Processing fee for warranty work

[JohnD10]

Originally Posted by jeffrapp

JohnD10, I agree with your strategy, if it actually works.
It seems to me that after you post negative reviews, the damage is done. What does the dealership have to gain after that by suddenly doing their job, unless you promise to post positive reviews after they have done the service to your satisfaction, which they would most likely never believe you would do?

All I can say is that it worked for me.

Social media is where it is at these days, and believe it or not, most businesses are now starting to take them seriously!

Now, the Facebook review was on their own Facebook page, which is what got the action, which I wrote first and saved the text in case I needed it for the other two review sites!

Because the dealership is in control of that page, they got the review first to approve the posting.

My phone rang from them within five minutes of me hitting send (and it was the service manager, not one of the counter people)...after two months of playing phone tag with them.

You keep the other two review sites as backup in case the Facebook review doesn't work.

Email just doesn't work anymore for this kind of stuff, other than a way to document interaction with them.

If you rely on email for this kind of interaction they will see this as a weakness and walk all over you.

[dbutton]

Originally Posted by Witch Doctor

No you are wrong, all forest river dealers agree to perform warranty service work for anyone in warranty, but they will service there customers first, also if you break down during travel they agree to get you to the head of the line, it's part of becoming a dealer, has nothing to do with the so called CODB.

So if you think a dealer does not have to turn a profit, simply called cost of doing business, then you are wrong. The only reason a dealer is in business is to turn a profit.
NO dealer RV or otherwise MUST perform extended warranty repairs for a contract they did not sell, this is what I answered. The warranty company will TELL the repair shop what they will pay for the covered repair, many people are naïve thinking the warranty will pay for the complete repair as quoted by the shop. Then you the owner of said vehicle will pay the difference to the repairing shop over & above what warranty pays. This is how its done.
Just trying to help here, not trying to argue.

[dbutton]

Originally Posted by Decon Blue

WRONG , I retired from the auto repair business. I was a MB tech never was any kind of up charge because of individual buying from someplace else. You must of played mechanic at a Yugo dealer.

No need to be rude here, keep the rudeness to yourself! (By the way You no gos are gone!)

[The Renegade]

Originally Posted by dbutton

So if you think a dealer does not have to turn a profit, simply called cost of doing business, then you are wrong. The only reason a dealer is in business is to turn a profit.
NO dealer RV or otherwise MUST perform extended warranty repairs for a contract they did not sell, this is what I answered. The warranty company will TELL the repair shop what they will pay for the covered repair, many people are naïve thinking the warranty will pay for the complete repair as quoted by the shop. Then you the owner of said vehicle will pay the difference to the repairing shop over & above what warranty pays. This is how its done.
Just trying to help here, not trying to argue.

David,
Tell me if I got lost in the thread but I thought we were talking about Warranty work from the original Manufacturer? Extended warranty would be from an outside company right? I could understand maybe the fee for extended warranty but not the original manufacturer warranty.

[Witch Doctor]

Originally Posted by dbutton

So if you think a dealer does not have to turn a profit, simply called cost of doing business, then you are wrong. The only reason a dealer is in business is to turn a profit.
NO dealer RV or otherwise MUST perform extended warranty repairs for a contract they did not sell, this is what I answered. The warranty company will TELL the repair shop what they will pay for the covered repair, many people are naïve thinking the warranty will pay for the complete repair as quoted by the shop. Then you the owner of said vehicle will pay the difference to the repairing shop over & above what warranty pays. This is how its done.
Just trying to help here, not trying to argue.

You are singing a different tune here, this is not a extended warranty this is the standard 12 month, by Forest River is what I'm talking about, please do not be confused. If you read the thread even the factory has said exactly what I posted. No argument here, but a 3rd party warranty is different as you stated, yes a dealer can do that, but not a forest river dealer during the 12 month period is all I said. And I stick to my comment, even the factory agrees.

[Witch Doctor]

Also the OP inquiry was about his 12 month period not an extended. First post

[LegacyFB38]

Third party warranties are notorious for lousy coverage.

Dealers that "punish" customers for not buying the unit from them are both short sited and unworthy of our business. Once they show signs of being a snake, walk away and fine another dealer.

[Pod2Vibe]

Keep in mind that the OP has a 2 year factory warranty on his Isata 5 and this is a Dynamax thread.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by Pod2Vibe

Keep in mind that the OP has a 2 year factory warranty on his Isata 5 and this is a Dynamax thread.

Good Point!

[IsataMatata]

Dealers that "punish" customers for not buying the unit from them are both short sited and unworthy of our business.[/QUOTE]

This is exactly what I was thinking, would have earned a few dollars for my warranty work and could have gained a customer.

[jeffrapp]

Originally Posted by IsataMatata

Dealers that "punish" customers for not buying the unit from them are both short sited and unworthy of our business.

