Question about water ingress repair (1 Viewer)

Mags52

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Jun 2, 2010
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Our Autotrail Miami has been in the dealers for 4 weeks having a major water ingress repair - under warranty thank goodness. The ingress was low down on one side under the seats, cooker and one wardrobe. We picked the van up a few days ago and expected to see some evidence on the outside of what they had done e.g. new sealant but we can't see anything. The sealant is as grey and old as it was when it went in. It occurred to me then that we hadn't been told how the water got in. As the dealer didn't pick up the 60% plus damp reading when they sold it to us we are slightly worried about their efficiency. Should we be concerned that there is no obvious evidence of work done?
 

DuxDeluxe

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Jul 10, 2008
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I would get them to explain exactly what they did and where the source of the damp originated - which may not be where it appears. It does creep a bit.....
 

Don Quixote

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Not long enough, but a little common sense helps..........
Ask for written detailed report of the repair work done. Tell them it's for possible insurance claim. The work they may have done could be from the inside, so you may not see repair from outside.

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Sep 3, 2012
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I would ask your dealer/repairer to advise exactly what they have done in the 4 weeks they have had your van to repair the problem and also ask about future guarantees. Just advise that you expected to see some evidence of repair-they may have just dried it out with a dehumidifier or heater in the 4 weeks they had it
 
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Mags52

Mags52

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They have given us a year's guarantee but we have to go in every three months to have it checked by them. They are 140 miles away so it's a bit of a faff but they insist that it's them that checks it. The service manager suggested that we might not want the warranty given that we must drive down every time but we took it anyway. We can get our own service guy to check it too - he was the one who looked it over when we bought it and found the ingress.
 
Aug 15, 2014
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My personal opinion only but if it was mine, I would take the van somewhere closer to home and pay to have an independent survey carried out, should it not be good then the sooner you find out the better. Three months is a long time to wait until you return it to the dealer and if you have doubts at the moment about what they have supposedly done how can you trust them later.
Surely it is better to spend a little now than perhaps a lot more later.
Norman.
 
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Mags52

Mags52

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The water ingress 'may' have been from underneath.. possibly in the wheel arch .. so 'work done' may not be evident..

but I would still ask for the report..

My personal opinion only but if it was mine, I would take the van somewhere closer to home and pay to have an independent survey carried out, should it not be good then the sooner you find out the better. Three months is a long time to wait until you return it to the dealer and if you have doubts at the moment about what they have supposedly done how can you trust them later.
Surely it is better to spend a little now than perhaps a lot more later.
Norman.

Thanks guys.

Years ago we had water ingress fixed on a caravan and we were told that it took several weeks for the reading to go right down while everything dried out. I'll definitely phone and ask for a proper report of where the ingress came from and then get 'our guy' to check it over in a couple of weeks. The wheel arch is a real possibility as that is in the centre of the area where the damp readings were found.
Mags
 

Terry

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Hi Mags as others have said ask how /what they have done then you can decide on the 140 mile trip is worth doing -Personally I would not bother,;) but for the sake of £50/60 quids worth of fuel every 3 months I would if I was you comply with there request -does not sound right but me no you YES (y):D
How old is the van and why are they only giving 12 mths gtee
terry

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Mags52

Mags52

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Hi Mags as others have said ask how /what they have done then you can decide on the 140 mile trip is worth doing -Personally I would not bother,;) but for the sake of £50/60 quids worth of fuel every 3 months I would if I was you comply with there request -does not sound right but me no you YES (y):D
How old is the van and why are they only giving 12 mths gtee
terry

The van is a 2007. We bought it last July and got a 12 month warranty with it. Our service guy checked it out for us a month after we got it and found the ingress so we asked for them to fix it. The delay getting it done was because we did a long trip in France and Spain from September to December and they said they would fix it when we got back. They've given us another 12 month warranty on the ingress work and it's that warranty that requires us to go back every three months. To be fair, they've fixed several other things under warranty while it was in - I'm probably being over anxious because the last owner had a lot of ingress fixed around the roof light. I'm a bit worried we've bought a sieve. ;)
 

