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Old 03-19-2010, 01:50 PM   #1
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Kudos to Winnebago

Purchased our (new) 2008 Vectra in Jacksonville, FL while at our Snowbird 'Roost'. Returned to the St. Louis area and called the local Winnebago dealer concerning warranty work. First question, "did you purchase the motorhome from us?" -- my answer, 'No', then we can't get you in for 3-4 months?? I asked what if I had purchased from them -- then we can get you in right away??

Called Winnebago and they can get us into the factory service center in April. Just as well, since we'll be sure to have our issues corrected by professionals!
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Old 03-19-2010, 02:07 PM   #2
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Originally Posted by ChiefJohn View Post
Purchased our (new) 2008 Vectra in Jacksonville, FL while at our Snowbird 'Roost'. Returned to the St. Louis area and called the local Winnebago dealer concerning warranty work. First question, "did you purchase the motorhome from us?" -- my answer, 'No', then we can't get you in for 3-4 months?? I asked what if I had purchased from them -- then we can get you in right away??

Called Winnebago and they can get us into the factory service center in April. Just as well, since we'll be sure to have our issues corrected by professionals!
Chief, The biggest complaint I have with Winnebago is with their Dealers. If I'm on the road and have trouble with my Jeep and call a local dealer they don't aske where I purchases it they just fix it, When I have trouble with my Nissan and call for service they don't ask me where I purchased it they just fix it. to a degree I understand the local guys want to sell you a coach but most dealerships in this ecomonmy have little on the lots to look at. Personally I don't plan to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars by looking at a picture then waiting 120 days to get the coach. A company is only as good as it's local representatives, and Winnebago needs to get them in the fold of service and kindness to all Winny customers. Where I purchased it they give me good service, the new guy that just took Winnebago on since I purchased my coach won't give me service quickly because I didn't purchase it thier. Becase they are closer to me I was happy and planned to give them a chance at my next coach, but when they asked me "if I purchased it from them" I said, " No and looks like I never will.

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Old 03-19-2010, 02:15 PM   #3
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'VBUGLES'

Ditto!! I'm not going to name the dealer, but rest assured I will never purchase anything from them in the future. Winnebago needs to get their arms around this dealer service issue before these negative dealers cost them future customers. I voiced my concern to the folks I talked to at Winnebago, but I'm not sure if the information was passed up the chain.
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Old 03-19-2010, 03:08 PM   #4
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I have absolutely NO experience working at a dealership, so I preface this, admitting to my ignorance, but....

I've never understood this. Does Winnebago pay less for work done on warranty issues? Isn't paid work, work? thats paid!??

Or do some dealers have so much work that they cant fit any additional work in? And if thats the case, wouldn't they be able to expand, and make even more money?

Maybe someone who has worked at a dealership can answer this.
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Old 03-19-2010, 04:09 PM   #5
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I took my 2005 Itasca Horizon to the Winnebago dealer in Denver, Colorado. I requested five items be repaired. They botched every repair item. When I questioned their sorry work, they said, "What do you expect, you didn't buy it here." And, I will never buy anything there in the future.

Interestingly, I attempted to purchase my coach there. All they had was a 2004 model and the 2005's had been on the market for several months. I tried to negotiate and they wanted full sticker price for a cash deal with no trade-in.

