Warranty but not as we know it. (1 Viewer)

[Devon man]

Good morning
I'm new! Could someone please help. I'm sure this may have been covered before and apologies in advance if it has.
The delear where I purchased my motorhome is some 250 miles away. My local dealer, although authorised, won't do any warranty work because I did not purchase from them. It was a general enquiry with them so it's nothing personal. (1) Is this correct? and (2) Is this not legalised blackmail?
Has anyone else experienced this?

 

[pappajohn]

I questioned this a while ago as car warranty is covered by any authorised dealer, not just the one where purchased.
Unfortunately it doesn't seem to apply to motorhomes except the base vehicle warranty should be any authorised (insert make) dealer.
It's time it was made law for motorhomes.

 

[Devon man]

Thank you. I agree. It needs to be changed. Local dealers can ask inflated prices for their vehicles in the full knowledge that going somewhere else to buy can cause considerable inconvenience if a warranty claim is instigated. About time the manufacturers stepped in and changed the system.

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[pappajohn]

About time the manufacturers stepped in and changed the system.

It's the converters that won't do anything about it.
Their mentality seems to be once the dealer has taken delivery of a vehicle they wipe their hands of any problem and its then up to that dealer to approach the converter with warranty issues.
Your contract is with the selling dealer, not the converter.
Only applies to new vehicle warranty of course, used vehicles are the selling dealer and/or private warranty providers responsibility.

 

[jollyrodger]

Good morning and I can't see the situation changing anytime in the near future ,any warranty work not being cost effective ,and lots of bodge jobs done, it seems .

 

[Norfolk Nomad]

Exactly the same for caravans, we bought a new caravan at the nec show in 2004. Problem was the dealer was in Brean, Somerset, we were in Norfolk. We had to have a week in Brean every year for 5 years, to get it serviced to keep the warranty.

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[gus-lopez]

 

[CazPaul]

Its commonly called the great British motorhome rip off

I also heard they are soon going to start charging a couple of hundred quid every few months for some dozy bleeder to go round your van with a prick, word has it they are going to call it a damp check or something. Surely not true.

 

[hilldweller]

(1) Is this correct? and (2) Is this not legalised blackmail?
Has anyone else experienced this?

Absolutely normal. Search on here to find dozens of similar cases.

Bottom line is, they lose money on warranty work so without the benefit of the sale profit there's no mileage in it for them.

Worse, the makers use the dealers for final QA check and remedy work so the dealer is screwed all round.

You made the classic mistake, buy at a distance.

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[Devon man]

Appreciate all the advice and comments. Thank you. As I said earlier, in my opinion, it's legalised blackmail and creates bad feeling. I prepared to pay for the privelage of buying locally but not when the difference is in the £1,000's. I know they have to make a profit but they've got you by the "short and curlys" and they know it! To be honest it's makes me really proud to be an estate agent!!

 

[DavidG58]

out of interest how hard to you ty to get the deal from your local dealer?

I share your frustration, but if in your place I would now be kicking myself right now, I would be cursing my not thinking through the whole package at the outset

hopefully what you saved will cover most of the fuel to get it back to where you bought it

I would always buy locally where they have the same package, mostly I have never had an issue getting more or less price matched

big problem will come when there is limited stock of what you want I guess, even then there must be options for dealers to move stock between themselves, I get it a lot with cars

 

[gus-lopez]

Bottom line is, they lose money on warranty work so without the benefit of the sale profit there's no mileage in it for them.

.

Or is it that they don't make as much profit ?

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[Lenny HB]

Buy locally you must be joking, I was in our local Hymer dealer last week same van as ours similar spec £99,400, I paid £72,000 for mine in Belgium.

 

[DavidG58]

Buy locally you must be joking, I was in our local Hymer dealer last week same van as ours similar spec £99,400, I paid £72,000 for mine in Belgium.

so you must really suffer on the warranty front, the OP suggests it has to be returned to supplying dealer, what do you do?

I guess with that kind of saving you have enough in the bank not be overly worried with warranty

 

[Lenny HB]

so you must really suffer on the warranty front, the OP suggests it has to be returned to supplying dealer, what do you do?

I guess with that kind of saving you have enough in the bank not be overly worried with warranty

Last van just took to local dealer for warranty if not going Belgium way.
Belgium dealer is not very far only 70 miles from Calais and a 24 hr Chunnel crossing £56.
When we bought our first Hymer our Belgium dealer was nearer than nearest UK dealer.

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[Devon man]

My local dealer was way of the mark by the tune of £8500 and to add insult to injury he offered to throw in an old TV he had in his desk drawer. Normally there are between 6 -10 estate agents in one town so they have to be competitive. We also offer a service that matches the cost of the online estate agents. The big motorhome dealers are few and far between so they can ask what they want. As someone mentioned earlier I can get my car serviced at any main dealer, regardless of where I purchased. I've always worked on the basis the 1% of something is better than 2% of nothing! I don't expect any sympathy now I've disclosed I'm an estate agent!

 

[TheBig1]

the issue is that the manufacturers negotiate an hourly labour rate at less than trade price with their authorised dealerships for warranty work.

