# What is happening at Brownhills??



## altom (Sep 12, 2009)

Hia

Some two weeks ago we heard of the sad news for us living in the South that Brownhills Swindon branch had closed with "immediate effect". Those words should immediately ring alarm bells. 
Last week I received e mails telling me that there was a sale of MH Accessories at Newark Branch available at up to 15% discount. This week another e mail with a title "Summer Madness" telling me that there is a sale of MH within the company giving up to £10,000 off the Retail Price guide. 
Unfortunately I do not need to go on any further. Any one in business can see the signs of these type of "sales" in BIG Red Lettering. Hope I am completely wrong in my assumptions!


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## duxdeluxe (Sep 2, 2007)

To be completely fair, I think that other dealerships are also offering big discounts and advertising heavily to try and drum up some trade in a very depressed market. Look on the Marquis website for instance. Certainly a buyer's Market, as I happily found out a couple of months ago. Even when you have a good deal, squeeze harder - it can be pleasantly surprising


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## JohnsCrossMotorHomes (Jul 21, 2007)

duxdeluxe said:


> To be completely fair, I think that other dealerships are also offering big discounts and advertising heavily to try and drum up some trade in a very depressed market. Look on the Marquis website for instance. Certainly a buyer's Market, as I happily found out a couple of months ago. Even when you have a good deal, squeeze harder - it can be pleasantly surprising


You won't find that on my website or my dealership, no need for it. In fact our sales of brand new motorhomes is up on last year on units sold and delivered and we do not discount.

Peter


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## Addie (Aug 5, 2008)

JohnsCrossMotorHomes said:


> You won't find that on my website or my dealership, no need for it. In fact our sales of brand new motorhomes is up on last year on units sold and delivered and we do not discount.
> 
> Peter


At least we know where not to go for a bargain then, eh Peter


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## GEMMY (Jun 19, 2006)

so what you are saying peter, if you want to buy a new motohome is to go to someone else for the best deal.


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## DTPCHEMICALS (Jul 24, 2006)

Nice to see a post from Peter :wink: 

I do not discount my products. Good service and a fair price in the first place.

i do know a caravan dealer localy that does not discount.
They do it the other way round and give a better trade in allowance.
Same net result


dave p


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## javea (Jun 8, 2007)

I called in whilst passing today to have a look at the new B534 - no chance, not a single Hymer in the showroom and only 2 A classes outside.

Think I will have to call into a dealership in France when next there Brownhills seem to be concentrating on UK produced vans currently.


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## JohnsCrossMotorHomes (Jul 21, 2007)

GEMMY said:


> so what you are saying peter, if you want to buy a new motohome is to go to someone else for the best deal.


Depends on what you consider the best deal, I have found in the past that the person who wants the skin of your back is simply not worth dealing with.

There is no point in just moving metal, it does not pay the staff or the overheads and invariably leads to ruin as has been proved in the past with other dealers.

Peter


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## josieb (Jan 20, 2008)

Well said Peter


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## hampsterracing (Jun 2, 2011)

JohnsCrossMotorHomes said:


> GEMMY said:
> 
> 
> > so what you are saying peter, if you want to buy a new motohome is to go to someone else for the best deal.
> ...


The old price versus value debate 

value for me every time

nice to hear from a straightfoward dealer with an opinion its just a shame your not in devon 

Roger


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## bognormike (May 10, 2005)

javea said:


> I called in whilst passing today to have a look at the new B534 - no chance, not a single Hymer in the showroom and only 2 A classes outside.
> 
> Think I will have to call into a dealership in France when next there Brownhills seem to be concentrating on UK produced vans currently.


maybe it's because Hymer want money up front before letting them have the product?


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## Losos (Oct 28, 2009)

JohnsCrossMotorHomes said:


> GEMMY said:
> 
> 
> > so what you are saying peter, if you want to buy a new motohome is to go to someone else for the best deal.
> ...


