Loss of use/warrantee issues Forest River Class A

[jimstewart_1]

My wife and I purchased a “new” 2019 Forest River Georgetown 30X3 Class A motorhome in late July of this year. We managed to take it on a few short trips between trips to the dealer for repairs, culminating with the rig being driven back to the factory (1,000+ miles each way) for major repairs. I won’t get into the details of all of the defects but the straw that broke the camel’s back was a serious leak along the whole length of the passenger side of the vehicle. Forest River was going to send a representative down here to Florida to look at the damage, until they looked at the documentation from the assembly of the unit. It turns out that they had a problem with the seal between the roof and the passenger side of the unit during the assembly, but took shortcuts to get it out the door rather than do a partial disassembly to get it right. Some of the other defects include awning wiring problems, water pump leakage, failure and replacement, faucet flow, blockage and leakage problems, toilet valve replacement and subsequent flow problems, electrical problems, kitchen cabinetry doors unable to close, water leakage on the floor during showering due to skewed shower doors and other problems etc etc etc. The dealer is telling me that the latest report from the factory is that we won’t get the unit back until late January/early February. Assuming the best case scenario we will have had possession of the unit for approximately 4 weeks out of 7 months of ownership, making finance and insurance payments totaling approximately $1,000 a month since July. Anyone else been caught in such a predicament? Surely there must be some sort of recourse or legal action we can take. Any ideas?

[HarryStone]

Sorry you are having so many difficulties with your new rig. Many others have been in a similar situation. Hopefully, someone will jump in with some words of experience.

[Ljwt330]

Originally Posted by jimstewart_1

My wife and I purchased a “new” 2019 Forest River Georgetown 30X3 Class A motorhome in late July of this year. We managed to take it on a few short trips between trips to the dealer for repairs, culminating with the rig being driven back to the factory (1,000+ miles each way) for major repairs. I won’t get into the details of all of the defects but the straw that broke the camel’s back was a serious leak along the whole length of the passenger side of the vehicle. Forest River was going to send a representative down here to Florida to look at the damage, until they looked at the documentation from the assembly of the unit. It turns out that they had a problem with the seal between the roof and the passenger side of the unit during the assembly, but took shortcuts to get it out the door rather than do a partial disassembly to get it right. Some of the other defects include awning wiring problems, water pump leakage, failure and replacement, faucet flow, blockage and leakage problems, toilet valve replacement and subsequent flow problems, electrical problems, kitchen cabinetry doors unable to close, water leakage on the floor during showering due to skewed shower doors and other problems etc etc etc. The dealer is telling me that the latest report from the factory is that we won’t get the unit back until late January/early February. Assuming the best case scenario we will have had possession of the unit for approximately 4 weeks out of 7 months of ownership, making finance and insurance payments totaling approximately $1,000 a month since July. Anyone else been caught in such a predicament? Surely there must be some sort of recourse or legal action we can take. Any ideas?

First, let me say I am sorry you’ve had such a disastrous time with your new coach. If you have spent any amount of time on this forum, however, you will find many similar experiences from others with new coaches of every brand. None are acceptable, IMO.

One suggestion. Since Fleetwood found documentation of assembly errors and shoddy factory repairs, you may want to ask for another full factory warranty on the coach, to begin when repairs are completed and continue for a full year, just like the one that you received when you purchased it. Not the systems inside, but the coach and all relevant Fleetwood assembly.

[jacwjames]

Not sure when the Florida Lemon Law would take affect but it is something to consider if your problems persist.
https://myfloridalegal.com/pages.nsf...256cc9005da68a
I would think that 4 weeks of 7 months use would play some sort of role into this but there is a clause indicating 30 days as the trigger, which you are way beyond.

The law requires that they provide a complete refund or replacement vehicle.


The squeaky wheel gets the grease, as long as you are silent the manufacturer will ride this as long as they can or your willing to let them.


I went through the same thing with a Ford Chassis on a Class C, Never did get any satisfaction, wish I would have raised a little more hell earlier then I did.

[MtCamper]

I'm just about the last person in the world to suggest this, but I'd recommend taking all of your documentation to an attorney and getting an opinion regarding your rights under Florida laws. You have too many issues to not inform yourself of all your options. Best wishes.

[grantmnc]

X 2 on checking into the lemon laws. We had a Dodge van "repurchased" under the lemon law. While we didn't get back insurance and finance payments, we did get full purchase price back.



It gives you a chance for a fresh start.

[Ljwt330]

A quick search of Florida Lemon Law indicates that it does not apply to the “living facilities“ of the RV which is the area of concern for the OP. Further, complaints are handled by the RV Mediation/Arbitration Program (not the Florida New Motor Vehicle Arbitration Board).

