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Can anyone tell me if they ever got a replacement caravan another swift got up to 60%

water ingress after first sevice, sent dealer soga letter, before court letter she wont

budge, contacted ncc but my dealer is not a member.

thanks.

Quote: Originally posted by path20 on 16/4/2015

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Same thing happened to us. At twelve months service there was 60% damp?It was a a Swift a Challenger.It was five or six years ago. The first twelve months were spent backwards and forwards to the dealers with other problems.
We eventually got the dealer to change it as it was 'not fit for purpose'.
Swift wouldn't budge at first but did manage to sort it out eventually.

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Quote: Originally posted by freeatlast on 17/4/2015

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Am currently in the process of going through the Sale of Goods act with my local dealer. Obviously I have already sought legal advice first.

A couple of interesting points came up:
1. The SoG act allows repair/replacement or refund. After a year, you would expect not to receive a full refund due to the use you've had out of it. Fair enough.
2.Replace or repair? This is where it got really interesting. It is down you as the customer to decide, NOT the dealer or manufacturer. There are a couple of factors however. One is time from new, and after just a year (especially with 10 year water ingress warranty) it is not unreasonable to go for replace. The other factor is cost. If it costs significantly more to replace than repair, then their refusal would be justified. Obviously you cannot demand a new van just because a cupboard door catch breaks. On your side is another useful point - significant loss of use.

All in all, I'm working on the basis of any repair on my caravan being quite extensive and intrusive, and all the faults clearly lie with faulty materials or workmanship so I'm going for replace. If they wanted to repair it, I would want a detailed breakdown of what they were going to do to rectify the problems (in writing of course) I can factor in the significant loss of use, and the risk factor. Why should I have to take any risk in the repair that it will be like new, that I will get it back on time, or the rest of the caravan is up to scratch given the problems experienced.

If I have to go to court so be it. When I had a problem with a Swift after the 1st year and ended up with an extensive repair, I was too busy to fight it much, and as a result when I came to sell it, the problem had not gone away and it cost me over £5k. Its not going to happen this time!

Its a bit late to say this now to Susan, but ALWAYS buy a van from a reliable, reputable dealer. I'm hoping my dealer is, because I'm sure they would not want the bad publicity.

Finally, we as a caravanning fraternity only have ourselves to blame. We all too willingly accept such shoddy workmanship and accept damp almost as the norm. Well made caravans would benefit everyone, even the second hand market.

Post last edited on 17/04/2015 10:30:03

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Quote: Originally posted by freeatlast on 17/4/2015

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Finally, we as a caravanning fraternity only have ourselves to blame. We all too willingly accept such shoddy workmanship and accept damp almost as the norm. Well made caravans would benefit everyone, even the second hand market.

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