Itasca vs Winnebago warranty.

[Texasranger]

Ive been told by Camping World in New Braunfels,Tx that they can't do warranty work on my new Winnebago Journey as they are franchised for Itasca only.

Is this correct..normal.

I can take my wife's Buick..a GM product..to the local Chevy dlr for warranty??

[mel s]

Originally Posted by Texasranger

Ive been told by Camping World in New Braunfels,Tx that they can't do warranty work on my new Winnebago Journey as they are franchised for Itasca only.
Is this correct..normal.
I can take my wife's Buick..a GM product..to the local Chevy dlr for warranty??

Texasranger
I suggest you contact Winnebago Industries, (who made every Itasca), and ask them where to get warranty work done.
Contact Winnebago Industries | Call, Mail, or Visit Winnebago
Mel
'96 Safari

[rk911]

Originally Posted by mel s

Texasranger
I suggest you contact Winnebago Industries, (who made every Itasca), and ask them where to get warranty work done.
Contact Winnebago Industries | Call, Mail, or Visit Winnebago
Mel
'96 Safari

agree. seems like you should be able to take any Winnebago product to any Winnebago Industries dealer/service center but who knows? prior to Winnebago dropping the Itasca nameplate my dealer was an "Itasca dealer" as far as new motorhomes were concerned but he sold both Winnebago and Itasca used RVs and the shop was servicing both the Winnebago and Itasca nameplates. I know because I saw it with my own eyes. this could be an ill-informed service writer at CW or some sort of weird contract between CW and Winnebago Industries. please let us know what you learn.

[Hikerdogs]

Originally Posted by Texasranger

Ive been told by Camping World in New Braunfels,Tx that they can't do warranty work on my new Winnebago Journey as they are franchised for Itasca only.

Is this correct..normal.

I can take my wife's Buick..a GM product..to the local Chevy dlr for warranty??

If the dealer is franchised for Itasca only I doubt they would have the necessary information available to find the correct parts and labor rates for a Winnebago branded product.
As for having warranty work on a Buick done at a Chevrolet dealership it's possible if the dealer sells both brands. However if they are strictly a Chevrolet dealership I doubt they would even consider working on another brand car.

At some point in time Winnebago and Itasca dealers will be one in the same. That being said the transition won't take place over night. Depending on the details of the individual franchises Winnebago may need to buy out some dealerships or wait for several years for the agreement to expire. Once the transition is complete a number of dealers will likely no longer be in business. However during the transition period it's not likely many dealerships are going to invest in the infrastructure, equipment, or inventory to service motorhomes they don't sell unless they have inside information that guarantees they will be one of the survivors.

As a side note over the years Winnebago Industries has made a number of interesting franchise agreements. We have a dealer in our area that only holds the franchise to sell Class C Winnebago motorhomes. They don't sell any Itasca products, however they hold another franchise from a different company for Class A motorhomes only. They do not sell or service Class C motorhomes from that brand.

[edgray]

Winnebago Industries has stopped branding ANY products as Itasca. There won't be any more purely Itasca dealers as time moves forward. They will either become WBGO dealers or start selling other builders products or shut down.

[mel s]

Originally Posted by Hikerdogs

If the dealer is franchised for Itasca only I doubt they would have the necessary information available to find the correct parts and labor rates for a Winnebago branded product.

Hikerdogs
All Itasca RVs were built and branded "Itasca" by Winnebago.
(A rose is still a rose no matter what Winnebago calls it).

[Hikerdogs]

Originally Posted by mel s

Hikerdogs
All Itasca RVs were built and branded "Itasca" by Winnebago.
(A rose is still a rose no matter what Winnebago calls it).

It's no different than GM, Toyota, Honda, Ford, or any other automobile manufacturer. GM doesn't supply a Chevrolet dealer with the information and parts used on Cadillac's or Buick's. Neither do any of the other manufacturers provide information or parts for the other brands of cars they build.

In time it will happen because of the elimination of the Itasca brand. This is the first year of the transition and the dealers still only sell and do warranty service on the brands they are franchised for.

