Newmar Warranty Issues

[LarryLS]

I have a five month old (purchased new) 2023 London Aire that was traded for in Oregon. Living in Arizona and once home, I drove the LA to the nearest Phoenix area service facility that performs Newmar warranty work. I went over the issues I was having with the repair facility service rep who then put me on the phone with the Newmar warranty person to go over once again my list of items that needed attention. I thought that was strange but OK. It has been at the service facility for seven weeks now. I called yesterday for an update and was told that Newmar has a new policy that service facilities must follow to get parts. In short, the tech has to call Newmar and explain every detail of the warranty issue to the Newmar representative and stay on the phone answering detailed questions about each issue. Since this is apparently a new policy and the service facility did not know the new procedure, the back and forth has caused substantial delays in getting parts.
I think it is fairly easy to understand Newmar's position and why they require the service facilities to jump through hoops to get warranty work done. My concern is that any service facility now doing Newmar warranty work will get fed up with the hassles and refuse to do anymore warranties.
Has anyone else had this problem getting Newmar warranty work done? Also, any suggestions on what I can do to speed up the repairs?

[OMMM4747]

Don't know how much warranty work you're having done, but discussions I've had w/other campers (at NIRVC), if you drop off your coach you go to the back of the queue. If you wait for the coach they're more diligent in getting you back on the road. I also don't know how Newmar's warranty policy has changed, but I had warranty work done on 2 items at the trailing edge of the COVID outbreak when my coach was 2 weeks out of warranty but Newmar performed good faith replacement on both items ($0 charge). I was traveling through Atlanta and had to wait 3 days to get back on the road, but I think being there vs dropping it off helped. Will never know. The convenience was that we were able to stay in the coach on-site while we waited for parts. It was electricity only, but they filled my water tank and we pseudo-boondocked.

There's an NIRVC in Phoenix and if your current shop is not familiar w/Newmar's processes or is not moving fast enough for your liking, I can assure you NIRVC is well-versed in whatever Newmar's policies are. At least give them a call to discuss your situation.

https://www.nirvc.com/Locations

Good luck!

[NuC02Guy45]

Not unusual. I have my 2023 New Aire at a Newmar Dealer in Nevada and it has been there since October 1st. It has taken almost two months to get an interior door panel from Newmar. The turnaround time for warranty repair is frustrating to say the least. Every warranty item has to be pre-approved before work can begin. I had the same experience with the Newmar dealer in SoCal where I bought it. I'm not sure what the alternatives are.

[jaydee325]

Sounds like this particular Newmar dealer is not in good standing with Newmar on warranty claims and as a result, the dealer claims are being scrutinized in detail.

My advice is to try another dealer. If Newmar doesn't trust this dealer, maybe you should not either.

[ViperJD]

Larry, Unsure which service provider you are talking about...but we bought our Newmar from LazyDays on east side of Phoenix. They did some warranty work (15 months ago) for us, but it wasn't up to par. We then drove it to Napannee for further improvements. We now use NIRV (on west side of Phoenix) for coach issues, and velocity truck centers (Freightliner, Tolleson) for chassis work. Last time I tried to schedule work with LazyDays, I was told it was a 90 day wait list, as they were really busy. They made no concessions for us purchasing our RV with them. Probably ok with that, but while on the wait list, NIVR fixed our issues (slide and A/C units) under warranty. They were a bit frustrated with the continuous back and forth, but towed the line for me.

[LarryLS]

To answer the questions, there were a dozen warranty items on my list. Nothing to prevent us from travelling, but wanted to get the items done before the warranties expired. The facility doing the work is East Valley RV (good reviews) which is about 40 miles closer to where we live than NIRV. NIRV was my dealer of choice when I had our other coaches.

[Joedoggs]

Originally Posted by LarryLS

To answer the questions, there were a dozen warranty items on my list. Nothing to prevent us from travelling, but wanted to get the items done before the warranties expired. The facility doing the work is East Valley RV (good reviews) which is about 40 miles closer to where we live than NIRV. NIRV was my dealer of choice when I had our other coaches.

In a nutshell…..go get your coach and take it to nirvc is my suggestion….

[PetesMH]

I suggest that you fix as many items as you can yourself. Sure, you shouldn’t have to but it’s often easier, faster and more effective if you can do it personally than risk having a possibly under qualified, unmotivated “tech” messing with it. And you’ll get much faster response if you only have one or two issues needing attention at a service visit. A dealer can serve 10 customers with a single problem each in the same time as it takes to address your 10 issues. Which direction do you think they’ll go?

