Neutral: Sanity check on Dealers

[Dirt Sifter]

Nelson RV in Boise, ID has been great to work with. I bought an RV 400+ miles away because that dealership had the hard to find unit we were looking for and were very good to work with. When warranty repairs were needed, Nelson's (a lot closer at 125 miles away) did not hesitate to take us in. We discussed problem over the phone, they ordered parts and set up an appointment. We dropped the unit off in the morning, picked it up that afternoon AND found that they had fixed other items we'd not been too concerned about, but were not right. They have done this twice; very positive experiences with Jason and the team. The mechanics have come out of the shop to offer suggestions when asked. There's no doubt where I'll look first for our next RV.

[salwolfe]

X2 on the find a local independent RV repair shop or mobile tech and use them. With my current rig we bought from a dealer who had the one we wanted in stock, about 150 miles away. After the purchase, they could not have cared less about fixing things under warranty. They said I could bring it in and they would assign a tech when possible but couldn't give me a time frame within 3 months of when one would be available. I said can't I just keep using the rig and based on your many years in business at least get that down to within a week or so when you'd put someone on it? Answer - no. Wouldn't even try and I always had to call them - no call backs. I guess their phone only had incoming but no outgoing capability. I found a local shop that is fantastic and have been very pleased.

[Jack350]

Originally Posted by Grapehound

It is always great to hear good reports about RV dealers or manufacturers. So many posts are negative.

Another Jim's RV happy camper. Always good, responsive service.

[Volvodriver]

We used the purchasing dealer one time some years ago and it was one time too many. Have had better luck with the very few problems we've had by using independent shops who have treated us fair and did quality work.
The last work was a major slide out refabrication under structure job that was covered under our extended warranty. They dealt with the warranty service and we had an appointment, dropped it, and picked it up the same day. $100.00 out of pocket on a $1500.00 plus job and it was fixed correctly.

Dave

[rhamilton]

Originally Posted by IsleDog

this seems to be the response that a lot of people get from a dealer. you can get prior authorization from FR and have an independent tech do the warranty work for you. you do not have to go through a dealer.

I agree. We take ours to a local RV shop 5 miles away and have great luck with a local shop who knows us.

[medalguy]

I guess I’ve been lucky. Bought a MBS2400 last year and did find several small things to be fixed and the work was done promptly. I did have one issue that never seemed to get fixed so I went to the Facebook page of the dealer and told my story. Posted about 9 PM. Next morning at 8 AM I got a call from the service manager asking me to remove the post and asked if I could bring the rig in that morning to get the repair done. I took it in and the repair was done. Social media IS important to these people.

[cindi001]

It seems they are. You have to call the manufacturer yourself to get the ball rolling.

[cindi001]

I would call Forest River myself that’s what I do I would’ve been sitting at my dealership for another two weeks had I not started getting on the phone and making things happen myself

[tdgysin]

Joe -

Unfortunately, not an unusual occurrence. In general, it seems to be the case that it's a rare dealer that has an even decent repair facility. Most are horrible regarding their work, do not complete any list you might give them and don't tend to stand behind their work. We ended up so frustrated with the service we received from our dealer (La Mesa RV) that we vowed to NEVER go back and we haven't.

We now generally use mobile repair techs who are covered under our warranty. We have also heard of other RVers who will travel great distances or plan to be in the area of a good repair facility, because good mechanics, reliable repair facilities, techs who will stand behind their work, are golden and quite rare.

it's amazing that so many RV repair shops are a disgrace. One wonders how so many bad ones stay in business.

Good luck in your search, T. Gysin (5 years in)

[skipatroller]

So this is the bottom line and I actually read it on this blog, which by the way I find very informational and occasionally entertaining.

I had the dealer from hell on a unit that was a lemon from day 1, 2 years of nothing but grief I traded it in at a different dealer and a different manufacture. The point I getting at is it is all about the dealership and how they handle everything. My new unit from the different dealer has been a blessing, as you will with any unit (new or used) you will have something that needs to be corrected or repaired.

Bottom line is your warranty is only as good as the dealer you bought it from so as I did I actually bought from a dealer over 90 miles away, best part of that is I have 3 dealerships within 20 minutes from my house including a Camping World I could walk to.

