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Old 06-07-2014, 02:32 PM   #1
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What is a reasonable warranty repair time?

On our last camping trip (may 16-19) We somehow developed an issue with our black water tank. We had no sewer hook up on site and was planning to stop at the dumping station on the way out. Anyway, as I was raising the front end of the trailer to hitch height water started pouring out from the underside of the trailer by the rear bumper. Long story short, I had determined it was coming from the black tank. The whole underbelly canvas was full of our liquid black waste. I assume the solids are still in the tank. I ended up slicing a few holes in the canvas to drain. On the 20th of May I brought it in to our dealer and reminded them of our extended warranty and showed where in the fine print that the waste system was covered with a $100 deductible. They said they would fix it. From previous experience, they aren't very quick so we emptied the fridge any anything we thought we may need. After one week (May 27) I called and they hadn't looked at the trailer yet. They said it would be another few more days. I called again June 3rd. Their response "We have been in touch with the extended warranty company and they want an offical estimate of the repairs before they authorize it." If I read between the lines they are saying "we haven't looked at your trailer yet". I told them we had a camping trip this friday (june 6), which was a bluff, but I wanted them to pick up the pace and they said we will do our very best. It is now Saturday.
Anyway, I am just looking for other peoples opinon. Is this normal for a dealer? Do these things take this long?

I brought my truck in to the dealer Tuesday night and as they had it booked in first thing Wednesday morning. I got a call by lunch with the exact issue. The part would be in the next day and the truck would be ready to go by lunch. I got a call Thursday about 10am, my truck was ready to go. I know I am comparing apples to oranges here, but how long is too long at the rv dealer? I am going to call the dealer Monday and at this point I think I have 2 options: First, pick up the trailer and do it myself. Or second, call multiple times daily asking if its ready yet and they may get it done just to stop the harassment.

I haven't pulled the canvas yet to see what the issue is, but my guess would be some of the 3" ABS or the valve. I don't suspect its the tank (cracked from winter) as that was our 3rd trip this year and the first 2 trips we had no issues with the black tank.
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Old 06-07-2014, 02:51 PM   #2
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I feel your pain. You have a single issue so I personally feel a week maybe two should be plenty of time. First day is a wash, 2nd or 3rd day they look at it, 4th or 5th to get approval, 6th and 7th day to fix. Throw in a weekend, a Holiday and a touch of a tech that calls in sick and it gets dragged out. Oh yeah and then waiting on parts.

My TT has been in the dealer since May 3rd getting warranty work done. Now I have a number of items. With my dealer the trailer moves from bay to bay depending on what needs to be repaired. So sometimes it sits waiting it's turn in a specific bay. This is frustrating but because unlike a car where one mechanic does it all our rigs need, plumbers, carpenters, electricians, painters and candlestick makers.
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Old 06-07-2014, 03:30 PM   #3
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Is your experience acceptable? NO......but apparently it is typical. I have had my 5th since August 2013 and have tried 3 dealers for service. The dealer I purchased it from was incompetent in every area, the second dealer took a really long time as you describe and the third one did not want my business since I did not buy from them even though they handle Crossroads. I thought would want to earn my future non warranty business but I was wrong. I ended up fixing a few things myself.

I do not understand why all the dealers I have dealt with are so shady. Reading your post and others it seems poor performance is typical. It seems they should want to build business and customer loyalty.

Specifics about dealers is prohibited by forum rules but is there a place to go look up specific feedback about dealers and their service? That would be a great service to be able to select a dealer service center knowing they have a positive reputation for providing competent and professional service at fair rates.
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Old 06-07-2014, 03:41 PM   #4
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Is your experience acceptable? NO......but apparently it is typical. I have had my 5th since August 2013 and have tried 3 dealers for service. The dealer I purchased it from was incompetent in every area, the second dealer took a really long time as you describe and the third one did not want my business since I did not buy from them even though they handle Crossroads. I thought would want to earn my future non warranty business but I was wrong. I ended up fixing a few things myself.

