[00:00:00] Keith Gooden: In this episode of the Motorhome Matt podcast.
[00:00:02] Matt Sims: I cut to the chase with the Group Director of Warranty Solutions Group. When we talk wet belts, damp repairs, and more.
[00:00:09] Keith Gooden: And we answer your questions about replacement motorhomes while yours is being repaired. if you need an EICR for Europe and finding out how many axles your motorhome has. Welcome to the Motorhome Matt podcast. I’m Keith Gooden.
[00:00:31] Matt Sims: And I’m Motorhome Matt.
[00:00:32] Keith Gooden: Industry insights and expert advice for the world of motorhomes, caravans and camper vans. And it’s brought to you by That Leisure Shop dot com and sponsored by Ripe.
[00:00:40] Matt Sims: Now remember, please follow on your favourite podcast app. Or if you’re watching on YouTube, click subscribe and the little bell.
[00:00:47] Keith Gooden: Okay, Matt, straight into it. You were recently asked about the Ford Transit wet belt, and your clip apparently has had hundreds of thousands of views, and you’ve also received lots of negative comments.
[00:00:58] Matt Sims: Yeah. The issue is the rubber wet belt in the engine. It’s in oil inside the engine, unlike a cam belt which is outside, and the oil means that the belt degrades and blocks the oil strainer, creating low oil pressure in the engine and then the potential for engine damage. And they can also snap. I think they’re a bit of a bizarre invention, but they’re cost effective. The engine is quieter and it means lower emissions. So you can understand why a manufacturer does it. Being serviced regularly is really important. With absolutely the right oil is critical, and replacing them ahead of time, I think is key. But what if you had one snap or create issues? Would you have any recourse with Ford? Well, if it’s under their warranty, maybe. But what about if it’s after a third party warranty, like one from Warranty Solutions Group? I asked Steph, the group director of Warranty Solutions Group, her view. I know warranty is a bit boring. I’m delighted to have these guys here. Could you just introduce yourselves?
[00:01:57] Steph Newbery: I’m Stephanie from Warranty Solutions Group. I’m one of the directors and co-founders.
[00:02:02] Tony McKillop: I am Tony, I am a leisure warranty consultant and a dealer support manager.
[00:02:07] Matt Sims: Tony, you’re the guy that’s looking after your dealer network, the customers, if you like. And Steph, you’re in charge of the whole thing. You guys have been busy investing heavily into the niche of the motorhome and campervan market. Steph just tell us what it is you’ve been doing by investing into it.
[00:02:23] Steph Newbery: WSG predominantly works within the automotive sector. That’s my background. I’ve been in automotive for 22 years, so we’ve only recently expanded into the leisure side. As of last year. We’ve formed a partnership with yourself. Matt. An awful lot has been happening within that time. We’re really starting to gain traction there. We saw a massive opportunity to provide customers with the premium product and service that’s lacking in the warranty industry, and that’s what we’ve done and we’re continuing to do so. Events like this are absolutely amazing. This is the first event that we’ve done where we’ve actually had our own stand. I know we’re with you at the NEC last year, but it’s been fantastic and the response has been overwhelming. So we’re really happy.
[00:03:03] Matt Sims: We’re recording this live at Van Love 2026. And it’s fair to say your effort into this event has been legendary. You’ve brought Storm, the American RV that you’ve gutted and turned into a simulator. We have. Hopefully you’ve had a go on it. If you’re in the audience here, it’s completely free. You need to brand it as free and give a clue on the outside. But go and set a time. You can race the Stig who you also commissioned to be here at the event on Friday, and I had the great privilege of. I was going to say, racing him. I didn’t race him. I was in a race with.
[00:03:35] Steph Newbery: Him.
[00:03:36] Matt Sims: At the go karting and it was brilliant. I don’t know if any of you were involved in that in the audience. And also Ruby Rides, who’s your brand ambassador to the motorcycle part? She was here as well. She was with an H2 Kawasaki, which is an amazing motorbike. It does 12 to the gallon. It’s incredible. All this investment today was the motorhome pull, which you were leading the charge on literally as a strong woman. I mean, it was mad. And so you really are putting in a big effort on you into the way your brand is perceived by us, the consumer.
