elddis warranty work

[flims]

Has anyone out there had any experience with Elddis warranty aftercare?
Unfortunately one of the kitchen cupboard doors above the sink area has worked itself loose during transit and fell off. The resulting damage was dent/ puncture to the worktop next to the sink. The cupboard door in question was altered and adjusted by workshop staff upon collection delivery after a few tweets. As the cupboard is the most used in the caravan, it has obviously worked the screw holes of the hinge looses without us knowing and has fallen off.
The distributing company from Yorkshire have been sent pictures and they have put a claim in for warranty work as it was a brand new van in June 2016. Clearly it is the workshop staff fault and I'm worried if Elddis don't accept the warranty work then they'll be a battle and we are stuck in the middle. Ultimately we have a new van with a damaged worktop, a cupboard with no door on and nowhere for the hinge to be mounted or a fixed to as the screw holes have murged into one!
We just want our lovely new caravan fixing ASAP and wondered if anyone has any experience of warranty work though Elddis or tips or advice to offer. Thanks

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Flims,

The most important facet of retail purchases is that you have a legally binding contract with your seller. The manufacturer has no obligation to you unless they sold the product directly to you. The retail contract automatically is governed by legislation which affords you up to 6 years of protection against faulty or inadequate goods.

In your case you took out a manufacturers warranty which is in addition to your statutory right , but can never supplant them. Consequently if the manufacturer declines to repair the fault, then you may still have a claim directly against the seller. (added after edit - irrespective of what the manufacturer say's or does.)

For details and some of the limitations please take a look at :-

http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/topics

 

[Raywood]

Hello Films, As the Prof says your legal rights are against the supplier under The Sale of Goods Act. It sounds as if the problem is the dealer messing up the work but possibly not, but it is for them to put everything right. If you do end up with a battle between them and Eldiss then you need to establish the cost of the repair needed and issue a small claims summons, but for the moment that is a bit early, but you do need to make sure the dealer knows you are aware of the act.. You can also check the Citizens aAvice website for information.
Let us know what happens.

 

[Grahamh]

Just fetched my 2014 Elddis Xplore 530 back from the dealers after some warranty work and cannot fault the work. When we took delivery(in 2014) the dealer pointed out that the overhead locker doors above the cooker/sink were sub standard and would be replaced as soon as Elddis supplied them. I pointed out that the wall to the bathroom was warped/out of true and they also changed that. This year we noticed that the front window leaked when towing in the rain and this has just been rectified under warranty along with the top of the front locker which had warped. Yes I think it's a shame that the work needed doing at all but I cannot fault the dealer or Elddis over their response.
Last year the service engineer found that the charger had died and this too was replaced with less than a week before the warranty expired on it.
If only I hadn't crunched two windows parking the van on my return from the dealers :-(

 

[Raywood]

Just fetched my 2014 Elddis Xplore 530 back from the dealers after some warranty work and cannot fault the work. When we took delivery(in 2014) the dealer pointed out that the overhead locker doors above the cooker/sink were sub standard and would be replaced as soon as Elddis supplied them. I pointed out that the wall to the bathroom was warped/out of true and they also changed that. This year we noticed that the front window leaked when towing in the rain and this has just been rectified under warranty along with the top of the front locker which had warped. Yes I think it's a shame that the work needed doing at all but I cannot fault the dealer or Elddis over their response.
Last year the service engineer found that the charger had died and this too was replaced with less than a week before the warranty expired on it.
If only I hadn't crunched two windows parking the van on my return from the dealers :-(

Nice to know you had good service and I do tend to think most warranty problems are down to dealer failure rather than the manufacturer although there are exceptions.

 

[Grahamh]

Talking to the dealer again today for the supply of the two windows and they could not be more helpful. To be fair though, that was why we bought the van from Wilts Caravans as they were light years of the others we dealt with.

 

[RayS]

Pleased to hear you got good service. This is far from my experience a couple of years ago when the caravan came back with more faults than it had when collected. Subsequently further problems have arisen, the dealer no longer has the Elddis franchise and I'm just waiting for someone to make a caravan to wishlist ( or close to it). The 2017 list appears to have one very close, so here's hoping. Obviously it is not an Elddis.

