Sunseeker Owners ??

[bclemens]

Should actually say "did none of that". Just didn't feel practical. So I traded in for a nice practical Altima. (I do get a loaner at the dealership though. When the A/C went out in my house they didn't give me a loaner then however)

Used to know a sales guy that had a Maserati. People fall into two camps when they see something like that "he's doing really well" or "I'm paying too much".

[bob34787]

Originally Posted by bclemens

Should actually say "did none of that". Just didn't feel practical. So I traded in for a nice practical Altima. (I do get a loaner at the dealership though. When the A/C went out in my house they didn't give me a loaner then however)

Used to know a sales guy that had a Maserati. People fall into two camps when they see something like that "he's doing really well" or "I'm paying too much".

again slackers! when I replaced the A/C in my last house the contractor supplied portable A/C unit, you must be doing something wrong.

[NCIC105]

Originally Posted by bclemens

NCIC105, I think I responded over on the Facebook page....which you then mentioned going to the Attorney general.

Please don't misunderstand me...I'm not trying to skirt service. Let me put it a different way. If you had a house built and bought it with appliances. (as I did with my last house) and your furnace goes out the first week. Do you call the builder or the furnace company?

So while I totally understand your frustration. It sounds like it had an Onan problem, the dealer screwed up the repair and you seem to be mad at Forest River for that? It was an Onan issue covered under the Onan warranty program.

Just about every warranty under the sun, covers parts and labor not time lost or gas. Even auto warranties (Ford, Lexus, BMW) don't pay you for your time to take the car into the dealership to wait around for warranty repairs.

Your best course of action if you are serious is to contact the dealer that made the error in the first place. I don't know of any industry that compensates for time, work lost, fuel, pain and suffering as part of a warranty claim.

Yes you could tell I was frustrated...I did build a home recently...And call me strange but I had the builder come out and replace the heat pump because it failed and burned up the wiring......

Guess I look at it differently as I expected the builder to take care of warranty items as that is the reason I hired him...Now if I hired the sub contractors then i would agree....

[JLeising]

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.

[bclemens]

I wholeheartedly agree that dealer experience can be 75% of the buying process. I do have some really good dealers, but two thingsI have noticed.
1. Lack of certified RV techs. They are like gold right now
2. No one was prepared for this year. As of yesterday we had already passed all of 2012. I was at a show and the person had to wait 20 days to take delivery. Their shop does PDI's and deliveries and warranty. There are so many deliveries that most shops are ill prepared to handle that and service work. So do you delay the warranty or they guy wanting to pick up his unit? I know it's a tough balancing act.

No excuses. Just explaining the situation. That is one area I think FR is ahead of the game. Some mfg's only let you service at a stocking dealer. We open that up to some service only repair shops (as long as they have certified techs). At the end of the day we're not as concerned about making sure dealerships get the service work, but that the customer gets taken care of quickly and efficiently.

We're doing a much better job of selecting dealerships, but it will still take some time. I will tell you I'm saying "no" to dealers more than I am saying yes these days. That also comes with experience. When I first started I'd sign any dealer that would take my lines. I've learned that can be more trouble than its worth.

Fear not. We're paying attention.

[MrJoe]

Originally Posted by bclemens

I wholeheartedly agree that dealer experience can be 75% of the buying process. I do have some really good dealers, but two thingsI have noticed.
1. Lack of certified RV techs. They are like gold right now
2. No one was prepared for this year. As of yesterday we had already passed all of 2012. I was at a show and the person had to wait 20 days to take delivery. Their shop does PDI's and deliveries and warranty. There are so many deliveries that most shops are ill prepared to handle that and service work. So do you delay the warranty or they guy wanting to pick up his unit? I know it's a tough balancing act.

No excuses. Just explaining the situation. That is one area I think FR is ahead of the game. Some mfg's only let you service at a stocking dealer. We open that up to some service only repair shops (as long as they have certified techs). At the end of the day we're not as concerned about making sure dealerships get the service work, but that the customer gets taken care of quickly and efficiently.

We're doing a much better job of selecting dealerships, but it will still take some time. I will tell you I'm saying "no" to dealers more than I am saying yes these days. That also comes with experience. When I first started I'd sign any dealer that would take my lines. I've learned that can be more trouble than its worth.

