No help from local dealer

[kwf1958]

Email exchange with my local dealer/authorized repair facility. Is this what I can expect? I'm not happy, would oh be?

Hello Kenneth,

Due to our large customer base, McGeorge RV only works on our clients RVs. Please contact your home dealer in Michigan or Forrest River for further assistance. Or if your interested in becoming a McGeorge customer, I would be happy to help you find a replacement from our vast inventory.

Best wishes,

MARK Tazelaar
McGeorge RV





Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone


-------- Original message --------
From: kwf1958@*********.com
Date: 9/20/16 3:26 PM (GMT-05:00)
To: Mark Tazelaar <Mark.Tazelaar@mcg.profollowup.com>
Subject: Re: Follow-up message from Mark Tazelaar, McGeorge's Rolling Hills RV

Mark,
I have a forest river A212HW that has a lift motor that does not lift the lid anymore. I bought this in December while I was in Michigan. We now live in Richmond and I need some warranty work done.

Sent from my iPhone

On Sep 20, 2016, at 10:59 AM, Mark Tazelaar <Mark.Tazelaar@mcg.profollowup.com> wrote:



Hello Kenneth:

Thanks again for your interest in our RV.

What specific questions do you have for me? I am here to assist you in any way you need.

Think of me as your Professional RV Outfitter. My job is to make sure you have everything you need to fit your requirements. We want to get you out enjoying your own RV adventures and do it UNDER your budget!

Generally folks contacting us are in one of the following three stages of searching for an RV:

1. Ready to Purchase. These folks have already done a ton of research and have identified the right RV they want to own. If you are at that point we'll just confirm your research and help you get the one you want and get you out there RV camping!

2. Looking to Learn. These folks are looking to get a really high quality education on RVs and RVing in order to be professionally outfitted for RVing adventures and make the right decision for their situation. At which point we'll make sure to go through all the questions that would be important to you like towing, how you'll be storing, and how many people you'll be sleeping so we can help you select something that is really going to fit your needs.

3. Deciding Where to Buy. These folks just want to find a person/product/company that they like enough to come in and do business with, at which point we'll make sure to sit down and show you the brands we carry, what our company does to take care of our customers long term, and then demonstrate our level of professionalism by explaining things that you probably wouldn't even know to ask for.

Please let me know what stage best describes your current status and how I can best serve you.

I am here to make your RV search process productive and enjoyable. How would you like to proceed?

Best regards,

Mark Tazelaar
Sales
McGeorge's Rolling Hills RV
(800) 462-2856 ext. 218 Work
(804) 307-7100 Cell
mtazelaar@mcgeorgerv.com



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[wahoonc]

From McGeorges... yes.

Welcome to the world of RV warranty work. If you can prove to them that you now live in Richmond, VA you might get somewhere with it, or maybe not. Good Luck!

Aaron

[CaptnJohn]

As he was such great help I'm sure OP will have him at the top of the list when ready to upgrade. Yeah~~ Right!

[northstar1960]

learn to do things yourself . if your under warranty you should be able to get thepart sent to you from the dealer you got it from and or forest river that is if they are as good as some think

[SeaDog]

Its to bad but this is how the RV industry works, I'm going to have to put 400 miles round trip to get the things fixed that broke on my last trip (all warranty work) but that how it is, Boise dealer will not work on units not purchased thru him.

[CaptnJohn]

Originally Posted by SeaDog

Its to bad but this is how the RV industry works, I'm going to have to put 400 miles round trip to get the things fixed that broke on my last trip (all warranty work) but that how it is, Boise dealer will not work on units not purchased thru him.

You may have a mobile tech that FR will authorize the work. He may or may not have a shop and will probably come to you. Only the service call will not be covered and it will cost less than a 400 mile trip.

[DDC]

Call Forest River and put the onus on them to find someone to do their warranty work.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by kwf1958

Email exchange with my local dealer/authorized repair facility. Is this what I can expect? I'm not happy, would oh be?

There are literally thousands of posts here about this kind of dealer attitude. The same goes for other RV forums, no matter what brand.
You need to contact FR for other dealers or RV shops in your area.

We bought our HTT from a Chicago dealer 2000 miles away from home.
FR found us a number of local dealers that would do the warranty work.

[TT233S]

I would copy and paste this on his or the company Facebook page.............Chit I might did it for you.......I would not expect this from any dealer, Forest River should be contacted to see what they think........Sad

[youroo]

Originally Posted by CaptnJohn

You may have a mobile tech that FR will authorize the work. He may or may not have a shop and will probably come to you. Only the service call will not be covered and it will cost less than a 400 mile trip.

