Warranty advice regarding cracked front panel

[LateGuitarist]

Just joined the forum in the hope of some advice, basically I have water ingress which at the moment I am assuming is from a small crack in the front ABS panel of my 2019 Elddis Xplore 554 which I bought from new 5 years almost to the day. I had assumed it was the window hinge and or seal but have noticed the crack while trying to identify the source, which has caused a fair bit of wood to rot behind the front window seal, I understand now this is a common problem! I bought this Van hoping it would see me through until the end of my caravanning days but how silly was I, they are obviously even worse than years ago, at least my first Van made it to 15. Now, trouble is, I have not had the Van serviced annually - to be honest I am an ex-mechanic perfectly capable of servicing it myself and was daft enough to assume I could sort out the problems as they came along (it's a British caravan after all) and it basically wasn't worth the grief and expense and it would be fine for 10-12 years, yeah I know don't say it.....
Anyway, what I would like to ask is, is it worth even starting to talk to the Dealer? Last time it took them 3 weeks to provide a rubber seal that was completely missing from the washbasin which I only discovered on the first trip (so much for the PDI check) and apparently the end panels are now not covered by the warranty anyway even if I had had it serviced, so as far as I am concerned I should be covered by the Consumer rights Act 2015? Looking at other posts it seems the best I could get is some sort of repair, but even if the dealer agreed to replace the entire front panel, I imagine I am going to be liable for the work to replace the damaged timber. Fortunately it is only the plywood surround that has been damaged, I have cut out the affected areas and am quite capable of replacing it with new wood, and even more fortunately I can get to the rear of the crack from the void in the corner of the front lockers to repair the crack, hopefully. By the sounds of it even if they replace the whole panel it may still crack in a few years, so I seriously wondering if it is worth the effort of getting the dealer involved - having said that I am really disappointed with what I consider is a a design flaw or poor workmanship, probably a combination of both, and don't see why the dealer will assumingly use the fact I have not had it serviced to hide behind. I accept the damage may have been less (maybe not much depending when the crack developed) if it had am annual damp check, but it doesn't excuse the fact it's failed? Should we really be having to have damp checks every year on new Vans this day and age, this one was supposed to have a 10 year water ingress warranty after all, how can this be if the end panels are only covered for the first year? Any thoughts welcome, I have to say I will never buy an Elddis Van again.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hi,

Welcome to the forum.

I truly sympathise with your view about the industries apparent lack of care and attention to the design and manufacture of their products, and especially as they have had far more than long enough to get such basics right every time. It seems that most (if not all) of the manufacturers have had some sort of problems with end panels.

There have been a number of contributors who have successfully had end panel repairs carried out using the Consumer Rights Act, but It usually requires some persistence. I'm sure some will be along soon to explain how they did it, or to offer advice about the types of repair they've used.

I wish you luck.

 

[Milkfloat]

I suspect the odds are not very good. Elddis don't even want to support clear warranty issues with people who comply with their terms, so I don't think you have any chance with them at all. It is likely your dealer won't want to know as they know Elddis will reject a claim, you have not had it serviced, so no chance to spot the problems earlier and you have have started a repair yourself before they could inspect it. Good luck, but I would be very surprised if this works out for you.

 

[otherclive]

Your decision not to have the caravan serviced annually by an AWS technician or dealership substantially undermines your position in what is now a six year old caravan. I cannot see that you have much of a case either to persuade the dealer to repair, or pursue a it using CRA2015.

 

[Mr Plodd]

I think Milkfloat has summed it up perfectly. Elddis are clearly well aware of the "issues' with their ABS panels and thats the reason they only warranty them for the legal minimum time.
I wouldn't bother speaking to your dealer, they will not want to know UNLESS you are prepared to pay them to effect a repair, but that would be a very costly exercise indeed.
Repair it yourself, at least you will know its been done properly!

 

[LateGuitarist]

Hi,

Welcome to the forum.

I truly sympathise with your view about the industries apparent lack of care and attention to the design and manufacture of their products, and especially as they have had far more than long enough to get such basics right every time. It seems that most (if not all) of the manufacturers have had some sort of problems with end panels.

There have been a number of contributors who have successfully had end panel repairs carried out using the Consumer Rights Act, but It usually requires some persistence. I'm sure some will be along soon to explain how they did it, or to offer advice about the types of repair they've used.

I wish you luck.

Thank you. I had water ingress in a new Elddis I bought in 1995 but after 15 years, I had kinda thought things would have improved but have obviously gone backwards despite all the wonderful claims. If the Japanese had decided to make Caravans this shower would have gone out of business years ago!

