A related question: my 2016 Hymer (Mercedes) had complete habitation and vehicle service and dampness check last July (2020). It hasn’t been used since then (due to lockdowns) and has been on the driveway on electric hookup. I’ve put the heating on overnight during very cold spells. My question is: do I need to have the habitation, vehicle and damp services done again this July or can I wait until next year? I hope to be able to travel to Spain and stay there for next winter.
Maintenance Advice Please
- Thread starter Two of usI
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Minxy
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They are optional of course but if you want to maintain any warranty you have that requires them to be done annually then you need to bear that in mind. I haven't ever had a Merc based MH but assume that it is now out of the manufacturer's warranty anyway now so that's down to whether you feel it needs it or not, but the hab and/or damp part may be required to maintain the Hymer warranty, likely just the damp one, but of course this is only if it has been done every year since it was new, otherwise any warranty will already have been voided.
Clipgate
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You have not given it seems a breakdown of the invoice
- Aug 18, 2011
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How much,,daylight robbery.BUSBY.I paid £220 for my first hab check and that was on a PVC
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I had to comply with warranty terms and I know it was
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- Aug 18, 2011
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Buggers have you by the short and curlies,,BUSBYI had to comply with warranty terms and I know it was
£700 is exactly what i would expect for a 2 year and hab service for a rapido main dealer. I just paId £200 for hab service for rapido warranty. The prices are on the wall at Simpsons for all to see. £500 for main service £60 hydraulic fluid change.
Would i pay it myself ?
1st year oil filter all recalls and reprogramming ecu £150 (£65 oil &filter)
2nd yr
No
Oil and all filters £112 £98 for multiecuscan and hardware
Would i pay it myself ?
1st year oil filter all recalls and reprogramming ecu £150 (£65 oil &filter)
2nd yr
No
Oil and all filters £112 £98 for multiecuscan and hardware
I have said it before and I will say it again.
Stop referring to it as a Habitation service. They do not service anything.
It is simply a check of systems, most of which are a complete waste of time and money:
Does the fridge work?
Does the cooker work?
Does the heating work?
Do the lights work etc etc.
Now I for one do not need to pay someone a couple of hundred quid to check all these things which I would already know were OK.
Three things, which 'IF' carried out properly may be beyond the scope of a lot of owners are: Damp checks, gas checks and electric checks.
I have been caravaning/motorhoming for some fifty years and have never felt the need to part with my hard earned money, just to have some bored mechanic tell me all my lights are working.
Geoff
Stop referring to it as a Habitation service. They do not service anything.
It is simply a check of systems, most of which are a complete waste of time and money:
Does the fridge work?
Does the cooker work?
Does the heating work?
Do the lights work etc etc.
Now I for one do not need to pay someone a couple of hundred quid to check all these things which I would already know were OK.
Three things, which 'IF' carried out properly may be beyond the scope of a lot of owners are: Damp checks, gas checks and electric checks.
I have been caravaning/motorhoming for some fifty years and have never felt the need to part with my hard earned money, just to have some bored mechanic tell me all my lights are working.
Geoff
Minxy
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It depends what you mean by service ... some do just 'check' stuff, other do more such as lubricating stuff which is a 'service' and of course the work they are doing is a 'service' too.
As for not having them done, that's fine if you don't want to have it then don't, but unfortunately some manufacturers won't honour any warranty claims if you don't as it's in their T&Cs that they must be.
As for not having them done, that's fine if you don't want to have it then don't, but unfortunately some manufacturers won't honour any warranty claims if you don't as it's in their T&Cs that they must be.
- Aug 18, 2011
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Same here,,where they get HABITATION SERVICE from I don't know.BUSBY
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I think you have found a garage to die for. Would you give me a few examples of stuff that have been lubricated, on a motorhome, during a hab check. I can only thing of hinges, locks ect, which in my case would not require additional lubrication as I routinely carry out that sort of maintenance.
