Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 

Go Back   Montana Owners Club - Keystone Montana 5th Wheel Forum > MOC Technical Forums > Montana Problems, Problem Solving & Technical Help
Click Here to Login

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 07-11-2009, 09:47 AM   #1
tuckerfolk
Established Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Troy
Posts: 20
M.O.C. #8737
Help! Am I getting BS from my dealer?

Took my 2009 Monty 3400, purchased in September, 2008 into the dealer for Warranty repairs on 6/15 and today, 7/11/09, I returned from my dealer without my Monty… Here’s why.

The 32” TV was in-operative. The dealer never contacted Keystone and went out to buy a replacement on his own. He claims Keystone buys clearance TV’s and when they break under warranty, its up to the dealers to find one that fits. Here’s the problem, the one he found was a 32” Insignia brand (original was a Sylvania) and sure it fits with a 1.5 inch gap on the left, right and top, and a 5 inch gap on the bottom! It looks like I bought the trailer w/o a TV and installed an aftermarket one. He then told me that’s all Keystone will authorize and I would have to call Keystone.

The rear brake light was burned out. He replaced the bulb for $.96 and Labor for $42.00. He never told me it wasn’t covered under warranty. If he would have told be that’s not a warranty item, I know how to use a screw driver, I would have fixed my own bulb!

The black water tank never reads empty even after I flushed it several times. I then asked him to check out why. He stated he flushed tank several times also and it still read 1/3 full. He charged me $105.00 labor and $12.40 in disposal and shop supplies and sold me a $19.00 chemical and told me to rinse my tank myself.

My landing gear kept blowing fuses, I even called Keystone and talked about the various discussions in these blogs, they told me to take it in and have my Dealer call Keystone for help. My dealer claimed I was using the wrong fuse!? I replaced it with a small green 30 amp plastic fuse. The Service manager said I needed a “slow burn” fuse and he said he would give me some extras. When I got here, he handed me some glass tube type fuses, and when I said that’s not the fuse, he gave me this story….. He stated by battery was low in voltage and needed water. I picked this unit up in September, took it on one weekend shakedown trip and stored it for the winter with the battery red disconnect pulled all winter. In the spring, I reconnected the red switch, and plugged it into 110v for a few weeks before our trip to Colorado Springs. All the time the battery gage in the trailer said the battery was fully charged. The dealer claims that since the battery was low, when I operated the landing gear I was pulling too many amps and would blow the fuse. I also told him that I was always plugged into the shore power, so how can I be pulling too many amps. He said it doesn’t matter, the landing gears operates solely on the battery? Also, asked him how could my battery be low on water in just 10months in service. He said because I had it plugged in so much I cooked away the water. Does any of this make sense? Anyway, according to my dealer, the reason I blew fuses was my battery was low in volts and water. So much for the battery gage in the trailer!

I blew my top when he presented me the bill for $218.22! He asked me to go see the owner who offered to split the bill. I still had to pay $100 plus $17.00 for the chemical to clean my tank. I left the trailer and said I wanted a “custom fit” TV just like the one I purchased 10 months ago. He told me to call Keystone on Monday. Does any of this make sense? My wife and I love our trailer, but we sure are getting a bitter taste on how we are being treated…
 
tuckerfolk is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-11-2009, 11:36 AM   #2
Glenn and Lorraine
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Clearwater
Posts: 10,917
M.O.C. #420
Take his advice and call Keystone. Explain to Keystone exactly what you posted above.
In my opinion, your dealer is feeding you a huge serving of BS and Keystone should know about this.
Call Keystone at (574) 535-2100
Glenn and Lorraine is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-11-2009, 11:41 AM   #3
Countryfolks
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Ft. Smith
Posts: 981
M.O.C. #116
I believe I would be looking for a new dealer! I think the Insignia tv is a Best Buy house brand, mixed reviews, most not too good. The tank gages are mostly inaccurate and simple rinsing doesn't usually work. Leaving a battery on charge will cause water loss, you need to watch them. You probably have an Iota converter w/o the charge leveler [wrong name] that is available. I kind of think that a low battery results in the jacks either not working or operating very slowly and it is 12v to operate. When your hooked up to shore power, you're using the converter for the jack motor. Like I said at first, NEW DEALER!
Countryfolks is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-11-2009, 01:16 PM   #4
ols1932
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Cedar Rapids
Posts: 4,876
M.O.C. #1944
This dealer really sounds like a money-grubber. In the business to make a sale and that's it. People need to know who he/she is.

Orv
ols1932 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-11-2009, 01:36 PM   #5
RickW
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Wylie
Posts: 532
M.O.C. #9139
Quote:
quote:Originally posted by Countryfolks

When your hooked up to shore power, you're using the converter for the jack motor. Like I said at first, NEW DEALER!
Not exactly. The "converter" is basically a battery charger. For most of the low consumption 12v items like lights the charger is able to keep up with the consumption but on items like landing gear & slides they require more energy than the converter can deliver on demand, so the battery fills the gap and over a period of time the converter recharges the battery.

