Caravan Warranty, Why won't any dealer do yours?

[@maureenheasman5897]

Well done for clearly explaining how most warranties work. I work in retail and come up against very similar issues day in day out. customer’s simply refuse to accept any responsibility in the extra benefits of buying from a local retailer. They should appreciate this when they buy cheaply from other people or off the internet. This approach to warranty work is not just in your industry. Try buying a lawnmower, boiler, water softener and construction power tools. All are RTB warranties.

[@paulbird3235]

After nearly twenty years of motorhome and caravan ownership, you are exactly right. Damp issues no one wants to pickup on, warranty work no one wants to do, bad service, parts you can't get for months and months. Is it any wonder that the whole industry is in a mess, the growth in the caravan industry will be it's eventual demise as these dealers take advantage of the hand that feeds them. After all of the hassle we have had over the years our caravan days are coming to an end. So sad really, that the industry just can't get it's act together. 🤔🙄😒.......

[@WorsnopW]

Love the content, just travelled back to Leeds from Newquay today and wish I’d popped in as looking to upgrade from camper to vanner 😂

[@Meggy6571]

Hi, What you have said and explained makes perfect sense. We fully agree to build up a friendly relationship with your local dealer as we have and always as a customer try to be pleasant and friendly as shouting gets you nowhere. Yes, if they look after you, then spread the news, and potentially, you would look at using them for the next van. Thanks again for a very useful vlog. Looking forward to the next vlog. Paul and Joanne 👍 PS our local dealer is a bailey, elddis and coachman site, but we bought a nearly new Swift.

[@keithfry9620]

I purchased a Elddis Chatsworth 550 from Glossop Caravans but I live in Aberdeenshire, I didn't buy it because of the price but because I wanted this model. I was very lucky to find a dealer in Elgin to do the warranty work for me , and because hw was so helpful he has done the service on my van ever since and it will be coming up for its 8 th service. We had a back panel crack on the van in the third year and Elddis said the front and back are not covered under body warranty because they don't make them, so they supplied the caps and I had to pay for the labour. I would recommend the dealer at Elgin it is S.D.Harper they are brilliant. Well done Darren your flogs are very informative.

[@atlanticcaravansUK]

Thanks, obviously a dealer with the long term view on things.

[@mavicsteve9275]

We have purchased three caravans from Glossop Caravans in the last ten years, had them serviced by them. Last service took it out first thing had a problem that should have been picked up on the service rang them and was told can look at it in Severn weeks. Took it in problem found took two more weeks before manufacture Would make a decision. So that’s nine weeks out of our three year warranty. We will not be buying another new van from any one in the future. Top tip don’t buy a caravan or motor home unless you are handy at diy or know some one who is.

[@paulbird3235]

YOU ARE SPOT ON. Warranty is just a con, you are just fobbed off.

[@atlanticcaravansUK]

@@paulbird3235it’s not, it just does take time to process and the caravan has to be inspected to assess the issue. Generally it works well, if a bit time consuming.

[@paulbird3235]

@@atlanticcaravansUK When Robinsons went into recievership recently it was reported in the Derbyshire Times that a chap had is caravan in for warranty work for well over a year and it still wasn't done when they closed down. He had told them he wasn't sure he would get his caravan done because the warranty had expired. Crazy or what.

[@atlanticcaravansUK]

@@paulbird3235 that’s the dealership being rubbish, a lot of issues get blamed on the manufacturer but a lot of the time it’s not their fault. I can’t think of a reason the caravan would have to be in the dealership that long.

[@paulbird3235]

@@atlanticcaravansUK Probably a parts issue. Interestingly when I was on the forecourt picking up my last caravan in january, a guy walked past and said "good luck with that" pointing to my caravan!. He was carryng some sort of a panel or door, he said it had taken him nine months to get whatever he was carrying. The salesman wasn't amused I can tell you.

