warranty work guarantee (1 Viewer)

[raysalaugh]

Earlier this year my Autotrail needed some warranty work which included replacing the washroom door
seal, also two cracks in the rear panel at the top corners one each side. This work was carried out by the
supplying dealer. Well the cracks have reappeared and the door seal has split again.To repair the cracks they just gelcoated over them so it was obviously a botchup.
September I took the van to them so they could assess the cracks, the person who repairs the bodywork
says he can't remember working on the van but book it in and he will sort it.In the meantime I notice the
washroom door seal has split again so I rang the customer service person and told her it will need replacing again. She then says the warranty doesn't cover it and can I send photo's of the cracks as these
may not be covered also. So I said you've already repaired them once so they must be guaranteed for
12 months. No, warranty work isn't guaranteed she says.
The person I am dealing with at the dealers is totally unhelpful, never replies to my emails or never available when I ring, they say we'll ask her to ring, but she never does.
The van is less than 3years old and I am beginning to wish I'd never bought from this dealer as their
aftersales care is none existent.

Ray

 

[Gellyneck]

AT give a 10 year body integrity warranty from 2012. The first 5 at 100%. The next 5 on a sliding scale.
https://www.auto-trail.co.uk/warranty-and-roadside

 

[swanseajack13]

@raysalaugh hi ray who are the dealers and where are autotrail made send a email to the C.E.O.with the photo's and send it to the trading standards in the area you had the m/h from telling them about what they said hope this helps ray

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[raysalaugh]

When I checked my emails tonight they have sent me one requesting copies of my 2017 habitation,
damp check sheet and invoice.They already have all these on their computer.
The service advisor went on to say because they carried out the hab service a few weeks early it could
affect the warranty. So why did they not warn me at the time?. They are just trying to give me the
runaround.

Ray

 

[Gellyneck]

When I checked my emails tonight they have sent me one requesting copies of my 2017 habitation,
damp check sheet and invoice.They already have all these on their computer.
The service advisor went on to say because they carried out the hab service a few weeks early it could
affect the warranty. So why did they not warn me at the time?. They are just trying to give me the
runaround.

Ray

T&C's here - https://www.auto-trail.co.uk/warranty-terms-and-conditions
"You must ensure that the habitation part of your motorhome has an Annual Habitation Service within +/- 30 days of each anniversary of the original date of registration."

 

[Just smiffy]

I’m sorry but if that’s cracking like that on a 3yr old van then it must have some serious stress points in the panels to crack like that, it will take a lot of fixing to do it properly....

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[raysalaugh]

Hi Ray, If I can find out who the directors are of this Cheshire motorhome dealer I will contact them.
@swanseajack13

 

[swanseajack13]

@raysalaugh hi ray bull shit it's if you go past the date it will affect your warranty and that is more than 30 day and if they cannot fit you in they will back date habitation dates ray

 

[mikebeaches]

Sounds awful service... Or to be more precise - NO service!

What a complete pain. No doubt you will keep a careful record of your correspondence on the subject and of theirs of course.

Hope you are able to get matters sorted out satisfactorily.

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[raysalaugh]

T&C's here - https://www.auto-trail.co.uk/warranty-terms-and-conditions
"You must ensure that the habitation part of your motorhome has an Annual Habitation Service within +/- 30 days of each anniversary of the original date of registration."

Yes that's the problem they carried out the hab check when it was in for warranty work 2 weeks too early.
I had been waiting since Sept 16 for the warranty work to be sorted, so in December I
contacted them again and they said we can do it in January, needing to get it sorted I
agreed, they said we can do the hab check at the same time but didn't warn me it could affect the warranty.

Ray

 

[Xabia]

Hi Ray, If I can find out who the directors are of this Cheshire motorhome dealer I will contact them.
@swanseajack13

Ray,

Tell me the name of the company and I can advise the name of the directors in a few minutes.

