Knaus Tabbert warranties.

[Brian Kirby]

If anyone has a van marketed by any of the above manufacturer's subsidiaries (Knaus, Weinsberg, Morelo, TAB), I wonder if you could confirm whether the water ingress warranty (or more accurately, any unexpired portion of it) is stated to be transferable to a subsequent owner?

 

It seems this will be of most interest to anyone who has bought a used, or previously registered (e.g. by a dealer), Knaus Tabbert van on the understanding that a portion of the water ingress warranty remains valid.

 

A recent forum query prompted me to look at ours to check, and I could not find any mention in the warranty booklet of transferability. This "silence" leads me to believe that the warranty is limited to the person recorded in the "Warranty card" as the "Customer" in the warranty booklet.

 

The warranty period in our case is 5 years (defined as 60 months from the date of first registration, or delivery to the buyer - whichever is sooner).

 

This just struck me as odd, as I'm sure our previous vans had warranties that transferred to subsequent owners.

 

This appears to mean that if the van is sold within that timescale, the subsequent owner would not benefit from the balance of the water ingress warranty. If that is you, have you checked? Also if that is you, and you have made an ingress claim, especially if it was accepted by the manufacturer, were queries raised as the the validity of the warranty?

 

[Derek Uzzell]

A GOOGLE-search on "motorhome water ingress warranty transferability" indicates that there's no standard policy. Some manufacturers evidently will not permit warranty transfer; some will allow transfer, but with the warranty's duration reduced; some (seemingly) will allow the full remaining portion of the warranty to be transferred.

 

A Knaus dealership should be able to advise on the transferability policy for the current water ingress policy, but the current terms and conditions might not apply to earlier motorhomes that had shorter duration warranties.

[mtravel]

I don't know in the UK and I don't know if anything has changed since Brexit but on this side of the Channel the warranty follows the vehicle and not the owner.

There is nothing to prevent the change of owner from being notified to the manufacturer but I believe it is not mandatory.

 

In the event of water ingress into a van, however, the warranty is often linked to annual checks to be carried out at a dealer of the brand.

[Derek Uzzell]

This link is to the Auto-Sleepers warranty terms and conditions (Issue date 9 December 2021)

 

https://orbit.brightbox.com/v1/acc-jqzwj/Auto-Sleepers/asset_management/assets/assets/000/000/446/original/Motorhome_Warranty_Issue_9_December_2021.pdf?1639403675

 

Regarding warranty transfer, the following advice is given

 

If the motorhome is sold before the end of the original warranty, the benefit of the remaining period may be transferred to the new owner using the form at the back of this booklet. The application for the transfer must be received by us within 14 days of the acquisition of the motorhome or the remaining cover will be cancelled. We may ask for proof that the motorhome has been properly serviced to support the application before we approve it. Note that only the unexpired period of the Habitation Warranty is transferable, the benefit of the additional 4th, 5th and 6th years Water Ingress Warranty applies only to the first owner and cannot be transferred.

[Brian Kirby]

mtravel - 2022-01-28 2:01 PM

I don't know in the UK and I don't know if anything has changed since Brexit but on this side of the Channel the warranty follows the vehicle and not the owner.

There is nothing to prevent the change of owner from being notified to the manufacturer but I believe it is not mandatory.

In the event of water ingress into a van, however, the warranty is often linked to annual checks to be carried out at a dealer of the brand.

I don't think this would b affected by Brexit, Massimo, as each state has it's own laws. Certain areas have been more or less standardised, such as general motor vehicle warranties, but when it comes to water ingress on caravans/motorhomes, I suspect we're into an area where the warranty means what, and has the duration that, the manufacturer says it has.

 

The Fiat (Peugeot, Citroen, Mercerdes etc. etc.) warranties on motorhomes will be more or less standardised, but they are regulated for the mass market, in the interests of preventing one manufacturer from gaining unfair advantage over other manufacturers in particular states. Motorhomes are a much smaller market, and I suspect less tightly regulated.

 

I had understood that there was some EU wide regulation that where a base vehicle warranty was, for example, two years, the warranty given on the conversion had to be at least that long, which seems sensible, but I have always understood that such items as water ingress warranties were offered in addition to the minimum standard, and so are non-contractual and at the manufacturer's discretion.