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10-24-2006, 04:49 AM
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#1
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Seasoned Camper
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Lompoc
Posts: 56
M.O.C. #6426
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Dealers & Warranty Work
Hi Folks
I have just ordered a new Montana 3295 RK. First we looked at a unit at a Dealership about 70+ miles away, they gave us there best price
and trade in for our unit. I then called a Dealer I had done business with before in the LA area about three hrs away, they beat the other deal on the same unit by over $5500 We went ahead and closed the deal.
Now I am reading various posts on this forum, the Dealership we used
does not have a huge following among your posters. ( we did a search and I read posts as far back as I could go)
Ok so now that I did save some money am I stuck with this dealer,as far as problems down the road?
Thanks for any insight, as a new member I also hope I have not stepped on anyones toes, that is why I used no names.
D
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10-24-2006, 05:07 AM
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#2
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Montana Master
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Missiion
Posts: 983
M.O.C. #4766
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Dee - I would suggest that you search the file's and see what other owners have had problems with, I would do a walk through with the dealer you purchased from, even if it take's two days. Don't take delivery of the unit until all the problems are taken care of. Don't take delivery or take it off the lot for ""WE'll fix that in a week"" type of thing.
This way you get all the initial problems taken care of to your satisfaction prior to delivery. One thing I would double check the slide's and make sure they are adjusted correctly. I had no knowledge of this when we picked up ours and wish I would have taken the time so the slide's would have been properly adjusted prior to my leaving the lot. I think most Montana owners have really just found a lot of little things. On the slides after they are open go to the edge of the slide on the inside and see how far from the wall each side is. Mine had a difference of 1 1/2 inches, they should be even. There will be a lot of members that will have helpful suggesstions for you. A person has to shop around for the best deal they can make, and hold that dealer to their obligations of correcting the problems. You don't need to be making a three hour trip on a regular basis, make sure things are corrected before you finish signing the papers and take it off the lot.
Safe Travels JOhn OH WELCOME TO THE FAMILY..
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10-24-2006, 07:03 AM
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#3
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Montana Master
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Lone Tree
Posts: 5,615
M.O.C. #6109
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Dee,
I agree with John - go through it with a fine tooth comb at delivery and once satisfied, drive it away.
You're warranty is through Keystone, not the Dealer. If you have problems later on you should be able to go to the Dealer of your choosing. For common equipment such as dometic or lippert, it doesn't even have to be a Montana Dealer.
We bought from the best negotiated price which was a $10K difference, but I guarantee he never saw the unit again. His service was awful. We ended up taking our Montana to a Mountaineer dealer close to us for the few fixes we needed later.
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10-24-2006, 11:55 AM
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#4
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Montana Master
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Oceanside
Posts: 20,028
M.O.C. #20
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Your local dealer knows you are from his area. When you show up with warranty issues he is likely to ask where you bought it, then tell you to go there for service.
If you are traveling and are away from your hometown, most dealers will take care of you. Let them know you are passing through. Some dealers will only service those they sold but most will service your unit if you let them know you are from out of state/town. At least that's what we've found.
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10-24-2006, 02:39 PM
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#5
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Montana Master
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Down the Road
Posts: 5,627
M.O.C. #889
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Check with your local state laws. Here in Washington it is law that any dealership that sells a specific brand and offers service to their customers for that brand, must also service that brand for anyone. Does not matter if the coach was bought there or not.
Now the catch is, most dealerships have a priority schedule when it comes to service appointments.
1. bought coach from that dealership
2. passing through town
3. bought coach from another dealership
These are the very rules posted in the dealership where I purchased my coach. I feel it is more than fair...
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10-24-2006, 02:41 PM
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#6
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Montana Fan
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Gilbert
Posts: 245
M.O.C. #5430
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Dee, I agree with the others. I too bought from a dealer that was 4 hours away and saved thousands of dollars. I have had lots of issues with my fiver, some little, some not so little, but I fixed them all myself while on the road on my various trips. In every situation when something went wrong, I was no where near my selling dealer, and I wasn't in a position where I could take it in to the local dealer without completely messing up my trips. In my case, it didn't matter if the fiver was under warranty or not, or if the local dealer would work on it or not. Granted, I didn't have any major issues with slides or appliances etc. If that would have been the case I would have been forced to deal with it, but again, I was thousands of miles away from the selling dealer. For the amount of money you saved, you could do an awful lot of repairs and pay for them out of pocket and still be way ahead. Not that you would want to do this, but just emphasizing the point that a dealer is important for some things (major things) but not important enough in my opinion to pay him 5K above and beyond what you paid because he won't do any potential warranty work.
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10-24-2006, 03:17 PM
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#7
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Montana Master
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Lone Tree
Posts: 5,615
M.O.C. #6109
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I think everyone gets too wrapped around the axle on warranty - I mean after all, did the Dealer ever really fix anything under warranty without a fight. Of the few things on mine they did fix, I had to do over because of poor workmanship. Things they would not fix included anything manufactured by others - Dometic - Onan - A&E - which covers about most of it. I spent more time running accross the state to find an "authorized service center" than I care to remember.
Now that the warranty has expired - I'm in heaven! Keystone has taken care of everything major that the Dealer wouldn't touch, and I can go to any service center I want. It changes the picture when you are not in warranty and are a paying customer - the priority list at the service center goes away -
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