Buying second-hand? Watch those warranties.

[Brian Kirby]

Apropos our straightened times, and people looking to save money, it seems some may now be thinking of buying a second-hand van, when they may previously have planned on buying new. I've just read a letter in the Caravan Club magazine, highlighting a potential pitfall with warranties on second-hand vehicles. The issue raised may seem obvious to some, but I suspect others may not have spotted it, so I’ll explain.

 

The writer had bought, a little over a year ago, a two year old used caravan. Yes, I know it isn’t a motorhome, but read on! :-) The caravan had a six year water ingress warranty - as do a number of motorhomes - with a presumed four years validity remaining. He asked the dealer to service it before collecting it and, having used it throughout the following year, took it in for its scheduled third year service and warranty check. Damp was found, and a claim was made to the manufacturer for repair under the water ingress warranty. The claim was rejected, as previous warranty inspections had not been carried out to schedule. On examination, he discovered that the qualifying date for the second year check had passed while the caravan stood on the dealer's forecourt. He had assumed the dealer would have dealt will all warranty issues while servicing the van, before he took it away. Apparently, not so.

 

There is a clear lesson here for anyone considering buying a second-hand motorhome. It is that it is essential to check, before you put down your deposit on a used ‘van that is being sold with the benefit of unexpired, transferable, warranties, that you fully understand what needs to have been done to maintain those warranties in force.

 

This means first having sight of, and reading, all warranties, to satisfy yourself that you understand what the warranty actually covers, when it commenced and when it will expire, what needs to have been done to maintain it in force and, just as import, when those things needed to have been done, and by whom.

 

The motorhome manufacturer's warranty will probably come in two parts. First, a blanket warranty covering all items present on the van - as originally delivered from the factory - probably, but not necessarily, valid just for the first year. Check also for any non-standard accessories that may have been fitted (possibly by the supplying dealer), as these will have had separate warranties with different conditions and durations. In both cases, check the terms for transfer of the warranty benefits to a new owner.

 

Check carefully what the conditions say is required to keep these warranties in force (with some vans, for example, this may require a full, annual, habitation service). Check that any inspection record booklets have been completed, by the right kind of organisation (the warranty may stipulate that only nominated agents can do certain work), within the stipulated time-window. If the warranty specifies what kind of organisation must do these checks (a franchised dealer for the make, an NCC Approved Workshop, etc), check that the stamps on the record sheets are those of such approved companies.

 

There is usually a separate warranty, albeit often contained within the main warranty booklet, covering water ingress. As above, check carefully what the warranty conditions say is required to keep this warranty in force (usually an annual damp check, but some say twice yearly), and then check from the warranty record booklet that all have been done, by the right kind of organisation (again, the warranty may stipulate that only certain organisations can do this work), within the stipulated time-window.

 

Do also check the V5C vehicle registration document, to verify the date of first registration. This is especially important, because it will set the date from which the base vehicle manufacturer’s warranty should run. While looking at the V5C, especially if buying a panel van conversion, it would be wise to check that the vehicle is described, against “Body type” as a “motor caravan”. Check also against “Taxation class” for “Private/light goods (PLG)” if the MAM is 3,500kg or less, or for Private/heavy goods (PHGV), if the MAM is over 3,500kg. In the latter case, also check that your driving licence allows you to drive vehicles of this class.

 

Carefully check the duration of the base vehicle manufacturer’s warranty. Do not rely on dealer assurances: make sure you see it with your own eyes. Most, but not all, motorhomes sold new in the UK will have a three year base vehicle warranty. However, some - even those sitting on apparently identical base vehicles - may have two year warranties. Any left hand drive vehicle will be likely to have a two year warranty. Not all motorhome sales personnel are aware of these differences. It would therefore be wise to note the VIN, or chassis number, of the base vehicle, and phone the manufacturer’s UK warranty department to check what their records actually show.

 

There are two reasons for doing this:

First, if it is a left hand drive vehicle with an English language owner’s handbook, and the warranty duration stated in the handbook is three years, it is probable this will be wrong. This may arise where the original owner bought a set of English language documentation, which would give the UK standard warranty conditions, whereas the vehicle, being an import, would have been supplied with the standard European two year warranty.

Second, and this will apply equally to left hand drive and right hand drive vehicles, the manufacturer must have been told the date on which the vehicle was first registered, so that he could enter this as the date on which the warranty would commence. If he was not told, the probable default will have been when the bare chassis was delivered to the converter, which may have been months earlier than the date the completed motorhome was first registered. A surprising number of motorhome dealers fail to make this essential notification, as do some personal importers.

