Caravan Servicing Costs

It is with interest that I've read the previous comments.

Personally I did not grudge paying for servicing my caravan (or now motorhome). When you consider that expense of all the 'trade' tools the engineer has to own eg he's to be a plumber (gassafe annual registration, membership costs, etc,), mechanic, joiner, electrician with all the tools to go with that, insurance for vehicle, public liability insurance, stock and tools insurance, annual calibration of torque wrench, etc etc. Monthly overheads for all this is an average of £1200 per month! Think of fuel costs (which can be 10p per mile, plus office equipment he needs, printer, paper, inks, etc etc). A dealer shares these expenses between all his employees, mobile guy has only one person!

Plus you have the convenience of not having to travel, sometimes if rural, 2 lots of 60+ miles, take time of work -twice! Van can be at a dealer for weeks (I know someone who's van was with a dealer for 3+ months & it was still not fixed). They got mobile guy out and he had it fixed that day!

You pay for convenience of avoiding all the above hassle, see what is actually being done (I was ripped off by a dealer as he charged for stuff I did not want him to do, as I could do stuff myself), can see any parts that have been replaced  - my guy shows me the old parts he's replaced as proof of what he's done, and watch what he is actually doing.

My mobile guy......he gives me a quote, tells me what 'common' extras can be and WILL NOT do anything else without checking with me first. He is reliable and trustworthy, gives me advice (foc) especially on how to do a job if I feel I can do it myself.

I've spent over an hour on the phone with him getting advice and he would not let me send him any payment for his time.

I do not grudge him approx £40 per hour, when you consider all he pays out,  but I did grudge a garage charged me £97 per hour for their 'specialist' work!

So let's give these mobile guys a break. Dealers I agree are debatable but the mobile guy I use is brilliant.

Who is he........he's my son who I know has all the outlays I've mentioned, plus, more importantly, his customers have no hesitation recommending him.

I meant to say......

He provides a better service than any approved workshop engineers. His standards would have to be lowered if he was to go by the approved workshop requirements.

What I have said above are comments from his customers

Fifer59, is there a clue there that you and your son are based in Fife and if so does he cover the Perth area?

Just had our van serviced by a mobile caravan service company.  He was here 3 hours and gave the van a thorough going over.  And he leaves us with a full report of what he has done and highlights any areas to keep an eye on.  Like slight delamination in the floor, but he said it doesn't warrant anything being done at the moment.  His service charge for a single axle was £165.00, which given we live in West London and he has to come some 30+ miles away, we consider reasonable.  He is based in Berkshire. 

I use a mobile engineer, cost £150 last year and £160 this year.

From phoning around that was the cheapest I found and convenient.

Two guys, took just under 3 hours.

I'm looking for a reputable mobile engineer in South Cumbria/N.Lancs area. Can anybody recommend one?

I’m fortunate in finding a mobile servicing engineer in the last 4 months or so. Having spent so much time with my caravan doing mods and cleaning etc, I guess it was inevitable that a mobile mechanic would show up at some time and so it was. Like the comment above, he is always there for advice if I feel I can do a job myself - and that is becoming more common as I start to undress the mysteries of a caravan!! There are certain things I won’t touch like gas, electrics and brakes and it’s worth the money he charges to know that everything behind you is in top working order as you drive towards your chosen site! 

We have just had our van (Sprite Quatro FB twin axle) serviced we were quoted  £287 and they have just phoned to tell us it is ready and the bill is £421.46!!! apparently we have also been charged for waste disposal of the items used to clean the van. We won't be going back there!!!

I would want to see a detailed invoice, never heard of the waste disposal element., sounds a bit odd to me.

Name them !!!!!,to warn others