Manufacturers and warranties

[Absolutebeginner]

I bought a brand new motorhome three years ago and this year the damp check carried out by an accredited dealer for the make found a cause to fix a damp problem under warranty. That was 3 months ago. After a month or so they said that it was taking a while getting authorisation because I didn't buy it from them. After another month they rang me to say the parts are on order. I have heard nothing since.

 

I am following this up, but it makes me wonder to what extent manufacturers are good at authorising warranty work and supporting their authorised dealers. Which ones are very good, and which ones are not so good? Originally I thought it might be just some remasticing, but...

 

How long is the norm for warranty work to be started?

 

I bought it at the big annual show at the NEC. The dealer I bought it from is a 200 mile round trip away. The manufacturer accredited dealer I want to use is 15 minutes away. I suspect that my local dealer is short of an adequate incentive to perform. I suspect that their workshop capacity is limited and devoted to the manufacturers that support them best.

 

A bit like insurance. You don't know if they are good until you have to make a claim. In this case, is it the manufacturer or the dealer? The resolution will be down to my diplomacy skills, but I do think that manufacturer and ealer support should be factored more into purchase decisions.

 

Other than that, I love the vehicle. Its perfect for us!

[Billggski]

It's a classic problem, motorhomes are complex, being hand built onto a chassis, so like a new home, there are always snags that need sorting.

The manufacturer will be focussing on making the next models, the dealer on moving on their stock, so the buyer needs to be knocking on their door every opportunity to remind them that you want action. But if you are a distance away, and rely on a third party to chase them up, then you are at the back of the queue!

[Derek Uzzell]

Absolutebeginner - 2018-06-08 5:59 PM

 

I bought a brand new motorhome three years ago...

 

I understand that the make/model of motorhome you purchased was a Pilote Galaxy G600L, and I also note from your previous forum postings (beginning in 2010) that you had plenty of motorcaravanning experience before you bought the Pilote.

 

You may well be correct in thinking that the local Pilote dealership may not be enthusiastic about carrying out an under-warranty damp-related repair on a motorhome that they did not sell to you.

 

I’m also going to suggest that, if there’s a motorhome damp-related problem to be addressed under warranty, it’s to be hoped that the motorhome a) won’t have been built in France or b) if the motorhome has been built in France, that the make’s UK agent who is planning to carry out the repair has a VERY good relationship with the French factory.

 

I don’t know how effective your diplomacy skills will be if Pilote in France chooses to drag its heels over supplying the parts required to effect the repair. All you can do is repeatedly follow this up with the local dealership who (as you’ve surmised) may have no persuasive financial incentive to perform the task, nor any contractual responsibility as you bought from another UK Pilote agent.

[Absolutebeginner]

Thanks for your thoughts, and the observation regarding France. Other countries are available! I also note that another post on the Forum about Franchised dealers by euroserve is attracting relevant responses. I had hoped to learn who is the best constructor for warranty support. Perhaps its too sensitive a subject. Should we be thinking Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Slovenia? Or should we be thinking Trigano, Hymer Group, etc?

 

You suggest that I am an experienced motorhomer. Time isn’t a good measure. Miles covered might be better, and we don’t do many miles and we stay within the UK. Thankfully, this has meant that I have not had to rely too much on the motorhome after market. I am not particularly impressed when I do. Its not that they are bad, its just the arms length approach.

 

The Fiat Professional network provides the nationwide level of support that I expect for having spent £60,000 on a vehicle, even though they deal with only the underpinnings. Perhaps they are a bit dearer than desired, but they are there. The manufacturer whose name is on the vehicle may not be quite so well set up. Reaching them can be a nightmare.

 

Isn’t it about time that we stopped shrugging our shoulders about poor performance? If a manufacturer sets up a dealer network in the UK then I expect any dealer in that network to be helpful. Many dealers are accredited to more than one manufacturer. If the service to a customer is adversely influenced by one manufacturer’s poor support I would want the dealer to tell me. After all, it reflects more on the dealer than the manufacturer, so the next van will be from someone else. If you are saying that dealers are focussed on sales and the workshop is a necessary evil, then perhaps I should be looking for someone who just does repairs, not sales.

