New Motorhome habitation check, when to get it done.

As it is a new van then to keep within the terms of the warranty you need to have one annually. Go on to www.aprovedworkshops.co.uk We have a Swift and they state that you must have a hab check at a Swift dealer or someone from the Approved Workshop scheme. Our van is now 3 years old so will still have a hab check done but where we want it done.
 
I was told by local Peugeot Main dealer that they and any other main dealer can no longer insist on servicing being done by them to preserve their warranty,and also only compatible parts need to be used. Possibly the same would apply to a Hab check
 
Obanboy666 said:
As mentioned on numerous occasions if you have a new vehicle your hands are tied. You have to follow the hab service schedule or your warranty is invalid. Would anyone pay £40,000 for a car and not have it serviced at a dealer to keep the warranty valid ? I dont think so, no different if you have a new motorhome.
Looking at your avatar you own a panel van conversion. I may be wrong but from what i gather water ingress is not a problem on van conversions unlike c class and similiar motorhomes.
I have read about to many horror stories regarding water ingress on c class motorhomes that have cost thousands to repair under warranty to not follow my service schedule.
If i own my motorhome 10 years when the warranty expires i may then carry out my own hab servicing.
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Hi Obanboy666,

Yes, I have a panel van conversion BUT it has a GRP hi-top roof & therefore susceptible to the usual problems.

And Yes, I have a water ingress problem needing to be fixed, But I didn't pay up to £200 to detect it, Iused a moisture meter available on ebay for about a tenner.

That brings me to another point.......You have a hab check & it detects water ingress........Does it tell you where the water is coming from?......I doubt it.

Going by my experience of capillary action & flat roofs on buildings, that damp patch on the headlining could be several feet away from the actual leak. Finding the source could be a very expensive job indeed.

And Obanboy666, You must be very lucky to have a 10 year warranty, I'm almost tempted to buy a new van......If I could find one that wasn't blown together.
 
witzend said:
I was told by local Peugeot Main dealer that they and any other main dealer can no longer insist on servicing being done by them to preserve their warranty,and also only compatible parts need to be used. Possibly the same would apply to a Hab check
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Yes it does ..... in theory (and in law).

That does not stop motorhome dealers trying to wriggle out of their responsibilities and making their customers resort to legal action to get what is their rightful service.

Dealers who hold a franchise from a manufacturer also refuse to do warranty work unless the vehicle was bought from them. This is because the makers pay a lower hourly rate for warranty work.
 
The earlier point about it being a no-brainer to spend £40k on a motorhome and NOT then spend another £200 per year for a habitation check, could be turned around to make the following point.

If i were to spend £40k on a motorhome (which we did) and then find that it had water ingress, i would be seriously concerned about the quality of the product I had bought. A habitation service, as far as I am aware, does nothing to stop this type of problem from happening, only detects it, which you can do yourself as mentioned earlier. Were not talking about maintaining moving parts (like your engine and transmission) it seems all that is involved is a load of checking to see whats gone or is about to go wrong, which brings me back to my first point about whether i had spent £40k on a sub standard product. I mean, what exactly are they doing for £200 ??

Stu
 
The way I understood it - the 10 year warranty (that the Motorhome will be guaranteed to be "waterproof" for 10 years) is only valid when accompanied by the Habitation Check stamp (required annually) in the service book. Might be a Hymer thing, but that's what I took from all the bumpf that came with our 2ndhand 'van.
That the Hab check also ensures that our gas/water/heating system is safe and won't blow us up (we're newbies and very much in the "jump in and drive" camp) means we are prepared to pay £150 or so for peace of mind.
 
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spigot said:
You have a hab check & it detects water ingress........Does it tell you where the water is coming from?......I doubt it.

Going by my experience of capillary action & flat roofs on buildings, that damp patch on the headlining could be several feet away from the actual leak. Finding the source could be a very expensive job indeed.
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Exactly! But because you've had the Hab Check done each year (for up to 10 years) any water ingress rectification is under warranty and will be sorted at no cost to the owner. Is this not the way it works or am I mistaken and naiive?
 
spigot said:
You have a hab check & it detects water ingress........Does it tell you where the water is coming from?......I doubt it.
Going by my experience of capillary action & flat roofs on buildings, that damp patch on the headlining could be several feet away from the actual leak. Finding the source could be a very expensive job indeed.
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We bought a 4 year old coachbuilt privately with one hab check missing, and when after a few months we discovered a leak the 5 year warranty would not be honoured because of the missing hab check. I bought a meter on Ebay, and found the areas where it was damp inside no problem. I then spent hours and hours and hours trying to find the source of the leak, which I very quickly realised would not be where the leak was manifesting itself on the inside of the van. Several suspect areas were found on the roof and I then spent hours and hours and hours meticulously filling joints with Sikaflex including all down the corner trim on one side of the roof and all around the main roof light. Having seemingly cured the problem and after talking at length to caravan repairers, and fully understanding how they would tackle such a problem, I then bought a small dehumidifier to finish the job. All was fine for months, and then one day the leak was back. I desperation I took it to a local repairer to sort it once and for all and do a hab check. Using a damp meter that cost £350, he produced a detailed drawing of the vehicle, with the areas of damp precisely marked out on it, including one small area that I had missed with my £10 Ebay job. With this information, and knowing the way the vehicle was constructed he was able to more or less pin point the leak. This he sealed (it was on the front edge of the trim that seals the low profile front section to the main roof. I had done the rear of it) and did the hab check, pointing out that the fire extinguisher was out of date while he was at it. So for £200 we got the whole job done properly, and we are now about to go into our second winter since the repair with no further problems and we have full and detailed inspection list of all the appliance checks. So my advice would be, save yourself loads of grief and just get a proper hab check done every year.
PS. I very much doubt that we will buy another S/hand MH with no hab checks in amongst the documents.
 
