Opinions on best way forward with dealer.

[999RAR]

A bit of a long story I'm afraid! Early in August I traded my Eura Mobil in for a PVC at a dealer.

A bit of background on my old van. The speedo would intermittently stop working and this became worse on our previous trip. I cleaned the connections behind the instrument cluster and made sure the cables weren't too tight. This seemed to work and the speedo was fine on our return journey. We then didn't use the van for a few months as we were busy selling our house.

I took my van to the dealer a couple of days early as the insurance and tax were due before I could pick up our van. On the journey to the dealer the speedo didn't work at all. When I got to the dealer the salesman was off but I told the person that I handed it over to about the speedo. In the meantime I did a bit of research about the problem and thought it was probably the gearbox speed sensor. I mentioned this to the salesman when I picked up my new (to me) van.

During the handover the salesman mentioned that the engine battery was not showing full voltage on the van control panel. He said the battery had been checked and was good and suggested that it probably needed a good run. I said I would monitor it and keep him informed. We went away for a few days and the battery had a slow discharge. When we got home I trickle charged the battery but it discharged and the control panel alarmed after a day or 2. I emailed the dealer and told him about the battery and that I would trickle charge it again. After about 3-4 days I would get a warning on the Mercedes app about critical battery.

Before our first trip away I had a good look underneath the van and noticed that some of the waste tank insulation was missing, looking liked it had melted. I did not mention this to the dealer as I thought it would be going back for a new battery soon and I'd mention it then. I did a bit of searching on the Wildax Facebook group and found this to be quite a common problem on this model and that Wildax had fitted extra heat-shields or modified the exhaust when this problem had happened in the past. It probably explained why the tank heater light did not come on.

I kept the dealer regularly informed and even priced a battery up from Halfords. I asked his permission to get a new battery fitted but he said he would speak to his rep about the price of a new battery. He then delayed further and said he was changing his supplier. I also let him know about the waste tank, as surely this would have been picked up on a a pre-delivery inspection. Therefore I would expect it to be repaired without going through the useless warranty.

Finally getting to the point of this now if your still reading!

We have been using the van quite a bit recently so yesterday I emailed the dealer about the battery as I hadn't heard anything back for a while about changing it.
He says that the cost of repairing my old van was £342 and this was not declared when getting a price for a trade in.
They could do some diagnostic work at £65 per hour plus VAT and see if I had a legitimate warranty claim. Otherwise I would be liable for this cost.
In the email he also suggests the following:
"Perhaps a sensible way forward would be if you are happy to cover the costs of the speedo, we would be happy to check the battery and replace if needed, and conduct an investigation of the exhaust issue you reported and see if we can implement a fix ?"

Does anyone think this is fair? I would welcome honest comments. The van is 4.5 years old and I paid about the same as it would have costed new. Therefore I would have expected everything to be as new, even batteries. Whereas my trade in was 17 years old and could be expected to have faults in my view.

 

[rod_vw]

A bit of a long story I'm afraid! Early in August I traded my Eura Mobil in for a PVC at a dealer.

A bit of background on my old van. The speedo would intermittently stop working and this became worse on our previous trip. I cleaned the connections behind the instrument cluster and made sure the cables weren't too tight. This seemed to work and the speedo was fine on our return journey. We then didn't use the van for a few months as we were busy selling our house.

I took my van to the dealer a couple of days early as the insurance and tax were due before I could pick up our van. On the journey to the dealer the speedo didn't work at all. When I got to the dealer the salesman was off but I told the person that I handed it over to about the speedo. In the meantime I did a bit of research about the problem and thought it was probably the gearbox speed sensor. I mentioned this to the salesman when I picked up my new (to me) van.

During the handover the salesman mentioned that the engine battery was not showing full voltage on the van control panel. He said the battery had been checked and was good and suggested that it probably needed a good run. I said I would monitor it and keep him informed. We went away for a few days and the battery had a slow discharge. When we got home I trickle charged the battery but it discharged and the control panel alarmed after a day or 2. I emailed the dealer and told him about the battery and that I would trickle charge it again. After about 3-4 days I would get a warning on the Mercedes app about critical battery.

Before our first trip away I had a good look underneath the van and noticed that some of the waste tank insulation was missing, looking liked it had melted. I did not mention this to the dealer as I thought it would be going back for a new battery soon and I'd mention it then. I did a bit of searching on the Wildax Facebook group and found this to be quite a common problem on this model and that Wildax had fitted extra heat-shields or modified the exhaust when this problem had happened in the past. It probably explained why the tank heater light did not come on.

