Warranty work question

[Liebeler]

I am curious, does warranty work have to be done at the dealership the tt was purchased at? I bought ours at a dealership approx. 200 miles away and if I don't have to drive up there to get the warranty items fixed, I'd rather not.

Thanks,
Dave

[rnkburg]

It can be done at any keystone authorized dealer.

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2

[jsmith948]

You may want to do a forum search on this topic - there has been some discussion in the past regarding certain dealers refusing to work on RVs that they didn't sell:(

[x96mnn]

Although any Keystone dealer can handle and should handle the warranty work I have experienced being told to go away when trying to get work completed by a dealer in my area I did not buy from. This ultimately backfired on them as I tend to buy new every few years and just purchased a new camper and would not even shop them.

I know with my last rig I travelled 500miles round trip to get service when someone 20 miles down the road should have done it. When I complained to the manufacturer there was nothing they could really do other then get me an appointment 8 months out cause he was "booked" and my camper would be out of warranty. I am sure when the work was done it would have been done with such high standards too :eek:

[Javi]

Pretty common for the local dealer not to lick another dealer's calf for him...

I've always considered it bad form to buy from an out of town dealer because of price or other reasons and then expect the local dealer to take care of warranty issues.. In fact I've always figured that if I can't spend my money there then I shouldn't ask them to fix my problems...

[mhs4771]

It may not even have to be a Keystone Dealer. If you have a service center closer that you like, have them check with Keystone and see if they will authorize the service center to do the work. I had work done on our Level-Up system by two different places and neither one was a Keystone dealer, but both times it was OK'd by Lippert the mfr of the system in question.

[KanTC]

Many times RV owners are very surprise, & equally disappointed, [sometimes very angry] to find out that dealerships are not 'required' to service a unit
that they did not sell. No, it's not a Keystone issue - generally speaking, it's the same process commonly used in the RV industry as a whole.
As a matter of fact, some RV manufacturers now have "dealer/service statements" posted on their websites. Granted, it's not in bold print on their 'Homepage',
but it's there for the potential buyer to read.

One popular manufacturer states (in part): "dealers are independently owned and operated businesses, so priority service and scheduling is at their discretion
and is often provided to customers that purchased their unit at that dealership."

Another states (in part): "dealers are under obligation to provide warranty service for products they sell, but are not legally required to service products purchased from other dealers."


All that said... there's probably fewer headaches involved by returning to 'your' dealer for warranty work.

Terri, the Chevy co-pilot :)

[billstuart]

The poor excuse for an owner's manual that came with our Alpine states that dealers are not obligated to perform warranty service on units they did not sell. Some [I]will[I], but going out of town to save a few bucks on the purchase price of your trailer may come back to bite you if you ever need warranty service.

[Brantlaker]

As a retired Auto/Truck service manager I can understand what happens. You buy a RV/Car /Truck at a dealer because of the price the dealer knows that. The chances are you will not be back for warranty work because of the distance.So the money he will lose because warranty work does not pay the same as customer pay.The discount that was so great was money that was figured into the price.It is the only way it could be done most fixed cost overhead is about the same for all dealers every body has to make a profit. Why would the local guy give you the same service he would give to some one who bought from him? I for one would give a visiting owner service hoping that the next time they were looking for a new RV that they would remember who helped them. But most of the time people have short memories. Remember that great deal may not be as great as you think that dealer got your money.
PS. Warranty work pays less than Pay labor both in $ and time allowance

[x96mnn]

Brantlaker you are smart with that kind of service.

Or even talk to the customer and find out the story. In my case I lived in an area and bought there then moved 8 month later unplanned do to work. The dealer just stated was it bought here I said no he said I don't service those anymore to which I said you got three your selling over there new and he said yeah I will service those. I just laughed and laughed even harder when I bought a new one locally from the only other location in town.

Very good points on a service center. I had my AC go and the manufacturers warranty was out but Coleman worked with a local service center and replaced it.

[Wayne]

We purchased a 2011 TT from a local dealer in 2010. We decided to move up to a 5er and went back to that dealer a year later. The salesman said they had the model on order that we wanted. He would call when it came in. We dropped by with a friend having his class A serviced & they had that model. The salesman said it was sold but we could look. He expected another delivery in 4 weeks & would call. Since we had a planned trip in 3 weeks, we looked at other dealers. I verbally committed to buy from another dealer who was actually about $2600.00 less than our local dealer. I dropped by the local dealer for a part & discovered they had our model on their lot. The salesman didn't know it had been there for 3 days. To shorten the story, we purchased from the other dealer about 200 miles away. Fast forward 7 months & my DW left our remote on the truck bumper and lost it. We also needed a seal replaced in the commode which was warranty work. I called the local dealer and asked them if they would do warranty work on a unit bought elsewhere. They said yes and gave an appointment for a week later. We dropped off the 5er & were told we would probably be a week. A week & half later I called for a status. I was informed the manager was out on the lot & would call back. I called the next day & received similar info. I dropped by & was told they had not touched the RV nor had they ordered the remote (which I was paying for). I was told they could probably get to it in the next week. I asked why they had given me an appointment almost 2 weeks ago if they knew it may be 3 weeks. I was informed that they were only doing me a favor to look at the RV. I informed them that if they checked their records they would see I had purchased a new RV plus loads of equip from them in the previous 1 to 2 years. I also informed them that I tried to buy this unit from them but their salesman was too stupid to know when it was in stock. They have a right to their policies & I would have gladly accepted a "NO" when I called for the appointment. Maybe I am wrong but I will never spend another dime with them. I also mention my displeasure with the dealer when someone else brings up their name.