Warranty

Warranty period will be a big factor when we select our van for the very reasons you allude to.

Hi Ian
I have owned a Sunland van and have spoken with others that had one and we would not buy another. Read into that what you like. Warranty times mean nothing if there not honoured or build quality not there.
Regards Wayne

Ian, The length of warranty offered by the manufacturer means nothing. You have consumer rights all over Australia that came into effect on 1st January 2011. You can get a 12 months warranty for a $12 kettle from K mart so a $65,000 van will be considerably more. So if you believe your van or TV or anything should have lasted longer than the 12 months warranty, say for $65,000, maybe 5 years, then that's your warranty. An example that the Australian Consumer Law uses is a $6000 TV lasts only 2 years where the consumer who bought it , expects it to last much longer. Fair trading in all states will back you up and NSW Fair Trading have a 87 % rate of having items repaired , replaced or refunded. All of which Fair Trading say were reasonable cases and expectations. The warranty is with the supplier not the manufacturer. So the retailer you bought from is responsible to fix, replace or refund and it is their responsibility to claim from the manufacturer to recover their losses. If you persist and don't take no for an answer, you will always get action. Relax and enjoy your van and if something goes wrong in the next 5 years or so, you are covered. regards Michael

Ian,

I totally agree with your sentiment but not your target.

I like, you have a Crusader caravan. It has a 12 month warranty and so far the customer service from the dealer (Cameron SA) and warranty have been perfect.

I also purchased a new Toyota with extended (5 year) warranty. In the first week, and less than 1,000km it died (fuel starvation) and left me in a life threatening situation. Mr Toyota went into denial, blaming the fuel supplier, me and the the RAA. Its lucky my dog wasn't in the car at the time or they would have blamed him too.

After sticking up for my consumer rights legally, they replaced my car with a new one. So the 5 year warranty means nothing unless you are willing, and can afford to challenge it when something goes wrong.

Give me an Australian made Crusader caravan with a 12 month warranty over a Toyota with a five year warranty any time.

Skull

It should ne noted that Aussiewide is not run by the same person that started it several years ago. Years ago it was true that if you had a problem the owner of the company would personaly see that it was fixed as he REALLY stood behind his product. Not certain this is correct in 2013. Used to work for him.

The other thing you have to look at is that the manufacturer builds the van, but every thing that goes into it, stove, fridge etc is supplied buy subcontractors, and they are the ones that have a 12 month warranty.
So if anything goes wrong with the awning for example, you go back to ,say, Dometic because they supplied it.
Cheers.
Baz

The only reason you get a long warranty on a motor vehicle is marketing motor vehicle manufactures know not much other than niggly little things usually go wrong during this period so they are safe.

When one starts pushing 3 or 5 year caravan warranties they will all start doing it, people have this mind set that if something has a longer warranty it must be better then the one with the shorter warranty.

Manufacturer's warranties are just a glorified policy gesture, a type of feel good security blanket for the consumer....... You have to remember you're still protected by the Australian consumer law so even if it didn't have a manufactures warranty you're still covered.

I am not sure if this new consumer law will cover caravans. I know from experience it does not cover a house. We cannot live in ours and nobody wants to know, even after $500,000 in legal costs.

I would suggest it may have something to do with the way people tend to treat their possessions.
A $45 000 vehicle is probably used more frequently and have recommended services conducted, whereas a van may well cost $65 000, but never have bearings and brakes etc checked. Some parts of trailers/vans deteriorate through lack of use, then once a year they are dragged over Australia's maintenance lacking roadworks. Also, the vehicles have odometers to certify distance driven, and most vans don't. You could theoretically have a van two years old that has traveled well over car warranty distances.
Completely different product, but my parents celebration of me leaving home at the ripe old age of 15 was me receiving the gift of a good quality wristwatch. It came with a lifetime warranty certificate. It died after six months, and when returned to the jeweller's, all we received was the comment "Well obviously its lifetime is over..... it has died".
The amount of "outs' written into warranties pretty much makes them useless compared to the legal standing of expectation, and the goodwill of the manufacturer.
Cheers
Ian