Out of State Purchasing and Warranty Items

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 River’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 says…

You are responsible for normal maintenance as described in the owner’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 problems…

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

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 PERAUTHROIZED… not preauthorized good luck…

It would not be uncommon for the reimbursement to be about ½ the actual cost paid, without some agreement for full recovery beforehand……

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.

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.

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 here…

It’s been a ½ hour now and I’ve gotten nowhere…

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

See here.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.