Why will they not do warranty work

[tomsws6]

We bought our sprinter in sept and the faucet popped off the other day and water went everywere. We shut it off but theres alot of little parts on it so Im not messin with it. Its brand new anyway. So I called the closest dealer to me which is 1.5hrs away and the first thing she asks is "Did you buy it here?"...I said no and she kindly said we wont do any warranty work for it. I told her it was a Sprinter and still under warranty and she said that they wont do it because they probably wont get paid. So now after talking to a couple other dealers I need to take it 2.5hrs away to Tom shaffers in Pa. What is up with that?

[laidback]

Contact Keystone and ask them to call the dealer near you, and see if they can get you an appointment. It has worked in the past.

[SAD]

For less than the $78 in unleaded you'll spend going to the closest of the two dealers... Why not just buy a faucet at Homey Depot for 1/2 that?? :shrug:

[x96mnn]

Had this happen to me with another camper. It may be cheaper to buy a tap set at the local RV dealer and replace it yourself. I know I ran into this for a few things with my last camper. This camper the dealer is 10 minutes down the road so it’s not a huge concern.

As for why they will not do it I do not know. I asked the dealer I am with now and he said they will not turn someone away but are a very small shop and are primarily equipped to service what they sell. If you buy from them you get an appointment and you drop your RV off and pick it up COB or when they state. Non customers need to drop their units off and will be worked on when there is down time which is not a lot but they will have a non-customer unit dropped off and usually back to that person pending the issue in less than a week. When that unit is finished they will take the next on the list but will never book a customer spot.

I told him about the other dealer in town that sold my old unit type and refused to work on. He stated that it was not right and you’re still representing the product you sell but understood from a business standpoint why some will not do it. He stated dealing with a manufacture is not bad as long as you do all the needed paperwork before you start the work but in some cases it’s hard to find good qualified RV techs and a mistake happens the manufacture is not going to cover it. Also when you start working on someone’s item and all of a sudden there is a scratch that the customer said is now there that was not there when they dropped it off or something else is broken and clearly misused you are on the hook to replace or fix it. At this point your losing money as the warranty work mainly covers your cost to do the job.

[tomsws6]

Originally Posted by SAD

For less than the $78 in unleaded you'll spend going to the closest of the two dealers... Why not just buy a faucet at Homey Depot for 1/2 that?? :shrug:

I completely understand why you would say that and my last one I had to completely redo the inside myself so I can relate.. The issue with me is that it is a brand new unit and this shouldnt happen. I do understand that things happen but it is there responsibitly to repair such things. Thats one reason why most people buy new.

[Roller4Tan]

Originally Posted by tomsws6

. I do understand that things happen but it is there responsibitly to repair such things. Thats one reason why most people buy new.

Hence the contact to Keystone and letting them know the hardship of returning to your selling dealer. Maybe they'll send you one, though I have not read anywhere that they would.
My 2C

[Escs36]

I feel your frustration. I am a do it yourself kind of guy with the purpose of not dealing with stealers or other types of shops. My personal experience is nothing ever ends well. Quick example, I had a transmission serviced and the thing lasted from the parking lot to the street. The moral was something so easy to do should have been done in my garage. I personally chose my battles and would save the lengthy trips to the stealers for only the big items. The RV industry is a disgrace and needs a serious reality check in their quality controls.

[enyapp]

I bought my travel trailer out of state. The local dealers said the same thing about not doing warranty work unless I bought it from them. I just dropped it off at a dealer 100 miles away due to some water leak issues. I called this Keystone authorized dealer and they said they would work on it. When I get there they would only do the warranty work on it if I paid a Technician Processing Fee ($129 or $149 I can't remember).

Edited: The fee charged was $129 and was refered to as Technician Warranty Processing Fee

[JRTJH]

Technician Processing Fee? Did anyone explain to you what that was or how it is billed? Sounds to me that the dealer will "work on your warranty problems" but only if you pay him to do it (and you can bet he will still back-bill Keystone for the time. Seems like double dipping to me.

[SAABDOCTOR]

AA PROCESSING FEE? Wow and they say the atu biz is a bunch of crooks!! And jessie James did it with a gun

[tomsws6]

Thier excuse was that it was very very hard to get paid from Keystone.... Maybe, I dont know... I made an appointment to the dealer we bought it from and the more I had to think about it, it was gonna cost me 2-300 bucks in gas because I had to drop it off and when it was done I had to go and get again... So I just ordered the same one from them and installed it myself.. I will be giving keystone a call and talk to them about it. Oh and warranty work means just that, warranty... You dont pay a dime from a manufacture warranty..

