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Old 10-03-2012, 07:19 AM   #1
Gkerlin
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Keystone Dealer Refused to Service My Rig

I mentioned this on a thread I've been having about a problem I'm having with a slide but thought that I would repeat it here to see if this is an isolated incident.

I have a 2012 Montana 3455sa.

I bought it 7 months ago at Camping World in Charleston, SC (6hrs from me)

I've developed a hydraulic fluid leak on the Living Room Slide piston - the rubber seal is deformed and pushing out of the center of the piston around the ram... Obviously the piston is bad and needs to be replaced.

Knowing that the nearest Camping World is 3 hrs from here I contact Keystone to try and find a closer "authorized" service center. They give me 3 names. Two I immediately take off the list because I know their reputations from friends... That leaves me with Crisp RV in Chocowinity, NC. I know they are supposed to have a decent reputation and are about 90 minutes from here - so I call them and get connected to Greg Crisp the Service Manager (and part owner I assume).

I explain the whole I have a 2012 Keystone Montana that I bought at Camping World in Charleston, SC etc etc... Explain what I've found and tell them I'd like to schedule a time to bring it in for a warranty repair.

Mr. Crisp replies that he will not do any warranty work (even though he's a Keystone Dealer) on any unit that was purchased from a Camping World.

He then goes into this tirade about how Camping World is trying to put the independent dealer out of business, that they have unethical business practices etc.

When he finally stopped ranting long enough for me to get a word in I politely mention that it's a shame that they are going to make a customer pay the price for a dispute that he is having with Camping World. By this time I've already decided that even if he changed his mind I wouldn't get the work done there for fear of what he might do to my rig.

He went back into his rant telling me that now that I got my cheap price at Camping World let's see how I like their service. He continues about how Camping World is the Evil Empire (my words) and again when he stopped long enough I mentioned that I was going to contact Keystone and let them know that a Keystone dealer was refusing to perform Warranty work.... at which point he said "have a nice day" and hung up on me.

I was never impolite and really... Besides explaining my situation initially I only got to utter two sentences.

WTF?

So now I have an appointment a week from now to drag it 3hrs away to Camping World outside of Raleigh, NC.. The folks there said that they hope I'm not in a rush as when they look at it they then have to get keystone to approve it and by the time that happens another week has gone by so expect them to have it abut 3 weeks. Meaning it will be a month from now till I can get it back... I guess no trip to the mountains this year to see the leaves.

I never had any warranty work done on my last rig.... Is this normal?

It sure isn't like taking my Ford in for service that's for sure.

I think I need to move to a new state!
 
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Old 10-03-2012, 08:40 AM   #2
oldelmer1
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I bought my Montana from Harrisburg, PA CW, called 1 of the top 100 Trailer Life repair centers, Parkview RV in Smyrna, Delaware asking of they would warranty my unit. first question, "DID YOU BUY IT FROM US", no, and that was their answer too.

Then we went to Myrtle Beach SC and had a water pump leak, went to CW and first question, "DID YOU BUY IT FROM US", no, and that was their answer too. After lots of discussion, they finally agreed to replace it. But what a hassle it was....

So you are not alone.
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Old 10-03-2012, 08:47 AM   #3
Tom S.
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When servicing a rig, a lot depends on what needs to be done and if parts are available. However what you described doesn't sound like a difficult repair, and I would expect it to be done in less than a day. You should be able to set up an appointment time, take the unit in and return the same day. The line about getting approval from Keystone taking a week is BS. Since you mentioned Ford, I'll note that if you look on Ford forums, you find similar complaints about their service departments (or GM, or Dodge for that matter). There are good ones and bad ones. I wouldn't however rule out the other other two RV places in your area because you heard one or two negative feed backs on them. Remember, you always hear from the guy with a problem, and almost never from the guy without one. Unless you can confirm that they have service issues, I wouldn't rule them out, especially if they can get you in and out in a day and you can watch the repairs.
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Old 10-03-2012, 08:55 AM   #4
Gkerlin
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Tom, I've visited one of the places looking for a part... I wouldn't let them service a flashlight. Just looking at the place (very small dealer) you could tell there was no pride. It was filthy, parts all over the floor... Not professional at all.

