Poor Fleetwood, Poor me

[lp5151]

Tried to schedule some warranty work today on a new 2008 Southwind 36D I purchased the first of February '09...was told by the dealer that they weren't scheudling warranty work for Fleetwood products at this time, do to their current financial problems....it is truly a "buyer beware market". fortunately the work needed isn't a major issue, just a leaky toilet (got 2, the other one works fine). I was given an option to pay for the work myself, then try and bill back Fleetwood.

anyone else running into this problem of trying to get warranty work done?

[rjf7g]

I am sorry. Did you call Fleetwood to solicit their assistance?

[tmar10]

lp5151, is it the same dealer who sold you the Southwind? If so, they could be making a long-term mistake by failing to assist you today. I have to agree that a call to Fleetwood is in order.

[lp5151]

i did call Fleetwood today....since we bought the M/H in Arizona and live in Oregon we are to far from the selling dealership to get warranty work done. the local dealers are not doing warranty work on anything they did not sell, until Fleetwood takes care of their current problems. But....they will do the work and I will have to pay for it and bill back Fleetwood direct as long as the work is first registered with Fleetwood as a valid warranty issue. So i'm not totally left out in the cold at this time. no one knows for sure if Fleetwood will pull through this bankrupcy. if they don't, guess i'll be looking at a more inclusive extended warranty.

[tmar10]

Flip a coin and cross your fingers in hopes of Fleetwood's survival. Although they have made some major changes in the organization in the last few months, their fate will be based on how consumers, with both the desire and capacity to purchase, respond to their product line. We can only continue our travels, enjoy our home on wheels, and await the final verdict.

[Gary RVRoamer]

Note that if the problem is with the toilet itself, you are covered under the toilet warranty, which is separate from Fleetwood's. If the problem is with the installation of the toilet or associated water lines, then only the Fleetwood (coach builder) warranty applies.

[pat69]

We are about to purchase a new Bounder. Does anyone else have trouble with warrantees being honored? Should we reconsider our purchase?
Pat

[tmar10]

Hello Pat and welcome to IRV2.

You have ask the million dollar question we all would like to know. Betty and I love our Bounder and have no complaints with our local dealer or Fleetwood. If I were you I would have a long talk with your dealership and make sure you perform an in depth PDI prior to accepting the MH. The chassis and systems are covered by separate warranties other than Fleetwood.

We, along with many others, fully support and hope for a continued relationships with the Fleetwood and Bounder Families for many years to come. Membership in groups like this along with BU and BOA could also provide tons of experience and support with any new purchase.

[lp5151]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pat69 We are about to purchase a new Bounder. Does anyone else have trouble with warrantees being honored? Should we reconsider our purchase? Pat

Pat, I agree with the comments made, to find the M/H you want and ask the questions up front as to wether or not they will do the warranty work on the coach you purchase, if not, find another dealer. also, do the research as to the quality of the dealer you are purchasing from. We bought from out of state because it was the only '08 M/H spec'd the way we wanted, in hindsight we probally should have waited another month or two and bought an '09 from a local dealer.

lp5151

[pat69]

Thanks, Tom and Betty and others who responded. I assume a DPI is the inspection when we buy the unit. We are buying out of state. It's a bordering state 4 hours from where we live. Hope all goes well. Pat
5151- Why do you wish you had bought an 09?

[tmar10]

Hello again Pat. Here is a link supplied by "007" for a very detailed PDI:

PDI LIST for MH's

Dont be in any hurry to sign off on the new MH. I would even see if the dealer has a site where you can stay overnight in the camper. It is easier to get things fixed before the papers are signed and you leave the dealership.

[lp5151]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pat69 Thanks, Tom and Betty and others who responded. I assume a DPI is the inspection when we buy the unit. We are buying out of state. It's a bordering state 4 hours from where we live. Hope all goes well. Pat 5151- Why do you wish you had bought an 09?

Pat, if we'd had bought an '09, it would have been from our local dealer, who is still doing warranty work on M/H's they sell, they are not doing warranty work on M/H's bought from other dealers. they didn't have an '08 ('08 are discounted much more than the newer '09). the nearest m/h equiped the way we wanted it was in Mesa, AZ....that's why we went there to purchase it. at the time our local dealer was doing the warranty work on our Fleetwood...but with Fleetwoods filing, they quit doing warranty work on M/H's not sold by them. IMO, it was still worth buying what we did, the savings was almost 15K. the differences between our '08 and an '09 was very minimal, definitely not 15K.

[tmar10]

We found it was cheaper, a little more than 28% off MSRP, for us to order exactly what we wanted from the local dealer. The local dealer did cause us a few headaches but they were minor issues and we would still buy from them again.

[exrench]

Collecting on warranty has always been a "cost/benefit" equation.Nothing is gained when travel costs and inconvenience exceed costs of having service done by a local guy who wants to help you VS a non-selling dealer whose technician is "on holiday", "sick","on course out of town" etc.In my case,I did my own warranty work since all I had to gain was the "satisfaction"of having FW pay,and that doesn't pay the bills.