[@alanoliver535]

If you have a problem with a van and you get a problem your first port off call is the supplying dealer if no luck the manufacture ,

[@jonathanloe2439]

Really helpful insight, you are right about giving the customer the feel of being cared for. We have a Glossop DS looked after by national dealer by arrangement before we bought and the local national dealer service centre have gone beyond expectations unlike the manufacturer, very disappointing from a UK premium brand . Giving the insight now has backed up all the local centre has said. We ready to buy another van was going to buy same manufacturer but have been put off by their lack of customer/ dealer support on warranty issues. Sad really really liked the Lusso.

[@atlanticcaravansUK]

To be fair, I wouldn’t let that put you off, you may find you jump out of the frying pan into the fire.. if you like the caravan and you have a good relationship with the service center, I’d probably recommend buying the same manufacturer again.

[@michaelhayes9975]

Very informative. I too imagined that appointed dealers bore a responsibility to uphold and support the brands they represented (as one finds in the motor trade) and in return would receive a suitable level of support from their suppliers. Clearly this is far from the case and from what you and others are saying it sounds as though the manufacturers have an enviable one sided arrangement? I would always buy local for the reasons you have already suggested as I have found the cheapest price is not necessarily the best value in the long run. Furthermore if we consistently avoid using our local dealers we only have ourselves to blame when they go out of business. Keep up the good work👍

[@KillickGreenieRN]

Very interesting and informative. Some very good ideas there. It's always a shame when businesses can't see that their current model (business model not caravan!) is in need of change and innovation but for those with vision the opportunity is always worth chasing. Thank you.

[@atlanticcaravansUK]

No problem, I’ll be interesting to see if this changes the poll?

[@Dusty2feathers]

Great insight again into how dealerships operate. I also like the idea of the manufacturers setting up say ' service centres ' in strategic areas of the country to sort any of their vans under warranty. However am i right in saying ABI forced certain dealerships to only stock ABI products?

[@atlanticcaravansUK]

Not sure, that was before my time, I does sound familiar though.

[@andybutler3868]

Talks a lot of sense this chap

[@atlanticcaravansUK]

@@andybutler3868 thanks, I’ll tell my wife..

[@TicketyBoo.]

I'm a bit slow responding to this (working too hard, honest) but thought i'd share my experience. I bought a brand new Swift in August last year, from a dealer down Lancashire way, roughly 200 miles from home. Unsurprisingly a couple of issues popped, the first literally on the dealers forecourt. I kept logging the problems but if I tried to get it booked in I was told to wait will the first service, almost a full year away! Anyway, to cut to the chase. I resigned myself to visiting the dealer on the first anniversary. In that time though, I came across an approved Swift workshop (not a dealer or seller) about 30 miles away. I called and asked if he would be willing to do my annual servicing. He was. When agreeing a date for the first service, I mentioned the van would need to go to the dealers first to have some warranty bits done. Not at all he said, i'll do the warranty repairs while the van's here. Well that's exactly what happened. Was it worth it to him? Well apart from my service every year, he has already fitted additional solar panels, outside led lights, a Thule Omnistor canopy. Quite a few thousand pounds he would otherwise have missed out on. The moral of the story - find your local workshops and ask, you've nothing to loose.

[@atlanticcaravansUK]

Definitely, and now recommend him to everyone else you know, obviously a proactive business owner..

[@mikepascalethompson8061]

Hi Darren, Very informative as usual. If a person came into you for warranty work, why don’t you advise them that it will cost an additional £30ph to carry out these works? I’d be more than happy to do this if I’d bought a caravan from a couple 100 miles away. Second hand caravans from the North to the South of the country are ridiculous in price. You can save a lot of money at purchase stage from up North. We are loyalists and buy locally to support our caravan dealership, but at the moment the secondhand caravans are still priced so high. We would love a newer coachman but haven’t seen anything in our price range. Great video, and food for thought. Thank you. Mike

[@atlanticcaravansUK]

Yes, I had that in my notes but forgot to mention it! Well spotted..

[@grantrandall1674]

I understand the NCC represents caravan dealers amongst others so would it make sense for them to have a scheme where their members can interchange warranty repairs. That way the supplying dealer in the scheme can support the extra cost of another dealer, doing warranty work, for which they have assurance they will be paid on completion. They could also incorporate a funding scheme to cover dealers that have gone bust.