[JBP]

I have the same situation in Pharr Texas. The dealer is franchised as a Winnebago dealer and not an Itasca dealer. So my new Cambria warranty work has to be done in Austin Texas. Contact Winnebago. For guys like us they work directly with us to minimize in conveyance. They have been very helpful.

[peterson]

This makes no sense at all. Winnebago and Itasca are the same thing. Same parts. Same design. Same everything. Yes, the colors are different but that's all.

[mel s]

Originally Posted by Hikerdogs

It's no different than GM, Toyota, Honda, Ford, or any other automobile manufacturer. GM doesn't supply a Chevrolet dealer with the information and parts used on Cadillac's or Buick's. Neither do any of the other manufacturers provide information or parts for the other brands of cars they build.

Hikerdogs
Good shops don't need information or parts from, (or the permission of), the manufacturer of a RV to fix things.

No information or parts have been available from SMC, (Safari Motorcoach Corporation), the manufacturer of my coach, since '02..... when SMC was acquired by Monaco Coach... sold to Navistar International, (2009)... then to Allied Specialty Vehicles, (now REV Group Inc.), in 2013.

Mel
'96 Safari, 148k miles

[Hikerdogs]

Originally Posted by peterson

This makes no sense at all. Winnebago and Itasca are the same thing. Same parts. Same design. Same everything. Yes, the colors are different but that's all.

It may not make sense to you, but it makes perfect sense to the dealers. Put yourself in their situation.

Colors and fabrics are the only differences since 2013. Before that there were dozens if not hundreds of differences. A business isn't going to invest in infrastructure, parts and equipment without some guarantee of being able to recoup the investment and make a profit.

How much additional service work is a dealer going to realize by adding the inventory and infrastructure necessary to do the job? In all probability there will be minimal increase in volume, with most of that being low paying warranty work. It would take years to recover the investment let alone generate enough income to make a profit.

Given that Winnebago expects to integrate the Winnebago and Itasca brands into a single system within 2 years there very few dealers that are willing to make the investment.

Rather than have 2,500 mom and pop dealerships they are looking to have 1,500 dealerships that sell and service everything they manufacture. None of the 1,000 dealerships that are in danger of being eliminated will make the investment, and the remaining dealers won't take the plunge until they are assured that they can remain profitable.

[Hikerdogs]

Originally Posted by mel s

Hikerdogs
Good shops don't need information or parts from, (or the permission of), the manufacturer of a RV to fix things.

No information or parts have been available from SMC, (Safari Motorcoach Corporation), the manufacturer of my coach, since '02..... when SMC was acquired by Monaco Coach... sold to Navistar International, (2009)... then to Allied Specialty Vehicles, (now REV Group Inc.), in 2013.

Mel
'96 Safari, 148k miles

No they don't, but they do need permission from the manufacturer to do the work if they expect the manufacturer to pay for it. The OP specifically stated he has a "new" 2016 Journey. New being the operative word.

If the customer is willing to pay for the work they might consider doing it. However there have been several posts over the years where a customer has "authorized" a dealer or independent shop to do work and expected the manufacturer to pay the tab. In almost every case the manufacturer has denied the claim.

[JBP]

I did not say that it made sense. In Texas for motor coaches it is the fact. I do know that when I take my Lincoln in it goes across the street to the Ford dealer to have all work done on it. But both dealerships are owned by the same person. I have checked with Winnebago and they agree with what the dealership is saying. This Winnebago dealer is 8 miles from my front door and they can not do the warranty work on an Itasca motor coach. The nearest Itasca dealership is over 200 miles away.

[Gordon Dewald]

Originally Posted by Hikerdogs

No they don't, but they do need permission from the manufacturer to do the work if they expect the manufacturer to pay for it. The OP specifically stated he has a "new" 2016 Journey. New being the operative word.

If the customer is willing to pay for the work they might consider doing it. However there have been several posts over the years where a customer has "authorized" a dealer or independent shop to do work and expected the manufacturer to pay the tab. In almost every case the manufacturer has denied the claim.

