bought a 2018 Elddis affinity 550 in August last year and I am having problems either floor has dropped or body lifted I have been told by dealer it’s not covered under warranty as they say it’s either been overloaded or we have hit pothole or speed bump none of this has happened since I have owned caravan they are now saying chassis is bent but this was missed on 1st inspection my argument is if it was missed from 1st inspection how do I know it wasn’t missed when caravan was inspected before I purchased it and damage was already done has anyone else had a similar problem with Elddis caravan ??
Elddis affinity 550
- Thread starter Darren6
- Start date
Sorry to hear of your problem. My first action would be to get an independent caravan engineers report to try and get as much information as you can. I think that one of the Clubs have a link to booking an independent caravan engineering survey. Your next steps will then be better guided by the results of the survey. I would also let the supplying dealer know in writing of your concern and proposed action.
One thing puzzles me regarding the timeline. How do the Dealer know that the “ bent” chassis was missed on the first inspection? If it is “bent” and it was caused by overloading and/or pothole/speed humps it could happen at any time. Might be worth contacting the previous owner if their details are on any of the documents or service records.
One thing puzzles me regarding the timeline. How do the Dealer know that the “ bent” chassis was missed on the first inspection? If it is “bent” and it was caused by overloading and/or pothole/speed humps it could happen at any time. Might be worth contacting the previous owner if their details are on any of the documents or service records.
You will need to try and get an engineers opinion, although if the chassis is bent I do not see how anyone can say when it happened. I would write to the dealer and say that the caravan has never been overloaded, hit a severe pothole or speed bump while in your possession and therefore the problem must have existed at the time you bought it.
The caravan is clearly defective, and under the CPA they must repair it or return your money. I doubt they will repair it, but that is the initial remedy. From a practical point of view you will have paid more than £10,000 for it I assume, this means it is over the small claims limit, which probably means you would need a solicitor. Alternatively if it can be repaired for under £10,000 you could sue for that.
If it was damaged by a pothole or road bump, then that is accidental damage and you might try an insurance claim. The insurer will arrange for an engineer to inspect it who would need to try and identify the cause of the problem. That mighty give you the engineers report.
A second line of attack if you paid any of the cost on a credit card, no matter how little, or used HP, is that you have similar rights against the finance companies involved, so let them know of the problem.
If you are a member of either of the clubs you could speak to their legal helpline. alternatively Citizens Advice are very helpful.
Hope this helps.
The caravan is clearly defective, and under the CPA they must repair it or return your money. I doubt they will repair it, but that is the initial remedy. From a practical point of view you will have paid more than £10,000 for it I assume, this means it is over the small claims limit, which probably means you would need a solicitor. Alternatively if it can be repaired for under £10,000 you could sue for that.
If it was damaged by a pothole or road bump, then that is accidental damage and you might try an insurance claim. The insurer will arrange for an engineer to inspect it who would need to try and identify the cause of the problem. That mighty give you the engineers report.
A second line of attack if you paid any of the cost on a credit card, no matter how little, or used HP, is that you have similar rights against the finance companies involved, so let them know of the problem.
If you are a member of either of the clubs you could speak to their legal helpline. alternatively Citizens Advice are very helpful.
Hope this helps.
You assume too much under the CRA 2015. Look at the time since purchase. Dealers have rights too. The independent inspection report is an essential prerequisite. But even given a good inspection it may not be possible for the engineer to say precisely what caused the problem and when. How does the OP convince a court that they didn’t overload it or damaged it on potholes or speed bumps. A court needs evidence not emotion. Get the inspection report first as well as advising the dealer in writing. of your intended actions.
At the end of the day if the engineer advises that it can be repaired then insurance may be the better option. But of course if you go around publicly saying you weren’t responsible the insurer is likely to reject the claim as it was pre existing. Treat social media with great care.
I appreciate what you say and that you do have to show the problem existed when possession of the caravan was taken and as I said any inspection is unlikely to show that, but I would not rule it out, as it may depend on the extent of the problem. Basically in court where you have this sort of conflict the decision tends to go with who is believed but the sympathy tends to be with the claimant. In practice though the dealer admits the chassis is bent but denies this was the problem when they sold it. There is it seems no argument over the damage, the question is when it happened.
I appreciate the point about making a claim. I am trying to give the alternatives, but it should get an engineers report and may be a way out. The insurer might also be in the same position as every body here and see the damage but be unable to say when it occurred. The claim would have to be on the basis that the OP does not know if the damage occurred after he took delivery and see what they do.
Basically it is almost certainly accidental damage and either the dealer or the insurer is responsible for the repair or replacement cost. Frankly I cannot see overloading causing the damage unless it was grossly excessive, which should mean it is unlikely to succeed and an engineers report might clarify that. If both turn the claim down then you would have to proceed against both and the case would be near watertight.
If there is any finance involved and you throw in the company involved then while it gets complex it would be a costs nightmare for those trying to defend and a settlement would be almost inevitable just to avoid these.
My problem is I have no idea as to the cost of the repair. Presumably the body would have to be removed to get at the chassis and that alone would be substantial. I doubt the repair is going to be cost effective so a refund or write off would seem to be the best option. An engineer would be needed though to assess this.
I have a lot of experience in dealing with litigation defence, and understand the defence solicitors thinking,. I do however recommend the OP gets advice to confirm the best route. I did however get involved with a case where the problem could have been accidental or a preexisting defect, and there was no problem in claiming against the dealer, finance company and the insurer in so far as the conflict as to the suggestions it preexisted the sale or happened afterwards. As a layman, the caravan owner can use both options and see if the people claimed against can sort it out.
I appreciate the point about making a claim. I am trying to give the alternatives, but it should get an engineers report and may be a way out. The insurer might also be in the same position as every body here and see the damage but be unable to say when it occurred. The claim would have to be on the basis that the OP does not know if the damage occurred after he took delivery and see what they do.
Basically it is almost certainly accidental damage and either the dealer or the insurer is responsible for the repair or replacement cost. Frankly I cannot see overloading causing the damage unless it was grossly excessive, which should mean it is unlikely to succeed and an engineers report might clarify that. If both turn the claim down then you would have to proceed against both and the case would be near watertight.
If there is any finance involved and you throw in the company involved then while it gets complex it would be a costs nightmare for those trying to defend and a settlement would be almost inevitable just to avoid these.
My problem is I have no idea as to the cost of the repair. Presumably the body would have to be removed to get at the chassis and that alone would be substantial. I doubt the repair is going to be cost effective so a refund or write off would seem to be the best option. An engineer would be needed though to assess this.
I have a lot of experience in dealing with litigation defence, and understand the defence solicitors thinking,. I do however recommend the OP gets advice to confirm the best route. I did however get involved with a case where the problem could have been accidental or a preexisting defect, and there was no problem in claiming against the dealer, finance company and the insurer in so far as the conflict as to the suggestions it preexisted the sale or happened afterwards. As a layman, the caravan owner can use both options and see if the people claimed against can sort it out.
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The only “sympathy” I received when I bought a Renault 16 with its side members filled with newspaper and Cataloy was that the Dealers claim for costs was rejected. Despite me turning up in best suit and laden with papers, photos and bits from said side members. No Sale of Goods Act in those days. In fact the Small Claims Courts hadn’t been set up all that long. Clearly I hadn’t been able to prove “ balance of probabilities “
We bought an Elddis Affinity 554 (actually a Sussex Caravans Midhurst Premier Plus) caravan new in 2015 and toured parts of the UK each year. We had an annual service up until the first COVID 19 lockdown, but after that did not take it on the public roads, and only used it on site where it is stored.
We had it serviced this year, 2024 by the same mobile servicing company as we had used in the past. They reported that the clearance between the tyres and wheel arches is now only a few millimetres. I have been trying to contact Elddis as to why this should be, and what the rough cost would be to rectify this problem, without success.
Can anyone help as to any remedies to fix the suspension? It seems it may have hit a bump or a pothole or maybe lack of road use may have caused something to rot of fail. The groundsmen on our C&C Clubsite where it is stored undercover seem to be very careful when they tow it on to pitch and the site roads are generally very well maintained.
