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Our saga with the dealer we bought our Adria Vision from in March 2007 continues. I had asked for a manufacturer-approved towbar to be fitted prior to taking delivery of the van. This took up WEEKS extra - the dealer kept blaming the towbar fitting for the delays in delivery of the van - and the dealer was quick to chirp about how the van needed a "special heavy duty" towbar suited to the ALKO chassis. Fine. Except......not....
The towbar looked to me (I'm certainly no expert) a bit puny and not very well finished when we collected the van - it didn't even have a plastic cover on the ball, and wasn't painted, and the welding I could see was quite messy looking - and appeared less substantial than the one I have on my aging Range Rover. It was also fitted very low to the ground and the hitchplate was sticking out BELOW the bar, so suffered damage when it went up a slopy area. I booked it into Towtal in Stoke on Trent who made a special arrangement to do it Saturday (today) for which I was most grateful given my work situation.
The news was dire - Towtal were astonished that ANYONE could have provided such a towbar, let alone an Authorised Adria Dealer.
The bar had been welded to the Alko chassis, which Towtal pointed out will void the Alko warranty, and the welding standard was shocking - the metal used in the construction was also well below minimum standards - the hitchplate being 8mm with minimum recommendations being 10 or 12, and the box metal used for the body of the towbar was extremely puny - 3.5mm where 5mm is the standard.No reinforcement was given to the box interior, which had crumpled where bolted, apparently a total no-no for towbars.
Towtal have given a report in writing, with photos, explaining that the towbar is not fit for purpose and was, in fact, dangerous and would have been illegal in use on the road. The fitter had also drilled 6 holes in the Alko chassis which was another area which can void the alko warranty.
The bar had to be cut away from the chassis so that Towtal could fit the newly constructed, much better looking and painted tow bar, which took them approx 4 hours or so and cost a shade under £500.
The dealer did the usual duck-and-dive routine and did not return any calls - he hasn't done so since the day after we collected the van, despite many efforts. Adria Concessionaires were advised about the problems, and have assisted with supplying the missing manuals for the van so far, and two complimentary Adria umbrellas......but they obviously are not yet aware of the towbar situation.
I'm looking for some advice and ideas here....the van is a pricey purchase - around £60K with its extras (including the dangerous towbar!). Bought on HP. Dealer, BCS Motorhomes Herne Bay, is an authorised Adria and Bessacar dealer. Owner refuses to return any calls etc and is a 300 mile journey from our home in the Midlands.
Am obviously out of pocket by £500 plus, and there are other issues not addressed yet. What's the best course of action now?? Especially concerned about the voiding of the Alko warranty by the dealer's reckless and dangerous behaviour with this towbar. Kept the disgusting towbar bits as tangible evidence of the disgraceful job.......
Any advice or comments?? Helpful ones, not flippant ones, please folks - I don't feel its a laughing matter....
Regards
Laurie
PS The van itself is comfortable and all we would have wanted in our "perfect" motorhome had the dealer not screwed up like this.
I cannot believe that a firm with such a franchise could be so irresponsible
Liability is with the supplier, of both the m/home and the engineer (?) who fitted something obviously "not suitable for the indended purpose".
You experience needs greater, in depth study, for by implication, you life and those of others seem to have been put to uneccessary risk from a sudden and calamitous situation, which was entirely avoidable had it been carried out by competant fitters/engineer/slaesmen.
I think your redress initially lies with the Trading Standards people, for such actualities are easily proven.
Thereafter, you would be quite reasonabl;e by claiming suitable and sizeable compensation from the firm, for placing you at avoidable risk, and selling goods not fit for the intended purpose, which is where you need good, professional advice from independant engineers and solicitor.
Consumer direct springs to mind.
http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/
Also HP company as they tend to have more clout. Finally check house insurance for legal cover and phone them.
We are currently pursuing a garage for misrepresentaion of our car on the advice of consumer direct so they do deal with vehicles.
You should not have to put up with shoddy workmanship in any way shape or form. Oh just another though try this website as well they give great advice in all areas.
http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/
I am so sorry to hear what your dealer has done to your new Adria motorhome.
Do not go legal yet or involve Trading Standards. Instead contact Adria through their website and send an email for the attention of Mike Lake he is one of the directors of Adria. The other directors name is unprounaceable. Give Mike a day or two to get back to you - he is most helpful and will do all he can to assist you.
If you are unable to find the website come back to me and I will contact my daughter for Mike Lake's email address when she comes back from holiday.
Our saga with the dealer we bought our Adria Vision from in March 2007 continues. I had asked for a manufacturer-approved towbar to be fitted prior to taking delivery of the van. This took up WEEKS extra - the dealer kept blaming the towbar fitting for the delays in delivery of the van - and the dealer was quick to chirp about how the van needed a "special heavy duty" towbar suited to the ALKO chassis. Fine. Except......not....
The towbar looked to me (I'm certainly no expert) a bit puny and not very well finished when we collected the van - it didn't even have a plastic cover on the ball, and wasn't painted, and the welding I could see was quite messy looking - and appeared less substantial than the one I have on my aging Range Rover. It was also fitted very low to the ground and the hitchplate was sticking out BELOW the bar, so suffered damage when it went up a slopy area. I booked it into Towtal in Stoke on Trent who made a special arrangement to do it Saturday (today) for which I was most grateful given my work situation.
