Dealer leaves us in the lurch

Makingtrax

Makingtrax

Joined
May 17, 2017
Posts
505
Likes collected
3,388
Location
Shropshire
Funster No
48,672
MH
Knaus Coachbuilt
Exp
Since 2009
Had a 3 yr damp check last September at Lowdhams where we bought our Knaus motorhome. They found some damp around the rear factory fitted camera and said it is likely a small leak coming from the camera. They applied to Knaus under the 5yr warranty for a repair.

Heard nothing September or October. Phoned up the service manager in November and asked what the problem was. They said Knaus and Hymer are always slow don't worry. I said that I noticed that Lowdhams aren't selling Knaus anymore, could that be a problem, and said they said no.

December still nothing. I phoned again and asked the same questions. The reply was don't worry, they're always slow, it'll get fixed. They also let slip that Lowdhams had asked for a whole new back wall!

January, phoned the after sales manager and discussed it with her. Got the same replies as before. Alarm bells were starting to ring.

February 3rd, exactly 5 months after the damp was found, I got an email from the after sales manager saying that Lowdhams are no longer a Knaus dealer and aren't allowed to do the work. They asked if I knew a Knaus dealer near my home.

Anyone know what my rights are here? Is it reasonable that the rear camera seal failed within 3 years? Is it reasonable that Lowdhams took 5 months to find out they are no longer a Knaus dealer, particularly when I had raised that issue with them twice?
 
As you bought the vehicle from lowdenhams they are responsible for the repair. I would ask them if knaus, have accepted the warranty claim and request the claim number. Find a knaus dealer and advise lowdenhams that they are responsi le for the costs, which they can claim from knaus. You can always use a small claims procedure to recover any costs etc.
 
dont know what your rights are legally. but i would write a letter / email to Knaus explaining what has happened and ask for their help to identify a repair agent.

ask for confirmation that Lowdens contacted them on your behalf.

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David and Sally said:
Your contract is with the dealer.

If they can't do the work they must arrange to get it done. They will know other Knaus retailers.
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Are they responsible for the warranty though? And will another dealer want to touch this?
 
this is from Knaus web page.. i would email them..

Warranty / complaint management
What should you do if you have a warranty case or a complaint?
Immediately contact your dealer, stating the vehicle identification number, and let him record the information. Your dealer will then immediately contact our team and clarify everything for you.
Customer service
Monday to Friday: 09.00 - 11.30 a.m.
Monday to Thursday: 01.30 - 03.30 p.m.
Telephone: +49 (0)8583 / 21-999
E-Mail: aftersales@knaustabbert.de
 
Know only to well the lack of service at lowdhams at Nottingham trying to deal with there Motorhome service manager ,he has no get up and go everything is blamed on his staff he denies ever receiving any emails or messages passed on to him even when I was stood by the salesman as he sent it. Good prices but unacceptable service.
 
German vans normally have a pan European warranty and you should be able to take it to any dealer. However Brit dealers always denigh this and refuse to do the work.
I would contact Knaus, advise them you have been fobbed off by Lowdhams ask them which dealer you should take it to.
 
Jimbohorlicks said:
As you bought the vehicle from lowdenhams they are responsible for the repair. I would ask them if knaus, have accepted the warranty claim and request the claim number. Find a knaus dealer and advise lowdenhams that they are responsi le for the costs, which they can claim from knaus. You can always use a small claims procedure to recover any costs etc.
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I'm not really sure of my rights here. Are Lowdhams legally responsible for the repair or Knaus?

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Lenny HB said:
German vans normally have a pan European warranty and you should be able to take it to any dealer. However Brit dealers always denigh this and refuse to do the work.
I would contact Knaus, advise them you have been fobbed off by Lowdhams ask them which dealer you should take it to.
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Thought about that, but can Knaus force a dealer in the UK to do it, if they are reluctant?
 
Makingtrax said:
Are they responsible for the warranty though? And will another dealer want to touch this?
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Yes
Probably not.

The dealer is fully responsible. I would be sending them a threatening letter. Sort it yourself, get it sorted by another Knaus dealer or see you in court.

It may be that ultimately he has to contact Knaus but then the dealers are completely dodging their obligations.

It may be that Knaus dropped them or they dropped Knaus. It would be interesting to know why.
 
Makingtrax said:
Thought about that, but can Knaus force a dealer in the UK to do it, if they are reluctant?
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i doubt knaus have any leverage over lowdhams now they are no longer dealers for knauss but i would still think your contract including warranty is with lowdhams as you have no direct contract with knaus
 
Makingtrax said:
I'm not really sure of my rights here. Are Lowdhams legally responsible for the repair or Knaus?
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The responsibility is always with the company you purchased from.

