Hobby annual 'leak inspection' (1 Viewer)

maz

Jan 26, 2011
4,446
7,666
Bizeljsko, Slovenia
Funster No
15,094
MH
N+B Arto
Exp
Since March 2011
In order to maintain the Hobby '5-year guarantee for body connections against leaks', the van is supposed to have an annual 'test for leak tightness'. This has to be done by a Hobby dealer (who has to complete a somewhat ludicrous form) and is, supposedly, chargeable.

Bearing in mind that this annual test consists entirely of 'visual inspections' that could be carried out by a six-year-old for a tube of Smarties, and also bearing in mind that I will have an independent habitation service carried out beforehand (with measured damp check), what do you reckon would be a reasonable charge?

I have tried to find an online copy of the form to be completed by the dealer but failed. Below is the gist of the inspection form:

1.1 State of the vehicle: 'well kept' or 'general wear and tear'.

1.2 Structural changes: yes/no. If yes, list changes.

1.3 Are there visible damages? yes/no. If yes, list damages.

1.4 Is there a smell of decay? yes/no.

2.1 Leak tightness of skylights and windows: yes/no.

2.2 Damage due to dampness: yes/no.

2.3 Leak tightness of entrance door and service flaps: yes/no.

2.4 Waste gas chimney and forced ventilation. Explore the decoration around the roof duct and carry out visual inspection. Have changes been found? yes/no. (My van doesn't have any roof ducts)

2.5 External power socket. Explore the decorative leaf in the clothes cupboard and carry out visual inspection. Is anything objectionable been found? (sic) yes/no. (My van doesn't have an external socket)

Any Hobby dealers out there? If so, what would you charge for this cursory leak tightness check?

BTW, the first annual check as above was done for nothing by the dealer as the van happened to be back there for one of its many warranty repair visits. :RollEyes:
 
OP
OP
maz

maz

Jan 26, 2011
4,446
7,666
Bizeljsko, Slovenia
Funster No
15,094
MH
N+B Arto
Exp
Since March 2011
If I throw in a Walnut Whip do you think he'd clean the roof as well? ::bigsmile:

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 

movan

LIFE MEMBER
Dec 2, 2009
21,492
120,752
Moving around
Funster No
9,543
MH
Burstner
Exp
since07
Crumbs, Maz ... even I could carry out that inspection for you and I would let you have the blue smarties back... Is there not anything else due on your van that you could just ask them to complete the form at the same time ... in the hope they wouldn't charge .. eg MOT.
 
OP
OP
maz

maz

Jan 26, 2011
4,446
7,666
Bizeljsko, Slovenia
Funster No
15,094
MH
N+B Arto
Exp
Since March 2011
Crumbs, Maz ... even I could carry out that inspection for you and I would let you have the blue smarties back... Is there not anything else due on your van that you could just ask them to complete the form at the same time ... in the hope they wouldn't charge .. eg MOT.

Hi Joy. The van doesn't need an MOT for another year and because of its size and weight will need to go to a garage that can cope with it. Also, I have no intention of having any out-of-warranty work done by the original dealer.

Basically, the annual 'leak inspection' is a nonsense if you have a habitation service done. :Angry:
 
Jan 22, 2009
75
64
banbury
Funster No
5,436
MH
c class
Exp
2
one point, with vehicle warranty's as long as you use genuine parts any garage can do the work to keep it intact, so are habitation warranty's the same i.e. as long as they are registered with a national body can they do the check

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
OP
OP
maz

maz

Jan 26, 2011
4,446
7,666
Bizeljsko, Slovenia
Funster No
15,094
MH
N+B Arto
Exp
Since March 2011
one point, with vehicle warranty's as long as you use genuine parts any garage can do the work to keep it intact, so are habitation warranty's the same i.e. as long as they are registered with a national body can they do the check

From reading the conditions at the back of the warranty booklet, it seems only a Hobby dealer could possibly be entrusted to perform such a comprehensive and technical inspection - hah! :RollEyes:

Section 2.3 includes the sentence: Furthermore, a proof form for the water tightness warranty inspection filled in by an authorised Hobby-Caravan dealer must be immediately sent to the Hobby-Wohnwagenwerk company after completion of the inspection.

