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Old 03-31-2017, 01:38 PM   #1
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OK, I know I'm new to this, but....

So we took delivery of a 2017 Bay Star 2 weeks ago. Since then, we have been going over it and have noticed a few things that need attention. So I call the dealer and they say "when can you bring it in"?

I say "how about I drop it off on Thursday night so you can have it for Friday am" and the service advisor says great. He says that they will look at it and most likely call me in the am with their findings. Perfect, I think.

So by 2pm today I don't hear anything and decide to give them a call. I get a different service person, who proceeds to tell me that it was "written up", but she has NO IDEA when a technician will be able to look at it. I politely ask if that was the case, why would I make an appointment and she says, "Oh, we are generally 2-3 weeks behind from the drop-off time until it can be looked it, but since you just took delivery and it is inside 90 days we try to give people like you priority. I ask what that means (as far as time) and she says "I have NO IDEA" - we will call you when we get to it.

So I immediately flashback to the Seinfeld episode where Jerry is at the car rental counter asking "Isn't that the whole point of making a reservation"? You reserve time when they have availability to look at, diagnose, and service your MH. I completely understand if they have to order parts, etc., but why in the world would you take your MH 2-3 weeks before they could even look at it, unless the problem was severe enough that you couldn't drive it?

SO, is this the norm in the industry now? This particular dealership touts itself as the second largest RV dealer in the world, so they are definitely not hurting for business. The next closest Newmar dealer is over 100 miles from me, so they kind of got me by the proverbial you-know-whats.

I know warranty work doesn't pay as well as normal hourly stuff, so that concerns me that I will keep getting moved to the bottom of the list and just make things worse.

I did not make a stink, but should I have?

All opinions (positive and negative) are most welcome. Thanks.
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Old 03-31-2017, 01:44 PM   #2
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You should make a stink. I think I know which dealership you are speaking about. They have just been sold to Camping World. I purchased my rig in November and without my salesman intervening, warranty items would have been ignored. Turnover was a joke. My recommendation is to have a solid PDI and stick to it. Let the GM know if you are not getting service. In this case, the squeaky wheel analogy applies.
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Old 03-31-2017, 01:52 PM   #3
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Yup, that's the one. So your next step would be to go back to the salesperson, or the service manager?
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Old 03-31-2017, 01:53 PM   #4
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100 miles to the next available service center? As you have your house on wheels, make some phone calls first but then head out to the location that will do what you want. Worst case, have some fun playing with your new rig on this impromptu trip.
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Old 03-31-2017, 01:54 PM   #5
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100 miles to the next available service center? As you have your house on wheels, make some phone calls first but then head out to the location that will do what you want. Worst case, have some fun playing with your new rig on this impromptu trip.
For Newmar warranty work, I do believe it is over 100 miles, yes.
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Old 03-31-2017, 01:59 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jtrving View Post
Yup, that's the one. So your next step would be to go back to the salesperson, or the service manager?
Depends who your salesperson is.... check your PM
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Old 03-31-2017, 02:22 PM   #7
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Our dealer is short staffed as far as qualified service techs go, so I go in knowing that even with an appointment for a certain day/time, it could be anywhere from a few days to 2 weeks before it gets looked at & even longer to get it back if parts have to be ordered. It's something I've learned to schedule around. I'll not even book an outing within a month following a service appointment in case there are delays for service. Do I like it? NO! I wish having an appointment meant my coach was going to be looked at the day I have that appointment but I know that is not going to happen.

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Old 03-31-2017, 02:27 PM   #8
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I have been back to the local dealer for a widow gasket for a sticking window. That didn't solve the sticking window problem. We had the slide mechanism replaced and the leveling hydraulic pump replaced under the extended warranty. Everything else I have fixed myself.

Newmar is a good product but warranty work is in the hands of the dealer and not the manufacturer. There's not a good answer if you the new owner are not capable of fixing a lot of the issues that are in the realm of a DIY person.

You didn't list your issues so please don't be offended by my comments.

We all bought homes when we were younger and many of us started to learn what we could and couldn't do around that home. That process has never stopped for us. There's almost nothing that we won't attempt and for the most part it has worked out OK.

Many are just content to pay somebody else and decide that they either can't or won't learn how to fix things. Well you have a rolling home. Many times you won't be near a dealer. Fix what you can unless you want to spend a lot of time with a down coach.
Maybe an independent dealer locally who is a better facility might work. It's work a stop.

What leads you to believe that the RV tech will fix an issue?? of the time I can do it better myself but that's my situation. My main problem is many of the difficult items I don't have the special tools. Many of the normal fixes I'd rather do myself. That's how I handle warranty things. Your situation may be different as it is with many folks.