I do not understand why all the dealers I have dealt with are so shady. Reading your post and others it seems poor performance is typical. It seems they should want to build business and customer loyalty.

Specifics about dealers is prohibited by forum rules but is there a place to go look up specific feedback about dealers and their service? That would be a great service to be able to select a dealer service center knowing they have a positive reputation for providing competent and professional service at fair rates.
That is a good idea. Somewhere that you can rate dealers based on certain criteria.
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Old 06-07-2014, 05:50 PM   #5
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Here ya go. Give it a look-see. Not a big data base but you can see what others have said.

http://www.rvservicereviews.com/
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Old 06-07-2014, 08:24 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by mark5w View Post
Here ya go. Give it a look-see. Not a big data base but you can see what others have said.

http://www.rvservicereviews.com/
Thanks. Very interesting. The dealers I dealt with had ratings of "poor".

But I'm curious why this forums rules are so strict about discussing specifics with dealers. I recently read a post that said this forum so not associated with Crossroads so there is no vested interest in protecting dealers. Therefore as a consumer forum, such discussion and information sharing would be most beneficial to the community.
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Old 06-07-2014, 08:41 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by happycampers View Post
On our last camping trip (may 16-19) We somehow developed an issue with our black water tank. We had no sewer hook up on site and was planning to stop at the dumping station on the way out. Anyway, as I was raising the front end of the trailer to hitch height water started pouring out from the underside of the trailer by the rear bumper. Long story short, I had determined it was coming from the black tank. The whole underbelly canvas was full of our liquid black waste. I assume the solids are still in the tank. I ended up slicing a few holes in the canvas to drain. On the 20th of May I brought it in to our dealer and reminded them of our extended warranty and showed where in the fine print that the waste system was covered with a $100 deductible. They said they would fix it. From previous experience, they aren't very quick so we emptied the fridge any anything we thought we may need. After one week (May 27) I called and they hadn't looked at the trailer yet. They said it would be another few more days. I called again June 3rd. Their response "We have been in touch with the extended warranty company and they want an offical estimate of the repairs before they authorize it." If I read between the lines they are saying "we haven't looked at your trailer yet". I told them we had a camping trip this friday (june 6), which was a bluff, but I wanted them to pick up the pace and they said we will do our very best. It is now Saturday.
Anyway, I am just looking for other peoples opinon. Is this normal for a dealer? Do these things take this long?

I brought my truck in to the dealer Tuesday night and as they had it booked in first thing Wednesday morning. I got a call by lunch with the exact issue. The part would be in the next day and the truck would be ready to go by lunch. I got a call Thursday about 10am, my truck was ready to go. I know I am comparing apples to oranges here, but how long is too long at the rv dealer? I am going to call the dealer Monday and at this point I think I have 2 options: First, pick up the trailer and do it myself. Or second, call multiple times daily asking if its ready yet and they may get it done just to stop the harassment.

I haven't pulled the canvas yet to see what the issue is, but my guess would be some of the 3" ABS or the valve. I don't suspect its the tank (cracked from winter) as that was our 3rd trip this year and the first 2 trips we had no issues with the black tank.
If your talking about layzee they had mine 7 mths still not finished. So I grabbed it and said I would drop off in the fall hopefully they can fix for next season. When I asked realistic time to get fixed they said next available spot was mid July
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Old 06-07-2014, 11:44 PM   #8
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I'm not getting a warm/fuzzy with my dealer/repair. On my first trip to Charlotte with my brand new TT the outside fridge panel flew off as it was obviously not secured very well. While in Charlotte at the Coke 600 I called my dealer's service tech and told them what the problem was, even sent them a few pictures...he kept saying it was the hot water heater cover which is located on the back of my rig, not on the passenger side under the awning. I corrected him every time. He said he would put in the warranty paperwork and get a new one ordered. I called back the next day to see what progress had been done. Low and behold, no call had been made to address the warranty, and again, he tried to tell me that it was the hot water heater panel. Then he asked me if my unit was a Zinger (it is a Z-1). I began to worry. Two weeks later, after a few phone calls and a couple trips to dealer without my rig to check on things, still no panel and no light at the end of the tunnel as to when it would be coming in.

