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Old 12-24-2013, 01:46 PM   #21
Brantlaker
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When it comes to warranty work there is a lot more than just repairing it and sending in a bill. When I brought my 5er in for cracks in the bumper welds they had to take pictures write a detailed report on how it was going to be repaired and how much it would cost. They went back and forth with Keystone for over a week until I called and raised a stink about it. It got repaired to my liking but the Dealer spent over 2hr on the phone and Email and only made the cost of the tech and the sublet for the welder.They lost money on the job. Yes it keeps the shop busy and keeps customer goodwill. I bet that if you compared the actual cost of the cheaper RV 300m away you paid more a dealer has to make a certain amount on each one sold to stay in business.
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Old 12-24-2013, 02:38 PM   #22
billb800si
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Originally Posted by Brantlaker View Post
..... Yes it keeps the shop busy and keeps customer goodwill. I bet that if you compared the actual cost of the cheaper RV 300m away you paid more a dealer has to make a certain amount on each one sold to stay in business.
-----------------------------------------

Both dealers had to make a profit or neither one would be in business.....
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Old 12-26-2013, 06:38 AM   #23
x96mnn
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-----------------------------------------

Both dealers had to make a profit or neither one would be in business.....
Agree with this statement. But the local dealer knows they most likely will need to provide you service down the road and the 2hrs they will spend on the phone with keystone is built into your price. Dealer 300miles away knows they just sold a new rv with a curb and got her warranty, 95% of the people if they have an issue will not be back.

The issue that I have is understanding the price discrepancy, I mean 2k and under ok. But finding the same rig for 5k, 10k, and have read on here up to 15k difference is outrageous. I can understand a bit in High boom towns where jobs are a dime a dozen. There the guy on the floor needs to make 120k a year to sell them and the guy servicing them needs to make the same if not more. If you do not there will be no one working there as it's to easy to go to the oil fields. I am willing to bet the price to repair the rv at these centres for warranty is not even coming close to covering the dealers cost.
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Old 12-26-2013, 06:59 AM   #24
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The savings I received is available to their local customers as well. The reason they sell cheaper is like any major retailer, it's volume sales.

As for warranty work, they also have a full crew and likely do very little outsourcing, or have resources they use regularly when outsourcing is necessary.

A small dealer isn't able to support volume sales, and likely doesn't have the repair facility and/or technicians to support major or unique warranty repairs. When they are forced to outsource, the price tag goes up because that facility is likely charging full retail as well.

The fact they have enough (warranty) work to hire someone in effect makes it cheaper for them because they are paying individual wages vs shop rates as a result of outsourcing!
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Old 12-26-2013, 07:29 AM   #25
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In addition to what airforceret said, Keystone has a marketing plan similar to all manufacturers of big ticket items. They will discount a certain percentage if the dealer commits to delivery of say 10 RV's in the model year, they up the percentage for 20 RV's, up it again for 30 RV's, etc... So a dealer that takes delivery of say 250 RV's will be buying them thousands of dollars cheaper than the dealer who buys 25 Cougars and 2 Passports in a year. Imagine how much discount you could get at a dealership that sells 1,000 units a year ?????

In order to sell those 250 RV's, the dealer really needs to hustle up customers so they look outside the immediate local area. Here comes the internet sales..... And they are a good buy if you can find the RV you want.

As for warranty work, most dealerships outside the major metropolitan areas have a labor rate of $75-100 per hour. That's where they "make a profit" they still don't lose, rather "break even" at say $60 an hour labor rate. The last time I had a chance to see the real invoice, Keystone's warranty labor rate authorization was $70 per hour. That's the labor rate Keystone uses to determine what they will pay the dealer to repair your RV under warranty (plus the cost of parts). Also realize that if Keystone is providing parts, the dealer does not make any profit from them. If you take your RV in to have a window replaced, he makes a significant profit from selling you the window plus the labor to install it. With Keystone, he makes only labor. And then, he can't add the environmental disposal fee, the "miscellaneous supplies fee, etc which you will routinely find on a maintenance ticket but not on a warranty ticket.

I don't know of any dealership that would actually "lose" money by doing warranty work on a unit not bought at their facility. There are many other factors that play into the management of a repair facility. How many technicians to hire for the "peak repair season" vs paying worker's comp when you lay them off at the end of that season, maintaining a service department capable of handling your customers vs adding a few techs for "someone else's customers" and having to add service bays to keep the techs busy.... That means capital investment in buildings that he can't use all year... It's not real easy to keep a profitable business making money all year, so some dealerships just don't bother trying to spend money to support another dealer's sales.

The motto, "Take care of your own" seems to really come into play with the economy like it is.

Until (or unless) Keystone holds it's dealerships accountable for supporting the warranty of Keystone products like they say they will in the owner's manual, it will be a "hit and miss" encounter. Some dealers will, some dealers won't...... Really, it's up to Keystone to enforce the dealer network to support what they say in the manual. But, as long as Keystone is making money, to an extent, why would they rock the boat for a few unhappy customers? After all, the majority are satisfied and the assembly line is at max capacity making new trailers for dealers that sell them at a profit and they are supporting their customer base with warranty service, just not supporting someone else's customers....

It's all about the "almighty dollar".
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Old 12-28-2013, 06:35 AM   #26
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Not sure if all Manufacturers pay out the same lower labour rate, but probably do.

In Canada at least, one example of the way to overcome this from Toyota.
They pay their dealerships the same door rate for warranty as any retail customer, that way the dealer is not penalized for doing warranty if it is abusy shop and customer is happy being treated same as a retail customer.
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Old 12-28-2013, 02:04 PM   #27
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Not sure if all Manufacturers pay out the same lower labour rate, but probably do.

In Canada at least, one example of the way to overcome this from Toyota.
They pay their dealerships the same door rate for warranty as any retail customer, that way the dealer is not penalized for doing warranty if it is abusy shop and customer is happy being treated same as a retail customer.

Yes, and we get 40 points on the warranty parts. Not as much as we would selling out the front door but certainly a whole lot better than we get wholesale.
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