Refund secured for faulty motorhome

If you return your motorhome to the supplying dealer because of restricted performance and an engine management light coming on and the dealer tells you that they can’t find a fault with it, what are your rights if the problem occurs again, and a fault is found?

Can the customer reject the motorhome or are the customers rights limited to a repair rather than rejection because the trader did not carry out a repair in the first place?

This was the pivotal question in this dispute.

How the defective motorhome purchase came about

Mr and Mrs K bought a brand new Fiat Auto-sleeper Fairford Plus motorhome from Venture Caravans & Motorhomes for £86,000.

Around two months later the engine management light came on and an error message displayed concerning the leisure battery.

There were a few other quality issues with the motorhome in relation to a cupboard, drawer and seats, and Mr and Mrs K returned it to the supplying dealer as advised.

The dealer sent the motorhome to a Fiat dealer who carried scanned the ECU and cleared the codes, extinguishing the dashboard lights.

Venture informed Mr and Mrs K the cupboard, drawer, seat and seat belt had been fixed and Fiat resolved the engine management light-DPF.

About two months later, the EML came on again and the motorhome was taken to Heathrow Truck Centre, who informed Mr and Mrs K the DPF needed replacement.

Mr and Mrs K rejected the vehicle, which was declined.

How we helped our customer reject their motorhome

Stormcatcher are specialist dispute resolution lawyers with expertise in motorhomes and campervans, and Mr and Mrs K instructed us to put forward the legal case for the rejection of the motorhome and the refund of the purchase price.

The defence

Venture Caravans & Motorhomes instructed solicitors who contended the dealer had had a local garage carry out an ECU scan revealing a code relating to the DPF. The dealer then sent the motorhome to a Fiat dealer who carried out diagnostic tests, but no DPF fault was found.

The case for a motorhome rejection

The documentary evidence did not include the diagnostic scan results and the only information from the Fiat dealer was that the scan revealed ECM and BCM fault codes.

While the codes related to the DPF, there was no evidence which supported the DPF ever having been checked and therefore no basis to conclude it was not faulty.

Stormcatcher’s position was that the reason the dealer found not fault was simply because it did not carry out the inspection and diagnostic on the DPF and associated sensors.

While the solicitor argued that as no repair had been completed the right to reject does not arise, this is not true.

Mr & Mrs K gave the dealer the opportunity to fix the vehicle but they did not take advantage of that, and the fact the DPF was clogged is demonstrative of it not functioning as it should. Therefore, the right to reject arose.

After some toing and froing and legal arguments from both camps the rejection was agreed and a refund of the original purchase price made.

Although initially resistant to the complaint, Venture Caravans & Motorhomes and their solicitors recognised the importance of resolving matters out of court and were helpful in bringing this dispute to a satisfactory conclusion.

Keen to pursue a refund for a faulty motorhome?

This case shows the importance of expertise in automotive engineering as well as the relevant legal principles, advocacy and negotiation.

For legal advice involving motorhome and campervan legal rights in relation to faulty goods phone us on 0333 700 7676.