warranty & servicing?

[mick_5040967]

hi folks,

we bought a new amara last year,to keep the warranty worth while the van has to serviced each year.

my question is..do i have to take it back to the original supplier of the van or someone closer to home

many thanks for looking

 

[RogerL]

With a new car warranty you can take it to any competent garage, whether franchised for that make or not, for servicing without invalidating the warranty. Don't listen to any dealer who says otherwise.

With a caravan warranty the manufacturer can, and usually always does, require that the caravan is serviced at a franchised service agent to keep the warranty valid.

Often any extended warranty is given by the (supplying) dealer and have service by the supplying dealer as a condition.

You need to check your documentation and examine the small print.

BEFORE buying a caravan you should always investigate the warranty and conditions attached to it - not afterwards. Sometimes the good deal from a distant dealer isn't nearly as good as you'd like.

 

[jacky3]

unfortunately the trouble here with warranties is,yes you can take it to any genuine approved dealer for service PROVIDED that dealer will do it,and at the requested time.manufacturers have a time limit that you must have the caravan serviced by (within a certain time of the warranty/service date).if you have not bought the van from the said dealer,they will look after their own customers first then deal with you later,which could mean you miss the warranty validation time????.been their and done it and this DOES happen.also for warranty work,dealers get an hourly rate less than the norm for repairs,so if again you did not buy thie van from the said dealer,again they will look after their own customers first and fit you in when they can,i know someone who waited 8 month for a repair who was exactly in this situation.i bought a van from glossop caravans (300 ml round trip)but its srviced on time and all that has gone wrong has been put right relatively quickly.so before you buy a van sfrom a dealer think of servicing and repair as it could mean and probably will mean a long journey if you want it serviced on time or a speedy repair

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Mick,

Just in case you are not aware of the differences between your statutory rights, guarantees and extended warranties, briefly:

Your statutory rights are unassailable, and under the Sale of Goods act, it is the responsibility of the retailer to ensure the product is fit for purpose and free from defects. The retailer cannot avoid that responsibility, it is the law. If something breaks that shouldn't then within a reasonable time that should be covered by the Sog Act. And as a consequence you would have to return it to the retailer.

This applies to all products (not just caravans) so you can replace references to caravan with any product or vice versa.

There is nothing in law that says you have to have a caravan serviced, but it has to be road worthy and there are certain items that will be classed as consumables which may need professional attention, so servicing is strongly advised and probably necessary. The dealer cannot insist you have the caravan serviced by them. However you may need to prove it was done by a competent person.

The SoG only really covers fundamental failures, and its strength diminishes with age of the appliance. So most caravan manufactures offer a warranty scheme. This is not a legal requirement and it is 'in the gift' of the manufacture, so it can be constrained with special conditions.

Typical conditions include :

Who can service the caravan,

How many miles/months between services

The use to which the caravan is put (i.e. Domestic only)

Not to be towed behind commercial vehicles

the Warranty is not transferable to second purchaser or beyond.

Some manufacture also seek to limit cover on certain items such as exterior plastic mouldings etc

It is fundamentally a contract, and if you break it then the contract can be declared void.

Extended warranties, are not technically warranties, because you make a special payment for them and they are actually an insurance process. Again these can be conditional and subject to strict adherence to the terms of the contract.

So in short if you wish to retain the cover of the manufactures warranty, you must abide by the terms in the contract.

 

[PeterT]

Mick

 

[PeterT]

Mick

You can also have the caravan serviced at any "Approved Workshop", most of which are approved by manufacturers for warranty work. There might be one nearer home for you. Look on www.jones-vening.co.uk (Approved Schemes page) for your nearest.

 

[mick_5040967]

many thanks for the replies folks,

i had e-mailed coachman caravans about this mattyer and this was their reply

Thank you for your email of 15th May. Although Warranty remains the responsibility of the selling dealer, your caravan can be serviced by any NCC approved dealer/workshop.

i`m a little dump on certain things in life,but in a nutshell what does it mean

 

[RogerL]

The legal liability for your warranty is the selling dealer. It never gets transferred to the manufacturer or any other dealer / workshop that may do servicing for you.

This is true of all products.

Many industries arrange for warranty work to be carried out by any franchised dealer but only the selling dealer has a legal obligation to do the work.

 

[jacky3]

warranty work can be done by any authorised dealer of the make of caravan concerned.it has NOT GOT to be done by the selling dealer.i've been through this and beleive me,i asked a local dealer in avondale caravans and he was up front and told me exactly what happens.AS LONG AS ITS APPROVED BY THE MANUFASCTURER it can be done elsewhere.it seems to me the dealer is telling you exactly as i pointed out.they wont do it if they are tied up with their own customer needs,nor will they do it if its not worth their trouble.best of luck.

 

[Tom_5041734]

warranty work can be done by any authorised dealer of the make of caravan concerned.it has NOT GOT to be done by the selling dealer.i've been through this and beleive me,i asked a local dealer in avondale caravans and he was up front and told me exactly what happens.AS LONG AS ITS APPROVED BY THE MANUFASCTURER it can be done elsewhere.it seems to me the dealer is telling you exactly as i pointed out.they wont do it if they are tied up with their own customer needs,nor will they do it if its not worth their trouble.best of luck.

Most extended warranties are not worth the paper they are written on. My "Gold" warranty includes all mechnical parts including brake shoes however it does not apply to the linings which have seperated from the shoes on my caravan. The warranty company states that brake shoes are included but that linings are not brake shoes therefore they are not covered. I asked them to point out, where in the policy it states that the linings are excluded, and their response is "it doesn't say they are covered so that's enough". As far as I am concerned this is a problem with the brake shoes but the warranty company state that there is nothing wrong with the shoes - it's the linings which are at fault. My argument is that the linings are an integral part of the shoe however they continue to state that they do not deem this to be covered under the warranty.

I also have a couple of small cracks which have appeared beside the front locker hinges and I now await the Insurers response to this.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hi All,

NEVER assume that warranty work can be carried out by any dealer onteh Jones Venning list. Always check with the supplying dealer before hand.Different companies may and will apply different acceptance criteria.

 

[jacky3]

thats what i highlighted john

 

[jacky3]

Most extended warranties are not worth the paper they are written on. My "Gold" warranty includes all mechnical parts including brake shoes however it does not apply to the linings which have seperated from the shoes on my caravan. The warranty company states that brake shoes are included but that linings are not brake shoes therefore they are not covered. I asked them to point out, where in the policy it states that the linings are excluded, and their response is "it doesn't say they are covered so that's enough". As far as I am concerned this is a problem with the brake shoes but the warranty company state that there is nothing wrong with the shoes - it's the linings which are at fault. My argument is that the linings are an integral part of the shoe however they continue to state that they do not deem this to be covered under the warranty.

I also have a couple of small cracks which have appeared beside the front locker hinges and I now await the Insurers response to this.

how old is the van tom

 

[RogerL]

thats what i highlighted john

No, you stated the opposite!