JCS (SW) LTD - Anyone heard of? JCSSW

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Diplomat
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Re: JCS (SW) LTD - Anyone heard of?

Post by Diplomat » Sat Oct 03, 2015 9:16 pm

I'm intrigued by the concept of a 'fresh import' 1996 Bongo (the one with distant views of other Bongos through the windscreen).

Either it must have survived being 'shaken' a good few times or it has been in storage. Surely we get these vehicles because they only have a limited operational lifespan in Japan before being 'shaken' off the road?

Perhaps it's been somewhere else meanwhile?


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Re: JCS (SW) LTD - Anyone heard of?

Post by mellon man » Sat Oct 03, 2015 10:58 pm

Dr Fingers wrote:
digitalgypsy wrote:Oh, have you visited them Derek?

Not yet, but will be down there in 10 days or so.

Derek
I visited this yard about 28 months ago when I first looking for a Bongo I met who was the owner at the time guess he was Eastern European or similar(not very good English) he was with his son who seemed to be the one who did the work on the varies imports they had to get them ready for sale
They claimed the Bongo I had come to see been sold and delivered :roll:
A lot of interesting import's and prices quoted seemed reasonable but all needed work to be ready for sale and the way they were crammed in the yard it was difficult to give them a proper inspection.
He said customers don't usually visit the yard as they sell loads via the internet unseen and they do deliver to any part of country also claimed they have many many satisfied customers
Things may have improved but I walked away not that I felt anything seriously dodgy was going on but the over all set up seemed very unprofessional and that was the only reason that I did not feel at all confident to buy from them.
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Re: JCS (SW) LTD - Anyone heard of?

Post by Dodgey » Sun Oct 04, 2015 11:25 am

Interesting that South Gloucestershire was mentioned. The buyer of mine said she was from there, then an Eastern European man turned up from... Bristol.

They bought my bongo, all above board, except for the fact she made up a story about failing to buy a Bongo due to a bereavement (of the seller's family). They sold it on a day or two later for an extra £1k. Nothing illegal about that but they outright lied, and the chap that turned up tried his best for an hour to haggle me down on a price that had been agreed previously (I didn't budge).

I wouldn't want to buy from dishonest people. It doesn't fill me with trust...
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Dogran
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Re: JCS (SW) LTD - Anyone heard of?

Post by Dogran » Mon Oct 05, 2015 11:12 am

Just to clear up the South Gloucestershire / Bristol thing, whilst the yard is in South Glos its only 2 or 3 miles from the border with Bristol. Its common for people from that area (including me) to say they are from Bristol as South Glos doesn't mean much to people outside the area. I wouldn't therefore describe it as dishonest of the bloke to say he was from Bristol. Having said that, a friend of mine visited the yard over the summer and wasn't impressed with the set up.
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Re: JCS (SW) LTD - Anyone heard of?

Post by mellon man » Mon Oct 05, 2015 1:20 pm

Having said that, a friend of mine visited the yard over the summer and wasn't impressed with the set up.[/quote]
So seems not much has changed in last few years.
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Re: JCS (SW) LTD - Anyone heard of?

Post by diver 66 » Thu Jan 28, 2016 7:39 pm

Hi All i have just joined after buying a bongo, i got mine from these guys JCS so far i have found then helpful and have sorted out a couple of problems i found after a couple of days driving it that i didn't pick up on the test drive , I visited the yard after calling them had a look round at a couple, we then made another visit seeing one we liked had some extra kit fitted heater & microwave ( wish i had changed the radio so any suggestions on that would be helpful as i want to keep the camera ) all done with no problems and said if i find any problems then to call them and they will sort it out.
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Re: JCS (SW) LTD - Anyone heard of?

Post by BigPanzer » Thu Jan 28, 2016 11:57 pm

Hi,

Personal opinion is they are asking way too much for it. Also bear in mind that the standard Mazda kitchen pod is designed for 110v, not 240v.
I got a rust free '98 4wd fresh import with lower mileage from JAL for less than that.

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Re: JCS (SW) LTD - Anyone heard of?

Post by rita » Fri Jan 29, 2016 5:14 pm

BigPanzer wrote:Hi,

Personal opinion is they are asking way too much for it. Also bear in mind that the standard Mazda kitchen pod is designed for 110v, not 240v.
I got a rust free '98 4wd fresh import with lower mileage from JAL for less than that.

Peter

For what are they asking way too much?
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Re: JCS (SW) LTD - Anyone heard of?

Post by mikeWalsall » Fri Jan 29, 2016 5:42 pm

Maybe the original posters query from October last year ..??

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... 6294734855
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Re: JCS (SW) LTD - Anyone heard of?

Post by mberks » Thu Aug 31, 2017 1:01 pm

Hi all

Apologies for opening up an old thread. Just wondered if anyone else had had more experiences with JCS SW in the last 18 months - this is the only place I've seen any sort of review of them?

We're looking at buying a Nissan Elgrand and toying between buying just the import and converting ourselves or buying an existing conversion. From the research we've done it seems as though for a 2004-2005 low mileage import you're looking at £6-8k depending on the exact spec, mileage and quality, while for a full convert (eg with pop-up roof, full wiring including leisure battery + mains hook-up, rock+roll bed + seatbelts, SMEV, fridge etc) you're looking at £18 - £22K (again depending on specs of base vehicle plus quality of components in conversion).

So a bit surprising to see on JCS (SW) ltd a fully converted 2004 Elgrand with 58,000 miles on the clock for £14k (http://www.jcsswltd.co.uk/used-motorhom ... 4064115203) - so four thousand quid cheaper than anything else comparable I've seen from Southampton to Glasgow!

