Do you trust your mechanic?

Aidan_M_M

I see a lot of MHs, from all over the country , and one thing that seems common through all is the appalling lack of servicing they get . And I'm talking basic mechanical stuff , nothing to do with boilers or fridges or leaks etc. The amount of campers that people tell us they've just had serviced , and they're happy that everything is perfect , with some frankly dangerous stuff on them is worrying .
Before Christmas I had one in , in the nineties , the usual story , "oh yeah , I have a local chap service it , everything is fine..." This was a factorty build , low mileage... both rear brake cylinders partly seized and leaking, the flexi brake pipe on the back axle had a bulge in it , the metal pipe on the axle was rotten , the front crosmember that holds the rad, and ties the chassis legs together was dangerously rusty , one front brake caliper was mostly seized , and the front suspension bushes were shot . And from the outside , you'd look at this MH , all lights working , no scratches , clean and tidy , and you'd expect it to be perfect .

And perhaps even more bothersome , one from the early '00s , and what annoyed me about this one is that the owner (who I know well enough to trust) left it into his local MH "dealer" , to be serviced , and in particular , to check the brakes , as he thought they seemed poor . Once again , both rear brake cylinders leaking/seized , back brakes never adjusted , or even checked , as the brake drums were rusted in place . Again a rusty crossmember , and a dodgy fanbelt , and no reverse lights , cos they bodged some of the wiring .

Now ,I'm no genius mechanic , I learnt 60% of what I know from my Dad , and picked up the rest at the College of Life and Experience (:D) , but fcuk me , who doesn't check out the brakes on a vehicle , especially when asked!!!! I was hopping mad , and even more so as I know the "dealer" and had thought he was a decent fella . Any of the stuff I did was basic stuff , a bit tedious and dirty , but all bolt on stuff , no special tools needed .
And I'd say thay at least 3/4s of the pre '99s that people try trade in to us have at least one rusty brake pipe , it's so common it's the first thing I look for when someone brings their MH to us when trying to strike a deal.

Sorry for the rant , but I just had to offload . Please , please , please, for the sake of safety , even if it means paying a wee bit more , get your MH serviced with someone who will actually do it!!

Hopefully the DOE will sort this out .

paddyp

I trust my mechanic with my life .... then again I'm my mechanic so that doesn't count :-p
Regarding the DOE I took a look at a ducato minibus that was in daily service on a school run and recently doe'd. The front chassis member and wheel arch was totally rotten from battery leaking acid at some stage, you could stick a screwdriver through the arch over an area of about 10 x 6 inches. Chassis outriggers perforated in rear. When I gave the brakes a good hard test on a private road the valve in the master cylinder gave way and I had to pull the hand brake to stop. Spare wheel had steel showing and you would tell that the carrier hadn't been lowered recently. Definitely couldn't have passed the smoke test without a bucket of cetane or dipethane in the tank. So I think while the DOE will make a huge difference people still need to be wary.

Aidan_M_M

I agree on that , in the same way that an NCT is not an automatic reason to believe a car is perfect . But as you say , the DOE should help get rid of a lot of the downright dangerous stuff .

Buford T Justice

Yes I trust me

But on a serious note, I know what you mean by this. You never know. The amout of jobs I got to where someone has been at it before and has either made a balls of it, or didn't do anything is unreal.

People do need to be wary.

spaceHopper

Mine is old 91 but I imported it from Japan and it’s low mileage. My mechanic is next door to me in work, he costs a good bit more but anytime I leave my car in to be services little things like rotating the tyres, adjusting the back brake drums to take the slack out of the hand brake… are done, not just tightening the nut on the top end of the handbrake cable. Last service on the van was 273 in July, car just done was 246 for just a basic service. To me it seams expensive but I’ve never had a problem with his work, he’s a sticker for things being done right and has a good reputation to protect.

Aidan_M_M

Peace of mind , that you're safe in your vehicle , is priceless .

coolvale

where i go i can be on the floor with them doing the work & they will talk to me as they do it , which is great.
their father was the same before them, he was a mate of mine before ever he or i were married.
its not just me, they are the same with everyone.

Aidan_M_M

coolvale wrote: »

where i go i can be on the floor with them doing the work & they will talk to me as they do it , which is great.
their father was the same before them, he was a mate of mine before ever he or i were married.
its not just me, they are the same with everyone.

Thats pretty much the same as the way we have our workshop .

polly48

Well, i didnt know de mechanic i bought my hymer year 1987 from but he told me he had had it doe'd. Only bought it before christmas its on fiat ducato chassis. On our first trip we took a spin to waterford and the exhaust fell off on the motorway,its a huge thing...(mortification and near heart failure) long story short, we finally welded another one together and thought thats the end of that. Then, we were getting ready to go away on the fine week 1 month ago and the gears stuck, we are now left with a box of gear parts after sending it away to be reconstructed but it cost 1400 euro and i dont have that kind of money as i spent it doing it up inside. so, a lovely camper and a box of gearparts is what i have left. I am devestated!!!!!! TRUST !dont think so.....

demoreino

Hi Polly48,
Sorry to hear about all the difficulties you have had with your new camper
Are you sure there isnt some legal channel you can explore about this.
If your mechanic that sold you the vehicle is registered you may have some comeback.
If you buy from someone outside the trade I know a "buyer beware" policy exists but if i remember correctly from my school days (not toooo long ago) if the seller of the vehicle is a trader they must stand over the vehicle (to a certain extent ) even if you have signed a "sold as seen " receipt.
It may be well worth your while having a chat with your local solicitor.

