As you'll recall from previous posts we were hoping that the bill would be partly covered by the AA's Parts & labour insurance - unfortunately not the case. Since our issue with the driveshaft we had the van reclassified from Van to Motorcaravan - guess what the AA don't cover...? Motorhomes and campervans!
Our friendly AA man had (quite rightly) written T5 Camper on his paperwork so there was no way of talking our way out of it. And it wouldn't be fair to drag the garage into wranglings with the AA if we fraudulently tried to claim it as a van - so hey-ho, suck up the (almost £900 with service and MOT) costs and move forwards!
So if you're reading this thinking 'I've always wanted a T5 Camper' remember; big vehicles can often mean big parts and big bills.
Roll on the lighter nights, warmer weather and Dubfreeze, there's another camping trip on the cards too, just before Valentine's weekend - plenty to look forward to. In the meantime, here's a couple of pics I found on the internet while looking at show photos from last year...
Blimey..£900. I feel your pain. Is that your van in those pics? I didn't think you had the bonnet hood and black trim around the side window?
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's our van - I hope so because that's Mrs. Stone174 sat in it!!!
DeleteThe bonnet bra is removable and only goes on for short periods when it's not wet. It helps stop the occasional stonechip.
Black trim? Windows sit flush into the recess in the panel - do you mean the little opening bit in the window?
Ouch - the alternator on our Transit camper failed in Germany a couple of years ago. We stayed mobile by charging the vehicle battery on hookup, but we had to get it fixed to be safe for travelling any distance.
ReplyDeleteWe ended up taking it to the Ford dealer in Meissen for replacement. Painful on the wallet but the best service I have ever had from a large garage - they let us sleep in their yard overnight while they waited for the part and left a toilet unlocked for us to use (although we have our own). In the morning, they came round, checked we were ok and offered us coffee.
In the end, I couldn't complain - plus it sounds like it was cheaper than a VW alternator!
Say what you like about the Germans but their hospitality is second-to-none!
DeleteI tried recharging the vehicle battery with the mains hookup but the over-voltage had already fried the battery.
The price does look a little excessive, but bear in mind that was also MOT and 80,000 mile service (with expensive long-life oil!), touch-wood that should be a few more years trouble-free camping.
Thanks for reading the blog,
Richard (Stone174)
Sorry to hear about your van costing you so much money! I have got to get mine serviced soon, gets expensive doesn't it!!
ReplyDeleteHope you get past all those winter blues! Take it easy...
Cheers Tom.
DeleteIt's not all bad - I didn't pay main-dealer hourly rates!