Damp Bailey Olympus 530/4 2012 - keep or exchange?
I would appreciate any advice very much as I am a newbie...
I bought a Bailey Olympus 530/4 2012 last August as my weekday residence for the next 3 years due to my job. I love the layout and am really happy with it, even in the recent wet/stormy weather.
This week, however, I had to take it in for a minor leak behind the sink (it turned out a jubilee joint had come loose) and while they serviced it at the same time, they found that there was water ingress from the outside handles resulting in meter readings between 30 and 80 on the floor throughout, half the floor surface being over 60. The engineer stated that this was a known fault in this model and that he had sealed the handles now, but that the job was too big for his workshop to rectify and it should go back to factory to sort the damp out.
As I bought the van only 5 months ago, I presented the dealership with these findings. Going through the documentation, I also found the service tick list from the 2016 service when the van failed the damp test - the way the salesman reacted, this should not have been left in my documents... Of course, the dealer then tries to invalidate the readings (as it was "only" done by an Approved garage, not a Bailey garage), says he would have to have the readings redone "after stabilising" the van etc. However, he immediately offered to fix the problem on warranty (topping it up from his "own pocket" if it exceeds the limits) or to swap the van for any other van in their current fleet (with us paying the difference if it is an upgrade).
There are only 3 vans with the same layout, 2 of which I am not even sure I would be able to tow as they are heavier than the Olympus (that was calculated as just below the limit I should be towing) and 2-3k more expensive... I contacted the engineer where I had the van serviced and he recommended a swap without hesitation.
Another consideration is the fact that this van is literally my home during the week and I have paid ground rent until mid February already. The dealer thought this could be fixed within a matter of days, the engineer was talking about weeks, possibly months, which would leave me homeless.
Any views received gratefully.
Comments
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We had SWIFT caravan in the past that had water ingress around front windows. Was fixed first year at dealers but next service it was back, not as high as your van readings but obviously bad. I insisted it went back to factory for full repair. They stripped it out, kept it for 6 weeks to dry and then rebuilt it as well as doing other jobs they knew about where other vans had failed.
So I would say if you are happy with the van let it go back to factory for proper repair as they will also check everything else as well. This would hopefully ensure no further problems for many years to come.
If you are unhappy with the dealer or the way you have been treated then you may have rights under the sale of goods act or similar.
One thing for sure with the amount of damage/damp you mention it is really a factory job and will need to be there for a while to dry out and retest once complete, so that may affect your thinking if you live in it.
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Bailey caravans of that year I think have a minimum of a six year up to ten year warranty against water ingress ,did the dealer advise you to transfer the Bailey warranty to you? and the damp ingress report is part of the service so should be with the service paperwork not as the salesman thinks "hidden"
In my opinion I think you have a strong case against the dealer to rectify the fault and, to because they know your circumstances loan you a van while they send yours back to Bailey for proper rectification rather than a "bodge" that the dealer may attempt..
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As JVB says, Bailey caravans had an extended damp warranty that year (I think 10 years) but it needs to be transferred with a change of ownership. Our 2012 Bailey Valencia twice went back to the factory for damp ingress and was gone for several months and after we sold it the damp recurred for a third time so I would be sceptical of a permanent repair.
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As JVB says, Bailey caravans had an extended damp warranty that year (I think 10 years)
That is my memory as well HG as I was looking to buy a new caravan that year and would have been tempted by the warranty but did not like the Bailey caravan.
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Thank you all for your replies!
I have had a look at the couple of Valencia's they have in the fleet and asked them to check on towsafe if I can tow them and it would be fine. But it would mean a £2500-3000 upgrade as it is Unicorns. Unfortunately, hitchglitch on here just mentioned that he/she sold the Valencia 2012. Ecause of damp problems, which is one I am considering. The other one is a 2013 model.
Interestingly, the salesperson tried to reassure me when he saw me again and said the van would go back to the same garage the previous damp work had been done in. So all of a sudden he was aware of damp problems that were fixed, but clearly not even to a level that lasted for a year. He offered to have an upgrade checked by an independent garage for me to have the paperwork were I to choose that option.
Warranty is in my name, it states 7years for water ingress, so I have another 1.5years on that. My worry is that this won't be fixed to any lasting effect. Plus your posts suggesting 6weeks+ without van are just not feasible as I can't be sofa surfing for so long or pay for B&Bs.
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He stated confidentiality reasons why that paperwork with the previous owner's name and address should not have been handed to me... By that stage, both me and my husband knew that he was trying to hide something...
It didn't help that he tried to justify everything by telling me he sold me a tourer, which isn't meant to be lived in all year round (he knew why I was buying from the start and recommend a van with grade 3 insulation). As if me not living in it would have meant less water ingress...
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As you can imagine, having suffered two major problems with water ingress I have been following all discussions on this subject. The dealer’s workshop manager who was extremely experienced said that the problem was lack of sealant between floor and panels on the new form of construction which I think was first marketed by Bailey in 2011/12. I am sure that the problem has been largely overcome on later models but in view of the problems that we had we felt it would be difficult to sell privately and be truthful about the history.
We traded the van in for a Motorhome and the dealer sold the Bailey on. The new owners got in touch with me to ask about previous history because they had a damp problem which was going to cost over £5000 to fix and they had a warranty limited to £1000 and no transfer of Bailey warranty (they weren’t told about it).
So that’s three major damp issues on the van. Sounds like you may have the same problem. The dealer has been fair in offering an exchange (he can sell yours without mentioning the history) so it has to be a good option.
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