Van damaged by dealer - advice please.

[phantom]

Hi all

while our van was having some damp work repaired in the bathroom under warranty last April the bathroom panel under the sink was badly cracked. While a broken mirror was reported to me the crack was not and I did not notice until I got home. On seeing it I immediately phoned and gave off. The service manager at the time took charge and had been trying to get me a replacement either second hand (ours is a 1994 Elddis) and then through a plastics moulder but they either arrived broken or didn't fit.

6 months on the van was taken in to have it replaced but I immediately noticed that it was the same panel just very much tidied up (screws had been falling out etc before) and I pointed it out. The guy said the newest panel hadn't fitted but I got the impression that they hoped I wouldn't notice the difference.

 

By accident I talked to the new service manager and to cut a long story short the old SM had been trying to do the jobs on the quiet not officially because the engineers say that the van had been like that and the owner would likely do nothing. It most definatly wasn't! I have demanded that it all be sorted out officially but the owner is not easy to deal with learnt from previous problems.

 

Has anyone any advice on how to handle this? I would like the panel replaced as it is badly cracked in two places and was their fault or should I ask for compensation. What sort of legal standing do I have?

 

Never had anything like this happen before and unsure how to proceed.

 

Thanks Phantom

[mike 202]

Hi Phantom, you could always try small claims if you can go elsewhere and never use this dealer again. Also name and shame them on this forum, dont let the difficult sod get away scott free.

Good luck

[hallii]

It sounds like they have at least tried to sort it out?

 

Spares for older m/h's (and for some newer one come to that) difficult to obtain.

 

Most glass fibre moulders will make one offs if a reasonable pattern is supplied. They will take a mould and then make a new one from that. It won't be cheap though.

 

Most car body repair shops can weld plastic if it's the right sort, they can then spray it with special paint to match and you won't see the join.

 

Geoff

[Guest peter]

If you can get behind it, put some tape on the front face and laminate the rear with fibreglass tape (woven roving). I did this with the sink in my Rapido which was cracked all round the drain. I completely removed the whole unit and laminated the entire underside of the sink. It's as tough as old boots now and you would n't know it's been done.

[Hopesy]

Can't help with the dealer problem but as a motorcyclist i've had plastic fairings repaired and sprayed with excellent results. it may be worth a quick search for a local repairer in your area if you have to undertake the job yourself. A lesson to all of us when you pick up your van from a dealer about having a good check around, i know i picked mine up the other day from its habitation check and didn't have look around.

[Mel B]

phantom - 2008-11-14 11:09 AM

 

Has anyone any advice on how to handle this? I would like the panel replaced as it is badly cracked in two places and was their fault or should I ask for compensation. What sort of legal standing do I have?

 

Never had anything like this happen before and unsure how to proceed.

 

Thanks Phantom

 

First question - can you live with it? Of can you make it better than it is and live with it? If the anser is yes then I'd look at compensation in stead such as extended warranty, free habitation, fridge service, base vehicle service etc. By them doing this sort of thing it saves you a lot of money but doesn't cost them a lot as it is mainly labour, therefore you're more likely to be able to come to some arrangement rather than demanding outright dosh.

 

When we had a fire in our motorhome, caused by the dealer's incompetent installation of a gas BBQ point, they fixed the majority of the damaged kitchen unit, fridge door etc, but forgot that the worktop itself needed replacing as it had been blackened underneath from the flame shooting out of the cupboard below. We knew it was there, but to be honest unless you went looking specifically for it, you didn't see it. As the job of replacing it was a big one - very labour intensive to remove everything and put in a new worktop then put everything back, we came to a compromise and got a year's free warranty, free habitation and free base service instead. We were quite happy with this solution as it saved us a lot of dosh and when the fridge developed a fault it was fixed for nowt - would've cost us easily over £100, so all in all it was probably worth £400 in real terms.

 

If, however, you can't live with it, or sort it yourself, then insist on them getting it done properly - why didn't the 'replacement' fit? Had they not done it properly, ie got a company who knows what they are doing to make a new one???