[00:04:09] Steph Newbery: Exactly. Yeah. Obviously, we’ve got the partnership with yourself. We’ve put together truly market leading products. And in some cases, they’re actually better than the manufacturer’s original warranty on new vehicles. We’d like to be put to the test on this as well. So if there is something that you believe that we should be covering, as long as it makes sense, then we will add it into our product.
[00:04:28] Matt Sims: If it’s well, we’re going to talk about the product range and the product offering in a minute. But alongside everything else we’ve been talking about, you’ve also launched a magazine. We have. We’re on issue two. Yes. Tell us a bit about that.
[00:04:40] Steph Newbery: It started as a small idea, as a lot of these things do, and very quickly it expanded. It’s called the Great Motorhome Guide. This is a I think it’s a 28 page magazine. This one. We have got all sorts of content in there from things like the best woodland walks for summer. We’ve got motorhome maintenance tips. We’ve got a feature from Matt. We’ve got a great competition in there where you can win £1,000 travel voucher. It’s been really successful, and actually we’ve had a really good response from dealers as well who have been looking to advertise in it, which we hadn’t planned for, but it was a great curveball to have.
[00:05:16] Matt Sims: Well, that’s a good sign. And now your partner as well to the Caravan and Motorhome Club, aren’t you as the official warranty partner for them?
[00:05:22] Steph Newbery: Yes. So we’ve actually just launched as of a few weeks ago. We’ve just launched a market leading caravan warranty product with them. And that’s going really well too. So the response has been amazing.
[00:05:32] Matt Sims: So let’s talk about the warranty itself. As I say, I make no apology for the fact that warranty is boring. I mean do you have to have one? It’s kind of optional, isn’t it? When you buy a new motorhome or campervan, it comes with the manufacturer warranty. It’s not always what it’s cracked up to be, and I’m sure there are people that have had real problems trying to make a claim from the motorhome manufacturer provider and under their cover. Can I put a warranty Solutions Group product on a brand new motorhome from new. Alongside the manufacturer’s warranty. Mainly because your hourly rate is higher. Can I do that?
[00:06:09] Steph Newbery: Well, you could take it out to start from the end of the manufacturer warranty. At the moment we don’t have that in place. We could possibly consider that.
[00:06:16] Matt Sims: Right.
[00:06:16] Steph Newbery: You’ve just thrown a curve ball there have I?
[00:06:19] Matt Sims: I love doing that. That’s not the last. That’s not the.
[00:06:24] Steph Newbery: First.
[00:06:25] Matt Sims: So is it because of the issue of co-insurance. Is that why. Right. So this is an insurance product. Okay. That’s interesting for me because I thought I could take one while I’ve got a manufacturer warranty in play. So the Fiat extended warranty offer has stopped. Some of you may be familiar with the fact if you’ve got a Fiat chassis, you could within, I think the first week or two of ownership, extend the warranty from 2 or 3 years, depending on where it was built. If it’s European motorhome, it’s two years. If it’s a UK like an Auto-Trail, it’s three. But you could extend that up to five years and it would have a significant cost. But Fiat have withdrawn it. And I’m waiting for news of whether they’re going to reinstate it. But it’s the case, isn’t it, that I could put your product on it to cover the Fiat side, or the Citroen side, or the Ford Transit side from the point that warranty ends after two years?
[00:07:16] Steph Newbery: Absolutely.
[00:07:16] Matt Sims: So where do you differ then, as a warranty supplier to the other names that we might be familiar with in the market? How are you different?
[00:07:24] Steph Newbery: So as I said, I’ve been in the warranty industry, specifically automotive for 22 years. That’s been most of my career to be fair. And I love it. I live and breathe my job and hopefully that comes through. Five years ago, myself and my co-director, we decided to form a brand new company and do things completely differently. We were tired of the bureaucracy and the red tape and all of the inflexibility with other warranty providers, and we knew that we could do it so much better. And that’s exactly what we did. So five years on, we’re now the UK’s leading warranty company. We work with just under 3000 dealers across the UK. We support hundreds of thousands of motorists every year. We’ve just expanded into Europe. I mean, it’s it’s mad what’s happened. But that is testament to to what we’ve done here.
[00:08:09] Matt Sims: But that is all about though the consumer getting the best product possible isn’t it?
[00:08:13] Steph Newbery: Absolutely.
