A Thor dealer refuses to do service work

[Bob Montgomery]

Originally Posted by SuperD

Bob, You are absolutely correct! My apologies.

I guess we should start a new thread "Owners who are happy with their coach".

Sounds like a good idea to me...I am interested in how you like your Windsport. Start the thread and I will sound in...I like my rig as well.

[JamieGeek]

Here you go, I started one:
http://www.thorforums.com/forums/f17...html#post51531

[SuperD]

Lol, I just started one too under Class A! Great minds think alike!!!

[JamieGeek]

Yeah we can use yours, which is here: http://www.thorforums.com/forums/f17...oach-5735.html

I'll copy/paste my post there...

[movingtara]

Back to the subject of having repairs made to your coach- we had a serious problem with our awning on a new Hurricane 31S while on the road. We went to RV General in Michigan and they repaired the awning. Turns out it was not properly installed at the factory. We continued on to the factory to have other problems repaired. The fixed a drawer latch and the tv crank handle and ignored the more serious problems. While we waited over two days for these repairs we toured the factory. What a revelation. There is no quality control in the factory and we witnessed side walls being installed that covered up defects in the cabinetry installation. In addition, OSHA would run out of paper writing up safety issues on the floor.
Also, our local dealer will not service a unit that they do not sell. Seems that Thor is slow to reimburse for repairs, and the reimbursement rate is well below the cost to repair. This is not due to some alliance on the part of the dealers, it's due to Thor's policies and practices regarding warranty work.

[Bob Montgomery]

Part of the problem is that there are dealers that will not service a motorhome they did not sell. I am not talking about warranty work, just repairs and service paid for out of pocket. For example, I was told a person from out of the area came to Bretz RV in Billings MT last summer with a travel trailer that had a really bad wheel etc. I was told by someone who worked there that they had all the parts to fix it, yet the boss turned them away because they didn't buy their trailer from Bretz. Where they went after that I do not know. This was not a warranty job... and it kind of scares me that if I was 500-1000 miles away from my dealer I could run into the same problem. I understand why the dealer has this policy, I just think it is wrong.

[Jimbow]

Originally Posted by Ag&Au

I'm not sure where that came from. I don't remember reading it here, but I do skim read sometimes. In any case the dealer that does our service, lead me to believe that they like warranty work because it pays well and they don't have any problem getting paid.



Ken

Ken,
I've heard from several dealers that warranty work is paid at a lower rate and the dealers sometimes have claims rejected by the factories. I have no reason to believe they were lying to me, but I guess they could be.

Insurance companies negotiate lower reimbursements I assumed manufacturers would as well.

[movingtara]

Harley,

We sent a certified letter to the president of Thor with a detailed list and photos of problems, including those the factory ignored when we took our Hurricane to the factory to repairs. The letter was received on Monday 11/21. It will be interesting to see who responds and how long it takes.

[Ag&Au]

Originally Posted by Jimbow

Ken,
I've heard from several dealers that warranty work is paid at a lower rate and the dealers sometimes have claims rejected by the factories. I have no reason to believe they were lying to me, but I guess they could be.

Insurance companies negotiate lower reimbursements I assumed manufacturers would as well.

One thing I have observed at both our selling dealer and servicing dealer is neither will do warranty work until they receive authorization from Thor. Apparently that can take weeks.

Ken

[EA37TS]

Originally Posted by bevedfelker

...and what about a serious warranty issue while traveling? Am I supposed to have the coach towed back to the dealer where I bought it if the issue must be corrected to operate the unit? If an authorized Thor dealer anywhere calls in a warranty issue, doesn't Thor send them parts and reimburse them for labor? Guess these things shouldn't have wheels because we are liable to drive out from under the selling dealers protective umbrella. This really is beyond believable.

When my slide got stuck partially extended during the shake down, I called Thor and they authorized a mobile tech and then reimbursed me for the 90.00 repair cost.

[dw1gator]

Guess I'm just lucky. Here in little ole Lake Park GA, I live less than 2 miles from 3 RV dealerships/service centers. Camping World, Alliance Caoch of GA, and Horizon RV. Bought mine from Horizon, a private dealer, great price and great people. Can have work done by them or Camping World. So far just used my dealer. You can stand on one dealership and see all the others, they are that close.

[samven]

I can sort of see both sides of this. As an owner we expect that the warranty promise will be honoured and that dealers will work with the factory to keep us happy, As a dealer trying to keep a business open year round they expect that you wont take the most profitable part of the business to someone else and stick them with the problems. For many years the company I worked for only made money on sales and the service department was expected to at least break even. We were seen as a necessary evil because no one would buy your product if you did not offer service. In those days warranty service was free but paid service labour rate was $200/hr. When times got tough and the sales were falling off the company decided service could pick up the slack, service rates went to $400/hr and we were encouraged to try and sell upgrades at the time of repair. By the time I left service out earned sales by a good margin but the service quality was down. I have been looking for a snow blower this year and have been told that if I buy at a big box store the local shops will not honour the warranty. If everyone buys at the big box store though there will not be any local shops so I would be in the same boat anyway.

[Locknut]

I've never been involved in the RV business, but I did own a Chrysler dealership for 23 years. In Kentucky, there is a state law that auto manufacturers MUST reimburse warranty labor at the dealer's set retail labor rate, plus we got 15% markup on parts. Chrysler required that we work on any Chrysler product, regardless of where sold, but we did give priority in scheduling to our own customers, and then worked in the transients as best we could.

