Water ingress in new(ish) motorhomes? (1 Viewer)

[Swamp]

Evening all,

I had a look at a nearly new A class today with a view to possible purchase.
Registered April 2022 with 1400 miles on the clock. The van looked very clean and tidy as you would expect.
Paperwork from the hab check in April 2023 revealed that the dealer had identified water ingress on the two back corners of the roof and the rear near side floor of the garage. Dealer advised that all has been made good under warranty.
I had a very close look at the areas and all looks perfect, there is absolutely no evidence of any current issue.
Talking to the dealer he said that they see a surprising number of 1 year old vans (all manufacturers and models) with water leaks identified at their first hab check that have to be fixed under warranty.
Does this sound reasonable? If it is a fairly common issue and, once properly sorted, should be no cause for concern then I’ll continue looking at this van. Or should I run a mile?
I would appreciate your thoughts and experience.
Many thanks.

 

[BouncyBoatFolk]

An independent verification all is now well would be a good starting position, but no reason why a professionally repaired shell should leak again. If purchased though, a good quality moisture meter should be one of your first purchases to catch early any reoccurrence.
Mike.

 

[CazPaul]

Does it not flag up and make you think about the general build quality of the van going forward when it’s leaked in 3 areas so soon after being made?

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[Gromett]

I personally wouldn't touch it. But I am cautious on things like this.

 

[Fdhadi]

Ask the said dealer for a longer warranty on the repair. I think you have or have had a Rapido A class. If it’s a Rapido you’re looking at what’s the quality like and how would you compare.

 

[irnbru]

I personally don't see anything wrong with it if its been repaired to a high standard. I'd guess there are a lot of van owners out there that dont know their van is leaking, either cos they haven' t noticed it or its normally kept undercover. It wouldn't put me off, mine had water ingress too.

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[Derbyshire wanderer]

My last van bought new was three weeks old and a good downfall of rain found a faulty window seal and stained the seat cushion. Warranty repaired eventually after a failed cushion clean so new cushion took nearly 3 months to get even though seal was sorted within a couple of weeks

 

[Gromett]

I personally don't see anything wrong with it if its been repaired to a high standard.

That's where my concerns starts. How do you judge "repaired to a high standard" and not just "bodged to get it out the door".

 

[Wingingit#1]

Wouldnt touch it .

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[Jo662]

I personally would walk away.
It was picked up as damp in April this year, and all three areas have already been repaired,that’s been sorted very quickly as we know dealers are always very busy at this time of year.
I would want clear evidence of what they have done.

 

[Just smiffy]

And when you try to sell it back to the same dealer he’ll want to take 10k of the price because it’s had water ingress issues before….

 

[Lenny HB]

Run away very fast, you don't know to what standard it's been repaired.
If it was leaking seams they probably just resealed them and dried them out, when a proper repair would involve stripping off the internal wall boards and checking for damage.

What van is it?

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[Swamp]

Thanks everyone for your replies.
A few differing opinions but all valuable.
I shall give it some more thought

 

[Swamp]

An independent verification all is now well would be a good starting position, but no reason why a professionally repaired shell should leak again. If purchased though, a good quality moisture meter should be one of your first purchases to catch early any reoccurrence.
Mike.

Thanks Mike.
Do you have any recommendations of a damp meter model that would be suitable?

 

[Teedubyaa]

Thanks everyone for your replies.
A few differing opinions but all valuable.
I shall give it some more thought

Give it a miss - any doubt on something when parting with I’m guessing a significant amount …

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[Nanniemate]

We have had good weather recently giving the van time to dry out damp may not show up again until we get some rain
too late then you've bought it and it could become a problem

 

[DDJC]

Evening all,

I had a look at a nearly new A class today with a view to possible purchase.
Registered April 2022 with 1400 miles on the clock. The van looked very clean and tidy as you would expect.
Paperwork from the hab check in April 2023 revealed that the dealer had identified water ingress on the two back corners of the roof and the rear near side floor of the garage. Dealer advised that all has been made good under warranty.
I had a very close look at the areas and all looks perfect, there is absolutely no evidence of any current issue.
Talking to the dealer he said that they see a surprising number of 1 year old vans (all manufacturers and models) with water leaks identified at their first hab check that have to be fixed under warranty.
Does this sound reasonable? If it is a fairly common issue and, once properly sorted, should be no cause for concern then I’ll continue looking at this van. Or should I run a mile?
I would appreciate your thoughts and experience.
Many thanks.

"Talking to the dealer". Have to say that even if a motorhome dealer was my brother, I wouldn't believe a word he says. They are there to sell motorhomes, not to give a monkeys about you. First, I have heard about a surprising number of new motorhomes have leaks. Sounds like sales patter to me.

Notwithstanding that, the issue is mostly about current condition -v- price. If this bus is the exact model that you want, and is set at a price you consider fair, then proceed, but get a few grand taken off and a lengthier warranty on water ingress, as Fdhadi says. However, if you are making compromise's in your 'want list', on the basis that it is affordable, then I would say, keep looking.

Personally, it would have to be MUCH cheaper than book price, and definitely fixed, before I went for a van that had historical water issues.

 

[Gellyneck]

Thanks Mike.
Do you have any recommendations of a damp meter model that would be suitable?

We've got two of these (home and motorhome) Amazon product ASIN B003CSNV2Q
Got local guy to "test" against his professional kit and they came out very close to his readings.
Other will prefer pinless options though.

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[BouncyBoatFolk]

Thanks Mike.
Do you have any recommendations of a damp meter model that would be suitable?

There are two types available, invasive = with small pointed prongs that actually pierce the surface material to obtain a reading, or the non invasive type, these are able to obtain a reliable reading, but no marks left to evidence they have been used.
There will advocates for both types, and detractors for both.
Best have a look at the familiar market places, at both types and make you're best educated guess at a budget you're happy to pay, which will range from a £tenner, up to ?.
For my part, I have a small invasive Ebay one £10.00, that I carry in the van, and monitor readings using the same pin points that have been made when the annual water ingress check has been done.
I had some elevated readings on a garage door, which being a stand alone isolated panel didn't concern me unduly, especially as I was able to pin point the fault to a joint in the door make up panel, which was easily rectified with some "helicopter wing edge tape" over the joint. I have monitored the levels fall away to well below 10% from the high 20%s.
Mike.

 

[Swamp]

That’s great, thanks Mike.