Geoff
- Aug 18, 2011
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Same here,,in the van I can think of seat runners in the cab,,,door and furniture hinges,,flap in toilet cassette,,window catches and that's about it.All thinks I do myself on a regular basis.BUSBY.
Minxy
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As I mentioned in my post #24 we had a hab as part of our purchase deal and when we got it back we found they had gone over all sorts of stuff that your 'average' MH hab service/check might not cover including lubricating all the door/locker locks, hinges, bed struts etc, you name it, they 'maintained' it, we were told that Carthago require more to be done by their dealer workshops when undertaking habs and indeed they appear to have done so, now whether that was worth £380 I don't know.
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380 quid sounds a lot of money for a few squirts of 3 in One oil .Thought they were all simple things that you would lubricate on a regular basis the same as cleaning etc.Sounds like easy money for the garage. BUSBY.
I think we are talking about two different things here. Clearly, as you pointed out, the Carthago people gave you added value by lubricating various items, but I suggest that is not the norm, and also, at nearly four hundred pounds they jolly well ought to.
WOW, £380 that is a lot of money.
Geoff
WOW, £380 that is a lot of money.
Geoff
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Just had the "A" service carried out on my 2012 Mercedes Hymer by a local independant Mercedes specialist, price....£174. I don't bother with an habitation check. Instead I prefer to get a mobile motorhome engineer who's ACOPS LPG gas registered to do an annual gas service & safety check.
Pete
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Sounds more like a postponed PDI that you are effectively paying for twice.
Minxy
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You make assumptions and based on those are denigrating them without knowing exactly what they do, products they use etc.
£380 is a lot of money I agree and if it was for a PVC I wouldn't be happy for one minute, but this is for a double floor 'premium' A-class and I know for a fact that they crawled all over/in it, including inside the underfloor lockers checking absolutely everything. Whether this was worth £380 I don't know but as we'll be paying next time obviously we need to make that decision at that point.
Minxy
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Nope, we didn't pay for it ... it was the last freebie we squeezed out of them ... we got a VERY good deal with them with loads of stuff included and a great PX for our PVC too which was only a little bit less than they sold it for. We just 'hit' them at the right time as they needed to clear some stock as the next year's models were due in and seeing their main site you'd know they were already jam packed. Its all about negotiating the right price and doing it at the right time.
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Your money your choice.
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Our annual hab service, required for warranty preservation, including damp check £180 inc VAT.
I have had my MH habitation checked every year including underseal spray (average £230) and then engine serviced at a Fiat registered garage at the same time (average £250) so both together NEVER more than £500 - normally less. So yes - you’ve been ripped off!
I'va always used Adams Morey in Southampton, very helpful, and they suggest a small motorhome service rather than full blown commercial high mileage service. Yes maybe slightly more than your 'local' but I'm happy to go to main dealer.I get the van bits serviced annually, but leave the habitation side until I think there's an issue developing. While living in the Salisbury area, I used Adams Morey there to give the moho it's medical; they were very good. You've a Adams Morey in Southampton, may be worth giving them a call when your vehicle next needs attention.
At the bottom of the linked-page are their costs.Motor Home Servicing in Southampton, Salisbury, Portsmouth, Basingstoke, Bournemouth and IOW
Welcome to Adams Morey Ltd Southampton, where we offer a full range of DAF services including new and used truck sales, genuine parts and servicing.www.adamsmorey.com
Sianna
Free Member
I had a jab check and service 2 weeks ago £500 and a complete waste of time, it won’t be happening again!
4 days after the service (12 Apr) we deployed in the MOHO to a local site with the Grand kids and had a number of issues what I would like to think would have be covered on the hab check after a long winter of no use:
- water leak on the water supply to the toilet flush, a connection pipe had come off, flooded the bathroom compartment.
- the oven when lit worked for 30 seconds then flares up and goes out and has to be re-lit, this happened every 10 minutes during use.