[@atlanticcaravansUK]

I don’t think the inclination is there for anyone in particular, everyone has a different view of the problem, dealers aren’t looking for extra work and don’t really see the problem from the customers point of view.

[@phildoolzz]

I used to work at large dealership in Chorley. We were happy to do warranty work for vans supplied by other dealers and we did get a lot of new customers because of this.

[@atlanticcaravansUK]

I don’t understand why some dealers don’t, but it would be interesting to get a database of those that do.

[@barryelstone2992]

Hi Darren, agree with your comments , having worked in the motortrade all my life and for the most I have been self-employed for 80% of that time , I personally have always helped regular customers and customers who needed help as word or mouth us the best advertising. We holiday in Cornwall every year and have been using you for any parts we have needed because of the great service you provide (you may remember in June we bought a door magnet for our swift that had fell off on the way down) so you are our first port of call. As for warranty work I discovered a hairline crack on the top of our rear panel we are second owners so no warranty, I believe it should still be under the 10 year agreement you get from new, what difference it makes me being the second owner is a way out in my opinion for swift to wash their hands 4 years earlier and save money. Dealers need to be more sympathetic to owners we may as you said be a future customer, I know I had hundreds of recommendations over the years and still have people calling even though I've retired. By the way I repaired the crack myself. Enjoy your very informative videos so keep up the good work.

[@dougle03]

Many NCC approved workshops will take on warranty work. My local workshop (Not a dealer) will take on Autotrail warranty and Swift plus most others. Perhaps it's time for the dealerships to club together to force the hands of the Manufacturers into a more equitable network warranty agreement? I get the volume issues, but it does seem like dealers get unreasonably pushed around by manufacturers when they really don't hold all the cards...

[@totaltouring829]

Any chance on you getting a job within the big 3 UK manufacturing plants. You don’t need any qualifications, just your honesty and common sense. I’d more likely buy from you.

[@atlanticcaravansUK]

Hi, it would be interesting wouldn’t it, they might well be on the case with solving these problems, I’d definitely like to put all your thoughts to them.

[@Caravanningwiththehoopers]

Elddis warranty on the front and rear panels was 1 year, the new facelift panels now come from a different manufacturer in Europe who give a 3 year warranty on them

[@atlanticcaravansUK]

Well that’s a bit better, still doesn’t give me confidence in them.

[@raymondporter2094]

Small margins, even negative margins as in the warranty work, inevitably puts financial stress on the dealerships carrying out the work. In turn that makes the dealerships/repair companies financially vulnerable. No surprise, then, that administrations/receiverships etc come along. I am in the Camping & Caravanning Club (I'm actually typing this in an enormous queue as I wait for fish+chips at Beadnell in Northumberland) and I go out most (not all) weekends with others in my District Association and some longer camps like Temporary Holiday Site meets. The one in Beadnell lasts 23 nights though I will not be here all that time, as I am moving on to another THS in Edinburgh tomorrow. But the reason I mention it is that I and members of my DA's committee and others who regularly come out camping, are sometimes out 100+ nights a year. There is a lot of caravan experience there, and a lot of caravan/motorhome sales, servicing etc. Do not doubt it, we talk amongst ourselves and if somebody we know has good things to say about Dealer X, that will carry a lot of weight. These are people for whom camping/vanning isn't so much a hobby as a way of life and has been for 40+ years for many of them since going out with their families as children. Loyalty is valuable. I like the cut of your jib. And your videos!

[@atlanticcaravansUK]

Thanks, I always done well out of doing other dealers warranty, it goes a long way in customer retention. (be sure to ask everyone in your group to check out my channel and comment, that’s a great pool of knowledge we could benefit from.)

[@garymcafee5995]

Great In-site into the mysteries of the caravan world

[@atlanticcaravansUK]

Glad I can shed some light on it..

