Advice needed please

I would read through the wording of any guarantee very carefully. That should indicate what kind of outcome you might expect.  It would seem that your dealer is being reasonable, however, so I wouldn’t attack with all guns blazing: they would only put their
shields up and become less compliant. Go back and explain exactly what your feelings are and negotiate around their response. Neither of you are in the position you’d like to be but sorting it out as adults is likely to be less costly than any other route.
You may not get your money back but you may be able to upgrade from your current position.

The CC have a free legal help line for members. Why not give them a ring and ask for advice.

I think that Rogher's advice is right - back to the dealer and be polite but firm.

My son had a similar situation and the dealer offered to repair the van or to credit him with the cost of the van against any van on the dealers forecourt.

He chose the latter option as he could not be certain that the van would be repaired properly.

Perhaps you will be able to make a similar agreement with your dealer.

squip

Whalley89 if you are offered the chance to go for another van make sure it is damp checked in front of you, if the floor was showing signs then it was probably not the first time the water heater had leaked and the damp would have already been there when
you purchased it, was there any mention of damp in the warranty you were given? Damp spores would certainly aggravate bronchitis, so you need to be vigilent when checking for it, you can buy damp meters cheaply enough yourself (we got one on ebay) and don't
let a dealer intimidate or talk down to you because of your youth, he doesn't know you haven't been caravanning for years with your family. Sorry you have had a rotten first van experience, hope you can get it fixed without too much hassle, I agree - try the
pleasant approach first, as my dad always used to say...You catch more flies with honey!

Good luck, let us know how you get on

Alison

Unfortunately 3 grand for a caravan nowadays unless you are very lucky , you would expect there to be problems .

For a reasonable chance of getting a van fit for purpose you problem need to at least double that amount .

Can't possibly agree with that statement - paying £3000 for a caravan from a main dealer I wouldn't expect to face any problems and certainly wouldn't expect to pay £6000 for a van that 'was fit for purpose.'

In the past when cash was short we've bought many used 'budget' vans that did their job and got dragged around Europe even if they didn't have all the frills that our current one has. 

Unfortunately JPOSH not everyone is in the fortunate position to have a spare £15/18/20k kicking around to buy the newer caravan and avoid the false economy as you call it. 

Whalley, 89 Dont quit. You paid good money for a van. It should be fit for purpose - especially from a proper dealer.  We have bought a caravan last year for £1,600 - and its darned watertight. Everything working and all in good condition. Really been looked after and they owners just wanted it shifted as they had bought a boat. The van came with everything. Awning, water boxes, wastemasters, windbreaks, etc .(Cant beat my missus when it comes to finding a bargain). We are lifetime caravanners - there's not much we dont know about them and this is the MOST EXPENSIVE van we have ever bought lol.  We have had a van that we bought for a few hundred quid to start with about 25 yrs ago - it was over 30 yrs old and still not a bit of damp in it.  Did not have any frills - it had a portaloo thing. Had a couple of vans since then never costing much, but just sold on to upgrade.  Last van we sold was over 30 yrs old and had cost us £1,200 (4 yrs ago) - complete with bradcot awning.  We sold it last year for £1,500 complete with all its bits (awning, crockery, cutlery, gas tank, etc) and the buyers were delighted. First time van for them, cheap enough to give caravanning a go and see if they liked it..  No, I would NOT pay out for some brand new spanking, shiny caravan and fear its going to get dented or scratched or stolen.  In fact we'll probably keep the one we have now. It's only 18 yrs old after all, so a young one for us.  Not ready for the knackers yard yet. Hope you get a better van next time Whalley. Hire a damp meter if in doubt. or buy one. Open all cupboards and tap the walls inside the cupboards. Sniff.  You can smell damp. Get someone to climb underneath and take a look for you, but to be honest, you are talking about a recognised dealers here, I would have thought it wasnt worth their while to pull a fast one but to remedy it PDQ, before their reputation gets seriously ruined.  Good luck. Hope it got sorted.