Newmar Warranty Work?

[reubenray]

Will any Newmar dealer be obligated to work on warranty work if the motorhome is not purchased from them? I have a new (started selling Newmar's about a year or two ago) dealer (Berryland) that is about 40 miles away. They are a small dealer and have very few (if any) Canyon Star's in stock. They have none on order as of right now. All they have right now that is a Newmar is a CS 3920 which they have had for a long time. The next closest dealers is 300+ miles away.

Due to this I plan on getting quotes from several dealers. Then I start thinking about warranty work. With my current Tiffin I had a fall back plan to go to Red Bay for any warranty work if necessary. They are only 300 miles away. But the Newmar service center is a 1,000+ miles away.

Will shopping for a CS from dealers 300+ miles away be a stupid decision?

[SWag]

This was also a concern of mine in shopping for my Dutch Star.

I had purchased my Ventana LE from Holiday World in Katy TX and after experiencing their far less than acceptable customer service decided I would not purchase from them again. When I did my last round of warranty work on the Ventana prior to turning her over to the new owners, I told Newmar I absolutely refused to deal with Holiday World and they suggested I have the work done at Ancira in Boerne TX or National Indoor RV Center in Lewisville TX and they assured me that these were both excellent service dealerships. Ancira was a 215 mile drive from my home in the Houston area, NIRVC is 285 miles, so neither was convenient but a lot better option than dealing with Holiday World. Newmar made the call to Ancira and set up the appointment for me and Ancira had no problem with the fact that I hadn't purchased from them.

I went out to several dealerships on my Dutch Star order and eventually did the deal with Coachlight RV in Carthage MO. It's highly unlikely that Coachlight will see my coach again after delivery in January as it's about 600 miles from home. Additionally, Coachlight has been excellent to work with, I made the right decision in working with them on this DSDP purchase.

I believe you will be fine if you purchase out of town and have a local dealership perform your warranty work. If you still have reservations, give the Newmar customer service folks a call and let them reassure you.

Hope your shopping goes well for you! Don't hesitate to send me a PM if you would like any info on Coachlight, they have been great to work with.

Scott

[vraines]

I wish that the RV industry was not such a shot in the dark for quality service. That being said, the top notch service facilities will provide quality service whether you bought from them or not, in my opinion. Coach light is an excellent example. We had minor work done there in September and they were great. We purchased our Dutch Star at a very large dealer in Louisiana, and have some pretty mixed service experiences with them. Not sure I would return there unless I broke down in their parking lot. I do not believe they are a Newmar dealer now. Wonder why? My thoughts are that you find the motor home that best meets your needs and use the service center that others recommend after checking them out. The distance to their facility will be a cost of doing business so to speak. There are way too many mediocre service centers In existence because we use the closest to us.

[reubenray]

Coachlight is over 700 miles from us and it would have to be a great deal if I was to go that far. Crane and Southhaven are the two closest dealers. There are several that are 400+ miles away, but I will remember the comments about the Holiday World dealers.

National Indoor RV in Atlanta has the model I am looking at coming in, but it does not have the options we want in it. They are 410 miles away. We will be closer to that dealer when we head to the Tampa RV Supershow.

[aeroquality]

Salesman will pull the service priority for sales customers - if you don't buy from them, they won't prioritize your coach for service, or threatened to flat out not service it. These are typical sales pressure tactics. The service center however, is another source of profit for a dealer, so the service manager will not refuse the opportunity to service all customers. The problem everyone faces is that dealers want to get new coaches delivered so they can earn their sales profit. All new coaches require some level of service, and those are the priorities for the dealer's service center - at the point of the new coach sales.

Newmar has a Platinum dealer program. To qualify, there is a list of attributes, which includes, amongst others, being willing to service all Newmar owners!!

