2015 Stanton damp water ingress warranty

Good morning.

I bought my Stanton new in April 2015 and have generally enjoyed owning it having covered over 30k miles,  however, on having the annual habitation check completed (by a qualified mobile technician due to lockdown) a damp area has been found in front of the passenger side real wheel arch. Naturally this led me to inspect the warranty which I’d always thought was 3 years plus 3 years for water ingress, but there’s actually no mention of any extended period for damp and the booklet states only 2 years warranty.

I have to say I’m shocked and worried as I’ve had annual habitation checks done specifically to maintain the warranty, with the intention of buying an extension when it expires, based on what the AS website has (AFAIK) always stated is a 6-year (3+3) warranty.

My question is, can anyone tell me categorically what water ingress/damp warranty I have - if any?

I’ve written to AS but both they and my dealer are closed for the time being.

Thanks for any help.

As far as I recall A/S warranty on water ingress is only 2 years on vans of your vintage. Even their current more generous (?) warranty cannot be transferred to a new owner. I was concerned at the short and restricted warranty when I bought my van - which you don't find out is so restricted until you read all the small print - usually after handover. Their warranty could well be one of the most restrictive in the industry - but that's a feeling that I haven't checked. I was lucky in that I have not had to use warranty other than to handle teething problems during the first year.
But, yesterday, in running a cable for a new reversing camera (to replace the rubbish one installed by the dealer's fitters) I found traces of rust on a couple of screws in the rear nearside corner which has alerted me to a potential slight weep between skirt and body in that area. No damage yet done but it had not been and probably would not be found at previous damp tests.

This is on Autosleeper site[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

  Hope you get your problem sorted soon, did the chap who did the check notice where the water ingress could have come from.
I am sure you will get help from other Stanton owners very soon from this very helpful forum.
----------
Richard

inspiredron wrote:As far as I recall A/S warranty on water ingress is only 2 years on vans of your vintage. Even their current more generous (?) warranty cannot be transferred to a new owner. I was concerned at the short and restricted warranty when I bought my van - which you don't find out is so restricted until you read all the small print - usually after handover. Their warranty could well be one of the most restrictive in the industry - but that's a feeling that I haven't checked. I was lucky in that I have not had to use warranty other than to handle teething problems during the first year.
But, yesterday, in running a cable for a new reversing camera (to replace the rubbish one installed by the dealer's fitters) I found traces of rust on a couple of screws in the rear nearside corner which has alerted me to a potential slight weep between skirt and body in that area. No damage yet done but it had not been and probably would not be found at previous damp tests.

This is what I feared, it seems the warranty since October 2015 is 3 + 3 years but mine’s only 2 years.  Frankly this is ridiculous on a motorhome costing (then) £63k but I suppose “caveat emptor” regarding warranties.

Does anyone have any experience of AS helping in this situation?  I’m feeling pretty cross but that won’t help... 

Thanks.

rgermain wrote:  Hope you get your problem sorted soon, did the chap who did the check notice where the water ingress could have come from.
I am sure you will get help from other Stanton owners very soon from this very helpful forum.
----------
Richard

He felt it was coming up rather down but I dried out the bottom locker (which had some water in it) and the following day it was wet again despite no rain.  That said it’s been dry since.

Thanks for your support.

glyne lock wrote:This is on Autosleeper site[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Thanks.  Therein lies the problem - 3 + 3 years since October 2015 but apparently not prior to that.

the date just says issue 4 2015 as you say its whats on your paper work

I read on here that dave.williams @auto-sleepers.co.uk  has been answering emails during lock down, or was.
------------
Richard

