Review: Bognor Motors.

DaveyB said:
Well done @BognorMotors another ringing endorsement for a company that continues to do the best for people who weren’t even customers in the first place, if only every company out there were as reliable.
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Thanks Dave, we do try our hardest and are very grateful for the ongoing support and business

Tourershine said:
I think 2020 should be the year of the @BognorMotors T6 bbq ;)
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We are building a new 'pimping' workshop - When complete, this will be on our list

Insert Coin said:
Cannot fault the service, well worth a 2 hour drive. :cool:
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Thanks
 
@BognorMotors
How does your van rental work?
Looking at buying a 4Motion DSG Crafter then putting in a rear seat conversion to make a 6 seater.
I'd rather not own it, renting suits me.
 
We don’t long term rent the crafters, plus you are altering it massively from standard specification which won’t won’t when returning it.
 
Well here's a thread I didn't think i'd be updating :eek:

So, the last few days i've had a knocking noise at the rear of my T6. After jacking it up and investigating, I found both of my rear B14 springs were broken on the bottom coils, which explained why my van had become very stiff and a lot lower than normal.
A quick text to Oli asking if these were still within warranty and he pretty much took the whole situation over himself. I shot over a couple of pictures of the broken springs, and 2 days later new ones were on my doorstep directly from Bilstein.

Fitting the new springs is well within my capabilities, and an hour after delivery, they are installed. The van actually feels better than it has for a while, which makes me wonder if i'd broken one of the rear springs a while ago, but not noticed, leaving the other side supporting the weight, hence both sides broken. The way one side is far more rusty on the break than the other also indicates this.

The amazing thing is my rear wheels were about 10mm from my inner liners, and not once has it rubbed since they have broken.

Fantastic aftercare service from @BognorMotors and a fantastic back up from Bilstein.:thumbsup:
 
Tourershine said:
Well here's a thread I didn't think i'd be updating :eek:

So, the last few days i've had a knocking noise at the rear of my T6. After jacking it up and investigating, I found both of my rear B14 springs were broken on the bottom coils, which explained why my van had become very stiff and a lot lower than normal.
A quick text to Oli asking if these were still within warranty and he pretty much took the whole situation over himself. I shot over a couple of pictures of the broken springs, and 2 days later new ones were on my doorstep directly from Bilstein.

Fantastic aftercare service from @BognorMotors and a fantastic back up from Bilstein.:thumbsup:
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Had a similar experience myself and probably should of posted with some positive feedback here.
One of my new B14 dampers failed (which in its self is pretty rare for these), Oli @BognorMotors got it sorted and me back on the road within a matter of days, no small feat bearing in mind I'm around 250 miles away.
Top service and it's how a company responds to issues like this that tells you all you need to know.
 
I thought some of you might be interested in a review of my new suspension and my experiences with Bognor Motors.

We all know that the suspension on the T6 could do with improvements, I was a little better off than a standard van as I have a 68 plate Caravelle Exec DSG which has the 150 engine and a Revo tune.

The standard suspension was not too bad over all if you tootled about, never tried to drive progressively and didn’t mind the crashing and banging over expansion joints, manhole covers or rough roads. I am used to a decent suspension setup so the hunt was on for an upgrade.

I did consider Bilstein, Koni and a couple of others. In fact I have installed Koni on previous vehicles so I know how good they are. But, I did not want to mess too much with the warranty. After much research and loads of reading and a couple of posts on here which included very valuable help from both CRS and Bognor I decided to look at the VW Accessory upgrade which uses Eibach springs and shocks and I believe the shocks are actually made by KW a very reputable shock/damper manufacturer.

That decision led to the review of who to fit them, a dealer with no known references on how they fit them and whether they undertake a full wheel alignment or a local specialist. A couple of calls and emails later I was booked into Bognor Motors. More on Bognor below!

I have now covered over 500 miles on the new suspension on all types of road, motorway and farm tracks and even into a couple of fields.