I now have another (more serious) problem with the siding bulging out on the side of my unit. I notified dealer, they took pictures of it when my rig was there for minor fixes and said they would get the paperwork done for warranty repair. A week later, no paperwork has been done and obviously nothing else has been done on it either in preparation for me bringing the TT to them to get repaired. All this and my dealer is rated excellent on that little rating page....that may be about to change.
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Old 06-08-2014, 06:44 AM   #9
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I can think of 3 reasons why they aren't in hurry to fix mine or for any dealer to fix in a timely manner. Spring is the busy time of year, it's the black water tank-who really is in a hurry to deal with that and thirdly, warranties to don't pay the full shop rate. When customers pay out of pocket we pay the full shop rate, manufacturers and third party warranties pay much less.
From what I can see I am not the only one in this situation.
When we still had the factory warranty I looked into another crossroads authorized repair centre. This dealer didn't know they were authorized, it took them a week to find that out, then I was told that I must pay out of pocket then send the bill to crossroads. I'm sure that's because I did not buy my trailer there (they had other Thor products) and they wanted the full shop rate, not what crossroads was willing to pay.
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Old 06-08-2014, 08:14 AM   #10
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Originally Posted by mark5w View Post
Here ya go. Give it a look-see. Not a big data base but you can see what others have said.

http://www.rvservicereviews.com/
Another option is the Better Business Bureau. Enter your zip code and then enter "Recreational Vehicle Dealers" in the search field, and it will bring up a list of RV dealerships sorted by distance and whether they are BBB accredited. They have their ratings from A+ to F and you can click the 'complaints' tab and read any complaints from customers. The dealer I use in West Tennessee had zero complaints and is rated A+. Repairs take a while there because they stay booked up, but they do excellent work and they are honest.

http://www.bbb.org/
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Old 06-08-2014, 08:16 AM   #11
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I was told six weeks to LOOK at mine...

I think this is prevalent in the rv industry - at least with Redwood it has been!
sell to you and then it's so long sucker! when it comes to repairs...

BUT, if it's non warranty they can get you in real quick
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Old 06-08-2014, 10:50 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chateau Duke To Go View Post
Thanks. Very interesting. The dealers I dealt with had ratings of "poor".

But I'm curious why this forums rules are so strict about discussing specifics with dealers. I recently read a post that said this forum so not associated with Crossroads so there is no vested interest in protecting dealers. Therefore as a consumer forum, such discussion and information sharing would be most beneficial to the community.

I would suggest that if people want to talk about dealer related issues they post on:
http://www.thorforums.com/forums/
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Old 06-08-2014, 10:59 AM   #13
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Originally Posted by happycampers View Post
I can think of 3 reasons why they aren't in hurry to fix mine or for any dealer to fix in a timely manner. Spring is the busy time of year, it's the black water tank-who really is in a hurry to deal with that and thirdly, warranties to don't pay the full shop rate. When customers pay out of pocket we pay the full shop rate, manufacturers and third party warranties pay much less.
From what I can see I am not the only one in this situation.
When we still had the factory warranty I looked into another crossroads authorized repair centre. This dealer didn't know they were authorized, it took them a week to find that out, then I was told that I must pay out of pocket then send the bill to crossroads. I'm sure that's because I did not buy my trailer there (they had other Thor products) and they wanted the full shop rate, not what crossroads was willing to pay.
I can't quote on rv extended warranty but with other powersports you do get full shop rate. But the problem is they go by manufacturers posted time to fix and you don't make as much on parts. But as a dealer there was more profit in extended warranty work then factory warranty work.
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Old 06-08-2014, 06:34 PM   #14
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I can't quote on rv extended warranty but with other powersports you do get full shop rate. But the problem is they go by manufacturers posted time to fix and you don't make as much on parts. But as a dealer there was more profit in extended warranty work then factory warranty work.
I'm sure there was profit to be made in the initial sale of the extended warranty too. I paid the dealer for the extended warranty, not the warranty provider.
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Old 06-08-2014, 07:31 PM   #15
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I'm sure there was profit to be made in the initial sale of the extended warranty too. I paid the dealer for the extended warranty, not the warranty provider.
On average 100 percent mark up.
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Old 06-09-2014, 03:50 PM   #16
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here is an update: So last tuesday when I spoke to the service girl she said she would try and get it in that afternoon for the official estimate. My response was "good, so it should be ready for our trip this weekend (June 6-8). Her response: "we'll do our very best, and I'll be in touch."
I never heard from her last week so I called this morning. I said "I am just making sure my trailer is ready for pick up today. The last time I came up to pick it up when you claimed it was ready, it was not ready." Her response: "I have been out of the office, so let me check through the paperwork and I'll call you right back."
She did not call me right back. (I'm sure they have a list of excuses and pick one at random for every phone call.)
By 3:30 my wife called and she is not nearly as nice as I am on the phone. The girl told her they are back logged 3 weeks. My wife said "Good it should be going in the shop tomorrow morning as its the 21st day". Her response was: "uh.... Were back logged another 3 weeks...we may not be able to look at it till the end of july."
My wife will be speaking with the owner tomorrow morning. If she can't get through to him on the phone she will be showing up at the dealership very unhappy.