[@merv690]

I agree with your vision of dealerships my thought is why would say Swift need to own the dealerships why not incorporate your idea of moving vans around from different dealers through the manufacturers etc etc, but the I guess the manufacturers must be happy how things are, but if one did take up the idea I bet they would have the lions share of the market pretty soon

[@atlanticcaravansUK]

They would, and that wouldn’t have to be big dealerships, I did float the idea to the people that bought Lunar as a way of breaking the mould, but I’ve not heard from them since.

[@garymellor7997]

Good and insightful video. A couple of questions for you. Which organisation in the supply chain ‘owns’ the warranty contract? Is it backed by insurances, so if the manufacturer/dealer goes bust the warranty still exists. If you message the manufacturer, they rarely give any information other than ‘contact your supplying dealer’, so at many levels they take little responsibility for their products.

[@atlanticcaravansUK]

I do know that if a dealer goes under you can still get warranty done at another dealer so the warranty doesn’t die with that dealership, I suppose that answers the question, the fact that you can take your caravan elsewhere to have work carried out means that it is with the manufacturer.

[@ianfaulds8799]

Thanks for your informative video. Can I ask though on the build relationship, if I've bought a van privately, then approach the dealer to fo a normal service will they do it or turn me away because I didn't buy from them?

[@atlanticcaravansUK]

@@ianfaulds8799 no, that will be fine as they are making a bit on the service. It’s more the cost of doing manufacture warranty that’s the issue. If you want to buy a van privately, check out my handy course on what to look for, could be the best tenna you ever spend. www.myidealcaravan.co.uk/

[@ianfaulds8799]

Will do thankyou

[@jamesdavison9483]

I wish I lived in your area 🤗

[@atlanticcaravansUK]

Thanks, I’m getting that a lot actually, it’s nice to know, maybe I could be the first mobile dealer and come to you. I could do a consultation, find the right caravan for you, get a good deal, organise servicing, and you could have a direct line to me for any problems.. might cost a bit extra though.

[@tjeffpowellful]

My Coachman caravan has been with the supplying dealer for five weeks with a faulty ALKO ATC. The dealer says ALKO are trying to avoid liability. Perhaps the dealer and ALKO can't agree a rate for the labour.

[@atlanticcaravansUK]

@@tjeffpowellful that’s not great, there isn’t much too them and normally Alko are pretty good.

[@tjeffpowellful]

@atlanticcaravansUK I've heard this morning that ALKO are sending a replacement control unit this week. Perhaps my mention of legal action may have had an influence.

[@atlanticcaravansUK]

@@tjeffpowellful really, it had to get to that?? It’s just never worth the bad PR, powrtouch have been the only company I deal with that knows the power of good warranty and customer service. You don’t want to have people take the micky, but 99 people out of 100 have a genuine issue, I just never dealt with anyone else because they were so good.

[@tjeffpowellful]

@atlanticcaravansUK I assumed ALKO were the problem based on what the dealer was telling me. Your video made me realise the problem could be the dealer.

[@atlanticcaravansUK]

@@tjeffpowellful hmmm, could be?

[@gillianbradbrook9906]

Why do the manufacturers pay a low rate for the labour? Perhaps if they paid their dealers a better hourly rate, the quality off of the production line would improve, give incentive to improve quality.

[@atlanticcaravansUK]

Not sure, I suppose it’s because they don’t really want to pay it, and yes, I’d be solving the problem the year after the warranty spike myself, not just carrying on making the same van with the same issue.

[@tofty21]

Where does the customer stand if they bought a new caravan with a manufacturer warranty then the dealer subsequently goes bust?

[@atlanticcaravansUK]

Not a problem, you can take it to another dealer, you’ll just have to find a friendly one and take my advice at the end of my video.

[@tofty21]

@@atlanticcaravansUK thank you. It was a hypothetical question to be honest. I don’t have that issue with my Lunar. Great video though!

[@jasogolledge4929]

The most frustrating part is when you buy a caravan second hand which is still in warranty and the supplying dealership no long deals in your brand of caravan and won't repair yours try to get another dealer to do your warranty work is a nightmare as I did the dealer a brought from was not a bailey dealer and really didn't now how to sort the problem out

[@atlanticcaravansUK]

Unless you use some of the little tricks I mentioned at the end of the video.. they might help.

