Avondale Caravan

[StevenFerguson_5041634]

I have now bought my second new Avondale caravan, The first had problem,s with splitting panal,s at the rear,after some length the dealer took the van back.Having to pay extra to get another new Avondale as to the condition that the I bought another Avondale from the dealer.

This Avondale is even worse it has splitting panels front and rear side panal to be replaced and all this damage come straight from the factory. The usual from Avondale send it to the dealer and we will take it from there. The van got fixed and what a mess the front and side panal,s are all diffrent and the unladen weight and the max weight are well out by 20kg as of trying to fix the problem,s. Now they are saying that the van has extra on it weight,s and that I do not need to change the plate but I disagree. Has anyone else had the same problem,s with Avondales??.

 

[Neil_5041165]

Simple answer is yes. mainly in panels for darts i believe around 2003 manufacture. I must say that Avondale have been very good so have Crowland Caravans near Peterboroughand. My 515 Dart is in soon to have a new back panel. A lot of the problems stem from the dealer / agent doing the repair and their relationship with Avondale and the quality / epertise of their repair shop. Report your issues to the Caravan Club if you are a memeber they are compiling a list is complaints

 

[Ross_5041495]

I have an Avondale 2004. Can you tell me where the panels crack. I have checked both the front and back panels on my caravan and cannnot see anything. Your message is not the first I have read with regard to panels on Avondale. Thanks

 

[grumpy07]

Hi Ross,Neil, i have a Argente 640-6 with split panels front and rear. Check out the Sales of Goods act web page and then phone your HOUSE insurance to see if you are covered for legal costs most are. We have gone direct to Avondale, and under the sales of goods act you are entitled to a repair,replacement or refund and if the fault has appeared in under 6 months from delivery it is the manufactures reponcablity to prove it was not faulty at the time of delivery. You are not alone with this problem we know of 33 vans personaly with cracks and on avondales own addmisson in may 04 via a memo to all Avondale dealers informing them that there may be a problem with Biancos,Darts and Argente's panels cracking and not only that is has been going on since 2002. So go and check and do not take the BULL from dealers they are fully aware of the problem. as stated by Avondale there are thousands of vans with panel problems. The panels crack on the front just above the grab handles on the side section of the front panels near the awning rails, the rear panels is on the right hand side at the point were it meets the roof joint.hope this is of help.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Steven. Regardless of any offer made by Avondale, your correct course of action is through whoever took your money - usually the Dealer. You have every right to expect any warranty repair to be carried out professionally and to return the van in a condition and finish comensurate with a product of that age assuming no fault had ocured. Mismathced panels is not acceptable, and I suspect that you have a good case to have the seller make good the damage/mismatch, or make some suitable offer. Given the history of similar faults on other avondale vans, the dealer would have a hard time to convince a court that th product does not have an inherent fault (by design or matreial) and so they may be liable to make a complete refund or offer a replacement caravan. I strongly suggest that you seek the services of a soliciter, and it may be prudent to try and seek a full refund, as you then have the total flexibility to choose a new van which will carry a full warranty, where as a replacement offer may not carry the full warranty, and may of course still suffer the design fault.

 

[Neil_5041165]

Firstly I have no problems with the authorised repair that has been done by Crowland Caravans and the planned repair in April. Crowland caravans are not the original supplier of the caravan, a dart 515 4 berth 2003 vintage. The original dealer bodged the first attempt to repair both the front and rear panels. The front panel cracked around the inner fixing of the front grab handles, a gel coat issue i'm informed this cracked out again immediately after the first repair. The rear panels cracked out in the extreme upper corners close to the join with the roof section. This repair cracked out again straight away. I refused to take to the original Avondale dealer and Avondale suggested thier approved workshop at Crowland caravans who have gone along way to restoring my faith in caravan workshops. The grape Vine tells me that panels moulded to a very poor standard by cintractors to Avondale during 2002 / 2003 are the biggest reason for all these issues. A lovely couple at Chatsworth last year had the same caravan as myself and the exact same problems. How ever a casual chat with another workshop employee clearly lead me to believe that Avondale are not the only manufacturer with problems. Indeed the comment was that on nearly all new caravans you will find fault lines in gel coats. A gel coat was designed for boat hulls and as such would be about 5mm thick. The same technology was applied to caravan build design but with a gel coat regularly failing to reach 1mm thick. The result is mainly a cosmetic crack in the gel coat where excessive stress has be applied to the panel. The jury is out and i will report my verdict once the repair is done and its been up and down the road a few times. My last communication with the Caravan Club a few months ago left with them keeping a note on file. Hopefully the file will grow to a point where action will be taken.

Apoint to remember is that it is ONLY cosmetic and poses no problem to the integrity of the caravan shell from the point of water or damp. However i wouldn't buy a second hand caravan with this kind of fault, (thats why i bought a new one) so what happens when i come to sell it ?

 

[mk1_gti]

Hi Ross,Neil, i have a Argente 640-6 with split panels front and rear. Check out the Sales of Goods act web page and then phone your HOUSE insurance to see if you are covered for legal costs most are. We have gone direct to Avondale, and under the sales of goods act you are entitled to a repair,replacement or refund and if the fault has appeared in under 6 months from delivery it is the manufactures reponcablity to prove it was not faulty at the time of delivery. You are not alone with this problem we know of 33 vans personaly with cracks and on avondales own addmisson in may 04 via a memo to all Avondale dealers informing them that there may be a problem with Biancos,Darts and Argente's panels cracking and not only that is has been going on since 2002. So go and check and do not take the BULL from dealers they are fully aware of the problem. as stated by Avondale there are thousands of vans with panel problems. The panels crack on the front just above the grab handles on the side section of the front panels near the awning rails, the rear panels is on the right hand side at the point were it meets the roof joint.hope this is of help.

Hi Steve/Carl, would you be able to contact me rob@robjevans.freeserve.co.uk Thanks in advance