I contacted WGO for a small issue that was not worth taking to the local dealer who expected us to leave the coach for an extended time. The same dealer provided the name of a mobile tech who would do the work. Service at WGO was willing to have the mobile unit do the work and pay for it but stated they preferred to have the work done by a WGO dealer. The would not warranty any work done by the third party.

[Sue46]

The agreements dealers have with mfgs. make no sense. If there were a lot of dealers fine, but there aren't. Our local dealer will only service MH that are bought there. Friends of our found this out the hard way. MH's are for travel yet the mfgs. think we should always stay at home in case we need some work.

Years ago we had a GM Surburban, we moved to a different city and the Chevy dealer would not service it, no GM dealers within a reasonable distance. Same vehicle, just like Winnebago and Vista, just a different label but the underlying vehicle and components are the same.

Never had a problem taking our Lexus to the Toyota dealer.

The Surburban was the last American made vehicle we bought for daily use.

[Gordon Dewald]

It used to be about territories. Winnebago gave exclusive areas to each dealer then created another brand to insert more dealers. To keep the separation I am sure WGO would not authorize one brand to service warranty on the other.

The brand separation is going away so it will interesting to see what happens. A call to Customer Service to see if you can get warranty on you coach at the other brand store may be in order. They seem to be very common sense in Service. I have had great experiences with them.

[Hikerdogs]

Originally Posted by Sue46

The agreements dealers have with mfgs. make no sense. If there were a lot of dealers fine, but there aren't. Our local dealer will only service MH that are bought there. Friends of our found this out the hard way. MH's are for travel yet the mfgs. think we should always stay at home in case we need some work.

Years ago we had a GM Surburban, we moved to a different city and the Chevy dealer would not service it, no GM dealers within a reasonable distance. Same vehicle, just like Winnebago and Vista, just a different label but the underlying vehicle and components are the same.

Never had a problem taking our Lexus to the Toyota dealer.

The Surburban was the last American made vehicle we bought for daily use.

The situation you are sighting isn't part of the Winnebago agreement, but rather something initiated by the dealer. Unfortunately Winnebago didn't include a clause in the franchise agreement mandating that the dealer service motorhomes bought elsewhere.

We've run into this in our area also. When we were in the process of purchasing our first motorhome the local dealer tried to use the "if you don't buy it here don't expect to get it serviced here" scenario as leverage for a sale. They were over $5,000.00 more expensive than the next closest bid. When I questioned the price I was told "That's the price you pay for having the privilege of getting it serviced locally ". Needless to say we didn't like the attitude or the price and purchased elsewhere.

The tactic didn't work well on many people. The company went bankrupt a few years later. They're back again with new management and different product lines. Apparently none of the other manufacturers associated with the bankrupt company liked their attitude either. None of the previous, suppliers would enter into a new franchise agreement

[RV Vagabond]

Originally Posted by edgray

Winnebago Industries has stopped branding ANY products as Itasca. There won't be any more purely Itasca dealers as time moves forward. They will either become WBGO dealers or start selling other builders products or shut down.

I just bought a 2017 Itasca Solei and it says Itasca on all the paperwork. They just mislabled it as Winnebago on the front cap. That's what they call "phasing out" which started with the 2016's and from what I have heard will still take a few years more. I just hope I do not need warranty work as it will be hard to find an Itasca dealer while traveling.

[Gordon Dewald]

Originally Posted by RV Vagabond

I just bought a 2017 Itasca Solei and it says Itasca on all the paperwork. They just mislabled it as Winnebago on the front cap. That's what they call "phasing out" which started with the 2016's and from what I have heard will still take a few years more. I just hope I do not need warranty work as it will be hard to find an Itasca dealer while traveling.

I suggest if you need warranty work you call WGO customer service and see where the closest dealer is. I have had them arrange with the dealer to have the work done. When I got to the dealer all of the work was authorized.

I was given several options to take it to but in the end decided to return to our dealer (Lichtsinn) because we really like the service and the way we (and everyone we talk to) are treated.