The 10 year damp warranty

[Durbanite]

Has any one made a claim after year six or know of someone who had a damp claim after year six and the manufacturer approved the claim?

[Paul1957]

Should be an interesting topic. Our 2011 Elddis had a 6 year warranty and when the Solid design came out in 2012 the 10 year warranty was given. Any Elddis with the 10 year warranty will be 7 or less years old.

[Caravantech]

we have done damp repairs within the 6-10 year period without issue, providing the history is all up to date.

[ericfield]

Interesting topic. I have often wondered what the manufacturers stance would be if they were presented with and 8 year old caravan that had a SUDDEN water ingress problem, after 7 years of dry service reports. The cynic in me might ask “would they reject a warranty claim, saying it’s something the owner must have done to the caravan,  for it to start to leak after 7 years bedding in.?”

 

In fact I was considering whether to bother continuing with approved servicing, on my 2012 caravan....which has been bone dry from day one and recorded as such with Swift. The caravan is stored under cover when not in use so I see no likelihood of it suddenly letting in water, except in the case of an accident....the repair of which, would be covered by insurance.  I am quite capable of doing the essential servicing myself and would reason that I could use the servicing cost saving to cover its insurance premium.

 

 

Edited August 22 by ericfield

[Caravantech]

23 hours ago, ericfield said:

Interesting topic. I have often wondered what the manufacturers stance would be if they were presented with and 8 year old caravan that had a SUDDEN water ingress problem, after 7 years of dry service reports. The cynic in me might ask “would they reject a warranty claim, saying it’s something the owner must have done to the caravan,  for it to start to leak after 7 years bedding in.?”

 

In fact I was considering whether to bother continuing with approved servicing, on my 2012 caravan....which has been bone dry from day one and recorded as such with Swift. The caravan is stored under cover when not in use so I see no likelihood of it suddenly letting in water, except in the case of an accident....the repair of which, would be covered by insurance.  I am quite capable of doing the essential servicing myself and would reason that I could use the servicing cost saving to cover its insurance premium.

 

 

 

from our experience I've never had a manufacture reject a claim providing the service history is up to date, as we know, water ingress can happen at any time, and the severity of the leak can vary massively, so one year it can be fine, the following year it could need major damp repairs, IMO having it serviced for a few hundred quid every year gives the peace of mind that if something does go wrong, I wouldn't potentially be massively out of pocket the other end.

[Mr Plodd]

On 22/08/2019 at 16:05, ericfield said:

 I am quite capable of doing the essential servicing myself and would reason that I could use the servicing cost saving to cover its insurance premium.

 

 

 

Its down to how much “risk” you are prepared to accept. You could do all your own servicing (which, if you look at the service sheet basically means they check every is working, which we do every time we use the caravan!!) save the annual cost and have no problem whatsoever during your ownership. OR you could do that and reach a situation where you DO suffer from water ingress that’s caused a lot of damage and you are faced with a repair bill vastly greater than the money you have “saved” 

 

The trouble is that water ingress can, and does, happen to some of just about every make of caravan (except of course German ones according to a regular poster who shall remain unnamed!) during its life and we, the purchasers, have no way of knowing if  “ours” is one of the seive versions, so we pay out for the annual  “service” which is, realistically, more of an insurance premium isnt it? 

 

Damp is now much less of an issue than in the past and (if/when?) someone finds a way of doing away with the current plywood flooring, the lack of wood anywhere should banish the damp/rot gremlins forever!  Please don’t hold your breath though, you will turn purple and die!!

 

In the meantime we have a choice to make. My local dealer is offering a three year (parts included) service contract, as I have a new caravan I thought it a good idea so took it, at least I have no worries about not maintaining the warranty, that happened with my last van, bought at 18 months old, no record of warranty for the first year (been in dealers stock I reckon) at trade in some regularly serviced years later guess what?? Yep, damp! and the lack of proof for the very first years service meant?? No warranty claim possible DESPITE subsequent years being serviced AND damp free. Yes I know it’s my fault for not checking thoroughly at purchase, I did that dangerous thing, I assumed at just over a year old it would have been serviced. Lesson learnt! Now bought new. 

