Off Grid Down Under by MDC
Off Grid Down Under by MDC
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EP 50 | Who’s Really Behind Your Caravan? Warranty, Parts & Compliance Explained

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ABOUT THIS EPISODE

Buying a caravan in Australia? Before you compare floorplans and spec sheets, ask the questions that really matter: who stands behind the warranty, where the spare parts come from, and whether the company will still be answering the phone five years from now.

Steve Zammit is joined by MDC founder and owner Vaughan Hindley, General Manager – Commercial & Product James Field, and MDC owner turned team member Mark Banks of Beach2Bush Adventures. Together they unpack an idea that often gets overlooked: when you buy a caravan, you’re not just buying the product in front of you. You’re buying the business that has to stand behind it for years afterwards.

This is buyer education, not a sales pitch. The team works through the questions every buyer should be comfortable asking in any showroom: warranty, spare parts, stock ownership, deposits, lead times, compliance and engineering. They also explain why MDC welcomes every one of those questions.

In this episode:

  • Why the caravan is only half the purchase, and the people behind it are the other half
  • What a strong caravan business actually looks like, and why an old company isn’t automatically a good one
  • The weighbridge test: will your van’s real weight match its compliance plate?
  • Why reputable brand-name appliances matter when you’re broken down out the back of Bourke
  • Spare parts, technical support and what happens to your warranty if the dealer isn’t around anymore
  • Stock, deposits and lead times: the uncomfortable questions you should ask before you sign
  • What RVMAP accreditation actually tells a buyer, and how compliance audits work behind the scenes
  • FEA-certified trailing arms and independently tested brakes: the engineering detail to look for
  • Does the country a caravan is built in tell you whether it’s a good caravan?
  • What owners around the campfire say makes a great caravan, years and tens of thousands of kilometres later
  • One question each guest believes every buyer should ask in the showroom

Whatever brand you’re considering, ask the hard questions before you buy. We welcome them.

Explore the full MDC range at https://www.marketdirect.com.au — and subscribe so you never miss an episode of Off Grid Down Under.

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IN THIS EPISODE

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TRANSCRIPT 🔗

WEBVTT
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You're not gonna remember the five grand off or the you know, the free fridge that you got on the day, but you're gonna remember the service and the loyalty and the and the relationship you had with that brand through that period.
00:00:12.240 --> 00:00:12.880
So you're absolutely right.
00:00:13.279 --> 00:00:13.919
The lack thereof.
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You just have to be a decent human and anything you do needs to pass the pub test.
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We choose to do what's right, we don't take shortcuts.
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You're the consumer.
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Don't be afraid to ask those hard questions.
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So if you're out there and you're purchasing a caravan, ask the company you're buying from when I pick that particular trailer up, if I take it to a Weighbridge, is it going to show the exact same weight that's on the compliance plate?
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If you are looking at a brand that doesn't have RV map accreditation, no one is coming and checking those things proactively.
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The government's not.
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So who else is?
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I was actually surprised they didn't own their own stock.
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I just thought that was normal.
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I mean, at MDC, everything you see in our 10 dealerships across the country, the company actually owns.
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Real stories, epic adventures, tips and tricks.
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This is the Offridge Get Under Podcast.
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I'm gonna make a better product for you.
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I'm gonna tell it for what it's worth and all of a win.
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We're gonna teach the customers how to use the product.
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Hi everyone, and welcome to another of the Off-Grid Down Under Podcasts.
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Today, the subject matter is very relevant to what's going on into the in the industry at large around Australia, and it's all about your investment in a new caravan and what the dynamic is when you enter into purchasing a caravan and the relationship you have with the person or company that sold you that caravan in an ongoing manner.
00:02:08.800 --> 00:02:13.520
With me, I have the founder and owner of MDC, Vaughan Hindley.
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Thanks for having me back again, Steve.
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And I have the illustrious James Field.
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Thank you, Steve.
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And of course, Mark Banks.
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Welcome, Mr.
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Banks.
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Thank you, Steve.
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Thanks for having me.
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Yes, it's been a good holiday.
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Fresh off the New South Wales muster and a bit of an extended holiday for you, travelling around.
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Yeah, been on the road for about two and a half months in between events, so it's been pretty good.
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It's good life for some, isn't it?
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Well, let's get into it.
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James, you've you've described purchasing a caravan as only half of the exercise.
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Do you want to expand a little bit more on what you mean by that?
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Yeah, sure.
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So it is.
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It's absolutely only 50% of that equation.
00:03:00.639 --> 00:03:12.479
So you buy the product, but more importantly, is it's who you're buying that product from, it's the brand and the key people behind that product is ultimately the most important thing when you're buying a caravan.
00:03:12.960 --> 00:03:17.039
Because you only get that discount once if if that's what you're looking for.
00:03:17.439 --> 00:03:32.319
You're not going to remember the five grand off or the you know the free fridge that you got on the day five years down track, but you're going to remember the service and the loyalty and the and the relationship you had with that brand through that period.
00:03:32.479 --> 00:03:33.120
So you're absolutely right.
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The lack thereof.
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100%.
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Particularly.
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That's the thing people will most do.
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So everyone, like I want to hear everyone's opinion on, you know, picture a customer on the you know, potential customer on the showroom floor anywhere around the country.
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Um Vaughan, what do you think that customer really needs to know while they're standing there?
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What's not on their radar?
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It's interesting you bring this up, Steve, because we just came back from the uh New South Wales MDC Muster.
00:04:04.479 --> 00:04:17.439
You know, three of the four of us were down there, and we had an open QA session with our customers that was supposed to run for about an hour, but went for about an hour, 45 minutes, where they could ask any question.
00:04:17.680 --> 00:04:22.399
And I think one of the pertinent ones was, you know, why should we buy a caravan from you?
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Um, and the customers had already bought an MDC, obviously, but um in the current market where uh things are a little bit slow, I guess the financial viability of a company is very important to customers for the initial purchase, so they do receive their product as they've ordered, but also the service and longevity, longevity, longevity to edit that longevity of the company going forward um for you know after sales support.
00:04:56.160 --> 00:05:03.120
And I guess one of the things that where um that works for MDC when customers have this question is the size of the company.
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When you look at the RAV data, and James might talk about the RAV data more, but that's the amount of uh caravan products that actually go onto the national database so you can actually register that product for a customer.
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Um there's numbers there, and MDC is consistently in the top five in the country, which makes us one of the larger companies that you can buy an RV of here.
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Oh, exactly.
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Now, what do you see, James?
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What do you think is not on people's radar when they're in a showroom?
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It's very uh easy to get carried away about what you're looking at, the bright and shiny, the spec sheet, but you want to be looking beneath the skin, you want to understand the people behind that product, the service, the warranty, who designed the product, where's it being made, how's it being made?
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If the person you're speaking with can't answer those questions easily or or transparently, you've got to start asking more questions.
00:06:04.959 --> 00:06:06.079
Well, that's true.
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And before I go to my opinion, I agree with that entirely.
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When I go to Mark, Mark, what do you think?
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Well, you've been a consumer a number of times.
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Yeah, so for me it was, and I was a slow burn.
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I'm I mean slow, like 18 months.
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I had other vans prior to that, but when I was deciding on my these will probably be my last couple of vans I'm gonna buy, um, it was really about the strength of what it looked like underneath for what I was intending to do, how tidy the lines were underneath, and then it when I was looking into it was like Facebook's was still coming along nicely then, so you could still read comments and see about could you get parts?
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Can you get that?
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And now that I I've um seen all through that now, but the backup you can get through with an MDC anywhere on the road or what parts we have is next level, and a lot of companies can't match that.
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It's interesting because you talk about after-sales service, and we use a CRM company-wide that when people lodge a ticket online for a warranty or they have a question, it actually goes to our team, and we have to renew that every 12 months, and it's very expensive software.
00:07:16.720 --> 00:07:26.720
But going through that renewal right now, we actually have 16 people within Australia as part of the after-sales service team, which is a huge number.
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Um where you know some companies might have 30 or 40 people across the whole company.
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We've got 16 people in after-sales service.
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That doesn't mean there's a problem with the products, it just means that if someone buys an MDC product and we have more than 40,000 customers that have bought through us over the years, when they do need something, um, they can get that support very quickly.
00:07:50.720 --> 00:07:51.519
Well, that's it.
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We I see the data all the time, and and by far the normative the inquiries is for spare parts, and we're talking about spare parts that go right back to people wanting to buy you know covers for their 2009 um box trailer with a tent on it um parts going back quite a long way.
00:08:15.120 --> 00:08:22.000
And as that's the bulk, it's actually quite surprising how few of the inquiries are actually warranty claims.
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Um, we get a lot of inquiry for technical support because you know everything's getting more complex because of what the consumer wants now, more more power, more this, more that, which increases the complexity of caravans.
00:08:37.840 --> 00:08:39.279
So that's expected.
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But I having spent a fair bit of time in the showrooms, my view is what's not on the radar is the differences in the small things between brands and how they're put together.
00:08:54.720 --> 00:09:11.759
And w one thing that just always hits me fair in the face when I look around shows and whatnot is how many manufacturers still get a tube of silicon or whatever and glue solar panels to the roof.
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I cannot fathom for the life of me why anyone still does that if they don't want to have ongoing service problems on and on and on.
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Because we all know that the the panels will eventually cook, they'll start to fail, and with a a much better educated consumer nowadays, they're starting to understand that hey, no, I should be getting more out of this, and then they will escalate their complaints.
00:09:42.639 --> 00:09:49.679
Where we never I can't remember the last time we replaced someone's solar panel unless it was broken.
00:09:49.919 --> 00:09:53.759
Yeah, I don't think we we need to or or have done.
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I mean, gluing solar panels to a roof is simply wrong.
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You shouldn't do it, you should listen to your customers, you should stop doing it.
00:10:00.639 --> 00:10:02.320
If you're still doing it, stop now.
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Um, I don't understand why customers accept it, thinking that okay, within a couple of years I'm gonna have to replace those panels with glass panels.
00:10:11.120 --> 00:10:12.879
And you see all those videos.
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Shinobi off-grid.
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Yes, have you seen all the work he does on that other brand peeling off those panels?
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It's almost dangerous.
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The guy fell off a roof once.
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I wonder if he was taking those panels off a caravan when he fell off the roof.
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Yeah, that that's crazy, but and then there's this hidden thing, and this falls right into your lap, James, is compliance.
00:10:34.080 --> 00:10:50.480
How many times have we seen a new model or new importer appear on the scene and they're doing their their Facebook walk around, and you're thinking, hang on, we haven't done that for years because that's not compliant anymore.
00:10:50.559 --> 00:10:51.440
How can you do that?
00:10:51.759 --> 00:10:54.080
My god, what oh my god.
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Because these people are jumping into it, and they're going to whoever, whatever supplier in China who has zero idea, zero knowledge, especially with the introduction of the most recent RVSA.
00:11:09.360 --> 00:11:10.559
Everything changed.
00:11:10.799 --> 00:11:11.440
For sure.
00:11:11.679 --> 00:11:16.720
And yeah, that that's what scares me for the consumer.
