Wildcat warranty work near DFW, TX.....

[jonrjen]

This is one of those FWIW post.

We purchased our Wildcat at a dealer in Muskegon, MI. I had read all of the post where RV owners purchased an RV out of MI or IN due to the savings offered from dealers located near the manufactures point of origin, only to later find that local dealers would either decline to perform warranty work or would drag out the repair process due to the RV not having been purchased at their dealership.

In our case it was a matter of that's where we located the floorplan we wanted on a discontinued Wildcat. And it didn't hurt in the fact that the dealership wanted this discontinued floor plan gone as much as we wanted to own one.

Before committing to the purchase I called around to local Wildcat dealers and asked the question of "If I purchased a Wildcat from an out of state dealer would they do the warranty work for me if needed?" I did get the feeling of hesitation from a couple dealerships, but no out right denial to accept my request. I had one dealer ask me why I would go out of state to purchase if the same RV could be purchased nearby. I explained the discontinued model and floor plan preference and received a warm "I understand" from the dealer.

Well, a week ago Monday we received the 5th wheel and as you can guess it has a few items that need attention and repairs. So I called this dealer to ask if I could bring my Wildcat down for some warranty work. I was not only told yes, but was made to feel welcome to do so.

We dropped the Wildcat off this afternoon. It is a small dealer south of Dallas in the little town of Rice. Now don't mistake the description of small throw you off. The warm welcome and excellent customer service was very LARGE. As I filled out the paperwork for the warranty service I was never rushed. I was asked questions as well as allowed to ask questions. The questions were answered in simple easy to understand words. I was asked how fast of a turn around I needed as it was explained how parts ordering and availability would certainly play a major role in getting everything wrapped up and back into my hands. I felt like my needs were important to them and well received and understood. Matter of fact the service writer saw a few items that needed to be taken care of and documented them also.

It made me wish that they had, had this floor plan in stock so that I could have purchased it from them. I mean, when was the last time you were sorry that you couldn't have done business with a retailer.

As I got ready to leave I did stop back in the office and picked up a few business cards to hand out to anyone I come across looking for a RV. As well as a few to hand out to family and friends that need service to their current RV.

Now the two brands that stick out in my mind that this dealer carried were the Wildcat and the Sierra in the 5th wheels. So if you are looking to purchase an RV I would recommend giving this dealer a shout or drop in to take a look. If you all ready own one of these or simply need to have a Travel Trailer or 5th wheel serviced, give them a call.

I will of course update this thread as time goes forward and repairs are made.

Texas RV Dealer, new and used travel trailers, fifth wheels, toy haulers, Forest River, new rvs, used rvs, rv service, Dallas, Corsicana, Waco, Athens, RenDel RV Sales, contact Dana Needham

[Oakman]

I hope this continues to go well for you.

[jonrjen]

Thank you, so do I.

I am aware that along my travels I will with out fail come across a patch of rough road, a few pot holes and maybe a speed bump. All I can try to do is navigate to the best of my ability and enjoy the ride while searching for better roads to travel.

[jonrjen]

Just a follow up:

Was getting tired of listening to my license plate for the Wildcat rattling around in my console of the truck so I headed over to the dealer to attach the tags to the Wildcat. Well as I pulled up and noticed that the owner was pulling out of the lot and the gate was locked I remembered that they are closed on Mondays. Guess it was a senior moment in memory lapse.

I did speak to the owner for a moment who informed me that they were just about completed with my warranty work but was waiting for a call back on one item but she wasn't sure what that was. I asked if it may be the fading on the front cap at the top which clicked in her mind. She said that this sounded right but would check with the service manager tomorrow when everyone was at work.

All in all, I dropped the Wildcat off on the 27th of December and it is almost ready to roll here on the 13th of January I am very pleased. And when you consider that Forest River was closed until after the 1st of January and they couldn't get authorization or parts approval it's been less than 2 weeks.

[jonrjen]

Dealer called this afternoon and said all is ready to go. We will head down to check things out in the next day or two. We plan to do a very tight check of every thing on the punch list. But, I have a real good feeling about this.

I will update once we get down to check things out.

[Boyink]

Good to hear you had a good experience. We bought in Grand Rapids, MI, and have a few non-mission critical things to get fixed. We called dealers around the Houston area and didn't get a good vibe - one even wanted to charge me a $250 fee to do the warranty work since we didn't buy there. At the moment I have our original dealer getting the parts with the intent to ship them to me and I'll install them myself.

[jonrjen]

We had our trailer transported to us from Muskegon, MI and along the way he had a bow out that did damage to the fender of the trailer. A quick call to our selling dealer had a new fender in my hands with in a few weeks. I'm sure it would have been quicker had it not been over the Holiday Shut down at the plant. The also ordered a few other items for me that I received just as fast. Over all the cost and shipping was surprisingly inexpensive.
If you run into any more major issues on your Wildcat this dealer that is doing my warranty work is just north of Corsicana not too terribly far up the road from you....well a couple of hours anyway. If you would like the contact information just in case you need it in the future let me know and I will get it to you.
Do you purchased the Wildcat Forest River 2nd year extended warranty for $150?

[Boyink]

Yep - we did the extended warranty. That was a no-brainer. I might need that dealer info - we might take I20 over through LA which would put us heading up that way anyway. I just can be out of the rig for 2 weeks..

[jonrjen]

Here is a link to the dealers website. While the website is not big and flashy the owners personality and customer service is refreshing.

Texas RV Dealer, new and used travel trailers, fifth wheels, toy haulers, Forest River, new rvs, used rvs, rv service, Dallas, Corsicana, Waco, Athens, RenDel RV Sales, contact Dana Needham

[Boyink]

Thanks!

[jonrjen]

OK, Follow Up Time!!!

Made the drive down to the dealer doing the warranty work for us. Keep in mind that we did not purchased from this dealership but they welcomed our warranty request with open arms.
Texas RV Dealer, new and used travel trailers, fifth wheels, toy haulers, Forest River, new rvs, used rvs, rv service, Dallas, Corsicana, Waco, Athens, RenDel RV Sales, contact Dana Needham

Everything on my punch list was addressed and taken care of the first time around with no unexpected problems. I did ask if one corner of a slide out could be adjusted to be more snug in an upper rear corner. I feel that it would have been with in tolerance of specs. But, I asked anyway. I told them I was willing to leave it until they could get to it, but they wouldn't hear of it. They had a service tech come out to the holding lot and adjust the slide out while I was there. With in 15 minutes I was ready to hitch and roll.
I had also asked for some personal work to be done in the way of custom wiring for a second shore power plug in at the rear of the WC. This ended up requiring some problem solving to make things work just right. They had to make a few trips into town to locate some parts. Labor was quoted at 1 hours, but required more than 4 hours not counting chasing parts and supplies. In the end I paid for parts and 1 hour labor. When was the last time you experienced customer service like this?

If you are in the DFW, TX area, or down south of DFW and find yourself in need of service or even looking for a new Forest River RV I highly suggest you give these fine folks a shot at earning your business. They will go out of their way to deliver to meet your needs.

Texas RV Dealer, new and used travel trailers, fifth wheels, toy haulers, Forest River, new rvs, used rvs, rv service, Dallas, Corsicana, Waco, Athens, RenDel RV Sales, contact Dana Needham

[AVid]

Excellent! Glad it all worked out well for ya. Good dealer service departments seem to be rare these days. Sounds like you found one.

John