Difficulty getting service

jeffrapp · 01-20-2015, 08:35 PM

I have a 2015 Prism 24J. I love it! We're just completing a 2 month maiden trip. Essentially no problems, despite this being a tough trip. Everywhere we went, people wanted to see our rig. I felt like an ambassador for Prism.
I have one serious complaint. We bought our Prism in Oregon, live in N. California. The nearest dealer to my home is over 100 miles away. When traveling, who knows?
I have a problem with one of my Jensen radios. Until ASA (the Jensen service group) kindly agreed to let me deal with this problem myself, I was unable to obtain warranty service at any Coachmen dealer in a timely manner, and in one case (Sky River RV, Dublin, CA) they actually told me that they would not provide service unless I had bought it there.
When I bought it,I was erroneously told that I could get warranty service "at any Forest River dealer." This is not true. Apparently, each dealer is free to provide warranty service or not, their choice. Nobody is willing to provide immediate service to transients. This results in the absurd situation that someone in my position must drive hundreds of miles, and/or wait many days for service when traveling.
Dan at Coachmen Customer Service has tried to help, by calling numerous dealers for me to find one that would help me in a timely fashion, or at all. No luck.
Coachmen should do something to correct this. They should have a readily available list of service centers by zip code. Nether the customer nor Dan should have to waste their valuable time begging someone to provide warranty service.

X96mnn · 01-20-2015, 08:44 PM

Issue such as you describe, bite the bullet and take it back where you bought it.

Some dealers will service you if your passing through and did not buy from them but usually only if it is a required service. Something in which you cannot drive it any further or back to your dealer.

Another option is to contact Jensen directly, if it is the unit they may warranty it and send you a new one.

Was it the dealer you bought from who told you that it could be serviced anywhere? When I bought my Forest River had printed on the front pamphlet that warranty work would not be supported outside the local dealer of purchase.

jeffrapp · 01-21-2015, 01:20 PM

I bought the Prism in Oregon, about 350 miles from my home, and 600 miles from where I am now. I'm not crazy enough to drive there for an appointment 2 weeks from now to get a radio fixed. The nearest dealer to my home is 150 miles away, and 250 miles from where I am now.
Yes, the dealer I bought it from actually told me "I could get it fixed at any Forest River product dealer". It was one of the reasons I bought it so far from my home. I looked at the brochure, and mine "suggests" in small print that you should buy it close to home to establish a relationship. It doesn't say I can only get it fixed at the selling dealer (google Coachmen Prism brochure). I bet a good lawyer could have a field day with that.
Jensen (actually ASA) agreed to send me a new radio, after several phone calls, as a "favor". I am grateful to them for their excellent service.
My point is that warranty service from Coachmen (and perhaps much of the rest of the industry) is absurd. It should be easy and clear how and where, close to your home or current location if traveling, to obtain warranty service. No other industry operates this way. I know several people who simply give up, and pay for repairs themselves, despite still being under warranty.
Coachmen's policies would seem to encourage people to not only buy "close to home" (or not at all if there isn't a dealer close to home), but also to never travel during the warranty period, a ridiculous idea for a motor home.
I am eagerly waiting for my warranty to run out (and hoping I have no more issues) so that I can purchase after market coverage.

geotex1 · 01-21-2015, 01:36 PM

jeffrapp, sorry for your experiences! Unfortunately, your experience is how it works. RV dealers are not like car dealers and have no obligation to service your camper just because they sell the same brand. The resistance of dealers has actually gotten much worse since the internet has empowered buyers with tools to find better deals, buy parts themselves, and have communities like this to help one another out.

Also, if you actually talk to someone in Coachmen (or any mass produced line for that matter) it's not Coachman's policy at all. It's not a policy at all. It's what dealers want - they want you to buy the units from them, have service from them, and buy parts from them - and because they are the customers of the manufacturer it's the real power. In legality of the transaction, the dealer is actually the customer of the manufacturer and you are a customer of the dealer and not a customer of the manufacturer. So, only your selling dealer is obligated to honor the warranty, which they gladly will so there's nothing for a lawyer to take on.