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Yeah.
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And it's not just it's not just talking about suppliers in China.
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I see a lot of that on Australian brands too.
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And I guess one of Vaughan's favourite sayings is you don't know what you don't know.
00:11:27.120 --> 00:11:35.679
And a lot of that is either through genuine ignorance or not knowing, or intentional ignorance uh to get a competitive edge.
00:11:35.759 --> 00:11:38.879
And that's certainly not how market direct group operate.
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And we are a large business, a lot of staff and a lot of products, so our uh appetite for risk is incredibly low, and it, you know, we're just not going to do the wrong things.
00:11:48.480 --> 00:11:57.200
So you're right, there's so many things that we've seen on models being launched, and I'm sure a lot of our competitors see the same, where you're like, you know, why would you go and do that?
00:11:57.360 --> 00:12:03.120
But at the end of the day, these things all end up coming out in the wash, and we speak about this a lot internally.
00:12:03.519 --> 00:12:09.440
It's ultimately, you know, it's it's a sprint versus a marathon, and we're we're here for the the the marathon.
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I the talking on this subject, uh, I want to talk about something I find extremely relevant.
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Is a previous brand, Scamper Camper, and Mick Smith, the owner.
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Mick decided he was going to end his relationship with the industry and close the business down and told me it was because he could no longer get guaranteed compliant product from the factory he was dealing with, and he was sending his HPM or Clipsal electricals over there, double pole switches, and everything to go on his product, and then it would come back with something non-compliant, then he would have to fix it local, and he just said, that's enough.
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And to his credit, he says, All right, well, I'm shutting the business down, and so he stopped supplying product, but stayed open and providing after-sale service to the end of the last warranty period of the last trailer he sold.
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Wow.
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So he did it right, but compliance and not being able to guarantee a compliant product sent him out of the industry.
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So compliance.
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That's another very important thing.
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Um gas compliance?
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Yeah, and just being an honest uh manufacturer, I guess.
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I mean, let's talk about tear weights.
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So the RVSA comes out as you supply a caravan to a customer at handover, that particular van has been weighed and should show the tear weight on the compliance plate.
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Now there are still some companies out there that will completely anything that's not bolted to a van will remove it before they weigh it.
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So annexes, poles, gas bottles, jack jacks, anything that's when they were optional.
00:14:09.679 --> 00:14:11.600
Well, yeah, that's a different point.
00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:17.519
But not including those actual weights in your tear weight is actually illegal.
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So if you're out there and you're purchasing a caravan, ask the company you're buying from when I pick that particular trailer up, if I take it to a weigh bridge, is it going to show the exact same weight that's on the compliance plate?
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And there's some companies out there that are intentionally taking those removable parts that should be in the tear out before they're weighing it, so they can go to market saying that their caravan weighs 100 kilos less than ounce.
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Yeah.
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Which is simply illegal.
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So, you know, we all have to do better as an industry and do it correctly.
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Well, you you know it's rampant when an organisation like uh Department of Fair Trading in Queensland starts spliting and going around and doing m weighing uh vehicles and and trailers uh as part of their job.
00:15:08.799 --> 00:15:37.200
So yeah, I would call it a a rampant problem, but as long as we're doing it right and making sure our stuff's accurate, you know, we can rest because you know, as a well, as employees and managers, we have the responsibility to protect the brand and protect the directors, so they're all shareholders, and so we've got no choice but to do it right, and fortunately we're encouraged to do everything the right way.
00:15:37.600 --> 00:15:44.559
So longevity gets talked about a lot, and you you mentioned it before, but an old company isn't automatically a good one.
00:15:44.960 --> 00:15:50.559
So, Juan, what does track record give a buyer?
00:15:50.960 --> 00:15:58.159
And what would you see as the red flags, even if a company's got a uh a long track record?
00:15:58.639 --> 00:15:59.360
What do you think, Bo?
00:16:00.799 --> 00:16:05.120
Uh look, I think or even green flags to help you choose a company.
00:16:05.440 --> 00:16:05.919
Yeah.
00:16:06.320 --> 00:16:13.600
Um I think being around for a long time is testament to what a company could be like.
00:16:14.080 --> 00:16:28.080
But I think also getting onto Facebook, the owners' groups, and actually listening um to real-world customers, um, the problems that they're having and how they're actually solved is very important.
00:16:28.480 --> 00:16:30.799
Oh, it is, and and important for the development.
00:16:30.960 --> 00:16:31.919
What about you, James?
00:16:32.480 --> 00:16:41.200
I think um understanding the people behind that company when you are doing that research phase and you're talking red flag, green flag.
00:16:41.440 --> 00:16:51.840
And if you just take this podcast episode as an example of that, right now, you've got the founder, managing, director, and owner sitting here actively talking about this.
00:16:52.080 --> 00:16:56.399
He's just driven straight back from the MDC muster in New South Wales.
00:16:56.639 --> 00:17:08.880
You go and find me another brand in that top ten in volume who has a founder, owner, or managing director as active and available to customers and consumer facing than that.
00:17:09.279 --> 00:17:22.319
Well, I I agree, can and I see it, but I'm there when it happens, and Vaughan puts himself in front of thousands of customers each year, uh, and you know, no hot no holds-barred Q ⁇ A's.
00:17:22.480 --> 00:17:29.839
Uh, it that's access you don't see really in any company the size of MDC.
00:17:30.160 --> 00:17:38.000
So, you know, it's an important and but it's how you meet people like Banksy and build great relationships.
00:17:38.079 --> 00:17:45.119
And so what do you see as the the markers uh towards a company that you want to deal with?
00:17:45.440 --> 00:18:02.720
So I I always tell people when I run into them in shows or at the side of the road or at camp, um, just go onto their Facebook page and not not the company's Facebook page, but owner groups and that sort of stuff, and just do a little Google search, use the magnifying glass in the top corner, and just look at the three things really.
00:18:02.960 --> 00:18:07.839
Timber floor, warranty issues, can you get stuff sorted?
00:18:08.000 --> 00:18:11.440
Yes that'll that'll soon tell you who's got issues and who hasn't.
00:18:11.599 --> 00:18:19.200
Um you'll always have someone that have some sort of gripe with something, but the majority will be that, yep, that's looked after, that's taken through there.
00:18:19.359 --> 00:18:27.519
Um but for me, when I watch those people at those um MDC events and it's open SLUTA, you can ask what you want.
00:18:27.680 --> 00:18:33.759
So people are asking you, like, you know, so how is it that you can do it so you aren't paying small deposit?
00:18:34.000 --> 00:18:37.039
Why would people want to be paying deer deposits to get hold of vans?
00:18:37.119 --> 00:18:41.279
And I go, well, that's because this is how that company does business, and it's probably not a very good idea.
00:18:41.359 --> 00:18:50.640
And as we've all seen in the last couple of months, and probably even into last year, there's been some massive fallovers, and I really feel sorry for those people out there.
00:18:50.960 --> 00:18:54.880
Yeah, oh certainly there's some victims.
00:18:55.279 --> 00:18:59.599
I think it also comes back to um how well your company set up.
00:18:59.839 --> 00:19:03.279
Obviously, over COVID, we had a very good time and we expanded very quickly.
00:19:03.440 --> 00:19:07.359
We were able to supply a product to the market, and so we were very successful.
00:19:07.599 --> 00:19:12.640
Um, and so that gives us a big sort of financial backing.
00:19:12.799 --> 00:19:21.119
I mean, if you look at the latest um fallover from Maverick Campus, um, you know, that was the floor plan company taking all their stock back.
00:19:21.279 --> 00:19:23.440
I was actually surprised they didn't own their own stock.
00:19:23.599 --> 00:19:24.720
I just thought that was normal.
00:19:24.799 --> 00:19:30.720
I mean, at MDC, everything you see in our 10 dealerships across the country, the company actually owns.
00:19:31.200 --> 00:19:32.079
It's not floor planned.
00:19:32.400 --> 00:19:33.680
You're not from a car background.
00:19:33.839 --> 00:19:37.680
Well, maybe I need to finance that$40 million and go buy something.
00:19:37.759 --> 00:19:38.319
I don't know.
00:19:39.119 --> 00:19:40.799
What am I gonna spend$40 million on?
00:19:40.880 --> 00:19:42.559
It might as well be caravans sitting in my yard, right?
00:19:42.880 --> 00:19:43.680
Start with a boat.
00:19:43.920 --> 00:19:47.119
No, boats Well, I I've seen it live now twice.
00:19:47.359 --> 00:19:53.680
So next door when they went, and within an hour and a half, that yard was gutted.
00:19:54.240 --> 00:20:02.240
To truck drivers were parking cars out in the street and grabbing those vans because they were offered cash money to run them to a storage facility.
00:20:02.400 --> 00:20:02.720
Right.
00:20:02.960 --> 00:20:05.839
And I I was just blown away, and Maverick was the same.
00:20:06.079 --> 00:20:10.160
Yeah, so we make this uh podcast here at our on top of our Kabulcha showroom.
00:20:10.240 --> 00:20:13.279
You're talking next door X series when they went under.
00:20:13.839 --> 00:20:17.200
And then three doors up Maverick.
00:20:17.440 --> 00:20:22.799
So there would have been eight tow trucks here and they were all busting.
00:20:23.279 --> 00:20:31.279
I was I was a little bit surprised at the stated amount of money that that was over, the dispute over money.
00:20:32.079 --> 00:20:38.400
Because I don't know, I just thought most business owners had that much in their personal savings.
00:20:38.720 --> 00:20:41.440
Well, that's um payroll two weeks for us, right?
00:20:42.480 --> 00:20:46.559
So I hope we have that there, otherwise uh you guys might not be at the next podcast.
00:20:46.799 --> 00:20:48.400
I'll be doing it on my own.
00:20:48.640 --> 00:20:52.319
Uh early retirement.
00:20:53.119 --> 00:21:00.079
Well, there's a lot behind like people see the showroom, they see the shiny campers and all the rest of it.
00:21:00.319 --> 00:21:25.759
I think there's I guess MDC customers get a little bit better look at it than than most other brands, but when you look at how many people are behind that showroom supporting it, which is you know, handover guys, then we've got production, then we've got all our different departments, we've got customer service, we've got technical and all the rest of it.
00:21:27.680 --> 00:21:32.640
How do how does a customer get to view that?
00:21:32.960 --> 00:21:43.200
Do do cut uh people at the coalface in the showrooms need to be talking more about that to give customers a deeper look at the business?
00:21:43.519 --> 00:21:59.759
This is one of the hardest parts, Steve, because you go and look at Facebook pages and social media content from the 150 plus brands of caravans in the Australian market, and you could compare it to us to someone else, and on face value, that content if it produces.
00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:04.079
Presents well and the product looks great, it all looks fair and equal, right?
00:22:04.240 --> 00:22:06.480
But it's exactly as you said, it's behind the scenes.
00:22:06.559 --> 00:22:12.480
You need to understand the business and the company behind that content and behind those showrooms to know.
00:22:12.640 --> 00:22:18.319
So, as you said, we've got, you know, product and technical, engineering, after sales support, warranty.