So, I bought my Itasca Horizon in Lincoln, NE and Leach Camper Sales treated me superbly.
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Old 03-19-2010, 04:21 PM   #6
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Well, at least all dealer service managers are not like that. My local dealer service manager got me in as soon as possible (less than a week) when I showed up with a coach I had not purchased from them. Granted, now that I have a coach purchased from that dealer I can get in faster but we are talking a few days not weeks or months.
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Old 03-19-2010, 04:31 PM   #7
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I know how you feel. We also have a local dealer that sells several brands that ask the same question "DID YOU PURCHASE THE UNIT FROM US?"
This is the first thing out of there mouth.
We will not buy parts, recommend them to others ,or have service work done from this dealer.
I can understand that if you purchased a motorhome from a dealer, you should get the best- fastest service however,the dealer should already know there customers (or have it on file) and not ask such a question to start with. If I had purchased the unit from them I would be the first to let them know.
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Old 03-19-2010, 04:38 PM   #8
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To my way of thinking the weekest link with Winnebago is there dealers. Yes they do have many dealers. Many poor dealers.
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Old 03-19-2010, 07:30 PM   #9
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Same issue with our 2005 Horizon with a 3 month wait together in for service while under warranty. Fridge door fell off (hinge broke) Norcold would only provide parts to dealers and dealer would not take us in for 3 months beccause we didn't buy it there.
Was kind of difficult to buy it there since we were over 3000 miles from home. Does make you question how you utilize your one year warranty, short of staying home the first year.
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Old 03-19-2010, 07:45 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Harry B View Post
Same issue with our 2005 Horizon with a 3 month wait together in for service while under warranty. Fridge door fell off (hinge broke) Norcold would only provide parts to dealers and dealer would not take us in for 3 months beccause we didn't buy it there.
Was kind of difficult to buy it there since we were over 3000 miles from home. Does make you question how you utilize your one year warranty, short of staying home the first year.
I was pulling out of the driveway and the same thing happened. Bottom hinge broke off. I used Gorilla Glue on it. Don't get it on anything else.
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Old 03-19-2010, 07:49 PM   #11
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In 2005 we were in Pennsylvania on a short trip when our microwave/convection oven quit on us. We took the motorhome to Gayle Kline Itasca. The service mgr. overnighted a new oven and
installed it the next day.
In Alaska(2004) our propane detector started acting up. We went to the Winnebago dealership in Fairbanks. The service mgr. checked it out and replaced it with a new one.
Our experience with the Winnebago dealers when we are traveling has always been excellent.
Our experience with Winnebago at the hdqts. has also been excellent.
Good Luck getting your problems fixed.
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Old 03-19-2010, 08:19 PM   #12
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Just tell them, My Dad bought it here just before he passed away and gave it to you. Let the service knucklehead figure that one out.
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Old 03-19-2010, 08:21 PM   #13
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I know there are dealers like those described, but we have managed to miss them in our travels. I bought my coach in Dallas. Most of the service the first couple of years was at a dealer in VA. Over the years we've had it to 2 Winnie dealers in VA, one in AL, 3 in TX including where we bought it, 1 in OK, 1 in WA, and one in NM. We have had factory service twice while at GNR. We have also used several non-Winnie dealers around the country. The ONLY place that has ever mentioned where we bought it was the dealer we bought it from! (...in spite of their not asking the question, the worst service experiences we have had have been Winnie dealerships...)
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Old 03-20-2010, 05:30 AM   #14
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If I remember correctly in order to be a "Dealer of Excellence" a certain percentage of work must be performed on coaches not purchased from that dealership. I know in the Western region the area W.I.T. rep attempts to visit each dealer in his area at least every two years. You may want to take your issue up with the area rep and let him convey it "up the chain".
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Old 03-20-2010, 06:42 AM   #15
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I have had warrenty work done at four different dealers and had no long wait and the work done was fine.
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Old 03-20-2010, 07:22 AM   #16
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We bought our 2004 Winnebago used and decided to take it to the local Winnebago dealer to de-winterize it and do a full check for any problems. We figured it wouldn't hurt to be proactive and try to catch any unknown problems before our daughter's family took it out west. We went to General RV in Wayland Michigan after we made the appointment (one week wait). The "did you buy it here" question was not asked until we pulled it into one of the bays. Since the original owners did buy it there the basic information was already in their computer, which made the paperwork go much faster. They took 5 hours to go over the MH and they checked EVERYTHING! In fact, I was surprised when they did a pressure test by pressurizing the interior and then covered the entire unit in bubbles to check for leaks. Anyone who has ever worked with natural gas and checked for leaks knows what I'm talking about. I was VERY happy with the work and it was very reasonable. The dealership had at least 12 double bays and each had both sides of the bays filled with new MH preps and basic service for older units.
This is the first experience I've had with RV service but can say that the dealership was very professional and that the big question of where I bought it wasn't brought up until my arrival. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that great service can be a major benefit to the sales side of the business. Too bad the other dealerships haven't figured this out yet....
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Old 03-20-2010, 09:57 AM   #17
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Here is what I have found... 1st:Most RV Dealers have a limited number of techs and bays at thier facility, thus many are booked for 2-4 months or longer during peak seasons. 2nd: RV Dealers give the customers that purchase from them the priority service slots, then the non purchasing customers appointments based on availability. 3rd: Manufacturers pay the posted labor rates , but only the amount of time they allow, not neccassarily the amount of time that it takes for the repair.
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Old 03-20-2010, 11:05 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RVforu2today View Post
Here is what I have found... 1st:Most RV Dealers have a limited number of techs and bays at thier facility, thus many are booked for 2-4 months or longer during peak seasons. 2nd: RV Dealers give the customers that purchase from them the priority service slots, then the non purchasing customers appointments based on availability. 3rd: Manufacturers pay the posted labor rates , but only the amount of time they allow, not neccassarily the amount of time that it takes for the repair.
Understand and can appreciate taking care of 'your own' before 'outsiders', but in today's economy every dollar coming in should be welcome. The service/parts departments, in my opinion, carry the overhead for the dealership.
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Old 03-20-2010, 11:30 AM   #19
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I would expect customers that purchased at a dealer to get preferential treatment.

