Service issues if buying long distance?

DatacomGuy wrote:
Looking at buying a TT at Gillette in Michigan. Local dealer is nowhere near the price, so its worth it financially.

Will i have issues getting service locally? Its a Shadow Cruiser, so my choices are limited nearby. The local dealer is 1.2mi from my house, but next one is 200mi.

You can always take it back to Michigan and get the work done. You can use the large amount of money you saved to travel back and forth. Also, look at all the sites you will see from Ga. to Michigan.

Why don't you call the local dealer, tell them you are going to Michigan to purchase the tt because of price, but you expect them to maintain the warranty. See what kind of answer you get. :h

its a misconception that dealers make the same money on warranty repairs that they do on nonwarranty repairs .... manufactures set the payment based on the time they will allot for a given repair, not on the actual time it takes the dealer to actually complete the repair .... in addition, most provide parts so that the dealer doesn't make much, if any, profit on the parts used .... when a dealer sells a unit they make some money which helps offset smaller warranty payments from the manufacture .... I do find it interesting the folks choose to purchase from someone other than the local dealer and then expect the local dealer to take care of the problems .... when an item is bought on the cheap, should it come as a surprise when you get what you pay for

Jim

We bought our MH in NJ, live in GA. We didn't plan to buy it in NJ, it just worked out that way. We don't have a Jayco dealer close by, nearest one is about 120 miles away. The next closest is about 200 miles away.

We needed warranty work twice. Both times we took it to the dealer that was 200 miles away. They were happy to service it and did it in less than a week both times. Fortunately for us, the 200 mile away dealer is in a nice area (Charleston, SC) so we don't mind driving there and spending the day.

However, I have read many accounts on this forum where people have not had the same experience. There is a chance that you won't get preferred treatment from the dealer.

The dealer that was 120 miles away didn't give me a hard time, but told me it would be a couple weeks before they could get to it because they were so busy. It was July in Florida, can't imagine they were really that busy. Perhaps that was their way of saying we aren't going to give you any preferred treatment.

-Michael

YES there have been issues with folks getting warranty work done at a dealer that they didn't buy from.

Dealer will do it....but YOU are not a priority to them
Priority:
Those that bought from them
Those that have prior business with them
Those that pay cash
Then those that bought elsewhere.

I haven't had that issue.........we left area where we bought. Used factory for one repair and mobile techs for others that I wasn't able to do.

BUT I have read posts on here about folks having issues getting warranty work done at dealerships (factory authorized ones) that they didn't purchase from.
Even have read posts where dealer won't do the warranty work.

RV dealerships/warranty....not the same as with autos.

But it can vary.....some dealerships have better business practices.
If you can find one :B

This discussion comes up every so often on this board and I don't recall ever seeing someone say they were not able to get warranty work done anywhere but at the place where they bought the RV.

I just recently purchased a new TT from a dealer 80 miles from home but I plan on using a dealer much closer to home in the event I need warranty work done.

Some of you may live in areas where your choices may be very limited and local dealers use it to their advantage. However, in places like So Cal, there are a ton of dealers and independent shops that are willing to do the work.

Given that most factory warranties are a year, sometimes two, the likelyhood of needing a serious repair in that time doesn't really make it a consideration for me. I bought ours over an hour away in MD and only had it down there twice in two years. After that, it's your baby and you can take it anywhere you please because you'll likey be paying out of pocket. That's why so many of us learn to do our own repairs/mods.

We just picked up a new Denali 4 weeks ago from a dealer about 120 miles away. There is a dealer only 25 miles away and we would have liked to do business with them but their financing options are very limited (IMHO). While de-winterizing the TT, it was discovered that the sewage lines were installed wrong at the factory. I brought it to the closer dealer to have the work done as a warranty repair after speaking with the factory. If you buy a Camper from a distant dealer but have one closer, they will most likely be more than happy to do any repairs.....if under warranty, they will get paid by the factory, and if it's not a warranty repair, they will get paid by you. Their service depts are in business to make money so they won't turn away the business.
The only issue may be that if they are very busy, a customer who bought a trailer at that dealership will most likely get in ahead of you.