The second place I'm going on a friends opinion He had work done there and had to have it repaired. By a second place. The mistake that was made was elementary and should not have happened. Hes a straight shooter and not prone to complain unless something was real messed up.

Regardless - I did call the second place and they never even called me back so....

Replacing a piston should be a straightforward job. In and out while I wait. Not according to the dealer. He said he has to document it - send it to Keystone - wait for approval - then order any parts and schedule the work.

I'm going to call Keystone later today or tomorrow again.
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Old 10-03-2012, 09:35 AM   #5
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Greg,

Did you try RV Outlet in Danville, VA (right on the board) with NC, just North of Greensboro. We have never had service done there, but that is where we bought the Montana in October 2009.

http://www.rv007.com/links.asp

Never had any problems with Camping World in Statesville, NC about doing warranty work on my Montana, which we didn't buy there. They are just slow, and it is hard to find anyone that knows what they are doing.
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Old 10-03-2012, 09:47 AM   #6
Gkerlin
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John that's even further form here. I'm not as upset about what the dealer says will be the wait to get in as much as the supposed time to get the work approved. I'm putting together and email to Keystone right now to see what they say.

The thing that upsets me the most however is that a dealer would refuse to service a unit and then still be allowed to keep his dealership.

I was planning on a long weekend to the Blue Ridge in a few weeks to see the fall leaves. We'll see if I can make that or not. The leak is not so bad that it would prevent me from going but from the looks of the seal it could blow then it would be a mess so best not to take a chance.
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Old 10-03-2012, 10:06 AM   #7
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Call Keystone, nicely explain your situation, and see if the repair can be made by a mobile tech. They can do this and should in your situation. Be firm, but polite.
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Old 10-03-2012, 10:12 AM   #8
1retired06
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Bought two montanas from Reines in Manassas VA. Great support, great service. But they only serviced what was purchased from them. We were preferred customers, and anybody else would be given 2-3 month wait times, on a space available basis between preferred customers to discourage them and force them to go elsewhere. I bought my last montana from Camping World in Statesville NC, and I have been satisfied with them, and they do take anybody's rig. I am surprized Keystone lets their dealers get away with it. And, having shopped around over the years, Camping World dealers do not automatically have the best price! Pays to shop around. Sorry to hear about your issue. Unfortunately not an isolated business practice.
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Old 10-03-2012, 10:29 AM   #9
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Greg,
The Camping World near Raleigh that you are referring to used to be Hawleys. That is where I bought my rig. The only time that I needed to bring the trailer to them for service, they wanted to keep it while they ordered parts. I got Keystone to agree to the repairs and had them order parts and receive them before I brought the trailer to them. They got it on Tuesday and I picked it up on Saturday. If I'm not mistaken, Hobbs RV Repair in New Bern might be authorized to do repairs on Keystone products.
Jim
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Old 10-03-2012, 10:30 AM   #10
Gkerlin
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Wow. and here I thought this was a unique problem. I did send an email to Keystone just a short while ago. When I spoke to the cust service lady this morning she acted all surprised and said she'd never heard that before.

Issue one is simply how do they let any dealer get away with that? Just doesn't seem right.

Second is how Keystone dissuaded me from going to an independent repair shop saying that if I did there was all this paperwork and authorizations that they'd have to do to get approval whereas if I went to a Keystone dealer it was a smooth process.

The camping world person I spoke with today to make my appointment however made it sound like it would be a week to get approvals.

We'll see what Keystone/Montana has to say.

Bingo - thanks for the suggestion but I don't think that my situation requires on site repairs. Don't get me wrong - I'd love to have someone just show up and fix it but I don't have a problem pulling it somewhere to get it fixed. I'd rather 40 miles vs 3hrs but most importantly I'd rather get it fixed properly and hopefully before the leaves are all gone.
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Old 10-03-2012, 10:37 AM   #11
Gkerlin
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Jim,

Good Idea on Camping World / Hawleys - that's where I made my appointment. Let me see if I can push and at least get parts and authorization before I go. I can get a picture of the seal and show them (Keystone) it's messed up.

