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Out of State Purchasing and Warranty Items

vindicator
Explorer
Explorer
Looking to purchase and TT from out of state. I have been reading that some people has had issues getting warranty work done back home, since the TT was not purchased from them.

Has anyone experienced this issue... good or bad?

Thanks
14 REPLIES 14

JJBIRISH
Explorer
Explorer
Mike Up wrote:
vindicator wrote:


Yes, it's not the auto industry and many dealerships will refuse to do none traveling warranty repairs unless you bought it from them.

I ran into this when I bought fron an out of state dealership because they were thousands less. The local dealer refused and Forest River, the maker of my Rockwood camper, stated that is correct. If any dealership refuses to do warranty repair work, you must return the trailer back to the purchasing dealer for warranty repair.

I went through hell as that camper was made like a pile of garbage and literally falling apart. Instead of fighting with who will work on it(as the selling dealership could NOT fix anything without damaging more), I just traded after a year and bought locally.



PLUS you have to pay upfront all repairs and be refunded, if the refund is even enough to pay the bill in full. NO THANK YOU.
Good luck.




Forest Riverโ€™s statement

Forest River Encourages You to Buy Locally

Forest River, Inc. strongly encourages our retail customers to purchase from their local dealership whenever possible due to the following factors:

Our Dealers are as a rule, independently owned and operated businesses. Outside of those customers they personally sold products to, they are not contractually obligated to perform warranty service on Forest River products that were purchased elsewhere. There may be an occasion that you would be required to return to the point of purchase to satisfy warranty requirements.

Although many dealerships will eventually service products not purchased at their place of business, they will usually take care of their customers and other Forest River customers who are traveling away from their local dealer as they would their own.

Local purchases allow a customer to establish a relationship with a dealer close to home. This relationship provides the customer with a convenient location for service and support from a "home town" professional.

The opportunity for a thorough PDI (Pre Delivery Inspection) and product orientation is an additional benefit of buying from your local dealer. Further providing the opportunity for refresher courses or the ability to get questions answered much more conveniently.

For our Canadian customers, there are also requirements which must be met to bring an RV purchased out of the country to their home. Although not insurmountable, these requirements may involve such things as additional inspections and certifications, taxes and fees. Your local Canadian Dealer is a professional at meeting these requirements.

Forest River's goal is for all RV Owners to fully enjoy their RV experience. In light of this goal, and considering the advantages of buying local, we encourage you to be thorough when determining what product to purchase and which dealer to purchase it from as both are key to your ultimate satisfaction and the realization of your dreams

And what crossroads saysโ€ฆ

You are responsible for normal maintenance as described in the ownerโ€™s
manual. If a problem occurs which you believe is covered by this
Limited Warranty, you must contact an authorized CrossRoads dealer,
giving sufficient information to resolve the matter. You must deliver the
recreational vehicle to the dealer or manufacturing plant location for
warranty service. If the dealer is unable or unwilling to resolve a problem
which you are convinced is covered by this Limited Warranty, you should
contact the manufacturing plant at the address listed in the front of this
manual and provide us with a description in writing of the problem and
the attempts to resolve the problem. Upon receipt of notice of a covered
claim, where the dealer was unable or willing to resolve the problem, we
will repair or replace the parts necessary to correct defects in material or
workmanship of structural items covered by this Limited Warranty, or will
take other appropriate actions as may be required.




If paying out of pocket for repairs and expecting reimbursement, you might also expect more problemsโ€ฆ

They may only want to replace the partsโ€ฆ much cheaper than you will be charged at retail for them and much more than they would pay the dealer for themโ€ฆ
They may also only be willing to pay up to the average regional labor rate and not what you are likely to be chargedโ€ฆ

You can also expect they will not want to pay the add on shop fees that you will have to pay or and cost overruns beyond the estimate you have PERAUTHROIZEDโ€ฆ not preauthorized good luckโ€ฆ

It would not be uncommon for the reimbursement to be about ยฝ the actual cost paid, without some agreement for full recovery beforehandโ€ฆโ€ฆ
Love my mass produced, entry level, built by Lazy American Workers, Hornet

goukcats
Explorer
Explorer
I purchased a TT from my local dealer & 2 minor service visits were less than desirable. When looking at a 5er I couldn't get the local dealer to communicate when the model I wanted came in. I purchased in another state. I saved about $3500 but then discovered my state had changed the tax laws to "protect local dealers". I had to pay tax on the full purchase price instead of only the difference between trade-in value & purchase price. That reduced my purchase savings. I had one warranty issue & also needed to order a part on my dime. I called the local dealer for svc & explained that I had not purchased this RV from them. They said no problem & scheduled about 2 wks out. They said it would be about 3 days. I dropped it off & waited 1 1/2 wks. They hadn't got to it & said they were only doing me a favor. They didn't even order the part I was paying for. I am still money ahead. Your local dealer may have great svc but mine doesn't so local svc is no incentive for me.
Wayne & Sheryl
Plus Ollie & Sophie
(they don't know they're dogs)
2011 Ram Laramie 2500 CC 4X4 6.7 Cummins
2015 Columbus 320

"Where ever you go, there you are" Buckaroo Banzai

Huntindog
Explorer
Explorer
Get the best price first. Worry about the warranty repairs IF and when you need them.