[@49googie]

Its quite simple in N.I. I have been told to my face if you dont buy it here we will NOT do ANY warranty work on you van, thats Swift and Bailey . There can be thousands £ cheaper to buy on the UK Mainland.

[@atlanticcaravansUK]

That’s rough, I suppose you are a bit hog tied to having to use the dealerships over there, but equally frustrating for the dealership for the reasons I mentioned.

[@greensidemags]

it looks like its best to buy the van on finance , then you can get the finance company to reject the van when the problems arise . just like you can with cars

[@VictorWealsby]

Caravan sales and static vans are too expensive for the average working man and rates are sky high it's on the down and a lot will loose jobs I'm afraid it's finished

[@davidkelly2071]

So who is the warranty with

[@atlanticcaravansUK]

It’s I tricky one as technically the contract is with the supplying dealer, if you end up rejecting a caravan due to defects it is at the dealerships expense, sometimes a manufacturer will help out the dealership, but they don’t have to. If it was to go to court, it would be the dealership that would contest any action. If a warranty claim was rejected, it would be due to the manufacturer rejecting it, but again, you could take the dealership to court.

[@SpellboundMiniatures]

I’m completely gobsmacked that your Utopian version of dealerships honouring warranties is how it currently works! 😮 It was certainly the impression I had seeing all the branded flags flying at various sales sites, and for some reason just thought that a Bailey warranty (for example) would be honoured by a Bailey dealer - regardless of where you actually bought it - so thank you for once again for a very well balanced insightful video with some absolute gems of wisdom - we have certainly learned a lot from your channel and also hope to stop in and see you on our next trip to Cornwall 😁👍🏻😊

[@SpellboundMiniatures]

I meant to say ‘isn’t how it currently works’! 😂

[@atlanticcaravansUK]

@@SpellboundMiniatures thought you might have meant that, I’d like to say most dealers will do warranty for people they haven’t sold to, but as of yet, I’m not sure if that is the case. I certainly know lots that don’t. So, after watching the video, do you think we should?

[@SpellboundMiniatures]

@@atlanticcaravansUK I think if it makes you worse off and the manufacturers are not supporting you to do it by not paying you the going rate it’s not the best business decision on face value - but as you said, the gain you may make by doing so with goodwill, word of mouth recommendations and return business is probably a wise move and will set you above others in the field - I have an online business in a completely different industry and do indeed help out other peoples customers who come to me for help with something they’ve purchased from someone else - and they often do go on to become customers of my products and speak very positively about me on social media etc 😁 (and also on occasion I growl quietly and ask myself why I’m spending my Sunday morning trying to explain something to someone who clearly hasn’t bought my book or watched my videos or bought my files! 😆😆😆)

[@paulbird3235]

Bad design and poor quality control by the manufacturers is the biggest problem in all of this ( production targets are to high), which compromise finish and integrity.

[@atlanticcaravansUK]

It’s also the constraints they have to work with and an even more demanding market. If customers would go back to the caravans of the 80’s, we have no problem.

[@paulbird3235]

@@atlanticcaravansUK As most manufacturing processors get better and better (CNC) machines etc, it seems that the caravan industry is stuck in a vacum and quality barely improves.Has I have mentioned to you before I have had three brand new bailey caravans between 2011-Jan2024 and each one has had damp floors. Would this standard be accepted in any other product. NOT in the car industry it wouldnt!.Also why do they change the models every couple of years when they havent got the current one right.

[@atlanticcaravansUK]

@@paulbird3235 yes, it is frustrating, the same issue seem to be built in year after year. Did you see this video? kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z5ilmXeIi7mAerMsi=g0GVZlMSbZmRlijf

[@paulbird3235]

@@atlanticcaravansUK Yes I posted on it.

[@paulsheehan2998]

I get it. We're all in business to make money. Why should people spend their time and money helping other peoples customers.