Kevin www.iwmotorhomes.ie

polly48

demoreino wrote: »

Hi Polly48,
Sorry to hear about all the difficulties you have had with your new camper
Are you sure there isnt some legal channel you can explore about this.
If your mechanic that sold you the vehicle is registered you may have some comeback.
If you buy from someone outside the trade I know a "buyer beware" policy exists but if i remember correctly from my school days (not toooo long ago) if the seller of the vehicle is a trader they must stand over the vehicle (to a certain extent ) even if you have signed a "sold as seen " receipt.
It may be well worth your while having a chat with your local solicitor.

Kevin www.iwmotorhomes.ie

Hi Kevin, yes i have thought about going legal but i hate to do it.....This guy was retired but family member has the garage now, so i prob have no comeback as it really was a private deal in the end.I found out that the gearbox had been opened previously and someone had done a makeshift job to get her on the road this i discovered when my local garage sent the gearbox to Dublin to have it looked at. I cant say for definate that i was conned, but i sure feels like it at the moment, but i must keep trying someone might have it or an old hymer i can get part from.I bought a 90s gearbox bell housing was slightly different but i gave them to a mechanic to see can he change parts from one to the other....BUYER BEWARE is very true indeed thanks for your reply Polly

Aidan_M_M

thats terrible Polly , I hope you got a camper thats otherwise in good order. Send him a few stinkers of letters , because that is just not on .

T.

www.PatHoranMotors.com

Furgo

I wouldnt trust a seller but I thought I could trust the DOE and a double check by Cartell (which isnt cheap) before I purchased.
4 months later with very little driving less than 1000 miles I take it for service and insurance assesment (for Dolmen).
Mechanic says the back breaks are completly gone and non-functioning and that it didnt happen overnight. He was not happy to sign the insurance form and suggested I bring the van back to the seller.

In the end I just got the mechanic to do the work and obviously it wasnt cheap. Of course he could have been putting one over on me but I am inclined to trust him in this case.

The furstrating thing is how it got through the DOE, if it was anything other than the breaks I would say something. It makes me a bit suspicious and I wonder if I should make a complaint about the DOE test center. Who is the governoring body for this?
So at the end of the day who can you trust? Its a bit depressing:(.

spaceHopper

Furgo wrote: »

I wouldnt trust a seller but I thought I could trust the DOE and a double check by Cartell (which isnt cheap) before I purchased.
4 months later with very little driving less than 1000 miles I take it for service and insurance assesment (for Dolmen).
Mechanic says the back breaks are completly gone and non-functioning and that it didnt happen overnight. He was not happy to sign the insurance form and suggested I bring the van back to the seller.

In the end I just got the mechanic to do the work and obviously it wasnt cheap. Of course he could have been putting one over on me but I am inclined to trust him in this case.

The furstrating thing is how it got through the DOE, if it was anything other than the breaks I would say something. It makes me a bit suspicious and I wonder if I should make a complaint about the DOE test center. Who is the governoring body for this?
So at the end of the day who can you trust? Its a bit depressing:(.

Sorry for your trouble, you could do worse that ring the RSA

paddyp

Lots of drum brakes rusted and seized up this winter with the salt on the roads. Even without the salt they will seize up when idle. Much less noticable in a torquey diesel than a petrol.

Also possible the the rear adjuster ratcheted up and you were effectively driving with the handbrake on. Not only would the shoes wear out but the heat generated would ruin the seals in the rear cylinder this has happened both my brother and I, both lucas calipers on totally different cars.

abyhart1

Hi there,

On the note of getting work done to campers, I have a VW 1992 and I'm looking to find a good mechanic in cork who will work on it.
Would anyone have any recommendations?

Thanks for your help.

Betsy Og

Yikes, this thread reads like an ad for caravans!!, only messing, sorry for all the bother ye are going through. But it is one of the advantages of "uncool" caravanning that there's much less to go wrong with the unit. In the long long run I think I'd be interested in a van conversion (like a VW Transporter but officially converted) - any difference in reliability between these (as a class of vehicle, rather than the make or model) compared to purpose built motorhomes??

I know it sounds counter-intuitive, but I'd expect a van is used more (perhaps as an everyday vehicle) so maybe that helps - certainly seems to be the case with tractors, in that if they are used regularly they seem to run better than something that's started say once a month.

Betsy Og

Betsy Og wrote: »

Yikes, this thread reads like an ad for caravans!!, only messing, sorry for all the bother ye are going through. But it is one of the advantages of "uncool" caravanning that there's much less to go wrong with the unit

That's a bit oversimplified I reckon maintenance on a caravan + tow vehicle will be overall higher, as well as fuel.

Betsy Og wrote: »

I know it sounds counter-intuitive, but I'd expect a van is used more (perhaps as an everyday vehicle) so maybe that helps - certainly seems to be the case with tractors, in that if they are used regularly they seem to run better than something that's started say once a month.

I'd agree with that alright.

moodrater

Good thing about a transporter conversion is you'll probably still be able to get parts in 30 years time.

Wheter fuel costs are higher though depends on how long you stay, if you're parking a caravan and using it as a base then the driving around in a 50mpg+ car it probably averages out.

Yeah, no point flogging a dead horse. Wouldn't suit me.

moodrater

Me neither rolling stones and all that plus wouldn't be welcome most of the places we go either especially wild camping. Tempting when you have small kids though.