PLATINUM SERVICE DEALER - STATUS REQUIREMENTS A Platinum Dealer Must:
􏰀 Be in good standing according to Newmar’s Dealer Agreement.
􏰀 Have a CSI (Customer Satisfaction Index) score of 90% or above with 10 or more responses in the
most recent CSI scoring period of January through December.
􏰀 Willing to service all Newmar owners.
􏰀 Clearly communicated policy that the dealership performs service for all Newmar owners.
􏰀 Provide customer emergency/safety/use impairment related drop-in service.
􏰀 Either chassis certified or a partnership developed with a local certified chassis shop.
􏰀 Newmar and Spartan will assist with all necessary arrangements.
􏰀 Agree to Newmar’s recommended parts stocking program.
􏰀 Five or more service bays.
􏰀 Customer waiting lounge.
􏰀 PC/Internet access for use of Newmar’s flat rate manual, technical service manuals, ComNet2
parts catalog and other electronic services provided by Newmar.
􏰀 Have a notebook computer available for diagnostic/troubleshooting for items such as satellite
dishes.
􏰀 Have a certified paint facility, or ready access to a qualifying paint facility.
􏰀 Newmar must certify off-site facilities.
􏰀 Pass tough facility evaluations.
􏰀 Customers expect a clean and pleasant place to have their Newmar coach serviced.

And more....

[TexasTom]

I purchased my Newmar from a Newmar dealer in the DFW area. The sales/purchase experience was fine. Service after the fact is non-existent. Heck, I can't even get them to order parts. They simply lie about it.

[Mr_D]

No, unlike cars the RV dealers are independent and are not required to service units they didn't sell.

[Route 66]

Some dealers will take you in for service promptly even though you didn't buy from them and some won't. They put you at the end of the line, sometimes months out.

When I was a fulltimer and spent winters in FL, one year North Trail took me in immediately.

A couple of years later they said 2 months.

There's no guarantee you can get prompt service or service at all from a dealer you didn't buy from.

[reubenray]

I finally got the CS brochure from Newmar yesterday. There was a letter in there and it had a Texas Newmar dealer as the one closest to me. I am wondering why Berryland which is 40 miles away was not it. I got the impression while at Berryland several times that the Newmar is low on their list of suppliers. They have a ton of Forest River products. I have tried several times to look at Newmar's there, but they don't have them. The salesman said they had a few Newmar's coming in, but no Canyon Star models. This also gives me the feeling that they are not familiar with servicing a Newmar brand. They also have a very small service area.

[GaryKD]

Hi reubenray,
A Newmar dealer is required to carry an inventory of 2 coaches for each Brand they have agreed to sell. Consider asking Berryland which of the Newmar Brands they have agreed to carry. My concern is the quality of service from a dealer that carries only one or two of brands Newmar has in their lineup. For me, my selling dealer is 110 miles from my house. During the warranty I would make a list of items needing attention. When the list got to a length that justified the trip an appointment would be made. The dealer knew I would be staying in the coach (living in it) while it was being serviced. I also used the time to see the area.

Now that I am out of warranty, the list is still made. However, I take the coach to the Newmar manufacturing facility. Once again, I use the trip to see the area and launch other trips once coach work is completed. There is quite a bit to enjoy in Northeastern Indiana and the lower peninsula of Michigan.

Lastly, Newmar has a network of independent RV repair facilities that are approved for warranty work. If you are not near a dealer, give Newmar a call and find the nearest independent facility near you. An example of this is the city of Sevierville, Tennessee. There is a RV service facility in Sevierville. They are authorized to do Newmar warranty work. Their techs are RVIA certified. Their entire business is service and parts for RVs. Fortunately they are about 6 miles from where I stay.

[reubenray]

Thanks Gary for that info.

["007"]

The first paragraph of warranty explains what Gary mentioned about Newmar Authorize Service Centers.

[RussM311]

Coachlight in Carthage was several thousands of dollars below other dealers when I was dealing for my Canyon Star. Absolutely wonderful people to work with and they actually seem to want your business. Carthage is about 400 miles from my home in Bossier City, LA, but the deal was worth the trip. My Canyon Star will probably never see them again for any type of service, so I will be using National Indoor in Lewisville, TX. You might want to look at RVOne, as I understand they are now in the Newmar family.

[reubenray]

I sent in a request to RVDirect which is RVOne as for as I know. They came back with ridiculously low 15% off.