I kept the dealer regularly informed and even priced a battery up from Halfords. I asked his permission to get a new battery fitted but he said he would speak to his rep about the price of a new battery. He then delayed further and said he was changing his supplier. I also let him know about the waste tank, as surely this would have been picked up on a a pre-delivery inspection. Therefore I would expect it to be repaired without going through the useless warranty.

Finally getting to the point of this now if your still reading!

We have been using the van quite a bit recently so yesterday I emailed the dealer about the battery as I hadn't heard anything back for a while about changing it.
He says that the cost of repairing my old van was £342 and this was not declared when getting a price for a trade in.
They could do some diagnostic work at £65 per hour plus VAT and see if I had a legitimate warranty claim. Otherwise I would be liable for this cost.
In the email he also suggests the following:
"Perhaps a sensible way forward would be if you are happy to cover the costs of the speedo, we would be happy to check the battery and replace if needed, and conduct an investigation of the exhaust issue you reported and see if we can implement a fix ?"

Does anyone think this is fair? I would welcome honest comments. The van is 4.5 years old and I paid about the same as it would have costed new. Therefore I would have expected everything to be as new, even batteries. Whereas my trade in was 17 years old and could be expected to have faults in my view.

I would have the engine battery tested by a good independent battery supplier. I suspect that there may be nothing wrong with it, modern vans like yours (and mine) have a considerable current draw every tine they are even unlocked. My new van would complain about the condition of the battery after it had been stood for a couple of weeks and just opened up to work on.

 

[Googlebot]

They had the option to test the van when traded in, if they missed a fault, then tough.

However, you are now between a rock and a hard place. It could get messy and you have a few faults that need fixing, I would just pay for the speedo and crack on. Once paid you have every right to be as demanding as is reasonable, they have a get out of jail card otherwise, even if it isn’t fair.

A lot of places get you to sign disclaimers about known faults with trade ins, if you did sign one saying it was fault free, then you are a bit stuck.

 

[BillandHelen]

Hi, if it’s a Wildax then I assume the you have a Mercedes based Elara? If so, then you are right that the exhaust being right beside the waste tank and in some cases melting the plastic, is a known fault. You could have this rectified at the factory, I would have thought as “goodwill” , I’d give Lisa in Aftersales a call, she is very helpful.
As for the Mercedes base vehicle battery, it is very power hungry! The electronics, electric handbrake, software upgrades, alarm etc as well as the smart alternator means most people rely on a battery master to keep it charged.
Ps, you might also want to install fridge fans, fridge is installed too high off the floor and needs help to cool in summer!

 

[999RAR]

Thanks for the replies everyone. It doesn't sit well with me to spend so much for a van and then possibly have to pay them to investigate faults that should have been sorted before being sold.

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[999RAR]

Hi, if it’s a Wildax then I assume the you have a Mercedes based Elara? If so, then you are right that the exhaust being right beside the waste tank and in some cases melting the plastic, is a known fault. You could have this rectified at the factory, I would have thought as “goodwill” , I’d give Lisa in Aftersales a call, she is very helpful.
As for the Mercedes base vehicle battery, it is very power hungry! The electronics, electric handbrake, software upgrades, alarm etc as well as the smart alternator means most people rely on a battery master to keep it charged.
Ps, you might also want to install fridge fans, fridge is installed too high off the floor and needs help to cool in summer!

It is an Elara. I think I will contact the factory direct about the water tank as don't have any faith in a dealer that didn't repair it before sale. Thanks for the info about the fridge fans. Hopefully I'll do this before next summer.

 

[PP Bear]

My thoughts are that it’s a dealer, there aren’t many good ones around and they’ve got tight overheads. If it were me, I’d sort the battery myself and as mentioned by BillandHelen , call them and have the heat/exhaust issue looked at by them. Think you’ll be flogging a dead horse otherwise.

Incidentally, my vans nearing 20 years old and I certainly don’t think that your px van was old.

Also, I bet if you put it in with the dealer, you won’t see it again for 3 months.

Good luck

 

[DavidG58]

Sounds like back to manufacturer for insulation

Get battery checked if needed pay yourself

Tell dealer to do one regarding repairing yours unless you agreed to pay when you took it in

60 days after transaction can’t see they can come back to you now

But I do detect there may already be some friction based on the dealer response

 

[RedFrame]

IMO, the battery was faulty at point of sale, you emailed them shortly after taking possession. They are a vehicle Dealer and are Bound in law to fix faults that existed at point of sale.

You however are not a Dealer, the same does not apply.

If you end up letting them get away with it and purchasing your own Battery then make sure you keep the receipt and warranty information as the W907 eats cab batteries for breakfast! (We ran 17 of them at work up to last year and I run one myself).

As above you're probably best speaking to Wildax about the exhaust shield.

