Factory service experience

[mojoracing]

Well I finally made it down to Decatur Indiana for my appointment at fleetwood. I'll preface this post by saying that in august I was approaching the end of my warranty and had a final punch list of things I wanted to get handled at the dealer. After leaving the coach with the dealer for two weeks they managed to replace a light bulb and told me there was some miscommunication and to bring it back to fix the rest. I did so and they managed to fix about half my list, some was not up to my expectations and some items they just turned down saying there was no problem or they were not covering the issue. Not covering some of the issues was the dealers decision I might add not fleet woods as they had not even contacted them about the issues. Anyway, fast forward to my appointment on December 15th. From start to finish, our experience thus far with Fleetwood was wonderful! We arrived in the early morning hours on the 15th to find a nice big lot at the service center. We pulled up to a power pole and plugged in and went to bed. Around 630am their was a knock on the door and they asked how much time we needed to be ready to pull in. I told them I needed an hour to get things straightened up and ready to roll. We had only been asleep for about 3 hours so i needed a couple cups of coffee to get moving. Right on time, they arrived out at the rv to bring us in. When they pulled it in the bay they immediately put a rug outside the entry door so as to not track in any debris and keep the inside of our coach clean. We went over the issues with fleetwood, the biggest being a lump in the floor and some bubbling of the vinyl where the seems of the underlayment are. I was a bit leary of cutting out the vinyl and having new vinyl put in which would only butt up to the counters ect. They informed me that they had another bounder there that they had just done the same job on and if I wanted to they would take me over to see the quality of the finished product. I jumped at the chance and found the work to be excellent and to my liking. Before seeing the other coach I think I would have just lived with it, not happily of coarse as it really bothered me every time I looked at it. Once we had a resolution to the major issue, we went on to the smaller things, all of which i was told will be handled to my satisfaction. Due to a scheduling issue on my part, all of the work will be finished by the end of december when i have to pick it up accept for the flooring issue. Fleetwood needs more time and I can't get it back to them for at least six months. This I was told was not a problem and when I'm ready I can bring it back and they will handle it. The fix to the flooring is going to be nice. They are going to take up the vinyl, clean off all the glue and then lay down an additional underlayment consisting of 1/4 inch luan plywood. They will then finish putting down the new vinyl and I opted to have them put 1/4 round down. They told me they could get it under the cabinets and such and not use the 1/4 round but it looked really nice and I think protects the edges of the kick plates. For any of you that have not been there, it is an impressive place with a great parking facility and a nice comfortable waiting area. Everyone I met was cheery, helpful and really was concerned with making me happy and our coach "right". It has definitely reinstated my confidence in Fleetwood's product and customer service. I cannot say the same for General RV and the way I was treated. It will certainly be nice to travel in our motorhome and have all the little issues resolved. Yes I have to stare at the ripples in the floor for a few more months but that is due to our plans and has nothing to do with fleetwood. Just knowing it will be fixed reduces my anxiety that I spent a lot of money and it will be a coach theta lives up to my expectations. I will warn you all that being down there and seeing all those nice diesel pushers makes me want to go trade mine is which we will in the next year or so and fleetwood is back on the list. I will also say that I will take delivery at the factory and in the future will have any service needed performed at Decatur. Its worth the 300 mile trip. After all, any time spent driving my RV is time well spent. Next time I will schedule my trip there to coincide with being able to take a factory tour. We really wanted to but it wasn't in the cards. Sorry for such a long post but I think folks should hear the good things companies do.

[John58]

Glad to hear you had a good experience. I'm in the process of scheduling an appointment with them in the spring for my 97 Bounder. They were great in getting me an estimate quickly and the communication since had been great. Looking forward to meeting them. Thanks for the info and good RVing.




John/Lynette

1997 Fleetwood Bounder (Ford F53 V-8 460)

[Clayobx]

Thanks very much for your post. I've heard many positive results out of a factory warranty repair. I definitely will purchase a FW product again, second DP here, and you can bet I'll pay the PDI factory happily! It's a terrible shame the dealer networks for most if not all manufacturers fall so terribly short on customer service and just plain ill trained technicians.

