Hymer Habitation Check & Warranty

Our Swift had to have a COMPLETE Habitation Service but when we swapped MH's I found out that a lot of the Continental ones only require a Water Ingress check. I would talk to Hymer first not the Dealer Network and ask what EXACTLY is required for your warantee to be kept upto date. You will probably find it has to be done by a Hymer Dealer as they have access to Hymer's Database to register the fact it has been done.

As to not being made aware .. You really have to do your homework before you buy. They are not going to tell you EVERYTHING. They like to give you a few surprises along the way.

Thanks QFour, they have said that for the warranty we only need to £70 water ingress check, but how do we know that everything else is OK if we don't have the full habitation service? 

This was certainly a surprise I could have done without!

Our Swift had to have a COMPLETE Habitation Service but when we swapped MH's I found out that a lot of the Continental ones only require a Water Ingress check. I would talk to Hymer first not the Dealer Network and ask what EXACTLY is required for your warantee to be kept upto date. You will probably find it has to be done by a Hymer Dealer as they have access to Hymer's Database to register the fact it has been done.

As to not being made aware .. You really have to do your homework before you buy. They are not going to tell you EVERYTHING. They like to give you a few surprises along the way.

thats certainly the case with our Carthago...

at one year old, i had a damp check (mandatory and carries a posh sticker in the service book) and a hab check.....i think this was around £360...

i, too, have discovered that the hab check is not mandatory and i can have just the damp check (@ around £185). so my hab check was around £175.

however, i will be having a 24mth Fiat base service (not required a year ago) so i wont be saving anything....

Just out of interest, ( never having purchased either a caravan or MH new) what exactly is involved in a habitation check? How long does the warranty last on a new Hymer? Interested because this is one of makes high up on our replacement list. Thank you.

Thanks QFour, they have said that for the warranty we only need to £70 water ingress check, but how do we know that everything else is OK if we don't have the full habitation service? 

This was certainly a surprise I could have done without!

Write your comments here...A "service" is not what is in the true sense of the word as apart from the Brakes there is nothing that is actually taken apart its just a check to ensure things work correctly

I believe you need a damp test report and a sticker in your service manual. Dealers are a little reluctant just to do a damp check report. I use Travelworld now and its service has improved over the last three years. I've been told they are all Hymer trained - it shows now compared to their earlier days as Hymer dealers. 

Peter Hambilton used to do my servicing up at Preston [Hambilton Engineering]. As good and slightly cheaper but cannot do damp checks for the Hymer warranty. Peter has retired but still has an interest in the busimess. I don't have any recent knowledge. You could ask Lowdhams for a quote but they may have difficulty fitting in your van if you didn't buy it from them.

Whoever you go with, check whether the price includes VAT and what, if any, additional incidentals.

Hi takethedogalong

We didn't buy ours new it was just over 2 years old.  We had a 10 year old Auto Trail previously but have always had a yearly haditation check to make sure all the internal things are working OK and there is no water ingress causing damp.  The warranty should be 3 years for the engine and 6 years for the habitation but I am starting to think it is not worth the paper it is written on seems to be just a handy way of them making lots of extra money out of you with service and habitation charges, thankfully not had any problems so not had to claim anything which means we haven't really got a clue how good the warranty is.  Love the motorhome but really don't like all the hassle and expense that goes with them keeping them on the road.

Thanks QFour, they have said that for the warranty we only need to £70 water ingress check, but how do we know that everything else is OK if we don't have the full habitation service ? 

Having watched while a mobile mechanic do the habitation service on our Swift there is not to much to do. He sprayed the blind tracks with Silicone Oil. He checked the tyres. He walked round and had a look underneath for anything that looked as though it might fall off. He checked the vehicle lights and habitation lights worked. He checked the water came out of the taps. He checked the fridge worked. He checked the oven and gas hob. Then he did a pressure check on the gas system. All this you can do yourself except the gas bit. I usually have a few tools with me and a can of silicone oil spray. Screw bits on as and when they fall off. I just keep an eye on things. Also check that the gas rubber tails are sound and they need changing every 5 years.

Have fun  .. Being broke is part of having a MH. It's a bit like owning a boat but CHEAPER.

At the end of the day all he was looking for was extra work that needed doing so he could make a claim for it under the Swift warantee. Problem was that all the bits that had fell off had already being fastened back on 

Thanks for that. Is it just things like cold/hot taps working, gas getting to burners, heater working ok, etc..... We are used to doing our own checks and a certain amount of maintenance on our tourers, admittedly we never consider resale value, as we tend to have them for a long time. We do have the MH serviced annually, the vehicle element, for example timing chain was replaced last year, but haven't had any issues with any aspect of the habitation, it all works as perfectly as the day we bought it. Everything was checked fully before we collected it, and all explained on handover, with a good service contact supplied should we ever have any issues.

I can understand the need for taking a new tourer in for checks, but to have to pay such an amount out does seem on the expensive side. But as I say, we have never bought new.

I really think they are just a money spinner for some in the leisure industry. Most British makes insist you have it all checked at your expense when all they are doing is checking to see if they can find anything that needs fixing. All they are basically doing is what you do everytime you go away. Switch on the water, gas, fridge, heating, lights and make sure they all work.

On the other hand if it's out of guarantee you are just paying for someone to tell you what they are going to charge you to fix it . It should really be called a Habitation Survey and should be provided FREE