Any help would be appreciated.
Alan Jones
We had it serviced this year, 2024 by the same mobile servicing company as we had used in the past. They reported that the clearance between the tyres and wheel arches is now only a few millimetres. I have been trying to contact Elddis as to why this should be, and what the rough cost would be to rectify this problem, without success.
Can anyone help as to any remedies to fix the suspension? It seems it may have hit a bump or a pothole or maybe lack of road use may have caused something to rot of fail. The groundsmen on our C&C Clubsite where it is stored undercover seem to be very careful when they tow it on to pitch and the site roads are generally very well maintained.
Any help would be appreciated.
Alan Jones
Sorry to hear of the suspension issue. I had my axle go back in 2018and another member with a very new caravan has recently reported an axle problem on a his caravan. Here’s a link to the latest axle problem and if you go through the thread you will see links to my earlier thread and a blog that a Bailey owner created when he actually won his case by disproving Bailey and Alko that his caravan had been overloaded. In my case as the caravan had been pre owned by a family I could not clearly demonstrate that it had not been overloaded. But the fault appeared following a trip to Shropshire with appalling potholes.
When you have had chance to read through the link and its associated sub links come back with any questions.
forums.practicalcaravan.com
PS mine cost around £1300 to have a brand new axle fitted by a Swift dealership. I looked at several other options but in the end having one supplier responsible for obtaining a new axke and fitting it was the best. But even that wasn’t simple as Swift had no technical details of the original fitted axle. Unbelievable ☹️
When you have had chance to read through the link and its associated sub links come back with any questions.
AL-KO IRS axle failure on 9 month old Swift Sprite Alpine 4 caravan
I bought a brand new Swift Sprite Alpine 4 caravan from Glossop Caravans in October 2022 I have used it twice once in May to go down to Corfu where we have some apartment's and stay for the summer and once when we returned at the end of September . We only need to take the basics for the trip...
PS mine cost around £1300 to have a brand new axle fitted by a Swift dealership. I looked at several other options but in the end having one supplier responsible for obtaining a new axke and fitting it was the best. But even that wasn’t simple as Swift had no technical details of the original fitted axle. Unbelievable ☹️
The axle on my Lunar is "tired" but not quite ready for a replacement - but when I enquired, a local AWS workshop could remove the axle, send it to Frazer Brown for refurbishment to a higher specification and then refit afterwards - I think the total cost would have been about £1200.
Fraser Brown is a legend, I would highly recommend him, nothing is to much trouble, I think I am correct in saying that he has to travel around an hour + each way to take the axles for collection by courier. His fix is top notch, why others go with OEM is beyond me. I think he generally adds about 12% more rubber in the axle than AlKo.
And generally cheaper than £1300 for an axle that could fail again 🤔
Fraser does have a great place to set up camp onsite……if you are heading Norf, it is a super place to visit, again get there and he will fall over backwards to accommodate!!
All within his costs!!
Can someone remind me when Elddis switched from BPW to Al-ko?
And welcome Alan Jones to the Forum
And welcome Alan Jones to the Forum
There are now three different members who have, or have had axle suspension issues. Mine was in a 5 yr old prevowned Sprite caravan with MTPLM of 1300 kg and axle rating 1300 kg. Then there’s a very new Sprite with MTPLM of 1300 kg (app) and 1500 k axle rating. A good margin. Now today we have an 8-9 year old Eldiss weight and axle rating not known. Being pre owned I realistically couldn’t pursue a claim under warranty. So I opted to seek a refurbished or new axle. I contacted Fraser Brown and had a lengthy and useful discussion. However I could not find any business willing to remove my axle to allow shipping to Scotland for refurbishment by FB. There were a couple that said they could do it, but the hadn’t done it before and my principal concern was not having the chassis twisted. I’d recently had a new rear panel under warranty to replace a cracked one. With the van out of warranty I didn’t relish chipping out £3000 for a panel should it crack again.