Hi Barry So sorry to hear of the situation with your Stanton and Water Ingress Warrantry. We have a Sept. 2016 Stanton from new. Like you, we are very pleased with it. Ours has the 3 + 3 years warrantry, which is just as well, as we are having dampness issues round various parts of the body where it joins the chassis. These readings were discovered at the annual Hab inspection about 18 months ago, without without any signs of dampness in the vehicle. We have had all of the Hab.work done at the local branch of Marquis, who have been very helpful. We have returned it every 3 months at their request. The last time they asked for it for 4 days, as the consistently high ratings may have been due to the vehicle being used all the time, as it is our only transport. ( I found that hard to believe also !! ). 
However, they kept it under cover for 4 days, checked it daily, and found that the readings had dropped to an acceptable level. The written report which I have, says that “ the dampness is coming down the outside of the vehicle,  underneath it, then onto the external marine ply floor. There is no sign of damage or rot on the floor .”  On ours, the dampest reading were in front and behind both rear wheel arches. I discussed this with the Branch Sales Manager, who confirmed that if we continued to have the hab. service done in accordance with the warranty, the higher dampness readings would not affect the value of the vehicle, as it is structurally sound, and their records and ours show this. 
I don’t know wether this is an issue for the Stanton, built on a short wheelbase Mercedes Chassis. ?? 
Good luck with it. Please contact me if you want any further help. 
Keep safe.
Mike

Mike Cope wrote:Hi Barry So sorry to hear of the situation with your Stanton and Water Ingress Warrantry. We have a Sept. 2016 Stanton from new. Like you, we are very pleased with it. Ours has the 3 + 3 years warrantry, which is just as well, as we are having dampness issues round various parts of the body where it joins the chassis. These readings were discovered at the annual Hab inspection about 18 months ago, without without any signs of dampness in the vehicle. We have had all of the Hab.work done at the local branch of Marquis, who have been very helpful. We have returned it every 3 months at their request. The last time they asked for it for 4 days, as the consistently high ratings may have been due to the vehicle being used all the time, as it is our only transport. ( I found that hard to believe also !! ). 
However, they kept it under cover for 4 days, checked it daily, and found that the readings had dropped to an acceptable level. The written report which I have, says that “ the dampness is coming down the outside of the vehicle,  underneath it, then onto the external marine ply floor. There is no sign of damage or rot on the floor .”  On ours, the dampest reading were in front and behind both rear wheel arches. I discussed this with the Branch Sales Manager, who confirmed that if we continued to have the hab. service done in accordance with the warranty, the higher dampness readings would not affect the value of the vehicle, as it is structurally sound, and their records and ours show this. 
I don’t know wether this is an issue for the Stanton, built on a short wheelbase Mercedes Chassis. ?? 
Good luck with it. Please contact me if you want any further help. 
Keep safe.
Mike

Thanks very much for that info Mike, sounds like my problem is the same and hopefully won’t affect any sale.  Clearly, however, I’ll need to pay my dealer out of warranty for the same confirmation.  I won’t give up on getting some support from AS though, as this seems to be a fault on the model which ought to have been brought to owners’ attention.

Hi Barry - I should have also mentioned that if the readings had still been high ( which they weren’t ) after it had dried out, it would have been repaired under warranty. In addition they also replaced the toilet casette outside access door which was also reading high, although no sign of damp there either. Good luck - keep going - I’ll be interested  to hear how it goes. Mike

Mike Cope wrote:Hi Barry - I should have also mentioned that if the readings had still been high ( which they weren’t ) after it had dried out, it would have been repaired under warranty. In addition they also replaced the toilet casette outside access door which was also reading high, although no sign of damp there either. Good luck - keep going - I’ll be interested  to hear how it goes. Mike

Well yes, I’d have hoped you’d get a warranty repair but it seems I won’t.

I’m struggling to understand how water can go down under the vehicle, then back up again to the floor before dropping down into the locker.

Thanks again,

Regards,

Barry

Hi Barry it’s a bit of a mystery to me, although ours was showing high readings but no sign of dampness. Maybe yours is also getting water in elsewhere too. Regards. Mike

Indeed... I’m also struggling to understand how there can be no adverse effect from having damp in the van, more research needed.

Keep us posted with progress. Mike

I found high damp readings on my 2014 nuevo in an area around the gas and mains outlets in nearside locker . a mobile service and repair man came to have a look , he said it was the the 2 sockets that had started to leak .he is coming next week to refit sockets and outside locker door .and do a Hab n gas check , This way it is done at home and dose not spend time waiting and several trips to dealer .and a very reasonable price , normally this time of year he is 8 weeks booked up ,now only just over a week .

