1 year old Kontiki damp

[Fatboy]

Hi funsters, I have just put my 12 month old Kontiki 884 in for hab check and the floor behind the driver seat has 41-42% readings. I get to know more when I speak to the engineer tomorrow but where do you go with this, are we talking replacing the floor? And if so is this done at the factory.

obviously this has left the factory without being sealed correctly. I am dreading this as I I don’t want to be fobbed off.

 

[Mzracer]

We are not back to Leaky Kontiki again are we? Didn't they have enough trouble last time?
If nobody at Swift sees this information going out to around 60,000 motorhomers and not responding, they must be dafter than I imagined.

They work on the principal that there is another poor punter coming around the corner at any moment.

 

[rb62]

Quite often on Swift and Autotrail it is the seal between the cab and body that hasn't been done properly so I'd want the outer trim coverings taken off to check.

Damp !

First service today 40% damp found just behind driver's seat.Year old van not good enough really fed up will get it fixed then goodbye Autotrail.

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

 

[NR]

UPDATE: The dealer has confirmed no parts are needed but the repair work will be

Remove lino, dry and treat the floor
Remove and reseal, water and electric points
Clean and reseal under the van.

The told me it was ready for collection and the repair is booked in for September 24!!!

I said this is not acceptable as damage has occurred in the first 12 months. They are now carrying out temp repairs so I can collect the unit. I have asked for an alternate repairer, no answer as yet, and told them I want 3 monthly checks until the repair is completed.

I have a good damp meter so I can monitor this, but 12 months before its repairs sounds crazy, should I be contacting Swift or Consumer advice or someone else?

See attached image, I’ve had very few issues with my Kon tiki, just the odd trim etc. However, Hayley has been incredibly helpful, she replied promptly and accurately so if you feel the need she would be my first point of contact. Good luck.

 

[Fatboy]

See attached image, I’ve had very few issues with my Kon tiki, just the odd trim etc. however, Haley has been incredibly helpful, she replied promptly and accurately so if you feel the need she would be my first point of contact. Good luck.

View attachment 824255

Thanks for that

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[Northernraider]

That was the old reputation but the bloody things dont contain wood now, they are built composite so the crap you are fed from the company is that they can’t get damp

Ha ... my van claimed to have no wood either.


They lie

 

[Fatboy]

UPDATE…. My supplying dealer had stopped responding to recorded delivery letter, and E mails leaving me with a damp Motorhome and feeling absolutely gutted. Thanks to social media, some kind person knew someone high up within Swift, they had no record of any new Kontiki with a warranty claim against damp? So had my dealer not even bothered to inform them and hoped a bit of silicone would solve the issue? Following this I received a call from a lovely lady direct from the factory, full of apologies as they had no record of the problem. I am now taking my Motorhome back to the factory for them to investigate and repair in January. RESULT, very happy with that, I got that call yesterday and surprise surprise I got a mail from my Dealer this morning now saying they have moved the repair up and can fix it in February, not September as first quoted…. Thanks but no thanks it’s going back to the factory.

 

[FrankNicklin]

UPDATE…. My supplying dealer had stopped responding to recorded delivery letter, and E mails leaving me with a damp Motorhome and feeling absolutely gutted. Thanks to social media, some kind person knew someone high up within Swift, they had no record of any new Kontiki with a warranty claim against damp? So had my dealer not even bothered to inform them and hoped a bit of silicone would solve the issue? Following this I received a call from a lovely lady direct from the factory, full of apologies as they had no record of the problem. I am now taking my Motorhome back to the factory for them to investigate and repair in January. RESULT, very happy with that, I got that call yesterday and surprise surprise I got a mail from my Dealer this morning now saying they have moved the repair up and can fix it in February, not September as first quoted…. Thanks but no thanks it’s going back to the factory.

Hopefully Swift got on to the dealer and gave them a rollicking for p@ss poor service, hence their sudden re-emergence on the repair.

 

[Fatboy]

Hopefully Swift got on to the dealer and gave them a rollicking for p@ss poor service, hence their sudden re-emergence on the repair.

That’s my guess

 

[Spriddler]

Hopefully Swift got on to the dealer and gave them a rollicking for p@ss poor service, hence their sudden re-emergence on the repair.