Locate a RV Dealer/Repair shop,ask them if they will work on Your unit,if Yes call F/R for a Authorization # for Repair! Now have your unit Fixed and YOU PAY the Bill,Now send the Bill to F/R for Reimbursment! They are RVs for TRAVEL Don't let the SORRY Stealers give you or anyone the RUNAROUND! Don't BUY or Walk in the Door of this kind of place! Youroo!!

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by TT233S

I would copy and paste this on his or the company Facebook page.............Chit I might did it for you.......I would not expect this from any dealer, Forest River should be contacted to see what they think........Sad

Forest River and most RV manufacturers have little to no control over dealers doing warranty work on units they didn't sell.
They can encourage them to but they can't make them

Visit any RV forum and you'll see that this is an industry - wide issue.

[Flybob]

Keep in mind that most of the components in an RV are covered under the manufacturers warranty. In many instances the manufacturer of the failed component will authorize a local RV repair facility to do the work. Search the component manufacturer's web site for more info.

[Tdbrn]

I agree with all the problems with this dealer attitude. After reading an email like the one you got I wouldn't want to buy anything from them, ever! As others have said though this is getting more and more common. We could get great prices at other places but we couldn't get it serviced in our own area. Still have to travel 2 hours to the dealer and when I've called to set up service, like the "Forever Warranty" annual inspection, one of the the first things I'm always asked is, "did you buy it here?" I've been there at the service department when they told a person on the phone if it wasn't purchased there, they'd "try" to fit them in.
The RV industry is supposed to be selling at record levels but after sales service is supposed to be the worst of almost any industry! The manufacturers are going to have to put pressure at some point in time or these problems will scare away people, and reading some of the various comments on similar stories it's already working.

[rlocicero]

When I was in the car business in the early 70s we did the same thing. There was a real dealer who undercut the city dealers by several hundred to $1000 and they would buy out there. They would bring their auto to the local dealer and expect to have worked on. We had to clamp down and tell them take it where you bought it because we have loyal customers who purchased from us that we need to take care of first. If you want you can leave your vehicle and will take care of yours after we've taken care of my own customers. We make money on selling and service when it comes the warranty service you make very little because you have a special situation talk to the dealer explain that you bought in Michigan but you moved to Virginia. I'm sure that he will make concessions if he knows that you are going to be a new well customer in the future. The other side of the coin is, we stopped at McGeorge to look at a trailer because we are planning to put a permanent unit down to North Carolina and Georgia closer than where we live I found that the salesman was a voucher and swooped down on us until he realized that I wasn't a normal sale and a little sudden he disappeared we went to find a salesman and we told him my situation and he disappeared. We finally left the dealer without buying a trailer. If there are any other Forest River dealers down there you may want to talk to them and see if they'll be able to assist you.

[rlocicero]

Rural, not real.

[Oaklevel]

Fairly common for the non selling dealer to refuse warranty work, have been told at several dealers, that they would be glad to work on anything but you pay the standard rate and parts. They would not file a warranty claim unless you bought from them.

[Flybob]

The RV market is at an all time high right now with the lower fuel prices and slightly improving economy. In a recent interview one manufacturer said they were cranking out a unit every 15 minutes. As a result dealers are busy and service depts are swamped. They can be very choosy about what work they take. A few years ago, the RV market was in the tank, Dealers would do anything to sell units or fill their service depts. This up cycle will turn and so will attitudes. When things change remember the dealers who treated you well.

[Terier]

Originally Posted by DDC

Call Forest River and put the onus on them to find someone to do their warranty work.

Originally Posted by bikendan

There are literally thousands of posts here about this kind of dealer attitude. The same goes for other RV forums, no matter what brand.
You need to contact FR for other dealers or RV shops in your area.

We bought our HTT from a Chicago dealer 2000 miles away from home.
FR found us a number of local dealers that would do the warranty work.

I would try calling Forest River to assist with this. Several members have commented that FR was able to find a dealership willing to do the work on an unit brought elsewhere.

And of course skip that dealership that send you the letter. They only want a sale and from the sounds of it their efforts will stop there.

[sgtlm17]

Find an RV repair shop they will be glad to have you as a customer

[Tom48]

Originally Posted by DDC

Call Forest River and put the onus on them to find someone to do their warranty work.

We are in Ontario California near the Eastern end of the Los Angeles suburban sprawl. Our dealer is fine, but about 100 mile round trip from our home. That's just far enough to not be convenient. We called the factory (24 Mile's away) and after only a little coaxing and assuring them that our dealer was fine, but too far to drive in work day traffic, they gave us the names of independent repair stations much closer to home. Got an appointment with one 16 miles from home for in six days and had two small (meaning no factory parts to wait for) warranty repairs were approved and done in a day and a half. Then I took them a fantastic fan and roof vent cover to install, at my expense and got it back the next day. I wish you all luck getting that level of support. Ask your factory warranty department. Talk nice and they can be very helpful.
Tom