Not Happy, Autotrail Delaware 1 Year Old Failed Habitation Check - Damp

[Yorick]

And I'm laughing at you and your brother because you are both wrong . ULTIMATELY ( and as your brother is there he may be able to explain that word to you ) the manufacturer is liable .
I could go into details of my particular scenario but I don't want to befuddle you as you appear to be easily confused .

I'll ask you a very simple question.

If I buy a product from a shop, do I have a contract with them?

Please answer YES or NO.

Sorry in advance if the question is too difficult

 

[Yorick]

I bought a pint of milk from Tesco but it was off

Do I sue Tesco or the farmer?

 

[Adbt]

I bought a pint of milk from Tesco but it was off

Do I sue Tesco or the farmer?

Go to M n S ?

 

[funflair]

Not sure if this will show good enough but This is how my van was 3 weeks ago when i took it to the factory.. Prior damp and drying out has left it looking swollen and the GRP rippled..


View attachment 97076

View attachment 97081

Hi tonka

Looks to me like they have dried it out with a hot air gun, too hot. Has the gel coat lost its smooth glass like finish and does it now show the fibre pattern underneath, the pattern will be random not woven.

Martin

 

[zac]

Hi tonka

Looks to me like they have dried it out with a hot air gun, too hot. Has the gel coat lost its smooth glass like finish and does it now show the fibre pattern underneath, the pattern will be random not woven.

Martin

If that were mine i would flip and barracade the entrance to the factory till they bloody sorted it. Totally unacceptable given the age of the motorhome.

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[Cavs]

My research was ( and remember this is real life not the world occupied by Internet warriors ) by utilising the skills of a specialist consumer law solicitor , you can utilise Google ( don't you just love barrack room lawyers ) if you want .
Within seven days my issue was resolved .
FACTS speak way louder than uninformed words

There is a difference between legal responsibility, which is always with the seller (and perhaps the finance company), and a practical way of getting a job done, which might well be by using a warranty or going after whoever has the capability.

Your experience doesn't change the legal position, but it does show that getting a solicitor to write often wakes people up!

 

[robnchris]

This subject has been discussed so many times, on this forum, other forums, in the the courts and motorhome showrooms.

I ask why oh why haven`t we moved on, why isn`t there some government legal solution to an industry that continually turns out a product that has obvious faults from the design stage.
The way some of these motorhomes are built, i.e.. having the walls fixed into a rail that is placed on top of the floor, this allows water to run down and then in to the panel ends or onto the floor, surely the correct design would be to take the walls down past the floor, open unsealed sections of the floor, another obvious water ingress point.

I discovered the day I bought our new apache straight from the factory that out of all the holes cut in the floor to allow pipes and wires etc to pass none had been sealed, 4 of which were in direct line of the rear wheels.
How did this get through the process and quality control?

!00`s of customers complain every year about shoddy workmanship, poor design and build quality so the question is WHEN will these manufacturers be brought to account?

 

[tonka]

Hi tonka

Looks to me like they have dried it out with a hot air gun, too hot. Has the gel coat lost its smooth glass like finish and does it now show the fibre pattern underneath, the pattern will be random not woven.

Martin

It's never been dried by them..
Went to factory Jan 2013 where they did the Roof leak ( yes ! that as well), could not do side panel and needed van for a while and we were off to Morocco within a fee days.
April 2013 went factory and they said side panels had been removed and re-sealed.
Past few years reading have been borderline and have had extra hab check done, keeping factory informed.
Last hab check, it's 4th, some high readings again and with the ripple making it look bad it's back at the factory under the 10 year ingress warranty..

Fingers crossed...

I love the style and layout, had 4 vans like this. I know there are many Autotrail owners who seem to have no issues but you do keep hearing of owners with new vans still getting damp and in the same areas.. Something cant be right...

 

[zac]

It's never been dried by them..
Went to factory Jan 2013 where they did the Roof leak ( yes ! that as well), could not do side panel and needed van for a while and we were off to Morocco within a fee days.
April 2013 went factory and they said side panels had been removed and re-sealed.
Past few years reading have been borderline and have had extra hab check done, keeping factory informed.
Last hab check, it's 4th, some high readings again and with the ripple making it look bad it's back at the factory under the 10 year ingress warranty..

Fingers crossed...

I love the style and layout, had 4 vans like this. I know there are many Autotrail owners who seem to have no issues but you do keep hearing of owners with new vans still getting damp and in the same areas.. Something cant be right...

I am just glad there is a 10 year water ingress warranty as if not the mh would be going regardless of financials. Something not right though with there quality control.