 

Andy

[ericfield]

 

2 hours ago, Mr Plodd said:

 

 

In the meantime we have a choice to make. My local dealer is offering a three year (parts included) service contract, as I have a new caravan I thought it a good idea so took it, at least I have no worries about not maintaining the warranty, that happened with my last van, bought at 18 months old, no record of warranty for the first year (been in dealers stock I reckon) at trade in some regularly serviced years later guess what?? Yep, damp! and the lack of proof for the very first years service meant?? No warranty claim possible DESPITE subsequent years being serviced AND damp free. Yes I know it’s my fault for not checking thoroughly at purchase, I did that dangerous thing, I assumed at just over a year old it would have been serviced. Lesson learnt! Now bought new. 

 

Andy

You’ve answered a question for my brother in law. He just bought a stock ‘new’ caravan that’s well over a year old but with no 1st year service history. Annoying the dealer didn’t think to service it and record the fact with Swift, even if that meant only the 6year ‘transferred owner’ warrantyapplied.

 

 

Edited August 25 by ericfield

[Ern]

Considering the water ingress element of the warranty as a separate matter, this requires a damp check (carried out by an approved workshop) and a report registered with the manufacturer.  Surely we could get a mobile engineer to visit our caravan and do this so the water ingress risk remains with the dealer/manufacturer?  Whilst doing the check the gas drop test could be done so this is a half hour job in total. The annual service is a ridiculous waste of out time and effort for almost no benefit. Unless a very high mileage is done, the brakes and hubs do not require stripping and many people can do a perfectly good job of everything else. A chassis service about every 3 years would be reasonable.

Edited August 25 by Ern

[Stevan]

1 hour ago, ericfield said:

 

You’ve answered a question for my brother in law. He just bought a stock ‘new’ caravan that’s well over a year old but with no 1st year service history. Annoying the dealer didn’t think to service it and record the fact with Swift, even if that meant only the 6year ‘transferred owner’ warrantyapplied.

 

 

Someone is misunderstanding something!

Surely, for a first buyer of a van from a dealer the warranty clock and the CRA clock  start from the moment of handover regardless of how long it has stood as "stock".

There is simply no way round this as far as CRA is concerned unless the dealer specifically sells it as "for spares or repair", and prices it accordingly.

Whether or not this applies to the warranty depends on the small print, but I would be very surprised if it did not refer to "original purchaser" or words to that effect.

 

[David 38]

My warranty started the day I paid for it and brought it home, first service = or - 6 weeks a year after that day.

Bought 2019 made for 2018 market..

[Mr Plodd]

I’m with Stevan on this, mine was an odd situation, original owner passed away during the first year of ownership. It stood idle for many months whilst his estate was sorted out and then sold to the dealership that I purchased from later. 

 

The scenario Stevan has described is exactly the situation with motorhomes, many of which can be 2,3 or even more years “out of the factory” before they are sold and registered. The warranty starts on the date of retail sale/registration. That of course makes a total mockery of the need for a damp check after the first 12 months simply because it could well be anything up to FOUR years from leaving the factory before the first service and damp check is carried out. 

 

I would suggest your BIL goes back to the dealer and gets it clarified in writing!

 

Andy

[ericfield]

29 minutes ago, Mr Plodd said:

I’m with Stevan on this, mine was an odd situation, original owner passed away during the first year of ownership. It stood idle for many months whilst his estate was sorted out and then sold to the dealership that I purchased from later. 

 

The scenario Stevan has described is exactly the situation with motorhomes, many of which can be 2,3 or even more years “out of the factory” before they are sold and registered. The warranty starts on the date of retail sale/registration. That of course makes a total mockery of the need for a damp check after the first 12 months simply because it could well be anything up to FOUR years from leaving the factory before the first service and damp check is carried out. 

 

I would suggest your BIL goes back to the dealer and gets it clarified in writing!

 

Andy

He’s corrected me in that it’s just over 2 years old...so 2 services missed and a little confused about where the caravan has been...maybe it was on montego flight 828. 😂  .  So he’s speaking to Swift about what’s on their records first. Despite the selling dealers being the first port of call for any issues, its Swift who say yeah /nay on body warranty.

Edited August 25 by ericfield

[Mr Plodd]

But is that two services missed from leaving the factory, or two years from original retail sale, that’s the important thing that needs clarification.

 

Andy

[ericfield]

1 minute ago, Mr Plodd said:

But is that two services missed from leaving the factory, or two years from original retail sale, that’s the important thing that needs clarification.

 

Andy

That’s exactly why he needs to get Swifts story.

