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General => General Discussion => Topic started by: rockygu4.8 on March 15, 2017, 04:15:49 PM

Title: Armadillo and Customline campers under Administration - update..got the trailer
Post by: rockygu4.8 on March 15, 2017, 04:15:49 PM
Well just got the call I was fearing. Dropped my camper off at the factory late last year to replace the boat racks with a loader. Been very poor communication. Let's just say I was told it was ready two weeks ago. Drove 9 hours to collect and it wasn't finished.  Not happy Jan. Anyway left it with them to do properly and get a call today from a company who have been appointed Administrator's. So now have to drive down again at considerable cost to collect the camper without the new loader but probably plenty of new holes from the botched effort on the first one.

Not Bloody happy 😡
Title: Re: Armadillo and Customline campers under Administration
Post by: D4D on March 15, 2017, 05:05:31 PM
Sorry to hear that, I've heard similar feedback of non-responsiveness. It's a pity as Customline had a great brand and product.
Title: Re: Armadillo and Customline campers under Administration
Post by: vladetfu on March 15, 2017, 05:34:54 PM
Not good news. Sorry to hear about your boat loader.

Luckily I got my Customline delivered late last year (fingers crossed I don't have any major issues with it). I ordered mine with a Drifta kitchen but had to deal directly with Drifta as they wouldn't deal with Customline anymore  (which perhaps makes more sense knowing what we now know).

Hopefully they can work their way out of it as they made a great bit of kit.
Title: Re: Armadillo and Customline campers under Administration
Post by: Swannie on March 15, 2017, 05:51:39 PM
.
Title: Re: Armadillo and Customline campers under Administration
Post by: Bird on March 15, 2017, 05:59:40 PM
How manys that 4 companies in 2 weeks?


Dingo has also gone..
Title: Re: Armadillo and Customline campers under Administration
Post by: weeds on March 15, 2017, 06:00:35 PM
Happy to help out......

I don't currently have a work trip planned for Gladstone or Calliope....


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Title: Re: Armadillo and Customline campers under Administration
Post by: tryagain on March 15, 2017, 06:25:48 PM
How manys that 4 companies in 2 weeks?


Dingo has also gone..

They do seem to be dropping like flies, it would be interesting to see a list of companies that have gone belly-up in the last little while.
Title: Re: Armadillo and Customline campers under Administration
Post by: KingBilly on March 15, 2017, 06:36:07 PM
Very unfortunate for all those customers who have lost deposits, warranties, etc.. 

But ever since Armadillo bought out Customline I felt the writing was on the wall.  There were lots of negative rumblings from both customers and staff.

KB
Title: Re: Armadillo and Customline campers under Administration
Post by: DrewXT on March 15, 2017, 10:00:05 PM
That explains the complete lack of communication from them for the past couple of months.

Very happy with our camper, but pissed that I'll now have to fix the issue I've been trying to contact? them about out of my own pocket...

Unfortunate for them, but I come from a world where customer service and communication pre and post sales is king, and if you don't have it, it reflects on the longevity of your business...

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Title: Re: Armadillo and Customline campers under Administration
Post by: tghaines on March 16, 2017, 08:57:24 AM
well that explains the poor communications from them.
I bought a bed cover 2 weeks ago and have seen nothing.

I am sorry for them as I'm sure they are under tremendous stress at this time, but still really annoyed.

Title: Re: Armadillo and Customline campers under Administration
Post by: terravista on March 16, 2017, 09:34:55 AM
. So now have to drive down again at considerable cost to collect the camper without the new loader but probably plenty of new holes from the botched effort on the first one.

Not Bloody happy 😡


If it is in the Yatala manufacturing yard and you are not in any great hurry, and you wanted to arrange for me to pick it up I could grab it and sell it on Gumtree take it home at Waterford West for a couple of weeks. I am doing weekly and fortnightly trips to Marmor and could get it up there in around 4 or 6 weeks or so after we get some furniture moved. That is assuming you have it insured for someone else towing it.
Cheers
Ian
Title: Re: Armadillo and Customline campers under Administration
Post by: doc evil on March 16, 2017, 09:46:32 AM
How manys that 4 companies in 2 weeks?


Dingo has also gone..