00:22:18.640 --> 00:22:29.359
Your team, if you're in a reputable business across the showroom floors, would and should absolutely know that level of detail and use that as part of their conversation with the customer.
00:22:29.519 --> 00:22:31.759
At the end of the day, people buy from people.
00:22:32.000 --> 00:22:40.160
So you need to build that trust, and the customer needs to trust in the brand they're buying from, not just fixate on the product that they are buying.
00:22:40.319 --> 00:22:44.000
It's not like you're just going and buying a$80 microwave from Kmart.
00:22:44.160 --> 00:22:49.119
And if it doesn't work, you either throw it in the bin or you take it and they give you another microwave.
00:22:49.359 --> 00:22:55.279
We're we're we're selling a high value product that's highly complex, it needs technical support, as you spoke about.
00:22:55.359 --> 00:22:58.240
It needs, there's no doubt there'll be some warranty things.
00:22:58.319 --> 00:23:00.000
It's always going to happen, and we know that.
00:23:00.240 --> 00:23:03.519
But it's how you're set up to deal with those things when they arise.
00:23:03.839 --> 00:23:15.279
Well, you know, for instances, it's actually realize with what Vaughn said earlier, that the customer service team I'm a part of is actually bigger than our marketing team.
00:23:15.519 --> 00:23:17.519
Yes, marketing team team of eight.
00:23:17.680 --> 00:23:19.279
That's a big team also.
00:23:19.359 --> 00:23:21.119
But also, I just thought of something, right?
00:23:21.200 --> 00:23:24.160
And this might be good, this might be a tip for all our salespeople.
00:23:24.400 --> 00:23:31.440
Is when a customer comes in and goes, How do I know you're financially viable and are going to be here next week, next month, next year?
00:23:31.680 --> 00:23:40.319
They could probably say um MDC has an accounts team of five people counting the money, and they must be going all right if they need five people.
00:23:40.720 --> 00:23:55.200
Well, let's look at that, and and that's been a stabilizing factor of this company, you know, going back 10 years when Richie was in charge of the dollars and cents and um working as COO.
00:23:55.599 --> 00:24:01.519
And let's face it, he's his business acumen and knowledge of the numbers is great.
00:24:01.839 --> 00:24:20.880
And then now with Richie doing other things, we have a new CFO, COO, who, oh my God, like I've never met anyone in my life more astute with numbers, analysis, and able the to work out that data.
00:24:21.119 --> 00:24:27.440
And I can honestly say the last thing I'm worried about with this business is who's managing the dollars.
00:24:27.759 --> 00:24:28.079
For sure.
00:24:28.160 --> 00:24:38.240
And you know, one of the important jobs that Sam does is cash flow forecasting, which might be a new term term for most people or other businesses in industry, but that's super important, right?
00:24:38.640 --> 00:24:49.599
I mean, cash is the lifeblood of any company, and if you run out of you might have the best company in the world and selling the most product, if you run out of cash, you are gone.
00:24:49.920 --> 00:24:59.440
Well, we saw it during COVID um with people not managing their cash flow and not doing exactly that, forecasting cash flow.
00:24:59.839 --> 00:25:09.759
Because COVID hit, and when everyone else was like stop building, stop building, and stopping their orders, we said keep going.
00:25:10.160 --> 00:25:14.079
And then it was oh, we can't ship, fill the car park.
00:25:14.640 --> 00:25:24.079
Plus, we had plenty of stock and MDC identified the increasing material costs very, very early.
00:25:24.480 --> 00:25:38.000
We were the first ones to change our pricing according to the rise in in cost, and everything went up 28-30 percent that bolts into or you manufacture caravans out of.
00:25:38.400 --> 00:25:45.519
And we cruised through that, we had good supply, we had short lead times, and it was happy days.
00:25:45.759 --> 00:26:05.680
But how often did we see people in a position where they says, oh, MDC put their price up, let's fill our order books, and they sold a a stack, didn't put their prices up because we had, and then all of a sudden lead times stretched out enormously.
00:26:05.920 --> 00:26:23.680
Now, having been in business and understanding numbers fairly well myself, that sort of started to look a bit like, oh, okay, well, our margins got real skinny on these because when we sold them, since we've sold them, the price has gone up twenty percent, so that's taken that margin out of it.
00:26:23.920 --> 00:26:42.799
So they'd have to sell before they could pay for the next lot to come over, and then we saw some companies getting out to 18 months in imports, and we know the capacities of the factories over there, like there is not a you know, it's it shouldn't be any much more than 12, 14, 16 weeks.
00:26:42.960 --> 00:26:48.079
So that was a bit of a learning experience about what not to do, I think, for some people.
00:26:48.240 --> 00:26:49.920
Yeah, so and we were fortunate.
00:26:50.000 --> 00:27:08.960
We had all the right people in place, and you know, that was a big as an employee, that was a major green flag for me in longevity, and it it screamed to me that mate, you can be here till you retire, the company's gonna be here, and I find that just as an employee to be very, very reassuring.
00:27:09.200 --> 00:27:14.960
I think at um, you know, at any one time we're sitting on somewhere between 800 and a thousand caravans that we own.
00:27:15.279 --> 00:27:22.160
Um, if the market does get difficult, we can obviously scale that back and turn that into cash um fairly easy.
00:27:22.720 --> 00:27:27.039
So you know, we like to have product there, there's a lot of product we have available.
00:27:27.200 --> 00:27:32.000
Just come to a showroom and you can pick one up on the floor if it suits you and away you go pretty quickly.
00:27:32.400 --> 00:27:38.559
Yeah, that's reassuring given the current events, which uh some have been quite unfortunate.
00:27:38.720 --> 00:27:55.279
So well, I get I'm at the coal face with with inquiry for technical support and stuff like that, but I've got to say the support behind the technical support is is truly fantastic.
00:27:55.440 --> 00:28:07.200
And as a comp comp sorry, as a consumer, I couldn't imagine what it's like to just pick up the phone and say, hey, this isn't working properly, what do I do?
00:28:07.839 --> 00:28:16.880
Whether it I've bought the product brand new or it's five years old or even ten years old, to just ring up.
00:28:17.039 --> 00:28:23.759
And if I don't know, like you know, someone says, Oh, I've got a a camper trailer, it's grey, what's the paint code?
00:28:24.559 --> 00:28:31.359
Vaughan, what was the I ring Vaughan and Vaughan tells me who the manufacturer was, what the paint was called.
00:28:31.759 --> 00:28:33.680
So and I can give that back.
00:28:33.920 --> 00:28:44.079
So the I I guess the depth of knowledge in terms of aging information is extremely important.
00:28:44.559 --> 00:28:52.400
And I think that comes down to again, we're talking about the the businesses behind the brands and the products.
00:28:53.279 --> 00:29:07.039
For Vaughan, this isn't just a business, this is Vaughan's entire life and passion, and that then transcends through the whole management team, leadership team, and all of the staff that can see the vision and can see that passion.
00:29:07.279 --> 00:29:10.400
So we just don't come to work to to get a paycheck.
00:29:10.559 --> 00:29:14.720
We're all very invested in the success of the business and are passionate about it.
00:29:14.880 --> 00:29:20.319
And I think that back to your point, that's why everyone's so knowledgeable because everyone goes above and beyond.
00:29:20.480 --> 00:29:26.480
So many of our staff watch our podcasts and our videos because they're genuinely interested in the business that they work with.
00:29:26.559 --> 00:29:27.759
It's not just a job for them.
00:29:27.839 --> 00:29:46.319
And I think if you go and look at another lots of other brands, they all run these businesses because they see caravans than other caravan brand owners who are wealthy, they'll run this purely as a business model and have no passion for caravanning, off-roading, or the product that they bring to market.
00:29:46.640 --> 00:29:48.240
Oh, I absolutely agree.
00:29:48.640 --> 00:29:53.680
And I I guess as being inside the industry, it's easy for us to see.
00:29:53.839 --> 00:30:06.960
Um, you know, we we we hear and see everything, but from a consumer point of view, um I think well how where do you find the resources to understand that?
00:30:07.200 --> 00:30:18.000
And I guess again, it falls back to the socials and say, oh my God, the owner's there and half his staff are there, and they're hanging out playing soccer with the customers and things like that.
00:30:18.480 --> 00:30:19.359
It's a good point, Steve.
00:30:19.440 --> 00:30:31.440
And I think it's something we've tried to get better as as a business from a marketing standpoint where we are more prepared to pull back the curtains and let people see the people behind the brand and what we do.
00:30:31.519 --> 00:30:38.160
And we've started these new series from our offshore China manufacturing facility of behind the build and showing everyone.
00:30:38.240 --> 00:30:42.480
There's nothing that we are um you know hiding or sweeping under the rug.
00:30:42.720 --> 00:30:48.000
The team are wanting to show and we are wanting to show to our potential customers what we're all about.
00:30:48.160 --> 00:30:58.559
Not just we know we've got a good product and we know our customers like the product, but we know we need to be demonstrating to our potential customers to your point what's behind the scenes.
00:30:58.880 --> 00:31:00.559
It is, it's true.
00:31:00.880 --> 00:31:15.440
On the topic of warranty, let's work through the questions buyers should be asking in the showroom in terms of ensuring that they're going to get warranty support through the period.
00:31:15.920 --> 00:31:16.799
This is a really leadership.
00:31:17.119 --> 00:31:18.079
This is a really good one.
00:31:18.319 --> 00:31:21.119
So at MDC Banks here, you'd know this.
00:31:21.440 --> 00:31:26.640
Where we can, we will always use a reputable brand supplier for key parts.
00:31:26.720 --> 00:31:37.039
So things like electrical systems, refrigeration, air conditioning, um, yeah, all those key appliances and componentry, you know, gas cooktops, hot water systems.
00:31:37.279 --> 00:31:43.839
The reason we do that, one, we know the product is of good quality and will be reputable and reliable.
00:31:44.079 --> 00:31:53.680
The second thing is if there is a problem, the customer doesn't have to come back to MDC to try and get support if you've then gone and used your own white label product.
00:31:53.839 --> 00:32:00.160
You've got a network of Thetfords or Trumas or Dometics or whatever that brand is to support you with that product.
00:32:00.240 --> 00:32:05.279
And I think that's so incredibly important to know when you're looking at a caravan.
00:32:05.680 --> 00:32:17.519
The ticket price may be very enticing, and that's great, but there is a risk associated, and you need to look and go and look at the brands on the refrigerator, the brand on the air conditioner, the brand on the microwave.
00:32:17.599 --> 00:32:20.319
And then you've got to ask yourself, well, who's gonna stock this?
00:32:20.400 --> 00:32:36.240
If I have a problem with my air conditioner or my refrigerator out the back of Burke, he's not gonna have this no-name brand refrigerator in stock, but he's definitely gonna be able to help me if I've got a Demetic or a Thetford refrigerator as an example.
00:32:36.400 --> 00:32:37.839
So that's a big one for us.
00:32:38.240 --> 00:32:58.880
That probably leads to a question that consumers may want to ask because we touched on this with uh the Demetic guys during the podcast about the grey products, where okay, it may be a Demetic product, but wasn't sourced the way we source our products in, you know, it's a partnership.
