Has anyone negotiated a buy back from Keystone?

[rjsurfer]

Our problematic 2018 Cougar is going to be bought back by Keystone and I'm wondering what the procedure is for this. My local service rep isn't really sure on the process with a Keystone product.

Is there much negotiating on value or do they go strictly by NADA pricing?

Thanks

Ron W.

[RGar974417]

We have a 2015 Keystone Cougar and no serious issues.

[NJRVer]

OP, what model? VIN?
Post them so if Keystone tries to resell it ...

[Crowe]

You will do far more "damage" by threatening to go to social media than a lawyer. I'm not recommending you start out with that but it's something to keep in the back of your mind.

[philh]

Dtank wrote:

philh wrote:
My unpopular opinion... If the offer is no where near generous, I'd hire an automotive lemon law attorney to represent your interests.

You must have DEEP pockets!

AT $200.+ an hour, plus clerical charges. PLUS he/she is "on the clock" even if your case were delayed.

Ka-ching!..:S
.

Depends on what they offer. If they offer to replace it, awesome. If they offer trade in value, not so awesome. The difference could be tens of thousands of dollars. Even at $200 an hour, that's a lot of hours.

Friend of mine did this with an auto buy back. OEM essentially made an offer that matched auction value. He hired an attorney, who wrote a letter. They countered with full price paid, minus some very minor mileage charge.

I suggested an auto lemon law attorney, because while most (all?) states lemon law only applies to non commercial auto's, they do know the law.

Trailer companies aren't going to want to pay for attorneys either. They been through this before, they know exactly how much this is going to cost them. Sweetening the pot from an attorney letter is not unheard of.

[myredracer]

OP, you don't say what the issues were and would be interested to know, unless you can't. Depending on what issues, can you get a professional inspection and report done?

We had a serious issue on a previous TT that we discovered the day after we owned it. Initially they came back and said there was nothing wrong. Got an inspection done by a gov't certified facility and sent the report to the dealer & manufacturer. Within days they said they would replace it with another one without the problem "part" that stock OEM had at NO cost to us. Was actually more than a "part" that was no good and don't want to get into details.

Depending on what the exact situation is, you could be asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Manufacturers replacing entire TTs happens more often than you'd think because of the NDAs.

Personally I would not want a Keystone. Friends of ours have one and I'm aghast at the bad workmanship. Met a Keystone owner in a CG. Theirs leaked like a sieve from day one. Delear tried to fix it but couldn't. Got sent to the factory who only made it worse. Keystone TTs I've seen at RV shows have had doors on cabinets almost falling off and drawers all ****-eyed. Quality is just not there. You will find Keystone owners that love theirs to death though.

Problem is, if you were to go buy another brand TT, this is not a good time of year to be shopping because prices will be on the rise for the upcoming season. Not knowing more details, it's hard to make suggestions on what to do.

[rjsurfer]

Op back, I agree with never hire a lawyer for a case like this, it will always get you less in the end.

Even though I had a dozens of problems with this camper whenever I have spoken to customer service I have been treated fairly. Sometimes I didn't get all I wanted but they made the attempt to square things away.

And I'm sure, in the end I will get a fair shake, I hope ??

Ron W.

[BillyBob_Jim]

Bird Freak wrote:

philh wrote:
My unpopular opinion... If the offer is no where near generous, I'd hire an automotive lemon law attorney to represent your interests.

A few people here jump to lemon law but I don't know of any lemon laws for non motorized vehicles.

Texas actually has one, the only one I believe? for towables, but really skewed towards the manufacturer with many hoops and hurdles.

One thing is certain, if the OP so much as mentions it in passing, that would put an abrupt stop to any good faith effort or anything else by Keystone or any other manufacturer. Its standard operating procedure. Just say Attorney and they'll clam up quick.

Dtank wrote:

philh wrote:
My unpopular opinion... If the offer is no where near generous, I'd hire an automotive lemon law attorney to represent your interests.

You must have DEEP pockets!

AT $200.+ an hour, plus clerical charges. PLUS he/she is "on the clock" even if your case were delayed.

Ka-ching!..:S
.

Throwing good money after bad.

[Dtank]

philh wrote:
My unpopular opinion... If the offer is no where near generous, I'd hire an automotive lemon law attorney to represent your interests.

You must have DEEP pockets!

AT $200.+ an hour, plus clerical charges. PLUS he/she is "on the clock" even if your case were delayed.

Ka-ching!..:S
.

[rjsurfer]

Just Wandering 1 wrote:
They will want to replace it. I had a 2008 copper canyon had serious problems talked with them in a calm way. End result was they replaced it with a 2011 cougar. They had it delivered to me in SC batteries full propane tanks had dealer check it out before delivery. no cost to me at all.

Hopefully we will have the same outcome as you did. I too was always respectful when talking with dealer and Keystones warranty people, never worth getting aggrivated, they didn't build it! Now, had I been in touch with the line workers that did build the unit I would have a few choice things to say to them ??

We should know more in a day or two.

Ron W.

[Just_Wandering_]

They will want to replace it. I had a 2008 copper canyon had serious problems talked with them in a calm way. End result was they replaced it with a 2011 cougar. They had it delivered to me in SC batteries full propane tanks had dealer check it out before delivery. no cost to me at all.

[Bird_Freak]

philh wrote:
My unpopular opinion... If the offer is no where near generous, I'd hire an automotive lemon law attorney to represent your interests.

A few people here jump to lemon law but I don't know of any lemon laws for non motorized vehicles.

[philh]

My unpopular opinion... If the offer is no where near generous, I'd hire an automotive lemon law attorney to represent your interests.

[drsteve]

If they have agreed to a buyback, they are admitting that the unit had so many defects that it never should have been sold in the first place.

I would demand to be made whole, as in ALL the money I spent buying this thing, as well as hauling it back and forth to the dealer, and any other expense that can be blamed on the defective merchandise.

[CincyGus]

bpounds wrote:
I'd say if they offered you NADA, that would be generous. And 130 nights in 2 years is a lot of camping. Full replacement value would be an unrealistic expectation IMO. Always negotiate, but if I got 80 percent on a 2 year old buy back, I would be happy with that.

And if there is a negotiation, I'd certainly phrase it as I had the camper available to me this many months out of the 24 months (or whatever that number is). That percentage will sound better than the 130 night does as that's much more camping that many people do with their campers in 3-4 years.My first offer would be for a new model from this year, similarly or better equipped and hold firm. Don't concede anything the first conversation. Let them sit on the offer for a bit. A day or two. Then call them back and ask them to counter offer. Generally they will offer something that if they met you in the middle between your and their offer, i.e. split the difference, that's about the maximum they will want to go.

This isn't from any experience with a manufacturer or dealer, just from negotiations in general which I do have experience with.
Best of luck in working out a tolerable to favorable solution you can be happy with.