Dometic refrigerator 1350sl

[roybaker]

Refrigerator just went out on my Montana 3155 5th wheel. It is still under warranty through Dometic. I received an estimate of 1050.00 to replace the cooling system. My question to dometic was wishy washy at best. They would not say if they would cover that amount or not or even if it is a fair charge. The only thing they would say is the business I received my estimate from was authorized to do the service.

[chuckster57]

So without being condescending, what is your question?

Rebuilt cooling units can cost 600-900 USD and it should take a couple of hours labor.

[JRTJH]

If your "in warranty" truck runs hot and the "authorized repair facility" (dealership) says it will cost $1050 to repair it and you call "Ford Customer Service" you'll get the same response. They will tell you that the "dealership service department" is an authorized repair facility and they won't commit to any "dollar figure" for repairs. The reason they won't state or agree to total costs is because they don't know what else will be found, possibly not covered by warranty, that would increase the total above what you considered "their all inclusive promise" to pay..... All businesses do the same thing. Most won't even discuss costs with the customer for warranty repairs. It's either covered and the manufacturer pays or it's not covered and the customer pays. If additional repairs are included, then depending on the warranty status of those items, the customer may be required to pay for those repairs. Ford, Chrysler and GM won't give you an itemized cost to repair on warranty items, the service document you receive has those items "blanked out" as "covered under vehicle warranty". So you likely won't even get Customer Service to discuss costs with you. Additionally, the manufacturer's CS department doesn't know if you were "back there with a hammer" or if the part is a "legitimate" warranty claim based on your phone call to them, so naturally they wouldn't commit to pay for it or give you any "dollar amount" that they will reimburse. The repair may not even be a warranty claim, so they won't commit without verification from the repair center and possibly their own inspection of the refrigerator and/or the parts.

In actuality, what you're doing is trying to get the manufacturer to guarantee the price at an independent contractor (repair facility) that doesn't work for them. I wouldn't do it and I don't think you would either, if you were in the manufacturer's shoes.

In 1997 I had the cooling unit in my Dometic 8 CUFT refrigerator replaced with a "rebuilt unit" at the dealership. The trailer, a Holiday Rambler, was 4 years old and out of warranty. Total cost, back then, for the labor and parts was in excess of $1100. So your estimate seems a bit low, based on the cost of the same repair 20 years ago.

[roybaker]

Chuckster, I was trying to understand how much Dometic will reimburse me for the warranty repair.

[roybaker]

JRTJH

Thank you for your explanation. I understand. The refrigerator has a 2 year warranty, the authorized repair shop has been approved by Dometic, so as long as he meets Dometic's requirements on what is necessary to fix the refrigerator i should be ok.

[chuckster57]

John explained it as good as it gets. As a tech that does warranty work, the claim is submitted with all necessary documentation (pics, whatever) and then the manufacturer either approves or Denies the claim and authorizes X amount of labor. Again the amount that Dometic will commit to is between them and the repair facility.

[gearhead]

I had to have the cooling system on mine replaced under warranty. I don't know what it cost, or how much Dometic paid the repair shop. I asked the shop if they were paid well, and they said they were satisfied.