Warranty no Joke anymore

[Exnavydiver]

We started trying to get our basic warranty service work done around the 2nd of Feb this year. Sun Coast RV in Jax couldn't get us in until mid-March so they referred us to Sky Meadows RV in Starke Fla. They are a mobile service. They sent a tech out to Mayport Naval Station and checked out the rig. The tech got all the info and we went over it three times. 5 days later I called and was told they need more detail, after an hour on the phone they said they would get it all right to Keystone. After a dozen calls over the next 4 weeks I got an email on the 4th of March from Craig at Keystone saying that the repairs were approved and that Sky Meadows just had to order the material. Another dozen calls and more lies from Sky Meadows that everything had been ordered and all that they needed was the measurements of the broken d/n shade. This morning I get a call from Sky Meadows saying they haven't ordered anything because they were waiting for some check to pay for the material.. With this on top of the black tank problems I am at my wits end. I have gone through Keystone and tried to be civil with everybody but today tore it. Needless to say we will not be getting any warranty work done in Starke, Fla. I just got a call from my home dealer back in Wisconsin and they want to help any way they can but we aren't ready to head back to the frozen tundra just yet. Pardon my venting but I need to unload somewhere before I do something nasty. This is not the stress free trip we had last year, it has gotten way out of hand. We are doing some re-evaluating of full timing and of even RVing in general. Neither of us need this stress so maybe we should find another way to enjoy our retirement. After the last three weeks I am ready for a stroke... Dave and Betsy

[Jolu]

Dave,
I have been reading your postings with interest and can certainly feel your frustration. Knowing how busy it gets in the sunbelts during Jan, Feb, and March I think this is part of the problem getting you in the shop. I think most dealers try to get their customers they sold units to in as soon as they can as a good will toward their customer. Then all the other warranty work is scheduled in as permitted.

I think if I were in your situation I would make some calls and check out dealers further removed from your area and see if they could work me in. Since you are living in your rig for an extended time they may be willing to help right away. Apparently in your area and the FL area dealers just have to much work. It may be worth driving someplace else for the repair.

All of us wish for you some help with your Monty warranty work as soon as possible. All of us would probably be as frustrated as you are if we had the black tank problem. None of us needs the elevated stress levels. I am sure in the end all your warranty issues will be taken care of by Keystone.

JB Former USN Airdale

[racerjoe]

I hate to say this again, but I would be contacting the BBB with my complaints. Are there any RV Manufacter organizations? If there is, they would also be on my contact list. You should not have to put up with this non-customer service. You bought a so called quality product and you EXPECT to have proper service for it. I keep saying this over and over again. You spend your hard earned money for this and the factories are glad to take it( I am not only talking about Keystone) but when it comes time to stand up or shut up they ignore you by not taking care of your needs. You do not put up with this with warranty issues on the truck you paid as much or more for. So why do you have to put up with this. The RV industry is out of hand, and needs some serious controls put on it. Some people may not like what I say, but it is going to come to that. Just like auto manufacturers, ended up with the lemon law,RV's may just have to be the next. ( I also vent) it feels good sometimes.

[Mrs. CountryGuy]

Dave,

I sorta agree with Jolu here, being in the southern tier of states in Jan, Feb and March with all the other Winter Texans and Snow Birds, getting stuff fixed is a wait in line affair. Nope that does not help ya.

Other than the black tank and the mentioned shade, I am sorry, I don't remember what the issues are. SIGHH, old clouded brain of mine.

The black tank issue is very stressful, NO DOUBT about it. However, gotta say, that the shade is something that I would not let stress me. For ME, only talking about ME, a shade would be one of those "don't let the small stuff bother ya" issues. Pull the shade down and forget it. But, we all do handle stress differently.

