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Old 11-01-2015, 11:14 AM   #1
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Buying from Couch's or another wholesaler...service ?

For those who bought their RV from Couch's or another whosesaler and live hundreds of miles away, how has it been getting service and/or warranty work from your local dealer/service center? Were you able to establish a good relationship with your local person, or are you constantly pushed to the back of the line?

We're about 9 hours away from Couch's. However, Brannonn has already given me a list of authorized service centers in our area. I'm thinking of calling or visiting the closest one this week, which is just a service center, no sales, and speaking with them about our purchase to get a feel for what to expect and to try to begin to establish a relationship. Thoughts???
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Old 11-01-2015, 11:18 AM   #2
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It's been known to be tough to get service from a non selling dealer but not impossible. You are just put at the end of their list after all their buying customers are taken care of. Are you handy? If you can do a lot of your repairs yourself, Couch's will send you the parts and a call tag to return the defective ones. We bought ours there and it has never been back or to another dealer for any warranty service. Brannon is a great guy to deal with and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend him or Couch's to anyone.
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Old 11-01-2015, 11:27 AM   #3
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Originally Posted by Karl4Cat View Post
It's been known to be tough to get service from a non selling dealer but not impossible. You are just put at the end of their list after all their buying customers are taken care of. Are you handy? If you can do a lot of your repairs yourself, Couch's will send you the parts and a call tag to return the defective ones. We bought ours there and it has never been back or to another dealer for any warranty service. Brannon is a great guy to deal with and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend him or Couch's to anyone.
Thanks, that's great to know! My SO has a shop full of tools and he's pretty handy, so it's nice to know that is an option.
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Old 11-01-2015, 11:41 AM   #4
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Some people get hung up on the fact that because it's under warranty, a dealer is going to fix it on principal. Even if I lived near Couch's I wouldn't bring mine in for most warranty things. It's easier to do things myself than hook up and drag my trailer to a dealer to wait for things to be fixed that I can do at home in a fraction of the time. Granted, if something major needs fixed then a dealer may be your only option but most new rig issues are more of adjustments than repairs. Loose wires, plumbing, woodwork, etc. Not saying something big never breaks because it does happen so you do need a plan for if and when though.

Make sure if you buy from Brannon, you get his warranty guy, Scott Peavley's email address.
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Old 11-01-2015, 11:52 AM   #5
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We drove down to Virginia from Massachusetts to buy our new Sunseeker. Before doing so, we called around to most of the nearby FR dealers and some who aren't to see if they would do warranty work for us. Some said no and some gave a qualified yes.

The ones who said yes were willing to get involved if the job would pay enough to cover their time. They said that a simple job requires just as much documentation and therefor isn't profitable. I don't know if that's true, but it sounds plausible.

It might be worth calling around, but I agree with doing as much as you can yourself. Its more convenient and you'll know its done right.
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Old 11-01-2015, 03:44 PM   #6
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We bought from a dealer 2000 miles away.
We checked with FR ahead of time, for local dealers willing to do the warranty work.
Never had any problems but knew I would be at the back of the line.
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Old 11-01-2015, 03:57 PM   #7
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Couch's are good people to deal with. This is my second purchase with them and have had issues with both but nothing that was fault if the dealer.
The problem with repair shops getting paid enough is due to there is no flat rate manual for repairs like in the auto industry and if the repair shop puts a less experienced tech on the job to do the repair it would take him longer to do the work than the experienced tech but the dealer feels he should be paid for T and M for the time it takes. I was told that by a service writer at a Camping world.
I feel if the NTSB or some other federal organization did over sight on RV' s things would be different they may cost a little more but you wouldn't spend half of camping season in a shop somewhere.
I think if you represent or sale a manufacturers RV you should have to do repair work at a reasonable time frame or loose your franchise that is the way it is in the auto industry (I spent 17 years in the auto industry )
And you want get turned away.


