The cover came off our caravan at the weekend, and it was duly packed ready to go away on Sunday. Arrived after an easy journey and pitched for 5 nights ready to enjoy the first of many breaks during the year.
Monday we went out and returned just after 3pm. At 3:30 it started raining, and by just after 4pm the rain was pouring, literally pouring through the roof. After that one shower, about half a litre came in.
Our caravan is just a year old and due for its first service in a couple of weeks. I've been camping and trailer tenting all my life and this is my 4th caravan.
The first, a Stirling, had a major repair to the side wall with damp after its first service. It was a long story, but Swift would not pay for the full cost of repairs, and cancelled the extended warranty we'd paid extra for. Three years after that, the van was riddled with damp down both sides, and was a write-off. Thanks to Swift's appalling after sales service, that was the last van I would buy off them.
Instead we bought a Bailey. Guess what? Damp round one window found at first service. We kept it another year and got shut of that.
We then bought a Trigano Silver (French) and had 5 years of trouble free caravanning before buying the current Bailey.
We have cut our holiday short, and called in at the dealers on the way back where they completely resealed the join in the roof. There is clearly poor design element putting a join on the roof so that water will pool both sides of it, together with faulty components and workmanship.
On getting home, I notice that the sealant is coming away at several places on the roof. It clearly needs major repairs. I'm not going to accept this. The dealer also said I would have to take it up with Bailey. I will but I do know the law and where the responsibility lies.
Frankly I'm very close to selling up completely and giving up something I've done all my life I'm that disgusted.
Why cannot the British make a decent caravan. Should we have to put up with this rubbish. 3 British caravans, all have failed in their first year.
Unfortunately you have to give the retailer the opportunity to put it right but I would get an expert written report on it before you put it in for it's first service and repair and then If it fails again go to your local Trading Standards office with the original purchase receipt.
Or just get the expert report and issue proceedings for your money back claiming its not fit for purpose.........
I bought a brand new Sprintaway caravan and on its first trip away the roof leaked and I was up all night with buckets and basin trying to keep the bedding and carpet dry.
Cancelling the rest of my holiday, when I got it home and stripped the roof vent, the mastic strip under the outside rim was missing about an inch of mastic.
I cleaned off the mastic and resealed it with Sikaflex. We never had any more problems with leaks.
A great wee van that was spoiled by shoddy workmanship.
The irony is that if most of the faults with new caravans that get described on here were on a caravan 15yrs old or more bought off ebay for a reasonable price they could be diy fixed fairly easily by the owner as would any other faults as they occur.
I've had my £300, 30yr old ABI for 5yrs now & all its taken to keep it dry in that time is 2 cartridges of PU sealant. I resealed the rooflight yesterday, took about half hour.
What one does notice on here is that the stories of the cheap old caravans with faults have a positive outcome, fixed diy by owner & the stories of new caravans with faults are generally negative because dealers/manufacturers won't fix them.
Yet most of these "new" jobs could be fixed in a day by any competent DIYer, but instead owners are put through months of letter writing and lost holidays by dealers who really couldn't care less.
We live out in the sticks and the nearest caravan dealer is about 40 miles away.
For this reason alone we would not consider buying a new van as we are dammed if we are driving that distance every time something goes wrong with it.
We are far better off, both financially and time wise just buying a COC and doing the work ourselves.
The only time I will pay for a professional is for the annual service by a mobile engineer.
My sympathies are wi you guys. Its a lorra lorra dosh to buy new, and they look so good on the courtyards or at the shows . . . just hope you get your money back.
It surely can't be the norm, or there wouldn't be any British caravan manufacturers. Maybe its time for the Chinese to step in. . .
------------- Peripheral people don`t have as much excitement but they sure live longer
Possibly because Adria has such a small share of the market.
------------- XVI yes?
As well is two words!
How does a sage know everything about everything? or does he? or does he just think he does?