 

Through reading this forum and the MMM magazine Technical section and through doing it myself I think that I have learned a few things. New van road tests don’t really do more than rank with manufacturers brochures. The details that would influence the choice of one vehicle over another rarely feature centre stage. The technical content of the Forum and MMM are invaluable and essential.

 

If asked, I would advise prospective motorhomers not to buy new, and not to rely on warranties, and to definitely buy only from a local dealer unless you are pretty good at DIY repairs. Be very aware of damp!!! Otherwise most things are reasonably fixable. Some confidence and ability to take things apart and fix them is a must. A relevant and useful handbook would be an improvement.

 

I see that these values are espoused by a number of the Forum contributors, which confirms the need for motorhome owners to have practical skills. But this sort of advice is not clearly expressed in commercial publications, although it is an underlying subtle message. I guess it might affect loans of test vehicles.

 

 

[tonyishuk]

One thing also that can cause a problem of the Cab stops HERE and Habitation starts one mm further on.

 

My experience of using Fiat professionals is that a number just close down in thinking and service, on items that require a modicum of common sense to overcome extensions in wiring for example the rear light clusters, split charging for batteries, other common connection points.

 

(My experiences with mot failure rear fog lights are documented elsewhere on the forum)

 

You need a dealer with the ability to be able to act as a liaison between the manufacturer and cab manufacturers when things go pear shaped and they both say "S'not my problem, it's the other fellow not knowing his product."

 

Rgds

[Derek Uzzell]

Absolutebeginner - 2018-06-09 2:13 PM

 

...I had hoped to learn who is the best constructor for warranty support. Perhaps its too sensitive a subject...

 

 

I’m doubtful that the data are available to obtain the information that you’d like to have, though I’d suggest that (in principle at least and within the UK) a UK motorhome constructer OUGHT to be better at providing warranty support for the conversion part of a motorhome than a constructer that’s based outside the UK.

 

As your Pilote is three years old, presumably it had two water-ingress checks before the check 3 months ago that identified a damp problem (and, possibly, had ‘mandatory’ habitation servicing too during the last 3 years). Were such checks/servicing performed by your local Pilote agent as, if so, it seems odd that Pilote took so long to authorise the necessary repairs?

 

In the early-2000s I agreed to translate Pilote’s French Owner Manual (which was pretty poor!) into English. The most difficult thing was to make sense of Pilote’s (quite short) warranty terms and conditions, but it was plain that Pilote expected the owner of a new motorhome to have any conversion-related under-warranty problems addressed by the Pilote dealership that had sold the vehicle. In fact, when French motorhome magazines publish special issues in advance of the Le Bourget leisure show, the relevant articles normally include a caveat about buying ‘long distance’ as this can complicate matters.

 

Buying local is not always possible, of course, with the nearest Rapido dealership being 70 miles from where I live. And I bought my prevous 2005 Hobby motorhome new from a German dealership with the transaction carried out wholly on-line.

 

Logically, I should buy an Auto-Sleepers or Bailey motorhome, as both constructers are based within 50 miles of my home and there are trustworthy dealerships for both brands even closer. But I don’t want anything built by either converter and, once my (and my wife’s) very stringent selection criteria had been applied, the Rapido 640F was the only contender.

[Bop]

Absolutebeginner - 2018-06-08 5:59 PM

 

I bought it at the big annual show at the NEC. The dealer I bought it from is a 200 mile round trip away. The manufacturer accredited dealer I want to use is 15 minutes away. I suspect that my local dealer is short of an adequate incentive to perform. I suspect that their workshop capacity is limited and devoted to the manufacturers that support them best.

 

Our local Pilote dealer is only 9-miles away from our home in Durham but they won't touch our van because we bought it from SMC in Newark.

 

The funny thing about our scenario is that we wanted to PX our nearly new Autotrail for a Pilote at our local dealer but they refused to take our PX so we had no other choice than to choose our next closest Pilote dealer which for us equates to a 286-mile round trip. This is crazy when you think that I have an actual Pilote dealer almost on the doorstop!

 

The whole dealer system for motorhomes in the UK is a total unregulated mess IMO.

 

Best of luck with your predicament.