[00:08:14] Matt Sims: And I’m going to bring you in Tony, to talk about this. Now I must warn you, Tony comes with subtitles. Where’s your home city, Tony?
[00:08:20] Tony McKillop: My home town is Cushendall on the Antrim Coast. Now that’s where I live, not where I come from. Now, as.
[00:08:25] Matt Sims: Long as you speak slowly, we’ve got a chance of understanding this beautiful Irish accent that you’re blessed with. Tony, you cover 6000 parts on a motorhome. You counted them in the policy booklet.
[00:08:37] Tony McKillop: A long.
[00:08:38] Matt Sims: Week. Can I throw a few parts at you and tell me yes or no? I know for a fact that when you launch this product, motorhome taps were not covered. Now our motorhome tap failed. It has a microswitch in. It stopped working and I said, oh, so you wouldn’t cover my tap. But these fail all the time. So you introduced cover of the tap, didn’t you?
[00:08:56] Tony McKillop: That’s correct. Yes. Yes.
[00:08:57] Matt Sims: That’s correct. So we know taps are covered. What about motorhome fridge? They fail a lot. And they can be two and a half grand to replace.
[00:09:03] Tony McKillop: They do? Yes, we cover the motorhome fridges. We cover the ECU units that control the functions within them so we can look at all the parts of the fridge.
[00:09:11] Matt Sims: Yes, I am going to throw some at you that you’re not expecting. The control panel in the motorhome.
[00:09:15] Tony McKillop: Control panels are covered. Yes.
[00:09:17] Matt Sims: So we just paid out to replace one. It was £500 and the motorhome didn’t have a warranty. I chose to as the dealer that sold it. The warranty has expired and I said, well, I will pay toward that. They now have a warranty with you. Hopefully the control panel won’t go again. A big one, the wet belt. So this has been a contentious issue and is a big reason that people are scared of owning a Ford Transit because the wet belt degradation, the belt, this is the belt inside the engine like a cam belt, and it lives in oil. I think it’s a stupid design. It was done for cost and emissions, output and noise, all far more efficient. Engine failure as a result of wet belt degradation. Do you cover it?
[00:09:59] Tony McKillop: We will cover a wet belt as long as the servicing has been maintained with it. What Ford say. So you have to have the vehicle serviced to make sure there’s the right oil. And then the failure technically shouldn’t happen. But if it does, we will be there. We will be there to look after you.
[00:10:12] Matt Sims: It technically shouldn’t happen, but delivery drivers are having a nightmare with this. But you would cover the replacement belt, which is probably a notional cost. It’s the labour.
[00:10:21] Tony McKillop: It is the labour, but it all comes under the the claim. So if you have an issue, we will look at the full claim and then we will advise if we’re able to assess what we’re able to assist with.
[00:10:30] Matt Sims: And what about ensuing damage. So the engines failed because the oil filter has been blocked and therefore the engine has seized.
[00:10:37] Tony McKillop: So the filter doesn’t block the filter. It blocks the pump.
[00:10:39] Matt Sims: So it’s the pump.
[00:10:40] Tony McKillop: The pump. So it blocks the pump. So yes, we will look at the consequential damage that has happened to the vehicle. It’s claim by claim. We look at we look at every individual claim. It’s not a it’s not a computer. It is literally a claims engineer looks at each individual claim to make sure that we are fair to every customer.
[00:10:56] Matt Sims: So you would pay toward the cost of replacement engine. We will look. It’s important to say there’s a cap, isn’t it? On how much the claim you’ll pay out.
[00:11:03] Tony McKillop: So each claim has a £5,000 claim limit £5,000.
[00:11:07] Matt Sims: That’s nearly a transit engine.
[00:11:09] Tony McKillop: So if you imagine every trip to the dealer or to the garage, we will look at up to £5,000. So you could have multiple claims. We will run up to that point. And then overall we will pay up to the claim or the sorry, the current market value of the vehicle.
[00:11:22] Matt Sims: So over what term?
[00:11:23] Tony McKillop: The 12 months.
[00:11:25] Matt Sims: So you can have a multiple number of £5,000 claims up to the value of the vehicle. So my vehicle’s 50 grand, say I can have ten claims a year at five grand.
[00:11:36] Tony McKillop: You could.
[00:11:36] Matt Sims: Yep. And how much does a policy cost?