I looked at buying a new OEM axle from Western Towing, but the all possible fitting businesses required me to take responsibility for its configuration. Now comes the interesting bit. When I asked Swift for the part and serial number of my axle they could not supply it. Even getting under the van and photographing the labels on my axle brought no progress. Astonishingly Alko would not supply a new axle against the photos showing the part and serial number of my axle. Before they would accept an order they supplied me some drawings where I had to provide a number of critical fitting dimensions. I almost felt I was seeking to obtain a bespoke item. A cottage industry who don’t seem to understand configuration control?
In the end I worked with my Swift dealership who lifted the caravan in their shop and took the dimensions and their lifting equipment kept the caravan fully supported throughout the lift.
We then agreed that they would order the new axle, remove the old one and fit the new one. As a One Stop shop they carried the warranty, and by using my credit card I was protected under CCA section 75 as well as CRA 2015.
The all in cost was around £1300 and comparing like with like the new axle came complete with new brake assemblies fitted, it was complete and ready to roll. So going OEM via my Swift dealership, was a decision based on a number of factors not just the specification of the bushes used by FB. A holistic assessment based on what criteria were important to me. I also fitted a pair of Alko dampers which at around £90 didn’t break the bank. I’m aware that an academic report didn’t rate their effectiveness very highly. But I took the view that any attenuation of forces going into the axle bushes would help.
I am puzzled though as to why three members all had/have axle issues in vans of differing ages., no common denominator readily apparent. Standfast the Bailey rash of problems there are many thousands of caravans going about their business, both old and new, without axle problems. Potholes get mentioned and I am sure that they don’t do the basic caravan suspension any favours. Shortly before I noticed my relaxed axle we had been to Shropshire and the roads were appalling. My grandson has now had five run flat tyres replaced on his BMW 5 series since January 2023. Fortunately all replaced by his wheel and tyre policy. All damaged by potholes and poor road surfaces. They certainly don’t do any favours to a flimsy box on wheels.
I looked at buying a new OEM axle from Western Towing, but the all possible fitting businesses required me to take responsibility for its configuration. Now comes the interesting bit. When I asked Swift for the part and serial number of my axle they could not supply it. Even getting under the van and photographing the labels on my axle brought no progress. Astonishingly Alko would not supply a new axle against the photos showing the part and serial number of my axle. Before they would accept an order they supplied me some drawings where I had to provide a number of critical fitting dimensions. I almost felt I was seeking to obtain a bespoke item. A cottage industry who don’t seem to understand configuration control?
In the end I worked with my Swift dealership who lifted the caravan in their shop and took the dimensions and their lifting equipment kept the caravan fully supported throughout the lift.
We then agreed that they would order the new axle, remove the old one and fit the new one. As a One Stop shop they carried the warranty, and by using my credit card I was protected under CCA section 75 as well as CRA 2015.
The all in cost was around £1300 and comparing like with like the new axle came complete with new brake assemblies fitted, it was complete and ready to roll. So going OEM via my Swift dealership, was a decision based on a number of factors not just the specification of the bushes used by FB. A holistic assessment based on what criteria were important to me. I also fitted a pair of Alko dampers which at around £90 didn’t break the bank. I’m aware that an academic report didn’t rate their effectiveness very highly. But I took the view that any attenuation of forces going into the axle bushes would help.
I am puzzled though as to why three members all had/have axle issues in vans of differing ages., no common denominator readily apparent. Standfast the Bailey rash of problems there are many thousands of caravans going about their business, both old and new, without axle problems. Potholes get mentioned and I am sure that they don’t do the basic caravan suspension any favours. Shortly before I noticed my relaxed axle we had been to Shropshire and the roads were appalling. My grandson has now had five run flat tyres replaced on his BMW 5 series since January 2023. Fortunately all replaced by his wheel and tyre policy. All damaged by potholes and poor road surfaces. They certainly don’t do any favours to a flimsy box on wheels.
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Yep 2017/2018 as I think we have a hybrid chassis. The 2018 Buccaneer does not have the painful ALKO spare wheel carrier. The spare wheel simply drops down. We do have the ALKO hitch etc.
My 2017 Affinity has the Al-Ko chassis next door at the storage is a 2018 Affinity. If I remember I will have a look to see if there is a difference next time I'm down there.
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