Nobody will repair my 6 mo old Dometic AC! Any suggestions?

[kahoona]

Hi
Last October our 3 yr, 1 month old Dometic 1500 btu A/C conked out while we were on vacation in the Keys. We were very lucky and flagged down a service car from a local RV dealer who tested it, sold us a new one and installed it within hours for around a thousand installed. This was on a Saturday no less. It was the only game in town and we were happy. Three weeks ago we were in Miaka State Park on the west coast of Florida. The temperature was 89 outside and 88 inside.We had 98% humidity. The new unit failed. The compressor runs. There is little cooling. There was no ice. The generator did not make it run any better. The thermostat was fine. We did OK without it. Now back home I am trying to get it repaired under warranty. I called every dealer within an hours drive. Some said no. Some said that they had one special guy for warranty work and he would call be right back. Never got any call backs from Waits RV, Land Yachts and Palm Beach RV. I called Dometic and after holding I asked someone to explain the warranty procedure and what I needed to do to get service. I told her about the refusals. She said "well, the way warranties work is you got to talk to the local dealers. not me." I repeated that none of them would talk to me and she said "If you want special service you got to email Dometic". I went back to the map and found a Florida Outdoors RV center just over an hour away. He said that I could make an appointment about 4 weeks away and then I could bring it in but I would have to pay for all work or replacement myself and then I would request a refund from Domenic. It might tale at least a week to get it back because Dometic would have to ship one and they would have to ship the old one back.
I am going to try the email but I kind of doubt it will do any good. It kind of looks like my only choice is going to be to drive back to Key Largo where I bought it. That is at least 5 hours away. They will replace or repair it in one day and I can go back the next day. That's 3 days and 10 hours of driving!Holiday RV's is doing all that they can and is a great outfit. I highly recommend them but I wish I did bot have to go that far to get warranty work done on a defective product particularly when many of the customers are on the road.
Can anyone suggest any way to get Dometic to honor the warranty here in North Palm or something I can do to get a working A/C? My wife says we need to carry one of those portable room a/c units in the rear compartment as a spare since this is our third failed dometic on the road!

[kahoona]

So here is what was wrong. It was leaking "freon". That was the problem with the last one too but in a different place. The folks in the service department at Holiday RV had it diagnosed,got authorization and replaced it within three hours. I strongly recommend them for any RV or boat work you need.

We are headed off to the other end of the country later this week. Looking for lots of fun this Fall in the Southwest. Staying away from the border. Gotta see the Salton Sea and splash in the pool in Death Valley. Want to sit out under the stars and hike the canyons. Camp among the Hoodoos. Spend a little time with the Dene at Red Rock Park. Watch The Man burn. Its a wonderful world out there.

It was not my fault (C Shomer).

I can understand that these folks don't want to bother with warranty work because it cuts into the profits but it needs to be done if they are going to be dealers and if Dometic is going to boost their infamous service record.I wish I was wealthy enough to just take a couple of days off and drive to the keys for service or simply spend another thousand on an new one. I guess most of the RV.Net folk are. Please realize that many are not. What if it was bought in the other end of the country?

I did eventually get a letter from Dometic saying that they tried to call me but my phone number was disconnected (it is not.)

Hope this has enough paragraphs for ya Golden.

Have fun y'all!!

[C_Schomer]

I don't know how much run time is on your 6 month old unit but 6 months is plenty of time to totally clog a condenser coil in an area with cottonwoods, silver maples or other dirty plants. All of my RV ACs have been domestic and the coil plugs up on the inside where it can't be seen without taking the cover off. Can you or someone check and clean the coils if necessary. I've been able to make all of mine work like new again with a good cleaning and sealing leaks.
Also from a service techs position... it sucks to get into a job when the customer expects warranty coverage and the problem was caused by lack of routine maintenance and warranty doesn't cover that, whether it was intentional or not. Craig

[Dandy_Dan]

Seems like this might be a good one to send to Trailer Life's folks that help try to settle differences with the Mfg or Dealer.

[Cummins12V98]

I think I need to send all my posts to Fred so he can make proper paragraphs so people can read and understand what I am posting!

Dude that is ridiculous.

[kahoona]

Golden_HVAC wrote:
By the way, there is no reason that the replacement needs to be Dometic. Except that you should be getting credit on the unit as a warranty replacement. It seems with 3 failures, that is showing pretty bad luck with Dometic.

Fred.

Sadly I do not have enough money that I can justify paying $1000.00+ to replace an A/C that should be repaired free under the national parts and material warranty though I am a bit jealous of those, like you, who can. I also think that it is only right that a company that offers such a warranty as an incentive to buy something should be made to honor it. I understand that the terms under which a dealer gets a Dometic dealership include an agreement to honor warranties and preform repairs. They do get paid by Dometic but it is $150.00 per unit swap.

[JEBar]

an insurance adjuster's primary concern is to minimize the amount of money it pays for claims .... Dometic and most other manufactures warranty folks have the same mission .... every cent they keep from paying helps the companies bottom line .... every day they can delay paying the claim keeps the funds in the company's account .... when a person takes a unit that isn't under warranty in for repair, they pay the going parts and labor rate .... Dometic sends parts for the repair so the dealer makes nothing on the parts .... they also balk at paying anywhere close to the going labor rate .... when a dealer sells one of their units, they make a profit .... that profit helps offset the lack of profit on future repairs .... mobile repairs services can often make warranty repairs because they don't have the overhead of a dealership .... this reality extends to buying a camper from an internet source only to find difficulty in getting local support in taking care of problems .... its sad and very easy to say that shouldn't be the case but in the real world it most definitely is

Jim

[dodge_guy]

I agree take it back where you bought it! I know I`m from IL, but I would find any reason to go to the Keys! I`m sure it`s different for a person from FL.

[DiskDoctr]

Francesca Knowles wrote:
It sounds more like most folks can do the job, they just can't/won't do it right this minute, it being summer and all.

I'm with the drive-back-to-the-place you got it crowd. Down and done.

Probably the least convenient, but I agree it likely has the greatest chance of success.

[Francesca_Knowl]

It sounds more like most folks can do the job, they just can't/won't do it right this minute, it being summer and all.

I'm with the drive-back-to-the-place you got it crowd. Down and done.

[tegu69]

How fast do you drive? If it were me and I was having issues getting it fixed and this guy that installed it is going to fix it in one day. I would be making a trip to the keys. Take the TP and don't hit Miami at rush hours. Isn't it about 135-140 miles.

[powderman426]

I would look up a repair center for Dometic products by looking Here.

I see many from Florida on the list, just pick the closest one and give them a call.:B

[gordon_d]

You might give Quality matters Rv repair a call, 717-723-8900.they have mobile units in Ft.Myers Did me a good job with refrigerator fix last summer on warranty.They stay right at Seminole campground .
Good luck
Gordon

[wa8yxm]

You might check with the local Mobile RV service (like the guy who installed it) Dometic will sometimes work with them and the ones Dometic WILL work with know who they are and will do it and will take care of the paperwork for you.

Sorry, do not know anyone in your area.. But I've seen them do that with awnings before.. (thankfully not MY awning but I was the first responder for the poor owner.. I called the mobile tec... (I only do light work and work for,, well, coffee since I don't drink beer) If it needs tools I call Rachel but she's a bit remote for you).

[Golden_HVAC]

By the way, there is no reason that the replacement needs to be Dometic. Except that you should be getting credit on the unit as a warranty replacement. It seems with 3 failures, that is showing pretty bad luck with Dometic.

Fred.