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Old 11-01-2015, 04:00 PM   #8
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Couch's
has great deals , make sure you know what your buying and check the spec sheet against what you are getting . Make sure they match . won't want you getting a 19,000 btu furnace that was spec'd at 20,000 . etc as long as you do your PDI very carefully and get anything that's not right fixed before you leave . Then should you have any warranty issues lots of times couch's will get it set up to send you the part/parts and you do the labor . did this with a cracked fender flare and a vent fan motor . both times the parts showed up on time and I know they were installed correctly . Brannon has been helpful anytime i've called just stay away from Jeff
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Old 11-01-2015, 04:05 PM   #9
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It's been a challenge, I to bought from couches and live in saint Louis. I too have fixed issues myself than to drag in to dealer for a simple fix. I will have to find and get into one soon as I ran into something that I have no knowledge on and don't want to get over my head trying to do it.
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Old 11-01-2015, 04:12 PM   #10
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It's been a challenge, I to bought from couches and live in saint Louis. I too have fixed issues myself than to drag in to dealer for a simple fix. I will have to find and get into one soon as I ran into something that I have no knowledge on and don't want to get over my head trying to do it.
What issue would that be ?
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Old 11-01-2015, 04:24 PM   #11
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There's a pretty good spot like 12 X 12 area on the fiberglass exterior that is darker or brownish looking. If you get real close you see small black spots and it seams to be under gel coat.
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Old 11-01-2015, 04:27 PM   #12
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Couch's
has great deals , make sure you know what your buying and check the spec sheet against what you are getting . Make sure they match . won't want you getting a 19,000 btu furnace that was spec'd at 20,000 . etc as long as you do your PDI very carefully and get anything that's not right fixed before you leave . Then should you have any warranty issues lots of times couch's will get it set up to send you the part/parts and you do the labor . did this with a cracked fender flare and a vent fan motor . both times the parts showed up on time and I know they were installed correctly . Brannon has been helpful anytime i've called just stay away from Jeff
Speaking of the furnace anyone ever get a fix on that since spec sheet says 20000 BTU but really getting 19000 BTU.
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Old 11-02-2015, 01:04 PM   #13
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I bought a CC from Couch's about a year ago and saved about $8k over an instate dealer. Since then I have had a couple warranty jobs done locally with no problem. Forest River will work with any dealer who is an FR recognized dealer who doesn't necessarily sell a particular model like the CC. I was told by FR I could take it to any RV dealer and pay up front and get reimbursed. I haven't had any issues with FR working warranty work. Couch's definitely is a money saver.
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Old 11-02-2015, 01:48 PM   #14
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Bought mine in Detroit, live in Birmingham Alabama, had one issue, warranty on the A/C. Took to local dealer, no problem, they will like to sell you, your next camper
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Old 11-02-2015, 02:37 PM   #15
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Originally Posted by chrissybird View Post
For those who bought their RV from Couch's or another whosesaler and live hundreds of miles away, how has it been getting service and/or warranty work from your local dealer/service center? Were you able to establish a good relationship with your local person, or are you constantly pushed to the back of the line?

We're about 9 hours away from Couch's. However, Brannonn has already given me a list of authorized service centers in our area. I'm thinking of calling or visiting the closest one this week, which is just a service center, no sales, and speaking with them about our purchase to get a feel for what to expect and to try to begin to establish a relationship. Thoughts???
I had horrible dealings with JEFF COUCHand BRANNON. They can spin a response to any problem that only suits them. I am out of pocket 3477.00 US after their driver delivered my RV with damage caused in transit. Do not allow them to hire out your RV to a John Cesar for transport needed..
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Old 11-02-2015, 03:19 PM   #16
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I had horrible dealings with JEFF COUCHand BRANNON. They can spin a response to any problem that only suits them. I am out of pocket 3477.00 US after their driver delivered my RV with damage caused in transit. Do not allow them to hire out your RV to a John Cesar for transport needed..
My neighbor had the same problem with trailer damaged in transit from Couch. He absolved himself (Jeff) from any responsibility blaming the independent transporter he hired. Long story short the transporter paid after the trailer was repaired about 8 months later. Of course my neighbor paid upfront first.
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Old 11-02-2015, 03:22 PM   #17
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I picked mine up from Couch's to save on the transport cost. Why pay the high transport rate when you can pull it yourself?
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Old 11-02-2015, 03:36 PM   #18
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My neighbor had the same problem with trailer damaged in transit from Couch. He absolved himself (Jeff) from any responsibility blaming the independent transporter he hired. Long story short the transporter paid after the trailer was repaired about 8 months later. Of course my neighbor paid upfront first.

Didn't insurance cover these two trailers? While it's a shame it happened, couch's is correct that its up to the transporter and their insurance.




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Old 11-02-2015, 03:42 PM   #19
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Agree with the last two posts.
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Old 11-02-2015, 04:51 PM   #20
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Agree with the last two posts.
Agree as well. We'll be picking it up - that's part of the adventure for us
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