As much as everyone does homework on their investment they should do even more homework about the dealer. The other part to to read and understand you warranty 100%, do not assume everything is under warranty, and yes even a new unit.

[Oaklevel]

A lot of variables in the last 7 years we have needed a dealer / repair a camper while at our campsite once.

It was not our dealer but it was convenient. Now our 2017 camper has never needed warranty work done at any dealer. (We did have the fireplace manufacturer send us a new LED light strip under warranty a couple of years ago)

[Nancyc7]

The service manager at our dealer is a super nice guy, very honest. Our motor home was still there for months!! at a time. We got got a bad case of mice the 2nd time.
Once we used an independent RV repair shop, we never went there again. I do not know why people keep going to the dealers.

[imjustdave]

Originally Posted by JoePa77

I am just making sure that my dealership is typical to the rest.
When taking my motorhome in for warranty repairs I always leave a list of items, some bigger than others, but still expect them to be addressed. While I am waiting weeks for the repair completions I sometimes rattle off an email asking for a status. I get some reply saying all is well things will get fixed. But not every thing gets addressed.
So this time I tried to push for a real status, to which I was told I was disrespecting them. But I really want to know if items would be fixed as my warranty is up soon. So I have to sit here and wait.

Is this really the standard practice for this Industry.

Thanks for your opinions.

In my experience YES. Dealer sucks.

I took my trailer in 1 week prior to warranty end to fix a long list of items. On pickup I verified things some were denied others were ignored, some were fixed. I had a light that was dying I verified it was still dying "LED" replace entire unit type deal. They claimed I didn't tell them, yet I hadn't even hooked up yet and I was walking around to verify stuff was fixed and I walked up yup still broken, they called me a liar basically, I was like interesting I verify 1 item on the outside and its broken um it's noon you have had it a month its on my list, yeah well we can't help won't try type attitude. Which means even if I was a paying customer I have zero desire to visit your establishment.

Buddy bought new trailer about 2 weeks latter went to pick it up, Limit switch on bed wouldn't' work, hitch jack wouldn't work, few other issues. came back a week later as the hitch was working now. Took it home found out the gas station gauges and pump were messed up .. still waiting for limit switch, it would be 3 weeks until dealer had time to look at pump, he called pump company they did some tests and then sent him what was broken 4 days latter it came and my buddy did the work, pump company bill zero. He looked up Limit switch it was about 4$ and I think about 2 months later the dealer eventually had that in to fix his trailer, pretty sure he just had them mail him the part.

I want to think that it's because warranty rates are so low it's bottom barrel stuff so when paying customers are gone they work on it, barley. But seriously I think even if you were paying full price I'm not sure it possible that you would end up with better performance,I just can't see every dealer having bi-polar disorder towards warranty and cash paying service.

I have seriously considered opening up a RV lot, and requiring competent people with a goal of impressing customers so much I'm just too busy.

Prime example is coming back next week after we "ready the trailer" for pick up a trailer and walk through...
I would have every trailer ready to leave the day it's sold, why have someone come back? I would inspect every switch, latch ETC and file warranty claims on items to have them repaired before a customer finds out its broken. Low hanging fruit as I call it.

One last bit of info. my trailer has auto levelers, I was coming from 2 hrs away to pick it up I told the salesperson I want the trailer in an un level area for pickup and I want to test the auto levelers to verify it can level the trailer, and I won't buy - leave unless it works, gave them 3 days notice. I show up for PDI, OK lets see the jacks work... "They work" show me... grumble grumble ok... FAIL FAIL jacks were misconfigured took them 2 hrs to fix once they hit the button and the rear jacks start I knew it would fail out. opposite corners were tied together so far back on one side and midship on near side. I wasn't happy. I tagged a few other things then went in and reviewed all paperwork, held out on 1 last signature and deposit until the jacks were working. Looking back I should have made the dealer buy me lunch for wasting my time on an easy catch and fix before I got there. not to mention it was easy money for them as they basically knew I wasn't going to come back on warranty items.

Maybe there are great RV places out there I just haven't had the pleasure of visiting. But I seriously don't' think it would be hard to open a place and have such stealer service that people would be flocking towards you.

