New Forest River Service Policy

[Stovebolt]

Warren Buffet owns FR, he wants to make money not loose it. Might be the reason for the change.

[uhduh camping]

We tend to blame dealers for long repair times and other issues. I can see the dealer down the road from me, has two service bays and is just swamped. If FR had regional service centers to deal with large scale issues or recurring issues. Then the dealer could then have the ability to fix the leaking pipe or other smaller repairs quickly. Yes, there would need to be a line in the sand on who fixes what but, that's in the details.

These service centers being in direct contact with FR manufacturers would produce two things; faster repairs and provide feedback as to quality, first hand. I am sure dealers have pushed the envelope to extort as much money as they can on warranty work (auto dealer are not much different in that respect). Lacking trust FR has been trying to defend itself from this. Seeing repair bills from inside a trusted service center may push FR to higher quality standards.

I for one, would be willing to travel up to 6 hrs (I know that's a lot but cannot have one in every town either) to a regional FR repair center. If I know the work would be of a higher standard and in a much more timely fashion. We all have read stories about on back to the factory and getting great service, fast. Why can't the same be true in more locations?

DW wants to move to a 5er, with a manufacturer network similar to this, I would feel more confident in making my next purchase with FR. At this time we are looking at other manufacturers.

[5picker]

I'm wondering what other manufacturers you are looking at that have the service centers you spoke of?

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by HESN22

What new policy? I'm in Canada... haven't heard or received anything.

Cheers

This letter went to dealers and the RV news media.
It is a new dealer requirement; not something the owners would be notified of.

You will just be the beneficiary of better service, if the dealership follows the new rules.

[PenJoe]

There was a post a while back giving a link to a series of articles in reference to what is really going on in the RV industry. There are faults and pitfalls in every aspect. To get a grasp of what is going on, I am including the link to the articles. At least, take the time to read articles 1 through 4. These are eye openers. It's also sad that buyers are getting the short end of the stick when it comes to quality and service.

http://rvdr-cdn3.appxtreme.com/wp-co...ompilation.pdf

In retrospect, DW and I have commented that the motorhome we bought new in 1977 was built better than the 2014. It was $11,500 custom built, made of sticks and aluminum, but we never had a lick of trouble with it in 14 years and a lot of use. It's likely still on the road today. Back then, it was smaller companies that had pride of workmanship with competition being the driving force.

[uhduh camping]

Originally Posted by 5picker

I'm wondering what other manufacturers you are looking at that have the service centers you spoke of?

Unfortunately there is none. DW is convinced that Grand Designs are somehow better. She wishes to go that route with 5er. I am convinced that the grass is only greener due to BS fertilizer.

[aceinspp]

Yep and now days they shove them out the door as quick as they can. More folks buying them now than ever. Later RJD

[SidecarFlip]

Originally Posted by bikendan

As a newbie, you must not know some things.

Bad quality is a RV INDUSTRY-WIDE issue, not just FR.
Doesn't matter the manufacturer, all brands have dealer issues. Other brands have the same issue of dealers not doing warranty work on units they didn't sell, not just FR.
Nearly ALL RV manufacturers only provide a generic owners manual.

If you don't believe me, go visit some of the other RV forums out there.
Even sacred Winnebago owners have the same complaints that you have.

I don't know who they (RV manufacturers) hire for technical writers but it has to be an entry level position judging from the 'quality and conciseness of their owners manuals...not....

[SidecarFlip]

Originally Posted by Herk7769

This letter went to dealers and the RV news media.
It is a new dealer requirement; not something the owners would be notified of.

You will just be the beneficiary of better service, if the dealership follows the new rules.

You stated a big 'IF" Herk....

Something I've always wondered about outfits like FR and that is, why don't they have company stores and sell direct. Some RV builders do. Most don't.

I would think that a company store would be a good option. Sort of 'one stop shopping and service too'...

Just thinking out loud...

[Wobbles]

I am in the camp of: Will this be implemented? I have been heavy shopping for a small 5'er and if there is truth to this I may need wait a year to see the impact. This may have a lot to do with where I buy at.

#1. If I buy now will this be enforced retroactive?
#2. Might this make the wholesalers bump the prices? I am thinking pretty much unless you live a great distance away. lol...
#2a. If I buy local, will my dealer still service FR products in a year?

Guess I may have to run the beater a little longer. Man, every time I think I understand the game to be played...

Cool, now I am typing here looking for something easy to eat...

[mchayes]

Excellent review and statement and true, keep quality or lose out at some point, we have been fortunate with our Forest River 34 ft. TT, had great experience with RV Wholesalers of Ohio and an wonderful rig for two years now, been excellent for us in all ways and our dealership has contacted us multiple times about how we are doing if all was well, check your dealership out good, reviews and how they are, as well as your builder.

[SidecarFlip]

Originally Posted by Wobbles

I am in the camp of: Will this be implemented? I have been heavy shopping for a small 5'er and if there is truth to this I may need wait a year to see the impact. This may have a lot to do with where I buy at.