00:32:58.960 --> 00:33:00.880
We do all the design together.
00:33:01.119 --> 00:33:08.160
Um probably need to be asking if some of these appliances are actually supported in Australia.
00:33:08.480 --> 00:33:09.839
And that that's a really hard one.
00:33:10.000 --> 00:33:18.799
But ultimately that comes down to, in my view, a lack of relationship and trust between your supply partners and your business.
00:33:18.960 --> 00:33:24.240
Like if you're not asking the right questions or doing your due diligence, you're gonna fall into that trap and have that.
00:33:24.319 --> 00:33:36.640
And what you're alluding to is if you do get an out-of-market air conditioner refridge or whatever we want to call it, there's gonna be no spare parts in country for that, and you're gonna left in that similar scenario I was talking about before, where you're not gonna have that support.
00:33:36.960 --> 00:33:42.480
It may not even be um a compliant product for this particular market, even though it's coming from the same manufacturer.
00:33:42.799 --> 00:33:43.039
Absolutely.
00:33:43.359 --> 00:33:46.240
In refrigeration, it might have a gas that's illegal here.
00:33:46.400 --> 00:33:46.799
Yep.
00:33:47.039 --> 00:33:56.640
And I remember years ago it was around um refrigeration and it wasn't tropical rated, it didn't have that tropical testing for the humidity and the heat that we have here.
00:33:56.880 --> 00:34:00.079
Fantastic, you're a brilliant UP European brand product.
00:34:00.160 --> 00:34:03.759
The product wasn't the problem, it was the market suitability that was the problem.
00:34:04.319 --> 00:34:04.799
Yeah.
00:34:05.839 --> 00:34:06.720
What can you do?
00:34:06.799 --> 00:34:14.079
It just and it all boils down to what you said relationships with the suppliers and and and talking about it before you do these things.
00:34:14.159 --> 00:34:28.159
So I I've called the suppliers direct and I managed to get uh plastic shelf inside the fridge, and then on one of the models of the Mark IIIs, I noticed there's a new stopper system on the bridge that comes in and locks it in place.
00:34:28.320 --> 00:34:31.599
And I went, Oh, can I get that to fit my van?
00:34:31.760 --> 00:34:32.559
So I just ordered one.
00:34:32.719 --> 00:34:33.199
Oh, how good.
00:34:33.519 --> 00:34:36.960
And when I and when I got it, the screws or holes were already there.
00:34:37.119 --> 00:34:37.599
Oh, how good.
00:34:37.760 --> 00:34:38.480
So bang, bang.
00:34:38.559 --> 00:34:45.039
So now I have a lock that goes on the bottom, and I don't have to worry about the cable that comes over the top to lock it because I probably went through three or four of them.
00:34:45.519 --> 00:34:51.039
They were all my issues with bottles of wine banging on the fridge door and pushing it out, breaking the strap.
00:34:51.119 --> 00:34:56.800
So by doing that little update, and that was direct from them, and they sent it straight to my home, fitted it in there, it was no drama.
00:34:57.039 --> 00:35:08.239
I'm not sure if we've spoken about this before uh Banksy, but that particular feature on the Thetford fridge you're talking about was actually due to our feedback as a customer of Thetford.
00:35:08.400 --> 00:35:17.440
Over many years we've discussed that with them, and before that change to the Thetford fridge, we used to fit our own locks to the fridge doors for that reason.
00:35:17.679 --> 00:35:29.360
And it's because we have a very strong, long-standing relationship with Thetford globally, where they've listened to our feedback and gone and developed this little travel uh lock for off-road use, which is great for us.
00:35:29.519 --> 00:35:36.079
The unfortunate side effect is all the other customers obviously get our passively get the benefit that we uh recommended.
00:35:36.239 --> 00:35:37.039
So it is what it is.
00:35:37.280 --> 00:35:39.440
Yeah, so we sort of better the industry over time.
00:35:39.840 --> 00:35:45.199
And I mean, with those relationships, you have the warranty backup, but also you can get exclusive opportunities.
00:35:45.440 --> 00:35:54.639
So if you look at that food, there's a particular three-burner stove that we leave we use in the US that works really well at high altitudes because you need to have that over there.
00:35:54.880 --> 00:35:57.679
That's actually exclusive to us in the US market.
00:35:58.079 --> 00:36:07.920
And if you look at the new MK448-volt system, the projector unit that everyone wants, you know, we've got exclusivity of direct china supply to the end of this year.
00:36:08.239 --> 00:36:09.039
We do, that's right.
00:36:09.119 --> 00:36:14.400
And only that only comes through that long-standing relationship and trust, otherwise, there's no interest in that.
00:36:14.559 --> 00:36:19.920
And the Thetford cooktop you're talking about in the US, our dealers love that unit so much.
00:36:20.079 --> 00:36:30.400
What had happened is we had a discussion with Thetford about it, they were looking at um winding that model back in that market, and we go, our custom our dealers and our customers love this product.
00:36:30.639 --> 00:36:31.679
Can we rediscuss?
00:36:32.000 --> 00:36:35.519
And as Vaughan said, they were like, Yeah, absolutely, you're an important customer.
00:36:35.599 --> 00:36:39.679
Let's look at what that looks like, and now they make that specifically for us for the US.
00:36:40.000 --> 00:36:40.800
That's brilliant.
00:36:40.960 --> 00:36:42.320
Now, spare parts.
00:36:42.480 --> 00:36:58.639
Now I I know from history that was something that you particularly took an interest in building up through MDC because when we go back historically, going back 15 years, etc., spare parts were a problem.
00:36:59.039 --> 00:37:09.199
But as all the rogue companies that would come, would bring in a camper trailer and they would sell it, they wouldn't have any spare parts for it, so you couldn't fix it.
00:37:09.360 --> 00:37:13.440
Like these things are off-road, they're gonna get beaten up, they need to have spare parts, right?
00:37:13.599 --> 00:37:20.079
And also um some of these other guys that have tried, some have failed, fallen over recently, some fell over years ago.
00:37:20.559 --> 00:37:22.400
Um factory hopping.
00:37:22.880 --> 00:37:30.719
Yes, so they would go to various suppliers in China and then they'd buy the camp trailer from here, then next year it's from another place, and next year it's another place.
00:37:30.960 --> 00:37:34.800
Those other companies aren't gonna want to know you when you want spare parts.
00:37:35.199 --> 00:37:39.599
And they're using particular parts that are for their particular trailers and different suppliers.
00:37:39.920 --> 00:37:50.159
But we've had the same um supplier going back since you know inception of the company, and so there's a supply of spare parts.
00:37:50.400 --> 00:38:10.880
For instance, you know, our brake hubs are a priority product for MDC, but we've been using it for so long and we carry spare parts, and it makes it simple for me as the owner to have one specific hub and brake set up across the entire range than trying to cater for 10 or 10.
00:38:12.800 --> 00:38:28.719
But but in terms of volume of spare parts, uh even in over the last eight years, the amount of real estate in our Brisbane factory that spare parts takes up has grown enormously.
00:38:28.880 --> 00:38:40.960
So, Steve, I was lucky probably a year and a half ago, I contacted Vaughan and I just spoke to him about can I bring one of my tours through and let them come through and then we'll go out from that.
00:38:41.039 --> 00:38:43.440
And then he said, How about you bring them along?
00:38:43.920 --> 00:38:46.719
Same thing, ask any question.
00:38:46.960 --> 00:39:00.000
So we took them from the back door, down the side of warranty, across the spare parts, back through production, then went into offices, saw the people in the background, then we went out the front, then we came back, and then we had a little questionnaire thing.
00:39:00.239 --> 00:39:01.440
Off we went to camp.
00:39:01.599 --> 00:39:05.199
Vaughan came along as well, so then those conversations continued.
00:39:05.519 --> 00:39:16.000
Everyone's feedback from that was they would one was the tablet guys when they're doing the QC checking, and the other ones are when they're looking at all those parts, and they were going like, Wow.
00:39:16.559 --> 00:39:19.119
And I said, No, then they're still at the back there.
00:39:19.360 --> 00:39:23.360
And that's predominantly spare parts, that's not production parts.
00:39:23.599 --> 00:39:35.679
Well, then just by chance on that day, um Trumer brought in a a whole heap of um air conditioning units, and there would have been nine pellets dropped off at the door, and everyone was just like, What?
00:39:35.840 --> 00:39:37.840
And they go, Yeah, that's just what they go through all the time.
00:39:37.920 --> 00:39:39.039
It's just constant.
00:39:39.280 --> 00:39:49.840
And um to do that, like to invite outsiders in from front to back and through all the nooks and crannies, um, not many companies I would say would do that.
00:39:50.159 --> 00:39:51.039
It's interesting, right?
00:39:51.119 --> 00:39:52.639
Because And we filmed it all.
00:39:52.880 --> 00:39:56.719
I I pay the bills at the end of the day, I you know, press the button in the banking.
00:39:56.800 --> 00:39:58.559
Yeah, and so I see everything come through.
00:39:58.800 --> 00:40:06.320
We actually bought last week$160,000 worth of Kefremo fans.
00:40:07.519 --> 00:40:09.920
And they're all white and they're all the same.
00:40:10.719 --> 00:40:14.559
And I know there has been knockoffs made in China of this particular fan.
00:40:14.639 --> 00:40:16.000
Everyone knows the Kefremo fan.
00:40:16.239 --> 00:40:18.000
They're a beautiful piece of equipment, right?
00:40:18.400 --> 00:40:20.559
They are expensive, but they work well.
00:40:20.880 --> 00:40:28.320
And so we refuse to cheapen that product, and that's a lot of fans to buy, put in a container, and send to China, right?
00:40:28.639 --> 00:40:30.239
We're a big fan of that product.
00:40:34.719 --> 00:40:43.519
But yeah, it's um I guess that that's something that you know you as a consumer need to need to consider is spare parts.
00:40:43.679 --> 00:40:45.440
Where do you have to go to spare parts?
00:40:45.599 --> 00:40:47.519
How long are they gonna take to get to you?
00:40:47.760 --> 00:40:55.599
If you break something on the Udnadata track and you end up sitting at Mount Dare, can they get something to you?
00:40:55.840 --> 00:40:57.280
You know, that sort of thing.
00:40:57.360 --> 00:40:58.159
It's important.
00:40:58.320 --> 00:41:00.559
And you know, we've we've had emergencies.
00:41:00.639 --> 00:41:15.440
I had uh just last week, um a customer was in, I think it was Darwin and needed bushes in a hurry and made contact on on Facebook.
00:41:15.840 --> 00:41:29.280
Uh they rang me the next day, and I personally had those spare parts in an airbag that same day on the trolley off to Australia Post Express, and they had them in three days.
00:41:30.159 --> 00:41:33.360
So, yeah, it's important, and you know, that's a one-off.
00:41:33.440 --> 00:41:50.559
That was contact through Facebook, but it it's the same service they can get over the phone and you know, get stuff sent urgently because it's all there, and that's what I've always marvelled about is is the amount of and availability of spare parts just in Brisbane alone.
