Where to buy

[SteveM64]

Hi, I’m looking to buy my first sub 6m motorhome. I live in Cornwall and have seen some good deals on new motorhomes up country. If I was to purchase one of these can I get any warranty work services completed locally. I have heard you must take it back to the dealership from where you purchased?

[Derek Uzzell]

It’s usually advised that you buy from a reasonably local motorhome dealership.

 

Your purchase contract will be with the dealership and the motorhome manufacturer’s expectation will be that under-warranty problems will be addressed by that dealer.

 

As work preparatory to the hand-over of a new motorhome involves (or should involve!) a careful check of the vehicle’s condition and sorting out any problems that are spotted, it’s hardly surprising that - if you bought a new motorhome from (say) a dealer in Yorkshire and then expected a dealership in Cornwall for that motorhome marque to rectify faults that should have been spotted prior to delivery - that the Cornwall dealership might tell you to b****r off or at least to put you very low on their priority list.

 

But it really depends on the local dealer. Plenty of people buy new motorhomes abroad for financial reasons and import them to the UK. Some UK dealerships are happy to carry out under-warranty work on such vehicles, while others are reluctant.

 

If you can identify a new motorhome “up country” that represents an attractive deal and there’s a dealership for that marque nearer to you, talk to the nearer dealer to see if they can offer a similarly attractive deal or, if not, what their attitude would be to fault correction on a new motorhome they hadn’t sold.

[SteveM64]

Thanks for that, it’s what I was lead to believe and agree with your points raised re striking a similar deal more locally.

[breakaleg]

Hi Steve,

We bought our current van from Westcountry Motorhomes at Burnham on Sea, living in Birmingham it was a conscious decision.

We spent the first week nearby going to Minehead was the furthest that we traveled, had to go in a couple of times for very minor issues.

We had a problem crop up (oven and grill wouldn't work on gas) this was fixed by a local approved Elddis workshop near us and wcm paid the bill over the phone) other items which cropped up were put right during the annual habitation service which being retired we had a little holiday around.

I personally buy another van from them.

We bought new, so I don't know if you would get the same service with a used van but I expect that you would, we have an Elddis Sunseeker 115 (dealer special) and have been very pleased with it despite the poor comments that Elddis seem to attract, (perhaps we have been lucky) we have bought much more exspensive new van's in the past had had more problems with them than with this van.

Pete

[Hans]

If you buy a motor home On the Black market. You have to face the consequences. You can no longer sit first rank at the dealers under contract. And it can also effect Fiat etc. Like a simple oil change etc.

[Derek Uzzell]

Advice from Camping a& Caravanning Club here

 

https://www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/helpandadvice/gettingstarted/newtomotorhomes/buyingyourmotorhome/

[skaman]

The base vehicle parts, chassis, engine etc can be fixed by your local commercial van dealer, or garage.

There is nothing magic about a motorhome, and any local caravan dealer could fix the habitation part ie fridge , heating etc.

It's basically just a caravan fixed to a van chassis.

[Derek Uzzell]

That may be true for secondhand motorhomes, but - for new motorhomes - under-warranty tasks, software updates and manufacturer recalls that relate to the base-vehicle will need to be addressed by the base-vehicle manufacturer’s agent.

 

The ‘habitation’ element of a new motorhome will be warranted by the converter (Elddis, Swift, Hymer, Rapido, etc. etc.) and the warranty’s terms and conditions can be very restrictive.

 

Then there are likely to be separate warranties (with their own terms and conditions) for major habitation appliances like the fridge and heater.

 

The Wise Virgin buyer of a new motorhome will purchase from a well-established dealership that is reasonably close to where the buyer lives and where there is an agent for the base-vehicle’s manufacturer not too far away.

[Brian Kirby]

To which I would add that the same is true if buying a used motorhome that is still within warranty, or has components still within warranty. The obvious problem is that, as Derek says, the various components all have different warranties, with different conditions, as set by their individual manufacturers, as does the base vehicle, so there is a bit of reading to do to be sure that you have all the relevant information and that all the warranties are still valid, before jumping in.

 

The base vehicle warranty is usually the simplest, and claims can be made at any authorised dealership for the brand anywhere in the EU. (Though you may not always be welcomed with open arms!) If the van is left hand drive, be aware that the "standard" warranty offered within the EU but outside the UK is two years. Many, if not all, vans bought new in the UK come with an additional third year insurance backed warranty, and I don't know whether the cover these provide extends to use outside the UK - though I'm sure someone else will know! :-)

 

The converter's warranty usually falls into two parts.

 

The first part deals with water ingress (usually 5 or 6 years - but subject to stringent conditions regarding annual checks, and in some cases annual servicing, which can only be carried out by a dealer for the motorhome brand, within specified time windows, and which must be verified and date recorded in a warranty book), and;

 

Second, all other items supplied as original equipment, which is frequently for one year from purchase. However, as stated above, items of equipment such as cookers, hobs, fridges, toilets, heaters, power packs/battery chargers, possibly radio/CD players, dashboard sat-navs, (and even TVs if fitted by the motorhome converter), usually come with their own warranties in addition to the blanket warranty provided by the converter. In some cases the individual warranties are more favourable in terms of duration that the converter's blanked warranty. ;-)

 

Awnings fall somewhere between the two, as they are usually fitted by the selling dealer, so will not be covered by the motorhome converter - unless specified by the original buyer as a factory-fit option.

 

The most important of all the above is probably the converter's water ingress warranty because of a) its duration and b) the conditions attached as to when, and by whom, the annual checks must be carried out and recorded to maintain its validity.

 

Not trying to complicate issues for you, but I am aware of people who have suffered water ingress and then discovered that a previous owner has failed to have the checks carried out as required, so have unwittingly bought vans with void ingress warranties. Very annoying, and potentially costly, if it happens to you!