What if you have to move? Does that mean you no longer have a warranty? Most of the time the repairs will be needed when on the road.. Does that mean the warranty is no good?

Save the thousands up front. I have found that money talks. He who has it talks the loudest. If you save thousands up front, and need something fixed NOW.... Spend some of what you saved to get priority service...Believe me it works. A franklin or two will move you right up the list.

Odds are you will never have to do it,,,, but the option is there.
Huntindog
100% boondocking
2021 Grand Design Momentum 398M
2 bathrooms, no waiting
104 gal grey, 104 black,158 fresh
FullBodyPaint, 3,8Kaxles, DiscBrakes
17.5LRH commercial tires
1860watts solar,800 AH Battleborn batterys
2020 Silverado HighCountry CC DA 4X4 DRW

JJBIRISH
Explorer
Explorer
So confusing I click the link, this one, and it takes me to another link that says see here and I click it and it brings me to a link that says this one, that takes me to a link that says see hereโ€ฆ

Itโ€™s been a ยฝ hour now and Iโ€™ve gotten nowhereโ€ฆ
Love my mass produced, entry level, built by Lazy American Workers, Hornet

Mike_Up
Explorer
Explorer
The duplicate thread is being merged. See both threads for responses.

See here.
2019 Ford F150 XLT Sport, CC, 4WD, 145" WB, 3.5L Ecoboost, 10 speed, 3.55 9.75" Locking Axle, Max Tow, 1831# Payload, 10700# Tow Rating, pulling a 2020 Rockwood Premier 2716g, with a 14' box. Previous 2012 Jayco Jay Flight 26BH.

Mike_Up
Explorer
Explorer
vindicator wrote:
I found a TT out of state for about $6,000 less then what I can get it for here at home.

Has anyone purchased from out of state and had issues with getting repairs and warranty work done back at home? Good and bad feed back please!


Yes, it's not the auto industry and many dealerships will refuse to do none traveling warranty repairs unless you bought it from them.

I ran into this when I bought fron an out of state dealership because they were thousands less. The local dealer refused and Forest River, the maker of my Rockwood camper, stated that is correct. If any dealership refuses to do warranty repair work, you must return the trailer back to the purchasing dealer for warranty repair.

I went through hell as that camper was made like a pile of garbage and literally falling apart. Instead of fighting with who will work on it(as the selling dealership could NOT fix anything without damaging more), I just traded after a year and bought locally.

Jayco is the only maker that I know of, that requires all dealers perform warranty repairs on camper, whether it was bought from them or not. Still one dealer still refused so I was driving 3 hours to get somethings done to my Jayco. After notifying Jayco, they did punish that dealer through some stock or another avenue. Jayco can not legally make them repair none purchasing customers campers but they can open up their dealership agreement with them.

I would buy locally if you can even if it's $1000 more, but if you can't, make sure to find a dealership that performs "GOOD" work and make a plan for them to do repairs locally BEFORE you buy without knowing.

I would be very careful of the 2 big online wholesalers that are out there. I can't remember which one without going through emails, but they were very rude and wouldn't offer any concrete information on how repairs would get done.

PLUS you have to pay upfront all repairs and be refunded, if the refund is even enough to pay the bill in full. NO THANK YOU.
Good luck.
2019 Ford F150 XLT Sport, CC, 4WD, 145" WB, 3.5L Ecoboost, 10 speed, 3.55 9.75" Locking Axle, Max Tow, 1831# Payload, 10700# Tow Rating, pulling a 2020 Rockwood Premier 2716g, with a 14' box. Previous 2012 Jayco Jay Flight 26BH.

Mike_Up
Explorer
Explorer
dbbls wrote:
You are right to be concerned. Warranty work is not a monster money maker for RV shops. Some times they must wait up to 6 months for the company to pay. I have ran into issues getting warranty work done from a non selling dealer.