Al and I have had 5 different campging units since 1972, tent, popup, 2 hard sided travel trailers and Tana. The popup and one of the hard sided TT and Tana were all purchased new. Have to say the first year of ownership for all these new units was NOT fun. That is one reason I don't look forward to buying another unit, I hate that stress. Once we got the major stuff fixed, played with a lot of the other stuff, put a few bumps and bruises on her, Al relaxed, I relaxed, and we attempt to shake off the small stuff and pay for insurance for the big. That said, fixing stuff is such a hassle. NOT FUN!

Again, none of this will help you at all. Good luck with your repairs.

[Exnavydiver]

Lemme see if I can get them all that Sky Meadows RV was supposed to fix. Conv/micro doesn't work in convection mode, 3 broken compartment latches, two light fixtures broken and falling apart, One 12 volt light lense fell and shattered, Gas oven thermostat bad, shower door seal gone and leaking, floor in under dining table flexing 1.5 inches,DVD stops in mid movie, fireplace light rheostat out, day night shade bad, W/D door fell off pins, counter cracked from sink out 10 inches, drawer under couch slide broken off, most of the D/N cord anchor screws stripped. I think that is pretty much a full list. There may be other stuff but I can't seem to remember them all at the moment. Will look for the list... Dave and Betsy

[Icehouse]

Dave, would Keystone authorize any camping world to do the work? I know you mentioned the former Bill Waits in Pooler doing the black tank work? Could they help out on this other mess? There's also a camping world in Kissimee or Myrtle Beach. Maybe one of the places up near Warner Robbins, GA. There are a good bit of RV dealers out there. Geez, I really feel for you. Sorry about the trouble y'all are having. Vent here anytime. Sure made me feel a lot better when we were going through our black tank drama.
Tammy

[Mrs. CountryGuy]

Yep, Dave, that is quite the list.

Some of that would be small stuff, but, others, surely are not. Have you considered calling any of the vendors?? Seriously, you might get better action.

Have another cool one?? SIGHH

[Exnavydiver]

Granted a lot of the stuff is minor but the oven and the microwave/ convection are serious because Betsy gets rather angry when she ties to bake cookies and neither oven will get up to temp. She also likes to bake casseroles and they don't do well when the ovens don't reach temp. The DVD is not serious just a pain in the a--. We do Blockbuster in place of Netflix and turn them at a local blockbuster for new ones. So we do use the DVD player a lot and it gets to be a pain to have to stop in the middle and reset the unit, then find the scene we were watching. I really don't care that much about the lights and stuff it is just that we paid for a functioning rig and didn't get one. My warranty lady from Wisconsin where we bought this rig called this morning asking how things were going, boy did she get an ear full. I sent her the list and she will get back to me, I hope... Dave and Betsy

[richfaa]

I feel your frustration. Had some of the same frustrations last year while wintering in Az. It is tough when you are away from your reliable selling dealer.We had a broken D/N shade last month.called the vendor and they sent out the repair kit and instructions..not a problem for Helen to fix. Had a black tank leak a couple of weeks ago ..Called the vendor they told me how to fix it and what to use and I did that. We will have the black tank replaced when we get home either at our reliable dealer or at the Fall rally. We also do have a extended warranty.
I know you want to have the warranty issues corrected with no stress to yourself and so do I..however being on the road has some disadvantages in being away from everything and we may have to jump in and make temp repairs, if we can... till we can get into more friendly territory.

Example..We had many things go wrong as a result of a slight electrical melt down in Az Last winter. With the help of Keystone, helpful dealers when we could find one, vendors and mobile repair guys we managed to make temp repairs that got us through the winter and when we returned home we spent 4 days at the service center putting the 3400 together again. Such is life on the road...

[Exnavydiver]

Rich, look at it this way, your at Dizzy World for free. What could be better than that? My home dealer service lady told me that the tank won't be patched, it will be replaced. But if we still have to wait another two weeks for the new tank to show up I would hope that they could do a quick patch job so we can live in the rig for the next week or so till the stuff is delivered. I am getting tired of using the toilet till it is full than going out and starting the power flush then flushing the toilet followed by two or three full to the top toilet flushes, then another half hour leaving the power flush on. We have gotten most of the stink out of the belly but it is still dripping... Dave and Betsy

[Mrs. CountryGuy]

Voy, Dave, me is confused, AGAIN

Al does that toilet pull, flusher on, several times, etc. I think the way you describe at least once a week, maybe more. That is why we have the flusher thingy??

