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Old 06-28-2016, 01:01 PM   #41
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Model: Axis 24.1
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THOR #4366
It seems the RV dealers are still back in the 70's with their policy. At least the car dealers finally learned.

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Old 06-29-2016, 05:35 AM   #42
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THOR #3779
We have owned a 2016 Windsport for about six months. Now being worked on by Luxury Vehicle Care in Portland for various Warranty issues - our home is in Kansas. Third time in shop for warranty covered work. Back home, Trailside RV in Grain Valley, MO, also told us they do not honor the Thor warranty on units they didn't sell. Said many issues happen while the MH sits unsold on a dealer's lot, and they don't feel that should be their problem, so we had warranty work done by another shop (non-dealer). Oh, and the generator fuel pump replaced under warranty while we were in Arizona, at an auto repair shop. Of course, the selling dealer, General RV in Tampa assured us before we bought that any warranty work would be handled by any Thor dealer. Thor is doing what they can to help, but the total experience has been expensive and horrific. Thor will not pay for hotels.
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Old 06-29-2016, 11:09 AM   #43
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Model: Challenger 37TB
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THOR #4486
According to Thor

I had a conversation with Thor about this warranty issue and they said this is out of their control. Thor also mentioned that if push comes to shove, you could pay for the repairs and Thor will reimburse you. I would check with Thor before going down this path and make sure they will pay for the specific repair. I have found most dealers to be difficult to work with. When I owned a Jayco GreyHawk, I could get service at my local dealer but would have to make an appointment months in advance. Camping World seems to be the only dealer that will take in a Thor product regardless of where you bought it. They are not the sharpest RV service folks but I do appreciate that they are willing to work with Thor owners. Unfortunately for me, the closest Camping World is 90 miles away so taking it in for warranty service is an all day affair.
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Old 06-29-2016, 12:57 PM   #44
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State: South Dakota
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Originally Posted by none2quick View Post
We have owned a 2016 Windsport for about six months. Now being worked on by Luxury Vehicle Care in Portland for various Warranty issues - our home is in Kansas. Third time in shop for warranty covered work. Back home, Trailside RV in Grain Valley, MO, also told us they do not honor the Thor warranty on units they didn't sell. Said many issues happen while the MH sits unsold on a dealer's lot, and they don't feel that should be their problem, so we had warranty work done by another shop (non-dealer). Oh, and the generator fuel pump replaced under warranty while we were in Arizona, at an auto repair shop. Of course, the selling dealer, General RV in Tampa assured us before we bought that any warranty work would be handled by any Thor dealer. Thor is doing what they can to help, but the total experience has been expensive and horrific. Thor will not pay for hotels.
Every time I call Warranty Service they are polite and do their best for me. Unfortunately, there's only so much you can do over the phone. In my conversation with Thor via FB they offered to have WS contact me. I told them they were not the issue, their lack of QC at the factory and poor dealer network were the issues. Still waiting a follow up on that conversation.............if it ever happens.

I also told them that at this point I could not recommend a Thor product to anyone without laying all of my issues on the table.
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Old 11-23-2016, 04:14 PM   #45
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If Tiffin can strong arm dealers into doing warrantee work Thor can especially considering they are much larger than Tiffin. All it takes is for high level management to call the dealers owner and tell them if they don't service Thor product no matter where the person purchased it then they will no longer be a Thor dealer then follow through if they didn't.

Many dealers would be in serious trouble if Thor dropped them and if they did it to just a few dealers you'll see most every other dealer fall in line and stop this crap. But until more manufactures police their dealers not much will change.

Thor on the other hand needs to do a better job with their QC. Bring in a few really good QC engineers and they will find the reasons things are failing. It's not just inspections but finding where the issues are in the first place so they don't happen during the build. This is what good QC engineers do for a company which is why they are worth their weight in gold.
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Old 11-23-2016, 04:34 PM   #46
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If You purchase a Thor product from one dealer, are traveling and have a problem, then go to nearest Thor dealer and they refuse to do warranty work the next thing I would do is contact the local Better Business bureau where the dealer is located. A bad report filed with BBB can have a negative impact on almost any business, poor credit ratings, advertising, etc. Businesses do NOT like to have a bad report form the BBB, it can definitely have a negative impact!!!
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Old 11-23-2016, 05:01 PM   #47
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... While I agree that a dealership has their own right to accept/refuse any business they choose, and by whatever filter they choose, I can't help but wonder why this is...

