TACOMA RV REFUSES TO DO FACTORY WARRANTY 7 MONTHS OUT OF THE YEAR

[swany]

I had an interesting experience with TACOMA RV, the local Outback dealer. I made an appointment with them to do a warranty repair on my 2006 Outack travel trailer. I pulled it into their yard and was told to "unhitch over there". After unhitching, the service manager walked around the back of my trailer and noticed the decal of the eastern Washington dealer that I bought it from. He immediately said "you didn't buy it here so were are not working on it. When I became a little agitated he backed up to "If you want us to fix it bring it back in the fall.

Details leading up to this were this. I noticed a delamination problem on the skin of my trailer a few weeks back. I called TACOMA RV to make an appointment for them to look at it. At the same time I emailed them photos. I called back a couple of days later and was informed that the pictures had been forwarded to the factory and they were awaiting reply. I called a couple of days later and they asked to see the trailer. I towed it over to them. They viewed the problem and sent me and the trailer home saying they would get back. I called a few days later for an update and was told to bring them the trailer. When I did the events in paragraph unfolded.

What do you think, is a factory warranty only a warranty if the dealer chooses for it to be. Should "non customers" (this is what they told me I was because I didn't buy the trailer from them)be told that their 12 month warranty is really only 5 months because they will not perform it 7 months out of the year.

What if you buy an RV and then relocate to another state? Do you have to go back where you bought it to get warranty matters cared for? What if you are on the road and require warranty work. Do you go back home?

Please help me out with your comments.

[swany]

I had an interesting experience with TACOMA RV, the local Outback dealer. I made an appointment with them to do a warranty repair on my 2006 Outack travel trailer. I pulled it into their yard and was told to "unhitch over there". After unhitching, the service manager walked around the back of my trailer and noticed the decal of the eastern Washington dealer that I bought it from. He immediately said "you didn't buy it here so were are not working on it. When I became a little agitated he backed up to "If you want us to fix it bring it back in the fall.

Details leading up to this were this. I noticed a delamination problem on the skin of my trailer a few weeks back. I called TACOMA RV to make an appointment for them to look at it. At the same time I emailed them photos. I called back a couple of days later and was informed that the pictures had been forwarded to the factory and they were awaiting reply. I called a couple of days later and they asked to see the trailer. I towed it over to them. They viewed the problem and sent me and the trailer home saying they would get back. I called a few days later for an update and was told to bring them the trailer. When I did the events in paragraph unfolded.

What do you think, is a factory warranty only a warranty if the dealer chooses for it to be. Should "non customers" (this is what they told me I was because I didn't buy the trailer from them)be told that their 12 month warranty is really only 5 months because they will not perform it 7 months out of the year.

What if you buy an RV and then relocate to another state? Do you have to go back where you bought it to get warranty matters cared for? What if you are on the road and require warranty work. Do you go back home?

Please help me out with your comments.

[Kazoo Tom]

If you purchased the trailer from a local competing dealer I can understand them sending you back to them. If you purchased it out of state and relocated I would think they would be happy to gain a new customer.

The troubling part of your story is that you were engaged in an ongoing dialogue with them about the repair. They were in fact taking steps to accomodate you. They had you bring the trailer in for an examination to determine the problem. It would seem that they would have noticed the other dealer's sticker at that time, but they brought you back again before refusing the work.

You can always call the customer service rep at the factory for a recomendation as to where to take it for repair.

[Jestme13]

I think anyone who opens a good independent RV repair shop could make a fortune working with the factories. I know Safari service around PA S_Cs. I'm more happy now using my extended warrenty then ever before with the Factory service. Found a shop around here, when I pulled in they treated me like a customer, imagine that!!!!!

[dmurdock]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by swany:
I had an interesting experience with TACOMA RV, the local Outback dealer. I made an appointment with them to do a warranty repair on my 2006 Outack travel trailer. I pulled it into their yard and was told to "unhitch over there". After unhitching, the service manager walked around the back of my trailer and noticed the decal of the eastern Washington dealer that I bought it from. He immediately said "you didn't buy it here so were are not working on it. When I became a little agitated he backed up to "If you want us to fix it bring it back in the fall.

Details leading up to this were this. I noticed a delamination problem on the skin of my trailer a few weeks back. I called TACOMA RV to make an appointment for them to look at it. At the same time I emailed them photos. I called back a couple of days later and was informed that the pictures had been forwarded to the factory and they were awaiting reply. I called a couple of days later and they asked to see the trailer. I towed it over to them. They viewed the problem and sent me and the trailer home saying they would get back. I called a few days later for an update and was told to bring them the trailer. When I did the events in paragraph unfolded.

What do you think, is a factory warranty only a warranty if the dealer chooses for it to be. Should "non customers" (this is what they told me I was because I didn't buy the trailer from them)be told that their 12 month warranty is really only 5 months because they will not perform it 7 months out of the year.

What if you buy an RV and then relocate to another state? Do you have to go back where you bought it to get warranty matters cared for? What if you are on the road and require warranty work. Do you go back home?

Please help me out with your comments. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I don't know what state your in, but I would contact whomever handles the lemon law in your state. If your in Tx, it's TxDOT.

[Randy the sly old fox]

I would be calling the factory and talk to whoever is in charge of warranty repairs and or dealers. Explain the problem - they might also have a file started on you and your problem since the dealer sent photos etc. Explain the dealer's action. Also ask if you can take the rig elsewhere for repair as you feel that this dealer is biased against you and may not perform the repairs as good as they should.

You are not the first person to have this problem and there are dealers across the US that seem to cater only to people who bought their rigs there. I am not sure what the dealer's argument is, warranty work is paid the same and by the same factory. The only thing I can think of is that the dealer does not discount the new RVs they sell. When it comes to my autos, I buy from a fleet manager at one dealership that is 30 miles away from me - it is a relationship build over several cars and many years - he has changed dealerships a few times. The dealer I take them to for repair understands that 2/3 of his bottom line is from the repair business - so while he would like you to buy your car there, he gladly accepts it for repairs - warranty or not.

[chasfm11]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I think anyone who opens a good independent RV repair shop could make a fortune working with the factories. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> I'm not sure that you are correct and believe that many of us are not correctly understanding the problem with warranty work. The manufacturers generally will not pay a reasonable charge to have their defects corrected so an independent trying to do that work would be a money loosing proposition. That is probably a key reason that most RV dealers don't want to do warranty work on units that they didn't sell.

I have access to the same technical information about my Freightliner chassis that a Freightliner dealer would have. After seeing the skimpy, vague techincal descriptions that are provided, it is no wonder that proper, efficient repairs aren't easy. That is also the manufacturer's fault.

I understand that many RV dealers are part of the problem. IMHO, they aren't necessarily the root of that problem.

[JayC]

It seems to me that we, as consumers, can bring a lot of pressure to bear on some of these dealers. When we learn of a fellow RV'er having a problem, we could call the manufacturer and let them know that we do not approve of this and that we WILL NOT BUY any of their products. We could then call the dealer and tell them the same thing, and also tell them that we learned of their policy from this site. Once they figure out that they are getting a bad name, they should correct their response. The only problem with this is, nothing personal to anyone, but we all know that there are unscrupulous customers that either accidentally or intentionally break items and then misrepresent the situation on a post here. The manufacturer or the dealer then has the option to register as a member and make their own post in reply.

I know that there are good manufacturers out there that will allow a customer to take their rig to another dealer/repair shop and will cover the expenses under warranty.

I know that in the automobile business, a dealer is required to work on their brand no matter where it was purchased, and perhaps we should push on the manufacturers to do the same when they sign a contract with a dealer.