[Gary RVRoamer]

As ljwt330 says, Florida Lemon Law pretty much doesn't apply to any RV unless there are motorized chassis issues. Nothing in your list of woes looks to be covered. That leaves you to make a civil lawsuit based on the implied contract rights when buying a product, what is generally called "fitness and merchantability for the intended use". Highly subjective and heavily influenced by the accepted standards of the industry for things such as quality, time to repair, etc. Messy, in other words, so likely to involve lots of legal time and effort.


If FR asked you to bring the coach back to the factory for repairs, typically they would pay something toward the extra expenses for that. Afterall, you could have taken it to the selling dealer and let them & the factory figure out how to get it back for the necessary repairs. But if factory vs dealer site repairs was your decision rather than theirs, reimbursement isn't commonly provided.


Given the legal situation, your best option is to have a heart-to-heart talk with the Forest River factory people and hope they will offer some extra compensation as customer goodwill. From the reports of others, I would not have a high expectation of success, but since they have admitted culpability in the original build, maybe they will do the right thing.

[Trickdog]

If you end up keeping the RV I recommend hiring an experienced RV inspector to go over the unit "before" you accept it back into your possession. You can have the factory fix everything they find.

Maybe you can negotiate the cost of the inspector with the factory and have them pay for it. But don't let them pick the inspector or use their in-house inspector. They might be biased.

[Bobby F]

If no one offers you any help after your efforts, have a sign painter write "Another Forest River Lemon" followed by your phone number in big letters across the sides of the rig and then find a place to (legally) park it within sight of the dealership.

[Dutch Star Don]

There are lemon laws that may or may not apply to RV's in Florida, but reasonableness always applies. It wouldn't be a big money maker for an attorney and may cost you some out of pocket expenses, but I would look at hiring a local attorney to sue on the basis that they never provided a useable product. If they did, it wouldn't be parked in Indiana.

[aether_one]

Google "rescind acceptance" RV. Cases have been won on federal warranty laws ( Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act ) as well but it takes years and lotsa court time to prevail.

[NXR]

I'm going to suggest a different approach if you have not already done so, as Gary also did. Contact these folks directly:

Georgetown Sales
Michael Hums
(574) 367-3285
mhums@forestriverinc.com

Georgetown Service
Nicholas Hoover
(574) 206-7635
nhoover@forestriverinc.com

Or use certified mail:

Forest River Georgetown
902 County Road 1
Elkhart, IN 46514

Factually and briefly list everything out, which should be easy to do, keep it professional and respectful, and make a definitive request for relief; what you want them to do exactly, (warranty extension, whatever). Also set a definitive deadline for a response, such as ten business days from receipt. Or maybe fifteen business days due to COVID.

Maybe they will come through, maybe not. I will tell you that many times courts look unfavorably on people jumping to legal relief instead of trying to work the other side's system. If the above people do not give you what you want, then go the certified mail route and note that you reached out to the other people and what happened in your cover letter.

It really costs Forest River nothing to extend the warranty because if you have no claims they have no exposure.

Good luck,

Ray

[carl.swoyer]

Originally Posted by jimstewart_1

My wife and I purchased a “new” 2019 Forest River Georgetown 30X3 Class A motorhome in late July of this year. We managed to take it on a few short trips between trips to the dealer for repairs, culminating with the rig being driven back to the factory (1,000+ miles each way) for major repairs. I won’t get into the details of all of the defects but the straw that broke the camel’s back was a serious leak along the whole length of the passenger side of the vehicle. Forest River was going to send a representative down here to Florida to look at the damage, until they looked at the documentation from the assembly of the unit. It turns out that they had a problem with the seal between the roof and the passenger side of the unit during the assembly, but took shortcuts to get it out the door rather than do a partial disassembly to get it right. Some of the other defects include awning wiring problems, water pump leakage, failure and replacement, faucet flow, blockage and leakage problems, toilet valve replacement and subsequent flow problems, electrical problems, kitchen cabinetry doors unable to close, water leakage on the floor during showering due to skewed shower doors and other problems etc etc etc. The dealer is telling me that the latest report from the factory is that we won’t get the unit back until late January/early February. Assuming the best case scenario we will have had possession of the unit for approximately 4 weeks out of 7 months of ownership, making finance and insurance payments totaling approximately $1,000 a month since July. Anyone else been caught in such a predicament? Surely there must be some sort of recourse or legal action we can take. Any ideas?

A motorhome would qualify for the lemon law.