Same thing happened to us. At twelve months service there was 60% damp?It was a a Swift a Challenger.It was five or six years ago. The first twelve months were spent backwards and forwards to the dealers with other problems.
We eventually got the dealer to change it as it was 'not fit for purpose'.
Swift wouldn't budge at first but did manage to sort it out eventually.
Quote: Originally posted by path20 on 16/4/2015Same thing happened to us. At twelve months service there was 60% damp?It was a a Swift a Challenger.It was five or six years ago. The first twelve months were spent backwards and forwards to the dealers with other problems.
We eventually got the dealer to change it as it was 'not fit for purpose'.
Swift wouldn't budge at first but did manage to sort it out eventually.
how did you get the dealer to change it our is a challenger sport
How can they not! It's a year old! Under consumer law we have the right to expect something to last a reasonable amount of time dependant on the amount of money it cost, be fit for purpose and to be of reasonable quality. None of these seems to apply to this particular caravan
We insisted that the van wasn't fit for purpose. When our discussions reached stalemate we'd had enough. I just said we were not going to negotiate anymore and please could we have the full name/s and address of the persons to whom all legal documents could be sent as we were taking it to court.We were fortunate we had a lawyer in the family.
They decided to change the van. We had another Swift and that one was problem free.
The reason why some caravans are damp free and others are not are simply down to bad workmanship and at the final stage the quality control department only detect visual defects such as dinks or scratches in the bodywork so the real problem of water ingress receives no attention.
However, the following comment is mine from a recent thread regarding water ingress on a Bailey caravan:
The manufacturers have to be competitive with their prices so what they do is put a time on each individual job and to avoid any severe price increases the only thing they can do is to turn out more caravans in a shorter time which in any business time is money. The company then cut the times on certain jobs where they can, and because the workers can't go any faster they tend to cut corners in order to fill the man hours covered on a daily basis. Therefore any caravan produced at the end of the day or particularly on a Friday can suffer from water leaks merely due to a lack of sealant due to the increased speed required. That's why older caravans are less likely to suffer from the same problems because the market has become a rat race where the customer now come last, that's why I would never part with thousands of pounds because I want nice holidays not ongoing problems with my new caravan.
Am currently in the process of going through the Sale of Goods act with my local dealer. Obviously I have already sought legal advice first.
A couple of interesting points came up:
1. The SoG act allows repair/replacement or refund. After a year, you would expect not to receive a full refund due to the use you've had out of it. Fair enough.
2.Replace or repair? This is where it got really interesting. It is down you as the customer to decide, NOT the dealer or manufacturer. There are a couple of factors however. One is time from new, and after just a year (especially with 10 year water ingress warranty) it is not unreasonable to go for replace. The other factor is cost. If it costs significantly more to replace than repair, then their refusal would be justified. Obviously you cannot demand a new van just because a cupboard door catch breaks. On your side is another useful point - significant loss of use.
All in all, I'm working on the basis of any repair on my caravan being quite extensive and intrusive, and all the faults clearly lie with faulty materials or workmanship so I'm going for replace. If they wanted to repair it, I would want a detailed breakdown of what they were going to do to rectify the problems (in writing of course) I can factor in the significant loss of use, and the risk factor. Why should I have to take any risk in the repair that it will be like new, that I will get it back on time, or the rest of the caravan is up to scratch given the problems experienced.
If I have to go to court so be it. When I had a problem with a Swift after the 1st year and ended up with an extensive repair, I was too busy to fight it much, and as a result when I came to sell it, the problem had not gone away and it cost me over £5k. Its not going to happen this time!
Its a bit late to say this now to Susan, but ALWAYS buy a van from a reliable, reputable dealer. I'm hoping my dealer is, because I'm sure they would not want the bad publicity.
Finally, we as a caravanning fraternity only have ourselves to blame. We all too willingly accept such shoddy workmanship and accept damp almost as the norm. Well made caravans would benefit everyone, even the second hand market.
Quote: Originally posted by freeatlast on 17/4/2015
Am currently in the process of going through the Sale of Goods act with my local dealer. Obviously I have already sought legal advice first.
A couple of interesting points came up:
1. The SoG act allows repair/replacement or refund. After a year, you would expect not to receive a full refund due to the use you've had out of it. Fair enough.
