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Hi

I am looking at changing my Motorhome sometime in May 06. Could anyone recommend a good dealer. I have read on this forum bad write-ups on "Lazedays" which I would not touch with a barge pole. I have considered "Martin's Of Exeter" or "Brownhills" and "Freeborn" any advice would be most appreciated.

Kind regards to all you helpfull campers.         

got my first van from martin's, never use them again. had a service and an MOT. they changed the oil and filter. never even took the wheels off to check the breaks.

might have been different if i was booking it in and paying for it but they wont get the chance again. any faults and it was cheapest job had to take it back 3 times for the rear pannel to be sorted, bubble near the number plate.

the worst thing was it came back with a hole in the side, ok they fixed it but it should never have happened and just left.

never use them again now myself.

floppy

Agree with Magpieman. Freeborns were excellent to deal with. Answered any questions, didn't mind how often we phoned with any queries after our purchase and all the staff were very knowledgable and friendly.

Another thing we found when we were looking for our motorhome was that some dealers were very pushy, wanting us to make up our mind there and then. Freeborn are not like that at all and didn't mind our numerous visits before making our decision.

Hi ivor62lewis. If you are buying new or to a certain extent secondhand I would reccomend you go for a dealer as near to where you live as possible, new or secondhand they can all give problems at sometime and being told by a dealer (bring it in and we will have a look at it) is no fun if it entails say a round trip of 200 miles, as long as the local dealer does not have a terrible reputation that is. The dealer I bought new from is just 9miles from me and has been more than helpful for the niggly things that needed putting right.  Best of luck     Kiev    

ivor, Todd's of Preston not bad to deal with, they have some nice Motorhomes, new and secondhand, and it's all indoors, and a great accessories shop, also lovely little cafe for refreshments after your journey. Living in Wales have you tried Peter Morans at Ludlow? Always as nice Motorhomes in stock, but not a lot of choice.

Good luck, and if all else fails keep smiling. 

Cheers, Bill.

Hi ,

We have brought two From Freeborn Motorhome,s  they were excellent my partner and I must of went there and back over 20 times we were not pressurised once by the staff and plenty of coffee was on offer Josh Willis the Manager couldnt have been more helpful and staff are very polite. It is something not to rush into though. Good Luck what ever you do.

Aly

We used Cotswold Motorcaravans near Gloucester when we changed in May last year.  Great family firm to deal with.  Top of our list should we ever change again.  Had a gas regulator problem (as have loads of people last year) it was sorted out quickly and at our convenience I don't think Brownhills offer that.  Frank and his son Richard are really friendly and good to deal with.

Bought our first van from EmmBee at Bury who have Ahorn motorhomes which look good value for money again they were great to deal with.

Dealers I wouldn't use.  Brownhill because of their salemen and having chatted to other people who have bought from them.

Cleveland we almost used but wouldn't now due to their owner flaunting his car and private number plate on their stand at York.

I wouldn't personally buy from Todds due to the Salesman again, wasn't eager to give a test drive without us signing up, so we didn't.  Todds does have an advantage in being indooors though as someone else has pointed out.

Marquis at Preston wouldn't bend at all on price so I would probably them a miss too in the future.

Hi to you all

What a response, the information has been invaluable, I can't thank you enough.

Motorhome owning is not a cheap hobby anymore, with increase in storage,fuel, camping site fees  etc;etc.so the last thing I want is problems when I exchange an expensive toy like a twenty grand plaything.

Many, many thanks to all you lovely people.