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

[turbopilot]

Let's start a list of Newmar dealers who will not perform warranty service on Newmar coaches purchased from other dealers.

Don't have any idea how long the list will be. May be more efficient to list the dealers who will honor the warranty for coaches purchased elsewhere.

It is possible once this list sees the light of day some dealers will change policies. So let's keep the thread dynamic. I have read on the forum that some Newmar dealers will honor the warranty but put coaches not purchased through them at the back of the line waiting weeks or months for service.

For purposes of this thread let's classify those dealers in the "will not perform warranty" category.

The issue here is where can you get service when traveling away from your home dealer?

My contribution. Last time I checked Holland RV Centers in Southern California will not perform warranty service on coaches purchased elsewhere. Post of this has changed.

[tnedator]

Newmar Platinum dealers will perform work on coaches purchased elsewhere. It's one of the requirements to be a platinum dealer.

[turbopilot]

Originally Posted by tnedator

Newmar Platinum dealers will perform work on coaches purchased elsewhere. It's one of the requirements to be a platinum dealer.

Is there a list of these dealers?

[tnedator]

Originally Posted by turbopilot

Is there a list of these dealers?

I haven't found one. I was told closest to me is Coachlight and NIRV in Lewisville.

[TomandGloria]

Independence RV in Winter Garden, Florida is a Platinum Dealer and will do warranty work for anyone. Trans West in Kansas City, MO is a Platinum Dealer and will also do warranty work for anyone.

[plane]

Originally Posted by turbopilot

Let's start a list of Newmar dealers who will not perform warranty service on Newmar coaches purchased from other dealers.

Don't have any idea how long the list will be. May be more efficient to list the dealers who will honor the warranty for coaches purchased elsewhere.

It is possible once this list sees the light of day some dealers will change policies. So let's keep the thread dynamic. I have read on the forum that some Newmar dealers will honor the warranty but put coaches not purchased through them at the back of the line waiting weeks or months for service.

For purposes of this thread let's classify those dealers in the "will not perform warranty" category.

The issue here is where can you get service when traveling away from your home dealer?

My contribution. Last time I checked Holland RV Centers in Southern California will not perform warranty service on coaches purchased elsewhere. Post of this has changed.

Turbo I agree this is an issue and believe we need to get Newmar's attention to help to resolve. We need to begin a coordinated effort with Newmar to address this. I believe Newmar already sees it with the building of a service center in Nappanee. Everyone at the international rally this year in Gillette should find Newmar execs and bring this up, we should not forget to get NKK behind this issue. We need to start an email campaign every time we are refused service and give kudos to Dealers who are stepping up.

Many dealers are adding additional brands to there lineup and have limited service facilities. I believe with more Coaches and towables being sold this will only get worse. These issues are not strictly issues for Newmar, it is industry wide and getting worse.

[turbopilot]

Originally Posted by plane

Turbo I agree this is an issue and believe we need to get Newmar's attention to help to resolve.

This is a good start. Just need another few thousand Newmar owners to agree and I think we can make a difference.

I know this is an industry problem but I bought a Newmar.

One issue not discussed is value added premium service contracts. I am willing and able to pay for a "Premium Service Experience". I just want to eliminate the hassle and have someone answer the phone who is willing to service my coach in a timely fashion with competent service personal. I am not asking for a free ride.

A friend of mine just bought a brand new single engine jet aircraft in the range of $2 million. So 2X of a King Aire. Along with the purchase he also purchased an premium service agreement for the aircraft. No matter where that airplane breaks down, they will get it fixed and back in the air fast. I was recently on a trip with him where we lost a fuel valve. They had that plane back in the air with a new valve in 24 hours.

Now these plans are not cheap but they can be priced to how the owner wants to be serviced.

No reason why Newmar could not offer a premium, concierge service agreement with the promise to find the resources and get coach fixed in a specified period of time. Price of the service would hinge on the responsiveness of the plan. We need someone on our side who breaks through the barriers of goofy dealers and FrieghtLiner/Newmar Chinese walls and just gets the darn coach running again.

What is this worth to the average luxury Newmar owner? Chime in.

[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.

[Davidrvr]

It’s not just a Newman problem.. it’s a problem with a lot of rv dealers.. they need to be mandated to do repairs not suggested!! Been through this with a sales place In Las Vegas named Cals rv.. they are no longer in business.. that’s how it works

[turbopilot]

Just trying to keep track of the good guys and bad guys when it comes to Newmar dealers. I am learning a lot. Here are the lists we need to compile for a sticky post.

1. Dealers who will not perform warranty service on coaches purchased elsewhere.
2. Dealers with combined Newmar and FreightLiner service at one location.
3. A list of Platinum designated Newmar dealers.
4. Dealers to avoid at all costs.
... More?

When I ran a business we always pushed the saying, what does not get measured does not get fixed.

These bad apple dealers need to see less business to begin to turn the corner on this Newmar field service problem.