 

[Devon man]

No incentive for the dealer to do a decent job then, patch it up and hope it last until the warranty expires.

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[hilldweller]

now I've disclosed I'm an estate agent!

Don't worry, we even tolerate lawyers in here.

 

[hilldweller]

No incentive for the dealer to do a decent job then.

If you do enough reading on here you'll see that getting your pride and joy into a workshop is an uphill battle. "Sorry the workshop is fully booked for X months".

Though there are rare dealers that still believe in good old fashioned service.

 

[Dorset Diver]

Don't worry, we even tolerate lawyers in here.

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[Dorset Diver]

@Devon man please bear in mind that the Consumer Rights Act 2015 provides scope for you claim all your reasonable costs incurred in obtaining your rights under the act. For example if your dealer expects you to travel 500 miles to get your van repaired and you have to stay in a hotel whilst waiting for the work to be completed then all those costs must be covered by the dealer.

 

[SuperMike]

@Devon man please bear in mind that the Consumer Rights Act 2015 provides scope for you claim all your reasonable costs incurred in obtaining your rights under the act. For example if your dealer expects you to travel 500 miles to get your van repaired and you have to stay in a hotel whilst waiting for the work to be completed then all those costs must be covered by the dealer.

Good luck with that.

 

[Devon man]

Hi Dorset Diver
I bought the first van in July 2016, 2 weeks later the shower leaked. I was on holiday in the area and I gave the dealer the opportunity to fix it. The van was returned in a worse state and still leaked plus damage to the interior. This particular model should have had a leather steering wheel, mine didn't. Got me thinking. The dealer suggested that I took it to an independent repair centre of their choice. I did and they confirmed the repair hadn't been carried out correctly. Other problems started to occur. I quoted the 2015 Consumer Rights Act and refused to accept the vehicle. After much to do it was replaced with a new one. 12 months down the line I have a serious damp problem as the vents for the cooker and refrigerator were not sealed correctly at the factory. You can understand my reluctance to take it back to the original dealer for repair, also I think they may pee in my water tank. Under the terms of the warranty can I still claim my expenses? My local specialist will carry out the repairs but I need confirmation from the dealer that it would not void the warranty. "Rock and a hard place" springs to mind.

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[DavidG58]

Bugger, see your problem much more clearly now, my kind of scenario all over this one

possibly the assurance you need is from the manufacturer regarding the damp warranty, I would like to think that provided the repairer is part of a recognised repair standard they should be OK

 

[Devon man]

Thanks DavidG58.
My local repair centre, which is part of a recognised body, have sent on a report to the dealer and they have, in turn, sent it to the manufacturer. I'm hoping that they will agree. I'll let you all know but it has made me feel better just talking to you guys.

 

[Dorset Diver]

@Devon man You are doing the right things but don't forget that it is the sellers responsibility to get it sorted out regardless of whether their supplier agrees or not.

I would be interested to know the make and model of van and the suppliers name as I am sure would others.

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[sonny]

so you must really suffer on the warranty front, the OP suggests it has to be returned to supplying dealer, what do you do?

I guess with that kind of saving you have enough in the bank not be overly worried with warranty

He did not save anything he probably couldn't afford the local dealers price.

 

[Devon man]

I could get the repair done myself and still be in credit but then that would void my warranty, 4 years left.
I suspect there are some dealers using this forum!
It's not a perfect world and problems do arise, it's just how they are dealt with that makes the difference.

 

[eddie]

Most dealerships are small business's They have no affiliation with other dealers, who logically they are in competition with, trying to sell motorhomes.

There are many business's that have a reputation for excellent aftersales service. Equally there are many dealers that have a reputation for selling vans cheaper than others. Often, the companies that offer the best facilities, excellent customer service and aftersales are not generally known as offering the best prices.

Often business's that have a great reputation for good customer services due to their commitment to their customers, will only offer their services and time to their customers so as not to over stretch their resources, stress their staff and start to cut corners due to over booking.

Often business's that quote for a vehicle to a customer that lives hundreds of miles away, will cut the price to the bone on a deal, gambling that the chances of the van being returned for warranty work on a regular basis is slight.

Motorhome manufacturers don't pay dealers very well to undertake warranty work, they often take ages to pay, and will want to see faulty equipment before replacing or offering a refund which is a nuisance for all concerned.

I know that it isn't the same as buying a car, but to be fair in 2016 there were Two million, Six hundred thousand cars sold, and from memory there were about Twelve thousand motorhomes registered, so one is Billion pound industry with the money in the system to fund Nationwide warranties, the other isn't

Turning the table slightly, I wonder how people would feel if some one said "OK! So your not our customer, we know that you decided not to buy from us, despite being conveniently located for you. However we are happy to book your motorhome into our workshop. What we will do is charge you the going rate for the work we do, including the "Oh also can you fix this as I am here" Jobs.

We will invoice you for everything thing we do, so in essence, you get the job done that you want, We are not out of pocket at all, however, you will have to settle our invoice in full before taking the vehicle, then you will have get reimbursed from the dealer you chose to spend your money buying the motorhome from"

Most people would think that this would be unreasonable, but it is only what you are asking an independent business to do!

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