Had a Dingo many years ago. The owner back then (around 2002) was nuts. Went in there to get some sides adjusted for the awning and he ranted and raved at us for 5 or so min until his daughter (I think) came out.

Dunno if it changed owners.......
Title: Re: Armadillo and Customline campers under Administration
Post by: Bird on March 16, 2017, 10:04:09 AM
Quote from: doc evil
Had a Dingo many years ago.
The owner back then (around 2002) was nuts.
Went in there to get some sides adjusted for the awning and he ranted and raved at us for 5 or so min until his daughter (I think) came out.

Spoke about 5,000,000 words a minute?? ranted and raved about finding staff to work? ranted about closing the doors any day now?? hurry up and look around his sons wedding is in 3 hours??? Yea its the same bloke owned it..
Apparently he is still has a few to sell from his property on the way down Phillip Island on the left there.
Title: Re: Armadillo and Customline campers under Administration
Post by: loanrangie on March 16, 2017, 10:28:58 AM
Spoke about 5,000,000 words a minute?? ranted and raved about finding staff to work? ranted about closing the doors any day now?? hurry up and look around his sons wedding is in 3 hours??? Yea its the same bloke owned it..
Apparently he is still has a few to sell from his property on the way down Phillip Island on the left there.

Those last few were not a patch on the original versions of which i have one.
Title: Re: Armadillo and Customline campers under Administration
Post by: gronk on March 16, 2017, 04:57:44 PM
Those last few were not a patch on the original versions of which i have one.

My 1st camper was a 1992 Dingo !! Pure and simple, but took us around Australia !!

Drove down to pick it up.....from the nsw central coast.....and decided the "normal" tent wasn't going to be big enough for the kids, so after a "discussion", he said to come back tomorrow morning and he'll have the bigger tent on it ! Picked it up and drove straight back home !
Title: Re: Armadillo and Customline campers under Administration
Post by: isportfish on March 16, 2017, 05:41:44 PM
Had a Dingo many years ago. The owner back then (around 2002) was nuts. Went in there to get some sides adjusted for the awning and he ranted and raved at us for 5 or so min until his daughter (I think) came out.

Dunno if it changed owners.......

Geez you're polite. Nuts is a very mild way of describing his behaviour.


Sorry to those been affected by administration.
Title: Re: Armadillo and Customline campers under Administration
Post by: Beepa on March 17, 2017, 08:44:17 AM
Damn not good at all, we had a similar problem when Camel fell over and were planning on using Armadillo to fix some of our Camel problems seeing as we have lost warranty. Time to look for another repairer, but will never take it to MDC even if they were the last company on the planet......rant over sorry...
Title: Re: Armadillo and Customline campers under Administration
Post by: Liege on March 17, 2017, 12:02:26 PM
Damn not good at all, we had a similar problem when Camel fell over and were planning on using Armadillo to fix some of our Camel problems seeing as we have lost warranty. Time to look for another repairer, but will never take it to MDC even if they were the last company on the planet......rant over sorry...

Yep, my camel was 6 months old when they folded, luckily i managed to sneak in 2 warranty jobs before they shut. I too will have nothing to do with MDC, Not that I have any choice anyway as they have made it abundantly clear they will not be honouring warranties on the Camel brand.
Title: Re: Armadillo and Customline campers under Administration
Post by: rockygu4.8 on March 17, 2017, 03:01:07 PM
Update ....Well it's been a turbulent couple of days. Patrol overheated earlier in the week which we tracked down as a flogged out fan hub. Then next day the dreaded phone call we all fear - Administrator's! Couldn't get a hub locally so ended up taking it off the brother in laws car it's a 4.8 also. Turns out he's running a Toyota 4.2 fan and hub. Works well a little noisier but pulls Shit tons more air so I'm keeping his and will buy him another set. It's only 6 mths old.