[00:11:39] Tony McKillop: Or it’s example your three and a half ton. Yeah. And it’s under seven years and under 70,000 miles from memory, £499. And the Motorhome Matt discount, you’ll get percentage off that.
[00:11:49] Matt Sims: We get 5% off that for the first year of cover. Yep.
[00:11:52] Tony McKillop: 10%, 10%.
[00:11:53] Matt Sims: It was five. We’ve upped it to ten. You just keep on giving. We need to stop Steph. You need to keep some back.
[00:11:59] Tony McKillop: So both of us keep throwing curveballs at the minute.
[00:12:03] Matt Sims: So I can make 50 grand’s worth of claims. And I’ve only paid out £500.
[00:12:08] Matt Sims: I mean, that’s peace of mind right there. Absolutely.
[00:12:10] Tony McKillop: Absolutely. We are here for the ‘oh no, this has happened’ moments.
[00:12:13] Matt Sims: How do you make any money?
[00:12:15] Steph Newbery: It’s based on volume, isn’t it? Of course, of course. You know, we work with nearly 3000 dealers. We’re selling.
[00:12:21] Matt Sims: So are you. Are you lumping the motorhome bit in with the car bit as well? Because the car bit’s massive for you, isn’t it?
[00:12:26] Steph Newbery: It’s treated completely separately. We’ve got a separate division and everything else, which obviously Tony is involved in. Not every motorhome is going to go wrong. We can’t say it will. No. Generally speaking, motorhomes are pretty reliable.
[00:12:38] Matt Sims: I guess the risk is when it goes wrong. It can get very expensive very.
[00:12:41] Steph Newbery: Quickly.
[00:12:41] Matt Sims: And a big one is damp, so water ingress. The enemy of motorhome water is getting in the body through the seals, and I’ve got damp in my motorhome. I know that you need to have an MOT up to date habitation checks done annually, and you’re monitoring mileage. Having seen the claims process. And you’re right, it’s not AI. It’s a lovely man called Dennis and his team. And I have an episode in the past, which we did with Dennis on how a claim is processed. And it’s interesting. And I thank you again for letting us behind the scenes. I don’t think that’s ever been publicised before, but damp is a massive issue. Do you cover damp?
[00:13:17] Steph Newbery: Absolutely.
[00:13:18] Matt Sims: So you cover water ingress. What about ensuing consequential damage from the damp?
[00:13:22] Steph Newbery: Yes, absolutely. So it’s up to £5,000.
[00:13:25] Matt Sims: We have a live example, don’t we?
[00:13:27] Steph Newbery: Absolutely.
[00:13:27] Matt Sims: Recently in the podcast, a gentleman called Jim bought your product because of my recommendation and was to quote him. He was disgusted that the window cracking on his motorhome was not going to be covered. And you had declined the claim because windows very typically are not covered by any warranty company, windows or glass. And so he got in touch with me and complained. I got in touch with you and said, look, he made a point that there’s lots of windows on a motorhome. They are prone to to crazing and becoming fractured. What did you do? What was your response?
[00:14:03] Steph Newbery: We agreed to add them into our product and updated the book the next day.
[00:14:07] Matt Sims: And paid Jim for his claim. Yes. So a complete U-turn on his claim. So he’s over the moon. So now windows are covered in a warranty solutions cover. Yes, but one of the things I love Steph and really seriously, not because you’re in front of me, but we’ve had a number of things like this where we’ve kind of evolved the product. Steph says, oh, it will go in the next edition of the book. It’s not next year. It literally is tomorrow. I mean, you’re just on it.
[00:14:32] Steph Newbery: We move quickly.
[00:14:33] Matt Sims: You do move really quickly. That’s very true. Some of the other things that Motorhome Matt are fearful of are the mechanical stuff, like a starter motor. There’s a motor home here. The starter motor has failed. It’s actually owned by a guy who runs Van Love. And he sold it and it’s got a failed starter motor. Do you cover that?
[00:14:50] Tony McKillop: Yes, we certainly cover that too. Yep. And the diagnosis of it in case it isn’t the starter motor.
[00:14:55] Matt Sims: Okay.
