Guest John Windwood Posted November 17, 2005 Share Posted November 17, 2005 Hi All Bought my secondhand imported coachbuilt just under six months ago from a very reputable dealer. When we agreed to buy it, I pointed out that a vertical aluminium panel joining strip was coming away at the bottom-told them I was concerned about frame rot. They assured me it would be sorted. When we picked it up, the strip had been fixed back firmly, albeit with a lot of silicone in evidence. I thought it could have been tidier, but added it to my jobs-to-do eventually list. Anyway, had a minor accident to the other side of the van in the same place and after repairing it, thought "I will do the other strip as well". To cut a long story short, the strip was basically only fixed at the top half- about 3 feet of the wood upright has rotted away to nothing! (I would add that I have been unable to find any other ingress or rot anywhere on the van, and it does seem to be isolated to that particular upright.) I have been in touch with the dealer and am awaiting a response from them. They have been good in the past, but I'm not sure how they will handle this. Question-how do I stand legally? It is still under warranty, but because it is nearly 10yrs old, water ingress is not covered. My argument is that whoever repaired the seam prior to delivery MUST have known of the problem. Also, what is the dealer likely to do? Is it repairable or are they likely to try to swap it for another van? (We dont want to lose it as it is perfect for our needs and would prefer repair.) All advice gratefully accepted. Sorry about all the questions, but have only just discovered this and am VERY angry and upset!! Kind regards John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nick Miller Posted November 17, 2005 Share Posted November 17, 2005 I am surprised that a basic damp check did not highlight the problem;so i would have thought the dealer culpable to a degree, My previous 10 year old van with aluminium panels showed signs of damp at the rear.It was traced to a previously fitted and then removed cycle rack securing.The amount of water seeping in must have been minimal.But part of the wood frame and consequently the interior lining board were a mess. Cost£600 to put right, on a winter time do it when you can basis at the local Caravan doctor.The vehicle was then traded for an Autosleeper. Good Luck Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest David Powell Posted November 17, 2005 Share Posted November 17, 2005 Have a read of www.woodrestoration.com It is about clear penetrating epoxy resin. I have heared it is good, but never used it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Simon B Posted November 17, 2005 Share Posted November 17, 2005 I found rot in our last coachbuilt 5 months after we bought it secondhand from a dealer with no warranty (I won`t do that again!). Anyway, we had it independently assessed and they decided that the rot must have been present when we purchased it. With this information we got the dealer to pay for the repair - about £1000. If the dealer had not agreed, we would have gone to trading standards. Best of luck, Simon B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bill T Posted November 17, 2005 Share Posted November 17, 2005 My sympathies, as I have recently had similar problems. The first place I approached, near Banbury, quoted £3000 but eventually I got the job done by Charles & Son in Poole for £400 and I think they did a good job. My roof is made in 3 bays and it was only the centre one that had gone. Essentially, once the wood has rotted and crumbled all the silicone in the world is not going to fix it. They have to remove the ceiling, strip out the insulation and the remains of the old framing, build and fit a new frame and then put in a new ceiling panel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bill T Posted November 17, 2005 Share Posted November 17, 2005 Forgot to add that it is difficult to get anybody to do this sort of work in summer (I think the guy in Banbury quoted a sky-high price just to get rid of me)so get it done soon. As for your legal rights: on straight contract law I don't think you'd stand a chance with a second-hand item and a fault that took months to show up. But I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try your luck with trading standards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest John Windwood Posted November 18, 2005 Share Posted November 18, 2005 Thanks all for your replies. Bill T - my contention is that this problem DIDNT take months to show up-it was clearly present when I bought the van and whoever at the dealership "repaired" it before we collected MUST have known that there was nothing left to screw to, hence all the silicone to fix the alloy strip. When I say rot, approx. 2 feet of the upright behind the O/S cab door is completely missing-just wet dust left!! It does look though that it is isolated to there and probably purely due to the strip leaking over a period of time-no evidence of water elsewhere at all. Anyway, spoke to aftersales at the dealer and we are taking it to Derby (BIG clue there!!!) to have it looked at tomorrow. Fingers crossed there wont be any arguments...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest John Windwood Posted November 19, 2005 Share Posted November 19, 2005 Took the van to the dealer this morning. They were shocked by what they saw and asked us to leave it with them, lending us a car to get home. It will apparently be done by next weekend-result!! Thanks for all the contributions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.