Local Dealer Won't Service Out of State Trailer

[USMCbh1983]

Originally Posted by GoneSouth10

Well . . . you could try me??
Like I said, I get them "saying" that to pressure you into a sale (it would probably not even make the top 10 list of high-pressure sales tactics commonly used ), I just don't get them actually refusing to do the work.

A2pfunk - I guess I was always under the impression that, from the dealer's perspective, warranty work was priced the same as regular work - just a different payment source. But as I said, always willing to be edjumucated . . .
(Anyone on the Forum with real, live, actual "inside-the-dealer" intel willing to spill the beans??)

He told me that ALL dealers in Michigan WILL NOT service an RV purchased from Couch’s RV Nation because the owner was arrested for domestic assault. And since “we don’t condone that” nobody in Michigan will service your RV and that’s a long way to drive for maintenance.

When I called other dealers and spoke to their service department, they were dumbfounded. And as I said, they not only never heard of that, not one ever heard of Couch’s.

[MR.M]

Originally Posted by GoneSouth10

Maybe it's just me, but I just don't get this whole issue. I understand a dealer "telling" you they won't service an RV bought elsewhere in order to pressure you into buying from them (and I get FR encouraging people to buy local as a way to support their dealers - that's legit), but seriously, are these local butterheads really going to chop off their nose to spite their face and turn down warranty work because the RV was bought elsewhere?!?!!? They get paid for warranty work whether they sold the RV or not!!
Okay, they lost the sale because they weren't competitive in the eyes of a buyer who had the gumption to drive two states over to get a better deal (and probably get the exact unit they really wanted instead of settling for stock on the local dealer's lot), I get that that's a bummer for them, but are they really going to compound their loss by "refusing on principle" to do warranty work on that out-of-state unit? (Or any other customer-paid maintenance for that matter??)
That just seems so petty and short-sighted that I just can't wrap my head around it as a "business strategy/model" - somebody please educate me!

Warranty work is not much of a money maker . yes it keeps the tech busy between paying jobs . but not really worth much more of a pain then a money maker

[tomkatb]

Do a good PDI.

Most major items are warranties by the manufacturers. Thus could be repaired most anywhere.

It cost a fortune to drive your rv to the dealer for the inspection and again when you bring it home. Pain in the bottom too. You are not doing that for $50 repairs.

Frankly, putting the $5,000 you saved at the rv dealer in the bank works.

You got to be handy.

We bought from Couch’s near Cincinnati. Their delivery was near perfect. No problems. The $5,000 bought the DW a lot of wine. Plus nights in the campgrounds.

[MR.M]

Originally Posted by USMCbh1983

He told me that ALL dealers in Michigan WILL NOT service an RV purchased from Couch’s RV Nation because the owner was arrested for domestic assault. And since “we don’t condone that” nobody in Michigan will service your RV and that’s a long way to drive for maintenance.

When I called other dealers and spoke to their service department, they were dumbfounded. And as I said, they not only never heard of that, not one ever heard of Couch’s.

Couches was great to deal with , bought my unit there . I had a couple small issues and they sent the parts to me right away and i fixed my self . easy peasy

[dustman_stx]

Originally Posted by formerFR

the other part of the equation seems to be that some new to RVing feel as though only their 'local' dealer has the 'know how' to 'service' their RV... but that's bunk. Anyone who knows about RVs can service one, whether a 'dealer', or a 'shop', or a local mechanic, or a mobile RV service, etc.
The factories also cannot 'demand' that you use only 'their' dealers, you can use anyone you choose. The factory, if a warranty claim, will assess the information supplied by the shop and give them the hourly rate they will pay, along with parts that are needed to provide the repair. Just like taking your car to an independent shop for repair, there's no absolute requirement that it 'has' to be a 'Ford' dealer. Use who you choose.

