New caravan falling to bits and the sellers aren't interested

Freddie_Snowbits

Again I qoute in full, but highlight as necessary

Mark1971 wrote: »

We were made aware at the time of purchase that the caravan has a 8 year anti leak and corrosion warranty and that was all I thought we had (honestly).
I have looked at the Citizens advice site and found this "You can ask for a repair or replacement at any time up to six years after you bought the goods (five years in Scotland), as long as it is reasonable for them to have lasted this long"
So I am beginning to learn.
And this gives me new hope too.
Up until we bought the caravan we had never had anything from brand new.
I understand I have been a bit ignorant to rules and regulations upon buying this caravan but we were excited, wanted to take our pre-booked holidays without having to worry and when things went tits up we expected it to be put right without any hassle after such a short time.
I have had no reply from the finance company yet but i only sent them the details on Tuesday.
Once again I must thank you all for your comments and advice and I will keep you updated and hopefully be able to help others too in the future.

I have also thought a bit more about Robinsons wanting to know if I can prove the wheel just fell off and I am assuming that by getting someone to check the caravan for other signs of an accident, which they won't find, and by checking the tyre usage and wheel state, and also providing them with the shorn off wheel nuts which I still have, It shouldn't be impossible to do this.

If anyone has any ideas as to where to obtain this information I would be very grateful too.
But I will also be trying to find this out myself as well.

As I said I will keep you informed.

Thank you,
Mark.

:beer:

Mark,

I think you will only waste your own money going down this route of action, as has been pointed out, that you were excited about getting away for the 'weekend' and not fully understanding the poblem.

With regard the wheel coming off, if this was a regular occurance, the M5 near where I live would be littered with the remants of such boxes every summer Saturday, alas.,it is not.

In this case, I would take bliss that no one was injured in this accident, but the next time you take the said to Skeggy, you will check the object prioir to departure.

You mentioned earlier that you checked the wheel with a torque spanner. A warning to anypone who should do this. 1 When was it last calibrated? 2/ Just becasue it 'snapped twice', does not mean it has been correct set, only that the 'nut' is set at a setting at or higher than that of the spanner. One should always back off first, then snap the spanner.

For this reason, it is advisable to have the item serviced.

As for the part, this is just one tale of Lifes Magical Tapestry.

harz99

gordikin wrote: »

Mark, your biggest problem is that you haven't stuck to the warranty maintenance schedule...You have to justify that.

If I now understand the OP correctly and that the damage incident happened within the 12 months + 60 days leeway period, that is irrelevant.

He brought the defect/damage to the attention of the supplying dealer within that time, so they (the dealer) should have taken this on as a warranty claim as they will have been aware of the sale date/warranty dates etc.

The issue of the impending service could then have been dealt with by the dealer advising the OP after the repairs were sorted.

If the OP is saying as I think he is, that the studs over which the wheel is fixed sheared off there are many causes and possible contributory measures; from overtightening of the nuts, through faulty studs to the weather. Proper investigation by a motor engineer would seem to be appropriate and would (I think) need to be instigated through the insurers.

I am no expert though.

Mark1971

harz99 wrote: »

If I now understand the OP correctly and that the damage incident happened within the 12 months + 60 days leeway period, that is irrelevant.

He brought the defect/damage to the attention of the supplying dealer within that time, so they (the dealer) should have taken this on as a warranty claim as they will have been aware of the sale date/warranty dates etc.

The issue of the impending service could then have been dealt with by the dealer advising the OP after the repairs were sorted.

If the OP is saying as I think he is, that the studs over which the wheel is fixed sheared off there are many causes and possible contributory measures; from overtightening of the nuts, through faulty studs to the weather. Proper investigation by a motor engineer would seem to be appropriate and would (I think) need to be instigated through the insurers.

I am no expert though.

At last, a post that I like the sound of :rotfl:.
But seriously this Is what I have argued with them all along.
I have never had to tighten the wheels, the torque wrench was brought new when we purchased the caravan and only been used 4 times up until the accident and I set it correctly using the instructions and setting guide in the caravan handbook, yet the wheel fell off after such a short time.
And they were made aware of how the damage had happened and sent me an estimate for the costs when it was still under 1 year old.
I just didn't realise until later it was still under warranty, but they should have known as they had to check my records to be sure what parts were needed to do the job, and in my opinion should have let me know.

Thank you
Mark

Freddie_Snowbits

harz99 wrote: »

If the OP is saying as I think he is, that the studs over which the wheel is fixed sheared off there are many causes and possible contributory measures; from overtightening of the nuts, through faulty studs to the weather. Proper investigation by a motor engineer would seem to be appropriate and would (I think) need to be instigated through the insurers.

I am no expert though.

I would hesitate at this though, if the bolts had sheared due to swaging of the stud, then the most likely cause for this would be over torquing of the nut.

In this instance, it could be construed that the keeper of the caravan, with the Torque Spanner may be ...

Mark1971 wrote: »

At last, a post that I like the sound of :rotfl:.
But seriously this Is what I have argued with them all along.
I have never had to tighten the wheels, the torque wrench was brought new when we purchased the caravan and only been used 4 times up until the accident and I set it correctly using the instructions and setting guide in the caravan handbook, yet the wheel fell off after such a short time.
And they were made aware of how the damage had happened and sent me an estimate for the costs when it was still under 1 year old.
I just didn't realise until later it was still under warranty, but they should have known as they had to check my records to be sure what parts were needed to do the job, and in my opinion should have let me know.

Thank you
Mark

Though you may have followed the instructions, whether the torque wrench was set correctly remains an unaswered question.

gordikin

..the torque wrench was b(r)ought new?

verityboo

I still can't see that its been established why the wheel fell off?

Did all 5 wheelnuts works loose, the threads fail, the wheel studs break?

Mark1971

verityboo wrote: »

I still can't see that its been established why the wheel fell off?

Did all 5 wheelnuts works loose, the threads fail, the wheel studs break?

It hasn't been established why the wheel off, It seems it is up to me to prove why it fell off by getting some expert advice on the matter.
All 5 wheelnuts were found literally in a pile probably 2 foot between them a few yards up the road from where we pulled over.
The wheel nuts to look at have had their thread flattened from front to back and look more like nails, I still have them.
Luckily a guy behind us who saw the wheel fall off and lived nearby came back later with some spare nuts (as he owned a caravan too) and I was able to apply these and eventually continue with our booked holiday.
I am no engineer but as I have stated before it was as if the wheel had been pulled from the caravan in one mighty tug.
Is there anyone on here who has experience in this sort of thing?
I can post photos if anyone is interested.

Thanks
Mark

gordikin

How can 5 wheel nuts be found in a pile 2 feet apart?. That aside could someone who has a grudge with you interfered with the wheel?

Mark1971

gordikin wrote: »

How can 5 wheel nuts be found in a pile 2 feet apart?. That aside could someone who has a grudge with you interfered with the wheel?

Obviously they can't and I am lying!
And the only person I can think who has a grudge against me is you.

Mark1971

Mark1971 wrote: »

Once again I must thank you all for your comments and advice and I will keep you updated and hopefully be able to help others too in the future.

Rang the finance company earlier today as I had my emails bounce back as undeliverable.
They had only given me the wrong address .
They gave a different one and I resent them the complaint, this time I got an automated reply saying they had received it and will respond as soon as possible up to 10 days.