[TonyDi]

It's surprising that Newmar doesn't have a list of their platinum dealers, so you can determine where to go for warranty service.

[boomersooner]

Newmar Honors Parks During Awards Ceremony | RV Business

Excellent article that list Newmar dealers awarded at their Rally in April.

[Mike and Cha]

First of all I feel bad for those who have bad experiences with their purchases and subsequent repair issues that arise. But buying a MH is all about the effort and doing your research prior to buying, not after a problem arises. There are several recent posts where people are complaining about Newmar, and it's either the sales end or after the purchase repairs needed, and then generally followed by quality control rants. When reading some posts and seeing the Dealers mentioned, had some done a little homework they would have discovered the dealer didn't have the best reputation in the first place. When doing my research we went to numerous dealers to see if bad reviews were warranted or not, and found many times they were. It was simple just scratch them off your list, providing you felt the same way after interacting with them(good or bad), not just by what you heard. When I finally found a Dealer I trusted I never looked elsewhere and haven't been disappointed since. You see there are some Dealerships Newmar work well with because of how much they respect that Dealer. Some others may meet their guidelines but not necessarily have their respect and complete trust.

Some people who are looking to purchase may be scared away by these posts and go to a different manufacturer, which in my opinion would be their loss. I still feel Newmar is one of the best built MH's and there are several brands that have a way worse reputation when it comes to quality and after the sale customer service. I have talked to numerous people who bought another brand and wished they had bought a Newmar, as they had purchased a poor quality MH(even with everything working) and any repairs needed took several weeks to several months to get corrected. They were sick when they found out for a few thousand more they would have had a better quality MH and one that hey could use rather than sitting in a service bay for months.

I totally agree that nobody should get the run around or shoddy service from any dealership. But I see a few problems that people are not taking into consideration when it comes to getting work done on any MH.

1) When buying and trying to save money you need to accept the fact that if you buy from a dealer a long distance away, the closer dealer may most likely not have time to work on your MH, and this should not be something you complain about. Put yourself in the position of the ones that bought from that Dealer and paid a little more because of the reputation of the dealer and the service department( they did their research). Should their needs be put on hold to accommodate someone who bought 3 states away. If you complain about the Dealer you didn't buy from not having time to work on yours, be honest you would be screaming that the Dealer you bought from was helping others who didn't and making you wait. Doesn't matter whether you buy a $100,000 MH or a $500,000 MH, fair is fair. And if you can show you are on vacation and several hundred miles from your dealer I have no doubt Newmar will find a way to help you.

2) Sales are at an all time high, and with that service departments are going to be busier, just with the PDI stuff, let alone paid for/warranty repairs. I'm sure (as many have posted over the years) that once you paid for your MH you want the delivery in a timely manner, and with a properly done PDI. Our Dealer assured us that their PDI was second to none and that a factory PU was not necessary. He was correct as many threads I have read over the last few years, we did not experience some issues that others did as they checked everything out and made the corrections if needed prior to the delivery. I don't think I just got lucky. Again doing your research prior to the purchase and asking questions. Someone said that Class A MH's are complicated, and they are, but some still go out and buy one as if they were just buying another car.

3) There are a lot of new buyers who are doing their research, hear about the Newmar quality, and go out and buy one. They have no RV'ing experience and their expectations are high(they should be but they have no understanding of the systems or how a RV handles or operates). They also may not have any mechanical abilities and everything is a big issue, and the MH goes back to the Dealership for all repairs. Guess what the Service Department gets overwhelmed with MH's that really don't need to be there, taking up valuable space and time, but they are under warranty and as such Newmar is going to make sure they get repaired. Guess what even if you bought there you are now waiting in line, and if you didn't buy there you may be told that there will be an extended wait time. Some people take these MH's in for loose wires, screws, blown fuses, or just things they don't understand how they work. Again doing your research, I have owned RV's and boats for years, but my PDI took about 5 hours with them demonstrating, and then having me do things while they watched to make sure I knew what I was doing. Imagine someone was has never owned an RV, and they get a 1 hour PDI, they may be lost when they get it home as to how things work. I have been at CG's where people have had issues with new MH's (including Newmar) where they were ranting that something didn't work or things were loose. I have helped many tighten screws, wires, replace fuses, ect. or set up TV's and other amenities so they worked. Calmed them down and no need for a trip to the Dealer.

I do not work for Newmar, nor am I any kind of mechanic. I am a little handy just after years of owning RV's and trial and error repairs. Most of what you need to fix can be found through trial and error or research on line. Granted there are many things that you really need them to repair as it is too costly, you don't have the equipment, or the ability. This got a lot longer than I wanted it to be, but the bottom line is just because you bought a Newmar doesn't mean it will be perfect, but it will still be a long way better quality than most other brands.

[cinergi]

For me, Diamond RV in West Hatfield, MA is not willing to do warranty work on my coach.