-are they too busy with their own customer's work/repairs/warranty?
-do they not want to fill their schedule with others so that their own customer's have priority?
-do they not make enough off of warranty repairs that it only makes sense to please their own customers?

or
-could it be that without a direct relationship with specific RV manufacturers, they might have a hard time getting parts, or getting their desired warranty rate?

I don't know, but just thinkin' out loud...
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Old 11-23-2016, 05:25 PM   #48
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Originally Posted by TurnerFam View Post
... While I agree that a dealership has their own right to accept/refuse any business they choose, and by whatever filter they choose, I can't help but wonder why this is...

-are they too busy with their own customer's work/repairs/warranty?
-do they not want to fill their schedule with others so that their own customer's have priority?
-do they not make enough off of warranty repairs that it only makes sense to please their own customers?

or
-could it be that without a direct relationship with specific RV manufacturers, they might have a hard time getting parts, or getting their desired warranty rate?

I don't know, but just thinkin' out loud...
I had a local Thor dealer in PA flat out tell me when we were shopping for an RV that they will place purchasing customers at the top of the list for service. Anyone who purchases somewhere else, will be handled differently. We ended up purchasing a leftover 2015 from a dealer in Kentucky. When we needed warranty service, I called this PA dealer and they refused to service it since it was bought elsewhere. As I mentioned in a previous thread, until there is some type of advocacy group pressuring the RV industry to fix issues like this and most importantly, QC issues, the RV industry does not give a rats butt especially when sales are good, like they are now.
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Old 11-23-2016, 05:47 PM   #49
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THOR #1469
This is straight from the Service Locator page on Thor's Website:

"Service after the Sale - Many dealers put their purchasing customers first when it comes to getting your coach serviced. You will experience the value your local dealer can add to your purchase."

This is from Forest River's Dealer Locator page on their website:

"Dealers in our Industry are not franchised like automotive dealers and therefore not obligated to work on your product when it is not purchased from them."

From Winnebago's website:

Why buy from your local dealer?

"We strongly recommend purchasing from your local dealer to make the most of your Winnebago Industries motorhome and towable experience. Here are a few benefits that local dealers can provide:

Service Priority
Convenience
Knowledgeable Staff
Local Commitment"

Everyone of these three manufacturers advise to buy locally and give service priority as a reason.
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Old 11-23-2016, 06:04 PM   #50
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Originally Posted by dstankov View Post
This is straight from the Service Locator page on Thor's Website:

"Service after the Sale - Many dealers put their purchasing customers first when it comes to getting your coach serviced. You will experience the value your local dealer can add to your purchase."

This is from Forest River's Dealer Locator page on their website:

"Dealers in our Industry are not franchised like automotive dealers and therefore not obligated to work on your product when it is not purchased from them."

From Winnebago's website:

Why buy from your local dealer?

"We strongly recommend purchasing from your local dealer to make the most of your Winnebago Industries motorhome and towable experience. Here are a few benefits that local dealers can provide:

Service Priority
Convenience
Knowledgeable Staff
Local Commitment"

Everyone of these three manufacturers advise to buy locally and give service priority as a reason.
You have to weigh this advantage against saving thousands, sometimes tens of thousands of dollars not buying locally. The other issue we experienced was not finding what we wanted locally unless they ordered the unit which automatically comes with the highest price tag since negotiation on something not on the lot becomes very limited.
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Old 11-23-2016, 06:47 PM   #51
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We didn't buy locally and didn't incur much problem having service done while under warranty. Granted there wasn't a lot that needed repair and mostly minor stuff; thank goodness, but it did require some coordination between the service repair facility and Thor to get the warranty work done.

I was also told that I could take it to any RV repair shop for warranty work and be reimbursed by Thor. The repair shop would have to contact Thor and determine the cost of the repair work. And if the shop wanted to charge more than Thor was willing to pay, it would be up to the customer to pay the difference or take it elsewhere. I never had to go this route.
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Old 11-23-2016, 09:25 PM   #52
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So as I said the only way this gets fixed is if the major manufactures put pressure on dealers by threating to drop them as an authorized dealer by not servicing customers. We the buying public just don't have the power needed to force the issue.

One other issue that needs to be pushed is setting priority. The way I believe priority should be set is by what's needed and if the customers is on the road or just coming in for general service.

