Motorhome warranties and habitation checks

[GMJ]

Our Habitation Check for our Auto-trail is due on 01/03/21 however with lockdown we can't take it in. Whilst we have +/- 30 days to have it done, this still may be tight.

Therefore I sent an email to A-T about this who responded...

Following the announcement of the UK lockdown, Auto-Trail have extended the requirements by 2 calendar months. This will hopefully provide the opportunity to reschedule any cancellation you have had to incur.

Whilst we do accept these are unprecendented times there is still a requirement to have all annual services completed. Failure to do so will breach the terms and conditions of the warranty provided.


So if you are keeping your warranty intact by having annual checks, it may be worth contacting your manufacturer and seeing what leeway you can get (if it affects your date of build anniversary).

 

[Obanboy666]

Pilote did the same last year and will probs do similar this year.
Mine was due June and ended being done Early August.
Im going to check with Fiat before June For the front end as I intended to have mine done before the 2 year warranty expires to ensure anything that is faulty is repaired foc Under warranty.

 

[GMJ]

I emailed our local dealer/service centre not in any expectation that they would be open but they are, so I don't need the 2 month extra now as it happens.

 

[FERENZA]

To me, its just another way of getting money out of you.
Get gas safe ticket by gas safe engineer , buy your own damp meter. Simples

 

[Obanboy666]

To me, its just another way of getting money out of you.
Get gas safe ticket by gas safe engineer , buy your own damp meter. Simples

Most if not all manufacturers stipulate you must have the habitation inspections carried out or your warranty is invalid.
I would rather spend £240.00 a year for the inspection than have to fork out thousands for water ingress repairs. My first motorhome a Swift had to have major repairs carried out under warranty that cost thousands and took 4 weeks at the factory, pleased I had the habitation inspections carried out or I would have had to pay for it. No brainier as far as I’m concerned.
Different matter once out of warranty, will do it myself or use an independent / cheaper place.

 

[GMJ]

Most if not all manufacturers stipulate you must have the habitation inspections carried out or your warranty is invalid.
I would rather spend £240.00 a year for the inspection than have to fork out thousands for water ingress repairs. My first motorhome a Swift had to have major repairs carried out under warranty that cost thousands and took 4 weeks at the factory, pleased I had the habitation inspections carried out or I would have had to pay for it. No brainier as far as I’m concerned.
Different matter once out of warranty, will do it myself or use an independent / cheaper place.

100% correct.

I only do it to keep the warranty up. My last MH was riddled with damp - saturated. The repairs took 6 weeks and ran into many 000's. As I had maintained the warranty it was all covered.

Different story if your MH is older/out of warranty etc.

We tend to buy second hand ones a year or tow old and I won't buy one unless the warranty is still intact. I've not paid £240 mind.

 

[Obanboy666]

100% correct.

I only do it to keep the warranty up. My last MH was riddled with damp - saturated. The repairs took 6 weeks and ran into many 000's. As I had maintained the warranty it was all covered.

Different story if your MH is older/out of warranty etc.

We tend to buy second hand ones a year or tow old and I won't buy one unless the warranty is still intact. I've not paid £240 mind.

I have the hab check done at the Pilote dealer I bought it from. To be honest yes price excessive but must say the service I have had from them as been first class and more than compensates for the expensive habitation cost.
I have had 2/3 small warranty jobs carried out, one time when the tablet habitation control unit failed because I had to wait for a new one from Pilote for 2 weeks they did me an oil service foc which was a nice gesture.
Sadly they no longer sell new Pilote motorhomes but have an arrangement with Pilote to still carry out servicing warranty issues etc.

 

[GrahamPye]

"Sadly they no longer sell new Pilote motorhomes but have an arrangement with Pilote to still carry out servicing warranty issues etc."

Who is that? I'm always looking for other places to get Pilote work done as our supplying dealer is a very long way away.
Thanks, Graham

 

[Obanboy666]

"Sadly they no longer sell new Pilote motorhomes but have an arrangement with Pilote to still carry out servicing warranty issues etc."

Who is that? I'm always looking for other places to get Pilote work done as our supplying dealer is a very long way away.
Thanks, Graham

Robsons of Wolsingham telephone 01388 527242.

 

[Deleted member 759]

Just a reminder
If you have an Alko chassis, remember to have or grease the rear axle nipples
and with weight off the wheels

Really? Are there any other maintenance things that the vehicle manufacturer wouldn’t normally do as part of their scheduled service? Anyway, thanks for the heads up on this.

 

[TeamRienza]

The Alko chassis is not part of the usual build by the base vehicle manufacturers. Often cabs only (bolted back to back) are delivered to the Motorhome manufacturer who then bolts an Alko chassis onto one of the cabs. The habitation section is built on the now complete unit.

This is an interesting video.

A main dealer selling vans (eg Hymer) will know to grease the Alko axle as part of their service routine, but an independent garage dealing with cars or commercials may not be aware of this aspect of service.

I recently stopped using my main dealer after all the warranties had finished and due to distance and Covid restrictions. I had the service done by the local small garage who look after my families cars, but made sure he knew about the Alko axle routine and what grease was needed.

Davy