danbury or downunder - that is the question!

jj123vw wrote:

Hi Jboa - I have to disagree: All things are not the same and quality does differ from each manufacturer and supplier. A Piaggio is not the same as a Ducati motorcycle. A Phillips TV is not the same as a B+O TV etc etc. Danbury only supply quality parts that are tried and tested and are covered by a warranty. We are also here to make money/profit as any business is. If you can convince vw to make and send us parts for free and do the same with the council rates, electricity, water, insurance, oil, waste disposal, recycling, H+S, NI and offcourse wages then its a different story...Most of our customers buy from us as its a 'one stop shop' and we fit all their requests under one roof. 90% of our customers also enjoy the same day servicing, free brand new loan cars and a heavily stocked parts department we provide. We even have customers that come from as far away as Scotland, France and all over the UK and benefit from 3 years warranty.

I'm not commenting on Danbury's reputation or anything, what I'm simply trying to say is that you can buy many of the extras you offer elsewhere a lot cheaper than you offer them. I'm also not commenting on the quality of these parts, but just the fact that they are available. I'm sure if you ask however manufactures them they will also say that their products are top quality.

Obviously your a business and trying to make money, I'm not saying different. But that dosen't mean I have to give you my business. If I can buy a tin of beans from Tesco's for 50p or a can from the corner shop for 30p then I no were I'm going, and it's not Tesco's.
Yes It's convinient to get every thing done at the same time in the same place, but it's not the only option available to buyers who are willing to shop around and able to fit a few accessories to their vans themselves.

The great thing about this forum is that future Brazilian Bay owners can find out information like this, and I don't see why Danbury feel the need to jump in and slate every one else, saying how great they are...

Jboa - Ah but beans are not beans.........They look the same but dont taste the same!

Birmingham Dave: Many thanks for the kind support and the nice message you sent me. It really lifted evryones spirits here this morning!

VW dont offer a locking petrol cap at present but I'll look into it for you and let you know.

Dartmoor - I let you know what VW say about firewall etc. Let me know how you get on with O'Conners you problem you have and if you dont get any joy from them we can always have a look at it for you and advise (for free!)

Denni - Thanks for your kind PM yesterday. Let me know if I can help or advise you with anything :-)

As I said in the last messages anyone interested in a open day event at Danbury with a free bbq and parts discounts, advise and offers...just e mail me your details to : beetlesukltd@yahoo.co.uk and I'll advise you when its all planned. A great way of Danbury supporting everyone and hopefully having some support back :-)

Totally agree Denni. Its the only way to improve things and move forward and get more and more people into Brazilian Bays and grow the (this) community. We are always looking to improve things here and have R+D (research and development) on the go with new idea's or items always on test. It took us over a year before we released the new direct drive system and power steering system but now we know its a great system and works well. Same for our VW T5 roofs...Nearly 2 years of testing different designs, electric or manual, wind spoilers etc etc. Its what we do every day and I agree with you, feedback is essential. Thanks - Jason

jj123vw wrote:

Totally agree Denni. Its the only way to improve things and move forward and get more and more people into Brazilian Bays and grow the (this) community. We are always looking to improve things here and have R+D (research and development) on the go with new idea's or items always on test. It took us over a year before we released the new direct drive system and power steering system but now we know its a great system and works well. Same for our VW T5 roofs...Nearly 2 years of testing different designs, electric or manual, wind spoilers etc etc. Its what we do every day and I agree with you, feedback is essential. Thanks - Jason

Well, you came out of that ok Jason! I think its great that you are here to listen and respond positively. Just sell as many buses as you can until 2012, cos we'll need your business for the spares in the future!

Will do Dartmoor :-)

Hi All - Good suggestion's re running some events and discounts. We have grown at such a rate over the past ten years we have had lots of 'learning' to do and have tried our best with limited funds (we dont have the funds of a big chain or VW) but feel we are getting better and better at customer service and having sold 1000's of vehicles over that time have most customers happy and returning for repeat business, service work or accident repair. We have listened to feedback and invested in 3 new loan cars (free of charge to all customers whilst having work done on their vehicles), new staff (nearly 40 staff here now!) , In house training programmes and offcourse our new 40,000 sq foot factory in Bristol. We are always keen to learn more and improve though and welcome all feedback (good and bad) to me at my direct e mail address: beetlesukltd@yahoo.co.uk . We are planning a free bbq event at our factory in October this year and will have exclusive parts discounts for that day (on all pre ordered stock parts) and also test drives available of the new direct drive rack and pinion steering aswell as the new power steering option. I'll post more info soon but e mail me asap if you wish to come along and any parts you may want to order. All the best from everyone at Danbury! Jason

www.danburymotorcaravans.com - Keeping the legend alive!

The Danbury Day is on Sat 16th October and now appears in the events listings and calendar.

I'm going along to represent the forum and to support Danbury with this initiative.

I hope others can make it too.

It's interesting how VW Kampers are now fitting Danbury style pop tops to tintop Brazilian Bays that they previously hired, as a means of selling them. Speaks volumes doesn't it?!

http://www.vwkampers.com/brand-new-type-2-campers/

Hi Tim - Just so you know we dont supply our roofs to anyone else so they must be using used second hand roofs of previously owned Danbury's and not new ones. Jason

The roof I've seen on their 2010 Bay is not a used one Jason. It doesn't have the Danbury logo embossed at the rear.

Hence my reason for using the term "Danbury style."

Whatever anyone thinks or says about Danbury, the product, ie the type 2 is very good! I agree they are expensive, but we all know that when we embark on the journey of owning one. I like most of us have had to shell out for things that would last a lot longer on new vehicles ( a new exhaust after only 18 months!). They are still a small independant business, and let's face it if it wasn't for them there would not be the quantity of vans coming into the uk, so would be a great deal harder and probaby more expensive to obtain.
There are other suppliers of parts and servces out there once you've got your van to go to, other than Danbury.

So let's cut Danbury some slack, after all without them many of us on this forum, and those yet to join us wouldn't be out there experiencing the joy of driving an icon!

Thanks 'Irishman' for your kind comments. We are trying our best to get as many on the road as possible! We hope you can make it to our open day / BBQ / discounted parts event in October. Would be great to see everyone and their campers back in Bristol at 'the place of birth'! All the best - Jason