[Country Road]

Unrelated but similar circumstances. I believe that the treatment you received runs rampant thru the industry.

My daughter took her new Heartland coach into the dealer she purchased it from and they took 3 months to fix a full list of items. Go figure.

[GCSuper]

Originally Posted by LarryLS

I have a five month old (purchased new) 2023 London Aire that was traded for in Oregon. Living in Arizona and once home, I drove the LA to the nearest Phoenix area service facility that performs Newmar warranty work. I went over the issues I was having with the repair facility service rep who then put me on the phone with the Newmar warranty person to go over once again my list of items that needed attention. I thought that was strange but OK. It has been at the service facility for seven weeks now. I called yesterday for an update and was told that Newmar has a new policy that service facilities must follow to get parts. In short, the tech has to call Newmar and explain every detail of the warranty issue to the Newmar representative and stay on the phone answering detailed questions about each issue. Since this is apparently a new policy and the service facility did not know the new procedure, the back and forth has caused substantial delays in getting parts.
I think it is fairly easy to understand Newmar's position and why they require the service facilities to jump through hoops to get warranty work done.
My concern is that any service facility now doing Newmar warranty work will get fed up with the hassles and refuse to do anymore warranties.
Has anyone else had this problem getting Newmar warranty work done? Also, any suggestions on what I can do to speed up the repairs?

Not sure if this is relevant to this case, but some dealers do NOT like to perform warranty work on a coach they didn't sell. NIRVC doesn't care, so I agree with others that you should take your coach there instead. The last people I want working on my coach are people who really don't want to do it the first place.

[OMMM4747]

You have an NIRVC in your backyard! Mine nearest one is a 5hr drive from home (either Dallas or Nashville) and it's still my go-to place. Yes, they're on the pricier side, but they are Newmar-trained techs, do good work, and a heck of a better option than taking your coach to the factory in Indiana, which is always an option.

Another option is a mobile tech. Some even do warranty work. But I definitely recommend having a name or two in your back pocket in case you need quick service and can't get into any reputable shop. Put a list together, call them, and find out their training/certification, years of experience, are they insured, and what they charge (labor).

If it were me, I'd get my coach and take it to NIRVC. The East Valley RV's 'good reviews' are not aligning with your experience.

Good luck!

[d23haynes57]

Looks like you regularly upgrade. Participating on this forum I have only recently become familiar Newmar. It seems to be becoming a brand of choice. I'm curious why. After having 2 Cornerstones why would you change? Where you happy with the Cornerstones and the level of support? I was actually looking at the Reatta XL's before I decided to go higher end used.

I don't know the level or severity of your warranty claims. After having dealt with similar issues for my 04 Tropi-Cal I find it amazing that it is still normal expectation to have toke the time and travel to get new rigs fixed. Any manufactures reps paying attention? Not all of us are retires. Having to burn vacation time to travel and deal with a new rig is ridiculous. What the hell is value of new If I still have to get things fixed and from my experience, except for really large stuff I seem to be able to do a better job than the service providers you may have in place if any.

I'm asking as I am considering an upgrade. It will likely still be an older coach. Looking at Entegra and Newmar as possible options.

[VentanaOdyssey]

Very normal procedure, my dealer has a great system to speed things up. I would call for warranty work and the dealer would set up a video call appointment the same day or next day. I would go over the issues, the tech would take photos of the issues and submit the information to Newmar for approval and parts ordering. Once the dealer had an ETA on the parts I would get scheduled to bring the coach in and within a few days, it was done.

The dealer is Bish's RV and it really is a great system and I have never had a warranty issue rejected by Newmar.

[Tino Beltran]

Originally Posted by LarryLS

To answer the questions, there were a dozen warranty items on my list. Nothing to prevent us from travelling, but wanted to get the items done before the warranties expired. The facility doing the work is East Valley RV (good reviews) which is about 40 miles closer to where we live than NIRV. NIRV was my dealer of choice when I had our other coaches.

I wish all of you a Very Happy New Year filled with lots of fun travels and lasting memories!

Thank you OMMM4747, joedoggs and ViperJD for your kind words in referring NIRVC. It’s very much appreciated!

LarryLS, our NIRVC team in Surprise, AZ, is always here to welcome you whenever you need any additional services for your 2023 Newmar London Aire.

Best,
Tino Beltran