[00:14:56] Tony McKillop: So if it isn’t starter motor, what we do is the claims process is you take the vehicle to a repairer, your repairer of choice. As long as they’re VAT registered, they carry out the diagnosis before any repairs are done. They give us a call. We can then have a chat and then, you know as the customer exactly what we’re able to assist with.
[00:15:12] Matt Sims: And is there a limit on the diagnosis? Because that can be quite expensive.
[00:15:15] Tony McKillop: We usually look up to around an hour of diagnosis and then we will assess it after that. So the diagnosis has to be part of a valid claim.
[00:15:22] Matt Sims: Interesting. What about aircon units. Because they can fail as well. Air conditioning.
[00:15:26] Tony McKillop: Yes. As long as there’s no damage and we don’t pay for re gassing because that’s claimed as a service item.
[00:15:31] Matt Sims: That’s very much wear and tear isn’t it.
[00:15:33] Tony McKillop: And as long as the condenser, for example, hasn’t been hit during coming out of a field or something, because that’s classed as damage.
[00:15:39] Matt Sims: Now I used the phrase there, wear and tear. And I think the assumption is by many of us here listening to this and watching this, the way you wriggle out of a claim is wear and tear. Is that true?
[00:15:51] Tony McKillop: Any stated part that we cover is covered for wear and tear, failure from wear and tear, in the new product.
[00:15:56] Matt Sims: What is wear and tear? Tony.
[00:15:57] Tony McKillop: So wear and tear is a part that has failed prematurely. That shouldn’t have happened. So if you take a possibly a suspension component, we will look after that.
[00:16:07] Matt Sims: And on a motorhome, if it’s failed in the first, I don’t know, five years of its life, it’s done 15,000 miles. I would assume that suspension parts built to do 100,000 miles, isn’t it? So is that the context that you look at this?
[00:16:20] Tony McKillop: Yep. That’s the way we’ll be looking at it. Yes. And as long as it’s not a perishable item.
[00:16:23] Matt Sims: No. I seem to recall as well. I remember there was a gearbox that had failed on a motorhome. And this was exactly your approach, wasn’t it? You deemed that it had failed early and you covered it. You paid out.
[00:16:34] Tony McKillop: That’s correct.
[00:16:35] Matt Sims: Yes. And that was an expensive claim, wasn’t it?
[00:16:37] Tony McKillop: Yeah.
[00:16:37] Matt Sims: How much was that? I think that was the £12,000, wasn’t it?
[00:16:40] Steph Newbery: Yeah.
[00:16:41] Matt Sims: That’s amazing.
[00:16:42] Steph Newbery: That was our biggest motorhome claim to date.
[00:16:44] Matt Sims: Deep. Deep breath. Deep breath. So, do you know off the top of your head, the prices of the other products. So you mentioned the three and a half ton.
[00:16:52] Tony McKillop: So three and a half ton off top of my head is £499. If you’re up to seven and a half ton, it is £799, right. And then above that is £1,199. £1,199.
[00:17:02] Matt Sims: It’s a pretty big motorhome to be seven and a half tonnes. We’ve got a lot of overland vehicles here. [Unclear phrase: owners with real challenges in their underpant department, I think.] But do you cover product like that? I mean, when they go wrong, that’s very expensive.
[00:17:16] Tony McKillop: That is expensive. If it’s over the seven and a half ton, yes, we will look at it.
[00:17:20] Matt Sims: That’s amazing.
[00:17:21] Steph Newbery: So obviously we were talking earlier because these vehicles are incredibly expensive and they probably have a lot more than what a normal motorhome would have. Yeah. We are looking at developing a bespoke product just for these types of overland. Yeah.
[00:17:34] Matt Sims: Because some of them are £300,000, £400,000.
[00:17:36] Steph Newbery: Yes. So this would have higher claim limits, higher labour rates all of that to to service that vehicle.
[00:17:42] Matt Sims: So can you just talk about labour rates Steph I talked mentioned earlier about main dealer rates being greater than a manufacturer’s warranty will usually pay out. There are some exceptions. Carthago are very good at looking at the dealer rate and paying it. But what what do you offer? I know you offer a main dealer rate. Can you explain that?
[00:17:58] Steph Newbery: Yes. So as standard, we pay up to £75 plus VAT per hour. The option of main dealer rates is there too. So I think it’s an extra £130 off the top of my head.
[00:18:08] Matt Sims: On top of the annual.