Fear not. We're paying attention.

Mr. C - Is there a list of approved service centers for the Forester/Sunseeker lines? That would be a big help for folks like us who are new to this.

[NCIC105]

Originally Posted by MrJoe

Mr. C - Is there a list of approved service centers for the Forester/Sunseeker lines? That would be a big help for folks like us who are new to this.

Agree..This would help

[Garrette]

Originally Posted by MrJoe

Mr. C - Is there a list of approved service centers for the Forester/Sunseeker lines? That would be a big help for folks like us who are new to this.

Would also be interested is such a list, if it exist. BC, what relationship does FR have with Camping World as it pertains to warranty work? Can I take it to CW, they get preapproval from FR and do the work with a smile?

[4Gcampers]

Good question...how about camping world? They are always plentiful while on the road.

[Wildkats66]

We got a 2013 2860DS Chevy 4500 last Jan and so far napa problems. So I guess since I have said this I will have some sort of problem next weekend.

All my problems were lack of understanding about the Sunseeker. But so far we would not trade it for anything.

I did change all the stock oils for Amsoil of which I have used since 1978. Great stuff. It's in all three Jeeps and my daughters Escape.

[bclemens]

No list. They can look things up in an area, but I am told there is no list.

As for Camping World, some of them are certainly possibilities. I signed a store last year and they had a great year with our stuff so now every store is asking for the line. We went from about 1 store to 20 in less than 6 months. I'm guessing if they carry any Forest River lines they should be able to do warranty work.

[kswing60]

We purchased a 2013 3010DS in 2012. Took delivery in October 2012 and have been very pleased with the unit. After 1 year of ownership we have only one warrenty issue. We took the side by side refridgerator option and it started to not work on propane, it is currently in the shop being checked. Other than that only minor issues; screen door rattled I fixed that by caulking the bottom section of the door thanks to the advice on this forum, the door was squeeking that was loose screws, the post of the dinet table squeeks when driving (need to fix that still) and the water line to the ice maker popped off because the installer used the wrong fitting that was an easy fix.

[rcstroll]

Own 2012 Sunseeker 30103. Love it overall. Had one problem with shore power that turned out to be the hookup's problem when I plugged into it - without protection. Warranty fixed the parts blown and now I have the best electrical protect I could find. Highly recommended. Only other problem experienced is the onboard GPS. I don't like it.

[DXSMac]

I've had issues with each Sunseeker I owned, but always got them taken care of, just went to the closest dealer where ever I was at, and usually got them fixed. The only major issue I had was on a previous Sunseeker I had a frig go poof during the first year, took a week to get a new one, work was done at a dealer in a small town. Other than that, it's been a leak here, a leak there.....

Current Sunseeker 3170 I've had:

Water leak in City Water connection, mobile RV dealer ascertained it was a factory defect, it got fixed free.

Shear pin in slideout broke. Slideout wouldn't go out, I panicked that this would be a BIGGIE, dealer in Montana fixed it in an hour, covered under warranty...

And a couple minor other things, too.

If it's summer, you might have problems getting in to get fixed, as RV dealers are busy. But if it's winter and you are in the North, RV dealers are happy to get the business.

[bclemens]

What dealer in Montana fixed it? When those shear pins break...dealers quote 6 hours plus to us for warranty

[Garrette]

Was the shear pin on the couch slide?

[Scootdawg]

Hello, let me make this forum come back to life. We just picked up our 2014 Sunseeker 2900 in October and have been able to use it on 3 occasions before packing it up for the 6 month Buffalo winter. We have not found any issues with it yet, probably because we are still learning how to use it.

[bmstone]

We have a 2013 Sunseeker. Nothing major but we found the radio/gps system to be buggy. Contacted the mfg for the radio and they sent me a firmware upgrade chip that fixed the problem.

[Mike & Molly]

Our 2013 3010DS has been 100% trouble free so far.
Purchased in February 2013. Know on wood.....

[NCIC105]

Originally Posted by bmstone

We have a 2013 Sunseeker. Nothing major but we found the radio/gps system to be buggy. Contacted the mfg for the radio and they sent me a firmware upgrade chip that fixed the problem.

What was the system doing?