 

[Mr Plodd]

Your caravan does have a 10 year water ingress warranty, but like other makes it only covers "permanently sealed joints" not cracking panels which only get a years warranty. Utterly disgraceful doesn't come close.

 

[LateGuitarist]

I think Milkfloat has summed it up perfectly. Elddis are clearly well aware of the "issues' with their ABS panels and thats the reason they only warranty them for the legal minimum time.
I wouldn't bother speaking to your dealer, they will not want to know UNLESS you are prepared to pay them to effect a repair, but that would be a very costly exercise indeed.
Repair it yourself, at least you will know its been done properly!

I agree with you, to be honest it's easier to fix it myself than mess about taking it up and down the motorway to the dealer plus all the arguing and stress, it's a poor state of affairs though, I will certainly never buy another Elddis or use the dealer in question they were hopeless over even a simple problem with no support at all.

 

[otherclive]

I’ve had three cracked panels replaced under warranty. A front and rear on a Bailey, and a rear on a Swift the latter just short of five years old. All were accepted by the makers under the warranty, and fixed without any hassle. The difference being that I complied with the terms of the warranty, just as I do for our cars.

 

[LateGuitarist]

I’ve had three cracked panels replaced under warranty. A front and rear on a Bailey, and a rear on a Swift the latter just short of five years old. All were accepted by the makers under the warranty, and fixed without any hassle. The difference being that I complied with the terms of the warranty, just as I do for our cars.

I accept the underlying hints in your replies, however I think that the fact you have had to do this twice just outlines what rubbish these Vans are and how unacceptable this is. I presume you probably didn't even have the Van while they were patching it up, no chance of a loan Van while they were putting right their poorly designed and manufactured rubbish? An annual service has nothing to do with components failing due to the fact they are unfit for use or installed incorrectly does it?

 

[Dustydog]

Sorry to be of no help, I can only echo all the above Forumites comments.
Well done doing all the stripping down work yourself. There are dozens of very good YouTube videos of Baileys and Elddis major damp repairs. It sounds like you have the talent👍
Sadly the U.K. caravan manufacturers still live in the dark ages on their manufacturing techniques. Can you fix the ABS cracks yourself? A rhetorical question . Historically, with Bailey , the ABS cracks were a manufacturing error. They never pre drilled the screw holes in the ABS causing the premature failure. I suspect the same is true with Elddis.
In truth , I can’t see the Dealer or Elddis offering any help at all. Good luck with what is now a restoration project😉

 

[LateGuitarist]

Sorry to be of no help, I can only echo all the above Forumites comments.
Well done doing all the stripping down work yourself. There are dozens of very good YouTube videos of Baileys and Elddis major damp repairs. It sounds like you have the talent👍
Sadly the U.K. caravan manufacturers still live in the dark ages on their manufacturing techniques. Can you fix the ABS cracks yourself? A rhetorical question . Historically, with Bailey , the ABS cracks were a manufacturing error. They never pre drilled the screw holes in the ABS causing the premature failure. I suspect the same is true with Elddis.
In truth , I can’t see the Dealer or Elddis offering any help at all. Good luck with what is now a restoration project😉

No problem, LOL I like the restoration project bit. Funnily enough I have a Triumph Spitfire that I have been restoring but it's not trapped in the garage behind the immobile Van for a couple of weeks, Bit rubbish when you spend £16K on a new Van and it's a resto after 5 years though eh?? Like you say I don't think either of them will give a toss TBH, it breaks my heart to say I will look at a foreign one next time.

 

[otherclive]

I accept the underlying hints in your replies, however I think that the fact you have had to do this twice just outlines what rubbish these Vans are and how unacceptable this is. I presume you probably didn't even have the Van while they were patching it up, no chance of a loan Van while they were putting right their poorly designed and manufactured rubbish? An annual service has nothing to do with components failing due to the fact they are unfit for use or installed incorrectly does it?

In all three cases the cracks were found by the servicing dealerships. They were panel cracks not failed tape joints. The work only required the caravan to be with the dealership for a couple of days and in the 4-5 months waiting for the new panels the cracks were taped up to prevent further ingress of water. My car warranties don’t supply a car, nice thought though.