[Stevan]

21 minutes ago, ericfield said:

He’s corrected me in that it’s just over 2 years old...so 2 services missed and a little confused about where the caravan has been...maybe it was on montego flight 828. 😂  .  So he’s speaking to Swift about what’s on their records first. Despite the selling dealers being the first port of call for any issues, its Swift who say yeah /nay on body warranty.

Swift's warranty is quite clear, it refers to the "date of purchase", no mention of date of manufacture. It also mentions a time period for registration after purchase.

The warranty requires compliance with its terms, the CRA does not, which is why some Swift dealers complete the registration process on behalf of the buyer, to ensure that their CRA liabilities are covered, so far as possible, by the warranty.  

[Griff]

Picked up our new caravan last week and made sure that it is booked in for its first service with the dealer and within the manufacturers stipulated time frame before I left with it.

 

 

[Leedslad]

I am no stranger to the spanner’s etc.  However, I would not be tempted to perform my own servicing and I take special care to have servicing performed exactly how, where and when specified by the manufacturer,  since these days, I purchase my caravans new and want to preserve the warranty.

    John.

 

[Durbanite]

Still it makes you wonder if there have been many claims for caravans with the 10 year warranty and whether the claims have been approved.  Would be nice to know from a consumer if this has happened.

[Griff]

Wonder how many Swift original owners will still be in possession of and alive to take advantage of their 25 year water ingress warranty on certain models?

 

 

[Benny65]

At a dealers yesterday, and they had 2 'new' Swift Elegance vans for sale in the showroom, both new, one from 2016 and the other 2017. 

 

[Supatramp]

I've had warranty work carried out several times over recent years on my Swift, 2012 model  bought new late 2011.  Never had any problems.

[Durbanite]

On 27/08/2019 at 08:20, Benny65 said:

At a dealers yesterday, and they had 2 'new' Swift Elegance vans for sale in the showroom, both new, one from 2016 and the other 2017. 

 

In the late nineties I was working part time delivering demo Vauxhall cars for White Arrow.  Great job as travelled all around the UK.  However while I was there, a physical inventory was done and they found a brand new Vauxhall with less than 10 miles on the clock however it was about 4 years old. 

For some reason it had been registered with DVLA, licenced and then the paperwork lost so sat in the compound not being used.  Warranty had expired quite some time ago. 

Luckily all the cars were supplied by Vauxhall and the delivery contract was with them so Vauxhall put it up for sale and gave it a 1 year warranty.  I think what of the lads bought it at basement bargain price.

[Ched]

On 27/08/2019 at 08:20, Benny65 said:

At a dealers yesterday, and they had 2 'new' Swift Elegance vans for sale in the showroom, both new, one from 2016 and the other 2017. 

 

Read the warranty very carefully. I read the Swift and Bailey a few weeks ago and one of them states the warranty starts 12 months after dealer is invoiced  or first registration which ever is sooner!!!! So a 2 year old model might have 1 year less warranty that you would expect if you were the first owner!!!

That water ingress warranties on both do not seem to cover all leaks after the first 2 years!!! If the leak is from window, locker, roof light etc then after 2 years it may not be covered!! 

Read the warranty documents, both Bailey and Swift are on their web sites!!!

[David 38]

Mine starts from day I bought it.

[Mr Plodd]

10 hours ago, Ched said:

 

Read the warranty documents, both Bailey and Swift are on their web sites!!!

 

As for what is permanently sealed (in addition to the obvious panel joints) please see the below email I had from Bailey a few weeks ago. It is very clear.

 

 

Good afternoon Mr Cxxxx

 

Thank you for contacting Bailey of Bristol.

 

In response to your query, I am pleased to clarify that where a bodyshell panel directly meets the frame of a locker door, a habitation door, a rooflight or the rubber seal around a window aperture then this would be classed as being permanently sealed.

 

I trust this helps. If we can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us again.

 

Regards

 

Darryl Wandless
Customer Services Co-ordinator

Main: 

0117 966 5967

Email: 

customerservices@baileyofbristol.co.uk

Bailey Caravans Ltd, South Liberty Lane, Bristol, BS3 2SS.
www.baileyofbristol.co.uk

 

Couple that with the below and you get a pretty decent warranty on my view.

 

Note the sentence “From the initial date of PURCHASE (not delivery to dealer etc!!) 

 

Edited August 31 by Mr Plodd