What when the wheels come off
On Friday I went to collect my caravan from annual service as we are going away this coming weekend with our grandchildren. I made the one and half hour trip up the motorway to the dealership that sold me the caravan in 2015 brand new. As I left the dealership I had gone 500 meters when the two nearside wheels on the caravan came off causing considerable damage to the nearside bodywork and the running gear. They came out and helped me get the vehicle off the road and back to their premises. They gave me a second hand vehicle to take away whilst they "deal" with my vehicle. However I can't get out of my mind the fact that this vehicle had been returned to me in an unsafe state. Had it been a few minutes later I would have been on the motorway travelling at a much faster speed and the outcome could of been much worse. I don't know what I do next as I am new to all this. I do know that if the police had been involved there could be prosecutions for the vehicle being unsafe. Can anyone give me any advice on what to do next?
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I picked my 11 month old caravan up from the dealer yesterday. We had only gone a few hundred yards up the road and the nearside wheel came off. The mover and the suspension was visibly damaged and the dealers staff were with us in minutes. They jacked the van up and managed to tow it back to the dealership. They admitted fault but are unable to do anything until after the bank holiday which is understandable. If any one has advice on how to get the damage independently assessed because if the dealer both assesses the damage and repairs it how am I to know that all the damage has been found. I feel I need somebody on my side but don't know where to find an independent assessor. If I tell my insurance company will my premiums go sky high? My main holiday is booked for 3 weeks time what am I entitled to with regards to this? Can anybody gives me some suggestions as to a course of action please? My stress levels are off the scale. Sorry for the rant.
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The first thing to do is inform your insurance company and let them deal with the problem. Failure to inform them may give you more problems if you need to involve them later.
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Really sorry to read both these post, I hope you both get a quick satisfactory out come.
When we collected our newly purchased S/H Caravan last year from the dealers we did a hand over on how it all worked and then hitched it to the car. when checking the lights, they lite up like a Christmas tree.
A young man from the workshop took off the covers and told me it was a dirty connection on a bulb and proceeded to faff about until they worked properly. I told him the issue was actually the earth connections on the lamps and explained why. (Vehicle electrics was part of my trade) Any way they worked until I checked them again only to have the same issue. I cleaned the earth connections and it's been fine ever since. I have also since found that the newly replaced Gas hose for the cylinders had the jubilee clips fitted too far up on both ends meaning it wasn't actually clamping anything. I know this is minor in comparison to loosing a wheel but does make me wonder about the skills and abilities of those entrusted to do such work
One more thing, In the hand book for my Caravan the last item on the listed items to be done when serviced is a "Road Test" I wonder how many dealers actually do this?
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I agree. My first contact would be the insurance company followed by the legal team that I include on the policy.
There is no way that I would rely on the dealership not to cut corners. I have protected no claims but when I had a car accident that was not my fault I used the legal cover to get my no-claims bonus back plus expenses.
As regard the holiday, and particularly if it is booked there are two options. Either you hire a caravan if necessary ..... and if available and claim back through your legal cover or, the dealer mitigates his own holiday and lends you one.
I have, in the past, claimed money in an accident for being unable to go hill walking due to a foot injury. I was not going to bother but the other sides insurers were being awkward about other aspects so I doubled my claim on got my solicitor to contact them and say that he had been instructed not to negotiate further but to proceed to court. They contacted him the same day and paid up.
If you allow the dealership to undertake the repair you could have further troubles if you are not happy with their performance.
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Thinking about it further. As I said your insurance if included with the policy should recover your loses in full. That included my co-claims in my case as the claim was eventually all met by the other party.
I see no reason why your policy would be loaded as a poorer risk as it is unlikely that your wheel will again drop off after a service.
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