 

[Dustydog]

No problem, LOL I like the restoration project bit. Funnily enough I have a Triumph Spitfire that I have been restoring but it's not trapped in the garage behind the immobile Van for a couple of weeks, Bit crap when you spend £16K on a new Van and it's a resto after 5 years though eh?? Like you say I don't think either of them will give a toss TBH, it breaks my heart to say I will look at a foreign one next time.

47 years ago I was a member of the Triumph Sports Six Club which covered the Spitfire , Herald ,GT6, Vitesse etc. Great cars , no 5th gear but even better the Laycock de Normanville overdrive👍

 

[Jcloughie]

I understand the argument that you have a claim under consumer rights. As it should reasonably have lasted longer. And this might over ride the warrentee.

However, the dealer and manufacturer would counter argue that.

• You have not had it serviced, so lost the chance of them spotting the defect earlier which may have been an easy repair.
• You have started work, which may be contrary to their methods.

Sorry, but I feel that your dealer would not be compliant.

John

 

[Sam Vimes]

I suspect the odds are not very good. Elddis don't even want to support clear warranty issues with people who comply with their terms, so I don't think you have any chance with them at all. It is likely your dealer won't want to know as they know Elddis will reject a claim, you have not had it serviced, so no chance to spot the problems earlier and you have have started a repair yourself before they could inspect it. Good luck, but I would be very surprised if this works out for you.

Rather a generalised statement without any evidence.

I have a 2020 Elddis caravan. It had a damp problem after the first year and a couple of other issues, one of which was a front window with marks between the inner and outer pains.

Dealer fixed everything in conjunction with Elddis without any problems.

 

[otherclive]

Rather a generalised statement without any evidence.

I have a 2020 Elddis caravan. It had a damp problem after the first year and a couple of other issues, one of which was a front window with marks between the inner and outer pains.

Dealer fixed everything in conjunction with Elddis without any problems.

But your caravan wasn’t five years old with no formal/invoiced service history in that time.

 

[Sam Vimes]

Yes that's , but the first part of the statement was that Elddis don't support those that do comply with their T&Cs, which my case is just not true.

If you don't conform to the T&C's then that isn't anyone else's problem but your own.

 

[Dustydog]

Maybe you were lucky Sam . Window failures will be reimbursed to Elddis by Polyplastic.
Sadly it is well documented on here that Elddis are not the best on warranty work.

Elddis Major Damp

Hi All So back in Feb 2020 we purchased a brand new Elddis 554. Since then we have been battling with the dealer, the manufacturer and the bodyshop to get it in for repair, due to severe damp issues throughout most of the vehicle, upto 70%...

forums.practicalcaravan.com

 

[LateGuitarist]

47 years ago I was a member of the Triumph Sports Six Club which covered the Spitfire , Herald ,GT6, Vitesse etc. Great cars , no 5th gear but even better the Laycock de Normanville overdrive👍

Yes got one of those in the Spit, works a treat basically gives you a 6 speed box.

 

[LateGuitarist]

Rather a generalised statement without any evidence.

I have a 2020 Elddis caravan. It had a damp problem after the first year and a couple of other issues, one of which was a front window with marks between the inner and outer pains.

Dealer fixed everything in conjunction with Elddis without any problems.

Rather a generalised statement without any evidence.

I have a 2020 Elddis caravan. It had a damp problem after the first year and a couple of other issues, one of which was a front window with marks between the inner and outer pains.

Dealer fixed everything in conjunction with Elddis without any problems.

LOL, that's OK then! Not being funny but you had a "damp problem after the first year" and a couple of other issues" I should bloody well think they did fix it, what a pile of junk!

 

[LateGuitarist]

Yes that's , but the first part of the statement was that Elddis don't support those that do comply with their T&Cs, which my case is just not true.

If you don't conform to the T&C's then that isn't anyone else's problem but your own.

It's my problem sure, for buying the damn thing from a manufacturer that extols the wonderful new SoLiD technology (???) that lets water in after less than 5 years, and then hides behind T&C's that are nothing more than a huge cop out!

 

[ProfJohnL]

It's my problem sure, for buying the damn thing from a manufacturer that extols the wonderful new SoLiD technology (???) that lets water p**s in after less than 5 years, and then hides behind T&C's that are nothing more than a huge cop out!

Its been a problem for a long time, and sad to say its the customers who a partly responsible for the situation.

Caravans have almost for ever had a very poor reliability, that the buying public have become accustomed to it and accepted it as the normal state of play.

It may come as a surprise, but the UK has had some quite supportive consumer rights for many decades, but very few people knew about it, or how to access it. As always the the legal route followed the contract so if the law was used it
was always between the customer and their seller, not the manufacturer.

