A little irked with Winnebago

[Bigkat]

I purchased the coach in the latter part of last August.
I liked the last Adventurer I had and that influenced my decision to buy Winnebago again. I bought new to avoid any problems, or if there were any, I figured they would be rectified expediently, without undue hassle.
First thing I had to do was replace the water pump with the help of shurflo. The customer service at shurflo was exemplary. Not a problem and I did it myself.
Next I delt with a panel that had lost part of it's veneer. That took about 2 months to rectify.
The chassis battery would not hold a charge, and I replaced that out of my pocket. THat was no fault of Winnebago.
The latest is the failed parallax converter. Parallax was more than willing to send me a shipping label and a new unit after they helped me with making sure that I had a defective unit. However, since it is under Winnebago's warranty, they were unable to do so and I had to go through Winnebago. I called a local dealer and was told they couldn't help me for 3 weeks.
Keep in mind this RV has 3000 miles on it and has been used only 3 times so far.
I contacted Winnebago Customer Relations and they were helpful in sending a converter to me so I could replace it myself. This was to avoid the unacceptable time it would take the dealer to fix this half hour job. ( It took me 15 minutes to remove and install the new converter)

I bit the bullet and canceled plans for this week to allow the batteries to recharge and get the old unit back to Winnebago as they requested.
The man at Winnebago service mentioned to me when sending the converter back I could do it COD. I sent it COD and now Winnebago will not accept the package so I am out 31 bucks on a bad converter. When they called to straighten things out they took the view that they were doing me a big favor and I should be so very thankful that they sent the unit and allowed me to change it, instead of making me wait at the dealers to fix it. Remarks along the lines of; most people are thankful to get it they don't complain about the shipping etc..
I'm sorry but:
number one; I would not have bothered to ship COD if it wasn't mentioned in the first place.
Number two; this is the first company that I have dealt with that didn't send a label for return shipping.
Number three.
I appreciate the shipping of the unit to me but we are dealing with a new Coach that still has the new smell in it. When a system fails that affects the operation of the coach it should be taken care of IMMEDIATELY. Every car I have bought that has had problems, I have never had to wait more than a few days.
So I now have to wait as UPS tries to deliver a third and last time to the WInnebago Warehouse where they are unable to get a check etc.. to the workers so they can collect the package. They then told me I have to take out more of my time and money to ship them the defective converter after it comes back to me. The time I miss in work alone will cost me to the point I would have been better off to buy a new unit outright and install it.


My problems may be petty compared to some and I don't mind doing repair work on my own as I have been doing on trailers and motorhomes for the last 10 years, but I did buy new and with that I do expect a product to work or that the manufacturer will own up to faulty equipment. All in all they should be happy a customer can replace a unit as the bill with the dealers labor will far exceed the few dollars shipping. Or at least offer to call a dealer and get things done in a timely fashion.

 

[Bigkat]

I purchased the coach in the latter part of last August.
I liked the last Adventurer I had and that influenced my decision to buy Winnebago again. I bought new to avoid any problems, or if there were any, I figured they would be rectified expediently, without undue hassle.
First thing I had to do was replace the water pump with the help of shurflo. The customer service at shurflo was exemplary. Not a problem and I did it myself.
Next I delt with a panel that had lost part of it's veneer. That took about 2 months to rectify.
The chassis battery would not hold a charge, and I replaced that out of my pocket. THat was no fault of Winnebago.
The latest is the failed parallax converter. Parallax was more than willing to send me a shipping label and a new unit after they helped me with making sure that I had a defective unit. However, since it is under Winnebago's warranty, they were unable to do so and I had to go through Winnebago. I called a local dealer and was told they couldn't help me for 3 weeks.
Keep in mind this RV has 3000 miles on it and has been used only 3 times so far.
I contacted Winnebago Customer Relations and they were helpful in sending a converter to me so I could replace it myself. This was to avoid the unacceptable time it would take the dealer to fix this half hour job. ( It took me 15 minutes to remove and install the new converter)

I bit the bullet and canceled plans for this week to allow the batteries to recharge and get the old unit back to Winnebago as they requested.
The man at Winnebago service mentioned to me when sending the converter back I could do it COD. I sent it COD and now Winnebago will not accept the package so I am out 31 bucks on a bad converter. When they called to straighten things out they took the view that they were doing me a big favor and I should be so very thankful that they sent the unit and allowed me to change it, instead of making me wait at the dealers to fix it. Remarks along the lines of; most people are thankful to get it they don't complain about the shipping etc..
I'm sorry but:
number one; I would not have bothered to ship COD if it wasn't mentioned in the first place.
Number two; this is the first company that I have dealt with that didn't send a label for return shipping.
Number three.
I appreciate the shipping of the unit to me but we are dealing with a new Coach that still has the new smell in it. When a system fails that affects the operation of the coach it should be taken care of IMMEDIATELY. Every car I have bought that has had problems, I have never had to wait more than a few days.
So I now have to wait as UPS tries to deliver a third and last time to the WInnebago Warehouse where they are unable to get a check etc.. to the workers so they can collect the package. They then told me I have to take out more of my time and money to ship them the defective converter after it comes back to me. The time I miss in work alone will cost me to the point I would have been better off to buy a new unit outright and install it.


