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Old 12-05-2019, 05:14 PM   #61
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Originally Posted by Scotrv View Post
DaGrinch, yes, the Sales dept. gives it a look over at delivery looking for drivers damage and to check for the equipment it was ordered with. But again, no manufacturer is paying a dealer for any check of the trailer. They only pay for a warranty claim once a defect is found during PDI.
Seems most dealer do a PDI and submit any warranty items fix them and then sale the unit . they are throwing away work and money, though less then a private pay would pay . but they negotiate with FR on labor hrs etc . so it seems the unit should have all ready been through some kind of warranty work before it was even sold . I do think the OP should have done their own pdi and had that taken care of before closing the deal which makes out of state buying sometimes a challenge . I was lucky i bought from Couches RV nation and the few warrant items i had i was able to get them to send me parts and i did the installs and better then most dealer techs .
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Old 12-05-2019, 07:19 PM   #62
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Warranty false info

I had and still do have an issue with info about warranty work on my Forest River MH on a Mercedes chassis....Sprinter. When I purchased I was assured that the "local" Mercedes dealer.....right here in town can take care of any chassis issues and of course the RV dealer would take care of coach issues. NOT. The local Mercedes dealer does not touch Sprinters. Sorry, MAM, but you will need to travel 4 hours away to the the town that has a Mercedes dealer that DOES work on Sprinters.
Now I have a recall issue........and am receiving daily notices by phone and email for the emergency issue......right! It is winter......like I am going to make a 4 hour drive over the mountain.....stay the day or ???? And drive back over the mountain??
Before you buy......check....do not listen to your salesman!
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Old 12-05-2019, 07:37 PM   #63
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DaGrinch, my first post clearly states that the PDI is done before the Orientation.
So when you sell a new RV you do not charge any dealer prep fees and there is no mark up to cover the cost of the PDI? If not, I find it very hard to believe. Not very smart business and either is waiting to just before orientation to find out the rig has problems. IMHO
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Old 12-05-2019, 07:41 PM   #64
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I know this topic has been covered in other threads, but wanted to relate our experience with getting warranty work done as (naive) first time buyers back in 2018:

We live in TN but purchased our 2019 Grey Wolf 27RR toy hauler up in OH; the only two dealers here didn’t have one in stock and we weren’t going to pay thousands more to have one special ordered or to buy a new truck to handle something bigger and heavier. We expanded our search further and further out (NC, SC, VA, ect.). A dealer 600+ miles away in OH was the closest dealer that had what we were looking for.

When we were up in OH ready to make the deal, I spoke with a FR rep on the phone and specifically asked her about having warranty work done at another dealer under the circumstances. She did admit they encourage people to purchase local because many FR dealers won’t do warranty work on units they didn’t sell (didn’t give me a reason, though). So I called my local TN dealer and he said they’d do warranty work on it for me if needed. Problem solved, right? WRONG…

Besides the numerous cosmetic issues I had to have addressed by the dealer in OH before taking possession (since they didn’t give the unit the once over and have them corrected BEFORE selling it as they’re paid to do when they accepted delivery from FR), we discovered a few additional minor issues after taking it for a shake-down at a local campground in TN. We dropped it off to our local dealer (great folks, btw) to have the issues repaired. They said they would do the warranty work but asked that we pay them up front and submit the claim to FR ourselves; we agreed. After all, as long as the work’s done at an authorized FR dealer, what’s the difference who submits the claim, right? WRONG…

I contacted FR owner relations, the same woman I talked with when in OH, to find out where to submit the claim and she told me to email it to her.

At this point I will try to cut to the chase and spare you as many of the ad nauseam details of the weeks-long back and forth that ensued as possible.

First I was told that without pictures, they wouldn’t reimburse. Although most of the issues couldn’t be captured in pictures (e.g., a slightly misaligned entry door hanging up on something just looks like a picture of the door), luckily the dealer that did the repairs had taken some nonetheless and I was able to forward them to FR.

