Fourth Service and first Problem

[brian_c]

Hello all. I just thought I would share my recent caravan experience. We have just had our Annual service by the same approved mobile workshop we have used for a few years now.

The fitter showed me a crack of about 3 inches that had started to develop in the plastic wheel arch on the off side. Because there was no sign of any physical cause of this he suggested I contact the original supplier of the van he was of the opinion that the bodywork integrity guarantee should cover the repair. He thinks the plastic has a weakness/flaw.

Well we contacted the original suppliers and they explained that they would need to contact the manufacturer for authority to replace the wheel arch under warranty. The lady at the dealership was very pleasant with my wife when she rang but didn't sound too optimistic about the possible response of the manufacturer. We were asked for photographs of the fault and evidence of servicing records which we emailed to them.
Well a couple of days later we got the response that the Wheel arch was no longer covered by the Warranty.
Being honest with myself I did expect this response after all the wheel arch had survived for over three years without the fault occurring.
I'm now in the position of going back to our service engineer for a price to sort things out for us.
What worries me though is what if the engineer had found a damp area within the van could the manufacturer have said that the area found was no longer covered by the warranty.
I've been pretty relaxed over the last few years knowing that subject to keeping the van maintained by a properly qualified workshop, should bodywork issues arise then the 6 year warranty would sort us out.
Having said all this I still consider myself lucky in that apart from the wheel arch everything else was good. The engineer said that all the damp readings he took were well within the tolerance and bearing in mind that during the service the van had 3" of snow stood on the roof. So this was our forth anniversary of collecting the van (our first new one) and now I'm perhaps just a little less relaxed with two years of warranty still to go.
I can't imagine the stress caused by some of the stories I read on the forum where members have issues of damp in some cases within the first year of ownership.
Finally I'm a firm believer in having an annual service carried out by a properly qualified engineer had I not bothered this year the first time I ventured out with the van in wet conditions I would have created the very damp conditions in the bodywork around the wheel arch that I'm so concerned about.

Best wishes to all
Brian

 

[MichaelE]

I think if its water ingress then you are covered unless you caused the damage?
My van had its third year service in December and damp was found by the battery locker and the front windows, booked in and i took it to the dealer in Jan when we had one of the coldest nights, i left at 6.30 am and when i arrived the rear panel had a 8 inch crack in it which must have been caused by the cold and the movement whilst traveling??
The grp panels are only covered for its first year but the dealer put it down to water ingress and a new panel was authorized in 2 days, just waiting for it to come in now.
The Dealer and Elddis have been superb in the few niggles i have had , 2 broken locker doors , hob replacement all changed with no hassle.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Brian,

I can sympathise with your position.

You have, I think, followed the correct procedure. SoGA relates to defects that were present at the point of sale, and as there has been no problem shown within the first 4 years. it would be very difficult indeed to prove a the wheel are was defective when you purchased it.

In reality it must also be borne in mind that the wheel arch is a highly vulnerable component exposed to whatever the wheel flings at it from the inside and you have four years of it possibly being pressed or impacted in some way that might easily weaken it. Most wheel arches are plastic and will deform under pressure without necessarily retaining any surface mark.

So SoGA is probably a non starter.

The manufacture warranty is a slightly different kettle of fish. It will depend precisely on the wording in the warranty documentation you received when you registered for the warranty.

My guess is that your policy will say something to the effect that provided the exterior of the caravan has not been damaged or changed in any way, the manufacturer (or their subcontractor) will repair any defect that has allowed the body of the caravan to leak.

Basically without a water ingress problem they are not obliged to look at the caravan, and even if there were a water ingress issue, if the bodywork has been damaged in any way or normal wear and tear that allows water to ingress they are not obliged repair.

So I think this is one where the cost of repairs has to be taken by the owner.

 

[Gagakev]

Brian can you clarify it is the actual wheel arch under the van or the wheel spat which is fixed to the external face of the van?

 

[brian_c]

Hi. Yes it is the black plastic that actually forms the wheel arch.
I'm guessing the Wheel Spat will need to be removed which should then expose the edge of the plastic wheel arch.
Years ago with my old vans I would have had a go at it by now but
I am going the route of the authorised workshop for fear of invalidating what guarantee I have left.
Regards Brian

 

[Gagakev]

Hi. Yes it is the black plastic that actually forms the wheel arch.
I'm guessing the Wheel Spat will need to be removed which should then expose the edge of the plastic wheel arch.
Years ago with my old vans I would have had a go at it by now but
I am going the route of the authorised workshop for fear of invalidating what guarantee I have left.
Regards Brian

Thanks for that Brian, just wanted to clarify as the spat on my van (Fleetwood) is more cosmetic than any thing else.
As you may have read previously I repaired mine and the spat was the worst thing to get off, horrible job, dont recommend it!!
As you said, best to keep within the guarantee, and saves you a job.
but good luck anyway,hope you get it sorted.

