Hopesy Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 Hi All, our 'van was four years old on November 1st. We bought new. The van has a five year water ingress warranty. Just before our French holiday in September we discovered damp coming through what looks like an awning rail on an Elddis but is a joining strip. This has seeped into the wall and caused "bubbling". I had the the habitation check done twice at the dealers and the last time by another company who come to you. I had these checks done late as we were away and they were about 3 months late. I phoned the dealer and was told to bring it in any time for a check so the next time we were passing to go on a weekend away we called in and they confirmed the damp and took copies of the invoices. They then got in contact with Explorer Group. Since then the dealer has contacted me (very fast and efficient service from them) and told me that because the hab checks were done late (as I've said about 3 months late) they will only honour 25% of the cost under the warranty. The dealer as a good will gesture will contribute 25% leaving me a bill of about £210 + vat. Do you think ths is fair? I can't dispute the lateness of the checks but we were away. ( I'm asking as we've only been motorhoming for 4 years this was our first van and I know theres lots of experience out there). Also to serve as a warning to get your van checked within the time contraints to keep the warranty valid :'( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mel wood Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 Sorry to hear your misfortune but as you say at the end it is a warning to other folk to have servicing done at the appropriate time. There is nothing to stop you having a habitation check/service done early if you will be away at the scheduled time as long as you have the following service done 12 months later. I think that 3 months late is not a good idea if you want to maintain the warranty. (Alternatively why not arrange travels round servicing dates?) I don't want to be contentious and I'm sorry if anyone disagrees but in my opinion the dealer is being more than fair and I wouldn't think that Explorer Group had any legal obligation if you had not fulfilled the terms regarding habitation servicing/checks. It depends what is actually outlined in the terms and conditions of the warranty. (Your post also suggests that you waited until after your French trip and until you were passing the dealer before you showed them the problem. I thought that any posible warranty problem had to be shown to the relevant party as soon as possible after becoming apparent. The longer it is left increases the possibility of it getting worse.) At least you aren't having to pay the full costs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 On the face of it,as you "over shot" the inspection interval,then I suppose the fact that "they" are meeting some of the cost is something I suppose.... However,what work are they carrying out?...are they they just going to dry things out and re-bed the mouldings?... ..and are the external mouldings checked during a "service/damp check" ?(...or do you have to just wait for them to fail,so that it can be picked up by a damp-meter?? :-S ) ..I was always careful to check the mouldings on our previous Compass 120..it had a particularlly nasty and messy(vulnerable!?) looking moulding running across the roof join..:-S Hope they get it sorted fairly sharpish.... ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 Snap their hand off they are being more than fair. As you didn't comply with the conditions of the warranty the Explorer Group or the dealer are under no obligation to contribute anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hopesy Posted November 9, 2011 Author Share Posted November 9, 2011 Thanks guys I thouught that it was fair but perhaps i became a bit cynical after reading so many complaints. And they are relacing the wall board andd at the same time I'll get the workshop to check the other side of the van. :$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 Well,if they are replacing a wall board as well,for the couple hundred it's costing,I would indeed snatch their hand off! ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 A fair offer...In future you will know its better to get damp survey earlier, rather than to be late, and risk losing the warranty *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 JudgeMental - 2011-11-09 12:45 PM A fair offer...In future you will know its better to get damp survey earlier, rather than to be late, and risk losing the warranty *-) I can second that. We have a damp problem with the floor in our van which is 5 years old we did not have the final hab check done, as we thought it a waste of money, as a fault with the gas was not found on a previous check we now have very bad damp in the floor, and Swift have agreed to do the repair, (a new floor) , under a warranty , even though ours is out of time. ( I believe it has been a common fault on chassis built 2005/2006) before the new model came out. They will not pay to get MH to their factory, but will do the work for free. We have to drive MH to Hull and leave it there, and collect again after repair is done. We will have to pay the costs (probably hire a car one way). But at least Swift are doing the work , which we are grateful for. PJay So do keep up with your Hab checks on new vehicles!