Autosleepers Trident problems

Hi all

My wife and I are very, very new to this campervan business, having just bought our '54 plate, 1.9Tdi Trident on 3 September from a dealer who, for the moment, shall remain nameless. We have so far managed just one weekend away in it (which we really enjoyed) and the van suits our present needs perfectly as I wanted something that I could use as my working vehicle.

However, from the day we picked it up (literally - thirty miles up the motorway on a very wet Saturday we discovered water dripping steadily down from the top of the window in the rear door - eventually traced, once we'd got home, to the high level brake light having been prized out of its aperture rather than unscrewed from underneath the internal door trim - dealer sent us a replacement by return of post) the list of faults has just grown an grown.

So far these include:

1) - there is a leak of water at the side sliding door resulting in water marking of at least the bottom quarter of the interior trim panel across most of its width. In addition the upper trim panel has been repaired, probably as a result of fouling on the van body, which it still just does. The metal underneath every screwhole on the lower trim panel has at least 3-5 holes, suggesting the panel has been on and off a great number of times.

2) - there is a leak at the driver's door resulting in water pooling on the step and falling out of the van when the door is opened after the vehicle has stood in the rain for a few hours.

3) - the position control for the air circulation can not be stopped at the face position and movement of the control is jerky.

4) - the two central vents on the dashboard do not have a through airflow.

5) - the recirculating air control in the centre of the dash does not appear to work.

6) - the waste water tap is so stiff that the first time I tried to open it the lever broke off and I struggled to turn it even with the application of a pair of pliers to the stub remaining.

7) - the rear windscreen washer nozzle has a part missing which means that the screenwash simply fires out backwards at right angles to the van.

8) - there is a fixing missing from one of the attachments between the rear bumper and the body.

9) - there are two small blanking plugs missing from the offside of the rear bumper (those on the nearside are present).

10) - just discovered yesterday that the top-hinged window above the side sliding door is leaking badly as well.

As we live over 200miles from where we bought the van we can't just pop in each time something crops up (and, yes, we did try to find something much closer but without success) so it is going back to the dealer while we go off on a week's holiday. Have been assured that all will be well with it when we get back but given that they claimed to do so many checks before selling things on and missed all of the above I do wonder.

My first question for those more knowledgable / experienced in these matters than ourselves is, given the length of the list of problems should we just have handed it back as unfit for purpose and not of merchantable quality and asked for our money back?

Second, is there a known problem with leaking side windows and sliding door fouling the body on Tridents (saw a brief reference to this effect on another forum but haven't been able to find it again)?

How much leeway should one give a dealership in repairing faults before saying enough is enough?

Any thoughts on these matters would be much appreciated.

Hi sgiand

You have a big list of problems there, although annoying a few seem quite minor

I'm no expert but I'll have a go at answering as best I can. I presume you had an HPI check carried out to see if it has been involved in an accident? Don't want to alarm you but several of those problems could possibly be associated with accident damage? parts missing from rear bumper indicate it's been removed at some point, why? Water getting in on the side door & drivers door could indicate the body has been twisted out of alignment, have you checked all doors for correct alignment? if this is the case you can usually spot somethings not right, hopefully it's nothing as serious as this...........

1) Water getting in where the side door is suggests to me maybe this just needs adjustment?
2) Can't understand this one! Door rubbers are obviously all aligned correctly I take it?
3/4/5) Have to admit I'm still not used to operating our heater in our Trident (Older than yours) sometimes I feel it's not working correctly then find after a fiddle it works perfectly, so human error in our case.
6) This is a well known issue, the taps become brittle over time and if they are not used frequently they become stiff and then breakage is inevitable
7) This is really minor, just replace? No used vehicle is ever perfect.
8) Again suggests bumper has been removed and replaced by an incompetent person
9) Either fell out? or as above?
10) Not sure if this is a known issue or not, and don't know if these can be adjusted even?

To compare we have a 2001 Trident (3 1/2 years older than yours) and we have never experienced issues with water getting into the vehicle, so you definitely have grounds for complaint. If you haven't done a check on the vehicle before buying do it now, it only costs a few quid and should tell you if it's been in an accident? You could always get a comprehensive AA inspection carried out and get a report as evidence?

If the dealer has offered to have the vehicle back to go through the list of problems that sounds fair enough to me although I can fully understand your frustration at the inconvenience, buying a used vehicle in my experience is not like buying a new vehicle, sometimes you have to accept that not everything is perfect. Some of the vehicles we have seen at recent motorhome shows make me cringe, as I've spotted faults and damage so bad that I simply would not buy them.. but someone does!!

With regards getting your money back I'm not sure but I think this may prove difficult? If the dealer has offered to put things right wait and see the outcome, if you still are not happy you will have to prove the vehicle is not fit by having it inspected (as above) I'd say? Sorry I cant help further but some of the other members may be able to offer better info on your rights as a buyer hopefully and give you some better advice than I can

Whatever the outcome I wish you well and hope you get everything sorted amicably & to your satisfaction, and I really hope your experience hasn't put you off Auto-Sleepers as that would be a real shame

Hi sgiand - Welcome to the Forum

I must admit that when I read your list of snags, like CC, I thought this van had been in a shunt and hasn't been realigned correctly. On my 2002 Trident I've never had any water ingress through the doors or windows so I can't see it being an AS factory problem.

Hope you get sorted

Cheers
Stevo

Hi guys

Thanks for the comments. Revealing the depths of my ignorance here, but what's an HPI check and how do you go about getting one? Is it something specifically motorhome related, since in over 35 years of buying cars I've always just assumed that a reputable business wouldn't consider handling dodgy vehicles?

I know several of the points listed were minor, the point was just to illustrate what had been missed despite claims from the dealership about the level of preparation / checking they did before handover.

Any further comments would be most welcome. As I said, this is all very new to me and I'm finding the experience less than enjoyable.

Hello sgiand

The following links may offer you some help and advice on vehicle checks


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Regards

Admin.

Hi
go back to the dealer re the leaking windows. I bought a brand new t5 trident in 2004 the sliding windows leaked like sieves. we sent it back to the factory had the windows checked new rubber seals, still leaked -windows were changed for new ones, still leaked got v annoyed and asked for a refund on the vehicle was issued another brand new 2005 vehicle -can you believe it sliding windows also leaked like a sieve back to vw again windows changed told now had redesigned the windows and prev fault rectified -still leaked! returned the vehicle got most of our money back now driving an old k reg T4 dry as a bone- I gather from somone in service at our local vw dealership they now think the windows are ok (has taken till 2011 models before he felt happy to sat that)
Not just us that thinks the windows leak see what van link
sorry won't let me add a link as too young! if you search under what van website buying aused t5 transporter you will see what I mean

good luck hope you get it sorted