Leaky Lunar
This year our caravan showed 'damp'..help! We are the 3rd.owners of a 2014 model Lunar Quasar & it was our joy,until November this year [2018] when we had pointed out a problem of damp over a side window ..up to 40% and similar under the front window..20%. This was identified at our regular yearly service. Naturally both my partner and I were clearly concerned.We had always heard 'leaky lunar' but thought this just owners of other makes of caravan 'taking the mick'..now we realise they are right.
I phoned Lunar for confirmation that the 'warranty' for water ingress was registered in our name. They said that it was so I proceeded to explain our dilemma to Lunar who suggested the van be returned to the dealer for inspection & plan to repair the damp problem. To return to the dealer was just an unnecessary journey ,so Lunar agreed the damp could be dealt with locally,IF the workshop was NCC approved. We found a local repairer,explained the problem and took the van for inspection. The technician agreed he could do the job and would contact Lunar for the 'go ahead'..and this is where our REAL problem begins. There is still at least 12months of the 6yr.Lunar warranty on water ingress in place BUT Lunar WILL NOT pay for the total repair of this damp problem. Consequently, unless we are ready and willing to fund the 'short fall ' of the repair costs,understandable the caravan repair technician CANNOT do the job.
I'm absolutely furious that Lunar are selling their caravans with this warranty as a guarantee against water ingress..to give security to buyers of their vans, only to find that when the warranty is needed,they refuse to honour it. In refusing to pay for the cost of the repair under the agreement with the purchase of this van, is nothing more than a scandalous mis-representation . We payed about £50 to have the warranty transferred to us ...For what, because IT MEANS NOTHING.
I'm now quite sure that any potential caravan buyers should avoid a Lunar van UNLESS they can be assured from the caravan dealer that should the water ingress 'warranty' come to be needed that THEY will pay for the repair because clearly Lunar will walk away from their responsibilities. Given that Lunar have a reputation for leaks..hence 'leaky lunar', I don't believe we are alone.
Caravan dealers and manufactuers 'talk the talk BUT don't walk the walk' when it comes to faulty workmanship..and what is the caravan club doing to highlight these problems to warn future buyers.with regard manufacturers who don't honour their obligations when it comes to warranty work.
Ofcourse, the likely hood of the caravan club taking up this challenge is pretty non-existent, after all the club relies very much on advertising & support from these companies,to the detrement of us..the members, our interests..
Your experiences with similar matters would be welcome.
Comments
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It is not clear how the “shortfall” in the guarantee arises. Is there a cap on the warranty amount and is this written into the guarantee documentation? There must be some reason for them not meeting the full cost.
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All manufacturers seem to be capable of producing caravans and motorhomes that leak, a short search of on-line forums will demonstrate that. I'm not saying it is acceptable, it is not, far from it.
You haven't been clear why you haven't returned the van to the dealer from whom you purchased the van, is it out of guarantee?
Neither are you clear about the reason why the dealer you have selected to undertake the repair wants more money to do the work than Lunar are prepared to pay?
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In general it says a lot for only buying locally.
I travel 40 miles to dealership taking around 1hr 15mins which is a pain but I was aware of that when I chose the dealership. The nearest alternative is half an hour away and 24 miles but I preferred the one that I use having spent some time around both.
Dealerships often say that the time allowed for warranty works from manufacturers do not cover the full cost. As DD says though 'In general it says a lot for only buying locally.'
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It isn't always possible to buy locally and if one did, there is no guarantee of service. Our local Lunar dealer has gone out of business and so, when I had a warranty problem I spoke to Lunar to ask them who I could take the caravan to. I was told that our nearest dealer was some 30 odd miles away but they would only carry out warranty work on caravans that they had sold, (so no point in telling me of them). They gave me a couple of names in the West Midlands, 50 + miles away, but again with the caveat that these also may not carry out work on caravans not bought from them. So much for Lunar dealerships!
