Warranty Repairs.....

[Tups74]

Hi,

 

I am quite new to caravanning within the last 12 months; I purchased a brand new caravan and have just found out that it has a water ingress problem. The dealer says that the caravan needs to go back the manufacturers to have the Front ABS panel replaced, the side wall and roof repaired and maybe more work subject to investigation? Looking at £2-3k in repairs, all of which will be covered by the warranty!!

 

I am after the caravan being replaced since I feel that any repair completed will de-value the caravan and also that I will need to disclose details of the repair work upon re-sale, the dealer says that there is no need to declare any warranty work upon resale – is this legal??? I know that if I was buying a caravan secondhand I would want details of any repairs.

 

Help and Advice would be appreciated

 

[Derek Uzzell]

Go to the 'Welcome Box' towards the top right corner of this web-page and click on the 'Search' icon. Now type "reject" (omitting the quotation marks) in the Keywords box and select "All posts" from the Date limit selection lower down. Now click on Submit.

 

Within the Motorhome Matters records that are retrieved you'll find a number of 'threads' relating to problems with newly-purchased vehicles and advice on ways to proceed. (There will also be a lot of stuff that bears no relation to your problem, but you can just ignore that!)

 

My personal view is that you can either attempt to reject the caravan on the basis of it being 'not fit for purpose' (in which case you'll probably need to take expert, and possibly legal, advice), or you can allow the dealer to return the caravan to the manufacturer for repair under warranty with the stipulation that the repairs be carried out within a time-frame agreed by you, the dealer and the manufacturer, and to a standard that returns the caravan to an acceptable condition.

 

Whatever course you eventually decide to take you should keep notes of any phone calls (when made, who spoken to, the content of the conversation, etc.), and ensure that you keep copies of all e-mails/letters and that you get written confirmation from the dealer about what actions are to be taken.

 

There is no legal requirement for a seller to volunteer the fact that a vehicle has been repaired. However, if a buyer asks whether it has, then the seller is required to be truthful to the best of his/her knowledge.

[Tups74]

Derek,

 

Thanks for the info - spoke to my Home Insurance legal team - they said that since the caravan is under a higher purchase agreement reject the caravan with them under the Supply of Goods Act (implied Terms) 1973 and either push for a replacment or a cancelation of the agreement with all the moneies paid to date back in full!! Will try this on Monday.. so fingers crossed.

 

Also spoke to the dealer they claim that this is just a warranty issue only.... seems that once they have your money their tone changes.

 

Regards

 

Bill

[Derek Uzzell]

Bill:

 

With an unpredictable amount of remedial work being needed, the time it's bound to take (during which you won't, of course, have use of the caravan), no certainty you'll be satisfied with the result, and the potential effect on the vehicle's re-sale value, replacement or full refund seem preferable to repair under warranty in my view.

 

You might also find it useful to contact your local Trading Standards Office (see www.tradingstandards.gov.uk)

 

Best of luck.

 

Derek

[Tups74]

Update.......

 

The dealer has been very supportive for a replacement Caravan and so was the manufacturers until the 11th hour - then the manufacturer (Bailey) revoked and said that they were only willing to do a repair - as for the finance company (Black Horse) they are still not recognising my legal rights….. So it looks like a legal battle which my solicitors are very confident of winning..

 

Attention all, one bit of VERY GOOD BIT OF ADVICE to anyone with a quality issue on new or used goods is look at this link.

 

www.dti.gov.uk/files/file25486.pdf

 

This DTI booklet tells you what the trader should be doing and what your rights are…. Use it – it help turned the dealer around to my case within an hour.

 

Anyone in my situ whatever the goods are Caravan, Motorhome, Car, even shoes - read the booklet decide what you want and stand by your guns the bigger companies will brow beat you with difference takes and angles on things - READ THE BOOKLET!!!

 

Regards Bill

 

[green army]

Just a bit of info, I know of 2 people who have had a similar problem. In both instances the vans have gone back to the factory in Bristol. SO this seems to be a common fault with this manufacturer. Mine is in for its first service - hopefully it will be ok.!!!

[Tups74]

Thanks Green Army,

 

Had a Loss Adjuster do a court report on the Caravan - he says that the water ingress was most likely caused by a manufacturing defect and he claims to have seen a fair few caravans with ABS panels having water ingress problems as a result of stress factures due to the manufacturing process. On a year old van with 80% damp readings, his advice (for a court judge) is to replace the van or give a full refund - even with a factory repair - you will be hard pushed to sell the caravan privately or via a trader - estimated loss in retails value as a result of the water ingress is approx 30-50% + NOT GOOD..... A couple of dealers I have spoken in the last 48 hours would not take the van in on Part-ex even when repaired by the manufacturer.. and one of these was a Seller of new / used Bailey Caravans!!!!!

 

Now pushing for my money back... will keep you all posted

 

ON ANOTHER NOTE - A QUICK STRAW POLE:

How many people would buy a second caravan with a declared water ingress problem , that has been repaired by the manufacturer and still has a few years left on the original manufacturers warranty?

 

Regards

 

Bill