Cheers
Red

 

[The Wino]

You said that you expect the new van to be as new as you paid about the same as it would have cost new but how good a trade in did you get on your previous one if it was quite a bit more than you would have expected one that old to be worth they might think the same about the speedo!

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[BillandHelen]

999RAR , if you haven’t already, I’d join the Wildax Enthuisiast group on Facebook, lots of Elara owners and lots of Wildax knowledge. Peter Shorney, one of the moderators runs an Elara and has great knowledge about them.

 

[999RAR]

You said that you expect the new van to be as new as you paid about the same as it would have cost new but how good a trade in did you get on your previous one if it was quite a bit more than you would have expected one that old to be worth they might think the same about the speedo!

The price we got for our old one was about what we expected. We were offered about £3000 more the previous year on a cheaper van.

 

[gus-lopez]

He says that the cost of repairing my old van was £342 and this was not declared when getting a price for a trade in.
They could do some diagnostic work at £65 per hour plus VAT and see if I had a legitimate warranty claim. Otherwise I would be liable for this cost.
In the email he also suggests the following:
"Perhaps a sensible way forward would be if you are happy to cover the costs of the speedo, we would be happy to check the battery and replace if needed, and conduct an investigation of the exhaust issue you reported and see if we can implement a fix ?"

Did it come with a guarantee? if so I'd point out that they are liable as you pointed it out shortly after collection.You also told the drop off person that the speedo was faulty . If under guarantee he has to repair/replace free of charge & has no comeback on you for his lack of attention when you dropped it off.

 

[The Wino]

The price we got for our old one was about what we expected. We were offered about £3000 more the previous year on a cheaper van.

What I really meant was that all vans are still going for quite a lot more than people would have expected before COVID. Do you mean the new one cost the same as a new one would now in which case I can see why you expect it to be as new or the same as a new one would have cost 4 and a half years ago in which case it's probably a fair bit less than a new one would be now and I wouldn't expect it to be as new.

 

[Outdoors Dad]

It's frightening how these dealers go on. It would appear to me after reading and hearing many horror stories that the sales people don't know they arse from an elbow.

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[Northernraider]

That's what puts me off dealers.


The way I see it the van you purchased came with a warranty.

The van they purchased ie your trade in didn't.

2 seperate things.

No surprise they want to wriggle out the warranty though.

 

[eddie]

Does anyone think this is fair?

No

I would welcome honest comments.

OK:-

The van is 4.5 years old and I paid about the same as it would have costed new. Therefore I would have expected everything to be as new

Why? The conversion is at least 5 years old, the chassis is probably older, tyres and battery are probably the first things made. Expect a new van? Buy a new van!

even batteries. Whereas my trade in was 17 years old and could be expected to have faults in my view.

Did you advised them of the faulty speedo when they gave you a part exchange price?

 

[Fdhadi]

As a general rule, when a dealer takes a vehicle in as px they expect it to have faults and set aside a set amount of money for repairs that may possibly be needed.

Some vehicles need more and others less, this is all factored into the price. Tyres, servicing & cambelts are expected to need changing. I honestly think at £342 to repair your old vehicle the dealer should be and would be dancing. Anything less than 1k is a bonus.

Sounds a bit like swings and roundabouts but the dealer wants the park to themselves.
You need to tell them where to get off.

 

[Tigger-Tim]

The van is 4.5 years old and I paid about the same as it would have costed new. Therefore I would have expected everything to be as new, even batteries.

That's unrealistic. It's still a 4.5 year old van. The mercedes is well known for having a vehicle battery high drain - that doesn't matter when the van is used daily, but can be an issue for motorhomes. If the battery is faulty, then it should be replaced, but maybe there's just a high drain. I'd fit a battery master (and maybe a new battery) and move on.

I seem to recall that Wildax had Elaras back to the factory to fit an extra heatshield. I'd start by contacting them. If they won't help, then maybe visit a local exhaust centre and get them to fabricate a different end pipe?

Sure, you can try all sorts of avenues with the dealer, but sometimes it's better just to move on?

 

[BusyBuilder]

The way I see this is, you are worrying yourself to bits over a new battery, what does a battery cost £120 ? what is that compared to the amount you paid for the vehicle ? and peace of mind ?
As for the insulation, talk to Wildax.

When we bought our Hymer, I found out within a couple of days the batteries were totally shot. So I wanted lithium and another solar panel, I didn't bother asking the dealer to supply 2 new batteries as I would just have been given lead acid. So contacted Offgrid and got what I wanted.

The other problem we had was the electric bed, it worked 90% of the time, but to be honest I thought it was a total waste of money so I took the bed apart, looked at what Hymer had fitted and removed the actuators...bed now manual and fixed for good. Why anyone would spec an electric bed at £££££ is beyond me. The actuators cost £960 alone.

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