kenkorona
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Re: Extended warranty experiences
OK, I promised a followup to my original post. If you recall, I paid $5600 for and extended warranty and roadside assistance package when I bought a new TC in May. Was given 30 days to cancel with 100% refund. I cancelled and was waiting for the refund since June 16. Many phone calls to the dealer to no avail. Then, last week I called the dealer again and spoke with a manager. Told him I've been waiting 16 weeks. He expressed shock, spoke with the "controller". He said they would cut a check from their local dealership rather than making me wait any longer for it to go through their corporate office, and they'll straighten it out internally. They said I should get the check by Wednesday 10/13. I was hopeful, but skeptical. So today the check arrived. Hoooraaaay! So often these days people and businesses don't live up to their commitments. In short, these guys did even though it took longer than it should have. For the record, the dealership is Tom's Camperland in Avondale AZ. And the manager (who is also a salesman ) is Mike McFadden. Mike was super helpful and great to work with when we bought the camper. He went out of his way to make sure that, as total novices, we didn't make noob mistakes. Thank you Mike...607Views0likes0CommentsRe: Extended warranty experiences
RetiredRealtorRick wrote: kenkorona wrote: Having never before had an extended warranty, I don't know how much it would have paid toward the repairs. Would it have covered 100% of all the repairs? If not, the question becomes how much of the cost would be covered, and how much would I have to pay, and would the amount covered have been more than the cost of an extended warranty? I don't know, and nobody can answer that for sure at this point. But to be clear, I never said I was against extended warranties. If you look at my original post, I bought my F350 in Feb 2021 and not only bought the full extended warranty for 150K miles and 8yrs. I even bought the full maintenance package for the same period. When I was asking about it being a scam, I meant this particular instance, where the dealer seems to not be refunding the warranty cost. So, no offense taken and no nastiness inferred. Since you mentioned in your previous post that you paid fully HALF of the original cost of the vehicle out in repairs ...... you definitely would have come out WAY ahead with an extended service contract. Easy math :C Totally agree. But, based on my experience, I would have been even better off getting another Nissan607Views0likes0CommentsRe: Extended warranty experiences
Having never before had an extended warranty, I don't know how much it would have paid toward the repairs. Would it have covered 100% of all the repairs? If not, the question becomes how much of the cost would be covered, and how much would I have to pay, and would the amount covered have been more than the cost of an extended warranty? I don't know, and nobody can answer that for sure at this point. But to be clear, I never said I was against extended warranties. If you look at my original post, I bought my F350 in Feb 2021 and not only bought the full extended warranty for 150K miles and 8yrs. I even bought the full maintenance package for the same period. When I was asking about it being a scam, I meant this particular instance, where the dealer seems to not be refunding the warranty cost. So, no offense taken and no nastiness inferred.607Views0likes0CommentsRe: Extended warranty experiences
I have a sprinter used for my business' deliveries. Based on my experience with both the frequency and cost of repairs I will NEVER buy another Mercedes product again. It's in the shop (certified Mercedes shop) as much as it is not. Four years use, 180,000 miles and repairs equal half it's purchase price. (And it's purchase price is quite a bit more than its competitor's) I have a second delivery vehicle, a Nissan NV, and it is a dream. I guess they're both dreams but the Mercedes is of the nightmare type. I bought the Sprinter because I heard all the hype talk about getting 400K miles with little troubles. Totally wrong. Now almost every Sprinter owner I talk to regrets their purchase. Could that have something to do with my area being colder than most of the US? I dunno. But that is my experience with Mercedes.607Views0likes0CommentsRe: Extended warranty experiences
OK, but I'll wait till Wednesdays Mail before I post anything. That is, unless a moderator jumps in and warns me it is not permitted. Also, the reason I can't just drive over to the dealer is that I live 3000 miles from the dealer. Maybe I'm too trusting, but I still feel this was not a scam, and I still feel it's most likely that I'll get the refund. This dealer is a very big business with multiple locations. I find it hard to believe they would risk their business committing an out-and-out scam. A few more days will tell.330Views0likes0CommentsRe: Extended warranty experiences
So I just made another call to them. Spoke with a manager. He was "shocked" that it's been 16 weeks. He put me on hold while he spoke with the "controller" who was in the office today. Then he got back on the phone and said tht the check has not been processed yet, so they will be cutting a check today and I will receive it by next Wednesday. Either way, I'll post here again. So is posting the name of the dealership here considered not an acceptable thing? If I get the refund, I'll be satisfied with their standing behind their commitments (albeit slowly) and I would view posting their name as an endorsement. If I don't receive it I would view posting their info as a condemnation and warning for others to avoid them. Ken330Views0likes0CommentsExtended warranty experiences