Would be interested to know what other Hobby owners have done about this 'inspection'.
 
OP
OP
maz

maz

Jan 26, 2011
4,446
7,666
Bizeljsko, Slovenia
Funster No
15,094
MH
N+B Arto
Exp
Since March 2011
The plot thickens. :RollEyes:

Thought I'd ring a couple of Hobby dealers to see what they'd charge for this 'annual leak inspection'.

First one said that to maintain the 5-year warranty I had to have a full habitation service carried out each year by an 'authorised Hobby agent' - not just the 'visual inspection'. I can find no mention of this in any of the Hobby paperwork. Their charge would be £199 - ie about double what our mobile Funster engineers charge. :RollEyes:

Second one didn't seem to know anything about the 'visual inspection'. Said you couldn't pick up damp by visual inspection anyway and needed a proper damp test - with which I heartily agreed. So that makes even more of a nonsense of this 'annual visual inspection' to maintain the 5-year warranty. :RollEyes:
 

movan

LIFE MEMBER
Dec 2, 2009
21,492
120,752
Moving around
Funster No
9,543
MH
Burstner
Exp
since07
Section 2.3 includes the sentence: Furthermore, a proof form for the water tightness warranty inspection filled in by an authorised Hobby-Caravan dealer must be immediately sent to the Hobby-Wohnwagenwerk company after completion of the inspection.

Would be interested to know what other Hobby owners have done about this 'inspection'.


Just bumping this question to the top as no Hobby owners may have seen it.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
OP
OP
maz

maz

Jan 26, 2011
4,446
7,666
Bizeljsko, Slovenia
Funster No
15,094
MH
N+B Arto
Exp
Since March 2011
I seem to be pretty much talking to myself on this thread - altho' I'm pretty sure there must be other Hobby owners out there somewhere ......... :RollEyes:

Anyway, just in case it might be of vague passing interest to anyone who has a Hobby, who is thinking about maybe getting a Hobby, or who once had a friend who was possibly related to someone who might once have had a Hobby (allegedly) :wub::

A third Hobby dealer told me that in order to stamp the annual Hobby 'leak inspection' form they would do a full damp test for £99.50. He also said that Hobby don't seem to worry about this paperwork anyway and that a lot of Hobby owners were unaware of it. Although this might have something to do with the fact that quite a few of them get given the 5-year water ingress warranty booklet in German and have no idea what it says! :Eeek:
 

Hobbytwo

Free Member
Feb 18, 2014
38
32
Hertfordshire
Funster No
30,155
MH
Hobby750
Exp
Since 2008
Hi Maz,

As a fellow Hobbyist, thought I'd show that there are some Hobby owners out here in Funsterland reading Hobby posts !

I had a look at some of my Hobby 750 paperwork, and notice that I also have a "Kundendienstscheckheft 5 Jahres" which translates into a 5 year customer service checklist. My Hobby guarantee was issued in 2007 and so expiring 2012 and as I didn't purchase it until 2010 I didn't have any great need to take too much notice of it, the reasons being that several yearly inspections had already been missed by previous owners, and secondly the vehicle showed absolutely no evidence that any aspects of faults which may fall under the terms of any guarantee were evident.

However I appreciate that with a new Hobby this guarantee document would be much more relevant as in your case. My personal view would be that this document perhaps need not be taken too seriously, particularly if one of the entries may be missing and perhaps not within the time scale. These vans in the main are built so well that any claim that may be necessary under the strict terms of the guarantee I would say, would be highly unlikely, particularly when you set the rather high annual costs of having these various checks carried out.