We do have a 2 trips coming up the last 2 weekends of this month, so if they aren't going to fix it I will be bringing it home this weekend and trying to get it ready for the following weekend.

Maybe the warranty companies tell them to let it sit for a while to eat up the clock on warranty. Which is a win-win for the dealer. Give priority the paying customers and when the spring rush slows down the warranty work is still there to keep the techs busy.

At any rate, this service is unacceptable when we are dishing out $40k plus for these units and up here north of the border we have a limited camping season.
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Old 06-09-2014, 04:30 PM   #17
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"By 3:30 my wife called and she is not nearly as nice as I am....."

Careful, you may end up in the dog house :-).

But seriously this is unacceptable. The dealers here in southeastern Louisiana are not any better. What in the world can we as consumers do to get them to step up their game?
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Old 06-09-2014, 04:41 PM   #18
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How frustrating! I've got my fingers crossed, we have a two week trip starting this weekend and my TT is in the dealer right now.
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Old 06-09-2014, 05:13 PM   #19
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[QUOTE=happycampers;79900]The girl told her they are back logged 3 weeks. My wife said "Good it should be going in the shop tomorrow morning as its the 21st day". Her response was: "uh.... Were back logged another 3 weeks...we may not be able to look at it till the end of july."

[QUOTE=Chateau Duke To Go;79901

But seriously this is unacceptable. The dealers here in southeastern Louisiana are not any better. What in the world can we as consumers do to get them to step up their game?[/QUOTE]


This certainly is unacceptable, not to mention completely ridiculous! I'm curious, what do full timers do when this situation arises? Any full timers care to chip in and give a little info on how to get this process sped up at all?
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Old 06-10-2014, 05:04 PM   #20
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Further update: DW called today and vocalized her dissatisfaction very clearly. At first the dealers response was to take it to another dealer/repair centre about 30 mins away as they usually have shorter wait times. DW said: "Do whatever you have to do to have it ready for our next trip June 19th." Dealer offered for us to pick it up and bring it to the other repair facility. DW said: "On your expense!" Dealer: "We can't do that." DW: "Well then you can fix it. We need it by Monday to prepare for our trip." Dealer: "We'll make that our goal and do our best." DW: "You will make that your deadline and get it done!".

Anyway... thats the short version. They have promised it to us by next monday. DW will be phoning everyday checking on the status of the trailer. She is also working on the owner to cover the $100 warranty deductible for all the hassle they have caused us. Our next 2 trips are already booked/paid for. If our trailer still isn't ready, she will be sending those bills to the dealer too!

She also called the other dealer just to get an idea and they have a 2 week back log.

We will see what happens....
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