Dealers should encourage local customers to bring their rigs in for service well in advance of when they need to use their rig. Customers that are traveling should always get priority service for anything that stops them from traveling, using their rig, makes the rig unsafe to use or would cause more serious damage if not repaired.
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Old 11-23-2016, 10:11 PM   #53
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Originally Posted by bevedfelker View Post
So if you buy locally and then move 1000 miles away you are supposed to drive your coach back the thousand miles for warranty service. There are simply some things that do not meet the sobriety testvat the Dixie Bar and Grill.
If you try to get your Thor Motorhome worked on in Billings MT Bretz RV, a Thor dealer, will not normally work on it if you didn't buy it from them. I got this information from one of the owners as well as someone in the service department. Maybe one of these days they will change their attitude. Funny their dealership in Missoula MT they will work on them according to some past posts whether you bought it from them or not...go figure.
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Old 11-23-2016, 10:13 PM   #54
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Not everyone will have the convenience of having things go wrong while at home. I would guess that many will encounter problems on the road, rather than while at home.

I've always been lucky in that the things that broke, on the road, would never be that major and that I could make it home. At home I can decide if I want to tackle the issue myself, or have a dealer deal with it.

I'm also fortunate in that the THOR Service Center is only about 1 hour from where I live.

But then, the RV's I've owned in the past, were made in a different time when Quality and Customer Service was not at the mercy of sales success.

Only time will tell if the THOR Siesta that I now own will be as trouble free, on the road, as my past experiences. Based on the 18 item punch list I had after purchase, that is a BIG IF.
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Old 11-23-2016, 10:30 PM   #55
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Model: Four Winds 22E
State: Washington
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I learned about this problem of warranty service from these forums while doing some research before my purchase. I found a dealer a long days drive away, that I could save a substantial amount of money if I purchased from them rather from the nearby dealer. I called the local dealer service department and said that I had a Thor motorhome that I had purchased from another dealer. I asked if they could do warranty service work on it. They said they would be happy to do the work. I then purchased the motorhome at the distant but much less expensive dealer. Not only has the local dealer done excellent warranty work for me, they have also coordinated with the dealer I bought it from to get some parts that had already been on order (unbeknownst to me) before I purchased it. I was left with impression that warranty works pays them well and they are glad to have the business. The local dealer sells a lot of other Thor and non Thor RV brands.

Ken
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Old 11-23-2016, 11:52 PM   #56
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Petition to Thor

If some organization could get a petition started to make dealers service the brand they sell regardless of where you bought it I would sign it.
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Old 11-24-2016, 12:45 PM   #57
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Originally Posted by martinek.steve View Post
............................snip.................. .......

Only time will tell if the THOR Siesta that I now own will be as trouble free, on the road, as my past experiences. Based on the 18 item punch list I had after purchase, that is a BIG IF.
Not a bad punch list; I read where the average is 40 items. We've had about 7 or 8, most of which were handled under warranty either by the dealer or in one case Thor reimbursed Ford.
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Old 11-24-2016, 01:05 PM   #58
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"Not Bad" is definitely relative. In the past that list would have been possibly 1 or 2 items.

I like the idea of petitions, just not sure that it would make a difference.

I've heard rumblings on several occasions, including from THOR sources, that they are working on improving the in house build process.

Being that THOR has about 25% of the US RV market, and many facilities, if they are serious it will probably be a monumental task to improve their Quality. But a task that will be worth it in Customer Satisfaction.
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Old 11-24-2016, 02:35 PM   #59
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Probably the hardest thing to do for most RVers is not making comparisons between how the auto industry and RV industry works. They are totally different animals and have nothing in common, including factory support, customer satisfaction, or quality control.


Generally speaking you just have to suffer through your factory warranty period and then rely on an extended type of warranty that will be honored by numerous RV repair facilities. Anyone that thinks their RV factory warranty will be honored by numerous same brand dealers throughout the country.....I have this bridge I can sell.....
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Old 11-24-2016, 02:44 PM   #60
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Couldn't disagree more, Joe. Aside from being a house on wheels, any manufacturer worth the money they attempt to earn would be wanting to have their Customers happy with the product they bought.

The complacency of customers that are satisfied with low quality product is how things devolve to the point they have in the RV industry.

You might have had a valid point if it wasn't for the fact that in the past Product Quality was on a much higher level.
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