Mike

 

[swanseajack13]

@raysalaugh ray I have said for years as club members we should say pay £50 each in to a action fund so when we have shit off the dealers we contact the solicitor for the fund they send a letter out as a letter of intent but it has never got of the ground @Chris can you have some input on this boyo ray

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[Xabia]

Autotrail directors:

David Gareth Thomas
Shane Guy Devoy

Then there are a few French ones but they are presumably not permanently in the UK

 

[swanseajack13]

@Xabia with a name like that he is a WELSH MAN that may help

 

[Steve and Denise]

@raysalaugh ray I have said for years as club members we should say pay £50 each in to a action fund so when we have shit off the dealers we contact the solicitor for the fund they send a letter out as a letter of intent but it has never got of the ground @Chris can you have some input on this boyo ray

Dam good idea Ray where do I send the £50 it would be a good way to make the dealers get their finger out and supply what they have been paid for, in general dealer service is poor to say the least.!

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[KUSKUS]

I took out Legal insurance on my household insurance policy and so far got £10,000 for employment dispute and my last motorhome returned for numerous problems. only costs me a few extra pounds and got peace of mind .

 

[Blue Knight]

Morning Ray

This type of damage has previously been reported on other forums so Im certain that Autotrail is aware that some of its pod designs require attention.

Good luck mate,

Andrew

 

[DavidG58]

Time to send photos directly to AT I would have thought, as said above unless you have hit something there must be a serious structural issue inside there somewhere to cause those cracks

Photos and summary of poor work and poorer back up from dealer, you really would like to think they (AT) would want it back to look at and sort

best of luck, I would be well past the spitting feathers bit by now if it was mine

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[Blue Knight]

Ray, me again.

If you access MMM Motorhome Forum and input 'Autotrail Gelcoat' into the search engine then you'll find a post dated 22nd Oct 2016.

It's quite an interesting read but what it does confirm is that Autotrail actually stipulates in its warranty brochure that it's GRP Gelcoat panels can crack and bubble in the first 12-months of ownership.

The thread also explains the way to rectify the issue through official means.

All the best,

Andrew

 

[Blue Knight]

Double post - sorry.

 

[ABZSteve]

Ray, me again.

If you access MMM Motorhome Forum and input 'Autotrail Gelcoat' into the search engine then you'll find a post dated 22nd Oct 2016.

It's quite an interesting read but what it does confirm is that Autotrail actually stipulates in its warranty brochure that it's GRP Gelcoat panels can crack and bubble in the first 12-months of ownership.

The thread also explains the way to rectify the issue through official means.

All the best,

Andrew

Correct, my paperwork also states this. I have had two issues with cracks. Panel behind drivers door and cracks on the roof. Both repaired by a local body shop approved by Autotrail. All they asked for was proof of habitation service and photos.

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[raysalaugh]

Other problem is the washroom doorseal apparently a common fail on this layout, when I rang the dealer last week
I spoke to a different person in service dept and he was really helpful said he would order a new one, however he said it might be better to wait to see if his colleague had already done this has she wasn't in.
When she returned I rang again spoke to her and it was all down hill, more or less your getting nothing.
I've added some pictures - washroom door seal also habitation door locking pins wearing away. not covered by
warranty.

Ray

 

[Yorick]

It seems that cracking is more prevalent than first thought..

 

[Lenny HB]

IMO there is no way those cracks in the rear panel can be repaired properly without the rear panel coming off as if they are not reinforced from behind it will just crack again. I would think it is a back to the factory job.

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[Kevan]

It seems that cracking is more prevalent than first thought..

looks like she's putting the kettle on, they may be there for a while

 

[138go]

It's quite an interesting read but what it does confirm is that Autotrail actually stipulates in its warranty brochure that it's GRP Gelcoat panels can crack and bubble in the first 12-months of ownership.

How do these manufacturers do it. Bubbles and Blisters in Gel Coat and Cracks in panels. Once you get water under the gelcoat it starts to delaminate. If the water freezes it just makes more of a mess. So what they are actually saying is they don't have the skills required to build anything out of GRP.

 

[Blue Knight]

How do these manufacturers do it. Bubbles and Blisters in Gel Coat and Cracks in panels. Once you get water under the gelcoat it starts to delaminate. If the water freezes it just makes more of a mess. So what they are actually saying is they don't have the skills required to build anything out of GRP.

It's a terrible situation to be in but this seems to be an intrinsic weakness in the design of some AT vans.

Lenny has banged the nail on the head by saying that it's more a structural issue than cosmetic because those cracks are definitely forming from stress in the sub-structure.

There was a time when the Brits were the best tradesmen in the world and look at us now; defeated by a GRP pod and a litre of gelcoat.

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