KTMRacer, there are lots of stories similar to yours. Something I've learned recently about Keystone, their relationship with dealers and warranty is this:
There are Keystone product representatives in various places around the country. They call them dealer reps, or service reps or sales reps, take your pick of what to call them.....
They are there to help the dealerships resolve issues and help smooth the production and shipping times.... You know, they are a closer link for the dealer to talk to without having to call a "voice" on the phone in Goshen.
Now, when you take your RV in for warranty, the dealership reports the problem to Keystone, gives them a recommended fix and an estimated cost. Over the years, Keystone has asked the Rep to go take a look at various warranty proposals at most of the dealerships. Through that process, Keystone has a pretty good idea of which dealers are "padding" the repairs to boost profit and which ones are being "square shooters" doing both the customer and Keystone a good job.
Imagine, if you would, you take your RV in for warranty work because the tail light on the right side is loose. Suppose the dealer requests warranty authorization to remove, clean, reseal and reinstall the tail light for $60. Probably this is a fair deal both for you and Keystone and the dealer gets paid for his time appropriately.
Now, lets suppose you take it in for that same problem, the dealer requests a warranty claim to remove and replace the rear skin panel because of leaking tail lights. He proposes a cost of $2100 for the work "Provided Keystone ships the materials". So, Keystone says to put the request on hold pending the Rep's apprasial. The rep shows up, sees that the repair suggested in the first scenario would work. So that's what they approve. You're none the wiser in either situation and you're happy, your tail light is fixed and not leaking or wiggling around.
Now, the Rep gets back to the factory for a meeting, discusses your dealership's proposal with management and says he thinks this isn't the first time he's seen this dealer do the same thing. So, Keystone puts all their warranty requests above a set figure (say $200) on a rep apprasial only.
You take your RV back for an issue with the microwave (it costs $225 to install a new one). A month later, your RV is still sitting on the lot, You are angry, call the dealership wanting to know why..... Their response to you,"Keystone hasn't approved the repair and we don't know when they will get to it." So, you're now angry at Keystone, right???? But, it's not Keystone that caused the issue.
How do you sort this out? Beats heck out of me, but in talking with the dealership I bought from (we're hunting and fishing buddies) I'm getting more than an earfull about how Keystone is getting screwed by dealerships that don't care about either Keystone or the customer.
I don't know how you can tell which dealership is a "good one" and which dealership is going to be "reviewed on every item" and which dealership will "work for you" and which dealership is "honest and above board"
I hate to think it's a "crap shoot" on where you buy, but I'd think talking to other customers, seeing how long their rigs sit for repairs, listening to what they say are their frustrations or praises about the dealer are probably the only way to make "better choices"
Keystone won't tell you about their internal issues with any dealer, and I don't blame them. But, if you get caught up in the middle of one of them, you're definitely going to be frustrated before you get happy again......
Hope this maybe sheds some light on a part of the service department few of us even consider.....