I think you’re confusing insurance and warranty. State laws will vary, but in Texas the law clearly states that to do warranty work you must either be a licensed dealer or be subcontracted by one to complete warranty repairs. I think most RV manufacturers will do reimbursements for warranty repairs which allows for somewhat of a loop hole since the customer is technically paying the shop/tech. But, as others have stated, the factories tend to want to pay for unrealistic labor times. Don’t be surprised if you have to cough up the difference in what it actually costs to do the repair right and what the factory will reimburse. With that said, when a dealer tells me that I try to read intent. If it’s a “hey, just know that we don’t work on rigs we didn’t sell” and it seems informative so that I won’t be expecting to be able to get warranty work at their location, no big deal. If it’s said as a threat to try to bully me into paying more, I walk.

[GoneSouth10]

Originally Posted by formerFR

Why should someone 'demand' that the dealer provide warranty or 'service' for them if they didn't do business with them in the first place?

If you're going to 'save' money by buying an RV from somewhere 'else', then understand that your 'local' dealer is certainly under no obligation to 'service' you - wouldn't YOU feel the same?

I think you may have missed the point of my post.
I'm not raising the question from the consumer side, I'm raising it from the dealer's side. My question was WHY would a dealer turn down warranty work just because the RV wasn't purchased from them? I get the knee jerk reaction of, "You didn't buy from us, why should we service it?", but when you dig down a little deeper, that seemed to me to be cutting off their nose to spite their face.
A2pfunk (along with some others) posted a plausible explanation - that warranty work is not profitable. But, as someone else posted, that warranty work fills in the down time in the service department, thus warranty work IS being performed (for an economic reason), and if it is performed, what's the difference between an RV purchased at that dealership and one purchased elsewhere? Nothing, other than this "punitive" attitude expressed by the OP's dealer.
Thought experiment: I buy my RV in state A and a month later, I move to state B. Are telling me that my local dealer in state B should now refuse to do warranty work on my RV because I didn't buy from him? Doesn't that seem a little shortsighted to you? What happened to, "Hey, let's earn the next sale?"
I'm not trying to change the world here, just curious about the real reasoning behind something that seemed counter-intuitive to me . . .

[GoneSouth10]

Originally Posted by USMCbh1983

because the owner was arrested for domestic assault.

Ummm, okay, I stand corrected - you were right!!
Bizarre (not only the explanation from that dealer, but that the other dealer's hadn't heard of Couch's . . . that's a pretty prevalent name in the RV world - maybe it was just the service tech who hadn't heard of Couch's? )

[dbledan]

I skipped the dealer warrenty.

RV dealers are NOT auto dealers. The agreements are very different with the manufacturer.

Dealers really don't get paid well to do warrenty work so some only do it on units they sell. Salesmen will tell you anything to sell you something. You will find better service if you tell them it's not warrenty work and they prioritize the work accordingly because they charge you more than they get paid for warrenty work.

I have not dealt with dealers other than a propane pigtail which I chose to just replace myself rather than tow the trailer 40 miles to prove it was bad, but this is what I have heard from friends and the forum. Most, not all are terrible at it anyway so by not providing service they are doing you a favor. They will not fix issues and it will come back with more problems than it went in with. Some have come back with more in the black tank than they went in with. RVs will sit for months on their lot for simple repairs. You will spend a LOT of time chasing them down for progress reports only to hear them blame FR on parts delays or improper parts. If you call FR you find out no parts have been ordered and no claim has been filed yet.

Dealing with FR is easier than that from my experience. Call or email them and get prior authorization to do repairs. If doing yourself they will cover parts otherwise you can have and independent RV tech come to you to do the repair quickly because they want to move on.

Do what you want with your warrenty but don't let them scare you into buying from them because of warrenty service. Any dealer doing that should be left hanging.

I also find that it's better to deal with the OEM warrenty than FR for the various components and they have a longer warranty usually anyway. Most things that fail are third party items bought by FR so I would guess if you file with them they likely have to go back to dexter, furrion or who ever. It's like having the dealer do warrenty work, they have more work to do.

Hope that helps and good luck with your purchase.

[SlowrideHD]

Local dealers (all dealers) have to get their service tech people from somewhere. A lot of times, it seems, the best techs are out on their own, or working at an independent shop.

