FEBRUARY 2022

'Do not finish up with any regrets'

Caution needed when buying new RVs
 

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BUYERS of recreational vehicles beware ... that's the latest advice from the Caravan Council of Australia.

"You are making a major investment so make sure you do not finish up with any regrets," warns founder and general manager Colin Young (pictured left).

It was essential that potential buyers thoroughly did their homework to best ensure they make a sound and wise choice," he said.

"It is a real concern that a number of caravan manufacturers - and importers - have gone out of business in recent times and new manufacturers have entered the limited and highly-competitive market.

"Quite a few production personnel are new to the industry and some essential components have been very difficult to obtain.

"All potential-buyers need to be ultra-diligent when selecting a new caravan so as to have a high level of confidence in the future prospects of any particular company."

Mr Young urged people not to get talked into buying something that did not ideally suit their desired travel plans … or was outside of their budget.

He said manufacturers using self-certification of their caravans did not provide potential-buyers with anywhere near the same degree of assurance of compliance or quality as normal motor vehicles.

All cars were examined by officials and had to meet vehicle safety standards before being approved for marketing in Australia.

In addition, a sample motor vehicle was thoroughly inspected by government officers to ensure a complete match the compliance evidence provided.

The motor vehicle certification process was further enhanced by having government officials conduct strict 'Conformity of Production' inspections on a regular basis.

"Motor vehicle manufacturers are required to have a professional quality assurance program in place to best-ensure that all future production vehicles are fully-compliant and of high quality," Mr Young said.

"Clearly, the Federal Government has now realised that there is a disturbing number of major shortcomings in the caravan industry, as new more-stringent regulations are being introduced.

"The Motor Vehicle Standards Act has been replaced by the Road Vehicle Standards Act."

He suggested that the vital initial questions to ask a dealer or supplier were:

* Approximately, how many caravans does the manufacturer intend to produce each year ... is the number more than four?

* Are your 'vans manufactured under the MVSA or the RVSA?

Mr Young said that If the response was MVSA, the manufacturer should be asked whether it had applied for approval under the RVSA.

If approval has not been grants, then ask why.

He said a Vehicle Standards Bulletin had stipulated that the legal requirements for caravans (and camper-trailers) were being up-dated.

"But sadly again, this will not overcome all the non-compliance problems that have badly tarnished the industry and caused frustrating and costly problems for far too many 'vanners," he added.

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