as per
@Dobbie my thoughts and feelings are not those necessarily shared by Expandasdownunder or their management
There's a group who are agitating on Facebook called 'lemon caravans' and the ABC here have taken up some of their issues.
The usual list of minor defects (finishes and some fitting issues) and major defects were discussed...chassis failures, brakes not working (all safety issues)
and who is responsible for rectification.
I am a member of that faceache site, and currently they (Tracey who started it & someone else) are trying to go through the lists of faults by people to ascertain if it is a faulty fitting or Lemon Caravan. there is some incredibly unlucky people who have shared their experiences with dealing with Dealers and Manufacturers, some good reading, and some tear jerking & gut wrenching moments
there is also some on that site that are only Trolls - so it is a mixture of Good and Bad
Dealers ....minor issues
Manufacturer..via dealers...major issues but lots of inspections, documentation needed...onus seems to be on owner to prove there is a problem
this seems to be the normal attitude even for Cars now days, as the ACCC and the Industry Watchdog itself are gutless and have no teeth and no inclination to do anything about their persevered Status Quo.........
and, Good Old Industry Watchdog insists that we do not need Lemon Laws like the rest of the real world, because we dont have a problem
Buyers are often deciding more on bling rather than being aware of engineering details for safety and, in some cases, the items are deemed ' unfit for use'
again, and we have all fallen for this one, unless you ask exact questions, they will not give you the answers you want or need
otherwise, why are they up-selling people on bling and stuff that they cannot seriously tow, plus the added bonus of the old Australian "She'll be right mate......"
A caravan repairer made the point that many many owners were adding to the problem by being excessively overweight
but if the manufacturer only weighs 1 in 10 or 1 in 100 or whatever the ratio of Vans as they are made, the figures will ALWAYS be wrong
the weight and Tare etc should be stamped at registration, not when it leaves the factory but before Hot water systems & solar and water tanks and bike racks and Gas Bottles and and and are added by the Dealer
the Dealer is the one who should be filling out the ID tag with the weights etc for registration, and it should also be going over the pits, not a secretary walking to the nearest licensing centre with the paperwork filled in - but not with the Van
try and do that with a Car and see how far you get with it.............
Some European caravans are unfit for Australian conditions so are more prone to structural issues
not going to buy into this one, as I also think that half of the Vans manufactured in Australia are unfit for Australian conditions
Then today's discussion was more on the legal issues via consumer affairs, the industry association ( no teeth) and the scare that owners could be fined for infringing manufacturers intellectual property by publishing detailed complaints...not substantiated except in rare circumstances
I have heard of this - but 3rd hand, so do not know if it is true of false - so - no comment
Then, a legal rep from the company in the firing line from the main agitator who started the lemon caravans group on Facebook defended the actions of the company...Lotus...and argued that the caravan owner concerned had been given every opportunity to have the extended defect list rectified but had demanded a full refund rather than a repair.....stalemate!
this one is well documented on the web - basically, he lives in Queensland and Lotus wanted him to ship it to Victoria to their place - at his cost, because they say a broken then welded chassis is not their problem, as he did it - not manufactured that way
he cannot tow it as the Transport Dept have said its unsafe to tow
story is, he had a 6month old Van, took it in to get wheels aligned, and they found that the chassis had been broken and re welded then Galvanised - at manufacture
I think I would rather have my money back than another Van if thats their attitude I think..........
Lotus say he did it by overloading then trying to get them to pay...........
I suspect this will snowball....and not all parties are open to dealing with real issues....and there's a lot of insufficient information, inaccurate information and vested interests by both the manufacturers and the complainants.
snowball - SNOWBALL, mate its a freaking Avalanche
Read it yourself....and don't depend on my impression! I thought twice about putting up my impressions then decided it was a worthwhile topic.
As said, my impressions only.
I strongly suspect that the issues raised might gain momentum ....but there's a lot of misinformation being pushed ..."he said". " I heard" and so on...but, if it adds to dealing with the problems raised I'll support the discussion.
the Industry needs to be held accountable for their lack of enthusiasm in following basic sales doctrine
get buyer
make buyer happy
sell buyer goods fit for purpose
provide after sales service
and
care about your customer
the Industry Watchdog needs to be replaced with someone willing to do the Job they are supposed to be paid to do
the ACCC needs to get off its ar$e and do the Job it is supposed to do
the Consumer Laws in Australia need to have Lemon laws so that people are not left high and dry when a Dealer/Manufacturer wont do what it should do in repairing or replacing faulty materials
Manufactures should be building Vans / campers fit for purpose,
Dealers should be educating customers about what they intend on buying - be it too heavy for their car to tow, or what they are buying in the first place
and agree with his topics so won't repeat, though somethings people whinge about are little things that you could fix yourself quicker and easier and get on with your life but some poor buggers are up the creek with no support, its very sad................lemon laws are a must but it will require a political kick in the head by some group to get anywhere.:flypig:
