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 i suppose i am the worst of all caravanners i chose to service our van from new myself i put £150 a year into my caravan account to cover any thing that would have been under warranty ,i have  £730 in the bank at the moment the only "warranty" claim so far would have been for the door lock that failed i replaced that with a new one for £20. after 3 years the only item covered under the warranty would have been water ingress  I'm not too bothered about that i keep a careful check on all the joins etc . the mechanical part of the service ie brakes tow hitch etc are not difficult to do if you are competent at car maintenance all the service info is available on the net or this forum  the electrics again are pretty straight forward . for the first few times i had a family member who is a gas fitter natural/ lpg qualified to check the gas  then i bought my  own manometer and was shown how to use it and what to look for regarding gas leaks  etc i can now do my own testing which i do twice a year to be on the safe side if there was something i wasn't sure of i wouldnt hesitate in getting a second opinion( even if it does cost a bacon &egg butty and a brew) . i think some of the items listed on a service schedule are unnecessary , take tyre pressures if you take the van to a dealer to have it serviced  would you tow it there with incorrect tyre pressures, also lights no one ever tows without checking that all the lights are working correctly. that said i have a great deal of respect for good caravan engineers its a big responsibility to service and repair someone else's van you need to have wide ranging knowledge with all the different vans  and its not easy dealing with the public. i am confident in my own skills to  servicing our van  but i certanly wouldnt attempt to do anyone elses 

I guess I'm new to this game (having only had the van a year) but we had an excellent mobile service engineer last week (Michael Farrendon Services - Caldicott). I had loads of little jobs to sort out which I intended to do to avoid paying him any extra but in the end I never got around to it (too much work and not enough time). So he arrived last week the service was £145 and he was here 4 hours and the wife said he was working all that time. He did all of the service and on top of that fixed the water heater so it now works on electric (ok just a bad earth but I wouldn't have figured it), sorted out the awning light which wasn't working, fixed the corner steady on one side (the pin had broke), re-attached a bracket underneath support the brake line, put a new breakaway cable on, put new window rubbers on the front(as we had a bit of damp which looks like it had been previously repaired - but as he said better to be safe than sorry), replaced by accessory plug (which had been causing the car fuse to blow). Just loads of little jobs that would have taken me ages. In total £195 (told me up front that additional £25 per hour for anything) and no charge for any of the bits and pieces he used. On top of that I know the chassis all okay, everything is greased properly (the damper now moves in and out lovely) and the main thing is I'm clear of damp.

I have to admit I hate shelling out for this kind of thing but he really did work for the money and the service was top notch and I wouldn't hesitate to have it done again next year.

Quote: Originally posted by saxo1 on 18/5/2011

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Just had my Honda CRV serviced Synthetic oil (that isn't cheap) fuel filter,air filter,oil filter, pollen filter,adjust handbrake check brake pads and visually check underneath etc and a courtesy car, £151.
Had the caravan serviced last Nov nothing replaced £235 it wont be getting another one!
Saxo1

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I recently asked at a dealer about trading in my van against a new one and the first thhing he asked was when it had been last serviced as proof or otherwise would affect the trade in price so if there is no approved service record it will affect the price when you sell

                                          doug

wee while at the shops.

its £10 for a wee now at the dealers.lol.took ours a few years ago for a service at a main dealers and they made a right old botch of it and charged me £190 for the pleasure.i use a mobile fitter now,cheaper and they are more in tune with what is required.i will not go back to the main dealer.to top it all they left the van extremely dirty at the front from the oil change (joke) well i think that's what they did because the van had large oily hand marks all over the front.left the service doors open at the side so i had to stop and lock them.i spent 2 hours cleaning it before it went in so they would not have a dirty van to service.took out all seats to make it easy.gets off stool.

We have asked to have ours washed and waxed after the service, that way I suppose if they do get it oily or dirty they will be having to wash it off, mind you we asked for it but didnt ask how much it would cost, hope OH doesnt have a heart attack when we go back to pay for it. Suppose I better not spend too much at the shops then.

Quote: Originally posted by LegsDownKettleOn on 18/5/2011

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Quote: Originally posted by millermicm on 18/5/2011

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I just go for the chassis service.We look after the inside ourselves. As for making sure the gas is safe - do you have your kitchen gas cooker serviced?

 If you have up to date monitors & alarms Carbon monoxide etc. What could possibly go wrong?

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IAlso, LPG is heavier than air and a caravan is a lot more confined than a house, so LPG can fill the caravan from the floor up quite quickly if there is a leak without there necessarily being a noticeable smell.

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We've just paid £180 to have ours srviced GT60, it was its second service & the last it'll be having at the dealers.

When our Compass was new back in the mid 90s, we had it serviced at the dealers to retain the warranty & then used a mobile man. He was here 5 hours the first time he serviced that van. When Julie paid him he told her the van had never been properly serviced. We kept that van 14 years& he seviced it every year after it was 2 yrs old.

We can't wait to get him servicing our Bailey, not only are we fed up with paying through the nose,  we'll know everything is done as it should be when he's doing it.

BB

Bailey owners

http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/chatter/display_topic_threads.asp?ForumID=8&TopicID=246434

Quote: Originally posted by phil76 on 18/5/2011

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 i suppose i am the worst of all caravanners i chose to service our van from new myself i put £150 a year into my caravan account to cover any thing that would have been under warranty ,i have  £730 in the bank at the moment the only "warranty" claim so far would have been for the door lock that failed i replaced that with a new one for £20. after 3 years the only item covered under the warranty would have been water ingress  I'm not too bothered about that i keep a careful check on all the joins etc . the mechanical part of the service ie brakes tow hitch etc are not difficult to do if you are competent at car maintenance all the service info is available on the net or this forum  the electrics again are pretty straight forward . for the first few times i had a family member who is a gas fitter natural/ lpg qualified to check the gas  then i bought my  own manometer and was shown how to use it and what to look for regarding gas leaks  etc i can now do my own testing which i do twice a year to be on the safe side if there was something i wasn't sure of i wouldnt hesitate in getting a second opinion( even if it does cost a bacon &egg butty and a brew) . i think some of the items listed on a service schedule are unnecessary , take tyre pressures if you take the van to a dealer to have it serviced  would you tow it there with incorrect tyre pressures, also lights no one ever tows without checking that all the lights are working correctly. that said i have a great deal of respect for good caravan engineers its a big responsibility to service and repair someone else's van you need to have wide ranging knowledge with all the different vans  and its not easy dealing with the public. i am confident in my own skills to  servicing our van  but i certanly wouldnt attempt to do anyone elses 

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Quote: Originally posted by bessie500 on 18/5/2011

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£200 is the price you pay to keep your caravan in warranty.... crap i know but peace of mind is priceless 

 

bessie 

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