Warranty "non" Service

Chief · 11-04-2006, 06:25 PM

Attempted to get warranty service @ Bill Waits RV in Savannah, Ga. Svc Mgr real cooperative until he asked where I purchased my Itasca. Bottom line, since I didn't buy at the dealership he initally wanted to make appt 3 mo out then said "call me" in 3 months. Of course I declined his generous offer. Has anyone else run into this nonsence? Why does Winny allow their dealers to do this? I reported the incident to Whinny cust svc rep- said he will make a note of it. Thanks A Lot. Comments??

Chief · 11-04-2006, 06:25 PM

Attempted to get warranty service @ Bill Waits RV in Savannah, Ga. Svc Mgr real cooperative until he asked where I purchased my Itasca. Bottom line, since I didn't buy at the dealership he initally wanted to make appt 3 mo out then said "call me" in 3 months. Of course I declined his generous offer. Has anyone else run into this nonsence? Why does Winny allow their dealers to do this? I reported the incident to Whinny cust svc rep- said he will make a note of it. Thanks A Lot. Comments??

smlranger · 11-05-2006, 02:45 AM

Unfortunate, for sure. Perhaps you should call Winnebago Customer Service again and ask them if there is an independent RV repair shop they can recommend in your area. Some manufacturers will allow independent shops to do repairs. My local RV guy has done warranty repairs for Thor, Monaco, and a couple of others. Or, maybe you should contact your selling dealer and ask him to call a dealer in your area and see if you can get work done more quickly.

gunny · 11-05-2006, 03:04 AM

I'd call the general manager and have a word with him. I'd surely have another word with Winny's customer service.
Getting treated like that makes a man not want to have any dealings with that dealer and if the company who made the MH can't come up with any help, last time I'd even consider their product.

rebelsbeach · 11-05-2006, 03:25 AM

Chief, I think you'll find that Winnebago can not "police" what their dealers do, although I know firsthand that Winnebago Customer Service WILL help you find a place to get the work done.
Our own member Warpath had a similar issue to yours and Winnebago Customer Service recommended another nearby dealer that Warpath hadn't recalled being a Winnebago dealer.

jimandsue60 · 11-05-2006, 05:09 AM

What are you trying to get repaired?

Jim

Tom N · 11-05-2006, 05:15 AM

I had warranty service done at Bill Waits. They even "put me up" for 5 nights in front of thier store with 50 amp, water and sewage while wating for a new water pump to arrive. May have been a slow month for them as it was late January. I'd assume thier regular customers would come first during peak service months but, they treated me great!!

I'll be stopping in 3 weeks for thier 99 cents a gallon propane.

peter griffin · 11-05-2006, 05:37 AM

i suggest greasing the service mgr next time...

i keep envelopes with me while i travel...

cant afford to have my vacation ruined...

John_Canfield · 11-05-2006, 06:16 AM

When we were coach shopping I talked to a sales rep for SunCoast RV in Ocala and asked about service if we didn't buy there. This lady was the former service manager, so I valued her response as a qualified statement.

She said customers who buy from SunCoast have first priority in the service queue; after they take care of their customers, then comes everybody else.

We are as I type this at Crestview RV, a Winnie dealer in Buda, Tx to get a couple of little things fixed. They never asked me where I bought the rig - service is strictly first-come first-served.

Try another dealer. Unfortunately getting the rig in for service isn't as easy as a car.

traveler of california · 11-05-2006, 09:12 AM

Are you a "local" or a traveller?

Nick, Journey '01

rebelsbeach · 11-05-2006, 10:47 AM

My Newmar/Winnebago dealer has a sign at the service desk that reads something like this....

We service:
[list]1. Customers that bought their unit from us....
2. Customers that didn't buy from us but that are transient in nature....
3. Everyone else...

Howard RV is a consistent winner of both Winnebago AND Newmar's service award for performing a certain number of warranty AND non-warranty repairs on coaches they didn't sell.

Having said that, after experiencing both the Newmar AND the Winnebago factory service, I would opt for an "annual" visit to either location with a laundry list of items to get fixed.
The techs are more knowledgeable and they usually have all the parts too!

traveler of california · 11-05-2006, 11:24 AM

We stayed at Crestview's RV park while we did the Austin area. I was impressed with the operation as they are a classy outfit. The CG was reasonable.
Nick, Journey '01

John_Canfield · 11-05-2006, 12:38 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by traveler of california:
Are you a "local" or a traveller?

Nick, Journey '01 </div></BLOCKQUOTE>When I called them, they said it was first-come, first-served after I tried to make an appointment. I don't believe I volunteered any personal information or details. We are as a matter of fact transients.

CG is only $18/night with Good Sam.

Hikerdogs · 11-05-2006, 12:41 PM

I have to agree with those who have suggested calling Winnebago to see if they will allow an independent in your area to perform warranty service work. We had a problem with the AC early on and contacted our selling dealer. They said they didn't do AC but would farm it out to one of the local truck garages and submit the claim to Winnebago.