Then she asked if I had gotten pre-authorization from them before having the job done. Um, no. Didn’t know I had to since I took it to a FR dealer. I asked her for written guidelines on the warranty claim process since I didn’t see them published in the FR handbook or on their website, and she sent me something regarding using “mobile techs or non-dealers” (if anyone wants a copy of it, let me know). But, I said, this IS a FR dealer. She said I know, but since you’re submitting the claim yourself instead of the dealer submitting it, they’re treating it as a non-dealer claim. Huh?? Well, ok then. She also said that even though they have no authority over what the dealers do, they’d be reporting this dealer to the warranty department for not following proper procedure.

Again, in my mind, what’s the difference?

Anyway, after much angst, I finally did get reimbursed - less $50 for the tax and “shop supplies” used to do the job, but it was hard fought.

Come to find out after searching around the web and talking with a couple of dealers, the reason many dealers don’t like doing warranty work – and in many cases won’t – is because it sometimes takes FR up to 180 days to reimburse them (yes, that’s 6 months) and, on top of that, they don’t get paid their full labor rate. So now we know.

I got the clear impression from my civil but tense email exchanges with FR over getting reimbursed for this claim that FR really doesn’t care much about us, the owners. She all but said that in one of the emails:

"The dealers are privately owned businesses that look at Forest River as a vendor to buy wholesale product from.
We don’t have any control over their businesses and the policies for warranty are in place to benefit the dealers because those are our customers.
Those companies pay for their units in full when they buy them from the factory so the relationship between those businesses and who they sell to, are solely between them.
That means that for the warranty process, we stand behind the products by covering our dealers financially if they need reimbursement from us and they can get that by filing claims."

Of course I beg to differ when it comes to the warranty since the warranty is on the unit I now own and is between me and FR, not the dealer I bought it from.
In all fairness, the FR owner relations woman was helpful and I tried not to take my frustration with getting stuck in the middle of FR’s warranty claim issues between them and their dealers out on her. Like she said, she’s just the one who relays the bad news.

So as a first-time buyer, my experience was a real eye-opener and I learned a lot. Had I known then what I know now, I probably would’ve walked away from the dealer we bought from since it was their dereliction of duty in not doing the post delivery inspection that they’re paid by FR to do and taking care of any issues prior to selling it that put us in this quagmire to begin with. Fortunately, all of the issues were cosmetic in nature, not structural or mechanical and all was well in the end but it was extremely frustrating.

My advice to first-timers is, 1) yes, buy local if at all possible, 2) ask the dealer to see the delivery inspection report from when *they* received the unit from FR - and any repairs that were done, 3) make sure they do a thorough walk-through (PDI) with you, 4) even if they do, take as much time as you need to go over the unit with a fine toothed comb, including every seam, molding, hinge, nut & bolt etc. and 5) if there are any problems, don't sign anything, pay in full or take delivery until they're taken care of. Period. Then 6) take it for a good shake-down immediately after taking delivery and if any other issues come to light, take it right back to the dealer to have them addressed. And take pictures. Good luck.
Great article. I experienced this same thing with a lot of major issues. We made the mistake of full timing right off the bat. Lesson learned and we have posted several times about our"new" 2019 class C Forester. Agree 100 percent
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Old 12-05-2019, 08:37 PM   #65
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We ordered ours to our specs while sitting at my computer here in Houston Texas. We picked it up in Grand Rapids Michigan. In January 2018.

Our local dealer is wonderful and has completed the few warranty repairs needed.

