Uncooperative Dealer for Warranty work - Page 2 - Montana Owners Club

Glass Guy · 04-19-2006, 09:52 AM

Richard, When I purchased my Montana I also bought the extended warranty it is thru star rv also looks like they cover quite a bit, have not had a reason to use it and hopefully won't have to. Roman

richfaa · 04-19-2006, 11:44 AM

Good to hear that Glass Guy..This dealer is..Moores Rv In N. Ridgeville. Bob Moore is a very good friend of ours. we worked for him a bit at one time and he is one of the greatest people I have ever known. He talked to me over 1/2 hour about extended warranties and he highly recommendeds this one..from a dealers point of view in terms of what they pay and how they pay. His recommendation is good enough for us.

houseof many dogs · 04-19-2006, 12:41 PM

You know with these kind of problems - some small some not so small, it makes me wonder if NHTSA should not get involved. After all, these are registered highway using vehicles and some problems couls be a safety issue - no matter who the dealer is. Maybe that kind of pressure on Keystome will give them incentive to clean up their dealers customer service issues.
Especially with maybe hard times on the horizon (lower sales due to fuel costs???) the dealers can't afford to be so cavalier in their attitudes - they have to make bank payments, too.

raucnd · 05-02-2006, 06:38 AM

I hate to sound pessimistic, that's my husbands job but I think it's a mixed bag. Our dealer is the absolute worst! Not only did he not do our warranty work, he didn't turn any of it in to Montana and cussed my husband out for telling him he didn't fix what was wrong with our trailer. That was the "dreaded remote" which was replaced by Dometic by a non-Montana dealer.
Our other problems, leaks and a faulty rear day night shade were repaired, eventually, at a maintenance only place in Texas. I say eventually because after leaving our trailer there for three weeks, Montana never sent the parts! We lost time and $$ on our winter reservation. We took our trailer back to this place in Texas and had the repairs done this spring. We are hopeful that it is a "done deal." I guess time will tell.
When we were going at it with our dealer, Montana customer service says they have no control over the dealers, no way to see that their maintenance people know what they are doing and so on. I think the key thing here is money. That's what it's all about and once they get your $$ it all comes down to luck. There is nothing to regulate the R.V. business so we are pretty much on our own. Guess it would be wise to be a handyman before you buy.

HomeOnTheRoad · 05-02-2006, 07:02 AM

Other times people have been told Montana did not send the parts. When those people checked more they found out it was the dealer who did not order the parts or ordered the wrong thing. Maybe Montana sometimes messes up but usually it is the dealer. If the dealer service is not good then probably his parts ordering is not good too. The dealer will not blame himself. Montana is not there so he blames them.

richfaa · 05-02-2006, 07:31 AM

When the dealer orders parts they do it via Computer. Once they hit the enter key it is gone. You should request a copy of the order, it is right there, it prints out and it will include all the information you need to follow up on your own.Give it a day or so then call Keystone and check on the status of your ordered part. You should never walk out of the dealer, any dealer,without a copy of your order.

raucnd · 05-02-2006, 09:43 AM

In our case, he was not a dealer, but maintenance only and he faxed the order. Montana admitted they lost the order and when reordered for overnight delivery they "filed it" stating they get 800 orders a day and can't keep track of all of them. I didn't think that was how you handled overnight orders. Yes, they were in the process of moving their offices, so we're told, but lots of businesses move, yet can still conduct business as usual. Until it happens to you, it's difficult to grasp the feeling.

Jerzy54 · 05-02-2006, 01:47 PM

Hi everybody,
As I am reading all those horror stories I have to add some of my experience. My dealer does more that replaces warranty parts, but
also steals from my trailer. I have a new trailer and I used it four
times since last October. First thing I noticed that things which were working perfectly just before I dropped off trailer for repairs
are not working or look like were used heavily over few years period.
For example new mattress in the living room sofa is worn out and we use it once. Another thing was stove and I noticed that my under belly was dropped for no apparent reason and space insulation was
ripped in few places. Right now I have marked all other appliances
and TV sets and I will check them after every visit to that dealer.

dsprik · 05-02-2006, 07:18 PM

Jerzy, might want to call the FBI and let them know what you are doing. They might have an interest. Especially if these "borrowed" parts are going across state lines... Could be part of a much larger operation.

Montana_2005 · 05-02-2006, 11:33 PM

Ugh, that makes me want to unfold my hidabed and see what the matress looks like. I too noticed some pieces of equipment in the trailer that seem to be a little rougher AFTER they had my trailer than before. I wondered if it were payback for shaking their tree w/ Keystone.

Jerzy54 · 05-03-2006, 12:48 AM

In my case I think the Service manager has almost the same trailer and he is using it all the time in the local campgrounds, besides that he is retiring now and moving out to North Carolina. As for FBI I do not think this is a big scheme. I think when we are getting a new trailer we should write down models # and serial # of all appliances and equipment for further reference.

dsprik · 05-03-2006, 04:15 AM

That's not a bad idea for everyone.

rvfirefighter · 05-04-2006, 08:03 AM

My dealer has handled every problem with expedience and good repairs. If not for them I would be more upset with Keystone. It is not up to me to be a go between the dealer and the factory. The service starts with the dealer and the communication with the factory is up to them and the problem is definitely with the factory for not wanting to pay the dealer for broken parts or bad construction. My latest phone call to customer service,"Denny Marsh" for nails backing out of the ceiling was a joke. He did not want to hear it, talk about it, and clearly it was my problem and the unit is not out of warranty.
I stopped at one dealer "Tri-Am" in Ocala. They would not touch it. I had to make an out of my way 200 miles+ to go to my dealer because the factory would not pay for the repair.
If not for RV Connections in Panama City, Florida I would be very upset. I will only buy a Montana the next time if RV Connections are selling them and they think they are a good product.

Longwell · 05-04-2006, 05:52 PM

If you haven't already, you should post your ratings of the various dealers mentioned in this thread under the heading "Dealer Ratings" in the "MOC on M.A.R.S." section of this forum. Your experiences should be helpful to others, whether positive or negative.
Thanks.
Larry

gkbutler · 05-05-2006, 05:09 PM

We made an appointment today get a two warranty items done our our 2950. They were minor enough to wait until we got back into the area where we bought our unit to have the purchasing dealer do the repairs. Our service writer asked us to email her digital pictures so she could send them to Keystone to get pre approval and have the parts on hand when we bring our unit up so we won't be "homeless " for more than a few hours.

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