Anyway, which ever way you decide to jump, Happy Hobbying ! :thumb:

MIKE
 
Mar 29, 2011
961
639
Rugby UK
Funster No
15,848
MH
C Class RS
Exp
2011
I bought my Hobby second hand late 2011 but it was registered early 2010, the guy had missed the first inspection so I did not look too hard at the small print about damp checks, just had a full habitation inc damp check, all clear:thumb: except I have a small crack in the base of the folding tap on the kitchen sink so having that replaced this week.
It is a fact I have become paranoid about damp after reading lots a tales on Fun and other places
Dave

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
OP
OP
maz

maz

Jan 26, 2011
4,446
7,666
Bizeljsko, Slovenia
Funster No
15,094
MH
N+B Arto
Exp
Since March 2011
Hi Maz,

As a fellow Hobbyist, thought I'd show that there are some Hobby owners out here in Funsterland reading Hobby posts !

I had a look at some of my Hobby 750 paperwork, and notice that I also have a "Kundendienstscheckheft 5 Jahres" which translates into a 5 year customer service checklist. My Hobby guarantee was issued in 2007 and so expiring 2012 and as I didn't purchase it until 2010 I didn't have any great need to take too much notice of it, the reasons being that several yearly inspections had already been missed by previous owners, and secondly the vehicle showed absolutely no evidence that any aspects of faults which may fall under the terms of any guarantee were evident.

However I appreciate that with a new Hobby this guarantee document would be much more relevant as in your case. My personal view would be that this document perhaps need not be taken too seriously, particularly if one of the entries may be missing and perhaps not within the time scale. These vans in the main are built so well that any claim that may be necessary under the strict terms of the guarantee I would say, would be highly unlikely, particularly when you set the rather high annual costs of having these various checks carried out.

Anyway, which ever way you decide to jump, Happy Hobbying ! :thumb:

MIKE

It's good to know I'm not alone! :thumb:

My van is two years older than it's plated so, reading the small print, the 5-year warranty in my case shrinks to 3-and-a-bit years - ending in July 2015, although the dealer I bought it from completed the expiry date as April 2017.

As I dragged the first inspection out to the maximum 14 months from purchase, I've got until June to get one done this year. So I'm planning on getting my full hab service done as normal in April, then if there are any issues with damp I will follow that up with a visit to a Hobby dealer before the next inspection becomes due.
 
OP
OP
maz

maz

Jan 26, 2011
4,446
7,666
Bizeljsko, Slovenia
Funster No
15,094
MH
N+B Arto
Exp
Since March 2011
I bought my Hobby second hand late 2011 but it was registered early 2010, the guy had missed the first inspection so I did not look too hard at the small print about damp checks, just had a full habitation inc damp check, all clear:thumb: except I have a small crack in the base of the folding tap on the kitchen sink so having that replaced this week.
It is a fact I have become paranoid about damp after reading lots a tales on Fun and other places
Dave

Another Hobby owner! :wooo: Welcome to the party! ::bigsmile:

As far as I know there are no issues with damp - last year's hab check was fine. But I, too, could easily become paranoid after reading damp horror posts. :Eeek:
 
OP
OP
maz

maz

Jan 26, 2011
4,446
7,666
Bizeljsko, Slovenia
Funster No
15,094
MH
N+B Arto
Exp
Since March 2011
My van is two years older than it's plated so, reading the small print, the 5-year warranty in my case shrinks to 3-and-a-bit years - ending in July 2015, although the dealer I bought it from completed the expiry date as April 2017.

As I dragged the first inspection out to the maximum 14 months from purchase, I've got until June to get one done this year. So I'm planning on getting my full hab service done as normal in April, then if there are any issues with damp I will follow that up with a visit to a Hobby dealer before the next inspection becomes due.