[00:18:09] Steph Newbery: Premium on top. Yes. But that means that you can take it to any main dealer or specialist, and we will pay whatever that rate is. So if it’s £200 an hour, you pay it, we pay it.
[00:18:17] Matt Sims: And I get that for £130 a.
[00:18:19] Steph Newbery: Year if it’s 130.
[00:18:21] Matt Sims: Well that’s a no brainer. Is there any other bolt ons that I could buy?
[00:18:24] Steph Newbery: No, because the product is so advanced, there is nothing else. It’s it’s just. And I’m not just saying that it really has been built from the ground up with your input. Yes. And we keep adding, we keep finding new things to add.
[00:18:35] Matt Sims: Well, last week, the windows.
[00:18:37] Steph Newbery: Yeah.
[00:18:38] Matt Sims: I mean, the fact you’re now covering those is remarkable because they fail a lot under warranty. And as they get older they can crack as well. Another big issue that we face as consumers, and you may not have an easy answer to this, but is getting hold of parts. And often I think it’s the dealer is sat on the, you know, on their laurels trying to process it. Are you going to suffer the same issue if I need a replacement window? Are you at the mercy of that manufacturer?
[00:19:05] Tony McKillop: No, we’re not at the mercy of manufacturers. We have done deals with other car and van and lorry. Depending on what the chassis is based on, we can use. I just want to talk non-genuine parts, but there will be of a reasonable quality. So we will make sure that your vehicle will be on the road as quick as possible.
[00:19:21] Matt Sims: So you’re happy that a non-original part is fitted, but is up to the spec of the original? Yes, that’s correct. And get you back on the road more quickly.
[00:19:31] Tony McKillop: Well, especially with motorhomes are people’s choices for leisure.
[00:19:35] Matt Sims: It’s your leisure.
[00:19:35] Tony McKillop: Time. It’s your leisure time.
[00:19:36] Matt Sims: It’s my.
[00:19:37] Tony McKillop: Holiday. I had an example today where someone was off the road for nine weeks waiting for a part, and that because it came from a manufacturer. The seasons here are very short. If you’re in Ireland, they’re even shorter. Nine weeks being off the road. So that’s the summer gone in a third of the of the holiday season, let’s be honest.
[00:19:51] Steph Newbery: So this actually came up with us a few months ago. Do you remember with the the issue of motorhomes being stuck in the repairer? If the parts aren’t available. Yes. So what we have actually agreed to do, and again, this is another unique for any warranty company. We have agreed to pause the warranty whilst the motorhome is undergoing repairs for it to be restarted once. Once the part.
[00:20:10] Matt Sims: Well, I regularly got asked this because during the pandemic people said, well my. My motorhome is off the road and the warranty is ticking and running out. And then other people said, well, yeah, mine’s been in the repair shop for three months waiting parts. But you will extend the end term, won’t you? The end date. You need the confirmation from the dealer. Yes, but I think that’s remarkable because let’s face it, even when the motorhome is parked up, there are bits still subject to wear paint, for example, and windows because they’re in the sun, but you’re prepared to still cover them for the period it was off the road. Yes, That is incredible. I think these guys need a really big round of applause. Can we say a massive thank you to Steph and Tony from Warranty Solutions Group for joining me here. Thank you guys. It’s a fantastic product. It really is. I love innovation, I’m well known for craving it, and I really have found it with you guys. And I want to say a massive thank you as well for putting all the effort that you’ve done for this weekend. The motorhome pull today was hilarious. It was amazing and brilliant to watch the fact you did it with a cigarette in your hand.
[00:21:15] Steph Newbery: That was your fault.
[00:21:17] Matt Sims: It really amused me. and we were doing it for charity for the children’s memorial garden. We have smashed the target which we’re over the moon with, aren’t we?
[00:21:25] Steph Newbery: So thank you everybody that’s Steph
[00:21:27] Keith Gooden: Newbery, Group Director at Warranty Solutions Group. Wow, these guys seem too good to be true, to be honest with you. They seem to cover everything.
[00:21:36] Matt Sims: It is true. They are great. They are really trailblazing.
[00:21:41] Keith Gooden: Blazing.
[00:21:42] Matt Sims: Trailblazing.
[00:21:42] Keith Gooden: Yeah.