Thanks for that Molly, I definitely have damp in that area but my service guy said this:
“Readings were fine by the outlets it was closer to the external door frame that was the high spot above the high readings on the floor. I would say its rising up the wall rather than coming from the wall.”
I’ll be very interested to hear how you get on, it may well be the case that I end up looking for a similar service but I’m a long way from you.
Barry

If you want a local guy, I think it was Paul who said, do a search online and you will find a list of mobile service in your area.
----------
Richard

Not warranty but I have found minor ingress in the rear nearside corner of my Lancashire. In fitting a replacement 'proper' reversing camera I found some very slightly rusting screws in the lower corner of the cupboard under the surface by the habitation door and the sink. Checking with my damp meter showed a 25% reading. It's extremely difficult to check the source but I have found two suspect areas.
1.  I could slip a piece of thin card between the van wall and the wrap round skirt for most of the length between the habitation door and the corner of the van. There is no possibility of sealing the gap from inside as access is impossible without a special Lance and pump to deliver the sealant blindly. I have put a very fine bead of Sikaflex 221 on the corner between the body and the skirt. 
2. I also checked the areas that I could inspect with a light and mirror. The bottom corner of the body inside the skirt has a seam on the corner and, with great difficulty I have spread Sikaflex over the corner with my fingers! On the side wall I discovered a hole about 8mm diameter completely open and about 15mm above the floor bottom. Presumably that was provision for a side marker light on an export van. I managed to fill the hole, again insult and by feel, with Sikaflex in a pallette knife.
Time will tell if I have stopped the ingress. Now I need to check the offside by the shower. That is likely to be more difficult or perhaps impossible because of the waste tank.
Both those corners get massive road spray when it's wet. The open hole seems insane or maybe negligent.

I’ve spoken to a mobile engineer who can’t look at my MH for a month or so, he says his long experience tells him the culprit is likely to be the skirting around the wheel arch. This can be sealed at fairly low cost but with no damage repair to the wood, or any damaged wood replaced at obviously higher cost but hopefully less than £1,000. 

Clearly I can’t do anything now until he visits, or unless my dealer or AS are able to do something. One thing he did explain is that water will go upwards due to capillary action, which I’ve heard of but hadn’t factored into my situation.

Speaking of AS, I haven’t had a reply from them or Dave Williams who I emailed as suggested by RGermain - which is a bit of a disappointment. If anyone has any other AS contacts I’ll be grateful to hear from you.

Thanks.

I had a feel of the offside today and, guess what, there is hole through the skin there as well. I'm sure it must be a provision for side marker lights. As with the nearside I have filled it with Sikaflex. Access was not hampered by the waste tank which is well clear of the side of the van. Lots of silt and road dirt was evident, much more than at the nearside. The skirt on the offside seems to be better sealed to the main body.

Just thought I’d post an update. 

AS utterly unhelpful, almost rude in fact, telling me I have no warranty and they have no responsibility to help me. No apology or sympathy for the problem which, after all, they caused.

Almost the same from the dealer, initially telling me I either have to pay for repair work or I can trade it in (is that a rat I smell?) so I took legal advice from the C&M Club helpline and sent a “Letter before Action”. The response was again completely unsympathetic and a little aggressive.

I’ve had some repair work done - replaced vent gaskets, resealed skirt and outlets, resealed hab door - which has improved the damp readings in front of the wheel arch but not to the rear so it’ll have to go back.

My plan is to take the dealer to court under consumer law but I can only really do this once I’ve paid out for all work needed. Bottomless pit... I may have to get back the money I’ve spent so far (£1.1k!) under the credit card.

Anyone reading this should know that this industry is pathetic and bordering on a racket, I’ve spoken to a lot of people in the trade and they’re all booked up until after Christmas with damp repair work, admittedly mainly on caravans. After care is non-existent, the only reason there’s a 6-year warranty is because the Consumer Rights Act pretty much gives you that anyway. There’s no obligation to belong to any trade organisation and no help, support or protection for consumers other than under consumer law.

I’ve been told that it’s common to offer trade-in for reduced value, sell the vehicle without repair for full price but with a warranty, then repair under the warranty once the new owner finds the fault.

I confess to a degree of naivety about the initial warranty period but had unjustified trust in a so-called “premier” British brand.

Good luck to anyone buying an Autosleeper, you’re going to need it.