#1. If I buy now will this be enforced retroactive?
#2. Might this make the wholesalers bump the prices? I am thinking pretty much unless you live a great distance away. lol...
#2a. If I buy local, will my dealer still service FR products in a year?

Guess I may have to run the beater a little longer. Man, every time I think I understand the game to be played...

Cool, now I am typing here looking for something easy to eat...

My I suggest strawberry pop tarts?

[B and B]

Originally Posted by SidecarFlip

Must be the letter I sent to Warren Buffet and linked some of the complaints on this forum too... Mr. Buffett don't like BS. Got his address from a friend of his on another (non related) forum. They are buddies and go fishing together....

I believe in going to the top instead of up the food chain.....

Sounds like he checked things out..........

Something smells here...

[CaptnJohn]

Originally Posted by SidecarFlip

Must be the letter I sent to Warren Buffet and linked some of the complaints on this forum too... Mr. Buffett don't like BS. Got his address from a friend of his on another (non related) forum. They are buddies and go fishing together....

I believe in going to the top instead of up the food chain.....

Sounds like he checked things out..........

Warren may be a great fishing buddy but ~~ his #1 is making a nickel. I owned Berkshire stock for decades (until the last election) and went to several shareholder meetings in Omaha. He and Charlie demand 1 of 2 ~~ either great product making big bucks or volume making the bucks. Right now FR has the volume he likes.

[SidecarFlip]

Originally Posted by B and B

Something smells here...

I'm telling the truth...honestly. Besides, I own Berkshire Hathaway stock.....

Cannot allude to who it is, but it was for real. Whether Mr. Buffet followed through on my comments remains to be seen but I did do it.

Wasn't anyone on this forum and wasn't anyone at FR either. The person is friends with Mr. Buffett and we were discussing recreational vehicles privately and I mentioned what I saw as a high incidence of issues with FR units and one thing lead to another.

I did tell him that I owned one and it has been trouble free so they aren't all problematic.

You'd be surprised about writing letters to people voicing your concerns and them taking your comments under advisement. I wrote a letter to Barak Obama once... I'm still waiting for a reply.

[Wobbles]

Originally Posted by SidecarFlip

I'm telling the truth...honestly. Besides, I own Berkshire Hathaway stock.....

Cannot allude to who it is, but it was for real. Whether Mr. Buffet followed through on my comments remains to be seen but I did do it.

Wasn't anyone on this forum and wasn't anyone at FR either. The person is friends with Mr. Buffett and we were discussing recreational vehicles privately and I mentioned what I saw as a high incidence of issues with FR units and one thing lead to another.

I did tell him that I owned one and it has been trouble free so they aren't all problematic.

You'd be surprised about writing letters to people voicing your concerns and them taking your comments under advisement. I wrote a letter to Barak Obama once... I'm still waiting for a reply.

I just let out a sigh and wondered if I would snore tonight. Sounds like we all agree that the industry needs to charge us more money for a better product.

As long as buyers want the bubble gum features versus an rv with good bones underneath it, we will continue to suffer. Heck, I bet if you could get a CARFAX report on any used rv you were looking at, the banks and insurance companies would make an rv out of reach of the majority.

The concept of a rv type CARFAX report should make the rv industry take pause. lol...

[Mr Havercamp]

Thinking about it some more this 7 day thing could backfire. It very well may result in dealers who will take a unit in for a warranty repair that they did not sell, to reconsider doing so in the future.

[KennyGolub]

I think it's great ! Good for Forest River.

[nvydvrdude]

Maybe the dealers should stop selling FR products and see what happens, it's not like there aren't other fish in the sea to buy from. My FR purchase basically came down to the deal the dealer made me on the RV. I could have easily bought another brand of similar design.

[Mr Havercamp]

Originally Posted by Mr Havercamp

Thinking about it some more this 7 day thing could backfire. It very well may result in dealers who will take a unit in for a warranty repair that they did not sell, to reconsider doing so in the future.

Here is a cut and paste of one of the comments to the article at RVdaily by a dealer. I know for a fact this poster is a FR dealer.



May 19, 2017 at 2:36 pm

"Forest River will set up a dealer anywhere/anytime and could care less if they even have a service department. Warranty service could be greatly improved if the manufacturers would pay the dealers properly & promptly for warranty repairs. They constantly look for reasons to cut labor time or deny a claim after the work has been performed and Forest River is worst. We sold several Forest River products and had great success but we ended up dropping them all because of these reasons. It’s really bad when you have a customer that you didn’t sell and you try to help them out only to find out 60 days later that they won’t pay the claim. If you buy a Forest River product you should expect to get screwed if you have a problem!

Last week we had a local customer bring in a 2018 Forest River that they bought on the internet a thousand miles away and their shower surround was loose and installed crooked. Forest River told him to get it fixed and they would reimburse them the costs. We disassembled the shower and reinstalled properly and this took several hours. The customer was very happy with the repair and paid the bill only to have Forest River tell them they would only reimburse him for .2 hours labor ($20) and that we overcharged him! This is totally unreasonable but this is the Forest River way… Why would any dealer want to work on a Forest River product, let alone one they didn’t sell?"