Hi, I'm wondering if anyone else has had the same experience as I have with regard to extended warranty and roadside assistance. Here's my story... I purchased my TC at a well known, very large dealer in mid May 2021. After the camper was all checked out and loaded on my truck we went inside the dealership to settle up. Unfortunately what I didn't see coming was the hustle on an extended warranty and roadside assistance plan. I had just purchased my new truck,an f350 Lariat and when I did, I also got an extended warranty (8yrs 150k miles) and even a prepaid maintenance plan. The theory is that I basically have 8yrs and 150k miles where the only vehicle expense is gas and tires. At the time I was getting the camper I did not regret spending a lot on the truck warranty/maint pkg. I still do not regret it either. But having just paid all that $ on the truck package, I was easily coaxed into buying the same for the camper, which I did. Especially because we were told we had 30 days to change our mind and get our $ back 100%. So we spent $5600 on those packages, extended warranty and roadside assistance. Within a couple weeks we developed buyers remorse and contacted the dealership to cancel that purchase. Well within the 30 day period. We were emailed some forms to fill out which we did, and emailed them back to the dealer. The dealer told us it would take 4 to 6 weeks to get our refund. At about 5 1/2 weeks I called the dealer and now they said it would be 6 to 8 weeks. I waited 8 weeks and called again. Now I'm having trouble even talking with anyone because the "right person" is never in when I call and does not call back. Finally after 10 weeks I speak with a manager. He doesn't understand why anyone in their dealership would have even given an estimate of how long it will take. But he says it is not unusual for it to take 16 weeks. But it's not under their control. It's under the control of the warranty company, having nothing to do with them. Well, here we are at 16 weeks and still nothing. I'm feeling like a fool for having been fast talked into that purchase, and for actually believing a refund would be forthcoming. So after all this, I'm wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience? I'm not looking for (what I know will be coming) the lectures about why extended warranties are not worthwhile, etc, etc. But rather, whether anyone has had an experience in buying and canceling such a contract. So, I have refrained from naming the specific dealership and warranty company in this post. I'm not sure it's appropriate in this venue, however if anyone wants to contact me outside of this venue, I'm certainly willing to share those details. Ken7.9KViews0likes43CommentsRoof sealant
I have to replace a skylight. I just received the replacement from the manufacturer. When I go to install the new one, what is the sealant? When I was on the roof, I saw the same white sealant used around every roof penetration. Somehow I recall the name dicor, but I'm not sure. When I looked Dicor up on Amazon, I see different kinds and in different formats (can or caulking tube). Can someone tell me what is the correct one to use? Or is it one of those "it depends..." things? Ken1.6KViews0likes6CommentsRe: Battery Question
OP here. Thank you all for some great insights. I read all your posts and did other research and now I understand the pros and cons of the battery types. Now with that information other questions are raised and again I look forward to any insights you can offer. I am planning on buying a new TC and it will not come with a generator nor with a generator hookup. I am also planning a pretty long trip for next year. Right now it looks like it will be a total of 4 months with at least 2 of them in Alaska. We enjoy boondocking; usually no shore power, so having adequate battery power is important. To that end, I'm sold on the benefit of the lithium batteries and plan to put at least 2 in the TC. The reasons I'm sold on them are 1) lighter weight, 2) OK to discharge further without degrading its capacity, 3) accepts a charge faster. So my next question is... is there anything special I need to know or do if I decide to put Lithium batteries in a TC when the manufacturer was planning on it using FLA batteries? The camper will be equipped with solar panels, either 2 or 3 100w panels. But my question is not about whether those panels would be enough to recharge that much battery capacity, rather the question is about the equipment's compatibility. Thanks217Views0likes0CommentsBattery Question
Hi, I have a bunch of questions about batteries, invertors, charging, solar panels, etc. So I'll start off with batteries... My TC came equipped with 2 Interstate Marine/RV Deep Cycle SRM-27 batteries. They are standard Flooded Lead Acid batteries with a cost of about $125 each. In the 10 weeks I've used my TC so far I never had an issue with adequate power, though to be fair I had little use for a microwave or A/C during that time. I also used the generator for a total of about 15 minutes during that 10 week period. And that was to run the A/C while I was stuck in the Walmart parking lot in Secaucus, NJ (please don't ask why I was there). So I hear about people buying not just 2, but maybe 4 or more Lithium batteries at a cost of over $1000 each and I'm wondering why. I haven't done a thorough investigation, but from what I can tell the capacity of the Lithium batteries may be a bit better than a Lead Acid, but it seems hard to justify the wildly higher cost. Can someone explain? Thanks Ken12KViews0likes67Comments
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