Warranty Work - How long is too long

[jeremywatco]

Hi all,

Well after our initial voyage in our '14 Fleetwood Storm I put it back into the dealer for a punch list of issues to be resolved.

It's been a week and I called to check in.. The dealer says that there is a large number of warranty things that must be OK'd by fleetwood first and that some of the repairs are going to be very time consuming (bunk house top bunk was mounted too high and is ripping the ceiling panel).

He also said that it sometimes can take at least a week for Fleetwood to advise them on the repairs and then takes time for parts to come in.

So long story short he made it sound like its was going to be in the shop at least 3 more weeks.

Is this pretty typical? I know car dealers that do warranty work usually will give a loaner/rental car if needed, Do RV dealers do the same?

Just seems like a long time to repair some pretty small things... also some of the repairs while necessary do scare me a little as the entire bunkhouse has to be disassembled to fix one of them. I just hope they know how to reassemble.

[Janicerob]

I've been waiting a year still nothing done. MI Ridge don't work, oven don't work, awning was suppose to be replaced before deliveet , still nothing! Mine was taken to dealer, they told me 2 days is all they needed and it would be dobe. It was dropped kff, 23 days later I got it back (I live in mine) nothing was done it at all! I slept in my car, got hotel rooms and an Air BNB in the 23 days, it was expensive and I only planned  on 2 days. When they brought it back it was infested with maggots, they never plugged it in like they said they would! My freezer and fridge was full, the smell was so bad we could smell it before it waa even parked, as it got close we could smell it! My fridge us ruied, the smel! Will not go away, maggots invested the while camper and keep coming back. Larve everywherle! The cost of the continuous cleaning, laundry, replacing the food, hotels etc. Is well into the thousands. But they didn't do one thing to it when they had it! It still stinks and I don't even likeit anymore!

[way2roll]

This topic is 11 years old. I would suggest posting your complaint in a  new topic. 

[jeremywatco]

Just thought I'd chime in with an update and response.

Going on 5 weeks now and dealer keep pointing at Fleetwood or not calling me back with updates. Called Fleetwood and they assured me they'd call back tomorrow with what's going on.

Now as far as the list is concerned. Yes there were little items on the list, however there were a few major items on the list so I figured while they were dealing with the major issues they could tackle a bunch of small******too. They say its the major issues that are holding things up.

Hopefully I can post back soon with a positive conclusion.

[WyoTraveler]

2gypsies wrote:
Wow! I'm amazed at the time periods you are all waiting for work to be done on your RVs. Is this a Fleetwood thing? Or perhaps because they know you have an actual house to go to to wait for the repairs they aren't in any hurry to do them. In our 16 years of full-timing we have never heard of any other full-timer waiting like this. How would they do it? They'd have to get a motel room? Never heard of this. I guess we've been extremely lucky with our past Travel Supreme 5th wheel and now our Newmar.

I do suspect some of the many list items are little things. Of coarse if it is under warranty you have a right to have them repaired. I just never bothered manufacturer with little nickel and dime items. I just repair them myself. My new MH had a squeaky hinge, a door latch that rubbed and needed adjustment, a drawer that slid open when driving, the outside step that sagged. If I had complained about those items I could have brought the MH in and it would probably sit in the lot until a very slow day for repairmen. We call it the RV sunshine treatment. When someone calls in with a major issue all the little things get set aside and they take care of big things. That is why some people wait and others don't.

[2gypsies1]

Wow! I'm amazed at the time periods you are all waiting for work to be done on your RVs. Is this a Fleetwood thing? Or perhaps because they know you have an actual house to go to to wait for the repairs they aren't in any hurry to do them. In our 16 years of full-timing we have never heard of any other full-timer waiting like this. How would they do it? They'd have to get a motel room? Never heard of this. I guess we've been extremely lucky with our past Travel Supreme 5th wheel and now our Newmar.

[et2]

prism wrote:

et2 wrote:
Make sure they have a secured storage area. We had a similar situation years ago on a Montana fiver. Many trailers on their lot were vandalized including ours. They refused to pay for the damage. I went that day and picked it up and never went back. Contacted Keystone and explained why I was changing dealers, they said they never had part requests as the dealer claimed they were waiting for parts.

Dealers lie ... But we all know that. It's your RV, if it were me I'd contact to mfg and find out our options, also ask for a list of items causing the delay.

In my long multifasted business life I have found Customers lie just as bad also
Sorry kinda off topic i suppose and the Op asked a valid question and I think its answered earlier.your one little fish in a big ocean when it comes to dealing with BIG manufacturers like Fleetwood

Did you have to fast so often in your business life??;)As I said it was Keystone, maybe that was overlooked. Anyway your satisfied with the responses so that's all that really matters.