I know my 3400 has a sticker somewhere saying do not operate the slides unless the battery is installed. I have seen it several times. When we were RV shopping this past spring the salesman tried to pull the slides in with out the battery installed and the pump motor for the slides could not get enough energy to operate the slides correctly. The converter alone could not provide enough energy to the system for the high power consumption of the pump motor.
RickW is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-11-2009, 01:43 PM   #6
stiles watson
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Leona
Posts: 6,382
M.O.C. #2059
When I take my rig to the dealer, he tells me up front what is and is not covered by warranty, or now, the extended warranty. As in everything, there may be a mixture of facts and fiction in what you were told. It is tough to sort through the information to determine which is which.

My dealer will also tell me where to go to get a thing done more cheaply than he can do it, like replacing a shattered glass door that was not covered by warranty. If he had done it, he would just send it out to a glass company and then have to charge me dealer price for the work. "Why don't you go to the glass company yourself and save my fee?", was his question.

It seems that you have a less than stellar dealer. Calling Keystone may help you sort fact from fiction.
stiles watson is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-11-2009, 01:56 PM   #7
Art-n-Marge
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Murrieta
Posts: 5,816
M.O.C. #9257
Send a message via MSN to Art-n-Marge Send a message via Yahoo to Art-n-Marge
Hey RickW, This is not the first time I have seen this in the MOC but I'm not sure I agree with the converter ONLY charging the battery and not providing 12v.

When I bought my Monty, batteries were optional. When I am at home, I use a disconnect switch and plug the batteries into a battery minder/conditioner to keep them healthy, hence the batteries are disconnected. That said, if I have the trailer plugged into my house 110v, I can still operate the slides and the landing legs. I think the converter supplies 12v in that case, but you must have some shore power for this to work.

If I do not have shore power and the batteries are weak, I can plug the 7 pin adapter to the truck and run off the truck batteries. I am not familiar with the notice you are referring to, but I think they are hoping healthy batteries are being used.

Tuckerfolk - The dealer certainly took advantage of you. VERY few vehicles, trailers, etc. will provide a warranty for bulbs, brakes or anything else that wears down over time. The warranties are typically for things that break down if they are used and maintained properly. You should have gotten a DETAILED estimate for all the work to be done and the cost. If you had you would have seen the costs for some of these items for them NOT to do. And approved or disapproved those things that you did not like. That has saved me many times when they replaced things they did not itemize and then tried to get me to pay for it.

We have a place on the MOC forum where you can post experiences like this (poor service) but hopefully an MOCer can point you to it.
Art-n-Marge is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-11-2009, 03:33 PM   #8
kerry
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Frostproof
Posts: 512
M.O.C. #7125
YOUR DEALER IS FULL OF C__P! I'd better not say that on the forum. Demand your money back. Keystone doesn't buy clearance TV's. They do get their TV's from a supplier in Elkhart. When I had my Big Sky, I replaced the TV via keystone under warranty. Like TV for like TV; Tell them you want a TV replacement from Keystone, under warranty. Brake light bulb, Price of the bulb. Black tank charge, BS! Are you using RV toilet paper and using your black tank flush out. Landing gear, put in a 40amp fuse; you could still have a motor problem, bad ground or loose connection, but still no charge to check out for possible warrant problem. The battery could have been low on water, (had you checked it - you should once a month). It's his responsibility to call Keystone on the TV. Is the a reputable dealer??? You might call Keystone , not to complain about your 5W, but about your deal's BS We sure wouldn't treat a customer like that at our dealership. Kerry
kerry is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-11-2009, 06:43 PM   #9
Wayne and Carolyn Mathews
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Dillon KOA
Posts: 1,291
M.O.C. #7445
Oh, my, would you like the voice of experience here concerning warranty repairs? I won't bother to go back over my 9 months of losing our Monty to our dealer for simple repairs that were held up or NEVER done because "Keystone won't cover that" or "Keystone can't get the parts" or "Keystone won't replace that TV . . . " Well, you just get on the phone to Keystone, be calm, have your facts at hand (dates of calls, names of people you talked to at the dealership, who told you what, what was or was not done, what "Keystone" supposedly said, etc.), and talk to a Keystone customer service representative. Every single thing we were told that "Keystone wouldn't do" turned out to be a case of the dealer NEVER contacting Keystone, and Keystone not knowing a thing about your problems.