The lack of qualified individuals in most repair areas is about the same. They can't find folks trained or willing to work. This country has over 5 million jobs open for specific skilled trained individuals. Yes that's 5 million jobs. Most 4 year colleges don't have a clue about technical training and yet we still talk only college, college, college. The colleges are graduating students with no specific skills and for sure very, very few problem solving skills.

Don't get me wrong. If a kid wants to be a doctor or civil, electrical, or mechanical engineer great. That's a very, very small portion of graduates. How about the Liberal Arts degrees?? Or the degrees in Communications or History majors, or Social workers. Yep we need a ton of those.

Good luck!!
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Old 03-31-2017, 02:39 PM   #9
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Well, one issue is with a full wall slide out so that is a little beyond my scope.

Another is simply a defective latch I could replace myself, but Newmar just changed their policy on sending parts under warranty directly to customers.

I wholeheartedly agree on the DIY thing, and I do not expect it to be flawless. I guess I just assumed good customer service would be to take care of someone who dropped six figures plus a couple of weeks ago. I bought a Mercedes last year and there was an issue - my salesperson drove to my house, dropped off a car for me to use, took it back, had it fixed and then returned it to me - washed and filled with gas! I know that's the other end of the spectrum, but as I do more research on this dealership I am learning I am not the only one who is frustrated blink:
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Old 03-31-2017, 03:12 PM   #10
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The problems in the RV industry are two fold and directly due to the attitude of the RV manufacturers.
First the dealer franchise agreement between the dealer and the manufacturer is a "SALES" agreement only. Did you know that not one RV manufacturer requires a dealer to perform any type of service work on their products including warranty repairs. Dealers simply tolerate service work as a necessary business cost.

Second the manufacturers offer no formal organized type of service training. The technician has to learn through trial and error, often at the owners expense.

Do you want to fix these two shortcomings, it's very simple? All you have to do is write your state legislative representatives to modify your state's current Lemon Laws to cover the full RV, including towables, not just the chassis portion on motorized units. Currently only California, I believe, has such coverage. Once manufacturers have to start buying back units because the unit was out of use for over 30 days total in it's first 24 months or had to have a defect worked on over 3 times in the same 24 month time frame you will see these problems go away quickly. Quality will improve tremendously and yes prices will increase at first but competition will bring that back into line.

This is exactly what happen in the automotive industry several decades ago. Once states enacted Lemon Laws to protect the buying public, the quality of automobiles improved dramatically along with a little help from Japanese competition.
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Old 03-31-2017, 03:17 PM   #11
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If you can handle some mechanical work, talk to the tech advisors at Newmar, they are a wonderful help to me when I call. We had a problem with our full slide (our mistake). They were very helpful and were able to provide me lead through the process to recalibrate the slide motors to get it working again. THey then provided me with detailed directions including pictures if I should ever mess it up again.

Worth thinking about anyway. If I encountered a dealer that provided service like your dealer is providing, I would never go buy another rig from then again. When we have needed work done, I call, make the reservation, and they know I expect them to work on it on the agreed upon date. Sometimes, I even stay there and wait for it.

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Old 03-31-2017, 04:25 PM   #12
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Not all dealers work that way. I bought a new Bay Star Sport in October. Four nights of camping generated about 8 adjustment-type repairs. I sent the Service Manager my list and called him a couple of days later. He estimated two days to do everything. We dropped off the coach the night before our scheduled appointment. Everything was done the first day.
I'm very satisfied with my dealer. It can happen.
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Old 03-31-2017, 05:08 PM   #13
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I had a dealer that would have me email photos and would then order the parts (warranty). They would then schedule a time for me to drop the unit off. Usally they kept the unit for one or two days.
One time they replaced a kitchen faucet while I waited and they had me back on the road in 30 minutes.
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Old 03-31-2017, 09:25 PM   #14
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With my current dealership, I made it clear that when I make an appointment, I expect it to be honored that day, as I am going to wait for it. I will make my appointment in advance to honor their time, so they must service it the day I bring it in to honor MY time. I have made it clear that I am willing to wait for an appointment when they are able take it right in.

So far, I've scheduled with them twice. The service writer tried to fudge on it both times --- we can't guarantee that we'll get to it today--- and I simply reiterate, firmly, that when I called, I said I would be waiting for it and I expect it to be honored. I've spoken with my sales rep (and part owner) and he supports this - it's what we agreed to when I purchased it. I live 2 hours away and have a local dealer 40 minutes away that I bypassed to by from them.

I guess I'm saying that I made my requirement clear before I signed the papers and was assured they could do this, and they have.

My first dealer was drop it off and wait a week or two. Nope. I paid too much and want to use it as much as possible when I can, so no open-ended "appointments".
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