Purchase Out Of Area &Warranty Issues

I live in NE Nevada most of the year and just bought a new Dutch Star in SoCal......Never gave a second thought to warranty issues after talking to Newmar before the sale......Anywhere I want, they will authorize warranty work, within reason......

Example----power water hose reel went out.....Did not want to take it to Twin Falls for warranty work.....Called Newmar--they said give them about an hour and they will call me back....They called back and they said take it to the local Freightliner dealer here in Elko...Newmar shipped an entire new reel to FL, they installed it and within an hour I was back in business....All under Newmar warranty...That is service (and clout too... to be able to talk a large FL service center into fixing something on the coach side of a MH under Newmar's warranty)......

NMace wrote:
We are seriously considering the purchase of a new Thor Axis from a dealer a 1,000 miles away to save nearly $8,000.00 on the purchase price over the local Camping World dealer.

Will we face service and warranty issues because we did not buy from the local dealer?

Is it worth $8,000.00 to avoid a potential hassle?

Neil

I'm looking at doing the exact same thing, here in Colorado CW is way higher than several other places in other states. We're looking at the Axis too, but the one in CW had several broken things on it as well. And then the guy didn't even call us back.

I normally buy out of state. I stay near that dealer for a week. Although Monaco takes care of you no matter where you are I stayed near the dealer for a week and had several items corrected. I live in NW WY and bought my MH in NV and took delivery in AZ. In AZ you can't back out of the deal. I knew that so wasn't a problem. If you just assume all dealers are crooks you'll do OK. Just be careful. Monaco happens to be one manufacturer that takes care of their customers. Tiffin is another manufacturer that will take care of its customers.

rgatijnet1 wrote:
Have you given the local dealer a chance to match the price? Not saying they will match it but it doesn't hurt to ask.
I would also check with Thor and see if they have APPROVED service centers for warranty work. If you local CW is one of the approved service centers than you should be able to take it there for warranty issues. Of course, it may not be first in line for service and it may take months to get warranty work done.

CW is the last place I would buy or take any RV to be repaired. Don't have to read many posts to come to that conclusion. JMHO

powderman426 wrote:
$8000 buys a lot of service. Also if you travel you may not be near the place you bought it from anyway if something goes wrong.

What they said

Thor will allow you to take it to any dealer. It doesn't even have to be a Thor dealer. If you have an issue, you can call Thor and let them know you want to take it to a dealer close to you and they will set it up. I have used a few local dealers for service and warranty items and none of them sell Thor. Now, that said, some dealers can cop an attitude if you didn't buy your rig from them, but Thor doesn't care. That's really a dealer issue. I am lucky in that my local places treat me well and are happy to take care of me.

If the only local dealer for warranty work is CW you are better off not going there but buying the rig from CW will not ensure you better or more timely service.
If it is a good CW they will take care of you beautifully if it is a crappy camping world they will scr-w you over no matter where you bought it.
Since you are going 1000 miles to buy it is most important that you do a pre-delivery inspection before you give them the money. Be prepared to stay a few days to get the items fixed BEFORE YOU PAY repeat BEFORE YOU PAY repeat BEFORE YOU PAY.
After you pay and are out the door you have NO BARGAINING POWER.
Then you will be in line a CW for service where you may wait weeks for an appointment.

BTW you can find service centers at: http://thormotorcoach.com/dealer-finder.php

$8000 buys a lot of service. Also if you travel you may not be near the place you bought it from anyway if something goes wrong.

Have you given the local dealer a chance to match the price? Not saying they will match it but it doesn't hurt to ask.
I would also check with Thor and see if they have APPROVED service centers for warranty work. If you local CW is one of the approved service centers than you should be able to take it there for warranty issues. Of course, it may not be first in line for service and it may take months to get warranty work done.

A few manufacturers will approve warranty anyplace. Most will not. Call manufacture and ask. Don't rely on dealer info. I saved about $7,000 on my previous TT. Ended up paying about $400 for total repairs so was still ahead. I had a Jayco. I thought it was going to be worse. Electrical problem. Smoke but no fire due to quick thinking and cutting power.