It is an unfortunate reality, but sometimes you will find helpful dealers while traveling and Forest River will always authorize warranty repair at Camping World and many times by an independent camper repair companies.

Hopefully you motor happily on after resolving this and enjoy your new camper!

jeffrapp · 01-21-2015, 01:50 PM

BTW, I'm writing this from Paso Robles, CA, where I was yesterday when I discovered the radio problem. I googled Coachmen dealers, and found to my delight that there is one here in town (Sky River). Before calling them, I called ASA tech support. They told me the radio needed to be replaced. Then I called ASA customer service. Josie (a wonderful woman) told me to go to the nearest Coachmen dealer to confirm that the radio needed replacement, and start a work order.
I then called Dan at Coachmen customer service, asking him to call Sky River for me. I have had previous problems with warranty service, and thought he may have more juice than me. He called back and told me they would give me an appointment in 2 weeks (way more time than I want to spend in Paso Robles, despite how nice it is here).
It was only when I called Josie at ASA back with this info that she agreed to do me the favor mentioned above.
No matter how it is presented, this is ridiculous. An official Coachmen dealer refused to spend 5 or 10 minutes on a simple problem for a customer passing through their town, unless I was willing to wait 2 weeks.

**bikendan** · 01-21-2015, 01:53 PM

as was said, this an industry-wide issue, not just a Coachmen issue.
if you'd done some research on forums like this one or RV.net, you'd have found out that you have to do some digging before buying out your area.

we made a 4000 mile round trip to go and get our HTT. but i called the Rockwood warranty dept. BEFORE i closed the deal. they gave me a list of nearby dealers willing to do the warranty work. i called them to make sure that they would do what Rockwood said they would.
the only thing was i would be behind those units that they sold, which was fine by me. i accepted that by not buying locally, i had to be at the end of the line.
you used the term "timely". don't know what you think that means but if you didn't buy from them, you can't expect them to put you ahead of their own customers.

and Coachmen should reimburse you if you go to an independent rv shop, as long as you get pre-approval from Coachmen.

geotex1 · 01-21-2015, 01:57 PM

Also, in the RV industry "timely" repairs are rarely the same day or even the same week. You are lucky to get in and out of your SELLING dealer in the same month when it comes to warranty work.

X96mnn · 01-21-2015, 04:22 PM

@jeffrapp

I was in the same boat as you, my comments are coming from experiance and not thoughts. I bought from a local dealer then moved about 300 miles away, dealer 15 miles from my home told me he would not work on it, not even gave me the drop it off and we will get to it when we can speach. I was faced with a 600 mile round trip with a very poor tow vehical which is another story. I got lucky, the local RV repair center who does not sell RVs was able to repair my AC working with Coleman, the RV at the time was an RVision by moneco.

The pamplet I have does state what you say regarding buying local but also adds three more items, if not bought in Canada it may need additional inspections, scheduling warranty repairs through a local dealer is faster and more convienant for you the customer, and last but not least, Forest River inc dealers are privately owned and operated, service and warranty work is at their discretion.

It is a sad state the way it is run and stinks it is not more like the auto industry. There is very little regulation in place that protects a consumer of an RV. In Canada the goverment actually released a phamplet that basically states, buy local, if you didn't, don't call us. Found on another thread where there are not even regulations around the breaking systems on tow behind RVs. My only recourse, have bought two more RVs and the dealer who told me know I shopped just to waste his time, no intention of buying there. Make it a point to kick tires as often as I like and spread the story every chance I get.

ResQfrog · 01-21-2015, 05:35 PM

Don't think just because you purchased it locally makes it any better all the time. We purchased locally and it is still a 2-4 week wait to get it in then take it back home and wait for parts. The travel trailer dealer we had on our first unit was great. fast service when called normally 1 week or so. Parts ordered and received fast. The current dealer for thee motor home is the complete opposite. weeks to get it in, weeks for parts and just hope like hell its fixed correctly, and then wonder what they messed up during repairs.