Case in point: my brother bought a brand new Cardinal from a nearby dealer. It had so many problems that they couldn't get them all fixed at the Goshen rally two or three years ago. He had it just a few months before we went to the rally and he had a spot in the Cardinal area. So they advised him to follow up with the warranty work at his local dealer. They tried to complete the work but after 6 or 7 weeks there, they had caused more problems than they were qualified to solve or fix. I felt sorry for everyone involved. The dealer wanted to help at first but just didn't have experienced enough techs. They finally threw up their hands and admitted they couldn't do any better and actually gave my brother a few hundred bucks just to leave with it. He took it to an independent shop and they had everything fixed in a week or so.

So don't be too concerned about getting work done at your selling dealer. I bought mine six years ago and it has never been to the dealer. I did have a couple small issues fixed at Goshen (Alta circuit board replaced and one hydraulic jack replaced) at no charge.

[Thomas ho]

Originally Posted by wmtire

Yes, this can be common in the RV industry. It's actually printed on the back of most FR sales brochures and is on their website about buying local.


I'll get you a link in a minute.


However, you can use independent RV techs, who can usually do the warranty work for you and skip any dealer after purchase. You just have to get pre-approval from FR, which is what many do.

I went through this also. You need to contact forest river direct"NO DEALER INVOLVED" they fixed mine under warranty out of state and at a rv shop . Once they get the ok from F.R. and get paper work done then the repairs will get done. WARRANTY PARTS DONT GET TO REPAIR SHOP FAST.So be prepared to be with out trailer for 4 to 5 months. Ruined a whole summer of vacations . Keep in contact with who you spoke to at F.R. Because if he says they will do it use him to keep repairs on track. I called the MAN, OVER 3 TIMES TO KEEP MY REPAIRS GOING. You have to be trailer by brand " palamino,,, wildcat etc. not just forest river. GOOD LUCK.

[RussPastuch]

Slightly off topic but the same applies to major pieces of electronics. If I, as a Canadian, get a great deal on a TV from the states and then have a problem, I have to ship it back. Local Panasonic, or whoever, won't touch it. And really, think, why should they.. What kind of loyally does it show, price first !

[2plus1]

With electronics you add another issue to the mix. The Canadian Standards Act (CSA) and Underwriters Laboratories (ULC). CSA sets their own safety standards. ULC may or may not meet those standards of safety. A tech in Canada may not touch a ULC unit bought in the USA for that reason. There have been instances where an insurance claim was refused because of this.

[Mike522]

Things may be different now however in 2017 I purchased a new Cedar Creek 5er from a dealer in Ohio because the dealer here in Arkansas was considerably more expensive at their lowest bid. Of course after I brought it home I found some bug that had to be worked out so I took it to the dealer here in Arkansas and they were very happy to work on it. We were pleasantly surprised to the point of feeling just a little guilty for not buying it there. I am sure things are different in different places.

2017 Cedar Creek Silverback 35IK
2017 RAM Laramie 3500 DRW Cummins, Aisin Trans
2 fur babies, Mya and Cooper

[sfsgm]

Originally Posted by USMCbh1983

He told me that ALL dealers in Michigan WILL NOT service an RV purchased from Couch’s RV Nation because the owner was arrested for domestic assault. And since “we don’t condone that” nobody in Michigan will service your RV and that’s a long way to drive for maintenance.

When I called other dealers and spoke to their service department, they were dumbfounded. And as I said, they not only never heard of that, not one ever heard of Couch’s.

That's an outright silly excuse. So then what about owners that have DUIs? Or reckless driving convictions? What about third degree assault? Dealing cocaine? Do they have a list of what convictions they don't condone besides domestic violence? I'm calling major BS on that excuse.

[Tundra 2014]

X2-Corocky1998-good advice. My independent repair has me schedule repair so I leave trailer in covered storage until they are ready for it. In and out within 3 days of taking it in. They order parts ahead on known repairs and have them ready. They have to get warranty repairs approved prior. Amazes me that the process takes a 1/4 of the time of dealer. Now my FR dealer will not order parts unless they do the repair, ridiculous!

[Cold Lake Kid]

My experience was that even the local dealer of the Forest River 2013 Sun Seeker Motor Home I own could not seem to obtain the correct lenses for popped of and lost amber running/clearance lights or a replacement storage access door.
I gave up and went to another, closer dealer and had them retro-fit different lights on the cabin. Three years waiting for the access door to be delivered.

