Managing warranty issues

[PAylor]

Hi all,

 

We picked up our new fifth wheel in Elkhart. We live in Florida. It's a lovely RV but as always there are some repairs that are needed. Some are minor. Some must be repaired before we take it on the road the beginning of January.

 

It has been in the repair shop for two weeks. At this point no repairs have begun. I am told that the manufacturer need more information on the costs before they approve.

 

So other than calling everyone involved every day until work begins what other legal avenue do I have? I would love suggestions on some options. And I know I'm not the only one who has experienced this.

 

Thanks in advance!

[Yarome]

So.. your new rig is still in Elkhart with the mfg. or you already took it back to Florida and is in the shop down there?

Ideally, in order to keep a little leverage on your side, you should never accept delivery until all systems have been fully tested and all necessary repairs have been completed. That includes running every appliance and fixture all the way down to the water heater on both electric and LP and dumping tanks. Once you've signed on the dotted line and taken possession then your options are limited and basically at the mercy of the repair shop and the mfg.

As long as they are making a "reasonable effort" to correct the issues then you don't have much legal ground to stand on.

If in fact you have already taken delivery, all I can suggest is to be patient and maintain a good working relationship with your local shop. 2 weeks is "really" not that atypical. Especially if they know you live in the area they may not consider you a "priority repair". In reality.. 4-6 weeks can be pretty standard fare for even a somewhat minor warranty issue.

Not that there aren't shops out there that really seem to be able to move things along, but they are certainly not, from my experience, in the majority.

I feel for ya. It can be frustrating to the extreme, but just the nature of the beast in the RV world.

[Kirk W]

We picked up our new fifth wheel in Elkhart. We live in Florida. It's a lovely RV but as always there are some repairs that are needed. Some are minor. Some must be repaired before we take it on the road the beginning of January.

I take it that your RV is in a shop in Florida that isn't the dealer you bought it from? It isn't a rare thing for some dealers to drag their feet on doing warranty work on units not sold by them. You walk a rather thin line in dealing with this since contacting the manufacturer may make the problem worse, rather than better but you might be able to find a shop that is more willing to do warranty work. Legal action would be a last choice for me since that takes a lot of time and can be expensive.

 

Have you spoken with the service manager about your problem and the time when you need the RV?

[oscarvan]

Compared to the auto industry this one is boder line criminally underperforming in this arena, although I see (small) signs of hope. The Forest River MH I just bought has big print on the inside cover of the book that says:

 

"If your unit is at a dealer for repairs for more than 5 days, call this number: XXX-XXX-XXXX"

 

My personal strategy is to fix it myself if at all possible. I've had manufacturers send me the parts, and if needed I'll send the old ones back. If it is something a dealer HAS to do you have to shop around until you find one that acts professionally. Sitting for two weeks is complete BS.

 

For REALLY big stuff I've driven back to Elkhart to have it done at the factory, in this case Heartland. They had hook up spots, and they got a serious job done in a week.

[richfaa]

We live close enough to the Elkhart area to go there for major repair in or out of Manufacture warranty. They know how to repair RV's in that area.

 

Rv sales have been booming for a few years now and so have Rv repairs. Dealers in our area are overwhelmed with repairs and ordering parts from the Elkhart, Goshen area is also backed up. We had our 5th wheel in to our dealer for a gray tank replacement that took one month to complete and we figured that was speedy. The parts took 3 weeks to get to the dealer from Goshen, Ind.

[orca]

My DRV sat at my local repair shop for three months "waiting for parts". The mfg kept telling the tech that they were waiting for a part before they shipped the rest. I finally e-mailed DRV telling them to send what parts they had because the repair shop was going to charge me storage! Sometimes the squeeky wheel does get the grease.

[Barbaraok]

We have spent time sitting in waiting rooms getting repairs done - when you are a fulltimer that is sitting there every single day, they move things around to get you taken care of and out of there. I would be spending time each day sitting at the repair facility, drinking their coffee, just in case they had any questions for me. Squeaky gets greased.

[remoandiris]

what other legal avenue do I have?

 

Legal avenues? None. Period. Nowhere in the manufacturer's warranty is there a statement saying how long repairs may take. Dealers blame the manufacturer. Manufacturers blames suppliers. Consumer is stuck making payments on an RV they can't use.