Now back to the camper after several discussions with the administrators it was made abundantly clear that should i wish to get my camper back it would be in my interest to collect it by Friday. So after working on the patrol half the night ( long story ... lots of swearing you know the one , one stripped fan nut ) I got about 90 mins sleep and headed to Armadillo leaving about midnight. My window was 9-12 today. Arrived 15 mins early and waited. Next thing I see a mobile locksmith vehicle enter the compound so roared in after it. Was approached by a guy who I worked out was the landlord. He Informed me the administrators were in the armadillo building which he owned. Apparently the landlord had given them access to midday and that was it so everything was going to auction to be sold off. Not normally the procedure but as the landlord wouldn't play the game things moved real quickly so I was told. Now to cut a long story short the original boat loader that was built not to my plans was still on the trailer. Other items were done and were ok some required painting etc. Much negotiation and haggling I ended up with the loader for nothing plus some other goodies I managed to get thrown in. So all in all some mods still required but hoping we can improve on what's there. It's time for a rest. I'm pretty happy and could have been so much worse.

I feel for many who they told me won't get trailers or work they had paid for. I was probably lucky I hadn't paid for any of my work so if they had any chance to get cash from my trailer they would have to hand it over which was lucky for us.
Title: Re: Armadillo and Customline campers under Administration
Post by: KingBilly on March 17, 2017, 05:54:27 PM
Great news that you recovered your CT.  Could have been a lot worse.

KB
Title: Re: Armadillo and Customline campers under Administration - update..got the trailer
Post by: rockygu4.8 on March 18, 2017, 08:46:59 AM
Just wanted to say thankyou to everyone who offered help to collect or store the camper. Unfortunately this was never going to be an option as I found out yesterday but really appreciate your offers. Just a pity I wasn't able to receive other members property.
My only advice is if it doesn't feel right your gut instinct is generally a great indication. I said to my wife before Xmas something wasn't right with this company. Well now we know.
Title: Re: Armadillo and Customline campers under Administration - update..got the trailer
Post by: InnerCityBoy on March 19, 2017, 08:32:33 AM
Glad you got your camper back. As others have noted, Customline campers are great and they were a good company to deal with in the day ... I bought a second hand Customline a few years and arranged a braked axle and battery box through the company ... Rod and and Maz were very responsive and helpful.

Who is making the money in the CT market? Is it all MDC, GIC now?
Title: Re: Armadillo and Customline campers under Administration - update..got the trailer
Post by: aussieducker on March 19, 2017, 02:43:42 PM
not good, they were just at the Gold Coast caravan camping show with a site and 2 models on display.
Wonder how many orders/deposits were taken. Pretty sure a company cant get this far in the s%^# in a couple of weeks.
Title: Re: Armadillo and Customline campers under Administration - update..got the trailer
Post by: DrewXT on March 19, 2017, 02:51:38 PM
not good, they were just at the Gold Coast caravan camping show with a site and 2 models on display.
Wonder how many orders/deposits were taken. Pretty sure a company cant get this far in the s%^# in a couple of weeks.
You'd imagine that's? an impossible task...  I had been trying to contact them for over 3 months with no luck...

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Title: Re: Armadillo and Customline campers under Administration - update..got the trailer
Post by: Sparkdog99 on March 19, 2017, 06:09:17 PM
Picked up my customilne around oct late last year. Happy enough with the product ( was my second custom line ). But the communication was not great. Somehow I am not surprised.
Title: Re: Armadillo and Customline campers under Administration - update..got the trailer
Post by: rockygu4.8 on March 19, 2017, 07:37:00 PM
not good, they were just at the Gold Coast caravan camping show with a site and 2 models on display.
Wonder how many orders/deposits were taken. Pretty sure a company cant get this far in the s%^# in a couple of weeks.
Yes that was the weekend I had arranged to collect my completed camper and prearranged to collect on the Saturday morning. I was really pissed when I turned up to find the gates closed. When I got hold of one of the workers who was very helpful I lost my Shit when he told me they were closed as they were at the Gold Coast show.
Title: Re: Armadillo and Customline campers under Administration - update..got the trailer
Post by: SEADOO on March 19, 2017, 08:01:49 PM
How the fk can they be at a show displaying a product no longer in production. Knowing their factory is closed.

I really hope they didn't take any deposits from unsuspecting punters.

If the did, what a pack of C-bombs.......
Title: Re: Armadillo and Customline campers under Administration - update..got the trailer
Post by: DrewXT on March 19, 2017, 10:05:49 PM
I must say I'm very grateful that Kelly from Melbourne Camper Trailer Centre is awesome to deal with, and was their Victorian agent, so know I'll be in good hands for anything we want to do to ours moving forward...