Any service I tried to obtain from the authorized dealer, involved a two to three+ week wait, leaving the unit at their location, some 50 KM away and finding my own way home.
Message received.
Lesson learned.

[TitanMike]

A few decades ago this issue existed in the Car Dealer world. Dealers refused to provide warranty repair to the big dealers that opened up in a market and low-balled prices.

When you are a "Dealer" (RV, Truck, Auto, etc) and you have made the investment in a Sales and Service facility, then someone else comes along dumping product at low prices without the investment in facilities how would you feel.

A well known Discount Car Dealer (he had a dog named "Spot" and a cute jingle) came to the Seattle area. Undercut every dealer within a 200 mile (or more) radius. Funny thing though, when you needed warranty repair on a vehicle you purchased from him, his shop was full and you couldn't get an appointment for months. Thing was however, his shop was merely full of parked cars and he only had two mechanics that were constantly repairing used cars.

If you needed warranty service, they'd tell you one of the other same brand dealers could help you.

No wonder Dealers took the attitude of "we only service what we sell.


So moving forward, why would an RV dealer be all that happy about handling warranty service on sales by "internet Dealers" who probably have nothing more than a Mobile Home type office and a huge gravel paved field for their inventory ------- 1 to 4 states away.

[BigRockr]

Couple points. The dealer can say he won't work on your vehicle because has more warranty work than he will ever get done thanks to the quality of the product he sells (thank you manufacturers). Do dealers make "less" on warranty work? I'd like to see some hard facts on that. For me, hard to believe. Would an rv salesman ever stretch the truth? Yes, period. Do dealers ever pressure manufacturers to make a better product. My gut feeling is no. More glitz, sure. Keep that shop full with repairs. An empty service bay is a bottom line killer. Anyone in reasonable health can repair an rv.

[jkoenig24]

There's a dirty little "Catch 22" secret re RV service. For arguments sake, we'll say that you DID purchase whatever RV you choose to buy, locally. Unless you ONLY camp locally, you're far more likely to need service where you ACTUALLY are camping which could be (is likely to be?) far away from you residence and the selling dealer. When that happens, you're at the mercy of a "local" dealer who doesn't know you from Adam. Your "local dealer" simply won't be there for you.

ALL dealers want to sell you an RV (and preferably, an RV they have on their lot). Definitely shop around and, let a "local" dealer know that you would LIKE to buy from them BUT, they have to be willing to work with you (be ready to walk out the door; don't be surprised if they call you with a better offer). Price, features, extras etc all come into play. It could well be worth paying a slightly higher price (all things being considered). Just remember that when (not if) your RV needs service, you may be far away from from the selling dealer and, make sure whatever dealer you DO buy from is aware that you KNOW this simple but often overlooked fact (it could mitigate a dealer's assertion of the importance of "buying locally"). It could help you get a better price from a dealer.

NOTE: many dealers will try to sell you what they call an "Extended Warranty". Technically, these are NOT warranties but in fact are "Service Contracts" that come with LOTS of "Fine Print". Read ALL this "Fine Print" carefully and, be sure you understand EXACTLY what you'll be getting AND, EXACTLY what your responsibilities are. Service Contracts often REQUIRE you to have your RV regularly "inspected" (which YOU must pay for quarterly, annually etc) by someone they specify. Miss an inspection and, you may have lost your "protection". This "gotcha" is one reason why some owners choose to "self insure".

[Reverse_snowbird]

Originally Posted by GoneSouth10

I think you may have missed the point of my post.
I'm not raising the question from the consumer side, I'm raising it from the dealer's side. My question was WHY would a dealer turn down warranty work just because the RV wasn't purchased from them?

As stated before, they don't want warranty work because it doesn't pay well. Once you rig is no longer under warranty and you're paying for it, they will be more than willing to make the repairs (At least that's been our experience.)
Not everyone needs work done under warranty. We bought a trailer and drove it for 5 years with the only repairs necessary being small repairs that we could do ourselves.