BUt we knew our local dealer as we were previous customers.
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Old 12-05-2019, 08:43 PM   #66
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Buy Local

I am soooo glad I bought local. Had lots of issues with my Berkshire 40 D and had to have the dealer onside to get the work done. It’s not like buying a new car where you can pretty much expect trouble free operation from the get go. New RVs have little quality control and as near as I can determine by talking to many owners of many brands; that’s the norm. High priced and poor quality. Like cars back in the mid 70s.
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Old 12-05-2019, 09:12 PM   #67
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Great post and spot on. This entire issue is going to sink the RV industry if they don't get their arms around it and soon. Everyone has experienced the issue. For one, our RV's have wheels. They do not and should not stay put next door to where you bought the damn thing.
The dealer we bought our diesel pusher from had the same responses with all the things you brought up even though WE DID BUY THE DAMN THING THERE.
We have finally got many of the bugs out of our rig on our own over the last couple years, would not have our original dealer even air tires since they were such a pain on service. Any other dealers we have visited, when confronted with any issues had the same responses you brought up.

I am too old now, but back in the day I would have loved to have had a chance to volunteer to help the industry work through this tragic issue. I can't imagine how many sales are lost because folks just don't want to play the game.

The automotive industry figured it out years ago, why not RV's. Auto dealers are also independent businesses, however, I can take my Ford or Chevy to any dealer in the US for service if need be. I've heard all the crap about that not being apples to apples, but to the customer it surely is.

Thanks for bringing it up!
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Old 12-05-2019, 09:13 PM   #68
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First RV purchased, picking up tomorrow. (12/6

We just bought our first TT, graduating from a tent. I priced the wholesalers and then a local dealer. Local dealer was $4000 over them. But a dealer 75 miles from local dealer had the unit priced at the wholesalers price. I called dealer and told him of their price and he said he would match their price. So I bought local, will find out how that goes 12/6 when we pick it up. I should say both TT were 2019 and dealers have 2020 models on the lot. So far I have had a non pressure buying experience.
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Old 12-05-2019, 09:46 PM   #69
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Repair woes

We bought our new Forest River Salem trailer in 2015 from Camping World New Port Richey Florida. We got a 5 year warranty, thankfully. They did fix the defective remote control, repaired the leaky shower, defective battery, replaced the peeling sofa. We had problems with the AC/heater from day one. The dealer tried to fix it by replacing 4 air conditioners, and still wasn't fixed. I finally paid another dealer to find that the thermostat wires were in the wrong place, causing the problem, also bare wires attached to the control board and thermostat. I also needed the steps fixed as one of the bolts was loose, what they found was disturbing, the floor board holding the bolt wasn't wood, it was filler.
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Old 12-05-2019, 10:43 PM   #70
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Buy a lightly used trailer that the previous owner has already dealt with the early problems. Fix anything else yourself. Save a ton of money and hassle.
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Old 12-05-2019, 11:18 PM   #71
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I had and still do have an issue with info about warranty work on my Forest River MH on a Mercedes chassis....Sprinter. When I purchased I was assured that the "local" Mercedes dealer.....right here in town can take care of any chassis issues and of course the RV dealer would take care of coach issues. NOT. The local Mercedes dealer does not touch Sprinters. Sorry, MAM, but you will need to travel 4 hours away to the the town that has a Mercedes dealer that DOES work on Sprinters.
Now I have a recall issue........and am receiving daily notices by phone and email for the emergency issue......right! It is winter......like I am going to make a 4 hour drive over the mountain.....stay the day or ???? And drive back over the mountain??
Before you buy......check....do not listen to your salesman!
Agreed. I was traveling a few years ago in Oregon myself when I had a coach issue.I was inland in the Bend region, calling all over the place for Sprinter service. I ended up having to back track west to Eugene, one day out of my way wasting alot of time.