Makes me wonder if the reason that they and other manufacturers put up with poor dealers (they seem quite widespread) is because they have difficulty getting dealers.
In my experience the car makers are very particular, putting pressure on franchised dealers to have decent premises, competences and perform to the manufacturers' required standards.

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[FrankNicklin]

Makes me wonder that the reason that they and other manufacturers put up with poor dealers (which seem quite widespread) is because they have difficulty getting dealers.
In my experience car makers are very particular, putting pressure on franchised dealers to have decent premises, competences and perform to the manufacturers' requirements.

Compared to a car dealer a MH dealer is a niche market. You may be right that finding good dealers is difficult. That said if all the MH's where made correctly and not thrown together so they don't leak from the outset they might find more dealers willing to sell MH's and not have the risk and hassle factor that MH's seems to have these days, depending on the marque of course.

 

[Verteuil Man]

These speaks volumes

 

[mitzimad]

i would let the dealer do it as the factory is the cause of the original problem

 

[Jonno1103]

Great news! It seems Auto Trail are now doing the same, they're also getting directly involved with customer issues and directing them to the factory for repairs and external accessory fitting. The latter being a lot cheaper than any dealer.

For those who buy predominantly relying on the bulk of the cost being funded by a finance company, be prepared to be informed that in many cases it is they who legally own the vehicle and warranty issues have to be negotiated with them in the first instance.

 

[Spriddler]

Compared to a car dealer a MH dealer is a niche market. You may be right that finding good dealers is difficult. That said if all the MH's where made correctly and not thrown together so they don't leak from the outset they might find more dealers willing to sell MH's and not have the risk and hassle factor that MH's seems to have these days, depending on the marque of course.

Indeed. And there's a lot more to go wrong with a m/h which is far more complex than a car, with drawers, cupboards, loos, fridges, lockers, skylights, plumbing, additional charging systems etc., etc.
Part of the dissatisfaction would seem to be that the manufacturers don't compensate dealers sufficiently for warranty repairs (often necessary to poor initial build quality).

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[Vic]

Watching this thread with interest. The 884 was/is on my shortlist.

 

[Fatboy]

Watching this thread with interest. The 884 was/is on my shortlist.

Beautiful motorhome and an absolute bargain for a 9m tag, it ticks every box, I just didn't expect damp.

 

[TinaLes]

Having bought a new Swift top of the range caravan, I joined The Swift Talk Forum in 2015 to get some tips on usage, accessories etc.
Although we loved the caravan, we decided after just over a year that a MH would be better suited to our touring needs, so went back to The NEC and looked at new Swift MH's. We loved the caravan style lounge interiors, wanted an end bathroom, and twin single beds, so we chose the top of the range 2017 Swift Bolero 714SB, with 180ps engine & comfortmatic auto gearbox. Another thing that was attractive was they had everything all bells & whistles as standard, Alde Heating, loads of internal lights & sockets, anything else needed would have been self fit or dealer fit like solar panels, second batteries, second TV if wanted etc.
We placed our order and with 4K show discount & got one on order for 68K, delivery in 6/7 months to dealership, chuffed to bits and excited about our new MH on order.
I continued reading the news on The Swift Talk Forum, kept seeing the same reoccurring faults on newly delivered vans, like front top window valences rattling at speed, external locker doors warping, side trims falling off on motorways as they relied on mastic to secure them, not enough screws, then the internal top cupboard doors which were shaped started to warp also. The one classic fault that they never seemed to fix despite loads of people complaining on caravans & MH's was not using pipe glue to secure the water outlet from the kitchen sink trap, they just push fitted them, within a week most people found that on closing the cutlery draw it hit the downpipe causing it to separate, and the contents of the sink flooded out the under cupboard and surrounding floor.

I wrote a cheeky request to Swift On The Swift Talk Forum, asking for reassurance from Swift Management that the long list of known reoccurring problems would be fully addressed and remedied before they started to build our van, and be fully end of line inspected before delivery to our dealership?
Swift Answer: Nothing!
Within a week/10 days there was over 100 Swift Talk Members telling Swift to answer my request, that it was not good enough for me to lay out 68K without the assurance that all known on line production & material faults would be remedied by them.
Swift Answer, again Nothing!
The Swift Talk members were equally amazed that Swift did not answer, and many advised me to cancel my order.