The news was dire - Towtal were astonished that ANYONE could have provided such a towbar, let alone an Authorised Adria Dealer.
The bar had been welded to the Alko chassis, which Towtal pointed out will void the Alko warranty, and the welding standard was shocking - the metal used in the construction was also well below minimum standards - the hitchplate being 8mm with minimum recommendations being 10 or 12, and the box metal used for the body of the towbar was extremely puny - 3.5mm where 5mm is the standard.No reinforcement was given to the box interior, which had crumpled where bolted, apparently a total no-no for towbars.
Towtal have given a report in writing, with photos, explaining that the towbar is not fit for purpose and was, in fact, dangerous and would have been illegal in use on the road. The fitter had also drilled 6 holes in the Alko chassis which was another area which can void the alko warranty.
The bar had to be cut away from the chassis so that Towtal could fit the newly constructed, much better looking and painted tow bar, which took them approx 4 hours or so and cost a shade under £500.
The dealer did the usual duck-and-dive routine and did not return any calls - he hasn't done so since the day after we collected the van, despite many efforts. Adria Concessionaires were advised about the problems, and have assisted with supplying the missing manuals for the van so far, and two complimentary Adria umbrellas......but they obviously are not yet aware of the towbar situation.
I'm looking for some advice and ideas here....the van is a pricey purchase - around £60K with its extras (including the dangerous towbar!). Bought on HP. Dealer, BCS Motorhomes Herne Bay, is an authorised Adria and Bessacar dealer. Owner refuses to return any calls etc and is a 300 mile journey from our home in the Midlands.
Am obviously out of pocket by £500 plus, and there are other issues not addressed yet. What's the best course of action now?? Especially concerned about the voiding of the Alko warranty by the dealer's reckless and dangerous behaviour with this towbar. Kept the disgusting towbar bits as tangible evidence of the disgraceful job.......
Any advice or comments?? Helpful ones, not flippant ones, please folks - I don't feel its a laughing matter....
Regards
Laurie
PS The van itself is comfortable and all we would have wanted in our "perfect" motorhome had the dealer not screwed up like this.
Oh dear Laurie,
What a nightmare it must be for you and yours. Certainly no flippant remarks from this quarter!!!
With the evidence from Towtall, surely Trading Standards has to be on your hit list. After all, this dealer has potentially put life at risk, by allowing a vehicle fitted with an inadequate towing facility, to be driven on the public highway, knowing that it was unfit and unsafe for purpose. What about his flagrant disregard for British safety standards, and, or the ISO equivalent.
You must surely have a good case against him, however, I am not best placed to offer any legal advice . I do wish you well in your efforts to reach an acceptable settlement, ie, a new MH, c/w a Euro standard towbar.
Here's hoping,
Jock.
______________________________________________________________ For "Our Mavis."
So sorry to hear of your problems. This company deserves to (and I hope will) lose its franchise. We were lucky it seems with our dealer Becks who bent over backwards for us to the point I'm travelling nearly 300 miles to have my habitation check done by them. They even sent a Christmas card and calender, small things but nevertheless make us feel valued as a customer.
Thanks everyone for your helpful and supportive words so far - Sealady I will try contacting Adria - I guess you mean the UK Adria importers at Fleetwood caravans?? Maybe Adria in Slovenia would like to know, too. And I will try the Consumer sites and Trading Standards as well.
Sadly, our household insurance (Hiscox) as far as I remember excludes motor vehicle claims, so any legal action would end up being extremely costly if I had to foot the bill, which any normal person could ill afford given solicitors fees.
I don't think we are fussy or unreasonable clients - the dealer has been absolutely awful - but I feel that there should be some redress. It makes me feel quite ill that we've committed ourselves to a huge purchase and the dealer has done this to us; he could have made us cause a dreadful accident and kill or injure ourselves and/or others, and wreck property as well, not to mention the fact that we could have been on the wrong side of the law if there had been an incident while towing.
You must contact the finance company as they are the owners of the vehicle.Inform them that you are out of pocket on their behalf by £500 and why, send (copies only of the bill etc) to them.Also tell them that it might possibly affect the warranties and get them to contact the dealer and Adria.make sure you keep copies of any letters you send and receive.If you do not get any joy within 3 months, then inform the finance company that you are going to claim your money in the small claims court against the dealer/ garage who fitted the towbar.plus costs.Will warn you this can take weeks to sort out.good luck keep us all aware of how you get on.
Very sorry to hear what to you must be very distressing news. I'd be seeking a full engineers report on the original work undertaken. I know that HGV chassis members are made of tempered (heat treated) steel to improve strength & resilience. Hence all the fixings made to the chassis are mechanical IE bolted through & not welded. Next time you're parked near an HGV tractor unit have a look & you'll see what I mean. Welding & the associated heating of the surrounding metal could have in my opinion affected the strength of you chassis.
I really feel for you. The vision is such a splendid machine and then have someone who should have known better do that to it.
I think if I was in your position I would try to contact Adria direct as suggested above, but also register your complaint with Trading Standards. They will offer advice, but only get directly involved if you ask them to. In the first instance speak to your local office although if you want more than advice, it may be that you have to contact the office local to the dealer. TS may even do that for you. Anyhow your local office will advise.
All the best for an outcome acceptable to you.
Sue
______________________________________________________________ Sue
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For "Our Mavis."