Completely agree, in some respects Britain is heading in the direction of Czech Republic *where all the customer looks at is price*, they buy any old rubbish and have now become the dumping ground for products from Germany that have some intrinsic fault, I don't think they will learn for at least the next two generations :!:

Have only been to Johns Cross once (in June) bought some stuff in the shop, prices seemed OK to me and I received some good advice for free, can't really ask more than that, and before you all start thinking I can assure you I have absoluely *no connection with this firm*.


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## javea (Jun 8, 2007)

bognormike said:


> maybe it's because Hymer want money up front before letting them have the product?


You may have a point there, the last filed set of accounts do not paint a rosey picture.


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## GEMMY (Jun 19, 2006)

i.ll settle for my intrinsic fault one blown fuse. tony


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## duxdeluxe (Sep 2, 2007)

JohnsCrossMotorHomes said:


> You won't find that on my website or my dealership, no need for it. In fact our sales of brand new motorhomes is up on last year on units sold and delivered and we do not discount.
> 
> Peter


That's what I like, a nice gentle correction... Nice the see someone bucking the global trend, anyway


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## JohnGun (May 15, 2009)

Brownhills are simply reacting to the Market conditions, how many of you run your own business? I suspect most of us would do the same in order to get footfall over the door


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## Crindle (Feb 2, 2007)

Hi all........Hymer UK is a strong brand, the parent company in Germany can't be pleased with the current image here at the moment; remember the Lytham showroom bursting with new Hymer's and the atmosphere buzzing. however that was when the dealership was family owned by Madisons; seems all downhill since. As an aside with the weakness of the pound against the Euro plus price rises surely this means anything from mainland Europe is going to be more expensive. Does this not provide an opportunity for British manufacturers to deliver good quality motorhomes at reasonable prices ?........Crindle.


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

*Seen*



Crindle said:


> Hi all........Hymer UK is a strong brand, the parent company in Germany can't be pleased with the current image here at the moment; remember the Lytham showroom bursting with new Hymer's and the atmosphere buzzing. however that was when the dealership was family owned by Madisons; seems all downhill since. As an aside with the weakness of the pound against the Euro plus price rises surely this means anything from mainland Europe is going to be more expensive. Does this not provide an opportunity for British manufacturers to deliver good quality motorhomes at reasonable prices ?........Crindle.


 "Does this not provide an opportunity for British manufacturers to deliver good quality motorhomes at reasonable prices ?........Crindle."

From what I have seen, no.

Can anyone name a UK Manufacturer that builds Mercedes A class Motorhomes?.


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## JohnsCrossMotorHomes (Jul 21, 2007)

*Re: Seen*



teemyob said:


> "Does this not provide an opportunity for British manufacturers to deliver good quality motorhomes at reasonable prices ?........Crindle."
> From what I have seen, no.
> 
> Can anyone name a UK Manufacturer that builds Mercedes A class Motorhomes?.


No you cannot but is the chassis/cab that important? The badge on the front does not make the back end any better!

The brand Mercedes infers quality, prestige, upper class, unlike Fiat which is for the masses, however the Fiat drives extremely well, is comfortable and has all the toys.

When I hear of a van on a Mercedes, I think, wow but would I buy a brand new Mercedes car, no way, too many problems if it goes wrong, I will stick to my old reliable pre 2003 model which gives no grief and I know where to get it fixed if it does go wrong and its not a Mercedes Main Dealer at £110 an hour labour and change everything in site until they find the fault!

The main problem with motorhomes is weight, everything has to be lightweight so you can get a reasonable payload. Where I feel that many converters go wrong is that they go to far, use cheap plastic trims and fittings, screws that are too short which we have to replace on PDI's before the van is released.

Some workshops do not carry out proper PDI's and make modifications to avoid problems in the future and converters tend to be deaf when suggestions are made to improve quality.

We all know about shower trays that eventually crack because of insufficient support under the tray, not rocket science to put some polystyrene slabs underneath and costs nowt in the factory.