- Poor earth connection to the leisure battery which meant the power to the camper was interment and therefore the heater kept cutting out (-3 at nights with 2 kids inside)
also on the service some damp was found, 60% in places where zero % was found on the whole vehicle 12 months before when they sold it to us!
- and to cap it all whist pottering around before deployment I noticed the tyres were all 12 years old - another £600 fix!
I managed to fix all the other problems on site, except the oven, but I was not happy with what was meant to be a hab service getting the camper ready to go once more and not leave me with all the jobs once away.
I’ll DIY next time and get a damp check done with a mobile man.
4 days after the service (12 Apr) we deployed in the MOHO to a local site with the Grand kids and had a number of issues what I would like to think would have be covered on the hab check after a long winter of no use:
- water leak on the water supply to the toilet flush, a connection pipe had come off, flooded the bathroom compartment.
- the oven when lit worked for 30 seconds then flares up and goes out and has to be re-lit, this happened every 10 minutes during use.
- Poor earth connection to the leisure battery which meant the power to the camper was interment and therefore the heater kept cutting out (-3 at nights with 2 kids inside)
also on the service some damp was found, 60% in places where zero % was found on the whole vehicle 12 months before when they sold it to us!
- and to cap it all whist pottering around before deployment I noticed the tyres were all 12 years old - another £600 fix!
I managed to fix all the other problems on site, except the oven, but I was not happy with what was meant to be a hab service getting the camper ready to go once more and not leave me with all the jobs once away.
I’ll DIY next time and get a damp check done with a mobile man.
It’s a habitation check not a service but whilst it’s under warranty we certainly will take ours back to the dealer because they will sort out any little snags for us. We know they won’t necessarily repair a cooker or fridge. The base vehicle we will get done at a Fiat Professional whilst under warranty according to the schedule. Once it’s out of warranty we will use local people like we did on our last van as then the habitation chap can check plus repair and the base service is cheaper.
Whilst under warranty I don’t want to risk hassle for the sake of a few hundred quid on a van that cost £65-70 grand. That seems like unnecessary potential for heartache to me. Each to their own of course. Mind you knowing us we’ll buy a full automatic next year before we hit the 3 years!
Whilst under warranty I don’t want to risk hassle for the sake of a few hundred quid on a van that cost £65-70 grand. That seems like unnecessary potential for heartache to me. Each to their own of course. Mind you knowing us we’ll buy a full automatic next year before we hit the 3 years!
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Hi 2 of us, Believe that could well depend on where you bought it. My impression and experience is that if you buy from a dealer, who gives you a 'good' deal on the purchase they will do you on later maintenance checks or repairs. I bought a Rapido from an allegedly 'largest motorhome dealer', and had no end of problems, so after taking them to court, I completely left them and went elsewhere, with better service and knowledge.
Habitation and dampness ingress checks are only vital as long as your warranty is valid.
Habitation and dampness ingress checks are only vital as long as your warranty is valid.
I think in your last paragraph it should end with "as long as you don't mind any damp issues turning into really big ones before you find out"!
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Find any local garage which specialises in commercials for any engine services, but avoiding the likes of Adams Morey. We got quoted obscene prices for a cam belt on our A class but found a really local garage which does everything from vans to huge great lorries from the quarry next door, who did a great job at an incredibly good price.
We don't do hab checks on our 7 year old Hymer, as him indoors is pretty handy after maintaining boats most of his working life. Seems to me they are just an excuse to rip you off.
Rapidoman 2011
LIFE MEMBER
Had many Motorhomes over the years, never had a dealer service and never had habitation check. I have good eyes, a good sense of smell and my own little damp meter. But the funny thing is, when the time come to trade them in, the dealers did not ask or bother about all that. They were more interested in the next Motorhome l was buying. Even today if l brought a new one l still would not bother. The engine side comes with long life oil so no need to change that for 24000 or two years which ever comes first.
Minxy
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So you would happily void the warranty?
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