When I found that out I called Winnebago to see if I could get the work done locally rather than drive 200 miles only to have the dealer take it to someone else. Winnebago suggested I take it to the local Ford truck garage, have them do the work, and submit the claim directly. Since the Ford garage has an excellent reputation and has been in the area almost 75 years I was happy to take it to them. They did excellent work in a timely manner. Everything worked out well so I still take it in for regular maintenance.

Some of the dealers in our area refuse to do any warranty or service work unless they sell the unit. I think it's a shoot yourself in the foot policy, but it's their choice. When we bought our Adventurer we contacted several dealers. The one closest to us wanted about $8,000.00 more than the next highest dealer. We told them what the lower price was and asked if they could come closer to, or even meet that price. They said NO, the price they quoted was the best they would do, and that if we did decide to buy it elsewhere not to bother trying to get warranty, or any other type of service work done at their facility.

When it comes time to replace our current unit (probably late next year) I won't even include them on the list of dealers to contact. In the long run their attitude has already cost them at least 1 sale, a lot of service work, and most likely another sale next year. Had they not tried to intimidate us into buying the first time I would have at least given them another chance. Now I won't even consider them.

Steven2b · 11-05-2006, 03:01 PM

Chief,

Some dealers are hypersensitive as to where you bought your coach. I tried to work with my local Winnebago dealer when I bought my 05 Journey but they were too proud of their motorhomes to be realistic on the price. I was told to take their offer or leave it. I left it and bought mine in Pensacola, FL. I was treated as a valued customer and saved several thousand dollars to boot.

In the Atlanta area there are several locations that are certified to do Winnebago warranty work...but only if Bleakley RV authorizes it. It has been my experience that Bleakley ALWAYS declines the approval and insists that I come to their facility. At their facility, after asking if I bought my Journey from them, I'm consistently told that the next available opening they have is several months out. I thought it was just me but after talking to several others, apparently I am not alone. Worse still, Winnebago tells me that they have no control over their dealer's policies.

Good luck to you.

Steve

Good luck to you.

Tom N · 11-05-2006, 03:29 PM

Coincidently, the only other dealer where I've had service besides Bill Waits was SunCoast in Ocala. SunCoast also treated me great, ordered a new table because my top had bubbles between the laminations, ordered a solenoid for my HWH hydraulic pump, completely resealed my shower skylight and repaired a hinge on my Norcold 1220 fridge.

One trip for diagnoses and parts ordering and another stop to have everything installed.

I had no problem with SunCoast and this was in January of 2006. The women service manager being from Pittsburgh may have helped.

BigRedLancer · 11-05-2006, 06:57 PM

I am sorry I purchased a Winnebago motorhome for this reason. I had a propane leak, during the one year warranty, that a local Winnebago dealer would not touch for 8 weeks since I did not purchase the coach from them. The dealer I purchaed the motorhome from dropped Winnebago and I was told that the other dealer was supposed to handle warranty work. After a big hassle and weeks in the shop, I finally got the leak fixed. Since then I have not been pleased with Winnebago service and will NEVER purchase another Winnebago product.

jtharley · 11-06-2006, 02:50 AM

Very same thing happened to me. A service manager told me it would be 2-3 months to get an appointment for a small fix.....called winnebago and voiced my concern and stated that is one of the main reasons I bought a winnebago, SERVICE AFTER THE SALE. Got the same response as others.
1. Our customers first
2. Transient/vacationers second
3. All others

All the more reason to sometimes pay the extra little bit (if it is an "little" bit more to purchase from a local dealer. I can understand thier policy BUT 2-3 months was ridiculous.

jtharley · 11-06-2006, 02:52 AM

Anyway, Winnebago customer support told me they would call the dealership and try to find another one that could help if they would not. Ended up taking it to a dealer about 3 hours from the house that helped the same week I called.

Izzyblueye · 11-06-2006, 03:57 AM

I recommend getting Winnebago to authorize an independent repair facility locally, when the dealer does not measure up or is flogging you on service dates. I ask for an independent on some extensive fiberglass repair. My dealer and a "Golden Circle of Excellence" repair facility did not want to do the repair, as he felt he would lose money on the job because it was warranty work. I was told by WIT that if I could find a good place to submit their name for approval. I contacted Sullivan's RV repair and Servce in Decatur Indiana. They said they could do it. They called WIT, after careful inspection of the damage. WIT ask for and got a price and double warranty on work and materials. The job was done in a week and looked like new. That was 3 years ago and it is still like new. In fact the painting Sullivan's did far exceeds the quality of WIT. This saved me a long trip to FC in the winter twice. IMHO ask for independent service, Winnebaago is going to have to address their dealer relationship. My company would never tolerate, even our best dealer, to mess over our customers.