My Second attempt directly to Swift, warning them that if they did not answer my peace of mind request either on the forum or via a direct communication with myself, within 10 working days, they would leave me no choice but to cancel my order and buy something else.
Swift Answer: Nothing!
We were so disappointed by Swifts lack of response, that we drove that week 120 miles down to our dealership to tell them face to face the bad news and reasons why we had cancelled our order. They were upset but understood why when I showed the the comment and lack of response on the forum.
They were holding a large deposit as we had traded the nearly new caravan through them which was gone same day as we delivered it.
To their, and our relief they had just taken on The Carthago Franchise, and although we had to compromise on many things layout wise, plus dig deeper in our pockets to fund the difference, we took the decision that for peace of mind sake Carthago ownership made more sense.
We have never regretted that decision, apart from the now known dubious payloads quoted, which have been upgraded now.
Good luck to The OP, we still love the Kon Tiki/Bolero British van layouts, hope The Swift Factory get your van sorted once and for all and you have some happier times with it.
LES

 

[CazPaul]

It still has the potential to be damp that’s my issue I would be forever worried about another winter outside and what may happen.

That’s the main reason we bought an old van March 2005, was because of the construction.

 

[Jonno1103]

Indeed. And there's a lot more to go wrong with a m/h which is far more complex than a car, with drawers, cupboards, loos, fridges, lockers, skylights, plumbing, additional charging systems etc., etc.
Part of the dissatisfaction would seem to be that the manufacturers don't compensate dealers sufficiently for warranty repairs (often necessary to poor initial build quality).

I'd agree to some of this however average warranty labour payment to a dealer is £54 an hour, average automotive garage throughout the UK is £50 - £80 per hour.

Essentially most dealers simply want to fit accessories & sockets at vastly inflated prices. Brownhills want nearly £370 to fit a single CBE socket which costs less than £12 in parts. They want nigh on £1800 to fit a 4.0m awning to my mates new Auto Trail, the factory will fit it aftermarket for £700 less.

Dealers will also charge you a premium to have a mobile fitter add an alarm... the same alarm company and fitter will do the same job on your driveway for a couple of hundred quid less.

Zero sympathy for dealers.

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[FrankNicklin]

I'd agree to some of this however average warranty labour payment to a dealer is £54 an hour, average automotive garage throughout the UK is £50 - £80 per hour.

Essentially most dealers simply want to fit accessories & sockets at vastly inflated prices. Brownhills want nearly £370 to fit a single CBE socket which costs less than £12 in parts. They want nigh on £1800 to fit a 4.0m awning to my mates new Auto Trail, the factory will fit it aftermarket for £700 less.

Dealers will also charge you a premium to have a mobile fitter add an alarm... the same alarm company and fitter will do the same job on your driveway for a couple of hundred quid less.

Zero sympathy for dealers.

The problem for dealers is they have premises to keep a franchise to run, staff to pay but a limited market in which to sell. They will try and recoup costs where they can. Top marque dealers like Mercedes will charge £150 to £200 per hour labour minimum but they have a decent market share. People pay a lot for a MH and the dealers think they can charge top prices for service.

 

[Marie-Claire]

We also looked at the swift tag when deciding to buy a new van , although it looked very swish we had issues with a previous swift sport which were all getting sorted under warranty but decided to go for a used sonic tag which apart from the Reich water fittings has been faultless upto now.

 

[haganap]

Glad the manufacturer is going to repair it. Shocking dealer communication and best stayed well clear of.

We had very similar with a van we loved when swift "forgot" to seal the joint between the "floor" and the bottom of the walls. These were all recalled and repaired. Sadly ours was missed as we got it second hand. When I got to know about it, it was way to far gone. Managed to get it PXd with a dealer who was aware and said common issue, he could repair it before sale. Whether he did or not is another matter.

 

[Fatboy]

Glad the manufacturer is going to repair it. Shocking dealer communication and best stayed well clear of.

