Warranty Repair, Why Such a Headache

[alparmer]

If you have read some of my posts you know that we had a bad experience with the dealer we purchase our coach from. There are only two dealers close to our home. One is the one we purchased it from, which his about 2 hours away. The other is 25 minutes away and refuses to do warranty work. Something to do with, "you didn't buy it from us".

I feel like warranty work is full of BS. What if we bought the coach in OH, but live in another state? I just don't get it. I would have thought that if they are a FR certified dealer, that they should honor any warranty work.

Really confused!

[ChrisMSNT]

I went through this when I bought ours... there was a thread somewhere on here. I bought ours in Iowa, live in WI, and couldn't get it serviced in IL. I ended up driving it all the way back to a dealer that FR has a good relationship with. Talk about a PITA! Someone referenced the FR literature about purchase / support locally.

[JLeising]

From an old post I made in the Sunseeker section (post #24 in this thread: http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...s-46685-3.html) :

I believe your experience with the dealer is pretty typical. I ended up getting pre-approval from FR to take to a local RV repair shop, and submit the bill to them.

My experience with the local (non-dealership) shop was completely different. They quickly addressed my problem - did the repairs within 3 days - and I haven't had any future problems with that issue. Similar experience with a tire valve issue - had fixed locally and reimbursed by FR.
These shops are both within 20 miles of where I store the RV. My dealer - closest FR Solera dealer to the Bay Area - is 70+ miles away.
I believe there is a BIG problem today with RV warranty work. The dealers need to start focusing on customer experience. They need to start being measured on and rewarded for same day repair turnaround, and on full repair solution in one visit - customer brings the RV in and gets it repaired while he/she waits. This can be accomplished by pre-ordering parts, scheduling tech time coincident with customer appointment time, and good factory training of techs. BELIEVE the customer - ask for pictures if uncertain of what the customer is saying - and PREPARE for the service call! With consolidation in the industry, dealers are fewer - and are often quite inconvenient to the customer. Minimize the impact on the customer!
Personally, I had zero benefit of buying from my local dealer vs a (cheaper) internet dealer. I believe, from this forum and from conversations with others at various RV parks, my experience is "typical". I understand there are some "good" dealers out there - but...
I will recommend to anyone who asks that they go the internet dealer route.
Note to FR - your dealership network is on borrrowed time. If you want it to continue to exist - establish appropriate customer service metrics for them, with rewards or penalties, measure those metrics, and enforce. Also, support them - with expedited parts, parts shipped ahead, etc.

I recommend you check on local, non-dealership affiliated RV repair shops in your area and, if under warranty, ask FR to pre-approve the work.

[Dijoeboss]

I live in Oklahoma, bought my XL from a Texas dealer, local oklahoma FR dealer told me straight up that the owner takes care of the customers that buy from them first! ( I understand that's usually how the industry works, but to be told that on the phone by the service advisor? I was blown away! ) Dave's RV in Claremore,Ok will never get a penny of my money for anything! I take my XL to another NON FR dealer and they have taken great care of my Rv needs! Warranty work and all!! This action by these dealers is a total dis service to the FR customers!

[SKnight]

Umm, being a Forest River authorized dealer they can't refuse warranty repair no matter where you bought the unit. I'm sure FR would like to know that one of their dealers isn't taking care of their customers.

I'd make them put it in writing that they're refusing repair, then I'd draft a very official letter to FR, namely warning them that you're going to run this by legal council for their opinion.

Bet that gets things moving.

[Terier]

Some of the members here have contacted FR directly and were given names of shops that would do warranty and/or repair work.

[pkhill]

I guess I have been lucky so far. My 2013 351 has had very few issues (so far). I bought from RV Direct and picked up my unit in Des Moines. I went in to my local Camping World and introduced myself to the service manager. I explained to him that not only was he making money on warranty work, but would get all my other work as well. So far so good. I bring it in and they fix it in a very timely matter. I know they are a big nationwide network and not just your local dealer, but if there is a store nearby, give them a shout.

