Newmar Dealers Who Will Not Perform Warranty Service on Coaches Purchased Elsewhere

[mag150]

Originally Posted by tnedator

Do you really think the Entegra dealer network is any different?

Never said they were any different just that I may have to consider them again and also have an Entegra dealer 1 mile away vs 4 hours.

["007"]

Thread List so far of excellent Newmar dealers, if you see any that may not be we will discuss in this thread I just gave you.
If you have any dealers to add to this thread please post in the thread.

[Kammy]

Originally Posted by charlievette

I can add Freedom RV in Tucson has been fantastic. I did not purchase my coach from them, but never any attitude or hassle. Their work and their knowledge of the Newmar coach was spot on. The tech that worked on my coach spent time with me going over the repairs he made and several that he fixed that I wasn’t aware of.

I bought my coach from Freedom and spent a month in the area getting the bugs out (about 30) Freedom fixed EVERY problem I brought to them. Brad White is wonderful to work with. o hassel just excellent/timely service.

[GMDLA]

I'm not by any means defending the dealers as I agree all of them should do warranty work and all interactions as described in the thread are different.



I bought a Ventana in Virginia when the motor blew on previous coach a couple of years ago. Came back to Louisiana wondering if I could get warranty service. Met the service manager and explained my predicament, he put me in the system like I bought from them. Have had service done and was pleased.



He said they started not servicing coaches bought from other locations, due to a customer (that started it) that went to Houston (5 hours away)to save $600 on a $400,000 coach, then wanted to bring it to them to service.


Just saying, it's complicated.

[Bobkat3080]

We ordered a 2018 Bay Star 3414 ,that was delivered in May, from Guaranty RV in Oregon. We have had some minor work and a recall that needed to be done. We have been delighted with their service team and especially Cyndi, the service advisor assigned to us when we received our rig. We have tent and tent trailer camped for 40 years but this is our first real RV. We have looked at RV's for years but the time and floor plan was never right. When we found the 3414, we sold the house and are full-timers as of May. After 6 months we are very happy with the rig, its floor plan and with Guaranty RV. Please add them to your great dealer list.

[FLJOE]

Originally Posted by plane

I guess I just expect a warranty that will service my coach when it breaks away from home. I bought a coach that listed for over $400,000 and expect nothing more. than I expect from my car dealership. I guess from all the responses I am in the minority and my expectations of Newmar must be unreasonable. With the philosophy I am seeing here we will never fix the issue.

I love Newmar and feel that they make a quality product with a lot of electronics and gadgets most of us can no longer maintain and I believe Newmar wants the reputation of service and reliability, I do not think they want their dealers to denigrate the service and reputation they have built.

The above statement (bold) is why many RV owners will always be somewhat unhappy with their purchase. The RV INDUSTRY IS NOTHING LIKE THE AUTO INDUSTRY and never will be! I have owned three different brands of RVs and Newmar goes above and beyond when it comes to customer service and warranty. They have zero control over what individual dealerships do with their service departments. If a certain dealership is booked and some traveler in a 2019 $900,000 Newmar needs immediate warranty work do you really think Newmar or anyone else is going to bump other customers so that owner can be taken care of immediately?

[plane]

Originally Posted by FLJOE

The above statement (bold) is why many RV owners will always be somewhat unhappy with their purchase. The RV INDUSTRY IS NOTHING LIKE THE AUTO INDUSTRY and never will be! I have owned three different brands of RVs and Newmar goes above and beyond when it comes to customer service and warranty. They have zero control over what individual dealerships do with their service departments. If a certain dealership is booked and some traveler in a 2019 $900,000 Newmar needs immediate warranty work do you really think Newmar or anyone else is going to bump other customers so that owner can be taken care of immediately?

I guess I'm the idiot or unrealistic buyer who made the post your speaking of but I expect problems that arise in my $400,000 RV to be fixed by my dealer (who between the trade and purchase pocketed 40 to 50 grand on the transaction) to provide the service I need in a timely basis during my Newmar 1 year warranty (which they also earn money on).