We had very similar with a van we loved when swift "forgot" to seal the joint between the "floor" and the bottom of the walls. These were all recalled and repaired. Sadly ours was missed as we got it second hand. When I got to know about it, it was way to far gone. Managed to get it PXd with a dealer who was aware and said common issue, he could repair it before sale. Whether he did or not is another matter.

I suspect that is what’s wrong with mine, not sealed on the offside. Swift and autotrail have their haters for sure but I’ve never had a sing issue with ours since picking it up to the damp issue. Mine was £100k new I think they are £115 now. This is a 9m tag axle with oven, microwave, Wi-Fi, 2 batteries 2 solar, ”leather seats” all standard, there wasn’t another motorhome out there that size could get anywhere near that for the price.

 

[Jonno1103]

The problem for dealers is they have premises to keep a franchise to run, staff to pay but a limited market in which to sell. They will try and recoup costs where they can. Top marque dealers like Mercedes will charge £150 to £200 per hour labour minimum but they have a decent market share. People pay a lot for a MH and the dealers think they can charge top prices for service.

My merc garage, in Pannal Harrogate charges £65 an hour which is cheaper than what I was paying in Pembrokeshire back in 2014, for me it's more about geography & local competition. Many motorhome dealers don't have any of the latter and prospective owners are 'encouraged' to buy local and always return to the same dealer for annual servicing rather than shop around. This compounds the problem.

Mate of mine took his van back to his dealer to part ex after 2 years as he wanted a tag axle, they offered him £45k. He spent a further 2 hours on the A1 to Newcastle and was offered £56k.

We also have to consider the modern owner who doesn't necessarily use a pension or nest egg for a lump sum purchase. Dealers know that these buyers will simply opt for everything their chosen monthly payment will cover, they don't care what individual items cost as long as it's affordable at the end of every month.

You walk into showrooms and all of the shiny vans sit there fully loaded, the dealer won't explain that many of the items are cost options which in many cases seriously impact your payload, cost options you'll never need or use and if you pre order you can tailor the build to suit. I've lost count of the many, many owners who simply believe what they're buying is standard spec as of course the dealer will then tell you sob stories in order to sell stock.

If there's one word that you cannot use to describe a motorhome dealer it's transparent.

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[DT]

Having owned a Swift caravan I can say never again. Go to any dealer that stocks Swift and spent time in either caravans or Motorhomes and odds are you will find loose trim, poorly fitted doors and drawers etc.

 

[Verteuil Man]

Having owned a Swift caravan I can say never again. Go to any dealer that stocks Swift and spent time in either caravans or Motorhomes and odds are you will find loose trim, poorly fitted doors and drawers etc.

Might I add, like most UK built motorhomes and caravans.

 

[scotzsue]

i would let the dealer do it as the factory is the cause of the original problem

Would agree with that, had the dealer been more pro active.
We also many years ago bought a new swift, we were at the factory and mentioned a dodgy roof light blind and that we were having trouble with the tv, point was already fitted, they asked for the keys while we toured the factory and gave our opinion on some new vans. Got the keys back later both problems sorted out and they had obviously given it a good check over as a couple of other things we hadn't noticed had also been rectified, had the van for about 5 years before changing because we wanted one with a garage. This was on an entry level, lightweight alko chassis escape.
I loved that van.

 

[mark49]

Have I missed where it mentions who the dealer is?

 

[Fatboy]

Have I missed where it mentions who the dealer is?

I never mentioned the dealer, trust me I want too but dont want this to become a slanging match. The factory have stepped up and will repair it there, since they got in touch with me the dealer has now miraculously upped their game and offered to pick up my motorhome and repair it, also in January. The thing is the dealer found damp just under the front bunk and thats what they will repair, I suspect this runs right down the wall behind the kitchen. The dealer wont inspect that but Swift have agreend to carry out a full invetigation.

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[Mzracer]

I never mentioned the dealer, trust me I want too but dont want this to become a slanging match. The factory have stepped up and will repair it there, since they got in touch with me the dealer has now miraculously upped their game and offered to pick up my motorhome and repair it, also in January. The thing is the dealer found damp just under the front bunk and thats what they will repair, I suspect this runs right down the wall behind the kitchen. The dealer wont inspect that but Swift have agreend to carry out a full invetigation.

Good work to get the manufacturer involved and lets hope for a good outcome.