[SAABDOCTOR]

Sometimes it is just better to diy. i know warranty and all but the drving down time etc. plus in a lot of cases. your workmanship is far better!

[fla-gypsy]

What you are missing is it is a manufacturers warranty given by the manufacturer (Keystone), not the dealer. The dealer has no obligation to help you and you have no obligation to ever buy anything from them. Call Keystone and have them make it right.

[Bob Landry]

The service shop in any dealership is it's own profit center. I can't imagine why any service manger worth his salt would walk away from money on the table.
I do service for anyone standing there with a checkbook in his hand. I guess I'm just not in business to send someone else work.

[ewkearns]

Originally Posted by Bob Landry

The service shop in any dealership is it's own profit center. I can't imagine why any service manger worth his salt would walk away from money on the table.
I do service for anyone standing there with a checkbook in his hand. I guess I'm just not in business to send someone else work.

Historically, some manufacturers have set their own rates for what they are willing to pay their dealers repair shops for warranty repair. This is usually a lot less that the dealership can make directly from you.... so they tend to send those warranty customers courted by the sales department (1) on down the road or (2) back to service on THEIR dime, not Keystone's.

Some manufacturers tend to screw around with the repair shops, too.... onerous paperwork and rules that will prevent payment to the shop, but have very little other use.

Sorry, but I'm going to trace this endemic problem right back to Keystone Corporate, who has made their authorized dealers reluctant to deal with warranty issues. IMHO, this poor attitude towards warranty repair becomes a blatant disregard for customer satisfaction.

[enyapp]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

Technician Processing Fee? Did anyone explain to you what that was or how it is billed?

Originally Posted by ewkearns

Historically, some manufacturers have set their own rates for what they are willing to pay their dealers repair shops for warranty repair. This is usually a lot less that the dealership can make directly from you.... so they tend to send those warranty customers courted by the sales department (1) on down the road or (2) back to service on THEIR dime, not Keystone's.

Some manufacturers tend to screw around with the repair shops, too.... onerous paperwork and rules that will prevent payment to the shop, but have very little other use.

Sorry, but I'm going to trace this endemic problem right back to Keystone Corporate, who has made their authorized dealers reluctant to deal with warranty issues. IMHO, this poor attitude towards warranty repair becomes a blatant disregard for customer satisfaction.

JRTJH, Before purchasing my trailer I called a local "nearby" sales/service department and spoke to the service department. At the time they said they would do warranty work if needed. When I discovered the water damage from the rain leak I called back and I was transferred to thier claims department who said they wouldn't do it there but I could take it to their other "larger" sales/service center 100 miles away to have the work done. I also called a private service center prior to my purchase who explained it just like ewkearns explained it. He said he might could do the work but Keystone had a close relationship with the "larger" place (where I ended up taking it) and if he were to do the work I'd be responsible for any costs that Keystone didn't cover due to rate differences or refusal of payment.

[JRTJH]

enyapp,

From what you indicated in your first post, there was a "technician processing fee" of $129 +/-, just to write up the service document. That's what I was questioning. If you and the service department enter into an agreement where you are responsible to pay what Keystone doesn't pay for warranty work and you're OK agreeing to that, then so be it. My question is not about you being responsible for "over and above reimbursement costs" but having to pay a "processing fee" just for the privilege of giving them the business.... That doesn't seem to be fair. It seems sort of like being required to pay an admission to a free concert.....

[enyapp]

It is what it is. Do I think it is fair? No. Since no one else in my search for a keystone authorized service center was willing to perform the warranty work, I felt like I didn't have much of a choice other than to pay their warranty processing fee to get the work I needed done. I purchased this unit out of state because I liked this model and no one instate carried it.

[JRTJH]

You might want to discuss what happened with Keystone Customer Service. They may have some way to intervene on your behalf. No expectations that they will do anything, but it wouldn't hurt for the execs at Keystone to know what one of their "representative dealers" is doing to a Keystone customer.

[enyapp]

I am planning on contacting Keystone Customer Service. I just thought it would be in my best interests to wait until the work is completed.