Forum Discussion

the_e-man's avatar
the_e-man
Explorer
Oct 04, 2018

Warranty for Life Question

Hi All,

I am getting close to buying a new camper. The dealer includes a Warranty for Life which sounds great. But as I am about to buy, the program changed. Instead of an annual inspection for $150 to keep it valid, they are saying the program is changing. There will be an annual maintenance visit that will cost $500-600. It covers things like sealing the roof, repacking bearings, and cleaning the gas lines on appliances.

The camper we are looking at is an open range. It has a pvc roof rather than a rubber roof. So, it shouldn’t need to be sealed. The rest of the visit just seems like more maintenance at a higher cost than needed.

Anyone have experience with programs like this? Any idea how much the dealer might be paying? Maybe we could negotiate to not include it.

Your ideas are welcomed and appreciated.

the e-man
  • Artum_Snowbird's avatar
    Artum_Snowbird
    Explorer
    Oct 04, 2018
    If you have lots of money and don't enjoy fixing your own stuff or perhaps you can't, a planned visit once a year to a repair company might be worth it.

    RV's are not like vehicles generally. If your vehicle breaks down, you often can get it fixed fairly quickly. If your RV has a problem because of lack of maintenance, repairs can be very expensive and time consuming and ruin a planned holiday fast.
  • LibertyMan's avatar
    LibertyMan
    Explorer
    Oct 04, 2018
    I just recently bought a new Rockwood Signature that came with a Forever Warranty. Annual inspection of about 175 bucks that includes things that you mentioned above plus a few others easy things. I'm not sure what the dealer paid for it but I really did not see it absorbed into the overall cost of the camper because it beat other dealers prices that only included the standard warranty. But, 500-600 bucks for an annual inspection, that NUTS!
  • 2edgesword's avatar
    2edgesword
    Explorer
    Oct 04, 2018
    Is that $500 ~ $600 a one time payment that covers an annual inspection and basic maintenance for life? Or is it $500 ~ $600 per year? One payment for life I could justify put per year is NUTS as LibertyMan said.
  • jbjuices's avatar
    jbjuices
    Explorer
    Oct 04, 2018
    I have a Warranty for Life. I bought my TT last October and with my 30 day grace period on my annual visit, I can get it inspected in November during their 1/2 price inspection period due to low volume service visits. Check that out at dealer to see if they give 1/2 off during the slow months. Our visit will be $125, but since we got a 7 year extended premium warranty, we’re debating on keeping that in tact. The warranty for life isn’t that great of a plan, but will cover the major stuff if it goes bad. Read the warranty and see if it’s worth the cost.
  • stallsmi's avatar
    stallsmi
    Explorer
    Oct 04, 2018
    The warranty company does not set the cost...the cost is set by whoever does the work. The warranty gives you a list of items to be serviced/checked, and it's up to you to find a tech to do the work. You don't have to return to your dealer. I have the warranty, renewed it 3 times, and have not used the original dealer. I used a local service provider. In checking with the warranty people, they said as long as it is a "professional RV service provider" they accept it. In short, shop around. Additionally, the items to be serviced are ones you should do anyway.
  • mike-s's avatar
    mike-s
    Explorer
    Oct 04, 2018
    Just know that when they sell you any sort of "warranty", they're making a profit. And most have significant exclusions which mean a lot of major problems aren't covered.

    It can work out for the consumer in some cases, but for most you'd be better off just banking the cost to pay for future repairs.
  • Lwiddis's avatar
    Lwiddis
    Explorer II
    Oct 04, 2018
    In some states a “warranty for life” is the expected life of the product, not you. And a dealer’s warranty is only good as long as the dealer is around...without a bankruptcy. Read the terms carefully.
  • jbjuices's avatar
    jbjuices
    Explorer
    Oct 04, 2018
    $1500 for a 7 year Platinum Warranty is well worth the costs. I read through the exclusions 5 times and didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. Now, paying $500 a year for the warranty for life is; in my opinion; not worth it since their exclusions were extensive.
  • valhalla360's avatar
    valhalla360
    Navigator
    Oct 04, 2018
    Looks like a huge profit center for when they are slow.

    A few notes:
    - All roofs need inspection and sealing.
    - What exactly is "cleaning" the propane lines? Never cleaned my propane lines and never had a problem.
    - At $500/yr, in 10yrs, you can pay for $5000 in repairs...that's a lot of repairs.
    - Original warranty covers the first year or two but I assume you still have the $500/yr maintenance cost.
    - On the rare chance you actually have approved warranty work...they do it at their schedule...if that means you miss the holiday weekend...too bad. They will take cash customers ahead of you because if they don't, they will move on to someone who can do the work sooner.

    They are just playing on your fears.

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