Having said that, and especially if off-warranty, my money is the same color as theirs.

Most importantly, and what is often forgotten... the issue is less "where did I buy my current RV" and more "where will I buy the next one?"

Any salesman can sell me something... it's good service that brings me back regardless if it's an RV, a car, a airline, a plumber or whatever. The smart dealerships give me a reason to return for that future purchase, not punish me for the last one.

Plus, perhaps there's a reason I there now, like I am dissatisfied with the old dealer... an opportunity to steal a customer from the competition is a thing of beauty in the business world.

Been lucky so far...
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Old 03-20-2010, 02:37 PM   #20
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Dean's RV in Tulsa, Ok will certainly do you that way. I tried to buy a 2004 Journey from them in 2004 and had asked the salesman to find out some questions about ordering a specific one and call me back. He never did even though I called twice and left my name and phone number. Finally bought a Meridian from another dealer, who unfortunately sold the business 6 months later and the RV shop was closed. Went to Dean's for some warranty work, was told since I hadn't purchased from them they could only do 3 items ( I had 8). And they told me I would be put last after any of their regular customers, which was 6 weeks later. They kept the coach 3 weeks to do 4 1/2 hours work. Never again. When I questioned this custom they flat told me that when I purchased from them then I'd get preferred service. I think they are kind of getting the cart before the horse, I'll buy from them when and if they treat me right. My brother purchased a TT from them, he got in with a 3 day appointment time and they finished all the work in one afternoon while he waited. And this included pulling up the living room carpet to remove trash left under it.

There's a dealership in Oklahoma City who does the same thing and recently got some kind of Excellence of Service award from Winnegago, which surprised the socks off me.

I questioned Forest City later while there to get the warranty work done and was told they'd heard of this dealer in Tulsa and many others but they had no control over what their dealers did. That's a bunch of hogwash, if the dealers want coaches to sell they'd better do how the manufacturer tells them to treat customers. My dad used to work for a GM dealership and if they wanted GM cars to sell they adhered to the standards GM set down.

As was stated above, car dealerships don't care where you bought the car, labor charges are labor charges, and RV dealerships should be no different. They should be serving Winnebago coaches for Forest City, not just their preferred customers.

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