**Flybob** · 01-21-2015, 06:08 PM

Despite what some have said here, this issue could easily be resolved by FR if they wanted to. There are many companies out there that require their dealers to repair or do warranty work on their products as a condition of franchise. Traveled the country on my Harley Davidson and had work done at many dealers and never was told you didn't bu it here. I have even had them open the service dept on a weekend just to repair my bike.

jeffrapp · 01-21-2015, 07:40 PM

Thanks for all the thoughtful ideas and suggestions.
I do take issue with one of the statements from geotex1. The purchase of the RV includes the warranty, provided by the manufacturer. I believe that makes me a customer of the manufacturer, as well as the dealer.
I believe the reason the RV industry is different than the auto industry is that manufactures such as FR have to beg dealers to sell their products, whereas auto dealers have to beg for a franchise.
Even so, I think FR can do a better job of making sure warranty work is easier to come by, especially since they know about the problem in advance.
Even with this aggravation, I still love my Prism. We call him Wolfgang Mozart.

**bikendan** · 01-21-2015, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flybob

There are many companies out there that require their dealers to repair or do warranty work on their products as a condition of franchise. Traveled the country on my Harley Davidson and had work done at many dealers and never was told you didn't bu it here. I have even had them open the service dept on a weekend just to repair my bike.

i agree that other companies are like this but i haven't heard of any RV manufacturers that are like that, unless it's a high end one, like Tiffin.
the handful of RV manufacturers that do, if they do, are in the very small minority of the industry.

Big Bill · 01-21-2015, 08:16 PM

I bought ours localy 20 miles 80 miles round trip to drop off and pick up 5 trips in cluding 1 to replace 2 tv,s that were stolen on their lot that they wernt responsible for I was told to read to read to contract sorry still issues not resolved

vinmaker · 01-21-2015, 08:49 PM

Your concerns are a common thread (no pun intended) here at the FR forum. Unfortunately te RV industry is nothing like the auto industry. The dealers service only the units they want to. Period.

I would suggest you forget about warranty service and find a local independent RV repair shop and have them fix it.

Good luck.

Vin.

geotex1 · 01-21-2015, 09:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flybob

Despite what some have said here, this issue could easily be resolved by FR if they wanted to. There are many companies out there that require their dealers to repair or do warranty work on their products as a condition of franchise. Traveled the country on my Harley Davidson and had work done at many dealers and never was told you didn't bu it here. I have even had them open the service dept on a weekend just to repair my bike.

Flybob, that's the problem. RV dealer ARE NOT franchises! There would be no issues hashed over and over again on these forums if it was a franchise model. It is simply not. Mind you, I'm not sticking up for the dealers and their positions on this, not in the least! I wish it were different for those who rely on service by other - truly.

geotex1 · 01-21-2015, 09:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeffrapp

Thanks for all the thoughtful ideas and suggestions.
I do take issue with one of the statements from geotex1. The purchase of the RV includes the warranty, provided by the manufacturer. I believe that makes me a customer of the manufacturer, as well as the dealer.
I believe the reason the RV industry is different than the auto industry is that manufactures such as FR have to beg dealers to sell their products, whereas auto dealers have to beg for a franchise.
Even so, I think FR can do a better job of making sure warranty work is easier to come by, especially since they know about the problem in advance.
Even with this aggravation, I still love my Prism. We call him Wolfgang Mozart.

You may take issue with me sir. I take no offense! However, you are not a customer to manufacturer and feel free to consult your legal representation to this effect. However, you need look no further than how your warranty is written - it's a warranty on the unit, not to you, and it is the clock that starts at purchase by the original purchaser (i.e., commencement of use). PLEASE, understand I am not in any way defending how this is, just explaining how this is. Further, so many want to draw a parallel of the RV industry to the auto industry, which I'm very keenly informed of given my background, however it's not at all. Further, I don't believe FR, as you imply, is begging anyone to sell their product based on the economic reports of the company (and consider exactly who owns the company).