Just as an update:

Van had its hab service today - no sign of damp (highest reading was a 9) and all seals intact. So I will not be paying a Hobby dealer an extortionate amount of money for the fatuous visual inspection. ::bigsmile:
 

Minxy

LIFE MEMBER
Aug 22, 2007
32,489
66,025
E Yorks
Funster No
149
MH
Carthago Compactline
Exp
Since 1996, had Elddis/Swift/Rapido/Rimor/Chausson MHs. Autocruise/Globecar PVCs/Compactline i-138
Count yourself lucky ... when we had a Rimor we had to have a damp check done every 6 months to keep the warranty valid! :Eeek:

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 

Minxy

LIFE MEMBER
Aug 22, 2007
32,489
66,025
E Yorks
Funster No
149
MH
Carthago Compactline
Exp
Since 1996, had Elddis/Swift/Rapido/Rimor/Chausson MHs. Autocruise/Globecar PVCs/Compactline i-138
one point, with vehicle warranty's as long as you use genuine parts any garage can do the work to keep it intact, so are habitation warranty's the same i.e. as long as they are registered with a national body can they do the check
In the main the answer is no ... it HAS to be done by an authorised service agent for that make of MH, also you should NOT assume that just because you have a dealer locally to you that they will be willing to do it as they often will NOT if you didn't buy your MH from them!:Sad:

However, Swift are different ... yes really! We have an Autocruise Accent (Autocruise are part of the Swift Group) but as there aren't any Swift dealers near us they allow the use of a local service/repair workshop (F&M Caravans) who they recommend and have allowed others to use in the past - they recognise his 'work' as being carried out as required so our warranty is kept intact. We've just booked into him again for our second habitation service/damp check etc next month ... last time it cost us £110 but that did include some bits we wanted, so this time will probably be around £100 max - he doesn't have to spend as much time on a PVC so passes the saving on to us. :thumb:
 
OP
OP
maz

maz

Jan 26, 2011
4,446
7,666
Bizeljsko, Slovenia
Funster No
15,094
MH
N+B Arto
Exp
Since March 2011
Count yourself lucky ... when we had a Rimor we had to have a damp check done every 6 months to keep the warranty valid! :Eeek:

That doesn't sound very confidence inspiring. Were Rimors particularly prone to damp?
 

Minxy

LIFE MEMBER
Aug 22, 2007
32,489
66,025
E Yorks
Funster No
149
MH
Carthago Compactline
Exp
Since 1996, had Elddis/Swift/Rapido/Rimor/Chausson MHs. Autocruise/Globecar PVCs/Compactline i-138
That doesn't sound very confidence inspiring. Were Rimors particularly prone to damp?

Not that I know of, our Rimor was a very well screwed together MH and we never had any damp issues with it, so I don't know why it was necessary. :Smile:

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Jan 1, 2013
153
88
NORWICH
Funster No
24,111
MH
Carthago Malibu 640
Exp
since May 2013
Another Hobby owner here but it's a 2006 model so out of warranty. :Eeek:
 
Mar 29, 2011
961
639
Rugby UK
Funster No
15,848
MH
C Class RS
Exp
2011
And me, the first owner of mine went six months over the 1 year so I did not bother trying reinstate the damp warrenty, I did though go onto a german forum for my model and found there was a weak point on one corner of the roof and had all the seals on the roof oversealed by a experienced guy, just haa a proper damp check done - perfick except for the very bottom of a garage door which is an easy fix

Dave

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Mar 29, 2011
961
639
Rugby UK
Funster No
15,848
MH
C Class RS
Exp
2011
And me, the first owner of mine went six months over the 1 year so I did not bother trying reinstate the damp warrenty, I though go onto a german forum for my model and found there was a weak point on one corner of the roof and had all the seals on the roof oversealed by a experienced guy ( about 2 years ago), just had a proper damp check done - perfick except for the very higher reading at the bottom of a garage door which is an easy fix

Dave
 
Mar 29, 2011
961
639
Rugby UK
Funster No
15,848
MH
C Class RS
Exp
2011
I think I will start a Hobby Dog owners group, that will be classed as a Minority of the Minority group:thumb:

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 

Join us or log in to post a reply.

To join in you must be a member of MotorhomeFun

Join MotorhomeFun

Join us, it quick and easy!

Log in

Already a member? Log in here.

Latest journal entries

Funsters who are viewing this thread

Back
Top