The overall impressions is between very good and excellent. You still feel a bump over expansion joints at slow speed but no crashing, shaking or banging. The whole vehicle is very smooth and stable, little lean on corners, turn in is so much better at reasonable speeds, the back feels much more planted and if you do feel a tad spirited you can easily take corners much quicker than the standard stock suspension. I used to try and drive around imperfections in the road or miss big cats-eyes etc, I now hardly ever think about it, just drive, and enjoy the whole experience a lot more. I can’t wait for a long trip through France into Italy once the borders open again and things settle down.

Was the cost worth it - Yes, I’m very happy with the new setup.

So how was the service from Bognor Motors?

Oli at Bognor was very efficient and helpful with his advice and recommendations, he asked whether I wanted ‘to go low’, keep the same height, how I would use the Caravelle, what type of typical loads, types of roads I typically drove on and what I wanted from the new suspension. He then informed me on a few setups and their benefits depending on what I wanted to achieve. After this thorough review I settled on the Eibach Coilovers as they would provide me with the driving dynamics I was after and keep my warranty intact.

When we arrived at Bognor Motors Oli and his team were very attentive and made me and my wife feel very comfortable. They explained what they would do and how long it would take. We borrowed a Shuttle and popped into Chichester and then on to the Downs for lunch and a walk.

When we went back for the Caravelle we were again met by the team who explained what they had done and made sure I was satisfied. The journey home, some 70 miles, felt a little different as the suspension bedded in and it continued to do so for a while. But it soon felt soooooo much better than the stock setup.

Oli impressed me further by an email and call the following morning checking on my satisfaction and also identifying a small possible issue that he wanted to check. To be sure a technician came to me the following morning to check all was OK which was followed up by a call from Oli within 5mins of the technician leaving. Very impressive, Oli had identified a possible issue that I did not know I could have had and arranged a solution before I even knew I might have had an issue. If you see what I mean. That in my book is excellent customer service. Very well done Oli and team. That sealed it for me. Oli will be getting my servicing etc from now on, despite the 140 mile round trip.

In summary I can recommend the Eibach Coilovers and also highly recommend Oli and Bognor Motors.

PS - I have no affiliations with either Oli or Bognor Motors.
 
As the camper build is almost complete, the van is weighing in at 2400kg. A trip to Scotland confirmed my belief that bigger and better brakes were needed.
Oli and his team had upgraded the brakes of a brand new T6.1 so had the OEM big brakes sitting in the workshop. A few messages to and from and a date was arranged.
I also went and had the Revo map applied, thinking that I may as well kill two birds with one stone.

The van was in, done and road-tested before being given back to me with cellophane protection around the steering wheel and gear stick.
They even changed a VCDS coding for me, free of charge, without hesitation.

Whilst Covid has changed how we all do things, the team were great in looking after me.

So a big thumbs up to @BognorMotors. If you’re thinking of having work done, why not go to a trusted garage who are all things VW.

I just wish I’d have had the map done before the roadtrip!
 
Thanks for the feedback. We are really pleased you are happy with the new setup.
 
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Oli @BognorMotors to the rescue!!!
Yet another great bit of service from Oli.

Van failed its MOT today.:cry:. Got a phone call from the garage to say that you could pull the bottom of the Bilstein B14 rear suspension strut off the bush and wishbone mounting! Thinking "who on earth do I call to help me with this one!" since you can't walk into TPS or equivalent and get B14's off the shelf. So I thought - "Oooo Oli may be a good starting point". He suggested sending him a video then he'd know what I was on about and use his contacts back to Bilstein. So I went and took one, all of a fret thinking whole new shock absorbers were going to be needed at the rear. Sent it to Oli, and he diagnosed knackered bushes, and it transpires that you can get replacement pukka bilstein bushes, and just to top off the kind of guy that Oli is, he has said he'll get Bilstein to send me a couple direct.

What a guy. This is even based upon him not having supplied or fitted them in the first place. Top Notch.

My other top tip for today, keep on eye on your rear lower B14 bushes. I don't even carry any weight in my van. Its done probably 25,000 miles since they were installed, and its been only 10,000 miles since its last MOT.

Cheers Oli, you've saved me from a stress induced coronary today.
 