00:41:51.599 --> 00:41:53.920
So, oh what next?
00:41:54.079 --> 00:42:01.519
So, who do I deal with if the dealer sold me the van and isn't around anymore?
00:42:01.679 --> 00:42:02.400
I'm hoping to tell you.
00:42:02.559 --> 00:42:04.800
So that is an important thing for consumers.
00:42:05.199 --> 00:42:08.159
This is uh one, and I've been in industry 20 years.
00:42:08.239 --> 00:42:18.239
I've been lucky enough to be with Market Direct Group for now nearly six of those years, and so I've worked in dealership land before with multiple brands and the brands come and go.
00:42:18.320 --> 00:42:36.400
So I think the first thing to talk about with this particular part is obviously this is about market direct group and MDC, but irrespective of who you're looking at, is we own our showrooms nationwide, we stock our own product, it's not going to have a transient brand come in and out.
00:42:36.559 --> 00:42:40.400
We back our product, so you don't have that risk from that side.
00:42:40.639 --> 00:42:42.719
That's what what you're talking about.
00:42:42.800 --> 00:42:46.880
There is where you've got dealerships that have multi-brand, and that's a fantastic business model.
00:42:46.960 --> 00:42:51.280
There's a lot of choice and options, and customers come in and look at multiple brands, that's fantastic.
00:42:51.440 --> 00:43:00.480
However, if they don't have that relationship with that brand or the manufacturer anymore, it certainly does muddy the waters and make it challenging for that customer to get support.
00:43:00.639 --> 00:43:10.239
Because, Steve, you're familiar with consumer law, the dealer is obligated to help that customer there, irrespective of whether or not that relationship with that manufacturer has continued or not.
00:43:10.400 --> 00:43:22.400
So the dealer, a lot of the time, wears that responsibility because the manufacturer, once they've broken up with the dealer, most of the time they don't want to have help, uh, listen, provide support, whatever that looks like.
00:43:22.480 --> 00:43:26.239
So it becomes very difficult for that customer to get any support.
00:43:26.400 --> 00:43:35.519
And if that manufacturer then moved on and doesn't want to provide any proprietary parts they make, then the dealer can't help the customer, and the customer is left uh in the lurch.
00:43:35.840 --> 00:43:45.039
And quite often the manufacturer won't have any way for the customer to go directly to them for a part or assistance.
00:43:45.280 --> 00:43:50.480
There's not a phone number or or an email that the customer can access to just track them down.
00:43:50.800 --> 00:43:51.360
And that's sad.
00:43:51.440 --> 00:43:58.960
I mean, we're we're here talking about what we do at market direct groups, talk about how we do things differently for customers to understand.
00:43:59.119 --> 00:44:05.840
But at the end of the day, We don't want to ever see any customers in the caravan industry having a bad time with it.
00:44:05.920 --> 00:44:20.960
It's a bad look for all of us and it gives a the industry uh it tarnishes the industry and talking about these companies going into administration and the lack of customer support, it it's a problem that that I guess affects us all indirectly from a reputation perspective.
00:44:21.360 --> 00:44:37.119
Well, uh one of the eye-opening things that has happened with me sitting in that front office now with with the rest of the customer service team is the number of people that come in looking to purchase parts for non-MDC product.
00:44:37.840 --> 00:44:39.039
It is staggering.
00:44:39.199 --> 00:44:44.079
It is probably more than MDC owners coming in to buy parts.
00:44:44.480 --> 00:44:57.039
I think that comes down to like our online spare parts store is incredibly comprehensive because we've invested the resources and the time to photograph every part, to itemize every part, you can buy them online.
00:44:57.519 --> 00:45:05.840
It's something that we do to help our customers, but indirectly, Steve, to your point, it helps other customers, and at the end of the day, that's fine too.
00:45:06.079 --> 00:45:07.519
Yeah, absolutely.
00:45:07.840 --> 00:45:13.519
So that's something that you as a consumer need to be asking while you're in the showroom.
00:45:13.599 --> 00:45:19.599
Is does the company have technical support and spare parts available to you?
00:45:19.679 --> 00:45:21.360
And what is the depth of that?
00:45:21.519 --> 00:45:35.280
Is it some guy who's been in the industry five years, or is it a technical department that have got a an accumulation of 50, 60, 100 years of experience in the industry?
00:45:35.519 --> 00:45:39.039
Because that is a really, really big difference.
00:45:39.840 --> 00:45:45.920
So also I think it's people have got to ask who designed it?
00:45:46.559 --> 00:45:55.760
Is it designed by people who understand the conditions, the needs, wants, and and desires of the Australian market?
00:45:56.159 --> 00:46:03.760
And can I beat the snot out of it in the Australian terms to do what I want to do?
00:46:04.239 --> 00:46:05.519
I think so.
00:46:05.599 --> 00:46:20.960
From my perspective, if you weren't involved in the development phase or the specification phase or the design portion of the product, you're gonna have a very narrow understanding of that product to then help the customer after sales and then educate the team.
00:46:21.039 --> 00:46:46.079
Like we have a, you know, this Steve and Banksy and Vaughan, we have a very strict uh and regimented product training regime within the company for that exact reason, so that everyone across the company, whether it's after sales or sales, marketing, the product and technical team, the admin team, the management team, all go through the product training modules, and that's because everyone in the business should have a good understanding of the product to then support our customers.
00:46:46.320 --> 00:47:13.360
If you are simply a brand that goes and buys a product contract manufactured, whether that's in Australia or or offshore, and you're simply buying 20 of them and you're putting your brand on it, you're gonna have a very, very service level understanding of that product, how it works, why something was done that way, and then naturally you're gonna have a very poor uh experience from a customer service perspective because your team will have no idea how that thing works.
00:47:13.599 --> 00:47:15.760
I don't know what your thoughts are, Banksy, on that.
00:47:16.079 --> 00:47:20.719
Well you you've got to get out and use them really and take feedback from that.
00:47:20.880 --> 00:47:26.960
So that's how I end up being coming along to MBC was I met these two gentlemen at Birdsville there.
00:47:27.119 --> 00:47:45.360
And um I have big plans for those couple of years, and you just get out there and test that product, and I was fortunate enough to come along with you for some of those testing on some of the new models and to put them through the paces, then take that feedback back and then go change, make changes is so important.
00:47:46.000 --> 00:47:52.239
Um, and then we've had these bigger trips of late where you know the last years went up to the Cape.
00:47:52.639 --> 00:47:56.960
Um, that just shows you what the product can do, what it can hold up to.
00:47:57.199 --> 00:48:09.280
Um and I know, Steve, when you cross that river and we in front of everyone, like, no risk, open the door up, put my hand all over the floor, come out and there's no water after your caravan was floating.
00:48:09.599 --> 00:48:11.679
That was uh Nolan's Brook in Cape York.
00:48:12.159 --> 00:48:12.960
Yeah, yeah.
00:48:13.280 --> 00:48:23.280
Now this is something like we have to we have to touch on this is the amount of feedback where people say they all look the same.
00:48:23.440 --> 00:48:28.400
They're all the same, they all come out of the same factory, blah, blah, ad nauseum.
00:48:28.639 --> 00:48:34.079
Now, Mark, you you're like me, where you'll go and look at stuff and you'll look at the detail.
00:48:34.480 --> 00:48:35.280
The practical part of it.
00:48:35.519 --> 00:48:36.400
The practical part.
00:48:36.880 --> 00:48:48.559
Now, something that I found which is uh a very, very, you have to really look for it is an indicator of difference, is trailing arm suspension.
00:48:48.800 --> 00:49:00.320
Now, when you look at our trailing arm suspension, they're not all the same across all the models, and you'll see changes in bracing, additional metal, and all the rest of it.
00:49:00.480 --> 00:49:06.159
Now, to someone who has a pretty good understanding of engineering, that screams FEA.
00:49:06.559 --> 00:49:10.400
That screams designed in good software.
00:49:11.360 --> 00:49:16.639
So that is that is the kind of detail I would look at if I was going out.
00:49:17.440 --> 00:49:20.079
I imagine that you notice this sort of thing as well.
00:49:20.480 --> 00:49:24.800
Yeah, I'm very bad for and the the wife will tell you.
00:49:24.960 --> 00:49:32.800
Um you see something new, you crawl around underneath it, you then take it back and you in your head go, Well, how's that working?
00:49:32.880 --> 00:49:37.360
Because there's a lot of this not trailing arm suspension where it's a side-on suspension.
00:49:37.519 --> 00:49:37.840
Uh-huh.
00:49:38.239 --> 00:49:41.440
I I I still can't get that.
00:49:41.840 --> 00:49:49.760
Um I look at impact marks when you're driving, washouts, um, design of that, I think would be flawed.
00:49:50.000 --> 00:49:55.519
Um it, you know, they might throw airbags at it, but that's only helping it.
00:49:55.599 --> 00:49:57.360
It's not fixing the issue.
00:49:57.679 --> 00:50:05.119
And then just being clean, like the like you say, the extra pieces add into their fish plates, all that sort of stuff.
00:50:05.199 --> 00:50:14.320
I I I saw a van the other day and I looked at it, had the up and down drawbar, and I was trying to go, I don't see any fish plates.
00:50:14.559 --> 00:50:19.280
And then I looked on the inside, didn't see any, and then I'm there going, okay.
00:50:19.519 --> 00:50:23.119
I I couldn't even in my head work out how that's going to survive.
00:50:23.440 --> 00:50:25.360
Well, that's another compliance thing too, right?
00:50:25.440 --> 00:50:30.639
You actually legally have to do an FEA on a drawbar to offer it to the Australian market.
00:50:31.039 --> 00:50:35.199
And if something's physically flawed like that, they're not doing their due diligence.
00:50:35.840 --> 00:50:48.400
Okay, but that that we have to do, but is there any requirement or testing standard for brakes and suspension systems?
00:50:49.679 --> 00:50:50.639
I'll take this one.
00:50:50.880 --> 00:50:51.840
Yes, please.
00:50:52.480 --> 00:50:55.519
The yes to a point for braking.
00:50:55.599 --> 00:50:59.039
However, it's very nondescript for trailer braking.
00:50:59.599 --> 00:51:13.280
Because of that, at MDC when we went to extreme lengths and measures and got our brake test performance independently certified, uh, which I'm not sure how many other brands would have done that.
00:51:13.599 --> 00:51:14.960
But that doesn't bother us.
00:51:15.119 --> 00:51:24.719
Just because others aren't doing it doesn't mean we would we want to have uh a good experience for our customers and be able to uh have a level of trust in what we're doing.
00:51:24.880 --> 00:51:41.199
So we built a custom test trailer, had a three-ton uh concrete block on it, and then had it independently verified by a uh registered test facility, up to three ton brake performance with our you know rim size and tire size.
00:51:41.280 --> 00:51:45.199
So they're the kind of lengths we will go to to make sure we're comfortable with parts.
00:51:45.360 --> 00:51:47.280
You asked about suspension as well.
00:51:47.519 --> 00:51:50.559
Uh no, that one's a very grey area for trailers around that.