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 I must agree, I think that they are being extremely generous in offering to pay for anything so get your little trotters on the phone and book it in if you haven't already!!! What I would suggest you check, though, is if your warranty will still be valid as it has a year to run, if it is then I'd suggest you get the damp check done well before the final year of the warranty expires so that if a problem is found it will be fully covered by them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 PJay - 2011-11-09 3:41 PM JudgeMental - 2011-11-09 12:45 PM A fair offer...In future you will know its better to get damp survey earlier, rather than to be late, and risk losing the warranty *-) I can second that. We have a damp problem with the floor in our van which is 5 years old we did not have the final hab check done, as we thought it a waste of money, as a fault with the gas was not found on a previous check we now have very bad damp in the floor, and Swift have agreed to do the repair, (a new floor) , under a warranty , even though ours is out of time. ( I believe it has been a common fault on chassis built 2005/2006) before the new model came out. They will not pay to get MH to their factory, but will do the work for free. We have to drive MH to Hull and leave it there, and collect again after repair is done. We will have to pay the costs (probably hire a car one way). But at least Swift are doing the work , which we are grateful for. PJay So do keep up with your Hab checks on new vehicles!! For info, there's Cottingham railway station not too far away from Swift, probably about 10-15 mins walk (someone from Swift would probably drop you off anyway), so you could travel home that way - gotta be cheaper and quicker than hiring a car. How long have Swift said that they need it for? If not more than a few days, it might be an idea to consider having a short holiday round here, there are a few very reasonably priced B&Bs in Cottingham and lots of nice places to visit in the area, including the market town of Beverley, and York isn't that far away especially with the train link. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesFrance Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 I don't think avoiding 75% of the warranty payment for a mere 3 months is in any way reasonable. why should you be forced to pay for these checks anyway, just to save them more cost by identifying their design and building faults before they become more obvious. Any excuse not to pay up. They should produce a better product and not expect the customer to pay for their failings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sshortcircuit Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 PJay Can you please give an indication as to the extent of the dampness ? I understood that when built the sides of the MH sat on the floor and if the whole floor is being replaced then this is a major task. I have found damp in my Kontiki which is a 2055 Reg and simply it has been down to poor workmanship when assembling, poor supervision/quality control and also failure of the dealer doing the PDI before handing the MH over. Unfortunately the original supplier of my MH went bust and I did have one habitation service done by another dealer. Having looked at what dropped out of the warrenty cover I did not think the check was worth it continuing. I have hopefully repaired my dampness problem but in view of your experience wonder if it is worth approaching Swift Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sshortcircuit Posted November 11, 2011 Share Posted November 11, 2011 sshortcircuit - 2011-11-10 3:39 PM PJay Can you please give an indication as to the extent of the dampness ? I understood that when built the sides of the MH sat on the floor and if the whole floor is being replaced then this is a major task. I have found damp in my Kontiki which is a 2055 Reg and simply it has been down to poor workmanship when assembling, poor supervision/quality control and also failure of the dealer doing the PDI before handing the MH over. Unfortunately the original supplier of my MH went bust and I did have one habitation service done by another dealer. Having looked at what dropped out of the warrenty cover I did not think the check was worth it continuing. I have hopefully repaired my dampness problem but in view of your experience wonder if it is worth approaching Swift Just bumpt this in case you missed PJay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted November 11, 2011 Share Posted November 11, 2011 Hi Sshortcircuit Sent you a PM PJay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted November 11, 2011 Share Posted November 11, 2011 I think you've found an honest dealer, Roger. In truth, the liability to you is his: the warranty is just an offer from the manufacturer, subject to his conditions, which, unfortunately, you have breached, technically leaving him free to walk off whistling. It seems he too is prepared to be more reasonable than that, so all in all, you are doing pretty well with both under the circumstances. Manufacturers are fully within their rights to interpret their warranties to the letter, and some do. If you breach any of the conditions, the whole warranty may be held to be void. There is no test of reasonableness, and you have no come-back on the manufacturer if he takes such a hard line. Your only recourse then would be to the dealer, under consumer legislation, but having breached the warranty terms as you did your case would be somewhat weakened because you would have denied the dealer the chance of a timely repair, and denied him access to manufacturer support through the warranty. So, all in all, IMO, you are being treated quite fairly, though I sympathise over the cost you will have to bear. Next time you get a new van, stick like glue to the warranty terms, because it is always possible the other parties to the deal will! :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hopesy Posted November 12, 2011 Author Share Posted November 12, 2011 Thanks Guys, yes lesson learned and i was just testing the water in case someone thought it outrageous!! Obviously it isn't, and praise where it's due then, as quite often we talk about bad sevice but the dealer is West Country Motorhomes. So in the interests of balance will this thread get pulled now? B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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