Napria wrote:
I would think a dealer would want to do warranty work. Don't they get paid by the manufacturer to do that? Also, there's the good-will factor. If they cheerfully take your unit in and fix it, you'll come back in the future, or so one would think. I swear, some dealers just don't get it...
You would think that but it's a bit more complicated, at least from my discussions with some dealers. They don't get paid their full shop rate by the manufacturer, further they manufacturer will tell them how much they are going to pay. They'll estimate how much time it should take, which is usually on the low side of things, and then some are very slow to reimburse. Most dealers are far more helpful in the winter months when it's slow, but during peak spring/summer they want to make the most of it.
Good will factor it true, but if they've just lost a sale because you went to one of the wholesale out of state dealers they are probably not going to get your business again, so why should they care. Even worse some want to "punish" you for not shopping locally.
I can see both sides of the coin. We the consumer want the lowest price, but the best service and we want is yesterday. I've priced the internet wholesale stores and used those to leverage my local dealership, done that three times. I don't expect them to meet or beat the price, but to come close. I found out what local service meant two summers ago when my fridge went belly up 48 hours before our big trip. My local dealer worked hard to get a fridge, we even went and picked one up from a dealer a couple hours away so they could install it and get me on the road. This same dealer took care of me when I moved to town with a rid I'd just purchased, but they were honest and told me that customers that bought from them were taken care of first, I could live with that and the honesty.
During my time on various RV forums I've made note of the dealerships that have refused service to people for various reasons. Some I think are legit some are just poor service. I know I wouldn't want to be a small dealer fighting the big guys that can blow me away on price and then have john doe come in demanding my help after I didn't buy from me. Tough position for everyone.
