Has anyone ran into this problem - Montana Owners Club

Debbie Asher · 06-19-2013, 04:22 PM

We purchased a 2013 5th wheel from our cousin in Arizona because we saved about $4,000 from his dealership compared to Folsom Lake RV. So we noticed some leakage from the hydrolics on the driver side front jack, and the bedroom windows are extremely hard to open. So we called Folsom Lake RV to make an appointment the first thing they asked was did we purchase from them. Then they informed me that they will only do 3 warranty repairs because we didn't buy the rig from them. So let me see Keystone pays for warranty work so the dealer isn't out anywhere and from what I understand Keystone is the best for paying warranty claims then any other dealer. So what are people suppose to do if they purchase out of state and I know alot of people do because they get better deals. Or have gone to a show somewhere and decided to purchase a new 5th wheel.

Mrs. CountryGuy · 06-19-2013, 04:40 PM

Sadly, this is not the first time we have heard of this issue.

Does not help you one bit.

Rainer · 06-19-2013, 05:20 PM

Give Folsom Lake RV our name. We bought our 343RL from them in April, but since we live 500 miles from their facility we won't be going quite that far for warranty work. My thinking on this is that it's a fair trade, our non-show for your out-of-state unit. Sounds fair to me.....

mail2us · 06-19-2013, 05:40 PM

As a possible alternative, contact the Camping Worlds close to you at Roseville or Rocklin. Determine if they are a Montana dealer first and can you schedule a warranty appointment. If you are having hydraulic leaks, you may want to call Lippert in Goshen IN for their closest rep/service as well. Hope this may help.

**DQDick** · 06-19-2013, 06:01 PM

This has happened to others although it isn't the norm. Call Keystone Customer service and explain the problem to them and ask them to make an appointment at the nearest dealer who will do the work. They will fix the problem.

mtheo · 06-19-2013, 07:10 PM

This is the policy with alot of RV manufactures.
more than one of our local dealers refuse to work on trailers bught out of the area, for a good deal.
Friend of mine was told he got a good deal for a reason, the out of town dealer didn't have to worry about come backs. Manufacture on most part don't pay full cost of repairs, or at less that is what I was told by one dealer.

D and M On The Road · 06-19-2013, 07:35 PM

We were just there this last weekend looking at new Montanas. I'm sorry to hear of their warranty work policy.

I'm glad you posted this and I hope any MOC members that should go into Folsom Lake RV remembers to ask about that policy and let them know what they think of it. I know of at least 5 MOC members who have bought new Montanas from there in the last year or so, and some of them live so many hours away from Folsom Lake RV that it would be crazy to return just for warranty work.

I wonder if Folsom Lake RV warns their potential customers who live far away that their local dealer might have the same policy and advises them to go back and buy locally? *LOL... probably not.

HOOK · 06-20-2013, 12:35 AM

If you are able to go to a CW, Montana dealer you probably will get good results. I also recommend contacting Lippert . They may have a preferred service center.
We had a jack failure on our shakedown trip. A local Mobile RV repairmen, not a dealer, was sent and repair was excellent.
Small dealers often do things to keep their customers first.

1retired06 · 06-20-2013, 02:52 AM

I have been told by several dealers, both RV and auto, that they lose money on warranty work and that is why they do not like doing. They want their resources applied to non-warranty work because of profit. Specific labor hour limitations on warranty work which does not include inspection, clerk time, parts handling, etc. True or not?? I don't know. Reines RV in Manassas VA makes it very clear with a large sign in their showroom, buyer customers always first, anybody else space available. They want repeat customers.

mail2us · 06-20-2013, 04:14 AM

Many RV dealers want their buying customers to return as stated in many prior posts. Those returning customers at least initially, are under warranty. Dealers don't select those without warranty or with warranty when work needs to be done. It's believed that some dealers don't like warranty work as conversation or comment due to the fact they may have to wait on payment for their work whereas customers paying up front are a better option. Many insured owners of rigs often cause some payment delay when working thru their claims and insurance companies. I had work done on a previous Montana at Camping World Indianapolis. They never asked me if I bought the rig from CW, if it was an insurance claim, etc. They did it and the rig was repaired. I am becoming more convinced that CW has a great network, responds to customers and are not cheap. Neither is my rig!

DHenry · 06-20-2013, 05:11 AM

And I thought Folsom Lake RV was MOC friendly.

They (most dealers) want anyone and everyone from anywhere to purchase from them but they do not want to service the units that are not bought from them, which does not make good business sense to me.

A happy owner could be a future referral to the dealer even if you did not purchase your unit there.

Excellent service is what really makes a happy customer and an outstanding dealer, which brings back repeat business and referrals.

I do understand that the dealer gets paid less than their normal service rate for warranty work but that is the agreement they made with Keystone to sell their product.

