I have today lost patience with the dealer who sold me a Swift Challenger in July 2010......here is a letter I have sent them. I have blocked out the dealer name (for now). Any advice would be much appreciated.
Dear Sir,
I took up caravanning late in 2009 and changed my Lunar for a Swift in July 2010 with XXXXXXXXXXXXX……………that is where my troubles began.
I requested that a pneumatic jockey wheel be fitted in place of the standard one fitted by Swift.
When the caravan was delivered to my home, I soon noticed that the alarm was malfunctioning and despite calls to XXXXXXX, who’s flippant reply was, “Leave the battery on charge for 24 hours and it will go away!”…………….It didn’t, so I rang Swift direct and one of their technical people told me how to reset it and that it wasn’t a case as XXXXXX had suggested of leaving it on charge.
The second problem came after our first trip where the jockey wheel seemed to be sticking. We needed Green Flag assistance (resulting in us losing our no claims) and they discovered the pressure plate on the jockey wheel had broken. I rushed it back to XXXXXXXXXX who advised ‘It’s probably from a faulty batch’ (something Al-ko dispute by the way). I bought a new plate and off we went.
Four trips later same jockey wheel issue and this time I removed the jockey wheel to find the pressure plate was bent! I replaced it and off we went again. I reported this to XXXXXXXXXXXX who invited me down to their workshop.
I duly booked it in and also had the following jobs that to be honest weren’t major but in need of looking at under warranty.
·Front curtain rail needed replacing as it had a kink in it
·Front window was stiff to open and close
·Battery compartment press buttons were stiff
When I took it in and handed the caravan over to XXXXXX, I told him the hitch and wheel locks were in the front of the caravan and needed to be applied so as to make sure of insurance was active (XXXXX have a disclaimer in their yard). Neither were applied at ANY TIME that the caravan was with them.
The curtain rail was not in stock but put through as a warranty job on the same day! Alas no part was ordered. (Swift have this on their computer records)
The battery compartment had been looked at and was covered in oily finger prints. It looked like forensics had been all over it!
I picked the caravan up and was on my way home when XXXXXX rang to say he thought my caravan was ‘bottoming out’. As the caravan was an empty shell, this concerned me so I took it to a friend who is a motor engineer near my home. Not so was his reply. They also had to mail out the Allen Key as they hadn’t used it.
XXXXXXXX then suggested I fit assistors to the CRV suspension, in that the tow bar was too low and that I had not pulled the jockey wheel up far enough before setting off! All these I have had checked independently and all the XXXXX claims are UNFOUNDED.
My wife rang the co –owner of XXXXXXXX and she was quite rude to my wife. My wife only requested an apology for the inconvenience and stated she was not looking for confrontation. The lady from XXXXX suggested my wife didn’t know what she was talking about and that XXXXX didn’t make mistakes. With respect there is a pick n mix selection earlier in this letter!
The Director also stated that the CRV was not recommended to tow the Swift ( I checked with Honda and the Caravan Club and again this is unfounded)
I am now in a situation where XXXXXXXX will not return my calls, I don’t know whether I have a valid warranty, whether the curtain rail has been ordered or if I can expect a refund for the pneumatic jockey wheel that had to be changed back.
I am looking for
·Reassurance I still have a warranty
·How I can get the curtain rail replaced
·A refund for the jockey wheel
·The no claims amount I lost with Green Flag reimbursed
·An apology from a company who proudly display and suffocate you with OLD ‘Dealer of the Year’ notices and sales pitches.
I look forward to your reply in the very near future.
No claims with green flag ??
since when do lose a No claims bonus calling a breakdown company out ?
I have called them out several times and never incurred any penalty , after all that's what you pay them for .
And your warranty will be intact and if your unhappy with your supplying Swift dealer there are others who could look after your van for servicing and possibly warranty issues .
phone swift direct and ask for customer services explain whats going on and ask for help but you may need to lay it on a bit and they will, get them to find you another local dealer who will assess what needs to be done as your dealer sounds a bit like one i know who don't want to know you once you have parted with your cash
I have an old policy with the RAC from the days when they gave £25 discount if no callout had been made.
What model/year is the swift challenger? Do you know what the noseweight is?
They pneumatic jockey wheel is more than likely reduced the ground clearance. Due to the increased diameter and also the fact it wont raise as high as the original wheel before meeting the frame/chassis etc.
Quote: Originally posted by piffy57 on 17/11/2010
Its a 540, noseweight etc checked by an Engineer.
what was it ? your CRV is rated at 100kg max unless its a 2005 model or earlier then its rated at only 60kg but I found that on my 2009 CRV if I run at close to max figure the car back end sagged a bit .
Reduced it to 80 kg and the car was nearly level .
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Topic: Anyone with a Swft Challenger 540 ???
