In the bright sunshine I noticed a discoloration on the nearside of my senator.
It is about 16" high and a foot wide (400cm by 300cm)and from the front angle looks hideous.
To be honest I first noticed it last year just before we moved house from Scotland to Cheshire but it got lost in the move and the last 12 months of builders work but it is far more obvious now.
I rang Duncans first and they assurred me it was nothing they had done and must have left the factory in that condition.
I phoned Bailey and eventually got put through to a chap who advised me they only warranty paintwork for 3 years. I pointed out that that wasn't the point. I had been sold a caravan with a substantial repair and I had not been advised there was a risk this could happen.
He didn't care it was over 3 years since purchase and they woul not help. He also advised that Bailey have a lot of damage on panels they buy in so have to "touch a lot up".
If you own a bailey I would check it thouroughly in bright sunny conditions before its third birthday as you to could end up with a horrid problem. If I ever buy another Bailey, which I doubt after this mornings "chat", I would want a guarantee from the factory that no repairs had been carried out prior to delivery.
you need phil our expert on the laws of buying.i have read of this kind of thing before.imho the paint used for the repair is not the same standard/quality as first used so fades quicker.
------------- the only silly question is the one you do not ask.
Havnt had this with a van but did with a car, bought back in the day a ford Orion from a ford dealer, got it home, and then two days later looked out the window at night and the street lamp was shining on it, and there under the light it looked like a patchwork quilt!
------------- "I'm a fool for my dogs"
Adopt a rescue, rescue dogs make great pets, don't support puppy farms.
The road can be tough and rough,but what you put in you get back 10 x more.
Havnt had this with a van but did with a car, bought back in the day a ford Orion from a ford dealer, got it home, and then two days later looked out the window at night and the street lamp was shining on it, and there under the light it looked like a patchwork quilt!
------------- "I'm a fool for my dogs"
Adopt a rescue, rescue dogs make great pets, don't support puppy farms.
The road can be tough and rough,but what you put in you get back 10 x more.
Have you contacted the dealer you bought it from to find out if anything happened to it there and they sent it back to Bailey for repair before selling it. I think that is much more likely.
When Discover were going we were very friendly with the sales guy there, he was laughing one day about how one of the other guys had reversed into the front of a brand new Elddis and put a big hole in it, I asked what would happen with it and presumed it'd be repaired and reduced so a potential bargain for someone but it turned out any damage was always repaired and never menioned to the buyers.
our pegasus had the same issue . didnt notice it until a month after collection when the sun shone on it.
bailey admitted they get damaged in the factory and re-worked to saleable standard.
surely saleable standard means you cant see the different paint / filler underneath / sandpaper scratch marks ???
got a new side put on without too many arguments
The OP has posted to advise others of potential pitfalls, rather than to seek advice on a course of action. However, just on the legals....
The OP makes a very good point about thoroughly checking over whatever you buy before parting with your money. The Sale of goods act requires the van to be fit for purpose and nothing in this thread indicates that it is not. The Act also requires the van to be free from defects. In this thread we have evidence of paint discolouration. It is assumed that this has arisen as a result of a repair, but there is no evidence in this thread that there has been a repair. Bailey has commented that such repairs do occur at the factory before new vans are delivered but there is no evidence that that has happened in this case.
In any legal dispute it is very important that we stick to the facts that can be proven rather than jump to a conclusion without evidence. If we then claim that a van has been damaged and repaired, and that is not the case, or we cannot proove it, the seller can defend its position and we get no where. We run the wrong argument.
The only fact we have here is paint discolouration. To make a claim we have to show that after the more than three years since the van was new that that discolouration was present when purchased. The owner of the van has to proove that under the SOGA and Regs made under that Act. Rather difficult to meet that burden of proof after all this time.
Then, in this case, the OP discovered the problem 12 months ago and did nothing about it. If we have a problem we must deal with it straight away. In this case we would be looking for damages, but if we are happy to leave such a defect for 12 months that can weigh against us when a court is considering the level of damages. Are we that bothered if we have left it for 12 months?
Consider the cost of a complete van respray compared to the diminution in value of the van due to the defective paintwork and you are more likely to get the lower value by way of damages i.e loss of value. The van has lost value from day one anyway so quantifying the loss in value due to paint that can only be seen in certain lights would probably give very little in the way of compensation. Then take into account the fact that a complainant did nothing for 12 months and we start to get into the area of any claim not being worth it. The legal costs will probably be more than the compensation.
Then the seller and manufacturer both sell the van by making it clear that the paint standard cannot be guaranteed for longer than three years. Another reason to reduce the level of damages.
The OP has it spot on about checking vans very carefully before we buy. The earlier you spot a problem the better our chances of damages that will be acceptable.
Phil
------------- If you're not on a fell your wasting your feet and for 2014 it's.......Feb Castleton Mar North Yors Moors; Apr Sutton on Sea; May Thirsk; Jun Clapham/Riverside (Lakes); July Wharfedale; August Crakehall; Sept Knaresborough; Oct Wirral Park/Clitheroe
Hi Murano red is the worst colour to match up its metrmeric ??? i think thats the way you spell it, basically it will look perfect during the day but under a street light anything thats been painted will stand out, i used to by damaged cars and do them up anything that was red used to get a full spray job.
The damage may not have been caused during manufacture - someone could have damaged the caravan while it was at the dealers this would be very hard to prove at this stage so Bailey may not be to blame at all and the warranty would not apply in this instance. It is important that a caravan is checked very thoroughly before buying and any damage investigated at that stage but it is wrong to automatically blame the manufacturer.
our pegasus had the same issue . didnt notice it until a month after collection when the sun shone on it. bailey admitted they get damaged in the factory and re-worked to saleable standard. surely saleable standard means you cant see the different paint / filler underneath / sandpaper scratch marks ??? got a new side put on without too many arguments
Can you believe that Bailey again so we go from cracking front and rear panels to bogged caravans........jesus it will be cut and shut next
Oh come on, if theres a mis match in colour, fair enough, its not really acceptable, but if its been repaired to factory standard, does it make a difference.
I know for a fact that brand new cars are treat in the same way, damage can, and does happen at the factory, in storage, in transit, but the end purchases gets a brand new factory condition car.
It isn't just Bailey. According to the service technician working on the 'van next door to us in storage, all makes get bumped, scratched etc when being moved around the factories. He says he is always having to cut back dull bits with G3 and then wax them . (It was a fairly recent Coachman he was polishing - a dull square patch. When he was finished you couldn't see it).
it's far easier to repair cars than caravans, can you imagine chucking a caravan into the oven to bake the paint
as for getting a damaged new van no.... when you pay 17k for a new van you expect it to be perfect any different is not on. If you wanted a van that was not perfect yo'd buy second hand and take a chance.
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Topic: Buying unknown damage!!
Bailey again so we go from cracking front and rear panels to bogged caravans........jesus it will be cut and shut next 