I called the guy today and nothing seemed especially untoward on the phone (although I wasn't exactly expecting him to say "no mate, it's dodgy") but I tend to follow the maxim if something seems too good to be true it probably is... the reason he gave on the phone for their price was that they'd imported the vehicles over a year ago when GPB was much stronger vs the yen (which is true, there's been a 40% increase from the 2015/2016 low to current exchange rates but I'd be a bit surprised if they're the only importer/converters in this position).

If we lived closer I'd just go and check out in person, but as Bristol is fair trek from Manchester it'd be good to know in advance whether it's worth the journey or should stay well clear without even visiting.

Thanks in advance

Mike
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Re: JCS (SW) LTD - Anyone heard of?

Post by mikeonb4c » Thu Aug 31, 2017 1:13 pm

mberks wrote:Hi all

Apologies for opening up an old thread. Just wondered if anyone else had had more experiences with JCS SW in the last 18 months - this is the only place I've seen any sort of review of them?

We're looking at buying a Nissan Elgrand and toying between buying just the import and converting ourselves or buying an existing conversion. From the research we've done it seems as though for a 2004-2005 low mileage import you're looking at £6-8k depending on the exact spec, mileage and quality, while for a full convert (eg with pop-up roof, full wiring including leisure battery + mains hook-up, rock+roll bed + seatbelts, SMEV, fridge etc) you're looking at £18 - £22K (again depending on specs of base vehicle plus quality of components in conversion).

So a bit surprising to see on JCS (SW) ltd a fully converted 2004 Elgrand with 58,000 miles on the clock for £14k (http://www.jcsswltd.co.uk/used-motorhom ... 4064115203) - so four thousand quid cheaper than anything else comparable I've seen from Southampton to Glasgow!

I called the guy today and nothing seemed especially untoward on the phone (although I wasn't exactly expecting him to say "no mate, it's dodgy") but I tend to follow the maxim if something seems too good to be true it probably is... the reason he gave on the phone for their price was that they'd imported the vehicles over a year ago when GPB was much stronger vs the yen (which is true, there's been a 40% increase from the 2015/2016 low to current exchange rates but I'd be a bit surprised if they're the only importer/converters in this position).

If we lived closer I'd just go and check out in person, but as Bristol is fair trek from Manchester it'd be good to know in advance whether it's worth the journey or should stay well clear without even visiting.

Thanks in advance

Mike
Have you thought about trying somewhere local. Two that come to mind are:

Wheelquick , Wigan - https://ebayshowroom.ebaymotorspro.co.u ... RVzA%3D%3D - excellent father and son business with great prices, great after sales care and they used also to offer conversions but if not could probably point you in the right direction

Wellhouse Leisure, Huddersfield - http://wellhouseleisure.com/ who aren't cheap but have a longstanding reputation for quality
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Re: JCS (SW) LTD - Anyone heard of?

Post by Bob » Thu Aug 31, 2017 1:29 pm

Good advice from Mike. :)

Would it be worth paying for an AA/RAC inspection before travelling?

It will cost a few quid but might be money ewll spent. :wink:
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Re: JCS (SW) LTD - Anyone heard of?

Post by Glenda » Thu Aug 31, 2017 3:39 pm

Don't forget to ask for the auction sheet with grading to be emailed to you. Wheelquick and JAL sent them within minutes of initial request.

As to the £ to the yen theory I'd be wary of a car dealer saying that. Be like someone selling their house 40% below current market price because they bought cheap 7 years ago before the market shot up.
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Re: JCS (SW) LTD - Anyone heard of?

Post by mberks » Thu Aug 31, 2017 4:28 pm

Thanks for fast replies everyone.

Mike, I hadn't come across Wheelquick before but will check them out. I was actually over at Wellhouse last weekend - very impressed with the set-up there and quality of the conversion, but their full conversions are just a bit above budget for now. They have an older conversion that's just been part-exchanged back to them that tempted us, but I think we'd rather be happier with a better base vehicle and spend a bit less on the conversion upfront, then upgrade bits as and when we can - rather than start off with an older higher mileage vehicle.

Also visited MPV choice in Bradford (just importers not converters) and was happy everything there seemed legit - the guy showed me the certificates for the cars in stock, let me have a good poke around all the vehicles they had, then showed me the auction they used, the info they have on cars prior to bidding and the bid process etc if we wanted to import something specific. I'd be happy buying from them then converting ourselves.
As to the £ to the yen theory I'd be wary of a car dealer saying that. Be like someone selling their house 40% below current market price because they bought cheap 7 years ago before the market shot up.
Well quite, I was sceptical myself!

TBH we'll probably leave it at JCS (apart from anything else, I've no desire for an M6/M5 trip to Bristol in the next couple of weeks - at least trips to the wrong side of the pennines are scenic ! :wink: ) - though if it is legit someone in the area can grab themselves a bargain...
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Re: JCS (SW) LTD - Anyone heard of?

Post by Glenda » Thu Aug 31, 2017 5:53 pm

Looks good but only a fair price. Wheelquick 2002 Elgrano 54,000 miles £6,999 add 2 grand for roof and 4 grand full conversion gives £13,000. Would be down to colour and which one felt right for me.
Time is a factor too. Deposit down on a Toyota LWB, Hitop, 3.4 V6 ambulance for self conversion. It's frustrating but educational. Last week it's been up past the Horn of Africa, Suez Canal, Cyprus and north of Crete presently. I want to see it to say yes or no. Getting itchy. Lucky I have my Bongo whilst waiting. Good luck. Looks like your research is up to scratch.

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