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Makingtrax said:
Thought about that, but can Knaus force a dealer in the UK to do it, if they are reluctant?
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If it is a pan European warranty if the dealer refuses he will be going against the terms of his contract with Knaus.
Might be easier to pop across to Germany you don't get these sort of problems there.
 
i still think contacting Knaus aftersales is a good next step. but would add that a letter recorded delivery to Lowdens saying something like ....
you are very disappointing with their service ( state why ) that you have been " advised! that your warranty is with them as the selling dealer and would like them to arrange a fix under the warranty cover.

then you got both angles covered in case you need to take it further.
 
Makingtrax said:
I'm not really sure of my rights here. Are Lowdhams legally responsible for the repair or Knaus?
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Lowdenhams are legally responsible as that's where you bought the van from and have the contract with. If they can't carry out the repair under a knaus warranty then they should arrange the repair with another authorised repairer and pay the bill. If they can't arrange the repair then I would contact knaus for their nearest repair centre. It may be that you may have to pay for the repair and claim through the courts for your money back. A solicitors letter to lowdenhams may help to start things moving.
 
Sandp said:
Know only to well the lack of service at lowdhams at Nottingham trying to deal with there Motorhome service manager ,he has no get up and go everything is blamed on his staff he denies ever receiving any emails or messages passed on to him even when I was stood by the salesman as he sent it. Good prices but unacceptable service.
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The service manager :eek: One difficult person to deal with.
 
Maybe play both ends at the same time.

contract is with the dealer, as there responsibility.
knaus what do they advise, what was the agreement for their warrantries, good reputation etc with the dealer when they finished their relationship.

what is knauses advise about next warranty check ... where, with whom, maybe your damp issue is picked up at that damp chevk, with them and the process starts again, but don’t put off pursuing the issue now.

good luck.

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We had to threaten legal action in writing before Lowdhams Nottingham acted appropriately with us. They just kept fobbing us off, not ringing back, the managers on holiday, all sorts of delaying tactics.
When we bought it it had their three year gold warranty, until we put a claim in and discovered they’d never registered or paid for it.
We also found they were very happy to put claims in to Hymer so they could do warranty work, they replaced our locker door twice because of high moisture readings and wanted to do it a third time before I insisted they locate the cause of the high readings, which turned out to be a slight leak fixed with a bit of sealer.
Thankfully our warranty period is over and we never need to visit them again.
On a positive note, our buying experience was excellent, good price, very good part ex price.
 
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Makingtrax said:
Had a 3 yr damp check last September at Lowdhams where we bought our Knaus motorhome. They found some damp around the rear factory fitted camera and said it is likely a small leak coming from the camera. They applied to Knaus under the 5yr warranty for a repair.
Click to expand...

Did you buy it new from Lowdhams three years ago?
 
Hettie's Crew said:
We had to threaten legal action in writing before Lowdhams Nottingham acted appropriately with us. They just kept fobbing us off, not ringing back, the managers on holiday, all sorts of delaying tactics.
When bought it it had their three year gold warranty, until we put a claim in and discovered they’d never registered and paid for it.
We also found they were very happy to put claims in to Hymer so they could do warranty work, they replaced our locker door twice because of high moisture readings and wanted to do it a third time before I insisted they locate the cause of the high readings, which turned out to be a slight leak fixed with a bit of sealer.
Thankfully our warranty period is over and we never need to visit them again.
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Not surprised by that at all.
 
While all this fobbing off has been going on, the damp may have got worse, especially as it's been right through the winter months.
Repair work may now be more extensive.

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The problem here is with this sentence,

They asked if I knew a Knaus dealer near my home.

When really what should have been said was this,

We've sent off the file and made an appointment for you to see XYZ who is the nearest Knaus dealer to your home. As you are our customer, we want to see this through to a satisfactory conclusion, so do let us know how you get on and get right back to us in the unlikely event you have any problems.
 
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CazPaul said:
While all this fobbing off has been going on, the damp may have got worse, especially as it's been right through the winter months.
Repair work may now be more extensive.
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That's what's concerned me. 5 months is a long time to be finally told they can't fix it.
 
Jim said:
The problem here is with this sentence,

They asked if I knew a Knaus dealer near my home.

When really what should have been said was this,

We've sent off the file and made an appointment for you to see XYZ who is the nearest Knaus dealer to your home. As you are our customer, we want to see this through to a satisfactory conclusion for you, so do let us know how you get on and get right back to us in the unlikely event you have any problems.
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In one!

Ian
 
Jim said:
The problem here is with this sentence,

They asked if I knew a Knaus dealer near my home.

When really what should have been said was this,

We've sent off the file and made an appointment for you to see XYZ who is the nearest Knaus dealer to your home. As you are our customer, we want to see this through to a satisfactory conclusion for you, so do let us know how you get on and get right back to us in the unlikely event you have any problems.
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That's hit the nail on the head Jim.
 
I would contact Knuas and explain, see if the claim has actually been put in. ?
We purchased our secondhand Pilote in Germany, and registered it in Spain had a warranty job needed doing, contacted Pilote explained the situation, and they said take it to your nearest dealer, ? I took it to alicante as I had to collect our friends from the airport. ? Bob

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