Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 12-01-2007, 05:02 AM   #1
Winnebago Master
 
RickO's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Litchfield Park, Arizona
Posts: 656
I've been reasonably pleased with my new coach except for several wty items which my dealer has not yet been able to resolve. I am now in Palm Springs for the winter and want to contact Winnie directly about these but wanted to solicit advice on what I should ask for an what I should expect. I'm very near my 15,000 mile wty limit so need to make the next shot a good one. My remaining issues are:

1) Windshield wipers need a new bellcrank since the original wasn't tightened properly ans stripped out. My dealer blamed the factory for sending the wrong part when I had it in to be fixed. When I had the coach at the factory for service last summer they also had a shot at fixing it but simply replaced the motor instead.

2) 3M Front Mask was installed with water spots beneath it. My dealer blamed the factory for twice sending the wrong mask both times I've had it in to be fixed.

3) A seal has failed on one of my large, double pane windows.

We are now pretty much full timing and the coach is our home. My next step is to call Winnie but does anyone have advice on what I should ask of them? Will they recommend a dealer near me and ensure that the right parts are going to be available so I could get my coach back the same day? Would they send someone to my site to fix the problems? Would they extend the wty period on these particular issues until I am able to get the coach back to my dealer?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!
__________________
Rick, Nancy, Peanut & Lola our Westie Dogs & Bailey the Sheltie.

2007 Itasca Ellipse 40FD
RickO is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-01-2007, 05:02 AM   #2
Winnebago Master
 
RickO's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Litchfield Park, Arizona
Posts: 656
I've been reasonably pleased with my new coach except for several wty items which my dealer has not yet been able to resolve. I am now in Palm Springs for the winter and want to contact Winnie directly about these but wanted to solicit advice on what I should ask for an what I should expect. I'm very near my 15,000 mile wty limit so need to make the next shot a good one. My remaining issues are:

1) Windshield wipers need a new bellcrank since the original wasn't tightened properly ans stripped out. My dealer blamed the factory for sending the wrong part when I had it in to be fixed. When I had the coach at the factory for service last summer they also had a shot at fixing it but simply replaced the motor instead.

2) 3M Front Mask was installed with water spots beneath it. My dealer blamed the factory for twice sending the wrong mask both times I've had it in to be fixed.

3) A seal has failed on one of my large, double pane windows.

We are now pretty much full timing and the coach is our home. My next step is to call Winnie but does anyone have advice on what I should ask of them? Will they recommend a dealer near me and ensure that the right parts are going to be available so I could get my coach back the same day? Would they send someone to my site to fix the problems? Would they extend the wty period on these particular issues until I am able to get the coach back to my dealer?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!
__________________
Rick, Nancy, Peanut & Lola our Westie Dogs & Bailey the Sheltie.

2007 Itasca Ellipse 40FD
RickO is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-01-2007, 05:17 AM   #3
Winnebago Master
 
tomsm's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: SW Florida
Posts: 773
Rick,

I had a coupe of items that failed near the end of my warranty. Contacted Winnie and they put it "in my file". When I was later able to get to my dealer, they were covered with no problem - just a quick phone call from my dealer to Winnie. Also, since your first 2 problems are already documented as having failed during warranty, there should be no problem getting them fixed later. However, this is only based on my experience and I definitely think a phone confirmation from Winnie would be best.
__________________
Tom
'04 Journey 36G - Cat C7
'04 Honda CR-V
tomsm is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-01-2007, 09:03 AM   #4
Winnebago Master
 
John_Canfield's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Back at the ranch
Posts: 2,041
Perhaps your dealer is blaming Winnebago for their performance issues?

We always assume we will have less than ideal service experience at every dealership we use. When we have a good experience, we are surprised, delighted and usually become repeat customers.

If necessary, we are prepared to drive for hundreds of miles to find a quality service experience; if you happen upon one in your local area, consider yourself extremely fortunate.

We were either going to use Freightliner San Antonio (60 miles from home) or Freightliner in Phoenix (hundreds of miles away) for our routine chassis maintenance. Freightliner Phoenix had a great reputation and San Antonio didn't. Guess which one we used? Granted, we were going to be in Tucson for a rally, but we were still prepared to drive where ever we needed to get quality work done.

This scenario is why Winnebago factory service is so popular - you can get quality and timely repairs done.

You can use RV Service Reviews (Google it) to do some homework about what others have reported about dealers across the country.

About parts...

This is another extremely frustrating element of getting things repaired. Typically the way it works at most dealerships is you:

1. Make a service appointment
2. Show up for your appointment
3. At some point, the technican actually begins to diagnose your problem
4. Parts are ordered
5. Days or weeks pass and your parts finally arrive
6. Technican installs parts
7. If the tech got lucky, or is competent, part cures problem, if not, go to #3 above

Getting a dealership to order parts in advance is extremely difficult. If they order a part in advance based on your analysis and that isn't the cure, the dealership eats the cost of the part. Sometimes it's a no-brainer like a bad window. They still might want to actually look at the coach for themselves before they order the window.

There are lots of mobile RV repair techs around and they of course make "house calls." I have never heard of a dealer with roaming repair techs.

Give Winnebago a call Monday and discuss the issues you have raised on the forum. I have found them to be very easy to do business with and I'm sure you will also.
__________________
--John

2005 Horizon 40AD, 2005 Jeep Liberty CRD
John_Canfield is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-01-2007, 09:27 AM   #5
Winnebago Owner
 
Carnles's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Cumming, GA
Posts: 80
I agree with John about pre-ordering repair parts. I have had several minor repairs in which I was able to accurately diagnose the fault and suggest the needed part but the dealer where we get our service done (and where we bought our Winnie) would not order the part until their techs agreed with my recommendation. I am still having to go back and forth with them about the hand held radio charger...slot #3 does not work so that radio keeps going dead but they keep replacing the radio itself. Maybe during the next service visit they will finally agree with me. When my warranty period runs out I guess I will be able to "cut out the middle man".