A little review and ‘thank you’ to Oli and his team at Bognor Motors also.

They pulled out all the stops to get an EGR replacement done for me.

Travelled the 110 miles or so yesterday and left at 4:30 to make sure I was there well before the rush hour. I ended up getting caught for 2 hours, a quarter of a mile back from an Amazon arctic that jackknifed and blocked the A27. Got to Bognor about quarter past eight.

As I couldn’t wait in the office due to COVID, they were good enough to sort me a courtesy car for the day, which was great.

They called about 11 to say that it needed a new flexi pipe as mine was cracked, but one wasn’t available until Monday. I explained this was less than ideal as I was more than 100 miles from home and would’ve been at work on Monday.

They made lots of calls and located one in Portsmouth, which meant it had to come past the blocked A27.

Dropped back to them just after 5 and they were just finishing up. As they looked into it further, the other flexi was leaking, so they managed to source one of them also, and finished my van about 5:31 on a Friday evening!

Spot on job, completed under difficult circumstances and well appreciated. I’ll be back for any future work! The mechanic even came out and chatted for 15 mins or so as he was leaving.

Oli, please make sure you pass on my thanks to your team, and to you. It’s well appreciated, and I’d much rather come to your business, as you understand that these are far more than ‘just a van’.

Cheers,

Pete
 
A big thanks to Oli and the team @BognorMotors who pulled the stops out on an already maxed out day to sort out my MOT.

I was due to have a service and MOT at my dealer on Friday, camp in the New Forest for the weekend and then visit BMVS for the DSG TVS upgrade today(Monday) all looked good on paper(my diary) but got a call lunchtime on Friday to say that the bottom bushes were worn on my rear shocks so it was unlikely to pass the MOT and they don’t replace bushes, only whole shock absorbers, and didn’t have any and would be a couple of days to gets them in...
Bugger, that will be an inconvenience as the MOT expires Sunday!
so a quick call to Oli to see if he had any suggestion...
”We stock Bushes, in fact I have a set sat on my desk now, so let’s book you in for an MOT as well Monday”

so that’s what happened today, they sorted it all out and we were on the road by 5..

and the DSG....
well it really is a transformation, so quick out of junctions now, gears properly matched to the speed, I have now seen it in 5th and 6th gear where before it was either in 4th or 7th.
and reverse gear now works! in fact I scared myself when I got home and pulled in front of Mrs Loz’s mini, selected reverse and at shot backwards, where before you had time to count 3 before it started to move I had to get on the brake a bit sharpish.
Even Mrs Loz(who normally rolls her eyes if I talk about mechanicals) said on the way back how much better it felt, so if she noticed it, then it must be good.

Thanks Oli, and please pass on my thanks to your team.
 
Thanks for the kind words.

Great to meet you both, and hope you enjoyed sunny Bognor Regis today.

The TVS is a revelation and great to hear more positive feedback. Wait till you’ve done a few more miles, and it’s got used to your driving style.
Thanks for the business and all the best.
 
Just had an alignment and TVS DSG map done by Oli at Bognor Motors, and I couldn't be happier with the results! Bognor's service levels are first class; Oli is super easy to deal with and very transparent on costs. Never had a written cost estimate ahead of works like this before!

The TVS map makes an astonishing difference. My DSG was staggeringly laggy, which quite frankly was a bit of a ballache and a bit of a detraction from enjoyment of the van. When pulling away from junctions and roundabouts, nothing would happen, then it would suddenly lurch away erratically. Reversing was just an exaggerated version of going forwards, so tight manoeuvres on any kind of incline could be a bit treacherous.

The TVS map has totally transformed the van; it is exactly how i would have wanted it to come out of the box! Had a bit of a play on my 2.5 hour drive back from sunny Bognor and it feels like it's always in the right gear, the accelerator pedal is now actually connected to the throttle and the initial flat spot has completely gone! Tight maneuvers on an incline are as easy as they should be.

I'd highly recommend @BognorMotors and the TVS map to any DSG owners.

Next stop Revo map!

Many thanks Oli
 
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