Think about a place where they provide all customers with a 300 point inspection of literally everything that was checked and when the customer hits X switch it works, imagine a PDI with zero issues. Very few items wouldn't have been checked like water pumps and water heaters until the day of but even those could be in selected trailers, and the PDI I have done I had to force the issue of I need some water to verify and power for the water heater.

[gthomp10]

Originally Posted by Qwkynuf

That said, I would respond to the dealer that they were "disrespecting" ME, by repeatedly not fixing warranty issues that they told me were fixed, and that my persistence was considerably less annoying than their lies.

X2

[gthomp10]

The response you're getting is typical nowadays. There's no such thing as customer service in the RV industry now. RV warranties are not worth the paper they are written on. I will never buy another new RV. I will never buy another RV from an RV dealer. I highly recommend buying a used RV from a private party. If you buy one that is 2-3 years old you will get pretty much the same features as on the new ones (who cares about blue LEDs just for ambiance) and at half the price. And any major issues will be already fixed by the previous owner. The money that you save by buying used will more than pay for getting repairs done or enhancements made by an independent RV shop.

[Major Oz]

Originally Posted by JoePa77

I am just making sure that my dealership is typical to the rest.
When taking my motorhome in for warranty repairs I always leave a list of items, some bigger than others, but still expect them to be addressed. While I am waiting weeks for the repair completions I sometimes rattle off an email asking for a status. I get some reply saying all is well things will get fixed. But not every thing gets addressed.
So this time I tried to push for a real status, to which I was told I was disrespecting them. But I really want to know if items would be fixed as my warranty is up soon. So I have to sit here and wait.

Is this really the standard practice for this Industry.

Thanks for your opinions.

Once your sales check is cashed........you are a non person.

All my repairs are done by independents.

[imjustdave]

I consider RV warranty there to cover big items and general defects in its short term life of a new rv.

Most big ticket items have warranty coverage from the manufacturer of the item fridge, heater, washer dryer, converter, tires, hitch, axles. A lot of times you may find it quicker, easier, faster to go directly to them, vs RV dealer manufacturer of the RV. Also remember some items in an RV are stupid cheap. If your handy, ordering the part and fixing it yourself might be cheaper then the gas-diesel used to drive the trailer to the dealer.

Friends fuel station was acting weird, called the manufacturer of the device and in 3-4 days had the new part in hand, I suspect his time involved was less then dragging the trailer to the dealer, and in the end cheaper.

Your wall starts falling off, slides fail ETC dealer support then manafacure.

[Semperfi24]

I wonder if dealer attitudes and behaviors will improve after the COVID 19 stuff gets taken care of/cleared up. What I am getting at is RV sales has been quite lucrative the last decade or so. Lots and lots of sales, means lots and lots of units that need repair. But it also means, dealers have no time for the repairs, because they will make a lot more money focusing on the next sale.

Sales have almost stopped at the moment, and even when things get moving again, and start approaching "normal", very few people will be in a position to buy something after the shut down has harmed everyone's finances. So now the dealers that had no time for "you", are all of a sudden come begging for you to bring your unit into their facilities. They may be in for a rude awakening if the customer treats them the way they treat their customers. Just saying

I figure things are going to hurt twice as much for the dealers. First, limited sales for a while. Second, all the customers they pushed away over the last 5+ years could refuse to come back when they REALLY need business. Good dealers will thrive, and bad dealers, well, they might be sunk. Tough lesson to be learned. Did anyone know this was coming? Certainly not. But even though the dealers may forget the customer a week after the sale, that customer never forgets how they were treated...

[Chuck_S]

Just find a good shop. (They're all independents, by the way.) I always had the local Jayco dealer service my Rockwood Roo. Yep, they knew it didn't buy it there and there were no hassles, just good service. They did a warranty repair on my refrigerator as well.

Far too many RV dealers (and gun shops) act like they're doing us a favor merely for existing.

-- Chuck

[rrtom]

I think after 15 years of rv'ing I have found a partial answer. Our new motor home is under warranty. When I need something done under warranty, I email our service rep at Forest River with the information even before I take the motor home in. Right now we are having CONTINUING problems with the Norcold refrigerator and after a few emails back and forth to Forest River to fully understand the problem, they are contacting Norcold to find out the nearest authorized service center for me to have look at it.

Try this approach and see if it helps.