[00:21:44] Matt Sims: They are pioneering innovation in this niche of the market. Warranty is something that gets kind of a really bad rep. You know, it’s not exciting to talk about, is it really? Let’s be honest.
[00:21:55] Keith Gooden: Well, when you’re buying a car and suddenly you know, we’ve got a warranty, you know.
[00:21:58] Matt Sims: Yeah. But I think the peace of mind it gives you is second to none. And the reality is, if something goes wrong on your motorhome or campervan, it can be really expensive. And you know, a wet belt is not cheap if that snaps or causes an issue. The on costs are massive. So yeah, warranty solutions group, in fact they cover I think it’s fantastic. Their policy is amazing. It’s the best I’ve seen out there by far. And I’ve read all the policy books of all the offerings, and they are brilliant and they’re fairly new to our market. And it was great to have a chat with Steph at Van Love. Thanks for doing that, Steph. And even there, they’ve made a real difference. You know, they were sponsoring the event and they brought the Stig along. The Stig and I are both brand ambassadors, as is Ruby Rides. They invited them along and we did the go kart championship. It was brilliant, fun. Really good. And then Steph herself is a world strong woman, as is her husband. And they were dragging them up and down the race track, all for charity. So they’re not just a warranty provider. They really are engaging with us as a community. They’re making a massive difference, and their customers are having a really good experience and they’re innovating. And I’m a big fan of that. So if you’re interested in buying an aftermarket warranty, you can find out more about all of the warranties that Warranty Solutions Group offer. Just head to mhmp.info/wsg and get 10% off with the code MATT10, that’s MATT10 or Motorhome Matt both work. Use that and get 10% off a big saving.
[00:23:36] Keith Gooden: It’s the Motorhome Matt podcast with me, Keith Gooden.
[00:23:39] Matt Sims: And me Motorhome Matt.
[00:23:40] Keith Gooden: It’s brought to you with That Leisure Shop dot com and sponsored by Ripe.
[00:23:44] Matt Sims: Get 15% off your premium with Ripe. The discount applies automatically if you click the link in the episode description.
[00:23:52] Keith Gooden: It’s the Q and A. The questions and answers you asked the questions Motorhome Matt he will give you the answer if he doesn’t know the answer, he’ll ask somebody who does. And we welcome back to the podcast, somebody who is questioning us a lot.
[00:24:07] Matt Sims: A regular.
[00:24:07] Keith Gooden: Basis. It’s Colin Coulthard in Harrow, Harrow, Harrow. Colin.
[00:24:11] Colin Coulthard: Have a question about warranty issues? Our motorhome suddenly lost power driving up to the NEC. It was recovered to the Ford dealer who identified a problem with one of the modules. They’ve replaced that, but now say there’s a problem programming the system and they can’t solve it. And they’ve asked Ford Technical for assistance. It’s been over a week now and Ford haven’t got back to them, although they say they’re chasing them. They’ve got no idea when the matter will be resolved. Meanwhile, we don’t have the motorhome for use. Is there any claim we can make, or can we hire a replacement vehicle while it’s with them? Appreciate your comments on this. Thanks a lot.
[00:25:00] Keith Gooden: Cheers, Colin. Well, yeah. What’s your answer?
[00:25:02] Matt Sims: Always good to hear from you, Colin. And it was great to see you at the show last weekend. I very much doubt you would get the cost of a replacement vehicle covered by a warranty provider or even your insurer in this circumstance. This type of problem feels acute as we lose not just a vehicle, but our leisure time in it, and it’s really frustrating. Even the Ford dealer probably wouldn’t have a solution for you, as they generally don’t stock motorhomes that are available, you know, to to lend out on a hire basis. You could of course go and hire one, but the cost is going to be yours. I’m afraid you’re probably going to have to suck that up and even the supply and dealer. So whoever you bought it from, I doubt they’ve got the ability or even a willingness to help you here. But again, this is where you see an aftermarket warranty is probably got the edge because if you were having a warranty from WSG running alongside of this, I guarantee you they’d be working quicker than it seems. Ford are. And that may be a reason for buying an aftermarket. The fact you don’t have to take it to the Ford dealer, you could take it to a local auto electrician or specialist. That would probably be able to look into this more quickly than Ford are able to. I don’t know, but that may be a solution for you. But yeah, I’m afraid hiring one. No, probably not an option. Or you can do is become an awkward customer and turn up and, you know, keep knocking on their door and be a pain and encourage and motivate them to try and get this to the top of their list.