Exactly, warranty work sucks for a repairman. They have to accept the makers lower shop rate, delay in payment, and other things. This is also for the auto industry. Plus warranty troubleshooting pays nothing but if you brought it in on your own dime, you'd be paying hourly for that troubleshooting.
2019 Ford F150 XLT Sport, CC, 4WD, 145" WB, 3.5L Ecoboost, 10 speed, 3.55 9.75" Locking Axle, Max Tow, 1831# Payload, 10700# Tow Rating, pulling a 2020 Rockwood Premier 2716g, with a 14' box. Previous 2012 Jayco Jay Flight 26BH.

aftermath
Explorer III
Explorer III
Yes B.O., this is always the chance. Please notice that I added the little word, "reputable" in my stance. Of course we can argue what "reputable" really means. Like so many things, you pay your money and you take your chances.
2017 Toyota Tundra, Double Cab, 5.7L V8
2006 Airstream 25 FB SE
Equalizer Hitch

B_O__Plenty
Explorer II
Explorer II
aftermath wrote:
I believe it is better to buy locally whenever possible. Unless you are saving lots of money, the heartache and trouble with repairs and maintenance will "cost" you more in the long run. If you buy from a big far away dealer I think you should be ready to pay up front for work done locally. Turn in the paperwork and wait for reimbursement. Expecting your local dealer to do all of that after you bought elsewhere is bound to cause problems.

Sure, they like the work but having someone work on my trailer who is angry over the whole thing isn't the way I would like to go. I am always willing to pay a "little" more to a reputable local dealer if it works for me.
I paid a "little" more and still got terrible service work from my selling dealer. So what good was that? They have never seen me since.

B.O.
Former Ram/Cummins owner
2015 Silverado 3500 D/A DRW
Yup I'm a fanboy!
2016 Cedar Creek 36CKTS

aftermath
Explorer III
Explorer III
I believe it is better to buy locally whenever possible. Unless you are saving lots of money, the heartache and trouble with repairs and maintenance will "cost" you more in the long run. If you buy from a big far away dealer I think you should be ready to pay up front for work done locally. Turn in the paperwork and wait for reimbursement. Expecting your local dealer to do all of that after you bought elsewhere is bound to cause problems.

Sure, they like the work but having someone work on my trailer who is angry over the whole thing isn't the way I would like to go. I am always willing to pay a "little" more to a reputable local dealer if it works for me.
2017 Toyota Tundra, Double Cab, 5.7L V8
2006 Airstream 25 FB SE
Equalizer Hitch

Big_Love
Explorer
Explorer
I purchased my Forest River TT new from RV Wholesalers which was 2500 miles away from where I live. It was delivered to me in good shape, but had a few minor issues to address. The warranty instruction given to me by RVW was that I would need to have my local RV service shop submit a work order which would need to be approved by either Forest River or the dealer.

That was a bit awkward because the service owner did not want to do diagnostic work without getting paid for his labor. Since the issues were minor, I paid out him of my own pocket for diagnosis and repairs, and submitted the invoice to the dealer for reimbursement under warranty. This took a few months to get done, but was eventually approved and paid by the dealer.

I found it interesting that a local FR dealer was not on their list of approved service providers, but they sent me to an independent RV service shop instead.

dbbls
Explorer
Explorer
You are right to be concerned. Warranty work is not a monster money maker for RV shops. Some times they must wait up to 6 months for the company to pay. I have ran into issues getting warranty work done from a non selling dealer.
2011 F-350 CC Lariat 4X4 Dually Diesel
2012 Big Country 3450TS 5th Wheel

Francesca_Knowl
Explorer
Explorer
Warranty work is a Monster Money Maker for most RV places...they couldn't care less where you bought the rig and are happy as pigs in you-know-what if they get the mfr.-paid warranty work.

Just buy a brand that has an "authorized warranty center" near you and you'll be fine.
" Not every mind that wanders is lost. " With apologies to J.R.R. Tolkien

WoodGlue
Explorer
Explorer
I think that would depend wholly on which company the Travel Trailer is made by.

For structural warranty, you'd be contacting the trailer manufacturer and get an authorization to get the work done at a shop of your choice.

Also, if it's an appliance or something like water heater, those components are generally covered by their own warranties and you'd be contacting those companies directly for any warranty work (to get an authorization to fix something)

This is the way I understand most if not all warranty work is done.

Please correct me if I'm misunderstanding this.

WoodGlue
2002 Land Rover Discovery II
2014 Lance 1685 - Loaded - 4 Seasons - Solar - 2 AGM's
When Hell Freezes Over - I'll Camp There Too!
Lance Travel Trailer Info - Lance 1685 Travel Trailer - Lance 1575 Trailer