2.Replace or repair? This is where it got really interesting. It is down you as the customer to decide, NOT the dealer or manufacturer. There are a couple of factors however. One is time from new, and after just a year (especially with 10 year water ingress warranty) it is not unreasonable to go for replace. The other factor is cost. If it costs significantly more to replace than repair, then their refusal would be justified. Obviously you cannot demand a new van just because a cupboard door catch breaks. On your side is another useful point - significant loss of use.
All in all, I'm working on the basis of any repair on my caravan being quite extensive and intrusive, and all the faults clearly lie with faulty materials or workmanship so I'm going for replace. If they wanted to repair it, I would want a detailed breakdown of what they were going to do to rectify the problems (in writing of course) I can factor in the significant loss of use, and the risk factor. Why should I have to take any risk in the repair that it will be like new, that I will get it back on time, or the rest of the caravan is up to scratch given the problems experienced.
If I have to go to court so be it. When I had a problem with a Swift after the 1st year and ended up with an extensive repair, I was too busy to fight it much, and as a result when I came to sell it, the problem had not gone away and it cost me over £5k. Its not going to happen this time!
Its a bit late to say this now to Susan, but ALWAYS buy a van from a reliable, reputable dealer. I'm hoping my dealer is, because I'm sure they would not want the bad publicity.
Finally, we as a caravanning fraternity only have ourselves to blame. We all too willingly accept such shoddy workmanship and accept damp almost as the norm. Well made caravans would benefit everyone, even the second hand market.
Quote: Originally posted by freeatlast on 17/4/2015
Finally, we as a caravanning fraternity only have ourselves to blame. We all too willingly accept such shoddy workmanship and accept damp almost as the norm. Well made caravans would benefit everyone, even the second hand market.
Flesh this out..How is the caravanning 'fraternity' to blame? Nobody is 'accepting' damp & shoddy workmanship, they rant about it on forums & take legal action. That nothing changes suggests only a tiny amount of caravans are faulty & bad enough not to be easily fixed by dealer.
What do you suggest? That everybody just stops caravanning, keeps the caravans they have & never buy another, or what?
Oh come on. Talk to people on campsites, and they will say Oh yes, ours had a damp problem, but they did repair it. Then we got rid of it...
Sadly yes, too many do accept poor and shoddy work as the norm. When, for instance was the last time you saw either the CC or the C&CC take a major stance on this? The CC did a report on reliability about 15 years ago, and repeated it after 5 years, then suddenly all went quiet. Why are the facts not out there for all to see just how many caravanners have problems. After all there are plenty of reliability surveys for cars.
You will get no honest appraisals of product from publications/organisations that make most of their money from advertising that product. That is self evident.
Plenty make the mistake of comparing caravan industry with motor industry. Caravan sales are tiny compared with cars & EU laws covering car warranties do not apply to caravans. Caravans are a niche market.
& yet, look at a busy campsite or walk around a housing estate. Probably 80% of the caravans you see will not be new or even 3-4yrs old, many will be at lest 10 & some 20yrs old, look on ebay, loads of old 'vans for sale. My caravan dates to the 1980s. It does not seem that well built, the materials seem far worse quality than a modern caravan & yet mine seems to have gone the distance with a bit of resealing along the way & so have all the other old 'vans you see about.
From what I can work out the only thing the UK caravan industry needs to ensure is that their workers use enough mastic? Yes? Presumably most of the time they do.
The one good thing now is that little wood is used in the manufacture of caravans. This means that although there may be water ingress it will cause a lot less damage than it used to, as there is no wood to rot.
Strange how we can make a car with 4 opening windows, 5 opening doors and a sunroof, keep it for years, take it through god nows how many car washes and never a leak & we cant make a caravan that can keep the damp out.
Its not strange at all. A car is a made from steel pressings welded together. Modern cars are built by robots, parts can be fitted accurately. Older cars had more human input & more faults because of it because humans make mistakes or maybe simply do not care & some cars made yrs ago leaked.
Caravans are not welded together, the only thing that keeps the water out is mastic sealant squeezed out of an applicator. All that is required is more mastic, it seems?
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Damp after first service