[oakcreekeric]

While I don't have a Fleetwood... I too had a very similar experience with Winnebago earlier this year..

I will say.. the feeling we had when we left was very similar to when we picked it up for the first time.. I'm guessing you can understand, once those little annoying issues are resolved, it's like a huge weight has been lifted... that combined with the spirit and enthusiasm you experienced from the Fleetwood staff... its like taking delivery of your new rig, all over again..

congrat's on the great experience

[gdetty]

I'm glad this was posted. We bought a 2014 Bounder 35K last March and experienced a very similar thing. Costing us several hundred dollars back-and-forth for the same repairs and getting nothing that satisfied our expectations and in fact getting a run around and the Dealership actually causing additional problems, the resolution from Fleetwood was to do a factory repair. We also obtained a buckled floor but that was caused by the Service department. The refrigerator marginally works on setting 5 and with two battery operated fans inside. The Power Gear "I asked them to zero it" and they (Dealership Service Department made it worse. I understand Fleetwood must sell through these dealerships but I am impressed that Fleetwood takes the initiative to stand behind their product. Someone needs to understand two philosophies here: returning buyers and word of mouth. Our coach goes to the factory either February or March and I now look forward to that event where our investment is properly brought up to standard and my wife and I are highly anticipating the factory tour. Fleetwood can take that sense of disgust from our minds. Thank you for posting this experience.

[gdetty]

It's been a while since I got on the forums but that isn't a show of how extremely pleased I am after I had my Fleetwood factory fix. I had read on this forum to not leave anything out and I didn't. Things such as the driver seat needed moved and it seemed to steer/lean to the right. My initial concerns were shoddy repairs by the dealership where their fixed it record was 0% truly they caused more problems. So the factory stepped in and the Fleetwood customer rep was there every step of the way and physically there. The factory and the repair center are not at the same location in Decatur and for add on systems Brian the Customer Rep set up a repair at the local RV dealership. Some people may be the type that say okay I'll accept that but I'm not that type of person. I fought for the fixes almost The entire first year that the refrigerator would not cool properly and the handles did not keep the doors shut and would fly open when we went around a corner - fixed perfectly. So my suggestion I believe there is a scam job regarding some dealerships who want the sale but handoff any warranty repairs. Then I mistook where the factory loyalty (politically-wise) would sit. For me it was with the customer, even in the act of winterizing and then de-winterizing it for us ( we were there in March) so we could show up over the weekend open the door and our RV was ready for us. The Fleetwood factory repairs won them a proud owner. I add the frustration of the dealership not fixing things and the positive fixes at the factory in every camping conversation I enter in with people. So as I read on this topic where someone also said get it repaired at the factory I agree. And touring the factory is a bonus. I write while camping and finally things work as they should. I cannot emphasize enough how great Brian the customer rep was in assuring us and making sure what needed done was done: how Neil the repair manager walked me through every single fix including a few THEY noticed and I missed: how patient Matt the repair technician was he could have been frustrated like when I said "I need to dump" and he said I'll meet you there and finish what I was doing: how Tony from Sullivan RV reworked my tow/brake system getting that add on to work properly: all super great people. Don't hesitate to take your problems to the factory.

[Deny]

Warranty work is very profitable for dealers. It is 100% profit if the work billed to the manufacturer is not performed for the customer.

[olddog49]

It is refreshing to read about such excellent factory response. I know there has to be a few dealers that tend to make it right and probably great to work with. T he dealer I bought from does not meet that criteria. I wish Fleetwood had some recourse with dealers. Almost feel like dealer rip of Fleetwood with so call warranty work. Factory way to far for to want to go, but if hving some of the issues some of you have had. I certainly would go then. Knock on wood our 35K has had only minor issues. Although, I do see a couple bubbles in the floor. Just hope they do not become multiple. Safe travels for all, enjoy every minute.