Warranty awareness (not impressed)

[sfrain145]

This is a bit of a rant to all the dealers out there who are super unhelpful
I will name them as it’s embarrassing to hear what they say.

We have a 22 model Adria camper and the main control panel (Schaudt LT150) £180 new has a fault the water levels has stopped working so I had a look and when my finger touched the rear of the panel circuit board it seemed to work so powers of deduction tell me there is a break in the circuit somewhere on the panel as my finger must have bridged the gap. So the panel has a fault.

I looked on the Adria website and found the nearest to me was Brownhills so rang and explained they said drive down and we can have a look but we can’t take a look for 12 weeks by that time my warranty has lapsed. His answer was sorry can’t help.

Next was highbridge where it came from originally as we are the second owner. The comment came after trying to get hold of someone for a week as they was on holiday was sorry can’t help you as the van isnt on our system in your name. Even though we are on their system as previous customers when we bought a caravan years ago.

After me getting annoyed unfortunately as some of the comments he made boiled my blood. As he was saying things like we can’t help as we have registered customers in front of you etc, we don’t get paid for warranty work. My view is don’t sell new vans with warranty then as the money these things cost new is madness

Anyway a company called Barnsdale said something that was helpful and that was send us your bill of sale we will change the vehicle into your name and send us some pictures and a video and we will register a claim with Adria, is that a common sense approach or am I missing something. I know you can’t do this for all faults as it may not be the device at fault it could be something different

My train of thought here is you buy a converted vehicle from a reputable manufacturer like Adria a decent vehicle then the dealers make a shed load of money and walk away when you need them so in my book they are miss selling a contract, just my views and others may find a different response. Worse case I buy a replacement out of my own non warranty pocket. Would like some views.

 

[sfrain145]

What I find annoying with dealers is you take your van in for repair in the first year and they refuse to do anything unless the manufactured agrees it's faulty and agrees the repair.
What's it got to do with the manufacture in the first year your contract is with the dealer it's up to them to sort it.

Agreed, and when they in this case say its a manufacturers issue as mine is nearing its two year warranty, I am fine with all the van bits if something goes wrong as we build them as a hobby but when its an actual piece of tech or similar then it should be a no brainer, Ring thetford or Truma and most of the time if they are satisfied with what they hear on the phone competency wise they will supply a replacement product no issues.

 

[SpeedyDux]

What I find annoying with dealers is you take your van in for repair in the first year and they refuse to do anything unless the manufactured agrees it's faulty and agrees the repair.
What's it got to do with the manufacture in the first year your contract is with the dealer it's up to them to sort it.

Well said, Lenny. Just to expand a bit:

The customer has a right to bring a claim against the supplying dealer* for damages for breach of contract if the MH is defective and the deater refuses to repair the defect. If the defects are really bad, there is even a right to reject the MH and claim a refund. The limitation period for such a remedy is 6 years from the date of the contract of sale. Usually that is the date of the order form signed by the buyer. Note that this 6 year limitation period does NOT start to run from the date you discovered or should have discovered the defect. An important point.

That contractual limitation period is longer than any warranty I have ever come across.

Any warranty rights are in addition to this basic contractual right, not instead of. When the warranty period runs out you still have this right to make a claim for breach of contract, for up to 6 years (see above). Disclaimers, and exclusion or get-out clauses in the T&Cs that the dealer might seek to rely on by way of defence, and try to reject a claim based on defective goods they supplied, will not be upheld against a private buyer who goes to court. Even if the buyer signed the document containing their T&Cs that still applies. On top of the private buyer's basic contractual rights, there is consumer rights legislation that applies when the seller is a business. More complicated, so I am not going to try to summarise that area. The point being that legally the buyer always has the upper hand against a seller that is a business. The dealer's position is fundamentally weaker, and in most normal situations any rejection will turn out to be a load of BS.

The moral is, if your MH has a defect, do not be fobbed off. Persist until you succeed.

Also, choose to buy from a dealer who is likely to still be around and not disappear after a few months.

If you buy a MH from a private seller most of the above does not apply. The private seller can limit or exclude liability for defects. "Sold as seen" being an example. Caveat emptor - let the buyer beware. Any misleading description or some kind of dishonesty is a different matter.

[*or manufacturer/converter if you bought direct from them, without a dealer being involved in the supply chain.]

 

[eddie]

Another thing to consider is many people buy a product through their business, whether to claim the VAT or for other tax benefits

The Sale of Goods act doesn’t apply in business to business transactions

So Mr Smith on the invoice gets protected whereas Smiths Apples doesn’t

 

[Lenny HB]

Well aware of the 6 year limit but I believe you have to prove it was a manufacturing defect and at the end of the day it will come down to who has the most expensive lawyers, lets face it, it's not going to be the purchaser.

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[SpeedyDux]

Well aware of the 6 year limit but I believe you have to prove it was a manufacturing defect and at the end of the day it will come down to who has the most expensive lawyers, lets face it, it's not going to be the purchaser.