00:51:50.719 --> 00:52:02.480
Certainly has to be, and there's there's stuff in the the regulations around fit for purpose, and you need to be able to demonstrate that it is rated appropriately for the trailer, but you can you can take out of that what you will.
00:52:02.559 --> 00:52:09.440
But we go, I guess, above and beyond most others where you mentioned before we've got mentioned many variants of trailing arms.
00:52:09.519 --> 00:52:15.440
I think we've got, I think we'd have 15 to 16 different variants of trailing arms.
00:52:15.599 --> 00:52:19.199
Now with the gold class range as well, we've got some airbag um arms as well.
00:52:19.440 --> 00:52:27.440
Every single one of those are, of course, real-world tested, but also uh fully FEA certified by a registered um engineering facility as well.
00:52:27.760 --> 00:52:42.000
Yeah, so it's a bit scary when you look at half a dozen different brands in with models ranging from 10 to you know, 18, 20 foot, and they're all identical.
00:52:42.320 --> 00:52:51.039
Every trailing arm is identical, so I guess that's something for consumers to have a bit of a look at and and ask questions around it.
00:52:51.199 --> 00:52:54.880
Is it FEA certified and what sort of tests have you done?
00:52:55.039 --> 00:52:59.599
And which all boils down to longevity and safety at the end of the day.
00:53:00.000 --> 00:53:02.079
Quality and compliance systems.
00:53:02.400 --> 00:53:11.280
Now, I think not enough customers ask that question because I I believe that's a question I was really rarely asked.
00:53:11.360 --> 00:53:14.800
Um, you know, once upon a time it was, oh, where are they made?
00:53:15.199 --> 00:53:21.599
But no one ever asks about QA systems and how you manage your your quality and stuff like that.
00:53:21.840 --> 00:53:33.679
Now, with R V Map, ISO, and good in-house practices, it's um that's something that your team's involved in every day.
00:53:33.760 --> 00:53:35.840
And that that's an ever-growing thing, isn't it?
00:53:36.159 --> 00:53:36.559
It is.
00:53:36.719 --> 00:54:04.159
And again, it's a genuinely it's a credit to Vaughan in his desire to invest in that side of the business because it's not cheap to run a product and technical and engineering team, uh, particularly of a of a decent calibre, and we're lucky to have some very talented people in people in our product design, engineering, and technical team, and that's so important though, and it adds value, and then you know, it it swings around about so you invest in it, and then you get a good product and good service in return.
00:54:04.320 --> 00:54:18.559
But um, there's so many things in the background to have to consider and things that we will test, and then obviously in-service things, regulators change or update with amendments, and we need to make sure we're across that.
00:54:18.800 --> 00:54:22.320
And as you know, Steve, we also have our US side of the business as well.
00:54:22.480 --> 00:54:26.800
So we've then got that team that are well-versed in the US regulations.
00:54:26.880 --> 00:54:30.079
So we we run, I guess, dual function across the business for that.
00:54:30.400 --> 00:54:43.280
So RV map uh adds immense value to our business, more so in the sense that we've got a trusted compliance partner and consultant that's a third person view for us.
00:54:43.519 --> 00:54:49.039
There, we can talk and consult with them on anything we need to, a bit of a hairy one we don't understand.
00:54:49.280 --> 00:54:52.559
Regulations sometimes are very vague in the way they're written.
00:54:52.719 --> 00:54:54.960
So interpretation is quite challenging.
00:54:55.119 --> 00:55:04.480
So they are such a good resource to go to because they may have heard this same question 10 times and have already checked with the regulators and found out, they'll support us on certain things.
00:55:04.639 --> 00:55:21.519
Plus, we get uh audited regularly across our product, not just at caravan shows, but they'll come to our head office, do desktop audits on our quality management systems, do full product compliance audits, and some of these audits are up to 250 points of compliance items they're checking against.
00:55:21.760 --> 00:55:28.880
And if you are looking at a brand that doesn't have RV map accreditation, no one is coming and checking those things proactively.
00:55:29.039 --> 00:55:30.000
The government's not.
00:55:30.320 --> 00:55:31.119
So who else is?
00:55:31.440 --> 00:55:33.360
That was something that happened at a show.
00:55:33.519 --> 00:55:35.599
I was actually went and got something.
00:55:36.000 --> 00:55:41.920
I I was sitting overlooking the oval and like everyone's there, there's brands everywhere.
00:55:42.079 --> 00:55:53.280
And I was having a bit of a a casual chat to a to a gent who was approaching retirement, and he actually said to me, He says, Oh, where do you start?
00:55:53.760 --> 00:55:54.400
What do you do?
00:55:54.480 --> 00:55:58.639
How do how do you know where to start looking at this?
00:55:58.719 --> 00:56:01.440
And I thought, well, I'll give it my best shot.
00:56:01.679 --> 00:56:04.559
I said, Well, off-road, on-road.
00:56:05.039 --> 00:56:10.239
I said, if you go off-road, you diminish the the numbers greatly.
00:56:11.039 --> 00:56:27.519
I said, but whatever you decide, go to the RV Map list of accredited uh manufacturers and start there, because that is the highest minimum standard.
00:56:27.840 --> 00:56:40.159
So you know there is there is a s a minimum standard that is of high value, but they must be compliant, they must meet all this criteria before they can put that badge on it.
00:56:40.320 --> 00:56:46.079
So that was all I could really tell him because we're looking at a hundred plus manufacturers in one show.
00:56:46.480 --> 00:56:53.599
So it speaks sorry, it speaks a lot about the brand, I think, too, for anyone who participates in the RV Map program.
00:56:53.760 --> 00:56:56.559
First and foremost, it's not easy to get accredited.
00:56:56.800 --> 00:57:16.960
Um, secondly, any business that voluntarily puts their hand up to be scrutinized to the level that you are as part of RV Map and financially contribute to the program to be a part of it, you've got to be seen as a good moral citizen compared to some other that have no interest in uh participating in such a program.
00:57:17.360 --> 00:57:24.400
So at the shows, James, I mentioned to you once before I turned up doing bumping and there's all these guys crawling on our vans.
00:57:24.559 --> 00:57:28.400
So are they part of the R V Map or are they part of association checking?
00:57:28.480 --> 00:57:29.360
What and what are they looking for?
00:57:29.679 --> 00:57:30.400
It's a great question.
00:57:30.559 --> 00:57:52.559
And I think this this is a fantastic thing that the broader industry associations have done ultimately with better consumer outcomes in mind, is all of the state association run caravan shows around the country, contract the R V Map compliance engineers to come and randomly audit all exhibitors at that show to a set checklist of things they're checking.
00:57:52.800 --> 00:57:58.960
Then they provide the information back to the show organizers if there's some problems, they'll then then discuss.
00:57:59.039 --> 00:58:13.199
And you know, some of those things will result in uh product being removed for a sho from a show, uh concerns raised with regulators, signs being put on product that it's not for sale, and that's uh no good for any business.
00:58:13.360 --> 00:58:23.039
So that's where RV map can then add that broader value to the consumer to all product because they are going out and touching and feeling even non-accredited product at those shows.
00:58:24.639 --> 00:58:30.960
Well, something that's probably going to make people a bit uncomfortable to ask are some of these questions.
00:58:31.119 --> 00:58:51.039
Like you're you're talking to a salesperson and and you're trying to qualify the salesperson's trying to qualify you as a customer, and you need to be qualifying the salesperson to know that that business is the one you want to have a relationship with for however long you own that caravan.
00:58:51.360 --> 00:58:57.519
So there's important questions we'll sort of sum up um the questions of the thing.
00:58:58.159 --> 00:58:58.639
Stock.
00:58:58.960 --> 00:59:00.000
Do you have stock?
00:59:00.880 --> 00:59:02.239
Who owns the stock?
00:59:02.800 --> 00:59:04.400
Where is the stock kept?
00:59:04.639 --> 00:59:06.480
What will be my lead time?
00:59:07.440 --> 00:59:09.599
How soon will I have a VIN number?
00:59:10.480 --> 00:59:12.960
How much deposit do I have to leave?
00:59:13.119 --> 00:59:19.760
What are some of the other pointed questions people should have the courage to ask at point of sale?
00:59:21.039 --> 00:59:22.079
What do you think?
00:59:22.800 --> 00:59:24.960
I think you pretty much covered it.
00:59:25.440 --> 00:59:25.760
Yeah?
00:59:27.920 --> 00:59:38.239
Well, Steve, I had a friend that bought a van at a show, and only when they sat down they were told the bad news of that's 18 months away.
00:59:38.480 --> 00:59:41.599
I I myself would have walked.
00:59:41.760 --> 00:59:42.000
Yeah.
00:59:42.320 --> 00:59:58.639
There's when you're at that time of life when you're going, yep, I'm gonna do that, and then they says 18 months, and then they asked for a bigger chunk of coin at the start, and then you're going, well, so my chassis would be, and they were like, Oh yeah, we'll just get in contact with you as you go along.
00:59:58.960 --> 01:00:02.960
18 months in this industry is a long time.
01:00:03.599 --> 01:00:10.159
18 months after the age of 60, 65, is a long time.
01:00:10.960 --> 01:00:25.280
I've I have seen people go from great health to pality of care in that time, that space of time when they're in retirement age thinking they're gonna go traveling.
01:00:25.679 --> 01:00:32.960
Going on our manufacturing figures, in that 18 months, we would have delivered 3,750 caravans.
01:00:33.119 --> 01:00:36.639
So if you do run into that problem somewhere, come see us.
01:00:38.000 --> 01:00:42.159
But it is true, and and that's another thing people are gonna factor into.
01:00:42.400 --> 01:00:53.039
Like, you know, it you have a fall, all of a sudden you've got neuropathy in your legs, uh, or something like that, and you can't do the walking anymore.
01:00:53.280 --> 01:01:09.360
You know, like I'm 62, so I'm I'm seeing friends and you know, people I know going through these life-changing health issues, and so yeah, if you're out there asking questions of the salesperson, don't be afraid.
01:01:09.440 --> 01:01:10.800
You're the consumer.
01:01:11.119 --> 01:01:13.599
They're after your money.
01:01:13.840 --> 01:01:17.760
You have got a myriad of choices of caravan to buy.
01:01:18.079 --> 01:01:21.920
So, yeah, don't be afraid to ask those hard hard questions.
01:01:22.239 --> 01:01:33.599
Now, lots of customers are gonna and they should ask what difference to them does it make as to which country a caravan is manufactured in.
01:01:34.239 --> 01:01:36.239
I don't think it makes a scrap of difference, Stephen.
01:01:36.400 --> 01:01:38.559
This is something I'm quite passionate about.
01:01:39.519 --> 01:01:40.880
I think it does.
01:01:42.159 --> 01:01:50.960
Because I I let me recap my first time I walked into our factory with Vaughan and I went, wow.
01:01:51.199 --> 01:01:51.519
Yeah.
01:01:52.239 --> 01:02:11.280
My first thought is is if our Australian competition saw what a relative at least not that big manufacturer was doing the equipment, where the equipment origins were, there was no junk equipment, and then you look at where we are now with robotics and all the rest of it.