 

[flims]

Thanks Prof John. The company in Yorkshire have submitted the claim to Elldis for our caravan. Elldis have accepted the claim. The only thing now is that the company in Yorkshire will not collect our caravan...We have to take it there for the work to be done! We have written to the manager of the company to request some fuel reimbursement. However it's the time........which u cannot buy!!!
We have tried a few companies around our way...North staffs/ Cheshire area but no other company will entertain other companies warranty work as there's money in it for them. If it was paid work/ insurance job they have said they would complete the work

 

[Damian]

If you live in the area you say, why did you get the caravan from Yorkshire?

 

[ProfJohnL]

Thanks Prof John. The company in Yorkshire have submitted the claim to Elldis for our caravan. Elldis have accepted the claim. The only thing now is that the company in Yorkshire will not collect our caravan...We have to take it there for the work to be done! We have written to the manager of the company to request some fuel reimbursement. However it's the time........which u cannot buy!!!
We have tried a few companies around our way...North staffs/ Cheshire area but no other company will entertain other companies warranty work as there's money in it for them. If it was paid work/ insurance job they have said they would complete the work

Did the company ask you if you wanted the work to be carried out under the manufacturers warranty or did you specify that was the way you wanted it done?, Because if you had requested the work to be done under SoGA or the CRA ( Which ever was applicable) the seller is then responsible for all recovery costs.

But if you have agreed to the work under Manufacturers warranty, then you have to accept the the warranties terms and conditions, which as far asIi know for caravans usually excludes recovery costs.

usually under the manufacturers warranty you can negotiate with the manufacturer to use a more convenient dealer.

 

[Raywood]

I am afraid with the large increase in caravan sales over the last three years most dealers are struggling to deal with work for their own customers and simply see no good reason to help people who went elsewhere usually for the cheapest deal. Warranty work has a lower hourly rate than other work so if you bought elsewhere there is the additional point they see no reason to reduce their earnings either.
I understand the point you make but dealers are not obliged to do warranty work except for their own customers. If you buy from a remote dealer I am afraid this is a problem and you need to get agreement on how these things will be dealt with before you buy. Bearing in mind that according to the last PC survey only between 20 and 30% of caravans are fault free when delivered this is a serious point.
You have rights under the Sale of Goods Act but essentially if your dealer refuses to pay for the shipment then all you can do is get the work done and then sue them if the costs justify this.

 

[pitpony]

What is it with the UK caravan industry, 2016 and they are still turning out rubbish, do they not have a final inspection ?, I'm just glad they don't build leisure craft because they would all bloody sink, now someone will tell me they do,

 

[ProfJohnL]

What is it with the UK caravan industry, 2016 and they are still turning out rubbish, do they not have a final inspection ?,

No - they rely on the Dealers PDI ( which the customer pays for) and the customers tolerance of when things go wrong.

 

[pitpony]

Prof,
Caravan dealers then are not doing a very good PDI then, does a caravan dealer PDI the caravan before or after he sells it, which ever way you look at this it all goes back to manufacturing, proper production inspections should be in place all the way through the production line and I bet they are, but I suppose in caravan building land the lads are on some kind of bonus to more out,

 

[Rodone]

I'm afraid that caravan dealers are pretty inept at both PDI and any resulting follow up work. They make easy money out of the mandatory ongoing service work- - from which the. Van often emerges in a worse condition than when it went to them! Best to keep them well away from anything remotely technical once you are in a position to dictate what part of the van you require to be serviced/ checked. To compound matters the manufacturers use ancillary items from a tight 'cartel' of suppliers (fridges, toilets, cookers etc) and bearing n mind rhe length of time that these people have been churning out loo's, fridges etc., the design and reliability is deplorable.. Anything associated with caravans, is a hark back to the worst days of the British car industry, and we all know where that went!

 

[ProfJohnL]

Prof,
Caravan dealers then are not doing a very good PDI then, does a caravan dealer PDI the caravan before or after he sells it, which ever way you look at this it all goes back to manufacturing, proper production inspections should be in place all the way through the production line and I bet they are, but I suppose in caravan building land the lads are on some kind of bonus to more out,

I totally agree that the manufacturers should be taking more care about the products they produce, but there is a long tradition of piece work in the industry which does not lend its self to encouraging employees to work most diligently.