I know I am missing something here, just not sure what it is.

[Exnavydiver]

Carol, my black tank has a split in the center of the bottom, if I leave anything in it it will seep into the underbelly and start stinking very badly again. So with that said I leave the black tank dump valve open and use the toilet till full then start power flush and then flush the toilet. Full toilet flushes, fill to just short of overflow and then dump so it pushes all the nasty stuff out... Dave

[sreigle]

Oh, man, Dave, that sucks. Have you called Keystone to explain your displeasure with this dealer's service and to see if there's another dealer you can use? This sounds like the classic dealer problem, not Keystone's, unless I'm missing something. I wish there was something I could do to help.

I wonder if a conference call between Keystone, that dealer, and you would possibly help get things on track.

[Exnavydiver]

Steve, it wasn't a dealer it was a mobile service that a dealer sent me to. And until today I thought a reputable service. They didn't order any of the warranty parts because they have to pay up front to Keystone because they don't pay their bills. I didn't find this out till today. I have called Keystone, emailed Keystone and my home dealer and even thrown my 12 inch cresent wrench 80 yards into the field next to us. Now I just have to pack up tonight and tomorrow so I can be at CW at 0800 Thursday for the black tank problem.. Dave

[snfexpress]

Why, if the parts are being supplied by Keystone, gratis, would anyone care if the mobile people didn't pay their bills? Am I missing something here?

[hazmic]

If I was down there we could say the h#&l with this and go diving. Get your mine off of the problem for a few hours. Good luck with the fixes that need to be done. It gets madding for sure.

[Exnavydiver]

Mike, that is what the girl said to me this morning, that they hadn't ordered any of the parts because they were waiting for a check so they could pay for the material. I didn't wait for anything else I just blew up and ripped her a new A--. Canceled the whole job and emailed Keystone with the explanation of why I canceled the job and that they should drop them from the list of authorized service centers...
Dave and Betsy

[Waynem]

Dave,
On the black tank, have you tried that "Magic Putty?" It's supposed to repair anything. I found some in Wally World and have it on hand just in case.

In any case, I hope you get everything taken care of by Keystone soon.

Good Luck.

[Joe-n-Doe]

Dave,

I know this won't make your feel any better, but yesterday afternoon I dropped the K9HAUS off at Sun Coast in Jax for pre-trip service (made the appointment in early Feb). Between getting new rigs that have sold ready for their PDI and other service calls they are up to their eye balls. With all the phone call interruptions it took over 30 minutes to get my service ticket written up. The earliest any new service call is being scheduled was April 21st.

[brenkco]

I find this warranty thread interesting. When we were 1st looking @ the Montana at an RV show, the factory rep encouraged us to buy from a local dealer. His point was that it was important to have that relationship in place for service and warranty work.

That said, when we started seriously shopping, we started negotiations with our local dealer using some pricing we found on the net from dealers through out the county. The dealer made it clear that they service their own customers first. They made us an attractive offer but the service issue (and attitude) was one that struck me at the time.

Putting these two things together along with Dave's experience tells me that the selling dealer has some sort of ownership in providing the warranty service. It looks as if the RV industry (or at least Keystone) does not function like the auto industry when it comes to this type of service.

I understand that most service departments are dealing with certain backup time and Brad's point is well taken. It does lead me to question the strength of the dealer network and responsiveness to warranty issues. Perhaps this has a great deal to do with the vast number of suppliers of the components that make up the RV...no excuse...but perhaps part of the problem.

I wonder what Keystone does or doesn't do to monitor the performance of their dealers when it comes to these issues.