 

[Raywood]

I think you need to read the warranty thoroughly but not knowing the terms of the warranty it is difficult to comment. The idea that the wheelarch is excluded if the warranty is still operating seems odd.7
As the professor says the wheelarch is subject to a lot of stress and a thrown up stone could easily be the problem so if as I assume impact damage is excluded then you are in a difficult position?

 

[brian_c]

Thank you for you reply Raywood. Yes I more or less decided that I wouldn't have a claim even as the engineer was showing me the fault.
Prof John made a comment that I totally agree with and that is the wheel arch plastic has been ok for at least 4 years so it would be difficult to actually demonstrate that it was defective at point of sale especially thinking as you say the hostile area that it operates in.
I'm pretty relaxed about it really and I'm approached the approved mobile workshp guy who is authorised to carry out repair work, for an estimate I did check this with The manufacturer.
Whilst my water ingress body integrity warranty still has two years to run it has just got me thinking if I'm unfortunate to get a problem say at the next inspection how will the manufacturer respond. However I don't actually want to be in a position to actually test it out.
My biggest frustration is that I'm unable to to actually use the phone through being struck suddenly deaf just over a year ago and im sure that in a warranty claim situation phone calls will play a major part in getting things sorted. Like I said earlier though apart from the crack in the wheel arch the engineer was happy with everything else on the van and really pleased with the damp test readings that he took.
I've had vans for years and he funny thing is this is the first one I've had that has caused me to worry for want of a better phrase.
All the others I've happily got stuck into repairs myself even extending gas lines in the good old days before I had heard of Nose weight-Train Weight-Mass in running order etc. oh dear why ever did I sell the Tent!!!
Thank again for your comments best regards Brian

 

[Gafferbill]

Hello Brian.......if you have not already done so......get your caravan wheels balanced.
A badly unbalanced caravan wheel could cause the crack in what is a fairly flimsy plastic wheel arch on most caravans.

 

[Raywood]

Brian I see your problem. I take it the engineers damp report showed no damp to show the crack must be fairly recent. The problem now would be if damp does appear near the wheel arch is it the repair or the original build and I am afraid I see no obvious answer. It might become clear when the repair is then done but you cannot be sure.
Possibly the only possible way out is to have the repair done by the manufacturers agent so if you have damp you are in a better position but even that might leave you stuck in the middle of an argument between them.
If you get damp anywhere else then the guarantee should still be no problem.

 

[brian_c]

I hadn't thought of that Gafferbill, of course the tyres on the van came with it new and are just over four years old now. I intend renewing them in the next year so I would have asked for balancing at that point. Perhaps I should get these done now.
I'm sure the originals wouldn't have been balanced when originally fitted.
Regards Brian

 

[brian_c]

Yes I see what you mean I have no experience of warranty claiming others than my recent half hearted attempt. The damp readings all around the van were well under where concern should be shown including around the area that could be affected by the wheel arch defect. The van and surrounding ground had a few inches of standing snow on it as well during the service so I suppose conditions were not too favourable for servicing although I provided sheeting for the engineer to kneel on and he also brought his own.
I'm assuming that the crack actually started to appear during our last return home from a CL Site we stayed on in Chester.
Luckily we had a dry run home that trip.

Best wishes Brian

 

[brian_c]

Just a short update. I took the van over to my service engineers workshop today. For him to replace the damaged wheelarch plastic.
He contacted me about 15:30 this afternoon. All done and was ready for me to collect. So we now have a shiny new wheel arch and after the first run we make on a rainy day I'm guessing that no one would ever know it had been replaced. Although the service sheets detail the damage.
I was slightly concerned prior to the work being carried out with regard to the external plastic trip that surrounds the wheel arch. I had a fear that it would be difficult to remove and therefore possibly break or not fit properly when replaced but my concerns were groundless. There is absolutely no indication that it has ever been removed.
So all in all I'm really pleased that the van looks exactly like it did before. Apart from the crack in the arch and my pocket being bit lighter than it was before. (My wife's hand bag actually she doesn't let me get too near to notes very often just loose change)
Still I suppose We are lucky that it was found before it could have introduced damp into the van.
Best wishes to all.