Warranty Service Expectations

[DaveJordan]

A little background... As you may recall, I ran into some water issues when I tried to winterize my Solera a month or so ago. In figuring out the problem, I uncovered two fresh-from-the-factory water leaks.

About two weeks ago, after I found the water leaks, I called my dealer, told him what parts would be needed, and was told that they couldn't order parts until they'd actually seen the unit. So I scheduled an appointment for them to evaluate the problems.

About a week ago, I took the RV in, sat around the dealer for 4 hours while they verified the problems I'd reported, and left with the impression that they would order the parts.

Having not heard anything from them, I called today to find out when the parts would be in so my RV could be repaired. And they told me that they hadn't actually ordered the parts yet. They just, 20 minutes ago, received approval to do the work, so now they could order the parts. Which might be in next week...or the week after.

At which point, I can schedule another appointment...probably another week or two out. I hope.

Now it's been a few years since I've owned an RV. And the RV I owned was from a different manufacturer. But I don't remember ever having a warranty service claim take more than a few days to resolve, let alone over a month.

So I'm just wondering if my dealer has been working as quickly as they could - if this is just the normal Forest River warranty hassle, or if I should be looking for someone else to do warranty work.

Let me know your thoughts and experiences.

Thanks

Dave

[KenHwy61]

Pretty typical although the run-around is more likely the dealer's doing than Forest River.

[Charles Firth]

Sounds pretty typical, I had some warranty work at my dealer. They need to get authorization from Forrest River before beginning the work. I believe that Forrest River requires the dealer to do so so they get paid. Just CYA

Chuck still in Va

[BLK-9]

Your situation sounds a bit better than mine. Issues regarding my burned-out hydraulic motor have just been resolved by McGeorge. Getting ready to schedule a time to bring the RV in for them to install the motor and re-connect the lines. I asked if i could wait for the work to be completed, but they would like to keep the RV for 3-4 days to complete a task that only takes approximately 4 hours. I agree with the previous gentleman - more than likely the dealership than FR. Thanks for posting.

[asquared]

Typically delays have been coming from the dealer. I like the "just received authorization 20 minutes ago" line. I can't tell you how many times I've seen dealers not get approval from a manufacturer until an owner starts calling and bugging the dealer about their trailer. This has been true for more than one dealership and more than one manufacturer.

[allenterry]

I work as a service rep. for a manufacturer, (not an RV manufacturer) and I can tell you that dealers like to use the 'waiting for approval' line. Manufacturers depend on their dealers to make the majority of warranty based decisions, they don't normally have the time or personnel to make each decision as a pre-approval unless it is a major item. So, when a dealer tells you he has to get approval for a warranty repair that is say $1000.00 or less, it is simply a delay tactic. They are either busy or for some reason your unit is simply not a priority to them.

[Rcbstuff]

I have heard the same thing

[Phil57]

We must be lucky to have the crew at the Diesel Division at FR. My Berkshire is almost three years old and I have had some very serious problems. The longest my MH has been unusable is one week. That was when they replaced the roof at the factory. I can call the warrantee department and have parts shipped to a dealer or to my house. The service levels I have experienced are outstanding. That said do you know the warranty manager and have you talked to him. Get a relationship going with him or her. Keep in contact every once in a while. Drop a email to thank them for the service or just give feedback. Before my unit sat for more than a day or two I would be in contact with him to see if the parts are available and what if any fixes the factory has for the issue. The feed back you give them is helpful and I know that it makes its way to the factory floor.

[Still Kickin]

Sounds about right for the first year. In the second year my dometic fridge failed. Took it to the third dealer I interviewed, because of how they told me the warranty claim/process would go. Dometic has a two year warranty on their fridges. It went flawless as soon as they established it was a dometic covered issue, and cleared it through Dometic's warranty dept.

[gasman94]

Originally Posted by Phil57

We must be lucky to have the crew at the Diesel Division at FR. My Berkshire is almost three years old and I have had some very serious problems. The longest my MH has been unusable is one week. That was when they replaced the roof at the factory. I can call the warrantee department and have parts shipped to a dealer or to my house. The service levels I have experienced are outstanding. That said do you know the warranty manager and have you talked to him. Get a relationship going with him or her. Keep in contact every once in a while. Drop a email to thank them for the service or just give feedback. Before my unit sat for more than a day or two I would be in contact with him to see if the parts are available and what if any fixes the factory has for the issue. The feed back you give them is helpful and I know that it makes its way to the factory floor.

X2 on Randy and the crew at FR diesel division, Phil. They are the best. Don't know if you have the option to use the factory, Dave. But if you do, my experience has been that the work is done right.

Rich

[bclemens]

Most of our claims are done online now. We have a flat rate manual, so as long as they document with pictures etc, they know up front what is covered and what is not. If I'm not mistaken they were already doing, or pushing for 24 hour turn around on non-flat rate authorizations.

[Phil57]

Originally Posted by bclemens

Most of our claims are done online now. We have a flat rate manual, so as long as they document with pictures etc, they know up front what is covered and what is not. If I'm not mistaken they were already doing, or pushing for 24 hour turn around on non-flat rate authorizations.

Thanks for taking the time to be on the forum. It's also nice to see how things work and have the knowledge to not take excuses.


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[lacamastraveler]

I'm thinking it is more Forest River than the dealer. . .at least in our case. When we bought our Solera 24R in September (our 4th RV) my wife and I quickly identified a few warranty issues. Also,as part of the purchase we negotiated a few add-ons and ordered solar panels and a few other items. Within two or three days the dealer installed all the purchase/negotiated items, but it was another 10 days or so before they received approval on the warranty issues.

[Witch Doctor]

Originally Posted by Still Kickin

Sounds about right for the first year. In the second year my dometic fridge failed. Took it to the third dealer I interviewed, because of how they told me the warranty claim/process would go. Dometic has a two year warranty on their fridges. It went flawless as soon as they established it was a dometic covered issue, and cleared it through Dometic's warranty dept.

I kinda went around that problem. Long story short. My A/C blower was making a grinding noise. I called Colman and took it to there authorized dealer not FR. They had a blower in stock, had it replaced the same day. The other way it would have been dealer then FR then Colman and back to dealer. That's what takes so long.

[5er_tom]

Our 5th wheel has been at the dealer since Oct. 28, for roof and axle issues, both under warranty. Just got approval to replace both axles last week. Still waiting on FR for roof replacement approval. It is indeed a SLOW process. Glad it is not summertime!


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[5er_tom]

No sooner than I finish the previous post and the dealer calls to say that FR just called with approval to replace the entire roof under warranty.
Sure glad I purchased the second year warranty!!



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[Still Kickin]

Originally Posted by gljurczyk

I kinda went around that problem. Long story short. My A/C blower was making a grinding noise. I called Colman and took it to there authorized dealer not FR. They had a blower in stock, had it replaced the same day. The other way it would have been dealer then FR then Colman and back to dealer. That's what takes so long.

To follow up on your point, I didn't use an FR dealer, their service capability (where I purchased it) for the fridge failure was beyond what they do in house. My instinct on selecting a authorize Dometic repairman, was spot on after I discussed the issue.

[5er_tom]

When the current repairs are complete we plan to trade it for another FR product, perhaps the same unit but a 2015 model. We think the current unit qualifies as a lemon. In just 4 years, 4 axles, a complete roof, a refrigerator and a kitchen faucet. The 2 year warranty has covered it all and our dealer is excellent. BUT, going forward it will be on my dollar, so we'll use the opportunity to upgrade.


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