[00:26:26] Keith Gooden: Paul Healy is in Waltham Cross, apparently an annual EICR, the Electrical installation condition report and a PIR periodic inspection report are required to drive motorhomes in Europe. Are these part of a habitation check or separate tests? Can your vehicle be impounded by the police if you don’t have annual certificates proving the electrics and gas have been checked?
[00:26:52] Matt Sims: I was not aware that it’s a legal requirement to have this done to be able to use a motorhome abroad? I’m not aware of that. It may be, and I know this is the case in Germany and apparently Switzerland, that you have to have a recent gas safety check, a gas certificate to use a campsite. And German folks are being asked for this. This is, though, officially only applying to people in Germany. And I’m told by Kat of Wandering Bird fame in Switzerland. She’s had some followers of hers said that they were asked in Switzerland. Rules seem to not apply to us Brits, but at the end of the day, if a campsite is asking you and you’re British for your gas certificate or an EICR, then you know you can’t stay there. If you haven’t got it. You’re going somewhere else, aren’t you? It’s down to the campsite and it’s up to them. The test itself is normally a bolt on to a habitation check, and I think the NCC want it done every three years. But many workshops doing habitation checks don’t offer an EICR. I’ve spoken to some that didn’t even know what it was. So it is an NICEIC-issued test. Our friends at Bristol Caravans do offer this. There is a charge for it. There will be approved workshop schemes that are aware of it that will do it for you. You can find out more about this specifically in a previous episode. It was a few years ago now and it was called What a Great Habitation check Looks Like. And I was joined by Oakley from Bristol Caravans, and we went through a habitation check and the EICR so you can find out more there.
[00:28:26] Keith Gooden: And NCC stands for.
[00:28:27] Matt Sims: National Caravan Council.
[00:28:29] Keith Gooden: Sue Noel is in Kidderminster. I wonder if you can help. We have a Swift Kon-Tiki 649 which is a tag axle. Our V5 stated two axle rigid vehicle. I assumed it should be a three axle rigid vehicle so sent off the V5 to be rectified. However it’s been returned stating two axle rigid vehicle. I’m wondering if this will be a problem when travelling in Europe with the whole DarsGo and GO-Box. Have I got that right?
[00:28:58] Matt Sims: Got that.
[00:28:58] Keith Gooden: Right. Yeah. I know your paperwork has to be in order and match your vehicle. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Ps she says Sue says I spoke with DVLA and was told if there are two wheels, one on each side under the cab, then it’s a two axle, but I’m not convinced.
[00:29:15] Matt Sims: A that is a strange answer from the DVLA. It was great that you managed to speak to them. Two axle under the cab or over the cab. That’s one axle across the front. So this is peculiar. So yeah, you have a six wheeled motorhome. The back wheels are often deemed a non-driven axle or a lazy axle because they they don’t drive the vehicle. And in fact, none of the back wheels drive the vehicle so that additional wheels are bolted on by aftermarket converters. AL-KO. So they’re not part of the original vehicle because the chassis is extended by AL-KO. But I would say I wouldn’t panic about this. I would be checking. The main issue is your registration the VIN number and that the weight are all correct more than the number of axles.
[00:30:00] Keith Gooden: Thanks very much, Sue. Much appreciated. How do people get in touch then?
[00:30:04] Matt Sims: Please do head to mhmp.info forward slash Ask Matt. You can fill out the form. We’ll read the question or hit the orange button and record it. And remember, tell us where you are.
[00:30:14] Keith Gooden: You can join our new Facebook group. It’s called chat with Motorhome Matt and you’ll find it at mhmp.info/chat.
[00:30:22] Matt Sims: And if you’re looking for trusted brands and services, then make sure you visit the Motorhome Matt Approved directory, which you can find at mhmp.info/approved.
[00:30:32] Keith Gooden: And remember to follow on your favourite podcast app and also subscribe. It makes a difference. Thanks for listening to the Motorhome Matt podcast. Remember to check back here for more episodes full of hints and tips and helpful advice. We’ll see you soon for another Motorhome Matt podcast brought to you with That Leisure Shop dot com.