[petey]

yes this is the way they do things if you didn't buy from them, what we did was buy our 378ts in 2012 from grass valley California and drove home and we had 3 items to fix and camping world fixed them in Troutdale Oregon no problem. hope this helps. Pete

[bikendan]

unlike the Auto industry, RV dealers have no obligation to do warranty work on units that they didn't sell, even if they are an "authorized" dealer of that brand.

many make the mistake of comparing the two industries, which is a big mistake and will only make you frustrated.

RV manufacturers can only ask their "authorized" dealers to do warranty work on units they didn't sell, but they can't force them nor will they.
RV dealers will change brands at the drop of a hat and manufacturers know that if they push it too much, the RV dealer will drop them and start selling a competitor's brand.

[bob34787]

Originally Posted by SKnight

Umm, being a Forest River authorized dealer they can't refuse warranty repair no matter where you bought the unit. I'm sure FR would like to know that one of their dealers isn't taking care of their customers.

I'd make them put it in writing that they're refusing repair, then I'd draft a very official letter to FR, namely warning them that you're going to run this by legal council for their opinion.

Bet that gets things moving.

FR knows all about it and its not illegal, not even your selling dealer has to do warranty work, your warranty remedies are completely on FR, if a dealer chooses to work on your RV greta, but if not you can take it to Indiana and have it repaired at the FR service center. went through it when my dealer refused to fix my 1st FR 5th wheel, called FR and was told no dealer has to do warranty work if they choose not to.

[BillMFl]

My advice is if you are having trouble locating a FR dealer who will do warranty work contact FR directly and they will locate a service center for you.

[alparmer]

Thanks for all of the replies. All I can say is wow! You learn something new every day.

I guess what I said about the warranty is true. I can always use my 7 year warranty since I can take it to any RV shop. It's only a 200 dollar deductible, but it is not right that the manufacturer can get away with it. All I can say is that all these experiences are going to come into play when we get ready to get the 1/4 mil + Class A in the future. We really like our GT, but if this is how it's going to be we won't look back.

We still haven't received a reply from FR in reference to our busted awning. We tore it off while moving and we still don't know if it was our fault of if it's due to a recall on the motor. I asked them to look up my serial number to see if ours is part of the recall and still haven't heard a word. We can still use the camper since nothing else was damaged. The only thing noticeable is the 100 mph tape securing the 12v supply to the motor on the side.

We also have a bunch of little things that need to be taken care of under warranty. Lower front grill came off, bedroom sliding doors have fallen apart, door latch has a ghost that causes the door to come open while on the road, cracked air vent molding, etc. etc. I'll just fix them myself and at the same time make them more reliable. You want it done right, do it yourself. I could even repair the awning myself if I knew where to get the correct one. Our insurance has a $1k deductible and I would think the awning would be less than that.

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by SKnight

Umm, being a Forest River authorized dealer they can't refuse warranty repair no matter where you bought the unit. I'm sure FR would like to know that one of their dealers isn't taking care of their customers.

I'd make them put it in writing that they're refusing repair, then I'd draft a very official letter to FR, namely warning them that you're going to run this by legal council for their opinion.

Bet that gets things moving.

And you would want to take your unit to that dealer after threatening him with legal action? You think you would get good service?

[dustman_stx]

On the few issues I've had, I just contacted the manufacturer and was sent the parts. Did the repair myself. Saved them money, me lot's of down time and hassle dragging it to a dealership and I knew the repair was done correctly.

[TeJay]

Nobody mentioned this aspect of warranty work. What do you do if you are traveling and have an issue??? So the local FR dealer refuses to work on your unit because you didn't buy it from them even though you live 1,500 miles away and are just driving through?? That makes a lot of sense.

I had to contact a dealer in FL regarding our TT. They were not a FR dealer but they repaired all kinds of RV's. They were very helpful in all respects of the repair. The name of the place is Cecil's RV Repair on route 1 in Edge water, FL. Great place, family owned and good techs.

