We have a 3 year old Baily Orion, which came with a 10 year warranty. I have to have the van serviced with a Bailey dealer to maintain the warranty, which I need to do in the next month if I’m to maintain the warranty.

I have not warmed to Bailey as a company. When I approached them with issues I had with the van (from new) and the supplying dealer they were pretty unhelpful. Getting rectification work done under warranty was a massive PITA (2 visits to supplying dealer (i.e. 4 journeys) and then another visit to a different dealer (so another 2 journeys) to fix a water pump problem I could have fixed myself for less money than the cost of the trips to the dealer(s)

The last service was c.250 quid. They didn’t fix any of the issues (trim falling off, door above oven warped) despite saying they would sort them when I checked the van in.

Looking at what they did as part of the service, it wasn’t a ‘service’, it was a checklist. They did very little actual servicing. I asked them to change the friction pads (at my cost), they forgot to do it.

It’s also a pain being without the van for two autumn weekends while it’s ‘serviced’. I estimate to maintain the van with a Bailey dealer for 10 years will cost me about 3500quid (including diesel)

I’m really thinking of getting the van serviced by a mobile caravan repairer once every two years, I’ll change the battery and tires myself when they need it.

Is it a sensible thing to walk away from the warranty? If there is a problem with the van, I guess it could cost a lot to fix, but if I’m saving 2.5k, that would pay for a lot of repairs, plus not have the frustration of having the work done at their leisure. I also think there is a good chance they will weasel out of paying for any claim.

Any thoughts? I’m new to caravanning and I’m not sure I’ve covered all angles, but at the moment I’m thinking dealer servicing makes no sense.

Sounds like you’ve done the maths. Have you worked out what the potentially priciest warrantiable failure would be?

Is the warranty transferable? If so, and your planning on selling in coming years will that have an effect on the re-sale value?

Sounds to me like you need to walk away from the caravan and trade it in for a different make.

I dunno how much a repair could cost…less than £1,500? Chances of a problem? Again, dunno, it looks like it’s been built by primary school kids, but it’s not leaked yet.

I think you can transfer the warranty, but we are planning to keep it for 10 years, so I don’t think it’s an issue.

Bailey are a nightmare, my dad and brother both own a 2008 model each and both have had the same problem of the front and rear panels cracking, a well known fault with those vans, I don’t know how they wriggled out of a recall but they did. Anyway my brother managed to get it fixed on warranty but because my dad didn’t keep up the servicing bailey didn’t want to know.
Google for known problems with the bodyshell on your Orion, that’s the expensive bit that’ll go if anything which will help with your decision.

Set fire to it and make it look like an accident

Surely isn’t this a bit like car warranties?

They can’t force you to use Ford to service your fiesta as long as you can show you have used ford parts and followed the schedule.
For a checklist service, surely they can’t even stipulate the parts you use???

I’d expect that if they’re offering an extended warranty beyond SoGA, they can stipulate what the hell they want.

Google for known problems with the bodyshell on your Orion, that’s the expensive bit that’ll go if anything which will help with your decision.

All the more reason to keep the warranty up.

I’d love a van with no wood in the construction but a lot of people are complaining. Although I notice that Swift and Elddis have re-thought their construction techniques in response to Bailey.

Precisely why we bought a Swift Challenger.
The Bailey’s we looked at, even at 2yrs old, were already falling apart at the stems.
Sorry op, I know it doesn’t help you. 😐

Personally, I’d trade it in.
There’s a reason Bailey seem such good value.
£250 for a caravan service is bonkers.
There’s not much to service…!!!

If you do keep & ditch the main stealer, I’d find a good mobile service chap.
Damp is the killer.
Buy a damp meter & checking carefully should keep you on top of any issues. (Aldi have them in for £15.)
Awning rails & panel joins are where they go, & unless it’s a modern “alu-tech” style, the Baikeys we looked at were quite flimsy. If you spot any damp get the offending area sorted straight away. An awning rail removal & refit should cost no more than £300. It’s not like caravans are packed with hi-tech kit, & things like the cooker, fridge, heating etc, are mostly generic & well proven. Likewise the chassis, Aalko chassis are well proven.
In fact, I think I’ve just talked myself in to you keeping it.