 

[tonka]

I am just glad there is a 10 year water ingress warranty as if not the mh would be going regardless of financials. Something not right though with there quality control.

Mine is Jan 2012 registered I think it only started for 2012.. Phew.!
Be aware that the terms do state that any claim after 5 years and you have to pay a percentage, year 5 is 20% and it goes up from there.

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[zac]

Mine is Jan 2012 registered I think it only started for 2012.. Phew.!
Be aware that the terms do state that any claim after 5 years and you have to pay a percentage, year 5 is 20% and it goes up from there.

That I didn't know, so I need to get shot of it before then as not paying any money for there shoddy work. I will however ensure it is fixed when it does go but there will be no guarantee it won't come back for the new owners.

 

[laird of Dunstan]

i am reminded of British Leyland when i read the name Autotrail , my dad brought a brand new maxi ,not a niggle with it,my uncle bought a marina that spent most of its life being fixed. Why cant we build quality cars without foreign intervention? whilst its great to see Autotrail expanding in an area of high unemployment,why cant they get the quality sorted out? Foreign motorhomes have less problems

 

[zac]

i am reminded of British Leyland when i read the name Autotrail , my dad brought a brand new maxi ,not a niggle with it,my uncle bought a marina that spent most of its life being fixed. Why cant we build quality cars without foreign intervention? whilst its great to see Autotrail expanding in an area of high unemployment,why cant they get the quality sorted out? Foreign motorhomes have less problems

It is a lesson learnt for me, i simply now do not trust the british workmanship around motorhomes. I am sure there will be issues with other makes and models but the likes of German built motorhomes just seem to go that extra mile. We have sinced looked at Hymer and Carthago's and they appear to be very well made. I have also looked at the Thor Vegas range in particular the ACE as 30ft which would be our limit and this also seems to be well made. I am more observant now than i used to be and this does help when looking at motorhomes as you look for the things that have caused you issues in the past.

Some professional body needs to be formed to sort these cowboys out once and for all and hold them accountable for all these quality issues.

 

[laird of Dunstan]

It is a lesson learnt for me, i simply now do not trust the british workmanship around motorhomes. I am sure there will be issues with other makes and models but the likes of German built motorhomes just seem to go that extra mile. We have sinced looked at Hymer and Carthago's and they appear to be very well made. I have also looked at the Thor Vegas range in particular the ACE as 30ft which would be our limit and this also seems to be well made. I am more observant now than i used to be and this does help when looking at motorhomes as you look for the things that have caused you issues in the past.

Some professional body needs to be formed to sort these cowboys out once and for all and hold them accountable for all these quality issues.

ive gone for a French built motorhome ,no manufacturer apears to be bullet proof with even the likes on Concorde and others producing the odd lemon ,but im hoping that i dont experience lots of problems with my Rapido

 

[zac]

ive gone for a French built motorhome ,no manufacturer apears to be bullet proof with even the likes on Concorde and others producing the odd lemon ,but im hoping that i dont experience lots of problems with my Rapido

I did also look at the Rapido's but my wife didnt like them. I did like the 10000 series but couldnt find one at the time, it was the one with the island bed. but then saying that these were being priced at over 100k which would then bring in the Thor ACE as this was around the same price and a lot more for your money in my opinion and on the 30ft limit that most site allow. It is an option though as i would get a higher trade in if i went for a new Rapido. Maybe the 9000 series with Alde heating as the heating in the Autotrail at the front is non existent even with the 2 vents underneath sealed off.

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[laird of Dunstan]

I did also look at the Rapido's but my wife didnt like them. I did like the 10000 series but couldnt find one at the time, it was the one with the island bed. but then saying that these were being priced at over 100k which would then bring in the Thor ACE as this was around the same price and a lot more for your money in my opinion and on the 30ft limit that most site allow. It is an option though as i would get a higher trade in if i went for a new Rapido. Maybe the 9000 series with Alde heating as the heating in the Autotrail at the front is non existent even with the 2 vents underneath sealed off.

we have gone for the Rapido 9000DFH, its 8 meters long,the longest chassis on 4 wheels with the Island bed , the dealer at Newark quoted us £94k ,then we went to Belgium and forked out £72k for the same motorhome

 

[zac]

we have gone for the Rapido 9000DFH, its 8 meters long,the longest chassis on 4 wheels with the Island bed , the dealer at Newark quoted us £94k ,then we went to Belgium and forked out £72k for the same motorhome

Now thats a big difference, I am assuming you never had one to p/x, at that price though it is worth selling ours privately and then doing the same.