At Mercedes dealerships in CA and NV , I've noticed the Sprinter’s increasing popularity to the point where it’s a large part of their business now.
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Old 12-06-2019, 08:28 AM   #72
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So when you sell a new RV you do not charge any dealer prep fees and there is no mark up to cover the cost of the PDI? If not, I find it very hard to believe. Not very smart business and either is waiting to just before orientation to find out the rig has problems. IMHO
We do not charge for PDI, freight, propane, battery or Orientation. The cost is built into the unit and the selling price of course has it built in. But, we advertise a price that we don't just suddenly go, surprise and add cost to the buyer. 99% of the time any problem found during PDI is a pretty minor fix. Believe it or not, most RVs come from the factory with all systems working.
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Old 12-06-2019, 11:19 AM   #73
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We do not charge for PDI, freight, propane, battery or Orientation. The cost is built into the unit and the selling price of course has it built in. But, we advertise a price that we don't just suddenly go, surprise and add cost to the buyer. 99% of the time any problem found during PDI is a pretty minor fix. Believe it or not, most RVs come from the factory with all systems working.
So you do charge for PDI, freight,propane ,battery,and orientation the cost is just rolled into the price and not listed by item . typical dealer talk . act like it's done out of the goodness of your heart . lol every rv that goes out the door goes out with one issues or another minor or not it's warranty work for the dealer before it's even on sale .
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Old 12-06-2019, 11:43 AM   #74
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We do not charge for PDI, freight, propane, battery or Orientation. The cost is built into the unit and the selling price of course has it built in. But, we advertise a price that we don't just suddenly go, surprise and add cost to the buyer. 99% of the time any problem found during PDI is a pretty minor fix. Believe it or not, most RVs come from the factory with all systems working.
I can’t believe customers even tolerate the common dealer practice of add-on fees. People should refuse to buy from dealers who do this. I got motorhomes quotes from several dealers. All but one had add-on fees for this or that. One dealer had a freight fee of $1295 to transport the RV 3 hours from Elkhart to Indianapolis, Indiana. Over $400/hour to transport a motorhome? However, one dealer quoted a single price for the motorhome, full of fuel, ready to camp. It was the dealer with no add-on fees that won my business.

When I go to the grocery store to buy a box of cereal, I don’t pay a fee to have it shipped to the store and another fee to have it put on the shelf. It’s just one price for the item. RVs and automobiles should be the same way, and dealers that have the lowest price, and just one price without fees, are the ones that win my business.
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Old 12-06-2019, 12:17 PM   #75
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Coach-Net help

We had an initial issue with our 2017 Cardinal 3950TZ when we brought it home. It had a hydraulic leak. Contacted local dealers who sell FR products and they told us that since they don't sell the Cardinal line they couldn't help us as filing for warranty repair was a giant pain in the as or their first appt. was a couple of months away. FR gave us list of Coach-Net agents in area to get repair done. Called them and one finally agreed to come out as the unit was in our driveway and not on road somewhere, but they wanted $200 up front before looking at it. We paid as a trip was planed and they came out to tell us within 5 minutes they could not fix it. Took it back to dealer (3 hr trip) who fixed the problem. FR would only pay $100 as they don't reimburse for diagnosis. How do you figure out what is wrong without diagnosis. Since the warranty is so short and we didn't feel the extended warranty was worth the price it has all been on us since. Fortunately there hasn't been much wrong that the local guys couldn't fix and our selling dealer does anything else cutting us breaks where possible. They try to get us in as fast as possible (usually a week or two). Had to buy a few hours away because that was the only place to get a Cardinal. I wouldn't let distance to selling dealer influence any decision as your going to do it yourself or pay anyway.
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Old 12-06-2019, 01:31 PM   #76
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I can’t believe customers even tolerate the common dealer practice of add-on fees. People should refuse to buy from dealers who do this. I got motorhomes quotes from several dealers. All but one had add-on fees for this or that. One dealer had a freight fee of $1295 to transport the RV 3 hours from Elkhart to Indianapolis, Indiana. Over $400/hour to transport a motorhome? However, one dealer quoted a single price for the motorhome, full of fuel, ready to camp. It was the dealer with no add-on fees that won my business.