I did my research and talked with the dealer as to what my expectations were and he has done exactly what he said every time he worked on my coach. Nether do feel I should be turned away when on road because I bought from someone else. I will be happy to wait until they can reasonably work me in. Newmar is good about trying to help, but dealers should be held to a standard.

I guess maybe I was unrealistic enough to talk to my dealer and reach an understanding prior to spending my money. I also discussed his policy about warranty work on coaches not sold by him. Had he have said he only works on the ones he sells, it would have been one less he sold. By the way I have seen this dealer work someone in to help them out regardless of where the bought.

Just maybe if those of us who have the money to purchase these rigs express these unrealistic and naive views and let their dealers know what they expect and walk away if they don't. We do have leverage and we should use it.

This is my third Newmar and have been happy and satisfied with my purchases but if I had the dealer problems some have had I would be much less than happy.

Sorry for my rant but expecting good customer service from a $400,000 coach is not an unreasonable expectation for anyone.

[tnedator]

Originally Posted by plane

I guess maybe I was unrealistic enough to talk to my dealer and reach an understanding prior to spending my money. I also discussed his policy about warranty work on coaches not sold by him. Had he have said he only works on the ones he sells, it would have been one less he sold. By the way I have seen this dealer work someone in to help them out regardless of where the bought.

I also had several discussions with my dealer (same dealer as you) about service and how they handled it. I wanted to make sure if I made an appointment they would work on it that day, not expect me to leave it for weeks simply on their lot before they even get it in to troubleshoot, and then more weeks waiting on parts and repair, as is common in the world of Thor, Forest River, Winnebago dealers, etc. I was assured that when I show up for my appointment, they work on it that day.

A couple of the requirements of being a Platinum dealer, which they are, is they must work on coaches that weren't bought from them (along with requirements that their surveys are over 90%, etc. and multiple other requirements).

However, that policy also gets abused, because there are some dealers that push their customers towards factory pickup and will tell them to contact Coachlight for repair, rather than working on it themselves. They want to sell coaches but not deal with PDI/warranty work. This puts a lot of pressure on a company like Coachlight that works on any coach, but also wants to make sure THEIR customers are serviced in a timely basis.

I fully understand why dealers don't want to work on coaches that weren't bought from them. When you have someone that lives an hour away and chooses to buy a coach across the country to save a few thousand dollars, but then go to the local dealer, there are two issues.

First, since these coaches come out of the factory with multiple issues, if they are servicing the guy that bought long distance, that means they don't have the profit that a selling dealer has, some of which they know will go to PDI and post delivery issues. In many, if not most, cases Newmar isn't paying them enough to fully compensate them for warranty work. When a dealer sells a unit they know that a portion of that profit is going to be spent on fixing the coach.

These dealers that are pushing factory pickup and mostly sell long distance, will discount even more, knowing that they won't have to use some of their profit to address PDI/post delivery issues.

Second, if a dealer is servicing coaches where people chose to buy long distance rather than local, that means that's going to impact how quickly they can address THEIR customer's problems and make it more likely that next time their customer wants to buy a coach, they might opt to buy elsewhere.

Great dealers are not just focused on one sale, but on creating a long term relationship to build a bond that leads to the next coach, and the one after that, and so on, being purchased by them.

Anyway, if you made it through this rambling, early morning post, my point is that I fully get why dealers don't want to work on local customers that bought long distance (which is different than helping people traveling through, or who moved to the area) and I think the real problem is not the dealers, but the customers that don't support local dealers with a sale, but still expect them to service their coach.

[redbaron73]

I am seriously considering opening an RV repair business, and specifically for the purpose of warranty repairs along with non-warranty repairs.

Texas and many other states have Retail Reimbursement laws that allow the dealer to make a substantial profit on warranty parts. Example: A refreigerator that fails needs to be replaced under warranty.

The manufacturer will ship a new replacement refrigerator to the dealership, free of cost, and the dealer will install it. This will pay the hourly service rate at retail, but based on book hours. Lets assume 4 hours for labor.

Additionally, if the refrigerator has a dealer cost of $1000.00, the dealer will receive a check for $400 for the parts markup, even though the dealer had NO costs involved.