 

If the warranty is actually for two years, where you were expecting it to show three, you will need to speak to the seller. However, if the warranty seems inexplicably short in relationship to the date of first registration, it may be this has arisen merely because the date of first registration was not notified, so ask what can be done to correct the error. This may only be a matter of supplying the UK warranty department with a copy of the V5C as proof, or taking the van to a franchised dealership and showing them the V5C, so that they can access the database to make the change directly. If buying the motorhome from a dealer, he should do this for you.

 

Finally, you should check the vehicle service record. To maintain the base vehicle manufacturer’s warranty in force, the vehicle must have been serviced in accordance with its manufacturer’s requirements. Be a little cautious here, especially with imports. Service intervals, and the type of service required, can vary, depending on the expected operating conditions in the country for which for the vehicle was originally supplied. The requirements for UK registered vehicles may, therefore, not be the same as for a vehicle originally destined for, say, Italy. It would therefore be wise to check whether the way the vehicle has actually been serviced may have any effect on the warranty. It would also be wise to check for any stipulated time related service interval, as well as the mileage related service intervals. Most manufacturers state, in the case of low annual mileages, that the vehicle must be serviced at least annually. A number of motorhomers seem to miss this. With service intervals at 12,000, or even 15,000 miles, and with many motorhomes covering 5,000 miles or less in a year, some assume (incorrectly) that their vehicle only needs servicing before the mileage limits are reached. If the service record says annual (and it is not always that easy to find) in cases of low annual mileage, and the vehicle has not been serviced annually, it is probable the warranty will be void.

 

So, now back to our friend with his caravan. Make absolutely sure, as you check through these various time related warranty conditions, that none of the critical dates have passed unnoticed while the motorhome has been sitting on the dealer’s forecourt and, if any have, or are imminent, ask him what he proposes to do about it, and make sure this, and the manufacturer’s response, is somewhere confirmed in writing. Remember that warranties mean just what they say. There is no concept of reasonableness: a warranty deadline is a deadline, a day or two outside that deadline entitles the provider to reject all subsequent claims. Remember also, that it is the dealer from whom you buy your van that is primarily responsible for its adequacy under consumer legislation, and he must discharge his obligations reasonably: this is enshrined in the legislation.

 

However, as a general rule, it will be far easier to deal with defects under a manufacturer’s warranty, than to get defects rectified by a dealer where you have allowed the warranty to lapse because you did not take the trouble to first read the conditions properly. So yes, the dealer must be reasonable; but there is also a concomitant obligation on the buyer to be reasonable. A court may not think it reasonable to land a dealer with a liability that could have been dealt with under a warranty, at no cost to him, simply because a buyer was careless enough to let a critical date pass without taking the required action.

 

Phew, I thought this would be relatively quick and simple when I started! 8-) Makes you wonder whether it is really worthwhile buying second-hand after all, doesn’t it? I’m off for an aspirin and a lie down now. :-D

[terryW]

A great epic Brian.

 

May I make a very small contribution by recounting my positive experience with Ford, something that may benefit others who find themselves in the same situation.

 

The story goes as follows:

I purchased a 2 year old PVC that had been converted in Germany. Shortly after taking over the van I phoned Ford to confirm the warranty had been transferred correctly by the dealer, only to find a 6 month discrepancy. What happens is the warranty is started when Ford sell the base vehicle to the German converter, a pdf copy of the V5 sent to Ford via email was all it took to correct the situation.

 

I mentioned this to my local Ford dealer and found they were not aware of the potential problem and felt that knowing about it may help them assist motorhome customers in the future.

 

I must say the staff were all most helpful.

[Mel B]

I totally support what Brian is saying.

 

May years ago (2001) when we were looking for another motorhome, we found a couple of motorhomes which we really liked. The first was on a Ford I think, it was a very good price for what it was being purported to be, a 2 year old van (the number plates had been removed as many dealers do). We crawled all over it and really liked it, however, we found some 'rust' on both the cab doors near the bottom of the windows which didn't make sense for such a young van. We enquired of the dealer and were told it was definitely only 2 years old and it would be put right before sale. We therefore had another crawl around inside and found tucked away the number plates ... it was actually 5 years old ... needless to say we walked away.

 

The second one we looked at was just over 2 years old, however, having had a good shuftie we noticed that it had had a tow bar removed but were assured it hadn't done much towing (how they could prove that we hadn't a clue), as it was only 'young' we enquired further and asked for the service and warranty history as we wanted to check how long the warranty was on it as it should have been 3 years. Unfortunately the chap who'd traded it in hadn't botherd to have the service/checks done at the end of the 2nd year and the warranty was therefore void. The dealer had totally missed this. Needless to say we walked away again.

 

We bought a new van with a 3 year warranty ....