Stephen1956 said:
It looks like Bailey did not have the confidence in their Alu-tec method of contruction to underwrite the final 4 years of the warranty theirselves opting to have it underwriten by a third party, and they still do not have the confidence to underwrite it theirselves in a effort to save costs instead putting the onus on the owner.
I read it exactly the opposite way around. The extra 4 years can be bought for £189 when buying the caravan, or for £229 later on (in each case a one-off payment).
Having reviewed the structural durability of the alu tech construction they have confirmed all is well with joint integrity and the reduction in warranty reflects the need to minimise prices hikes against their competition as well as recognising a vast number of new caravan buyers do not keep their vans over 6 years.
The main advantage of the 10-year warranty to the person buying the caravan new is the hope of a higher residial value when they come to sell (let's say at 5 years).
I think its really clever allowing the extra 4 years to be bought at a reasonable price right up until year 6. If I were buying a 5 year old caravan, the option to have 5 years of damp warranty for £230 sounds a bargain. After all, with a traditional-built caravan, you'd be mentally assuming that you'd need a reseal at some point in that 5 years.
This way allows Bailey to keep the price rise for the new caravan down, but keep the prices of the used ones up. Win:win.