufacturers, we managed to get AutoTrail to collect our motorhome, and transport it back to Grimsby for repair.
This whole process only took about a year.
AutoTrail kept our vehicle for over a month before returning it to us still in a bit of a state.
No apology from AutoTrail or Marquis, although we did receive a few threatening letters from Marquis, warning us that we if we took the "legal route", we would spectacularly lose, as their Solicitor was bigger than ours.
When I inspected the vehicle, it became obvious to me that they had bodged the repair.
I hope they are reading this, I am an Engineer, and fully understand engineering processes, and can spot shoddy work.
The vehicle was eventually sold to an AutoTrail Dealer. Being a "Factory Repair", this was our only way of dealing with this.
We have now bought a German built Motorhome, a real shame, I am a staunch "Buy British" consumer, but in this case I have been beaten into submission.
If you own an AutoTrail that was built around 2015, do your selves a favour, wind the awning out, and check the wall to roof integrity on the side of the awning. I very much doubt that my vehicle was unique.
If you are thinking about buying an AutoTrail, do your research, check the internet, read posts on the Facebook Autotrail Unhappy Owners Group and avoid Marquis Leisure like the plague. They are all part of the same Company, Trigano.
Another Cowboy, are they related?- meet Wyatt Earp!