This policy can be abused by dealers, and often is. This is the primary reason why manufacturers are making it so hard to get replacement parts, requiring proof of necessity, and extra testing.

Bottom line - done properly, a service department can be the primary revenue center, and yield much more reliable profit than new unit sales. It does require a greater expense, because you have to hire good techs, and you have to do continuous training and quality control.

There is a lot of information regarding this, but one document that is of interest relates to the auto industry. Here is one document: https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/doc...-_goldberg.pdf

[wildtoad]

Might be important to know the situation of the buy and service need. Were you on the road when service was refused or is the dealer your local dealer that you chose not to buy from? Is the warranty work you are asking to be performed such that it could wait until you got back to your dealer or “critical” such that they would need to bump one of their customers? Were you offered service just not in your timeframe? A list of dealers who simply refused service with no background info would be simply less than helpful.

[Solo_RV_Guy]

Originally Posted by FLJOE

The above statement (bold) is why many RV owners will always be somewhat unhappy with their purchase. The RV INDUSTRY IS NOTHING LIKE THE AUTO INDUSTRY and never will be! I have owned three different brands of RVs and Newmar goes above and beyond when it comes to customer service and warranty. They have zero control over what individual dealerships do with their service departments. If a certain dealership is booked and some traveler in a 2019 $900,000 Newmar needs immediate warranty work do you really think Newmar or anyone else is going to bump other customers so that owner can be taken care of immediately?

Expect our new, younger buyers to be fully attuned to customer service and if they find it lacking, will lobby Congress to pass more encompassing RV warranty laws. Products sold interstate will be required to have a warranty service network to make repairs regardless of place of purchase.


Remember when we were told that school buses would never have seat belts in them? Angry parents changed that, and angry consumers can change the way RV warranty service happens, too.

[FLJOE]

Originally Posted by plane

I guess I'm the idiot or unrealistic buyer who made the post your speaking of but I expect problems that arise in my $400,000 RV to be fixed by my dealer...…...CUT...…………………………………….

Sorry for my rant but expecting good customer service from a $400,000 coach is not an unreasonable expectation for anyone.

Jim, I agree that it is not unreasonable to expect good customer service after purchasing a $400,000 product of any type. The RV industry is lacking in many ways. The relationship/control between manufacturer and dealer is not the same as the auto industry and probably never will be.

However, you have to keep the OPs complaint in perspective. He wants a safety recall completed as soon as possible while traveling. It certainly isn't like a safety recall on a automobile where there would be an authorized dealer every 50 miles throughout the country.

[micbob4]

I HIGHLY recommend Dylan's RV in Sewell NJ. From our excellent salesman Jim who gave us his personal number if any issues arise (I've reached out on a Sunday and he was quick to respond) to the Awesome service department that doesn't care how minor an issue I had they want to make it right. They are extremely friendly. They go out of their way to earn your trust and they have earned mine. I do not hesitate to drive 4 hours to gain peace of mind that they will take care of me. PLEASE add Dylan's RV if you have not already. Thanks! Bob

[plane]

Originally Posted by FLJOE

Jim, I agree that it is not unreasonable to expect good customer service after purchasing a $400,000 product of any type. The RV industry is lacking in many ways. The relationship/control between manufacturer and dealer is not the same as the auto industry and probably never will be.

However, you have to keep the OPs complaint in perspective. He wants a safety recall completed as soon as possible while traveling. It certainly isn't like a safety recall on a automobile where there would be an authorized dealer every 50 miles throughout the country.

You are correct and I agree expectations should be somewhat kept in check while on the road. I guess my real complaint which I voiced to Matt Miller at the International this year is refusal of dealers to perform warranty work for others. He acknowledged this is an issue that they are trying to address. but is very tuff because of various laws. Once warranty is over it does become a bit more palatable. The thing that I don't understand is the pass that many of us coach owners provide to poor customer service from dealers. We do have a big switch and we should use it. And let me be clear I am not advocating for the government to step in. Again Newmar is a great Coach and as a whole they do provide good Customer Service, they are just quite a drive for many of us.