Remember, if you buy something you bought it, not brought it.
in my limited experience, i originally wanted an Adria Adora or Hymer caravan but decided to buy a newer 2007 Bailey Ranger 550/6 as a first van. at the end of last season, my first season there was damp in both side walls that spread from the rear bunk through the bathroom and to the airing cupboard. on the opposite side just above the door.
the dealer i bought it from took it into his workshop over the winter, dried it out, sealed up the awning rails and the strip where the rear GRP moulding meets the roof and replaced all of the soggy wall board.
needless to say i wish i had bought a foreign caravan. i am guessing they are better built and far less chinzy!
my neighbors have a new Bailey caravan and it has recently been in for warranty repair due to damp.
If anybody cares to google for the websites of the popular foreign makes of caravan one will observe they have large ranges in in various trim levels, far more choice than the UK makes offer, top of range models are in fact just as 'chintzy'.
But unless you go abroad to nearest English speaking dealers which will be north Belgium you can't see them or buy most of them & if you do the warranty will mostly only be good in country of purchase. Those like Hymer/Eriba & Hobby have limited UK dealer coverage. Only Adria currently offer caravans with UK side doors & their range is tiny compared to what they offer in other markets.
Its the UK makes that offer specifically what UK buyers want which is why they have most of the UK market. The UK caravan industry is in fact a success story retaining bulk of market share in UK. If foreign makes seriously wanted to penetrate the UK market they would have to offer UK spec 'vans & set up UK dealer networks. I do find it hard to believe that many UK 'vans are faulty & I would have thought foreign makes would have their share of 'lemons' as well.
Obviously a personal disaster for owners of 'bad' caravans but I find it hard to believe that there are that many. How could the manufacturers survive if there were?
The design was fine but the workmanship was frankly below average.
This may well be a result of skills loss that is becoming a national disaster for manufacturing industries.
There are also some very basic differences we saw, the main one being the omission of ovens in European vans and of course the door side.
The EU makers have a huge market for products they can sell so they may ask why they should bother making modifcafions to them to sell a few more into the UK market which doesn't seem to want their quality products anyway?
I rather think when we come to think about upgrading our Knaus 470 we are going to struggle to find a UK product to match it, at any price.
PS
Warranties for EU products have to be EU wide, the issue is finding a dealer to undertake necessary warranty repairs. Isn't it?
Quote: Originally posted by Motobiman on 25/3/2015
Warranties for EU products have to be EU wide, the issue is finding a dealer to undertake necessary warranty repairs. Isn't it?
Only for cars, 2yrs warranty all over EU by law. After that its up to makers if they wish their extended warranties to cover all over EU. All main dealers must do warranty work regardless of whether they supplied car.
None of this applies to caravans although many think it does.
Adria caravans have a Tiny persentage of the market so will have a tiny amount of complaints.
Just like Trabant cars, you dont hear complaints about them, so does that make them better than all the others.
example would be, if you go onto a German/French etc caravan forum you will find just as many posts about Damp and other problems.
So when you read posts about Forign being better are you listening to this tiny minority
Why on earth do people think everything foreign is of BETTER Quality beats me. if British built is that bad why have we got a booming industry building caravans,
Negative thinking comes to mind
Consumer law is not a warranty, it is protection for consumers who have bought product from a retailer who has failed to honour a warranty. A warranty allows you to return those goods for repair. If a caravan bought in Belgium requires warranty work then if warranty is only good in Belgium it has to be returned to a dealer there. If dealer fails to carry out work then you have recourse to consumer law, in Belgium. It is EU law but you have to take any action in the country of purchase, in their language.
Kojack, no one is saying 'all foreign caravans are better than all British caravans'.
in many fields, for example cars and boats, certain manufacturers often come out on top in quality surveys and often those manufacturers are German.
That is not by accident.
I take your point but the surveys are always reduced to percentages so whilst there may be some anomalies from the size of the sample they are largely reliable.
Have you done this research on foreign forums or is it conjecture?
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Topic: Crappy New Caravans