 

[chaser]

we have gone for the Rapido 9000DFH, its 8 meters long,the longest chassis on 4 wheels with the Island bed , the dealer at Newark quoted us £94k ,then we went to Belgium and forked out £72k for the same motorhome

Just off at a tangent here, what sort of price could you get for it here, 20 k could be a nice little earner, or is there a catch somewhere.

 

[zac]

we have gone for the Rapido 9000DFH, its 8 meters long,the longest chassis on 4 wheels with the Island bed , the dealer at Newark quoted us £94k ,then we went to Belgium and forked out £72k for the same motorhome

Did you get left or right hand drive, not that it matters to us as i would prfer LH anyway?

 

[laird of Dunstan]

The Rapido is LH drive, i preferr driving a LH in the UK as opposed to a RH on the continnent,if you get my drift so to speak.
I visited 3 rapido dealers in Belgium all with the same spec for the Van,the first dealer came up with 98k euros,we knocked him down to 95k euros,the other two dealers where much higher but did agree to match the 95k price after showing them the written quote i suppose if you are willing to wait for the 8 months that it takes from order ,then you could sell at a profit. WE have since added more extras to the rapido such as an automatic levelling system,it cost £4000.00 as opposed to the £5200. that we were quoted in the UK ,after years of crawling about on wet and muddy knees with my caravan,i wanted the auto system badly
Some of the other extras that we speced were,3.0 liter engine with auto gear box and a 125 liter fuel tank,they are also fitting an outside barbi point and a 5m Thule awning that runs off of a 220v motor (12v motors take too long)..

Ill be at the Peterborough show and if anyone wants a looksee your more than welcome, we did use the exchange rate to our full advantage,but even at 1.28 euros as it is today it still works out a lot cheaper than buying in the UK

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[zac]

The Rapido is LH drive, i preferr driving a LH in the UK as opposed to a RH on the continnent,if you get my drift so to speak.
I visited 3 rapido dealers in Belgium all with the same spec for the Van,the first dealer came up with 98k euros,we knocked him down to 95k euros,the other two dealers where much higher but did agree to match the 95k price after showing them the written quote i suppose if you are willing to wait for the 8 months that it takes from order ,then you could sell at a profit. WE have since added more extras to the rapido such as an automatic levelling system,it cost £4000.00 as opposed to the £5200. that we were quoted in the UK ,after years of crawling about on wet and muddy knees with my caravan,i wanted the auto system badly
Some of the other extras that we speced were,3.0 liter engine with auto gear box and a 125 liter fuel tank,they are also fitting an outside barbi point and a 5m Thule awning that runs off of a 220v motor (12v motors take too long)..

Ill be at the Peterborough show and if anyone wants a looksee your more than welcome, we did use the exchange rate to our full advantage,but even at 1.28 euros as it is today it still works out a lot cheaper than buying in the UK

Food for thought for sure, we are Peterborough (our first rally), I want to check all works in ours before we go to Italy the week after

 

[zac]

So came home today to notice what appeared to be a raini drop on the side of the motorhome but not moving. After parking the car i went to take a look and noticed there is one the other side as well almost in the place. It can only be described as clear/hard/half circle, now this was not there when i went to the dealers the weekend when they found more damp. At present i am waiting on a call back from them which will be tomorrow when the fitter comes in but is definitly is not normal.

Any thoughts?

 

[Robert Clark]

Looks like a self adhesive pad / buffer

 

[zac]

Looks like a self adhesive pad / buffer

To do what though? it looks unsightly

 

[DuxDeluxe]

To do what though? it looks unsightly

Has it been applied to prevent the door impacting the skirt when opened?

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[chaser]

Looks like a self adhesive pad / buffer

It does look as if you have got a door in both places that would open back there.

 

[zac]

Has it been applied to prevent the door impacting the skirt when opened?

Good point I will check but if it is they can bloody remove it as it looks unsightly.

 

[DuxDeluxe]

Good point I will check but if it is they can bloody remove it as it looks unsightly.

I had a second look at the pictures and it is possible that the BBQ point on one side and the Truma vent on the other might foul the door anyway

 

[zac]

Yes it appears as though the handle of the garage door hits it. I can't believe they have done that

I had a second look at the pictures and it is possible that the BBQ point on one side and the Truma vent on the other might foul the door anyway

The doors do seem to hit this bubble but it looks very unsightly

 

[MitchandJenny]

They are just stick on/peel off silicone pads. They come off dead easy ...
We used them on our Autotrail Tracker to soften the closing of the cupboard doors etc..
No problem really, but good luck with your van..
Ours had both side windows leaking but were replaced under warranty..
Mitch.

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