Even a litigant in person can win nowadays if the claim has merit. Especially in the County Court, when the claim is in the Small Claims Track. It makes no business sense for the dealer to hire expensive lawyers because they end up paying their costs regardless, win or lose.

Not forgetting that if the private buyer has legal costs insurance that levels the playing field somewhat if the value of the claim is high.

 

[MichaelT]

Well aware of the 6 year limit but I believe you have to prove it was a manufacturing defect and at the end of the day it will come down to who has the most expensive lawyers, lets face it, it's not going to be the purchaser.

Whats manufacturing defect and wear and tear after 6 years, trying to prove it was an inherent defect would be hard.

 

[SpeedyDux]

Whats manufacturing defect and wear and tear after 6 years, trying to prove it was an inherent defect would be hard.

That's what experts are for. The cost of an independent engineer's Report may be worthwhile in high value claims.

 

[The Artilleryman]

Whats manufacturing defect and wear and tear after 6 years, trying to prove it was an inherent defect would be hard.

Shower light fitting screws going (up) through the roof is the former, noisy cab skylight, if from new is manufacturing defect, if it starts after say 4 years ??.

This Bristol company has known about both these defects, especially the skylight ( mine was built 7 years ago, whistled from day 1 as most do), but still denies responsibility. Yes my skylight was fixed under warranty, but took 5 months of chasing to get it done.

 

[Orion]

This tells me different or did I read it wrong, they seem to have a big Dealer network

Adria’s World Class Manufacturing (WCM) is a set of concepts, principles, policies and techniques for managing a manufacturing company. It is a process-driven approach where implementations involve many philosophies and techniques, from the automotive industry. You can visit our factory online on this website.

Adria products come with a class leading warranty and there is a professional dealer network of over 400 Adria dealers across Europe and beyond, backed up by a world-class parts supply operation. Details and locations of our dealer network can be found on [Broken Link Removed].

REGISTERING FOR YOUR WARRANTY​

We ask you to make sure, when you purchase your Adria vehicle, that your personal and contact details and your new vehicle are registered on our warranty system – by your Adria dealer at the point of purchase. This ensures we know who owns the vehicle and that we can get in touch should we need to. If you subsequently change address or contact details, or you decide to sell your vehicle then please inform your Adria dealer and have them change your details on the warranty system.



GENERAL WARRANTY CONDITIONS (SUMMARY).
The full warranty policy documents can be inspected at your authorized Adria Representative (Adria dealer) and you should be made familiar with them when purchasing your Adria vehicle.

My experience with our Adria over the past 16 months is that all of that has taken place with our dealer. From initial handover and explanation and registration of all warranty documents - including the extended 5 year Fiat warranty - to follow up emails and telephone calls to make sure everything was okay. After 12 months I had a few minor issues sorted with one visit - dashboard tablet holder replaced (Fiat), fridge LCD panel replaced (Thetford), and cracked table fitting replaced (Adria). This was with my local dealer Chelston of Wellington, about 20 minutes up the road which certainly influenced the decision on where to buy from.

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[MichaelT]

My experience with our Adria over the past 16 months is that all of that has taken place with our dealer. From initial handover and explanation and registration of all warranty documents - including the extended 5 year Fiat warranty - to follow up emails and telephone calls to make sure everything was okay. After 12 months I had a few minor issues sorted with one visit - dashboard tablet holder replaced (Fiat), fridge LCD panel replaced (Thetford), and cracked table fitting replaced (Adria). This was with my local dealer Chelston of Wellington, about 20 minutes up the road which certainly influenced the decision on where to buy from.

We are buying from Chelston so hope we get same service but it's 200 miles for us

 

[dash300]

We are buying from Chelston so hope we get same service but it's 200 miles for us

It's also a Fiat Professional Service Center which is handy!

 

[Orion]

We are buying from Chelston so hope we get same service but it's 200 miles for us

Found them to be very professional no matter which department I’ve been dealing with. The salesman I had with was totally upfront about anticipated delivery delays - I snagged a dealer pre-order in October 2021 which I could then alter the specification on - and was even amenable to a bit of haggling and a fair bit of discount. Kept me totally informed with production updates from the factory when available right up to delivery in December 2022, so all in all a very positive experience overall.

 

[mapman55]

I’m also buying from Chelston and around 350 miles one way so fingers crossed

 

[MichaelT]

Found them to be very professional no matter which department I’ve been dealing with. The salesman I had with was totally upfront about anticipated delivery delays - I snagged a dealer pre-order in October 2021 which I could then alter the specification on - and was even amenable to a bit of haggling and a fair bit of discount. Kept me totally informed with production updates from the factory when available right up to delivery in December 2022, so all in all a very positive experience overall.

Was it Paul? We got a cancelled carthago at the NEC being built as we speak and hopefully complete next week. Also got a good deal on trade in and discount but I guess they are still buying at 2022 prices.