The only way to make things different is for the voice of the end user (happy camper) to overpower those of the direct customer (dealer). I said this in another post recently that ultimately was removed because it got heated with others' discussions, but if you look at numbers (I like numbers and numbers are the modern motivation for production) take the total number of units sold in the RV industry last year, better yet, take the number of units currently registered (i.e., in use out there) - you can get these numbers if you are internet savvy. Then divide them by the membership of this forum and all of the internet camper forums for that matter. You will find that the number of disgruntled owners, whether mild reason or major, is a small percentage. In the world of manufacturing the size of the large production manufacturers, those numbers are acceptable. This is also acceptable to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis versus instituting change. Numbers have power like this. It's the name of the game. I personally don't like it, but I know what the game is because I'm stuck in the game in my line of work.

I really feel that if folks would contact the manufacturer directly by the good old-fashioned letter versus swapping complaints in the campground or on an internet forum and name specific complaints, specific dealers, specific issues, and specific desired resolution that might start putting more tooth into a wave of change. It actually has the potential because the dealer experience is degrading in my observations because people are unhappy with the sales tactics, the strong arming of only service here what was bought here, and the ever decreasing capability of dealership "techs" (used very loosely because go look for a training/certification element for RV service).

I personally have made my peace with knowing what I'm getting into with a camper, and each one I've owned I do the work on (I do so for every vehicle too and most anything that needs any repair that I own). If I were to encounter a major defect, that could potentially be different but I would also pursue resolution differently because my nature is a dogged one.

I'm glad you are otherwise enjoying your camper and this is more of an annoying experience versus one that keeps you from enjoying it like others have faced with their new campers. I'm in the same boat with you because I am on many months since purchase of waiting for warranty replacement parts for our new camper, but I've now taken a different avenue to have my issues resolved and know now for certain that they will be.

**bikendan** · 01-21-2015, 10:00 PM

Another comment about parts.
many dealers delay ordering the parts until they have enough to save on shipping costs.
Then they blame the manufacturer, for the delay, to deflect anger from the customer.

jeffrapp · 01-22-2015, 01:21 PM

Excellent discussion!
Geotex1, I'm going to defer to your statements. You sound like you know what you're talking about. My thoughts were only those of a "civilian", not an expert. It seemed logical to me, but apparently logic doesn't trump reality in the RV industry.
Regarding your idea of directly contacting the manufacturer with facts, I intend to do just that, as I feel others with this problem should. I am also somewhat dogged.
Regarding vinmaker's comment about forgetting the warranty, I intend to do that on small matters. However, the problem arises when the matter is not "small". Of course, everyone has a different opinion of what small is, but most would not be willing to spend thousands of dollars that would otherwise be covered under warranty. In that sense, they still have us by the short hairs.

DaveandSue · 01-22-2015, 02:18 PM

I have a Coachman product too.A Chaparral Lite 5er.Couldn't deal locally and bough about 200 miles away in Tulsa,Ok.My local dealers wont even talk to me about warranty work.I've only had small issues and Hunter RV has been great.They send me the parts and I fix it myself.Any big issues and I'll glad pull it down there for the work.As far as out traveling,I just hope nothing big happens.Warranty on the Coachman part only goes for 3 more months.I couldn't be happier with my circumstances.My local dealers will never see my handsome face again.

mhbell · 01-25-2015, 05:08 PM

This happened to me several years ago while traveling. I had My Motor home breakdown while climbing a hill in a construction zone. I was able to just get it off the road when the engine quit. The road construction crew kept telling me to get it out of there. I had Good Sam ERS (emergency Road Service). They sent a wrecker out and towed me to the nearest Chevrolet Dealer who informed me that they would not work on a Motor Home Even though it was a fuel pump and a GM product. The wrecker driver towed me another 20 miles to another Chevrolet dealer who said they would get on it first thing Monday. This was on a Saturday. I had the Tow truck Driver drop it in Front of their shop bays.Leaving enough room for vehicles to get in and out. Monday came and they did not have a fuel pump. They air freighted one in overnight. a couple of years ago I needed a recall repair on another motor home and was told by the ford dealer in Nevada that they would not do it. Said that motor home owners were to picky. I took it to a Ford dealer in Georgetown Texas who was more than happy to do the work. Go figure.

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