That basis is still true today, but we now have the Consumer Rights Act since 2015, and before it, the Sale Of Goods Act 1979.

This contract route means the manufacturers rarely feel the pain (loss of profit) caused by their shoddy practices, so there is no incentive for them to try harder. and improve the quality and reliability of their products.

The way to that might give the manufacturers some real incentive to buck their ideas up, would be for the public to stop buying poor quality products and switching to makes that offer proven better reliability, if such products exist.

It would not surprise me if a foreign maker (probably from Asia) might put UK manufacturers to shame in the not to distant future.

 

[Buckman]

Your issue is not with Elddis, but with the dealer so do not waste your time contacting Elddis. Your first post is very difficult to read due to having no paragraphs. Sadly as you never had the caravan serviced by the dealer your chances of success are low.

A lot of it seems to assumptions about what the dealer may or may not agree. Have you actually taken the caravan into the dealer to evaluate and for them to give you a reason why the panel cracked. Once you have a reason why the panel cracked, then we can give you better advice.

Everyone on here knows that we went through the same hassle when our Elddis product was 5 years old and we were successful so I am talking from recent experience.

 

[LateGuitarist]

Its been a problem for a long time, and sad to say its the customers who a partly responsible for the situation.

Caravans have almost for ever had a very poor reliability, that the buying public have become accustomed to it and accepted it as the normal state of play.

It may come as a surprise, but the UK has had some quite supportive consumer rights for many decades, but very few people knew about it, or how to access it. As always the the legal route followed the contract so if the law was used it
was always between the customer and their seller, not the manufacturer.

That basis is still true today, but we now have the Consumer Rights Act since 2015, and before it, the Sale Of Goods Act 1979.

This contract route means the manufacturers rarely feel the pain (loss of profit) caused by their shoddy practices, so there is no incentive for them to try harder. and improve the quality and reliability of their products.

The way to that might give the manufacturers some real incentive to buck their ideas up, would be for the public to stop buying poor quality products and switching to makes that offer proven better reliability, if such products exist.

It would not surprise me if a foreign maker (probably from Asia) might put UK manufacturers to shame in the not to distant future.

I agree with you totally. I probably should, even now, make a huge stink about this, even though the dealer (and obviously some members here) will just point out that it has not been serviced so it's all my fault. I disagree with this and some replies I have received, as reading this and other forums it is quite clear that most dealers are going to dig their heels in. The fact remains as you have said, the manufacturers have not learned a damn thing in all the years they have been making Vans, it is disgusting that people are still having basic ingress issues even within a year of manufacture! I have long held the belief that if the Japanese had cottoned on to making them ALL the UK manufacturers would have gone out of business years ago, and although it breaks my heart to say it, they would deserve to.
When I went out for the first time in my shiny new Xplore it didn't take long - there was no seal in the bathroom sink basin "click clack" so the water just run out - great, leaving me to mackle it up with rubber bands. It took the dealer 3 weeks to sort it out and their attitude to my predicament was appalling, even blaming me for not bringing it to their attention in the first 30 days!! This despite a "PDI" check. In the end the salesman rang me up 2 days before my next trip and proudly told me he had taken the matter in hand and put a new seal in the post (they had wanted me to return the whole bloody Van up until then!). When I asked him where he had got it from (so I could buy a spare) he told me he had "taken it out another Van for now", can you believe it?? Numpties. As you might imagine, my faith in future performance, as in things like my current problem, was somewhat reduced.

The thing is, I bought this Van in my obvious stupidity believing it would see me through my retired years as surely a brand new 2019 Van with 10 year SoLiD technology would be good for at least 10 years, and to be honest loved it. I still love caravanning but the whole experience has made me feel very differently about my pride and joy and I will now just wonder where the next problem is coming from. I had a few problems with my ticker few years ago and to be honest I just don't need the stress and arseache of taking the Van 30 miles to start off a debate with a probably obstinate dealer that will no doubt entail an awful lot of arguing plus not having the Van for periods, I just want to enjoy Caravanning! Obviously the problems these hopeless manufacturers have been famous for over the years will continue probably for ever, or as you say until one with some real pride in their product comes along, probably not from the UK sadly.
I watched the Elddis video where they tow a "SoLiD" van on a test track over rough ground for the equivalent of years of caravanning and then soak it through, freeze it, god knows what, and hey presto it's bone dry - Really?? I simply just don't believe them. They didn't show you the inevitable cracks in the end panels that's for sure.