Thanks for you reply and please read mine to the Prof to save me repeating myself. The reason the panel has cracked is nothing to do with the fact I have not had it serviced, it is either poor design or poor installation. I suspect the "robots" in the factory have just put the fixing screws straight through the panel without pre-drilling it, hence stressing it and leading to the crack. However they are going to just ignore anything simply because I have not had it serviced by them or an authorised Elddis dealer, because, as has been stated by many other members, they basically just treat us all with contempt, as they did with me over a simple wash basin waste seal missing!
Thank you for that . Sadly you are yet another victim of this junk industry which we all enjoy and put up with. More fool us but isn’t it fun😁.
The number of spares we carry reminds me of our 1960s cars where we carried a full range of tools and spares , plugs belts gasket goo etc! Today most cars don’t even come with a spare wheel.
I suppose you could say you have probably saved £1500 over the last five years on servicing at the dealer by diy. No consolation perhaps.
I wonder if there is anyway you could prove this damage was a latent defect present at the time of purchase but has only just manifested itself now? Even if it had been serviced annually would the problem have been apparent? A massive long shot I know.
But thank you for your posts. It will high light to others the importance of complying with the Manufacturers water ingress warranty.
The number of spares we carry reminds me of our 1960s cars where we carried a full range of tools and spares , plugs belts gasket goo etc! Today most cars don’t even come with a spare wheel.
I suppose you could say you have probably saved £1500 over the last five years on servicing at the dealer by diy. No consolation perhaps.
I wonder if there is anyway you could prove this damage was a latent defect present at the time of purchase but has only just manifested itself now? Even if it had been serviced annually would the problem have been apparent? A massive long shot I know.
But thank you for your posts. It will high light to others the importance of complying with the Manufacturers water ingress warranty.
Doing our own maintenance can seem like a no Brainer, especially when you are competent to do all the jobs. I now have my van serviced every two years by a known AWS tech, just so that I have stamps in the book, for when I come to sell it. Same with my car, except trying to drain the engine oil is a pain as the car is so low.
I would also like to point out that nowhere in the Consumer Rights Act 2015 does it state that the unit has to be serviced regularly by an approved workshop to conform to the CRA 2015.
However even if was serviced regularly the technician may not have picked up that a fault was about to happen. The panel could have cracked the day after it was serviced. I would strongly recommend taking the caravan to the dealer from whom it was bought and ask them to assess the damage and to tell you why the panel cracked. Until you have an answer, you will be hitting a brick wall.
You then have a starting point for any action you may decide to take against the dealer. Of course you have the choice to ignore advice and try and resolve it on your own. Good luck on whatever decision you may decide.
However even if was serviced regularly the technician may not have picked up that a fault was about to happen. The panel could have cracked the day after it was serviced. I would strongly recommend taking the caravan to the dealer from whom it was bought and ask them to assess the damage and to tell you why the panel cracked. Until you have an answer, you will be hitting a brick wall.
You then have a starting point for any action you may decide to take against the dealer. Of course you have the choice to ignore advice and try and resolve it on your own. Good luck on whatever decision you may decide.
The CRA does not say anything about having a product serviced, it's the manufacturers warranty that makes servicing a critical part of their terms and conditions, and it's their prerogative set the conditions for that. But the Manufacturer's warranty is an entirely separate process to the CRA and it cannot be used to manage or control the progress or outcome of a CRA claim.
As you quite rightly point out in respect of an end panel, apart from servicing the joint seals for water ingress, there is no service activity that would actively identify the fault before the crack occurred, or prevent or protect the panel against cracking. If a service had been carried out its possible the fault might have been identified earlier.
What I can't tell you is if the fact you have had water ingress through a seal, which should have been picked up during a dealer service, If that which has caused internal wood to rot, whether the reduction in the support given by those rotting wooden parts has caused extra stress in the end panel resulting in the crack.
Given vehicles like cars and lorries which do much higher mileages suffering the rigours of the UK's collection of potholes etc, and yet they manage in the main to be leak free. The methods of creating strong durable panel joints are more well known and understood, and I think customers should reasonably expect caravan panel joint seals should have similar reliability. What is a customer expected to do to prevent a panel from cracking?
As you quite rightly point out in respect of an end panel, apart from servicing the joint seals for water ingress, there is no service activity that would actively identify the fault before the crack occurred, or prevent or protect the panel against cracking. If a service had been carried out its possible the fault might have been identified earlier.
What I can't tell you is if the fact you have had water ingress through a seal, which should have been picked up during a dealer service, If that which has caused internal wood to rot, whether the reduction in the support given by those rotting wooden parts has caused extra stress in the end panel resulting in the crack.
Given vehicles like cars and lorries which do much higher mileages suffering the rigours of the UK's collection of potholes etc, and yet they manage in the main to be leak free. The methods of creating strong durable panel joints are more well known and understood, and I think customers should reasonably expect caravan panel joint seals should have similar reliability. What is a customer expected to do to prevent a panel from cracking?
Thanks for your reply. In fact, I can get to the reverse of the crack via the void between the overhead front lockers. Initial investigation seems to indicate that there is no evidence of water ingress through it though, which might not be too surprising as it is not particularly wide, so I think the water is getting in through the screw hole at the nearside end of the window hinge bar, then making it's way onto the rubber window seal and through it. In other words, there are actually 3 faults! Having said that it is a bit of a coincidence that the crack is on the same side, I am going to do some water testing now I have all the affected timber out and tidied up ready for the refit. I might just take a photo of the crack and speak to the dealer, there should be no need to drive 30 miles to show them, but from their reaction to the minor problem they could have have sorted so easily yet turned it into an utter saga, plus the tales of woe from other members, I just know they are going to dig there heels in, and frankly I just don't want the heartache and hassle. This might not be the right attitude, but I think most people know it is reality. As you say it might be a lesson to others, the one I have learned is if I ever buy another new Van (Unlikely after this) it will not be from a UK one, and that is terrible.I would also like to point out that nowhere in the Consumer Rights Act 2015 does it state that the unit has to be serviced regularly by an approved workshop to conform to the CRA 2015.
