Habitation costs

Mobilvetta

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When I bought my motorhome last year the dealer said that I would need an Habitation check once a year to keep the warranty. At the time of purchase they took me to the service department to introduce me and I provisional booked it in for a year later, the cost will be £235.00.

Is an habitation check a service or is it just a case to check that everything is working as it should. Do they also check for damp during an Habitation check. As the owner it would be obvious to me if something was not working and I would book it in to be fixed under warranty. Does £235.00 sound expensive and can you shop about and get say a mobile engineer to do it without breaking the terms of the warranty. If so can anyone recommend anyone in the Lancashire area. The Motorhome came with three years warranty and two years on the Fiat vehicle.
 
habitation checks / services

Are mainly a waste

They cannot predict / guard against
a) gas regulator failure
b) Fridge failure (Gas burner or Valve or Other)
c) Similar

A mechanical service / MOT is worth the money..They check brake pads and change Filters and Oil and other fluids
Again we can check the lights etc

Ok they can check heating and cooker and oven work. But anyone can do that
The ONLY use IMO is a damp / water ingress check

It is an obviously tempting check when you have a new vehicle but......

PS I use "aintree" to install my Solar Panel etc in 2014...Still working 100%
 
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Daughter and Son-in-Law have just had a mobile caravan service engineer service their caravan and they very very impressed with him :dance:

They are away up Scotland in it right now but i`ll message them and get a price, name and contact number then come back in here.
 
jagmanx said:
Are mainly a waste

They cannot predict / guard against
a) gas regulator failure
b) Fridge failure (Gas burner or Valve or Other)
c) Similar

The ONLY use IMO is a damp / water ingress check
Click to expand...

I agree but with Bailey (and poss others) .... No Hab check by approved engineer = no warranty.
 
I think this Habitation Check is a bit of a British thing its a bit like the dreaded British Specification. It's just that we are daft enough to pay it. The Laika needs a Damp Check once a year and the Dealer is 200 miles away so we include it in a holiday. They are flexible as long as it gets done. The Pilote we had from SMC in Newark only needed a Damp Check ( Thats all Pilote specify ) but they insisted that it also needed a Habitation Check as well and would not do one without the other so we went elsewhere.
 
We took ours for its first check and was asked about any known problems to which we gave a list. Two points were dismissed out of hand, two weren't dealt with and three were done. I shan't bother next time and just rely on my own knowledge and common sense.
 
Thanks all for your replies, having now read the warranty booklet, it states that the first check should be done by a SEA S.P.A service centre or one of there agents between 4 and 6 months, so I called at the dealers today to enquire about it as I have missed this deadline.

I said to the service centre that the salesman brought me across to introduce me and at the time you booked me in for a 12 month habitation check, stating that this has to be carried out to maintain the warranty, no mention that I would need one when the motorhome was 6 months old. I also asked what the habitation works consists off and asked if they check for damp, I was told they only check for damp on the floor as the structure is fibreglass and plastic, so a damp meter couldn't be used on the interior sides because it is plastic and doesn't contain any wood to go rotten. Hmm. Oh and I also get 10% discount of the habitation check. I then went to see the salesman to ask why I wasn't informed about having a 6 month check, he said don't worry that's only in Italy, he said he has had an email from Sea S.P.A regarding a concern another customer raised about these checks and it said the first check in the UK should be in 12 months. I asked him to furnish me with a copy of this email, but when he looked for it, it was regarding another brand McLouis motorhomes that is also under the same parent company that manufacture Mobilvetta. I have asked him to get my written confirmation to verify this 12 months check and that if it effects my warranty in the future I shall be holding him and the service centre responsible. We shall see if they get me this info.
 
Mobilvetta said:
I also asked what the habitation works consists off and asked if they check for damp, I was told they only check for damp on the floor as the structure is fibreglass and plastic, so a damp meter couldn't be used on the interior sides because it is plastic and doesn't contain any wood to go rotten.
Click to expand...

That's absolute tosh!

So it doesn't matter if the superstructure leaks!!
 
Mobilvetta is a brand part of the Trigano group some of the warranty terms and conditions don't seem the paper written on

Channa
 
To keep you warranty running it would have to be done by a ncc member , some mobile service repair are not .so using them could invalidate your warranty . even though most of them are very good .I was quoted £350 for a dealer Hab service , I thanked them and left .no warranty so I have booked a local mobile with a good reputation . mainly for a damp and gas check .
 
Authorised service agents which are a requirement to maintain warranty seem to always charge double the fee of the non authorised. And whether required or not you need the annual service stamp to maintain the warranty. One of the costs to consider when buying new.
 
***** said:
We had our first hab service and damp check only a couple of weeks ago.
I usually don't bother as I do most hab work myself, but I wanted to keep the warranty intact and a couple of warranty jobs. Our damp check includes spraying the underside with a lube. Hopefully, it will get into the corners.
I paid in excess of £400, from the supplying dealer.
This is the only hab service I have paid for in over 15 years!

edit
£440 inc vat
I forgot to say, they also did a health check on the base vehicle, including such things as tyre pressures and wheel nut torque
Click to expand...

Insane isn't it! I understand the justification to pay for a hab check if you have spent a great deal of money on a new or nearly new MH, but at £440 I'd be thinking it wasn't just the underside of the vehicle that had been lubed... ;)
 
***** said:
For me, it is not something I will keep up as I generally do my own hab service and repairs.
This time, I had it done as there was a small warranty issue and otherwise the hab part would have no warranty.
I think for the first year it is a cost we must put up with.
The alternative would be a Hymer dealer on the Continent, maybe at Bad Waldsee in Germany.
Incidentally, I understand that Hymer give a 6 month lee way!
The other thing is that we did have the squeaky alternator belt thing and this was also sorted out under Fiat warranty.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the clarification *****, and no offence intended, I saw an opportunity for a cheap and puerile yet mildly amusing reference to being shafted :)
 
WE bought our van (2 years old) on 1st September last year & insisted on a 1 year warranty. The first MOT is due 11st August
I have just phoned the dealer & been quoted:
  • £165 + VAT for the hab service
  • £250 + Vat for the vehicle service
  • £90 + VAT for an MOT :scared:

The van has only done 440 miles as we have been using it to live in whilst renovating our cottage.
Our last vans coachbuilt & camper only cost £50 to MOT.

I think we'll get it MOT'd with our garage & only have a hab service at the dealer in case there are any warranty issues.
I am wondering whether to ask our local garage if they can do some sort of general vehicle check in case or warranty issues with base vehicle, or would most things crop up in the MOT?
 
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