Dealer specials?

[Douglas_374301278]

Dear all, has anyone else come across the frustrating and infuriating position when buying a dealer special? My wife and I have just purchased a brand new Abbey Expression 540 from Michael Jordan caravans. There is a problem with the jointing strips on the inside of the van on the roof where the panels join together. The dealer canot fix the problem, they say it is a manufacturing fault. This is where the problem starts. We have contacted Swift leisure(manufacturer) to make them aware, but they have told us to take it back to the dealer to be photographed. We live nearly 200 miles away in Sheffield. After asking for local dealers to do this, we were directed to 2 large Abbey dealers. Both have refused to deal with the problem, and will not take on other dealers warranty and servicing.

Has anyone got any advice or anyone come across the negative attitude towards other dealers warranties/servicing.

THANKS

 

[jacky3]

hi douglas

know exactly what you meen,we bought a dealer special at earls court in 2004 from glossop caravans and were told any avondale dealer will service it and will do warranty repairs if need be.

WHAT A PITY!!!!

YES THEY WILL SERVICE THE VAN(MAYBE)but when it suits them if at all,if you havn't bought the van from them you might as well kiss your a___???

servicing has to be done to the van within a certain timescale of the vans first service and subsequent services to keep the warranty valid.if it is not done within this period,the manufacturer will almost certainly void the warranty(they then get out of any problems the van may have).therefore you will have to take it back to the dealer you bought it from to make sure the service is done on time to validate the warranty(believe me iv'e been there).not saying they are all like that,but you will find a hell of a lot are.at the end of the day they have to keep their own customers happy first,and if that means putting you to the bottom of the list, they will.

warranty work,ha!!??

unfortunately manufactures only pay the dealer a certain hourly rate for warranty work,which is usually well below their own hourly rate. no way hose is a dealer going to do warranty work on someones caravan which has been bought elsewhere. would you work for

 

[ThePlotter]

I can understand your anger but this is not a problem that applies only to dealer specials it applies to all vans as dealers will service vans bought elsewhere but will give priority to vans bought from them which I suppose in a way you can understand them looking after their own customers first .So you will get it done elsewhere but probably towards the end of the season when their workshops are empty which is fine except as you say they have to be serviced in a tme window to retain warranty.It all go back to the caravan industry believing itself to be big business but in reality is still a cottage industry with no backup even though you are paying a similar price to that of a car.Rant over! :0)

 

[Douglas_374301278]

Thankyou both for the replies, but I,am astonished. This is our first experience in the caravan market, and we & (as well as other folks no doubt), being held to ransom by a manufacturer and its dealer network. This does not happen in any other industry I know of. I have bought a Vauxhall van and taken it to another dealer for warrnaty claims without ANY PROBLEMS WHAT SO EVER! I just do not get this at all. Iam willing to take the caravan back to where we purchased it from for the annual servicing, but warranty work must be done by any dealer in the netwok? Iam going to take this further.

We, as you quite rightly say, were told that any Abbey dealer would do the work when we were buying it! Now we have paid the money we have a fight on our hands. I will keep you all posted on my progress.

Thanks again

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Douglas,

What I have to say may not be particularly comforting or helpful but:

It is often forgotten that the true warranty that is yours by statutory right (Sale of goods act) only exists between you and the retail seller. They are obliged by law to deal with it, and the manufacturer has no sway in the matter. (So dealers cannot absolve themselves of responsibility for a fault that existed at the time of sale by referring it to the manufacturer, and the manufacturers opinion on such a matter is not binding on you)

Unlike chain stores owned by one company, most caravan dealers are independents who franchise a particular make of van, and so other dealers for the same make are not legally required to handle warranty problems with vans not supplied by them.

In addition to your statutory rights most manufactures do offer a limited guarantee, but this is conditional and not required by law so it is a gift, however it cannot supersede your statutory rights. Dealers usually sign up to under take guarantee work (note! not warranty work!), but as has been stated above the rates that the manufactures pay dealers who do guarantee work do not usually cover the real cost of the work, so dealers are not usually interested in repairing other dealers problems unless they are slack on their own work.

As for the distance between you and the supplier, that was a choice you made. It is not the fault of the dealer that you choose to live so far away. This is one of the factors that you should consider when looking for the best price offers.