Our tale isn't over yet. Out OEM television and DVD player worked fine, but the remote didn't. Fixing the remote or replacing it with one that should be with our set was what was supposed to happen. Instead, we picked up our rig to find a Sanyo TV installed (that didn't fit the cabinet and sticks out a bit), our OEM DVD player gone and replaced by a player that is smaller than a cigar box and doesn't work well, and a GENERIC remote that won't work anything. In June, at the 7 Feathers rally, a Keystone rep came to look at our rig and said immediately, "Hey--where did you get that stuff? It's not Montana OEM equipment. It's what Jayco uses in their rigs." Well butter my butt and call me a biscuit because our dealer also handles Jaycos. So, someone else got my nice TV and DVD player and I got a crappy little Sanyo/no name DVD player/generic nonworking remote, all because my dealer either lost my original remote or pulled our stuff to put in another rig during the 9 months it was at the dealership.

I would hope you had a fair and honest dealer. However, don't take anything for granted. Once you hear the infamous "Keystone doesn't/won't," you call Keystone on your own. It was an eye-opening experience for us.

By the way, we have given up on getting our rig fixed. Along with the TV and DVD player being ripped off from our rig, the drawer under the sofa was worked on--boy, was it ever. Now it won't close; it sticks out about 2 inches so that it hits you right in the calves if you sit on the sofa. The drawer rails were not replaced, even though they broke. They were simply screwed in at a different point, one higher than the other and both about 2 inches too close to the front of the sofa. And, the rig must have been moved with a closet door open while being shoved around the lot, because now the closet door track is bent and buckled and the door on the left side won't close. Oh--the kitchen faucet was fixed . . . by taking out a gasket and the v-shaped spring that diverts the water from spray to flow and back, so now all we get is an erratic stream of water. The faucet was reseated on half of the black gasket; the other half sticks out and curls up the side of the faucet. Shall I go on? We are NOT happy campers. The dealership obviously doesn't care if a customer returns or not.

Good luck. Keystone will help, I think. It may take some time, but if you hang in there and are reasonable (but firm), you'll probably see some action on your behalf from your dealer.

Carolyn
Wayne and Carolyn Mathews is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-12-2009, 04:29 AM   #10
Fire5er
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Port Orchard
Posts: 1,153
M.O.C. #3403
Let the forum know the dealer's name your dealing with so we know who not to deal with, and to let others who not to purchase from. I know I checked this forum out several years before I purchased. It let me know who to and not to deal with.
Fire5er is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-12-2009, 04:52 PM   #11
garyka
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Tonawanda
Posts: 551
M.O.C. #3662
I would also like to see this dealers name on the forum so other people could avoid being ripped off.
garyka is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-12-2009, 05:34 PM   #12
Longwell
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Grove City
Posts: 1,357
M.O.C. #5192
tuckerfolk,
Go to the forum section "MOC on M.A.R.S."
Then go to the "Repairs and Service" area.
Post in the "Dealer Ratings" thread. Put the dealer name and location, then the ratings on a 1 to 10 scale (see other postings for how to rate dealers), but do not put too many comments in the posting, since we are to be careful in what we say there. The forum moderators have posted guidelines at the beginning of the "Dealer Ratings" postings.
I hope this helps you to help others on this forum.
Larry
Longwell is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-13-2009, 01:29 AM   #13
Lambchop
Montana Fan
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Nekoosa
Posts: 412
M.O.C. #5793
I only take my Montana to the dealer if there is a part that is under warranty that needs replacement.
ALL adjustments & little things like bulbs; shades; carpet; & you name it, gets done by me.
Most dealers give you a lot of LIP Service nowadays! Sure, I'm not saying that they are all bad. There is some very good ones out there and when you find them , stick with them.
I have had some warranty items that weren't taken care of & eventually were at a later date.
It's not any different than taking your auto to an auto repair shop....same problems & I'm sure you have heard them.

My two cents

Roy
Lambchop is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-13-2009, 02:22 AM   #14
KathyandDave
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Shelburne
Posts: 688
M.O.C. #8693
Send a message via MSN to KathyandDave
You could ask on MOC for the name of a dealer in your area that other MOC-ers are happy with. Our local TV (tow vehicle) dealer's service guy says that the owner tells the service staff, "Keep 'em happy at the back door and they'll come to the front door when the time comes." Good service is just good business.
KathyandDave is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-13-2009, 03:58 AM   #15
cmawendy
Montana Fan
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Albany
Posts: 287
M.O.C. #9222
Good luck with dealing with Keystone....we went around and around with them and Camping World for 3 months about replacing our microwave. They finally did with the right one but it shouldn't take 3 months and God knows how many phone calls. I'm not saying they are always bad but the one time we have dealt with them so far they were. Good Luck
cmawendy is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Another dealer gone 8.1al General Discussions about our Montanas 16 12-31-2010 03:38 AM
Dealer Mod #2 bncinwv Additions & Improvements 0 10-12-2010 05:43 AM
DEALER ALAN General Discussions about our Montanas 2 09-30-2008 02:46 PM
Bad day at the dealer richfaa Repairs & Service 31 09-25-2007 10:58 AM
It's at the dealer Dave e Victoria New Member Introductions 0 12-06-2003 07:01 AM

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Montana RV, Keystone RV Company or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 09:01 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.