And I also agree with John in that it helps if you are willing (and able) to drive somewhere to get service. I have been disappointed several times in service and/or customer service levels. If you find a good service spot, stick with it.
__________________
Carroll and Leslie White

Retired Navy (ETCS/SW/AW)
Carnles is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-01-2007, 09:35 AM   #6
Winnie-Wise
 
Fakrwee's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Carlsbad, Ca.
Posts: 310
Quote"Would they extend the wty period on these particular issues until I am able to get the coach back to my dealer?"Quote

Hi RickO. I had a similar problem this year on my trip to Alaska. I had almost reached the 15,000 mi. wty. limit and by the time I got back home to Ca. I would be way over.

I called Winnebago and talked with a service advisor. He were very helpful and asked me to e-mail him a list of the fix it items and assigned me a case #. I then could take my MH in without problems by giving the dealer the case #. I got back home with 17,000 mi. and had no problems getting everything fixed.

On a side note, I had taken delivery of the MH with 2,100 on it and didn't realize Wty. starts at 0 when you take delivery of the MH. This might be your case too. Check it out.

Good luck
Tom
__________________
2007 Itasca Suncruiser 33V
2009 Ford Flex Ltd. AWD Fa. Toad
2010 Jeep Rubicon offroad Toad
Fakrwee is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-01-2007, 12:37 PM   #7
Winnebago Master
 
RickO's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Litchfield Park, Arizona
Posts: 656
Thanks all for the rapid replies. This is what I needed. I'll call Winnie Monday and make sure we get this documented. I too had 2100 "delivery miles" on my coach when I took delivery but since I'm staying put here in SoCal for a few months I should be able to arrange for an appointment in the Phoenix area when I move that way in February.

Although it was not my intent to complain about my dealer, it is disappointing to get the run around from them since that is where I purchased the coach. A big part of their sales pitch was how well they take care of their customers post-sale and that it's really hard to get service appointments at a dealer if one doesn't purchase the new coach from them. I knew this had to be only partly true but still paid at least $5K more for my coach than I could have gotten it for out of state... primarily to establish the relationship.

Oh well. I was told early on that it would take one full year to get the bugs worked out of a new coach and that's turning out to be about right.

Thanks again everyone!
__________________
Rick, Nancy, Peanut & Lola our Westie Dogs & Bailey the Sheltie.

2007 Itasca Ellipse 40FD
RickO is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-01-2007, 12:54 PM   #8
Winnebago Owner
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Full Time on the Road
Posts: 99
Hi Rick...We will be back over to The TT/NACO Desert Palms on the 5th....If you are there hope to meet you.

Might the Dealer next door to the NACO Preserve have a service dept. that could look your rig over and order the parts for you and get them put in some day while you are right next door?

You should contact Winnie Service to get a Case Number as you said. At least the problems will be documented. Also, Winnie might reccommend a Service Shop to you.

Good Luck
__________________
Capt. Chet

Full Time 2003 Journey DL
CaptChet is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-01-2007, 05:26 PM   #9
Winnebago Master
 
Duner's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Camarillo, CA
Posts: 548
Rick,
When selecting the service center that will perform the warranty work....

1) I would be a quite concerned about the experience of the tech that is going to install the 3M mask. I believe there is a good deal of skill and training to get the film on correctly so that it doesn't look even worse that what you have now. I would talk to the tech directly that will be doing the work. Assess his level of experience, what's the process to get the old stuff off, and the techniques used to get profession results.
2) Giant RV is next door to 1000 Trails and that would be very convenient to shuttle back and forth. And if you had to stay out a night or two, Motel 6 and Comfort Inn is next door on the other side of Giant RV.
3) You might consider using RVServiceReviews.com (LINK) to confirm the past performance of the service center you pick. Giant RV in Colton, Corona, and Lake Elsinore all were given a "poor" rating. No feedback on Giant RV in Palm Desert, so be extra careful if you go there. I've bought 2 Winnies from Altmans in Baldwin Park and had good experiences thru the years. Altmans Winnebago in Colton has a couple of good ratings. If you wait to go to Phoenix area in Feb, you may find that they are really booked up into the future because of all the snow birds visiting. Palm Desert or Colton may have more time available now.

You'll find it's very satisfying when you do your homework first and get good results 2nd.
I'll be at 1000 Trails in Palm Springs Jan 6-8, maybe we'll see ya.

Good luck,
Duner
__________________
Bill & Helen, Last of the Chieftains, 2004 39T, W22, UltraPower, Banks Headers, Koni's, Safe-T-Plus, SMI Stay-n-Play, 2017 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid towed 4-down
https://www.winnieowners.com/forums/...-picture97.jpg
Duner is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Getting work done at CDI in Forest City mjeffrey Winnebago General Discussions 13 10-08-2017 08:55 AM
HELP GETTING Tv IN NEW VIEW TO WORK MARBEV Winnebago Class C Motorhomes 16 03-10-2017 09:10 AM
Just Completed Flat Screen Conversion Norton Tech | Toys and Gear 27 09-22-2009 10:53 PM
Are Slides Under Coach or Chasis Wty? RickO General Maintenance and Repair 6 12-27-2008 04:23 PM

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Winnebago Industries or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 07:08 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.