01:02:12.079 --> 01:02:26.960
I actually think I really think there's an advantage here buying out of an offshore factory these days because they've got technology, they've got the finance to back and get the very best of everything new, latest, and greatest.
01:02:27.119 --> 01:02:32.960
Like blink, and all of a sudden we've got five-axis laser cutters and all that sort of stuff.
01:02:33.119 --> 01:02:36.239
So yeah, so I agree with you from our perspective.
01:02:36.320 --> 01:02:38.800
So from a market direct group perspective, absolutely.
01:02:38.960 --> 01:02:50.880
And you know, in previous podcasts, I think we've talked about the the market direct group journey and and Vaughan building Os RV branded products as an Australian made uh what nearly 10 years ago.
01:02:51.119 --> 01:02:52.639
So Vaughan's gone down that journey.
01:02:52.800 --> 01:02:56.079
So yeah, Steve, to your point, you are right from from our brand perspective.
01:02:56.239 --> 01:03:03.679
I'm I'm looking at it more broadly as an industry perspective, and I actually don't think it matters at all the origin of the product.
01:03:03.920 --> 01:03:12.239
What matters is who's making it, what's the brand behind it, what's going into it, and who are the key personnel backing it.
01:03:12.400 --> 01:03:14.480
That's that's the stuff that ultimately matters.
01:03:15.119 --> 01:03:26.400
This fixation on country of origin and the weaponizing of the of the term importer is really disrespectful, in my opinion, within this industry.
01:03:26.639 --> 01:03:33.679
And I have so much respect for all other brands in industry, irrespective of if they're an international product or Australian-made.
01:03:33.760 --> 01:03:40.079
We have some absolutely fantastic Australian-made product, great designs, fantastic brands, iconic brands.
01:03:40.320 --> 01:03:44.960
But there's also some fantastic international product in the market, and it's not just ours either.
01:03:45.119 --> 01:03:51.519
It's it all comes down to the passion and the people and the things that go into that product.
01:03:51.679 --> 01:04:00.960
It's got nothing to do with laying this blanket term around oh, it's it's imported, so it mustn't be as good as if something I buy from here.
01:04:01.840 --> 01:04:14.000
I think historically knowing, you know, I I could see the point in time where MDC's philosophy went to I'm not gonna play the race to the bottom with you guys anymore.
01:04:14.159 --> 01:04:18.719
I'm just gonna build a better product than the rest of you blokes and do my thing.
01:04:19.039 --> 01:04:29.039
And I could see it from outside of MDC, and the first time I had a good close look at the MDC product, it was absolutely apparent.
01:04:29.360 --> 01:04:34.159
And you know, that's a philosophy that still carries on today.
01:04:34.239 --> 01:04:37.119
We're not gonna race to the bottom.
01:04:37.440 --> 01:04:49.599
If you go and look at market direct group, and I'm sure Vaughan would be able to calculate this if he wanted to, but the financial investment market direct group makes in product development and model development each year.
01:04:49.920 --> 01:04:56.559
Myself, I would have spent uh I've done five or six trips already this year to China.
01:04:56.639 --> 01:05:04.159
Um, we send other staff over, we have key supplier partners come over as part of our engineering and prototyping phase.
01:05:04.480 --> 01:05:12.960
There is just as much, if not more, financial investment into the business for product development than any other brand in the market.
01:05:13.199 --> 01:05:22.719
So those looking at an international product and thinking that your offshore partner wears the burden of that, in market direct group's case, absolutely not.
01:05:22.880 --> 01:05:27.280
We are the ones who lead the design, the specification, and those projects.
01:05:27.440 --> 01:05:29.199
They are our manufacturing partner.
01:05:29.280 --> 01:05:33.599
There are other business models in China that are different to that, and that's completely okay too.
01:05:33.679 --> 01:05:38.559
But that's why our product is significantly different to everyone else's, because we lead that charge.
01:05:38.960 --> 01:05:45.119
Oh, we can too, because our IP, like let's face facts, our IP is so well protected.
01:05:45.280 --> 01:05:50.880
Not just anyone can walk in and have a look around the place, and we've got good staff retention.
01:05:51.199 --> 01:06:07.280
But with you know, generic, where you've got 10, 12 companies all importing from the same manufacturer over there, uh Yeah, no one wants to spend their hard earn to benefit everyone else that's buying their trailers from the same place.
01:06:07.519 --> 01:06:27.519
I've I've heard people say exactly that in senior positions in companies, which okay, and that's when it falls back to and and this is the thing customers can can sort of ask questions about and observe who's who's buying out of the same factory now with the new VIN numbers.
01:06:28.079 --> 01:06:38.639
Because they'll they'll have, you know, that one factory, those VIN numbers will look the same across half a dozen different importers.
01:06:38.960 --> 01:06:52.079
And that's something that people need to really try and find out as much information they can about the development of that product.
01:06:52.400 --> 01:07:00.079
Is it a box that's got a bit of cake decoration that varies from brand to brand and and that sort of thing?
01:07:00.159 --> 01:07:02.079
And we've seen it before, haven't we?
01:07:02.320 --> 01:07:13.519
Like the big factories just supplying everyone and they just change things a little bit, so and then they all share the same common problems if it's an inherent problem with the design.
01:07:13.760 --> 01:07:15.280
So yeah.
01:07:15.679 --> 01:07:19.840
More questions you ask, and people should be listing this stuff down.
01:07:20.079 --> 01:07:24.800
Like when you go to buy a caravan or a camper, take a list.
01:07:24.880 --> 01:07:32.239
You know, I've met so many people that have walked into the showroom with a spreadsheet with all the questions they want to ask, and they compare specs.
01:07:32.320 --> 01:07:45.840
And okay, it's great to compare specs, but we we you can look at two different things in the market that essentially on paper are the same, but when you really know what you're looking at, they're far from it.
01:07:46.079 --> 01:07:48.159
They're they're just not the same at all.
01:07:48.480 --> 01:08:00.639
So do you think global manufacturing has given us a greater choice, choice of suppliers and and uh products to put in the Caribbean?
01:08:00.800 --> 01:08:01.119
What do you think?
01:08:01.199 --> 01:08:10.320
Vaughan, you've been here the whole time, what have you seen as uh advantages of offshore manufacturing and suppliers?
01:08:10.880 --> 01:08:14.800
Oh look, these days, right, everything is made in China.
01:08:15.119 --> 01:08:18.880
Anything that's made in Australia, all the components are basically made in China.
01:08:19.359 --> 01:08:21.520
Um we just go straight to the source.
01:08:21.920 --> 01:08:23.680
Yeah, there's an advantage in that.
01:08:23.760 --> 01:08:26.000
And plus you're building direct relationships.
01:08:26.239 --> 01:08:29.840
I guess countrymen talking to countrymen's always an advantage.
01:08:30.000 --> 01:08:34.560
There's no sort of unsure about the language used.
01:08:35.600 --> 01:08:44.079
Even to like materials that we source, there's things that we can source China side that's very difficult to source, Australia side.
01:08:44.159 --> 01:08:48.479
And a good example of that is our aluminium composite external clouding of our vans.
01:08:48.560 --> 01:08:59.119
And if you go and look at some Australian-made products, there is a limitation there that they can only buy them in sheets, and then you've got to use H mould to join them vertically, which again is completely fine.
01:08:59.199 --> 01:09:01.760
It's a limitation of Australian manufacturing, I guess.
01:09:02.319 --> 01:09:12.880
But from our side, we can order up to like our 22-foot caravans, the aluminium composite panel in one piece, one piece, same as our checker plate.
01:09:12.960 --> 01:09:17.039
So you don't see any horizontal sorry, vertical H mould joins for those parts.
01:09:17.119 --> 01:09:33.199
And that's certainly one example of so many other things that having a good China partner enables us to have access to materials, supply, uh parts, technology that we wouldn't have access to here in Australia.
01:09:33.920 --> 01:09:35.119
Yeah, I agree.
01:09:35.359 --> 01:09:37.119
There's something credibility.
01:09:37.279 --> 01:09:42.800
Now, credibility is very important in the industry for consumer confidence.
01:09:43.119 --> 01:09:59.680
And I think ethically we want you know, w I know how we operate ethically because it's my job to make sure that we comply to everything or the consumer law and the consumer guarantees.
01:10:00.159 --> 01:10:05.600
What else do you think are the signs for a customer of good ethics in a company?
01:10:05.840 --> 01:10:16.720
Vaughn, you've you know, you're very uh passionate about being an ethical um business with customers and also our suppliers.
01:10:17.039 --> 01:10:18.560
I think it's pretty straightforward.
01:10:18.640 --> 01:10:23.359
You just have to be a decent human and anything you do needs to pass the pub test.
01:10:23.760 --> 01:10:26.239
It's really not that difficult to do the right thing.
01:10:26.479 --> 01:10:31.199
Um you should know in your own conscience whether what you're doing's right or wrong.
01:10:31.600 --> 01:10:33.039
We choose to do what's right.
01:10:33.119 --> 01:10:34.319
We don't take shortcuts.
01:10:34.720 --> 01:10:37.600
I personally think the easiest road is to do the right thing.
01:10:37.680 --> 01:10:43.600
It may not be the cheapest, but you don't have to try and remember what you said.
01:10:44.239 --> 01:10:53.920
And it comes back to my point before around having a passion for the business you run versus running a business to make profit and make money.
01:10:54.159 --> 01:11:05.920
And Vaughan's passion helps guide that, I guess, that moral compass to a point within the business that the passion overrides a lot of that stuff too, because we've got so much brand passion for what we do.
01:11:06.000 --> 01:11:19.119
That reputation is so important to us that maybe it wouldn't be in that case the best financial business decision, like financially for us, but it's the best moral decision for the customer or whatever that situation may be.
01:11:19.439 --> 01:11:24.560
Well, big giveaway in there is is how often we talk about succession.
01:11:24.720 --> 01:11:32.479
Um, you know, not only in in overall ownership of the business, etc., but also succession in the staff.
01:11:32.560 --> 01:11:41.760
I'm not getting any younger, and we've we've we've all had plenty of conversations about succession in terms of my product knowledge and who will look after my roles and all the rest of it.
01:11:41.840 --> 01:11:44.720
But that that runs across the whole company.
01:11:45.039 --> 01:11:58.479
And I've always thought that that companies that are looking at that kind of succession and the future of the business, the future leaders and whatnot is a company that has longevity for sure.
01:11:58.960 --> 01:11:59.359
For sure.
01:11:59.520 --> 01:12:02.319
So you would have seen a bit of that since you've been here, Mark.
01:12:03.119 --> 01:12:10.159
Look, I I've seen people come off um, you know, touring the factory one day, met a guy, great personality.
01:12:10.319 --> 01:12:18.239
Less than eight months later, I met him out on a trip, and um we went through and it was his uh his chance.
01:12:18.479 --> 01:12:23.920
And now he's on his third role up from where he was and he's out and the sales team now.
01:12:24.079 --> 01:12:26.239
And he does a great job, great personality.
01:12:26.399 --> 01:12:32.640
Then I've met others that have just in the washway that are now out at dealerships and um progressing along.