[Ag&Au]

Originally Posted by Locknut

I've never been involved in the RV business, but I did own a Chrysler dealership for 23 years. In Kentucky, there is a state law that auto manufacturers MUST reimburse warranty labor at the dealer's set retail labor rate, plus we got 15% markup on parts. Chrysler required that we work on any Chrysler product, regardless of where sold, but we did give priority in scheduling to our own customers, and then worked in the transients as best we could.

That seem's like a fair way to run a business.

Ken

[Bob Montgomery]

Originally Posted by samven

I can sort of see both sides of this. As an owner we expect that the warranty promise will be honoured and that dealers will work with the factory to keep us happy, As a dealer trying to keep a business open year round they expect that you wont take the most profitable part of the business to someone else and stick them with the problems. For many years the company I worked for only made money on sales and the service department was expected to at least break even. We were seen as a necessary evil because no one would buy your product if you did not offer service. In those days warranty service was free but paid service labour rate was $200/hr. When times got tough and the sales were falling off the company decided service could pick up the slack, service rates went to $400/hr and we were encouraged to try and sell upgrades at the time of repair. By the time I left service out earned sales by a good margin but the service quality was down. I have been looking for a snow blower this year and have been told that if I buy at a big box store the local shops will not honour the warranty. If everyone buys at the big box store though there will not be any local shops so I would be in the same boat anyway.

$400 per hour! There is NO WAY I would pay that rate. The word crooks comes to mind.

[movingtara]

Originally Posted by Bob Montgomery

$400 per hour! There is NO WAY I would pay that rate. The word crooks comes to mind.

My dealer refused to work on any coach that they did not sell. I don't know what the answer to this problem is. They did work on a coach while I was waiting for repairs that came in with an emergency. Under that scenario I would expect the work to be done.

I have some sympathy for the dealers on this issue. But on the other hand, if they sign up as a dealer and don't fully understand Thor's circuitous warranty or repair procedures, shame on them. Don't become a dealer. There are lots of other products to sell.

I don't know what people do who purchase RVs at shows, drive them home and then have problem. Any ideas or suggestions. We plan on going to several shows just to look and get ideas.

I think as soon we can get the problems with our coach repaired, a Thor Hurricane 31S, we are going to get rid of it and purchase something else more reliable. Any suggestion on that front?

[Joe-FL]

"I think as soon we can get the problems with our coach repaired, a Thor Hurricane 31S, we are going to get rid of it and purchase something else more reliable. Any suggestion on that front?"


The most reliable RV by today's standards could be that 2 year old unit that someone else has already fixed all the issues on. We were devoted to a certain brand of 5th wheel and full timed in two of them. The gently used one we started with was 100% trouble free. The new one had several minor issues only half of which were ever taken care of to my liking by a factory warranty.


A 2 or 3 year old coach with a good extended after market warranty could be the closest thing to "reliable" there is. With the right coach you may not need the warranty and if you do it won't matter who sold you the unit.


Just something to consider in your future search.

[EA37TS]

Originally Posted by movingtara

My dealer refused to work on any coach that they did not sell. I don't know what the answer to this problem is. They did work on a coach while I was waiting for repairs that came in with an emergency. Under that scenario I would expect the work to be done.

I have some sympathy for the dealers on this issue. But on the other hand, if they sign up as a dealer and don't fully understand Thor's circuitous warranty or repair procedures, shame on them. Don't become a dealer. There are lots of other products to sell.

I don't know what people do who purchase RVs at shows, drive them home and then have problem. Any ideas or suggestions. We plan on going to several shows just to look and get ideas.

I think as soon we can get the problems with our coach repaired, a Thor Hurricane 31S, we are going to get rid of it and purchase something else more reliable. Any suggestion on that front?

When someone purchases from an RV show in most cases they are still purchasing from a dealer and not the manufacturer and the same type of service issues with dealers will exist.

As an FMCA member that has rallied with a couple of different groups I have talked to folks that own everything from the smallest 50K rigs to million dollar plus Prevost custom builds. Everyone has their issues and complaints with the coach they own. The biggest difference is the distance one must drive to obtain service, the amount of time it takes for the dealer to get repair parts or the length of time it takes someone to get service when they take the coach back to the factory for repair. The one thing I have determined, however, is the biggest difference is the higher end manufacturers such as Integra, Prevost and Newell (400K and up) are more tolerable of mobile support than the lower end coach builders that require the coach go into a dealer for warranty repairs.

Good luck in your search.

[Bob Montgomery]

Originally Posted by movingtara

My dealer refused to work on any coach that they did not sell. I don't know what the answer to this problem is. They did work on a coach while I was waiting for repairs that came in with an emergency. Under that scenario I would expect the work to be done.

I have some sympathy for the dealers on this issue. But on the other hand, if they sign up as a dealer and don't fully understand Thor's circuitous warranty or repair procedures, shame on them. Don't become a dealer. There are lots of other products to sell.

I don't know what people do who purchase RVs at shows, drive them home and then have problem. Any ideas or suggestions. We plan on going to several shows just to look and get ideas.

I think as soon we can get the problems with our coach repaired, a Thor Hurricane 31S, we are going to get rid of it and purchase something else more reliable. Any suggestion on that front?

Tiffin Allegro owners seem to be quite pleased as a group. It is hard to find a late model available used, but they seem to be well built and hold their value better than many...

[EA37TS]

Originally Posted by Bob Montgomery

Tiffin Allegro owners seem to be quite pleased as a group. It is hard to find a late model available used, but they seem to be well built and hold their value better than many...

A Tiffin owner we know had to take his new coach back to Red Bay 3 times in the first 6 months of ownership. According to him there were approx 100 coaches in the camping area that were waiting for service the last time they were there. He was also told by one of the service techs that they hope Tiffin does not improve quality because it keeps the service techs employed.