The NCC approved mobile workshop that I have used for servicing many times over the years said he was able to carry out the work but he would not be paid anything like the full cost of the job. He would have to come to us, remove the faulty part (a Truma fitting), send it off for inspection and approval of the work and then return to us again to do the job. He said he would only be paid for the actual job of fitting the replacement part so he would have to charge us for the initial visit, removal of the part and carriage costs to Truma and his travel costs. His suggestion, knowing that I'm quite capable, was to buy the replacement part and do the job myself which would be considerably cheaper and, in the long run, much quicker.
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So much for Lunar dealerships!
Are Swift and other dealerships any different in regard to doing warranty work on 'vans that they have not sold? I think that you will find the answer is no from my observations of posters with warranty issues on other manufacturers models
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Wonder if Lunar are on the way out. In the last 3 years 2 x Lunar dealers no longer cancelled their franchise and the dealer where we brought our current van in Sussex has also stopped stocking them. It appears the one thing they have in common is poor quality
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The OP says that “Lunar will not pay” so it is not clear whether this is actually a workshop issue or warranty issue. If the OP could respond to all the questions raised he may get some helpful replies. Not much point having a rant then going off the radar so maybe he will clarify?
I recently had some warranty work done by an authorised dealer but not the original supplier. The dealership owner told me that he would not be reimbursed by the manufacturer at his full hourly rate but he did the work anyway.
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We had a warranty "issue"on our previose Elddis caravan where the dealer Not Eldiss but ncc approved said the repair would take 3hrs but Eldiss said it should take no more than two and that is what they would pay,so we "negotiated "a price with the dealer
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My understanding is that Lunar only allows the amount of time for a repair that it takes the factory to fit the item.
For example, if it takes the factory 30 minutes to fit the cooker then the dealer will only be paid for 30 minutes work to replace the cooker even if it takes them 1 hour as they have to remove the cooker as well.
This may be why dealers are reluctant to take on warranty work for caravans that they have not sold and why the OP is having a problem getting all the money his repairer has quoted.
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Is it not beyond the wit of dealers to get together to make representations as a co-ordinated body for realistic allowances for remedial work? Faced with intransigence from the manufacturers they could, again as a body, decline to act as agents.
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This may be why dealers are reluctant to take on warranty work for caravans that they have not sold and why the OP is having a problem getting all the money his repairer has quoted.
I am sure that this is the case Simon and I think that it is the same with other manufacturers
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I have read many times of people finding it nigh on impossible to get a local dealer to do warranty work for caravans purchased elsewhere.
Also many dealerships do not appear to have enough capacity beyond repairs for their customers, servicing, PDIs etc. I know that out dealership is reluctant to take on work for customers who bought elsewhere and for whom they don't at least do servicing for.
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The PDI on my present caravan missed two items. One was a repair at the top of the caravan side just beneath the awning rail. Their was an area of filler that had been used for a dented panel and the repair was about the size of a 5 pence piece. It was nicely finished level bu not painted. To be fair to the dealer I had washed the caravan 3 times at least. Even though it was almost above the door I had not noticed it the previous 96 nights away. It was white as is the caravan. Because it was not reported until 8 months after purchase the manufacturer refused the claim and the dealer had to do it at his own expense.
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can you explain to me just how a "proper pdi" would cure a leak which might only occur after some months?
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Surely the problem is the build quality.
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That's why I wrote "many" and not "all" as I realise that not all faults are easily recognised. In my own case it was a window blind that was broken and a radio missing and, whilst not a warranty problem the caravan was a lot of manufacturing debris in the bed lockers. All of these could have been seen had a PDI been done.
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I agree that these items should have been attended to prior to delivery !unfortunately (and I speak from personal experience working for a dealership) the standard of pdi and cleaning is subject to the standards of individual members of staff!!Youngsters,these days,do not have the work ethics that I for one had.Some ,more senior members,are "reds in the beds" and do not believe in a job well done !Management should be responsible for ensuring that a good job is always done!!!When I was working I enjoyed my job but was constantly let down by other staff members and it was this that lead me to retire at the age of 72! As well as this I saw many examples of ,vans from the factory that had been "checked" prior to dispatch that had obvious faults and could not have been checked!
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