[WyoTraveler]

Dirtbags77 wrote:
When I took my coach in with a list of 21 items to be fixed mine was in the shop for 3 weeks. When I called the shop they gave me the line that they were waiting for parts from the factory. I emailed the factory and told them what the dealer told me and I had the coach back in 3 days. Needless to say the service writer I was working with was no longer employed there after I complained to the Mgr. I think they take in more Rvs than they can handle so complain to the Service Mgr and if that does not work go to the Gen Mgr. Good Luck

I do have to admit if I had a list of 21 items. I either bought a piece of junk or I am trying to nickel and dime the dealer to death. I have never bothered dealers with 10 min repair jobs. I don't hassle a dealer for a missing screw, a squeaky door hinge that I can oil, or a light bulb that goes out on the first trip. If I were a dealer and had that type of customer they would get the sunshine treatment.

[WyoTraveler]

Don't email. Call the factory. Then re-call the factory. Ask for a supervisor. If you send me a letter it may go in the trash. email? Erased. Be the squeaky wheel. I don't argue with manufactures. I just suggest. Bad service? Unable to handle warranty? Tell me why I should buy your product again. Believe me these guys aren't stupid. There is tremendous competition selling RVs. If building an RV and selling it was a piece of cake they wouldn't be going out of business. However, you can't be hostile. If you find a bad manufacturer, I have, sell the RV. Don't buy another one of that brand. Tell others about their bad warranty service. For example, I would never buy another Jayco. Fairly good RV but very poor warranty service. In fact Jayco could offer me a lifetime warranty instead of 2 years and I wouldn't buy another one. If they don't take care of their customers it doesn't matter how long. I can get sunshine treatment anyplace. JMHO.

Monaco has taken care of us on every phone call. If you want super warranty service buy their RVs. JMHO. I don't get anything else from them. Just great fast warranty service.

[jsmart]

We bought a used class A, (2002 Itasca 32V) from a local dealer who also has an RV shop in town. We were able to get the dealer to agree to repair several minor issues, however we were set to go on a vacation so brought the MH back to the shop after we went on a 2 week trip. The sales team told us to "check everything out" and let them know when we got back. We found 3 additonal minor issues (a broken drawer slide, a loose drivers side mirror and the windshield washer didn't work). The shop told us they would repair these "new" issues as well as the ones on the due bill. After three weeks of waiting, we were told that the shop was "waiting on parts". Long story short, we talked with the shop techs and found that it is better for us to have them order the parts, then bring the rig in when the parts are in for repair. We've had the MH in for two other minor issues, and both times, they call us when the parts are in, we drop off the rig and in 1 to 2 days it's done. This has worked for us so far, they have been more than willing to work with us on getting the MH back to us asap.

[Dirtbags77]

When I took my coach in with a list of 21 items to be fixed mine was in the shop for 3 weeks. When I called the shop they gave me the line that they were waiting for parts from the factory. I emailed the factory and told them what the dealer told me and I had the coach back in 3 days. Needless to say the service writer I was working with was no longer employed there after I complained to the Mgr. I think they take in more Rvs than they can handle so complain to the Service Mgr and if that does not work go to the Gen Mgr. Good Luck

[WyoTraveler]

Effy wrote:
Demand for motorhomes right now is very high. Wait times on newly ordered models can be months. And they assuredly have parts reserved for the new ones under construction. Makes sense as thats where they make their money. Warranty work is pretty much a loss for a manufacturer so those parts get sent after new models are supplied and built. This means waiting for parts for warranty work when they become available. It can take weeks just to get the parts. I am sure there is a lot of warranty work all over the US that needs to be approved so it makes sense this takes time too.

For those that don't know we are in a recession. This is probably the best time ever to get the deal of a lifetime on an RV. I don't expect them to give RVs away but 30 to 35% off isn't unusual. When we made the offer on our RV we low balled them on the phone and joked about it. Told DW they will never accept that offer. Problem was they accepted the low ball offer. We ended up with a new MH. :B.

[WyoTraveler]

J-Rooster wrote:
Jeremy, in December 2010 while I was RVing in a Arizona State Park, a runaway pickup truck hit my coach! I had to wait until January 2011 to get parts! The Winnebago Factory was shut down for Christmas and New Years. I like Dennis had to wait 3 weeks for parts and the repairs took 3 days.

You are probably right. It is because of people like me that demand service. You wait and I'm on my way.The squeaky wheel gets the oil. I just don't put up with their **********. Been there done that. I know all the sunshine treatment stories. A few years ago the Ford garage told me it was going to take 3 weeks to repair my A/C on warranty because they had to order parts. DW called Ford 800 # and we were back on the road within a couple of hours. I have no idea how those parts magically appeared. Doesn't matter my vehicle was repaired.

[J-Rooster]

Jeremy, in December 2010 while I was RVing in a Arizona State Park, a runaway pickup truck hit my coach! I had to wait until January 2011 to get parts! The Winnebago Factory was shut down for Christmas and New Years. I like Dennis had to wait 3 weeks for parts and the repairs took 3 days.

[Effy]

Demand for motorhomes right now is very high. Wait times on newly ordered models can be months. And they assuredly have parts reserved for the new ones under construction. Makes sense as thats where they make their money. Warranty work is pretty much a loss for a manufacturer so those parts get sent after new models are supplied and built. This means waiting for parts for warranty work when they become available. It can take weeks just to get the parts. I am sure there is a lot of warranty work all over the US that needs to be approved so it makes sense this takes time too.