Tony Hobbes is where I brought my old Cougar once when I needed some work done and that's where I'd like to go. when I called Hobbes this morning they are 4 weeks out on backlog. They do good work and sometimes can get approvals in advance. They are not an official "authorized" shop for Keystone but have relationships with alot of the parts vendors like Lippert etc.

If they weren't so backed up I would have pushed for them.
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Old 10-03-2012, 10:55 AM   #12
richfaa
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We did NOt find any C.w to be the lowest bidder on either of our Montana's. We travel a lot and have not had a problem with a Keystone dealer repairing our unit. We always call Keystone customer service first and let them deal with the dealer.That seems to work.
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Old 10-03-2012, 11:50 AM   #13
Carl n Susan
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Unfortunately RV dealerships are not like Automotive dealerships. The auto dealer is required to service their brand despite where it was purchased. No such requirement exists for RV dealers. You may not like or understand it, but it is true. There are many threads here (and on the other RV forums) about this behavior. Some dealers will do warranty work on rigs purchased elsewhere. Many who do don't make your repair a priority. One of the considerations when you buy a RV (any RV not just Montana) is where will I get service? Buying from a discounter 2,000 miles away will save $$$ but you sure don't want to return there for service.

While Rich seems to have terrific luck with Team Montana, he is one of the few I know of. Their standard line is "..take it to a dealer and have them contact us.." If you are on the road, then a call to Team Montana will likely get you pointed towards a local Montana/Keystone service dealer. They usually are sympathetic to folks away from home. But if you are local and didn't buy there, they may turn you away.
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Old 10-03-2012, 12:27 PM   #14
Gkerlin
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So then basically my email to Keystone about this behavior was a huge waste of time? They are asking each other what toadstool did this Rube just fall off of?
I didn't realize this was "normal" and the manufacturers have no interest in controlling the behavior of their dealers.... Unbelievable.

I didn't travel 2,000 miles looking for the cheapest price at a discount dealer. I went to the dealer that had what I was looking for when I wanted it. My last rig was purchased in upstate NY then we were transferred to NC. To think I'm going to have to buy only from a dealer where I'll get it serviced is disappointing to say the least. We like to move around.

Oh well - enough crying. Lessoned learned. Now just need to figure out what to do with the knowledge.
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Old 10-03-2012, 02:08 PM   #15
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Even tho Auto dealers are required to service their brand, I have been told I'll get better service if I return to where I purchased the vehicle, they didn't refuse to service me, just I would be worked in after service to vehicles they had sold were finished. Had to drive my Chevy Citation 50 miles using only 3rd and 4th gear as 1st and 2nd were gone (this was a manual xmission).
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Old 10-03-2012, 03:14 PM   #16
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It almost makes you want to find a very lightly used one or two year old unit that the original purchaser suffered all the warranty headaches.
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Old 10-03-2012, 03:32 PM   #17
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Greg just so you know the leaves are already changing alot at the higher elevations. seem to be early this yr we rode up to newfound gap yesterday and it is beautiful so try to get it fixed soon. Good Luck.
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Old 10-03-2012, 07:14 PM   #18
kdeiss
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We have been looking at Class C Motor homes two of the major manufactures state in their literature that they highly recommend buying from your local dealer and build a relationship
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Old 10-04-2012, 03:03 AM   #19
DonandBonnie
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Since we have not taken delivery of our Monty. we have had no warranty or service issues as yet. This sounds like we are being hastled into dealing only with the dealer that we purchased from. If I'm broke down in Texas or Florida, I sure don't want to have to drag back to northen Ohio for repairs. Can we put pressure on Keystone to make their dealers act like auto dealerships and service any Montana regardless of where it was purchased?
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Old 10-04-2012, 03:33 AM   #20
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Quote "We have been looking at Class C Motor homes two of the major manufactures state in their literature that they highly recommend buying from your local dealer and build a relationship"

I wouldn't buy from our local Keystone dealer on a bet ... it's his price or the highway ... several of us have hit the highway. I traded my 2005 in on my current 2011 for $9600 less trade difference out of state. For $9600.00 savings, I can manage to take it down to Tulsa several times if the need arises. Twice the Tulsa dealer sent me the warrantied part to my house and I sent him the old parts back postage prepaid. They took care of all the paperwork down there.
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