I do think that some UK converters are now getting their act together and supporting their product to a far greater degree than in the past.

Peter


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## duxdeluxe (Sep 2, 2007)

Well said. I'd love a Mercedes base but not prepared to pay a huge price premium for something that may not necessarily be better than the Fiat. Thus far the Auto-Sleeper seems to be pretty well built with only very minor problems (I knocked off the sink drain hose by mistake - the push fit wasn't well pushed). Fiat engine bay could be much better designed though........


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## Losos (Oct 28, 2009)

*Re: Seen*



teemyob said:


> "Does this not provide an opportunity for British manufacturers to deliver good quality motorhomes at reasonable prices ?........Crindle."
> 
> From what I have seen, no.
> 
> Can anyone *name a UK Manufacturer that builds Mercedes A class Motorhomes?*.


Well I certainly can't :!: I can name one converter in Yeovil who has a terrible reputation, does rubbish work, thinks a three ring hob is the same as a two ring hob, and who completely ruined the conversion on my Mercedes van after I had spent a year planning the layout. :x


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## Crindle (Feb 2, 2007)

*Re: Seen*

"Does this not provide an opportunity for British manufacturers to deliver good quality motorhomes at reasonable prices ?........Crindle."

From what I have seen, no.

Can anyone name a UK Manufacturer that builds Mercedes A class Motorhomes?.[/quote]

Hi again all.....as I quote "An opportunity" At purchase on our German van exchange rate 1.60 Euro to the £, today 1.14 Euro to the £. That alone suggest a price hike, add increase's then as the math's suggest eye watering increases of motorhomes from mainland Europe. If British manufacturers don't get greedy then is there not scope to capture a larger slice of the UK market ? Got to say that I'm looking far more favourably at RS Motorhomes here in the UK these days, quality British build on Iveco or MB chassis.......Crindle.


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## Wupert (Aug 6, 2007)

*Re: Seen*



JohnsCrossMotorHomes said:


> teemyob said:
> 
> 
> > No you cannot but is the chassis/cab that important? The badge on the front does not make the back end any better!
> ...


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Fiat*

Off topic, but I love my MultiJet 3.0 Fiat - my second one and the next motorhome will be too. 10000 miles in the other and 19000 in this.

I have absolutely hammered it today - up the four lane stretch on the M62, fully, totally laden and 70 mph in 6th right to the Saddleworth turn.

Russell


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## PeteandMe (Sep 19, 2010)

JohnsCrossMotorHomes said:


> duxdeluxe said:
> 
> 
> > To be completely fair, I think that other dealerships are also offering big discounts and advertising heavily to try and drum up some trade in a very depressed market. Look on the Marquis website for instance. Certainly a buyer's Market, as I happily found out a couple of months ago. Even when you have a good deal, squeeze harder - it can be pleasantly surprising
> ...


Being proud of your prices is admirable. 7 pounds dearer for a Thetford lipseal. All helps to keep the wolf from the door!!!


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## Losos (Oct 28, 2009)

*Re: Seen*



Wupert said:


> I think the base vehicle is very important and remind you of the recent Fiat base vehicle clutch fiasco.


Plus, at the time* the Mercedes was the only base vehicle which offered a diesel engine with a 'proper' automatic gearbox. They discontinued their Sprintmatic gearbox because they realised that a two pedal manual can *not* meet one safety criteria due to the computer not having a brain :!: :!: :!:

* I beleive VW offer this now as well 'tho I have not checked this out.


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## Rosbotham (May 4, 2008)

Crindle said:


> Does this not provide an opportunity for British manufacturers to deliver good quality motorhomes at reasonable prices ?........Crindle.


The base vehicles are priced in Euros. Many/most of the internal components - fridge, heating system, etc - tend to be Euro sourced. So you end up with labour and soft furnishings being the only variable where UK manufacturers can benefit from the weak pound. Hence to answer your question, no it doesn't.