Highly recommended to any of the Vic guys who don't already deal with Kelly and Michelle...

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Title: Re: Armadillo and Customline campers under Administration - update..got the trailer
Post by: rockygu4.8 on March 20, 2017, 05:39:26 AM
How the fk can they be at a show displaying a product no longer in production. Knowing their factory is closed.

I really hope they didn't take any deposits from unsuspecting punters.

If the did, what a pack of C-bombs.......
No this was 2 weekends ago I drove to collect the camper that I was told was complete. Turns out it wasn't. Just a waste of 18 hours driving. Point is they would have known whilst at the show you'd think that things weren't good. I can only guess that they required orders to keep going which makes sense
Title: Re: Armadillo and Customline campers under Administration - update..got the trailer
Post by: vladetfu on March 20, 2017, 11:37:04 AM
I must say I'm very grateful that Kelly from Melbourne Camper Trailer Centre is awesome to deal with, and was their Victorian agent, so know I'll be in good hands for anything we want to do to ours moving forward...

Highly recommended to any of the Vic guys who don't already deal with Kelly and Michelle...

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

+1. Kellie and Michelle have been great to deal with.
Title: Re: Armadillo and Customline campers under Administration - update..got the trailer
Post by: Bird on March 20, 2017, 12:20:35 PM
Quote from: aussieducker
not good, they were just at the Gold Coast caravan camping show with a site and 2 models on display.
Wonder how many orders/deposits were taken.
I find this sort of Shit offensive and should be a criminal offense, not that anything would happen to them... it has happened a few times in the past and no doubt will happen again..
Just pisses me when people save for years to get a product - and they get Shit on by parasites that know they cant supply said product - not just campers, but anything.
... but thats the way of the world I guess.

Quote
Pretty sure a company cant get this far in the s%^# in a couple of weeks.
Agree
Title: Re: Armadillo and Customline campers under Administration - update..got the trailer
Post by: scrubber on March 20, 2017, 07:14:07 PM
I bought a Customline camper a couple of years ago and now feel quite priveliged to own one as they are a very well built unit with out all the issues that you have with mobs like voldermort campers etc.  I had a couple of smallish issues with getting the right accessories that I ordered and had to chase them for several weeks.  This became annoying in the end and I have to admit did taint my experience a bit.   There seems to be a common theme developing here which may have contributed to them closing - insufficient communication!  I am a supporter of Australian manufacturing which is one of the reasons that I selected Customline Campers and it is a shame to see them go.

The traditional camper trailer market seems to be shrinking with more and more people buying caravans including supposed "offroad caravans".  Perhaps they needed to move into this space as well. 
Hope there is a favourable outcome for those who have not received their camper.
Title: Re: Armadillo and Customline campers under Administration - update..got the trailer
Post by: oldmate on March 21, 2017, 04:01:24 PM
J
My only advice is if it doesn't feel right your gut instinct is generally a great indication. I said to my wife before Xmas something wasn't right with this company. Well now we know.

I kept saying that about Mirage, but a large amount of people didnt seem to agree. Look what happened.
Title: Re: Armadillo and Customline campers under Administration - update..got the trailer
Post by: monk on April 21, 2017, 12:58:57 PM
I bought a Customline camper a couple of years ago and now feel quite priveliged to own one as they are a very well built unit with out all the issues that you have with mobs like voldermort campers etc.  I had a couple of smallish issues with getting the right accessories that I ordered and had to chase them for several weeks.  This became annoying in the end and I have to admit did taint my experience a bit.   There seems to be a common theme developing here which may have contributed to them closing - insufficient communication!  I am a supporter of Australian manufacturing which is one of the reasons that I selected Customline Campers and it is a shame to see them go.

The traditional camper trailer market seems to be shrinking with more and more people buying caravans including supposed "offroad caravans".  Perhaps they needed to move into this space as well. 
Hope there is a favourable outcome for those who have not received their camper.

I noticed the same with their communication. I bought one in 2015 and for one issue it took around 8 months to get a fix. Other problems took months too. It couldn't have been good for their business.
I've been emailing them since January about a recent issue but I guess I'll have to give up on that now! Happy with the trailer though and good workmanship overall.