[QUOTE=This is exactly what I was thinking, would have earned a few dollars for my warranty work and could have gained a customer.QUOTE]

They are not punishing customers. They may be short sighted. They are probably unworthy of anybody's business. They don't care about your business, or your too few dollars.
I'm sure that the main reason dealers don't want to do warranty work is......wait for it.....money! They are probably not being paid their normal rates by Forest River for warranty work. They grudgingly accept their own customers, then make them wait as long as possible for service. They usually won't accept non-customers because they can, and don't want them.
Although there are obvious similarities, the RV business (and almost all of it's related businesses) are quite a few steps below the auto business in integrity and product. It's what to expect when you buy an expensive toy, in great demand, built by sub-par employees with poor quality control.
This may not be your experience, and if not, good on ya'. If it is, learn how to fix things and/or open your wallet.
Before we hear from the regular apologists, I'm not claiming that FR is worse or better than the other biggies in the RV industry, nor that some individuals may have had good experiences.

[Bluepill]

Ah, this brings back memories. I spent 45 years in the Automotive Parts and Service business. Independents, Dealerships, Factory Zone Manager, and finally 20 years in my own shop. When a customer would share a horror story, I just smiled and said "This business has a well-earned bad reputation".

My all-time favorite was a sister dealership - Chevy. In 1978 they had a "25th Anniversary Corvette" and wanted the ultimate home run profit on it. When they ran out of up charges (Paint sealant, rust proofing - on a fiberglass car - all sorts of add-ons, etc.) they just added a line to the price tag "$2500 - Additional Dealer Profit". I never did hear if they actually got it. It reminded me of the Don Mclean song "The more it costs, the more it's worth"

[RetiredBadge]

I have never heard of that fee. However I took our 2016 Wildcat in (2017 under warranty) because the TV quit and the rubber around a window had came loose. The fixed the TV, but charged me $290.00 because they said the window was “warped” and it was normal wear and tear. Wear and tear on a one year old 5th wheel.

[Retirednut1]

Very common problem dealers u don't buy from will not treat u like a Forest River customer. I'm a Riverstone owner and local dealer told me he preferred not to do warranty work for people who didn't purchased from him. He said he would put me at the end of the line meaning weeks or months. Forest River needs to enforce their rules to their dealers or fire them. Will not happen because they r more interested in selling campers than firing dealership and servicing customers. If Chevy or Ford let this happen their brand would take major hits. This attitude the dealers have will hurt Forest River and other brands in time.

[TheGerman]

Originally Posted by Bluepill

My all-time favorite was a sister dealership - Chevy. In 1978 they had a "25th Anniversary Corvette" and wanted the ultimate home run profit on it. When they ran out of up charges (Paint sealant, rust proofing - on a fiberglass car - all sorts of add-ons, etc.) they just added a line to the price tag "$2500 - Additional Dealer Profit". I never did hear if they actually got it. It reminded me of the Don Mclean song "The more it costs, the more it's worth"

LOL, they still try that today. Had my RAM truck in for service last year and they had a Hellcat sitting there with 10k "market adjustment". Nevermind this is 4 wheel drive country here. Just looked at their website and Hellcats are a couple of thousand off now ....

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by Retirednut1

Forest River needs to enforce their rules to their dealers or fire them. Will not happen because they r more interested in selling campers than firing dealership and servicing customers. If Chevy or Ford let this happen their brand would take major hits. This attitude the dealers have will hurt Forest River and other brands in time.

This practice is common with all brands and manufacturers of RVs, not just FR.
You have to stop comparing the Auto industry with the RV Industry.
They have nothing in common except that they both sell things with wheels, at dealerships.
Other than that, they couldn't operate any more differently.

And this attitude has been around for at least 20 years, yet RV sales have at record numbers. So much for hurting RV manufacturers and dealers.
The only thing that has hurt them, is high fuel prices, since that lowers sales numbers.

[Decon Blue]

Originally Posted by dbutton

No need to be rude here, keep the rudeness to yourself! (By the way You no gos are gone!)

You no gos are gone ?

[poorturtle]

We purchased our 5th from RV Wholesalers and placed it on our seasonal site in the White Mountains in Arizona. It developed a very minor leak in the cold water line in the belly discovered on a Monday. I advised RV Wholesalers by phone on Monday AM. Tuesday AM I received a call from RVW that FR authorized the repair and later in the day from a mobile tech. Wednesday the Tech was onsite to repair the issue.

First rule: Buy from a dealer who stands behind the product. Forest River will, the dealer is the weak link in the chain.

[2017fr3]

Warranty is warranty. If a dealer is willing to do the repair all they have to do is contact the manufacturer. They can get authorization for the repair. It really is not a big deal. They get paid their labor rate and the parts are sent to them or paid for by the manufacturer. Charging a fee is just plain greedy. They really don’t want to make the repair or take the time to get the job done. What they seem to forget is that they can retain you as a customer long after the warranty is done. Shame on them.

[MAC2014]

We had a major water issue in our Fifth Wheel , I contacted Forrest River and they approved the repairs But since I did not purchase the unit from Northern RV them they wanted full payment in advance. I contacted Kelly at forest river and she gave me the name of another dealer, Waters RV in Waters Michigan, theywent above and beyond to get this unit fixed right, so Please check other dealers, they all have rules they have to comply with but I will Never buy from Northern RV in Gaylord and will go back to Waters for everything!! We bought our unit in Rose City, Michigan and it was just to much of a hassle to take it back down there for service. We bought it new and had a cup in the bathroom catching the water leaking from the fresh water valve on the stool?!! Not the only water issue but that was the first. Keep calling Forrest River until you get the right answer!