Judge Mental

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They have given us a year's guarantee but we have to go in every three months to have it checked by them. They are 140 miles away so it's a bit of a faff but they insist that it's them that checks it. The service manager suggested that we might not want the warranty given that we must drive down every time but we took it anyway. We can get our own service guy to check it too - he was the one who looked it over when we bought it and found the ingress.


great..what happens after a year:rolleyes:
 
May 31, 2015
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It must be a worry for you but there are different ways of looking at this....
Your guy has looked at the van and found the original damp, did he find anything else wrong...?
Dealers have fixed the damp but are they not sure..? Perhaps why they want to see it very 3mths.... Or they are offering a good service to check every 3mths to give you peace of mind...
I would ask for details of fix from them for your own records... And if your man won't charge much then get him to check over the repair for your peace of mind but be aware, two workmen will have different views on each other's work....!

I would make the journey every 3 mths at your convenience for the dealer to check it, it's in your interest and maybe revise the situation with them half way through and see if the checks are necessary.

Perhaps they are giving you good after care but a bit over cautious...?

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Mags52

Mags52

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I would ask for details of fix from them for your own records... And if your man won't charge much then get him to check over the repair for your peace of mind but be aware, two workmen will have different views on each other's work....!

I would make the journey every 3 mths at your convenience for the dealer to check it, it's in your interest and maybe revise the situation with them half way through and see if the checks are necessary.

Perhaps they are giving you good after care but a bit over cautious...?

I think the 3 month check is their normal condition after an ingress repair. We'll make the trip in May for sure and also get our guy to check it. By then it should be clear that the work is good or not. Our guy is very thorough so he will find anything else that's wrong.
Thanks all for the very helpful suggestions - feeling more confident about it now.
M
 
Mar 23, 2012
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I would check how near to the 3 months they want it to be and get it in writing or an e-mail sounds like they either want to make sure its fixed or they are trying to make it difficult to comply with the checks and get out of any future claims
 

irnbru

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If it was mine I would take it back after 3 months but also take it somewhere independent around the same time just to be sure that it has actually been fixed and your not being fobbed off now and in the future. The better weather will be coming along around 3 months so you might not pick up on it so easily...Mind you we do live in Scotland so I will say no more. :)
 
Oct 7, 2013
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When we bought our last m/h we found damp and rot in the floor. (There is a thread somewhere on the Forum).

The repairer who replaced the floor and fixed the leak gave us a twelve month warranty on the work.

His only stipulation was that it was checked at our next service, about six months later. He also offered to have it checked again, free of charge, at our convenience, just before the warranty expired.

In the event we traded it in before the twelve month period but I thought his work and warranty "conditions" we're good. The requirement for you to have three monthly checks seems excessive but, for your own protection, I would be inclined to comply.
 
Apr 11, 2015
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We had a problem with water ingress in the new to us van, dealer and repairer emailed us photographs of the work in progress. We can see where things have been resealed too. They had also put the shower room switch on the right way up, realise now that previous owner may have switched it round as it is so easy to catch it and switch it on. Ask for details of exactly what was done too.

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Aug 6, 2013
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The thought of water ingress or dampness strikes terror in the heart of any MH owner BUT, and it's a big but, be aware that a very minor failure of sealant or assembly technique on any part of the MH or its accessories can cause dramatic damp areas or puddles of water. Once the, probably minor, failure is fixed all is well - permanently. Finding the source is the hard bit - preventing the leak much easier. There's absolutely no reason to think you have bought a sieve or that you will have any more trouble.
 
Apr 11, 2015
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Previous owners had put on an awning rail didn't appear to have been sealed and not into support framework, actually not done by them there is a receipt from a well known dealer group in the paperwork. 5 years on was a bit late to take them to task.
 

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