However even if was serviced regularly the technician may not have picked up that a fault was about to happen. The panel could have cracked the day after it was serviced. I would strongly recommend taking the caravan to the dealer from whom it was bought and ask them to assess the damage and to tell you why the panel cracked. Until you have an answer, you will be hitting a brick wall.
You then have a starting point for any action you may decide to take against the dealer. Of course you have the choice to ignore advice and try and resolve it on your own. Good luck on whatever decision you may decide.
I agree with your theory of ingress through the hinge bar initially causing more stress, but surely this would be placed on the remaining screw points of the bar causing cracks there? I think, really, that either these panels are not fit for purpose or more likely they have been installed incorrectly. The crack I have starts from behind the awning rail, and I am guessing it is screwed to the timber beneath which is where the crack will have started. The more you search the more it becomes obvious that cracking in these panels is a very common weakness.
Incidentally does anyone know how the awning rail is fixed to the panel on these Vans, there are no visible screws? I guess they are bonded as it would not make sense to put screws into the panel that is chemically bonded to the roof at that point.
Well in the words of Victor Meldrew would you believe it? I just decided to give the Dealer a ring to see what they said initially, and guess what they have gone bust in April (Robinsons of Chesterfield) No surprise and can't say I will be crying in my 11's coffee. So I presume I would now have even more grief to contend with.
At least I can't buy another piece of junk off them.
At least I can't buy another piece of junk off them.
I don't know how your awning rail is fitted hopefully bonded as you say. On my 2013 Coachman the rear abs panel cracked , only a 2 inch one but that started from an awning rail screw, that had not been pilot drilled.
I though coachman were the Rolls Royces of Caravans?? There is no hope then.
I just miss-typed the word Caravan and it came out as Craven, lacking in courage, cowardly - quite a good word for some of the Dealers by the sound of it!!!
I'm sorry your recourse against the dealer is no longer possible, however if you used a finance product to help purchase the caravan, they had a joint liability with the seller.
PS its against form etiquette to name and shame a dealer, even though they may no longer exist.
Whilst we know the dealer is legally responsible (under the CRA) for the products they sell, we all also know most of the grief really should be pointed at the manufacture for designing such unreliable products.
The truth is the dealers are between a rock (manufactures)and a hard place (users), and whilst they are tied through contractual obligations with the manufacturers to stand as the gate keeper to limit direct customer contact with the manufacturers, their trade representatives should be negotiating to force manufacturers to take a greater degree of responsibility for the products they produce.
Dealers are responsible for their own delivery of the after sales service.
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
Not wishing to digress too much from the topic of this thread but regardless of the fact that the manufacturer would get reimbursed by Polyplastic and presumbaly the other items as well, Elddis did have to approve the work and will pay the dealer for their time in doing the work. The dealer could not have gone to Polyplastic or the other suppliers directly.
The thread you point to is interesting but represents only one problem and from one side only. The poster only joined this forum, as far as I can tell, to complain about his problem. If he'd had the problem resolved without any issues then I doubt he would have come here to post about how wonderful the customer service was.
In other words there are a good many satisified customers with all makes of vans that we never hear from but many people are willing to believe that the negative stories are the norm.
Having said all that I think the quality of caravans of any make is less than desirable. I also think that regular servicing in some instances is a con because its not preventative maintenance against some failures.
While the service , or lack off in some cases, we get from any manufacturer or supplier is considerably frustating please note some of this communities rules here....
forums.practicalcaravan.com
Specifically, no naming and shaming and no vulgarity.
Hard at times but please try and abide by these rules.
Practical Caravan Official Community Rules
Official Community Rules Welcome to the Practical Caravan forums! Thanks so much for taking the time to be a part of the Practical Caravan community. It’s incredibly important to us to have the kind of community that works together to keep things on track. After all, we’re in this together...
Specifically, no naming and shaming and no vulgarity.
Hard at times but please try and abide by these rules.
The hinge bar leak is a common issue. If the caravan was purchased on HP then the finance house are responsible for sorting out the issue however as the caravan was not serviced by an approved technician you will not be able to claim for the leak, but can still claim for the cracked panel.
Apologies, I only named them because they no longer exist, as can be seen by following the thread.While the service , or lack off in some cases, we get from any manufacturer or supplier is considerably frustating please note some of this communities rules here....
Practical Caravan Official Community Rules
Official Community Rules Welcome to the Practical Caravan forums! Thanks so much for taking the time to be a part of the Practical Caravan community. It’s incredibly important to us to have the kind of community that works together to keep things on track. After all, we’re in this together...
Specifically, no naming and shaming and no vulgarity.
Hard at times but please try and abide by these rules.
But even if you buy a non U.K. caravan failure to comply with warranty terms wrt servicing could present you with a similar problem in the dealers unwillingness to assist albeit hopefully the caravan would be less prone to defects arising.
If you want evidence then take a look on various forums and Facebook. Elddis are being slated left, right and centre for denying warranty claims in the last few years. I am glad you got your claim honoured, but a lot of people have not and are even taking legal action.
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