I should add that with some warranties from manufacturers, in the fine print it stresses that the Hab check etc. HAS to be done within a week of the anniversary, otherwise the warranty becomes invalid.

Now that IS a ripoff. :(
 
Habitation check, seems to be a bit of a minefield, don't think the check is the problem, I think the big problem is finding people who will do an honest, thorough job for a reasonable cost.
 
Yikes! My warranty is invalid because I missed the 6 month habitation test.

Just checked my Service book & it clearly stipulates that I should have a damp test every 6 months for the next 5 years by the dealership which just happens to be 220 miles round trip. The Service book also gives the price of 65 Euros for each 6 month hab test which isn't too expensive but taking fuel into account IS expensive & not very convenient.

I have missed the first 6 month test by 3 months so in effect my warranty is invalid.

I have decided to have a full hab test done at home every 12 months at a cost of £120.

A damp test every 6 months is somewhat excessive is it not?
 
El Veterano said:
We bought a 4 year old coachbuilt privately with one hab check missing, and when after a few months we discovered a leak the 5 year warranty would not be honoured because of the missing hab check. I bought a meter on Ebay, and found the areas where it was damp inside no problem. I then spent hours and hours and hours trying to find the source of the leak, which I very quickly realised would not be where the leak was manifesting itself on the inside of the van. Several suspect areas were found on the roof and I then spent hours and hours and hours meticulously filling joints with Sikaflex including all down the corner trim on one side of the roof and all around the main roof light. Having seemingly cured the problem and after talking at length to caravan repairers, and fully understanding how they would tackle such a problem, I then bought a small dehumidifier to finish the job. All was fine for months, and then one day the leak was back. I desperation I took it to a local repairer to sort it once and for all and do a hab check. Using a damp meter that cost £350, he produced a detailed drawing of the vehicle, with the areas of damp precisely marked out on it, including one small area that I had missed with my £10 Ebay job. With this information, and knowing the way the vehicle was constructed he was able to more or less pin point the leak. This he sealed (it was on the front edge of the trim that seals the low profile front section to the main roof. I had done the rear of it) and did the hab check, pointing out that the fire extinguisher was out of date while he was at it. So for £200 we got the whole job done properly, and we are now about to go into our second winter since the repair with no further problems and we have full and detailed inspection list of all the appliance checks. So my advice would be, save yourself loads of grief and just get a proper hab check done every year.
PS. I very much doubt that we will buy another S/hand MH with no hab checks in amongst the documents.
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Sounds a useful guy to know Who and where is he? :-)
 
maingate said:
You need one to maintain the water ingress warranty I believe. You do not need to use the Dealer you bought from but they can try to wriggle out of any problems you may have in the future.

Given the number of damp problems in vans, I would get it done.
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Surely you're not suggesting that any of our fine upstanding dealers would do anything, except bend over backwards to help their customers, who have parted with hard earned cash!........Well, maybe on a Monday they might be a bit less than helpful, and perhaps Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday and Friday there's no one about to help at the moment, come back tomorrow.....Saturday they are too busy with tyre kickers......Sunday, sorry the workshop is closed today, come back tomorrow................
 
Debs said:
Surely you're not suggesting that any of our fine upstanding dealers would do anything, except bend over backwards to help their customers, who have parted with hard earned cash!........Well, maybe on a Monday they might be a bit less than helpful, and perhaps Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday and Friday there's no one about to help at the moment, come back tomorrow.....Saturday they are too busy with tyre kickers......Sunday, sorry the workshop is closed today, come back tomorrow................
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...............in other words: what a complete waste of time warranties are:sad::cry::mad1:
 
Stored my caravan at a dealer local to me, not where i bought it from. They were a Bailey dealer so used them for my first hab check. Problems were found and have to say the service i got from them was first class. They liased with Bailey and after getting the ok to proceed carried out a first rate repair.
My Swift motorhome is booked in with them next week for its first hab check and again its not where i bought it from but they have again assured me they will deal with any warranty related issues they find.

So There are dealers out there that do offer a good service regardless of whether you bought your caravan / motorhome from them or not.
 
izwozral said:
...............in other words: what a complete waste of time warranties are:sad::cry::mad1:
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Not always .... but you do have to read the fine print.

With motorhomes, most of the stuff covered is only covered for one year, especially electrical equipment in the Hab area AND under the bonnet (typical one year manufacturer guarantee). The second year covers very little ..... at least it did with my Elddis motorhome a few years ago. European buyers get a third year warranty on the vehicle side but it is not available or an optional extra on a van bought in the UK.
 
maingate said:
Not always .... but you do have to read the fine print.

With motorhomes, most of the stuff covered is only covered for one year, especially electrical equipment in the Hab area AND under the bonnet (typical one year manufacturer guarantee). The second year covers very little ..... at least it did with my Elddis motorhome a few years ago. European buyers get a third year warranty on the vehicle side but it is not available or an optional extra on a van bought in the UK.
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I need to check my manuals but im sure on my Swift motorhome i only get 2 years on the Fiat front end. Without checking im sure the Fiat service schedule is 20,000 or 2 year, that being the case you dont need a service during the warranty period. Before anyone asks im having a intermediate service at 1 year. You usually only get 1 year on the hab area electrical appliances. I paid to extend the Truma boiler / heater warranty to 3 years, i think that was the only appliance that gave me the option of an extended warranty.
 
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