When I go to the grocery store to buy a box of cereal, I don’t pay a fee to have it shipped to the store and another fee to have it put on the shelf. It’s just one price for the item. RVs and automobiles should be the same way, and dealers that have the lowest price, and just one price without fees, are the ones that win my business.

The fees are there just not listed . if the price is the same and they show me a work sheet with charges for air i don't care as long as price is same or better .

Buy cereal it has shipping, production, stocking shelves , etc all factored in all ready . not like you get it delivered for free . same with an RV the fees to get it to the dealer are there and you pay them weather it's listed or not . wonder why a box of name brand cereal cost $5.
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Old 12-06-2019, 01:34 PM   #77
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Another sad statement to the pathetic state of the American RV manufacturers. Imagine this nonsense dealing with a car or truck warranty. You can't imagine it? That's because IT WOULDN'T HAPPEN!
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Old 12-06-2019, 01:40 PM   #78
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We do not charge for PDI, freight, propane, battery or Orientation. The cost is built into the unit and the selling price of course has it built in. But, we advertise a price that we don't just suddenly go, surprise and add cost to the buyer. 99% of the time any problem found during PDI is a pretty minor fix. Believe it or not, most RVs come from the factory with all systems working.



"Just want to clarify one of your statements, Forrest River nor any other manufacturer pays us (Dealer) to inspect/PDI, (Pre Delivery Inspection) an RV when we receive it."

"But again, no manufacturer is paying a dealer for any check of the trailer."

"I was just clarifying for the OP that dealers do not get paid for PDI as he stated."

"I just want people to know that the cost of the PDI is totally on the dealer."

"We do not charge for PDI, freight, propane, battery or Orientation."

"The cost is built into the unit and the selling price of course has it built in."




These are all quotes from your posts. We all get it that you deserve to be paid for the work. I just don't like that you tried very hard to make it sound like you get no compensation for the PDI. All you had to say was we do not get paid for the PDI until the unit is sold. But I'm sure that was just an oversight on your part.
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Old 12-06-2019, 02:07 PM   #79
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"Just want to clarify one of your statements, Forrest River nor any other manufacturer pays us (Dealer) to inspect/PDI, (Pre Delivery Inspection) an RV when we receive it."

"But again, no manufacturer is paying a dealer for any check of the trailer."

"I was just clarifying for the OP that dealers do not get paid for PDI as he stated."

"I just want people to know that the cost of the PDI is totally on the dealer."

"We do not charge for PDI, freight, propane, battery or Orientation."

"The cost is built into the unit and the selling price of course has it built in."




These are all quotes from your posts. We all get it that you deserve to be paid for the work. I just don't like that you tried very hard to make it sound like you get no compensation for the PDI. All you had to say was we do not get paid for the PDI until the unit is sold. But I'm sure that was just an oversight on your part.
Not only do they get paid (eventually) for the PDI, they are also reimbursed for any parts/labor necessary to correct issues found during that PDI via a warranty claim to the manufacturer.

I simply can't understand why dealers are so reluctant to get paid money?
Are they so busy with high dollar customer work that they don't want to fix issues at warranty rates? I don't know but I'd rather have my techs fixing warranty items than shooting the breeze.

And at some point, if these units continue to get sold with an arms length list of items that are issues, there will be no customer paid work to rely on because there'll be no customers.
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Old 12-06-2019, 02:21 PM   #80
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X2! Well said!!

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Originally Posted by 5picker View Post
Not only do they get paid (eventually) for the PDI, they are also reimbursed for any parts/labor necessary to correct issues found during that PDI via a warranty claim to the manufacturer.

I simply can't understand why dealers are so reluctant to get paid money?
Are they so busy with high dollar customer work that they don't want to fix issues at warranty rates? I don't know but I'd rather have my techs fixing warranty items than shooting the breeze.

And at some point, if these units continue to get sold with an arms length list of items that are issues, there will be no customer paid work to rely on because there'll be no customers.
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