Are Caravan WARRANTIES FAIR? 

It’s actually the dealers usually making this policy. many dealers actually refuse to even service caravans not purchased from them - claiming they don’t have capacity to service ‘non-customers’ who haven’t purchased. It’s best to find a local dealer and build a strong relationship in my experience

Its because the dealers are mainly gypsy tinker peg sellers and in my experience every one I've used are untrustworthy

When we bought our new caravan in 2022 there were minor snags that were sorted by a local dealer to us, we didn’t go back to who we bought it from. They were brilliant and only reason we didn’t buy from them is because at the time they didn’t have and couldn’t get the van we wanted. However, when we had to raise a bigger issue that we have with the outside panel we had to go back to the dealer we bought it from for them to initiate the claim to manufacturer. From that experience alone we will NEVER go back to that dealer for ANYTHING. They were awful, uncommunicative, a nightmare to get any response from until in the end we said we would take legal action if necessary. The stress of dealing with them has tainted my excitement of having a new van and really took the shine off our first year of caravan ownership. The issue is being sorted in October by the manufacturer but until it’s done I’m still anxious about it all. As for warranties, they don’t appear to be worth the paper they are written on. So many exclusions after the first year.

Hi Graham, When we ordered our caravan 11 years ago I specified the optional 3 year extended manufacturing (= 6 years total) and the 4 year extended water ingress warranty (= 10 years total). Never claimed on the water ingress and only claimed once on the manufacturers for a new front on the Truma room heater. Otherwise all ok. Bailey warranty is transferable between owners. With the car, I took out the Audi extended warranty when it was three years old. Renewed it every year until I received a letter at 10 years of age saying ‘we can no longer cover this vehicle’. That’s when I had to have a new air compressor for the air suspension, typical isn’t it 😁. Cheers, Rob 👍

Hi Graham. Caravan manufactures are experts on warranty dodging always find a way not to pay out on bad workmanship and faulty goods

Great point to make people aware of warranties.👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

Bought my used caravan (Bailey) privately from a seller in Birmingham, had warranty work done by lovely people at Leeds Caravan Centre. I asked Leeds caravan centre before I bought the van if they’d do that, and they were fine with that.

An interesting and thought provoking vlog Graham 🙂. But after a couple of minutes in, you just reminded me of a Paul Whitehouse character from years ago on an advert..... "isn't milk brilliant" 👏😂 Regards, Mo 😊👍

I picked up my new challenger earlier this month and the dealer said as long as I let them know first, I could take it to any swift dealer to get the work done.

Also on my Caravan which i bought from new with a 10 year water ingress warranty only as a 1 year warranty on the front and rear panels even if they crack and allow water in. Also when my caravan was 3 year old I had a problem with the brakes squealing, dealer found break shoes worn and scored the drum, apparently well known fault, Alko tried different material on shoes. I said to the dealer it should be a product recall which he agreed. I emailed Alko haven't received any replying over a 12 month.

You can get warranty work at any AWS workshop, you don’t need to go to your supplying dealer. We’ve had the front sunroof replaced on our Swift at a local dealership, not the dealership where we purchased it from.

I own a 2020 sprite major 4 eb which has been nothing but trouble since i purchased it at 2 years old .The front window has now bowed and is letting water in swift only guarantee the windows for 3 years but give a water ingress warranty for 10 years the manufacturers warranty is not worth the paper it is written on

Also you have the dealership who dont deal with that brand any more like Webb's in Salisbury

I use a manufacturers approved repair company (don’t sell ) and not the dealers I bought it from, the dealers themselves use this same company for damp and bodywork repairs, so I thought cut out the middle man and so far it’s working well.

Headworkers Graham 😂

The Bailey warranty passes over to the subsequent owner as long as you register it with Bailey within 3 months of purchase

When you buy a second-hand caravan the original dealer doesn't want to do any warranty work, they simply say they need to keep availability for original customers? well that's what they told me, in the end no dealer will do warranty work as it's not worth their while (we don't get the full cost of the repair back from the manufacture mate!) In the end you have to take it to an authorised repair centre, where they tell you all caravans are badly made due to trying to keep the weight to a minimum. So they repair them to a better standard than original as they strengthen areas, especially around the front window as they aren't trying to keep it quite as light. Again if you buy 2nd hand then your ingress warranty is reduced, again something that doesn't happen with cars. Basically caravan manufactures are cottage industry small production outfits that are still living in the dark ages. They want to charge top prices for their caravans but are a law unto themselves when it comes to warranty. I guess you only find out how good each company is when you need to have work done. On your trade in, had you not got a damp report on the last service you could show them? or were they suggesting it was a new damp issue since you had it serviced last? Basically in my experience damp is a big issue with caravans and not easy or cheap to keep on top of. I love having a caravan but you have to be realistic about the annual costs i.e. insurance, servicing and repairs, storage if you are unable to keep it on your driveway etc.

Sounds like the manufacturer shifts the blame onto the dealer

Bailey won't pay out when you get a stress crack.

Please please please look at your consumer rates. What was the sales of God act is now the consumer act and you have a six year warranty on your car and you also have a six year warranty on your caravan if they refuse to do it threaten to take them to the small claims court trust me you will not get there because if they lose and they will lose without a judicial review And that is just not going to happen it would mean they would have to put all that information along their showrooms and paperwork to inform all customers. You have a six year warranty by law. When it comes to your Mercedes go back, tell him I want this work done under warranty please. I should’ve expected nothing to go wrong on this vehicle for a period of six years and it has if they play dumb say well can I have Mercedes UK Customer Services, telephone number and ring them up and get them to confirm that the warranty work will be done When it comes to the caravan, my caravan is a German caravan and we bought it at distance and weirdly with a small warranty claim so what we did is we organised a holiday around, taking it dropping it off going back down, picking it up, the lady did say to me for warranty worked to be valid. You have to have Service with us. My reply was no I do not read the consumer act The law protects the consumer and with you being a consumer as well you should really know it. If your television breaks within six years, you are covered, you don’t need extended warranties. All you need is the law I have never lost not once Jaguar, VW Audi and a few caravan manufacturers. I would say to anyone be nice to the person you’re talking to. They may genuinely not know and after all they just work for the firm but stand your ground. Take that Mercedes back and get the work done under warranty. James