In the context of engineering complexity caravans are not high precision complex devices, so why is it possible for far more products like cars, computers, tvs etc can be produced with incredibly low failure rates.

But world class manufacturers don't need to do a lot of inspection, instead they design products properly, they ensure their suppliers guarantee the consistency of of what they supply and they use assembly processes that prevent incorrect assembly. If you know your design is correct, and materials and your assembly is correct, then you have certainty that your end product will be correct first time. Inspection is a costly process, so the less you have to do the better.

The caravan industry really needs to start give product quality and customer satisfaction a much higher priority.

 

[pitpony]

Prof,
I think when it comes to cars, computers, I-Pads, they are untouched by humans, who do you think will be the first caravan manufacturer to use robots,

 

[Pauljw]

Pitpony, I agree with what You say and it would be interesting to find out , however it's normally a human that designs the caravan . To ProfJohnL have a look on Companies house ( beta version ) and if You look through their filed accounts on any maker , it gives a good indication of how they are doing and perceived costs for warranty work in the future . I only looked at Explorer group .

Paul

 

[ProfJohnL]

Prof,
I think when it comes to cars, computers, I-Pads, they are untouched by humans, who do you think will be the first caravan manufacturer to use robots,

You make a very valid point.
Perhaps the question is why don't caravan manufactures for those tasks that frequently let them and their customers down - like damp through incorrectly assembled body joints. Yes Robots can be expensive, but their cost is falling and the improved quality they produce would some be seen in reduced costly product failures.

Who will be the first? well I do know that back in the early 1980's Swift (and possibly others) were using an NC controlled machine for profiling body panels and openings but it was still a manual job to apply the sealant !

Ultimately its still down to the design and production design which fails to prevent incorrect assembly.

 

[Raywood]

I am not sure that failing to seal the caravan correctly has anything to do with design it is simply very bad workmanship and given the proportion of damp caravans turned out it would surely be cheaper to stamp it out at source than cover the thousands of pounds it costs in guarantee claims.

 

[pitpony]

Just having a chat with my neighbour up the road and his new caravan which he bought in the last few months is now going in to have the floor renewed, because of the front locker letting in water through miss aligned grab handle screw holes, not only that two other people locally are also having to return new caravans, one for a new roof and the other to have the real back panel replaced,

 

[ProfJohnL]

I am not sure that failing to seal the caravan correctly has anything to do with design it is simply very bad workmanship and given the proportion of damp caravans turned out it would surely be cheaper to stamp it out at source than cover the thousands of pounds it costs in guarantee claims.

Ray

But that is the point.

In modern manufacturing, poor workmanship is not an acceptable excuse for product failure in the hands of the customer. As far as the customer is concerned the product has failed, and it shouldn't have.

A good product design not only looks at the product, but at the way its assembled. It should include measures that prevents incorrect assembly. If it can assembled incompletely or incorrectly that is poor product design!

Where for good reasons such an assembly cannot be fool proofed by component design, there should be a proven method of test or inspection that checks the process has been completed correctly before the job moves onto another work station.

You can design out opportunities for poor workmanship in all production line processes.

 

[flims]

Damian......We purchased this caravan at the Camping and caravanning show in Feb from the NEC. It was a fab deal from the company. Assuming any arising warranty work could be carried out by other dealerships of Elddis......just like cars......how wrong we are.

 

[flims]

Will check the small print of the warranty on our paperwork. Thanks for the tips. Much appreciated Prof jon

 

[Damian]

Damian......We purchased this caravan at the Camping and caravanning show in Feb from the NEC. It was a fab deal from the company. Assuming any arising warranty work could be carried out by other dealerships of Elddis......just like cars......how wrong we are.

Yep, you were wrong.
With caravans the only people who are bound by the warranty are the supplying dealer, NOT Elddis themselves.
Your situation is much the same as many who buy at a show from a dealer a long way from home, they then have the pleasure of taking the van back to the supplying dealer for warranty work that cannot be done by a mobile engineer.

From the Elddis warranty T&C's:
The Explorer Group Limited will pay the costs of remedial work to the repairer, only after approved work has been carried out. The cost of transporting, towing or moving the caravan by any means to or from the place of repair is the responsibility of the owner.