Look what my £28,500 + vat got me!

MY DANGEROUSLY FAULTY DUTTON COMMANDER.

The existing canopy is dangerously restrictive when trying to exit the vehicle. It was demonstrated in court that this could result in entrapment of passengers in the vehicle, putting passengers at serious risk, especially children of a very young age who would be unable to force open the studs particularly if the vehicle was taking on water

Couldn't get petrol in it at the filling station because the nozzle didn’t fit into the aperture, had to get a friend to hold a funnel while I ever so carefully poured fuel in from a Gerry can.  Same thing happended when the lakes Wardens had to test it on the water during the court case. 

During water tests conducted during the court case the vehicle took on 16 to 18 gallons of water with the automatic bilge pumps switched on!

It has been demonstrated during a Vehicle Operator Service Agency re-inspection of the vehicle that Tim Dutton during the building of this vehicle exceeded the safe braking capacity for the vehicle because of the number of seats he placed in the vehicle AFTER the initial Single Vehicle Approval test.

The existing bench seats supplied with the vehicle were second hand, dirty, and badly positioned on to poorly fitted marine ply. Especially the back bench seats which any body of average height or above would find difficult to sit in due to the lack of leg room. We also strongly feel that the seats would present a serious safety issue to passengers particularly because they are not anchored properly. They also have sharp and dangerous, exposed metal edges on the back of the seats where we feel injury to passengers would result. During tests the seats collapsed with the vehicle stationary leaving those inside the vehicle trapped. There is no doubt that this would lead to serious injury to any passengers if the vehicle was in transit

On delivery all internal fixtures and fittings appeared damaged or scratched including internal and external paintwork.

Passenger Door lets in water. The door is ill fitting, loose and scrapes the foot well when opening or closing, because of this the paint has been damaged on the foot well. If you look up from the inside of the door panel there is an almost circular gap between the door handle and panel . At one point on entering the vehicle I found the door well full of water covering the electrical central locking mechanism located in it. The wires to these mechanisms are exposed and feel they should be protected and covered . The gap in question is larger than that on the drivers door. Seals around both doors are generally poorly fitted and there are numerous gaps around them.

On a test drive yesterday (14^th December 2005) the horn began to sound continually and was advised by George (of amphibious cars limited) to disable it from the under bonnet spade attachments which I did. You can observe that the original steering wheel has been Modified to include a Dutton Centre console which we feel has been done badly in this case and therefore feel maybe responsible for the Horn malfunction.

The cab and passenger area became incredibly hot when driving the vehicle to Carlisle for Re-Inspection by the V.O.S.A officers (A trip of only 1 hour) The cab area was so hot by the time I arrived in Carlisle one of the Officers commented that he could smell the glass fibre burning. The fans were on full cold setting but this made no difference to the temperature inside the cab. This would make tours unbearable for myself and passengers.

Condensation build up inside the poorly fitted Perspex plate covering the rear number plate would have legal implications as when it does build up it is difficult to read the number plate?

The Exhaust pipe has inadequate heat resistant lagging within the engine compartment. This lagging appears to have been removed since the original S.V.A test by the manufacturer Tim Dutton as confirmed by photographic evidence presented during the Crown court prosecution. Evidence was presented by marine and mechanical engineering experts that this would expose components within the engine (brake fluid etc) to dangerous levels of heat.

On the axle the swivel joint is not sealed properly against water and on the Re-Inspection an officer pointed out what appeared to be traces of water seeping from the joints. It was also pointed out during an inspection that this could cause corrosion within the joints?

When I ordered the vehicle I was told by Tim Dutton that because a lot of the internal parts where Stainless steel there would be very little corrosion. This was a big selling point for me and influenced my decision to purchase the vehicle. However as pointed out to me by a highly qualified marine surveyor it appears that because in several areas Stainless steel was built in contact with Mild steel there was indeed an issue of corrosion. Shortly after delivery it was pointed out to me by marine engineers, there were early signs of corrosion, and I hadn’t even taken the vehicle on the water.

The Spare wheel of considerable weight and size was left loose and un-anchored in passenger compartment, I was informed by Tim Dutton in writing that the wheel was meant to be loose, but surely this presents a serious safety issue to passengers on steep terrain or when braking.

The door tops (window sections) are unsafe because of exposed edges and had they been fitted during the initial S.V.A test this would have lead to the vehicle failing the test. The vehicle was submitted by Dutton for the test without the windows fitted ! Why?

It appears that Dutton added seconhand seats AFTER the original S.V.A tests and that the seats added after S.V.A have not got the correct seatbelt s spreader plates as those recommended by V.O.S.A. Dutton instead of these spreader plates had fitted penny washers. Also two seat belts had been attached to one penny washer, again not included at the time of the original test. Given the fact that he had already exceeded the safe braking capacity for the vehicle, with the number of seats he added, you can understand the potential for a serious accident.

Under the bonnet and when open, glass fibre flakes fell off on certain areas of the bonnet. The component that props up the bonnet also fell off.

A lot of stickoflex has been used to waterproof components. I have had it pointed out to me by a Marine engineer that this material can lead to rapid rotting of the wires within, and can make maintenance or repair work very difficult.

The Suzuki dealership initially recommended by Robert (Bob) Rowlands an employee of the then “Amphibious cars limited” refused to carry out regular maintenance agreements on it because they expressed graves concerns about its build quality and safety of the vehicle. Tim Dutton then sought, in writing to my solicitor to discredit the same dealership they had recommended.

The Dash board on delivery was badly scratched, scuffed and had Paint on as well as Loose and ill fitting grey matting on the floor. There were many more cosmetic problems apparent.