Debbie Asher · 06-20-2013, 06:01 AM

I will be calling Keystone customer service today to see what the policy is. From what I was told from Ed this could be a service department decision and Keystone should know about the policy they have. We purchase our first rig from Folsom Lake RV and just because the second one didn't come from them doesn't mean the third rig wouldn't be bought there.

D and M On The Road · 06-20-2013, 07:12 AM

Yup, what Doug Henry said!!!

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by DHenry

And I thought Folsom Lake RV was MOC friendly.

They (most dealers) want anyone and everyone from anywhere to purchase from them but they do not want to service the units that are not bought from them, which does not make good business sense to me.

A happy owner could be a future referral to the dealer even if you did not purchase your unit there.

Excellent service is what really makes a happy customer and an outstanding dealer, which brings back repeat business and referrals.

I do understand that the dealer gets paid less than their normal service rate for warranty work but that is the agreement they made with Keystone to sell their product.

Flymutt · 06-20-2013, 04:14 PM

Yea, I don't get it because warranty work is for only one year but you'd think a dealer would want all the repair work after the warranty period. By declining the warranty work, I'd think they are potentially rejecting future business. But then again, most of these dealers have more business now than they can handle (at least in my area).

RonD · 06-20-2013, 05:48 PM

Debbie, Camping World in Roseville can take care of Keystone warranty issues, there a very good service facility, will get you in and out. They have done some work on ours.

richfaa · 06-21-2013, 12:31 AM

Yes do call keystone customer service and tell them what happened . Dealers normally do not like warranty work as it pays at a lower rate and can taker some time to pay off. When we are on the road we always call keystone customer service and let them find a nearby dealer and make the arrangements .We have not had a problem.

Debbie Asher · 06-21-2013, 04:47 AM

Thanks Ron. John and I were talking about it and Folsom RV can only get us in on July 2nd and can't look at it for a couple of days after that and then who knows when you will get it back. Folsom is a lot closer about 2 miles from our house and Camping World is about 11 miles we have had some work done before at Camping World and really liked the service. So we are going to cancel the appointment with Folsom RV and call Camping World.

Bigsky3625RE · 06-21-2013, 04:40 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Flymutt

Yea, I don't get it because warranty work is for only one year but you'd think a dealer would want all the repair work after the warranty period. By declining the warranty work, I'd think they are potentially rejecting future business. But then again, most of these dealers have more business now than they can handle (at least in my area).

Yep. Tacoma RV sucks at warranty work and even lies about what they " did".

They lost our business and anyone else I can influence.

Sent an email to head Montana guy a week ago......still no reply.

Do any of these manufacturers or dealers really care about repeat business? Sure don't seem like it.

D and M On The Road · 06-21-2013, 09:34 PM

Debbie, This doesn't really pertain to your situation but thought I'd throw this in there since it happened at the Vacaville, CA CampingWorld which isn't too far from the Roseville/Rocklin CampingWorlds.

I (Margee)was there a few years ago with the Montana and had about $800 dollars worth of work done on it. While the Montana was still in the repair bay, I asked if they could check the tire pressure for me. I didn't like the looks of a couple of the tires and just wanted reassurance they were okay before I got onto I-80 to head home.

They charged me $21 to check the tire pressure.

I went inside to the desk and spoke with a manager who backed up the technician's quote of having to pay to have the tires checked.

I ended up paying the $21. There wasn't anywhere else around the area that I knew of to take the rig and check the tires.

I didn't think of it at the time, but I should have left the Montana there and gone over to the Home Depot or Lowe's which are just a couple of miles from the CampingWorld and bought a gauge and gone back and checked them myself. I would have rather spent the time doing that than even buying a gauge from CampingWorld.

I was pretty mad about the charge and was going to write a letter to CampingWorld but never got around to it.

We'll be interested in hearing how your experience are at the other CampingWorld. That might be our new place for fixing the Montana even though it's about 30 minutes farther from home.

sreigle · 06-30-2013, 02:19 PM

I know a lot of dealers will not service a fifthwheel purchased elsewhere if the owner is from their general geographical area. They figure they didn't get the sale, so take it where you bought it. However, we have found that we have no problem getting service because we are from out of state. None at all.

Our own selling dealer, however, did at one time tell Carol and Al that they would not service theirs because they didn't buy it there. I talked with the owner and he told me his policy is as I stated above. If you live in his area and bought elsewhere, take it elsewhere. But if you're from outside that area, no problem. Bring it in. Subject to fitting into his schedule of course. He talked with his service people and straightened this out. The service folks had just misunderstood his intention.

However, since you live in the area you're probably not going to get any satisfaction from that dealer. Years ago this was discussed here and someone spoke with Keystone. They were told the contracts with the dealerships do not require that they do warranty work or any work on any Montana they don't sell. That's just not included in the contracts. I'd like to see that changed but I doubt it will happen.

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