The weakness against the Euro pushing new prices up seems to be leading to an interesting/bizarre situation - the non/minimal depreciating motorhome. Popped into a dealers today, and noticed the van I was parked next to was a 2009 dealer special of an Elddis Autoquest 140, 5k on the clock. Dealer was after £30k, which seemingly is not unreasonable next to £33k for a new one. But I know for a fact because I used to have a 2008 model I bought new, unless he was a fool the original owner of that dealer-special wouldn't have paid £30k for it when it was brand new. Obviously the dealer was building in some wriggle room for negotiation and the original owner wouldn't have got that PXing into the dealer, but the world's gone mad.


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## JohnsCrossMotorHomes (Jul 21, 2007)

PeteandMe said:


> Being proud of your prices is admirable. 7 pounds dearer for a Thetford lipseal. All helps to keep the wolf from the door!!!


The new recommended retail price of this spare part is now £****, our price is actually £****! (_Advertising content removed by moderators_)

There has been a dramatic increase in prices and anyone sitting on old stock can obviously sell it at the old price, as we have new stock we cannot unless of course we wish to lose money!

Peter


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## camper69 (Aug 30, 2007)

Always makes me smile when I see rrp quoted. It's as if they think they are selling a bargin.

Derek


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## Wupert (Aug 6, 2007)

camper69 said:


> Always makes me smile when I see rrp quoted. It's as if they think they are selling a bargin.
> 
> Derek


A quick google prices the seal from £10.16 ---- £12.93


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## PeteandMe (Sep 19, 2010)

Or even as low as £9.32 pounds. It's the point 99 pence that fools no one.


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## Wupert (Aug 6, 2007)

PeteandMe said:


> Or even as low as £9.32 pounds. It's the point 99 pence that fools no one.


Looks like buying a Thetford lipseal at JC's is rather expensive

_Mod Note. Post edited for clarity after an objection._


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## Topefisher (Apr 20, 2011)

Posting drifting a lot off topic here.

Going Back to original post:
I think checking carefully you will see their discounts are on their 2010
models. Same model in 2011 vintage is £10k dearer.

There is an article in either MMM or Practical MH ( September issue ) which reads that the prudent dealers have managed to avoid overstocking so as to avoid heavy discounting being essential on previous years models.

There is also the obvious need to avoid old stock as new Euro 5 models appear I reckon. Their prices on the old 2010 models are as good as used models at the moment so they won't last long. 
Perhaps its time to take advantage before the Euro 5's appear and 'dip your bread', especially on ay 2010 models in camparison to some used values, but who knows.

Been told by quite a few dealers in the North that their most popular sales area at the moment is in the £20 -£25k bracket, which means that people are in fact holding back on big purchases.

Don't know John Cross as they are megga miles from me, but maybe their popular price range on units sold may differ down South.

As for somebodies posting on the Hymers, I thing reading a few posts in here, there appears to be major headlight issues on A class where no one is taking repsonsibility for bursting headlights. Resulting in owners being a hefty £1450 or so out of pocket for them to replace one. I think the moral here is please research this if considering one.


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## bulawayolass (Jul 27, 2010)

I thought that Brownhills main hymer stock was up this end in their Preston store.


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## Topefisher (Apr 20, 2011)

bulawayolass said:


> I thought that Brownhills main hymer stock was up this end in their Preston store.


Yes it is and last week they appear to have had quite a few more than their web shows there.


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## Crindle (Feb 2, 2007)

Hi Rosbotham & Topefisher.......thanks for your postings, lots of good information, particulary Rosbotham for clearing up the Euro/£ content associated with british built motorhomes. Guess will have to look at American stuff for some real value. The latest offering from Tiffin, their Allegro Breeze with a rear diesel engine on a powerglide chassis and Allison Auto. plus single slide, all in a UK friendly size ie 29ft long by 95ins wide looks interesting and compares very well on price with high end German vans. Great pity that its on a 10 ton chassis.....Crindle


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