Build Quality

[colin-yorkshire1]

hi all,
while I have no arguement with the points allready raised and for sure the build quality of caravans could undoubtedly be improved,
but anyone who has been involved in manufacturing will understand that the cost of production is paramount to the final unit product price there is allways a element of cost cutting during production, another element of production cost is time.
time costs money, add the two together it is not supprising there are some warranty issues, but that is the way the market place works. right or wrong it is just the way it is, I would suggest that £300 per unit cost for warranty work is pretty good and parksy makes a good point most warranty work is due to component failure that the van assembler has little control over save testing every part before fitting then one runs into time and cost issues.
look at it from the manufactures point of view for a minuite his competitor is offering a similar van (size/weight/trim level) but at £5k cheaper "whos van will sell the most" I would suggest this has more influence on company profits than doing warranty work on the vans produced.
as a customer price is a big issue I keep saying this but who would pay over the odds for a new van with no warranty??.
yes of course we all expect our new purchase to be perfect and never go wrong but are we prepared to pay for it??
probably not,
colin

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Colin,

Yes of course price is a major influence on the choice the consumer makes.

Good production techniques do not necessarily increase the production time, in fact a well ordered production line saves time, as I pointed out earlier in many cases it takes just as long to do a poor job as to to the job correctly.

Doing the job correctly does not mean there is no warranty offered, its just that the amount needed to be set aside can be lower which gives greater flexibility for the manufacture to reduce the price without affecting profit.

It also means that you don't need to over produce to cover faulty production units.

Whilst it is true that some warranty claims relate to OEM supplied parts, How many of those failures are due to poor installation by caravan manufacturers? Whilst I can only relate specific experience of products my employer produced, the vast majority of customer/dealer warranty complaint was the result of poor installation, rather than the product its self.

Irrespective of the finer points we have discussed, All caravan manufactures and their suppliers can and should take steps to improve design and production techniques and constructively move towards zero defects.

 

[Willi-Wonti]

I bought my last British caravan in 2004, within 12 months it had to have one side resealed due to leaks.
At its second service the rear offside was still showing that there was still a high reading on the damp meter, so the awning chanel was removed. The side wall immediately flew out, the mastic not having adhered so the back corner had to be dried out & resealed.
I decided then to go down to the NEC in October 2006 & order my fantastic Burstner.
I can not fault the van or Burstner in fact when some one damaged the rear panel it was taken back to the dealer and the van back on the road within 3 weeks & bearing in mind my back & front panels are non standard metallic brown 20 / 10 to Burstner & my dealer Camper UK of Lincoln