My problems may be petty compared to some and I don't mind doing repair work on my own as I have been doing on trailers and motorhomes for the last 10 years, but I did buy new and with that I do expect a product to work or that the manufacturer will own up to faulty equipment. All in all they should be happy a customer can replace a unit as the bill with the dealers labor will far exceed the few dollars shipping. Or at least offer to call a dealer and get things done in a timely fashion.

 

[zertrider]

The way I see it, it's not Winnebagos faults here for any of the problems (other than veneer). Maybe you should be directing your frustration at your dealer for having to delay repairs for 3 weeks, even for something as quick as a converter swap. Looks like Winnebago has done everything they could to do you right.

 

[Bigkat]

That model water pump according to shurflo should not have been installed in the first place. The factory installed the wrong unit to start with. It should have not passed quality control at the factory. to start as it wouldn't shut off when the pressure limit was met. Not a big deal overall. I expected problems and fully understand that things fail.
Part of the blame can go to the selling dealer also as they didn't test the systems properly before release.
Yes Winnebago did the right thing at first, and met my needs and I was satisfied up until the service rep started with the condescending rhetoric. The converter is not a difficult thing to change by any strech of the imaginagtion.
I work hard for my money and I don't need to be talked down to nor will I put up with it. This latest issue would not even occurred if the man had not told me to ship COD and I would have absorbed the shipping charges myself.
I deal with many large electronic companies for my business and this is a first and a problem that would have been taken care of without question by parallax if it wasn't under Winnebago's rules. If a rep of a company makes a mistake, it's not a problem, just own up to it and fix it.

 

[MaverickBBD]

IMO sounds like you should find another dealer to finish your warranty period. Find one that is willing to work with you not against you. Look for Winnebago Dealer of Excellence.

 

[Bigkat]

Thanks Maverick, I wish I could

The big problem where I am is there is only one dealer to go to in a reasonable distance. To get service on the converter I would have had to bring it in after Memorial day at the dealers first appointment. They would then have to diagnose the problem and order the part. Then lord knows when and how long it would take to install. So minimum I would be looking at 5 weeks total that I would not be able to use the RV. The guys at the dealer are great guys but they are a small dealership and have too much on their plate as it is. It's not really their fault either. Every time I go there they are backed up with repairs in the lot
With gas prices the way they are and judging from the way my business has slowed lately, it would cost more than a new unit would cost if I were to go to another dealer.
The failure of the converters regulator circuit was not just affecting the charging of the batteries, it also affected the electronic ignition of the refrigerator and the readouts of the monitor panel. I would not have cared if it didn't affect the operation of the coach so much, but it was a case of my needing to use the unit before the normal system path could be followed.
I have business also that requires use of the coach and I figured this would be the fastest method until I could install a different and better converter charger.
It was just a bad set of circumstances and bad timing for the failure and it left me now choice.

Now I have to make sure I am home when the package comes back to the ups store in order to resend it to Winnebago. Alot of time and trouble for such a simple matter IMO that should have been avoided.

 

[Belgique]

I agree with the OP. My only defect on this coach was very minor: the right turn camera was foggy. Left and rear were fine so it is obvious that it was a defective camera. I called Winnie and asked if I could send them the camera and they send a replacement. Nope. Dealer had to do it. Selling dealer is 400 miles away. Closest dealer is 100 miles. So, to get it fixed I would have to spend about $130 in gas and a day or more (and that's assuming 1 trip) to replace a $300 camera (SWAG on cost...probably less). I got lucky because we had to be near the selling dealer on a trip and he had me come in and he looked at it, ordered a new one and installed it next day (Winnie shipped it FedEx). Took him MAYBE 10 minutes and even I could do it.

Winnie needs to be more flexible about these small, user friendly, fixes given dealer backlogs and fuel costs.

 

[RedT]

I've always had exceptional response from Winnebago, but expect nothing from the local dealer - it's just the way it is. There is one dealer in the Phoenix, AZ area (~6 million people?) and their service reputation could not be lower.

The next closest dealer is 100 miles away and they are reluctant to do any work on your coach unless it was purchased from them. I am convinced that the problem lies with the system - unlike automobile dealers who must respond to the manufacturer, RV dealers are independent and often thumb their nose at the manufacturer. I was told by a Winnebago representative that they (Winnebago) exercise no influence on local dealers. Just the way it is.

 

[Beabop-WO]

Winnebago is not flexible with needed parts, we were out in the boonies when our wiper motor failed. They of course would not ship us one and wanted us to drive several hundred miles so a dealer could look at it. Yeah right. Fortunately the monsoon stopped and we drove home to our dealer who finally got us a new motor in 2 weeks.

 

[FrontRangeRVer]

Several of us suggested in one of your previous posts that you would be good to replace your Parallax converter for less than $125 with something MUCH superior than that one....save yourself some time and grief....no reason to replace junk with more junk....wonder why you went through all this for the inferior replacement.

 

[ichn2go]

Document everything with Winnie...Time you called, who you spoke to, all details and the outcome...If you had the person's name who told you to ship the package COD, I would be all over him...Winnie has been very helpful to me and I had to learn the above advice the hard way..Down the road if you have documented with them that you had a problem with ??????? it is very helpful to have that on file even when out of warranty. Take Care