01:12:32.800 --> 01:12:41.760
And you you can see they got that drive and they've got that passion about it, and that it's easy for them to sell that and it carries on with in their conversations.
01:12:42.000 --> 01:12:58.159
It's the same as when I'm out at camp um from the bash, I suppose, and it's not just the bash, but there's a core group of people from that that all own MDCs, they're all on multiple two, three, some are about to go fourth um van.
01:12:59.279 --> 01:13:02.720
Um you don't get that unless the product's good, right?
01:13:02.880 --> 01:13:03.359
Yeah, true.
01:13:03.600 --> 01:13:19.520
Because they've come back, then they've come back, and then we're still in that circle, and then from that circle, um, in your role, we're jumping on through the group, we're fixing little things, talking to people through things, and that's growing all the time.
01:13:19.760 --> 01:13:31.520
Um we had Shorty away with us this weekend, and we just did an impromptu um let's go do an awning setup from scratch to finish, and all of a sudden there's 22 people standing around looking at you.
01:13:31.840 --> 01:13:40.319
And the feedback from that and just uh demonstrating and showing the product makes those people like Facebook was alive.
01:13:40.399 --> 01:13:44.159
I like because I was driving, I didn't get to see it, and like you said, warns a long trip back home.
01:13:44.319 --> 01:13:47.279
I get home the next day and like wow, look at that.
01:13:47.520 --> 01:13:49.600
Yeah, I had a mile of alerts as well.
01:13:49.840 --> 01:13:59.840
But um, but yeah, looks that's that's something I think we've really excelled at, I guess, over the last probably especially the last four years.
01:14:00.079 --> 01:14:16.319
Uh, with everything, well, you can ring the tech support if you really don't have a good understanding, you know, one of us will will FaceTime videos so we can see what you're looking at and and talk through re restarting batteries and all that sort of stuff.
01:14:16.479 --> 01:14:27.840
So yeah, I think in terms of credibility, we do do everything that we can, but it's it's something for consumers who've got to try and work it out.
01:14:27.920 --> 01:14:34.319
And again, I guess we fall back to socials and the opinions of the people that count, the owners of the product.
01:14:34.800 --> 01:14:40.640
A great caravan, what do you think uh makes a great caravan these days?
01:14:40.800 --> 01:14:43.600
How what does the consumer need to look at?
01:14:43.760 --> 01:14:54.800
It's you know, we we all know the list of brands historically that are fantastic and all that sort of stuff, but you know, things can change pretty quickly.
01:14:56.000 --> 01:15:03.039
What do you consider the things to look for to know your that's the caravan?
01:15:03.359 --> 01:15:07.840
So for me, it's underneath is because I news my product, right?
01:15:08.000 --> 01:15:10.800
Like it's off-road, it's got about a fit for purpose.
01:15:11.359 --> 01:15:25.760
So you I can tell anyone, go crawl under a van and have a look what's underneath, and then think of rocks, river crossings, beach driving, getting stuck, and then look back at that van and go, will that van hold up to that?
01:15:26.000 --> 01:15:28.960
Um and can it do that long time?
01:15:29.520 --> 01:15:39.039
Like I'm probably up to 65,000, maybe even more since this last trip down south and up north, probably in the 70,000 K range in one van.
01:15:39.199 --> 01:15:39.520
Yeah.
01:15:39.680 --> 01:15:42.800
Um that's high mileage when you talk van life.
01:15:43.039 --> 01:15:48.560
And for mine still be running on the original bushes and all that, it's just testament to the product.
01:15:48.720 --> 01:15:58.800
Yes, it's me maintaining maintenance um and looking out for things, but everyone can be taught that, and it's not a very hard process to do, which is what I do at these musters.
01:15:58.960 --> 01:16:01.680
Um, and that makes that product what it is.
01:16:01.840 --> 01:16:07.439
Like, and having the bigger brands inside, so your fridges and your aircon.
01:16:08.159 --> 01:16:18.640
Um, if I needed to, when I was in cairns, I could have got bits and pieces in cairns and had things posted to you by those companies because they all have that um direct post straight out, which is really fantastic.
01:16:18.720 --> 01:16:25.359
Where if you go to those no non-brands, I I reckon you'd be driving home with that part not working for sure.
01:16:25.840 --> 01:16:30.720
Now, we the three of us spend a lot of time around campfires with customers.
01:16:30.960 --> 01:16:32.880
Born, what's your feedback?
01:16:33.520 --> 01:16:40.720
Like, what sort of feedback are you hearing from from owners as to what they consider to be a good caravan?
01:16:42.479 --> 01:16:50.159
I guess the caravan is going to get them to wherever they want to go within Australia and get them home safely is primarily the most important thing.
01:16:50.720 --> 01:16:51.279
Yeah, important.
01:16:51.760 --> 01:17:07.119
And beyond that, what sort of things do you believe that owners are now looking for in caravans in terms of features and that sort of stuff that maybe the the new buyer doesn't know to ask about?
01:17:07.760 --> 01:17:09.039
Yeah, I can't speak for everyone.
01:17:09.119 --> 01:17:11.359
I guess it just comes down to personal preference.
01:17:11.439 --> 01:17:19.680
Um, have a look around at what's available on the market, have a chat to your partner, to your children, what's important to them.
01:17:19.920 --> 01:17:24.399
Um, I think just choosing a caravan that suits your circumstances is the most important thing.
01:17:24.880 --> 01:17:43.439
I think to your question here about from my perspective, about what really matters is it comes down to what do you actually need the product or want the product to do versus getting fixated on it having the best specifications, best battery life versus meaningful specifications.
01:17:43.600 --> 01:17:59.039
So not just specifications because we ticked the box because it had the most amount of solar, but meaningful specifications, meaning we've got the best amount of solar, but we've coupled it with the ability to charge it sufficiently and the ability to store that in a adequate battery bank.
01:17:59.279 --> 01:18:09.039
So when we build any model at MDC, we look at the whole package, a lot of other brands will just go and just kind of shove it in, but nothing really matches all that well.
01:18:09.119 --> 01:18:12.880
Whereas we will try and match the ecosystem to work well.
01:18:13.039 --> 01:18:17.279
So I guess from that point, you're trying to look at what you need to use the product for.
01:18:17.359 --> 01:18:21.359
You don't shouldn't focus too much or fixate too much purely on the spec sheet.
01:18:21.600 --> 01:18:28.479
To that point, that's why we as a business invest so much time, effort, and resources into education.
01:18:28.640 --> 01:18:32.800
So your masterclasses, Steve, are a great resource for our customers.
01:18:32.960 --> 01:18:41.680
But we've got so many downloadable things like our off-grid handbook, our ultimate guide to 48 volt power, and our smarter own on-road buyers guide.
01:18:41.840 --> 01:18:54.640
Those three things, irrespective of whether you buy an MDC or not, those are written more broadly as an educational piece to then help any customer navigate through to get the right caravan exactly.
01:18:54.720 --> 01:18:59.920
That you're not just fixated on the spec, you're actually using that to help guide you to what you really need.
01:19:01.279 --> 01:19:02.000
I agree.
01:19:02.239 --> 01:19:12.159
So better wrap it up, but from each of you, one question you believe every consumer should ask when they're in the showroom.
01:19:12.399 --> 01:19:13.600
Start with you, Mark.
01:19:13.920 --> 01:19:15.439
Oh, one question.
01:19:16.399 --> 01:19:28.000
Um for for me now, because I'm aware of it and I really care about um being on the road and getting home safely, is can my vehicle um tow that safely?
01:19:28.319 --> 01:19:35.039
And the team having knowledge of um which ones do, and if they're not, they get on to someone that confirms that.
01:19:35.279 --> 01:19:35.439
Me.
01:19:35.840 --> 01:19:36.159
Yeah.
01:19:36.800 --> 01:19:47.520
It's a big minefield out there, and over the next couple of years, probably not even the next couple of years, for myself, in the last m month, I've seen two weight checks on my own trips.
01:19:47.920 --> 01:19:53.439
Then I've just discovered that you get fined now in New South Wales for every compliance part you're over.
01:19:53.920 --> 01:20:01.680
So you'd be making sure that your weight and your van is right for what you're trying to do would be my main one.
01:20:01.920 --> 01:20:07.199
We've got some wonderful content on that stuff on our YouTube channel for those that wish to view it.
01:20:07.680 --> 01:20:08.800
What do you think, Jay?
01:20:09.119 --> 01:20:16.640
Right at the start of this podcast, we talked about this: that the fact that the product or the caravan itself is only half of the conversation and the story.
01:20:16.720 --> 01:20:26.479
And for me, that advice is ask the right questions to understand the brand, the company behind the brand, the key people behind that brand.
01:20:26.560 --> 01:20:30.399
And that's not just for the caravan you're buying, so whatever caravan brand that is.
01:20:30.560 --> 01:20:37.359
Also, if you're buying from a dealer, understanding the reputation of that dealer, who stands behind that, who makes the decisions.
01:20:37.600 --> 01:20:43.199
At MDC, that's one and the same, the showroom, and the you know, that we are the brand and the showroom.
01:20:43.439 --> 01:20:48.159
But if you go and ask those questions, we are a proudly Australian-owned business.
01:20:48.399 --> 01:20:48.800
Passionate business.
01:20:49.439 --> 01:21:00.479
At passionate business, the man who founded it still sits actively here, talks to customers, gets on camera, that's got to speak volumes in terms of the reputation of a business.
01:21:00.560 --> 01:21:07.439
And so, from my perspective, if you're going and looking and buying a caravan, you've got to ask those questions further than just about the product.
01:21:07.520 --> 01:21:09.840
You need to understand the brand behind it.
01:21:10.159 --> 01:21:11.199
And you, Vaughan?
01:21:11.439 --> 01:21:13.680
Uh, for me, it's after sales service.
01:21:13.760 --> 01:21:15.039
Um, what is the process?
01:21:15.199 --> 01:21:15.920
How does it work?
01:21:16.079 --> 01:21:19.920
If I do have a problem with my caravan, how do I get it fixed?
01:21:20.399 --> 01:21:24.560
And for me, I would ask directly Ricky Manual.
01:21:27.039 --> 01:21:28.640
Do you have owner manuals?
01:21:29.119 --> 01:21:33.279
Are they original owner manuals and not plagiarized?
01:21:33.600 --> 01:21:45.439
And what learning resources do you provide for me to learn all about my product and use it correctly so I'm not claiming warranty on accidental breakage?
01:21:45.680 --> 01:21:47.039
Well, that's it from us, folks.
01:21:47.199 --> 01:21:48.319
Thank you, all gentlemen.
01:21:48.479 --> 01:21:49.840
That's been wonderful.
01:21:50.000 --> 01:22:04.000
And let's hope that this gives you, as a consumer, the questions and a bit of insight into what to ask when you wander into a showroom or head over to a show and start looking at various products in the RV industry.
01:22:04.159 --> 01:22:05.279
Thanks again for watching.
01:22:05.439 --> 01:22:16.159
Check out all our other stuff on our YouTube channel, jump on the MDC website and check out the events and things coming up in your state and read some of the blogs.
01:22:16.399 --> 01:22:17.760
Thanks again for watching.

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