If I run into a place with an attitude I just kindly tell them that I have warranty work or $$$$ to spend. Either they can work on it or I'll find somebody else who wants the work. It will be their loss and (as Old Coot said) with that kind of an attitude I probably don't want them working on my unit anyway. I would also let them know that I will share my bad experience with as many people as I possibly can.

Sometimes a shop even if they can't do the work or are covered up they can recommend a decent shop in their area. Most shops, if they are decent do work with other shops. They know that they can't always repair all emergencies in a timely fashion and will use other shops. What goes around comes around.

Word of mouth can in most cases make you or break you.

TeJay

[SKnight]

Originally Posted by OldCoot

And you would want to take your unit to that dealer after threatening him with legal action? You think you would get good service?

I'm a master mechanic with over a decade in dealerships. I'm pretty adept at pissing people off until it gets fixed and being able to tell when it's actually fixed right.

I'm going to look into this refusing warranty repair thing further, I can't believe that they can refuse it whether you purchased there or not.

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by SKnight

I'm a master mechanic with over a decade in dealerships. I'm pretty adept at pissing people off until it gets fixed and being able to tell when it's actually fixed right.

I'm going to look into this refusing warranty repair thing further, I can't believe that they can refuse it whether you purchased there or not.

The RV industry is not like the auto industry. Here's an email that I swapped with the Sabre sales rep when I bought mine. The bold and underline are mine for emphasis:

Oh good. I do hope it is from someone close by you. But I also understand that when you look at the internet guys that show low prices it becomes hard to justify the added cost.

Just realize those guys are banking on the fact that you will never come back to see them again. They don't want your trade and they don't want make you a happy customer when they have your money. Forest River begs you to do business with your local dealer for one major reason. We can't and won't force your local guy to do warrant work on a unit you choose to buy from a guy that is several hours away from you.

I sure you have heard this before. I just don't want you to have a bad experience later.

I look forward to seeing your order come through.

In my opinion, it's still incredibly short-sighted of a dealer to not do warranty work on a unit that they didn't sell.

[Rogerl1016]

We bought our 5th wheel from AC Nelsen in Omaha. They were good (I thought) to work with until we needed some service. I requested some service late last summer and contacted them ahead of time knowing they would need to order parts. After hearing nothing after 30 days I called them and they had done nothing to get things ordered for the repairs. I wound up taking it back to the factory for the work. Then recently I have called them about scheduling some more warranty work and they don't return my calls. I thought buying local would be a good thing even though we paid several thousand more than we could have bought from a wholesaler. My opinion now is to buy from the dealer that gives you the best price even if you have to drive a distance. It seems there is little incentive to take care of the customer after the sale. I hope that most of you have a better experience than I did.

[youroo]

We use our unit as a (Travel Trailer),when we have had (Problems) they are never near our selling dealer. We give the (Nearest) F/R Dealer a call (Regardless of Brand). If they say they will repair the problem they still (Must call F/R for a Authorization#,and OK the Repair)! If the F/R dealer system refuses we contact a Independent and (Call F/R for a Authorization#,and a OK for the Repair)! In (Both) cases we had to (Pay) the F/R dealer or Independent for the repairs,Then send the (Bill) to F/R for (Reimbursement). We have (Never) been refused service in our travels by a F/R Dealer,(BUT) they have put us (WAY Down) the line behind their regular Customers! Youroo!!This (Same Policy) holds true for other RVs we have owned!

[jeeplj8]

Originally Posted by SKnight

I'm a master mechanic with over a decade in dealerships. I'm pretty adept at pissing people off until it gets fixed and being able to tell when it's actually fixed right.

I'm going to look into this refusing warranty repair thing further, I can't believe that they can refuse it whether you purchased there or not.

Keep in mind the warranty is between you, the buyer, and the manufacturer - Forrest River. The seller (your dealer) is only a retailer and therefore must honor the warranty by nature of some federal and state laws (generally, there are exceptions).

Every dealer is independent and does not step into Forrest River's shoes. They owe nothing to anyone other than their own customers.

The Auto Industry changed how they did things by putting into their franchise agreements that every dealer must honor all warranty work. The RV industry will not do this.