# Water ingress autocruise '07



## Chrissie7 (Aug 22, 2014)

Hi, I need some advice really urgently, please!!
Bought Autocruise Stardream '07 just under 3 years ago - Brownhills,Newark.
Thought I was saving money by not having habitation services done untilnow, so missed 2 years'.
Now found 99% saturated in 3 areas of floor owing to locker doors/windowleaks, etc.
Brownhills say repair will cost £10,000excluding parts!!
They charge £84 per hour.
Any thoughts on any of this please?
Reasonable labour charge?
Can this much damp damage occur within the 3 years since I bought it ormight it have been damp at sale?
I have been told that this model and year are known to have this faultand that, in later models, guttering was put round the locker doors to drainthe water away.
The habitation service book was blank when I bought the van fromBrownhills. But might it have been already damp?

Absol devastated.No money. Help, please..............thanks. :crying:


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## coppo (May 27, 2009)

Oh dear feel for you.

The answer is yes, that much damp can appear in 3 years, try to take it some where else for a report and cost.

You need to get it sorted or it will just get worse.

How much is the van worth? £10,000.00 worth of repairs will probably be 2 thirds of what the van is worth, a lot of money.

if it was a known fault from the year of build could you contact the manufacturer for advise?


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## jiwawa (Jun 22, 2007)

Is it possible you might be better off trading it in for something else? It won't cost Brownhills 10k to fix it if that's what they would charge you. 

Just a thought. What a dreadful position to be in.


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## Gretchibald (Jul 22, 2011)

Really sympathise with you and can't help except to say that there are good people on this side of the pond who would do that repair a lot cheaper but still expensive, but then again would you really be happy knowing the repair was there . As jiwawa said , and since you are short on money, a sale or trade in to a repairing dealer sounds like an option worth serious consideration.


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## coppo (May 27, 2009)

If he/they have no money then is a trade in possible? The dealer taking the trade in will do a damp check immediately and offer nothing for the px value.


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## Gretchibald (Jul 22, 2011)

If there's a deal to be done , a dealer will by name do it eg clean swap for an older van that hasn't moved off the forecourt for a long time or a cheap cash offer for the Autocruise , eliminates 'free' time from the workshop, either way poor Chrissie 7 is gonna lose out quite badly.

As previously mentioned there are people who would do a 'repair' on this , good enough but not to factory standards -but even this would be a few thousand.


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## cabby (May 14, 2005)

When you bought the vehicle were you given a habitation check print out that included a damp check result.that was dated within one month of sale.


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## powerplus (Oct 6, 2014)

hi

sorry to hear your problems

firstly i would get it parked some were out of the weather and remove all you can to expose the damp so that i can dry out a bit

there are quite a few places around that will repair the damp floors and some are sensible on there pricing were some quote so high as they dont want the job so ask around

i think there have been some favorable reports from people on this forum that also had damp problems repaired

are you handy at diy or possibly know someone that could look at it for you there are some items on you tube that show how people have tackled this by there selves 

but get it in some were dry asap as this is the first thing that repairers would do

1 thought does the floor have a plastic sheet underneath as some vans did to keep the water out from road spray but it also stopped any damp from above drying out if so remove it in the problem areas

barry


barry


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## drcotts (Feb 23, 2006)

If money is a problem then you will probably have to try and keep the van. I think you need to consider a repair that will alow you to keep using the van for a few more years rather than trying to get rid of it.

If it were me i would try and find out where the leak is occurring and then fix that. Go overkill if you can but find the cause of the leak and do your best to fix it.
Then dry the van out by running a de-humidifier in the van for a week or two. This will draw the damp out of the wood and most other places. Keep it running till the tank stops filling up.

You may then be ok for a few more years. I did this with a van of mine a few years ago and i had 10 more years out of it and still px'd it. They dont take that much notice of damp in older vans as they people who will end up buying them are probably on a limited budget and not too fussy especially if its their first van. I got 4000 for my van in PX but they had it on sale for 2.500 but this was early 2000

I think if you try and get rid you will end up losing more than the van is worth to you to keep.
As i say if you can find the leak and fix it it may be salvageable especially if the damp isn't showing through yet

Thats what i would do anyway in your limited financial situation. I know damp is like garlic to a vampire but it not necessarily the end of the world. But it depends on what damage has been done.

I personally wouldn't take brownhills word for anything. They feed on people like you who are at a disadvantage. 

I hope this helps a little


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## Chrissie7 (Aug 22, 2014)

Hi, thank you everybody for sympathy and advice!
Have taken it to another CAMC-approved dealership, Brayford Leisure, Lincoln - assessed it with me present, went round it talking to me and explaining things - and, the next day, sent me an estimate for £1830.00!!
Formally complained to Brownhills of Newark. Ongoing, along with another complaint because the dual mass flywheel and clutch had to be replaced last month - less than 3 years after I bought it. £1800.
Have researched reasons for this and cannot come up with one that fits - except - faulty part.......
Trying to claim on warranty.
Brownhills said van is only worth £19,000 now, but then, they were pushing me to buy a newer model.
One dealership has said the manufacturers won't do anythingabout it but I am investigating this.
At point of sale, I did not notice habitation service book was blank but an obvious leak around toilet was clearly visible because it was all blue!
I was told this had been repaired.
Being new to all this was not made aware of the importance of damp!!
I received no habitation/damp check report at point of sale.
Will investigate the plastic sheet.
CAMC also been very helpful in Technical dept. Have advised me to seek advice from their Legal dept. Ongoing.
Any other thoughts welcome.
Thank you again everybody.


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## talogon (Aug 12, 2009)

Hi Chrissie7
I have just read this thread and was about to tell you that there are reputable repairers out there. It seems you have found one, I had damp twice in our previous van and had it repaired the first time at AMC in East Sussex (Excellent service) and then traded in the second time at Dolphin Motorhomes Southampton (Excellent service) They gave me a very good trade in minus the repair costs.
I hope it all works out for you.
Brian


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