By law if some thing is broke and is repaired under a guarantee then the guarantee starts again from that date.If if breaks down again in the guarantee period then the guarantee again starts from that date again.
I know this as we had a car under guarantee which had on going problems and my lawyer told me this.
I would get it repaired and get in writing a guarantee if and only if your hearts still in it.
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Quote: Originally posted by jeff juke on 16/2/2014
By law if some thing is broke and is repaired under a guarantee then the guarantee starts again from that date.If if breaks down again in the guarantee period then the guarantee again starts from that date again.
I know this as we had a car under guarantee which had on going problems and my lawyer told me this.
I would get it repaired and get in writing a guarantee if and only if your hearts still in it.
I'm almost sure we could get a longer warranty out of them but my concern is that although the repairs may seem done on the surface water has been getting into the van so no telling what long term damage has been done.
Quote: Originally posted by jeff juke on 16/2/2014
By law if some thing is broke and is repaired under a guarantee then the guarantee starts again from that date.If if breaks down again in the guarantee period then the guarantee again starts from that date again.
This is not correct, If you buy anything with a guarantee, say for 1 year & it breaks after six months, you don't get another 1 year guarantee once it is fixed or replaced.
A service centre, car or caravan might guarantee its repairs though, but in the op's case if they buy the caravan it will presumably have a warranty anyway & the length of this will not change if they go ahead with the purchase once caravan is repaired.
The op should only go ahead with purchase if they have faith in the dealer to do a good, permanent repair. No doubt the caravan will be repaired anyway & put back out on the forecourt.
However, it does seem a bit of a bad omen to start off with a caravan that needs repairing, but tbf, any caravan of this age could have undergone extensive damp repairs at sometime in its life.
As our helpful local dealer said to me when I was first buying and couldn't make up my mind what to do about a purchase "there will always be another caravan" - and he was absolutely right :-) If I were you, I think I'd probably walk away.
Good for you for going to buy with your eyes wide open and your damp meter ready for action though. How soon are you planning to actually use the van? I guess you could always ask them to repair it and run a dehumidifier in there for a while, then retest and make a decision - if you are really set on that van. Is the layout particularly hard to find?
Caravan repairs don't run like car repairs by car dealers. It can take months to source the parts it's a very slow industry and the repairs can be noticeable too plus questionable at times. No one wants to take a damp caravan ever no matter how much the price and layout suit, walk away but walk away with your deposit too!
If you have the option to walk away without costs to you do so.
There are thousands of caravans for sale nationwide , best to start with a dry van with some sort of guarente no matter how short it is, and then, if you get some damp in another purchased van you would have the chance of getting it sorted befor it saturates the area of the leak.
I can understand your disappointment, you have a nice van, good layout at the right price and a seasonal pitch arranged, when you find out about the damp and it puts paid to all your plans.
However, what you need to think about is the kind of major repair job needed here is likely to take weeks (ordering parts etc. etc.) so you are unlikely to have the van available for your seasonal pitch in any event. On the other hand, you could find another suitable van tomorrow ... there are lots for sale out there.
Quote: Originally posted by White Rose on 16/2/2014 I guess you could always ask them to repair it and run a dehumidifier in there for a while, then retest and make a decision - if you are really set on that van.
A dehumidifier will make no difference once repaired. If the damp is between the outer and inner skin (both of which act as a water seal), and not dried out before putting a new inner panel in, the damp will remain in and take many months/years to dry out.
I had a 1 year old van repaired with damp. 3 years later it was a write-off.