General RV leaves a bad taste in my mouth

[AJMike]

Originally Posted by EA37TS

How many dealers are going to show you their proprietary business agreement with the manufacturers? Answer - none because it is none of your business. If you didn’t buy from that dealer you have no business relationship with them and they are not going to show you their business agreements.

A manufacturer and selling dealer must, by law, honor the warranty. A non selling dealer is not bound to that warranty.

I referred to using a lawyer to get your rights and a lawyer does not have to see the agreement with the dealer. All he or she has to do is contact the manufacturer and verify that such an agreement exists. If it does and if the dealership is not upholding its end of the agreement it is in violation of its operating agreement and, I would think, liable. I am not a lawyer (for which I am thankful) so this is an assumption, but that is what I would think would be the case.

As to whether or not a non-selling dealer is bound by your warranty, I can not help but believe that a court of law would rule otherwise if someone went to the trouble to actually sue. If the dealership has an agreement with manufacture XYZ and that agreement specifies that the dealership has to provide warranty work and if you own an in-warranty vehicle in need of that work, then it seems clear that the dealership has to provide that service or be in violation of its agreement with the manufacturer.

Often people don't pursue their rights because doing so is a lot of trouble and I suspect that I would also be reluctant to actually go to the trouble of visiting a lawyer over something like this, if only because the cost would probably exceed what it would cost to fix an issue at another service location, but that does not mean that the law would not uphold your right. It would be interesting to see if any case law exists for such a case.

[AJMike]

Originally Posted by Travelin' Texans

Winnebago dealers may be "bound by a clause", but I'm betting that if you didn't purchase it there it'll be "bound" to the end of the line of RVs that were bought there.

Yes, but that sound reasonable to me. If I had bought a new RV and then moved to some other location and needed warranty work I would expect the local dealer to service his or her regular customers first. I might not like being at the back of the line but I would understand it.

At the same time if you now reside in the area and are a new potential customer the dealer might well want to treat you well, assuming that good service might well mean that you would return when you wanted a new RV.

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by EA37TS

Look what just came in the mail today. Check out the top bullets on the left side.

Attachment 24236

It doesn't say how fast they will service it. Also, this came from my local dealer and not General's corporate office.

Disclaimer, the Freightliner document drive is not part of the flyer. I used that to hide my address.

Might be proof that dealers and mfgs read these threads

But as I read it, they didn't say they would do warranty work? I think any RV dealer would love to have the work on RV that is on their terms, at their rate, and no complexity tied with mfg or 3rd party insurance. But at least they will take the work. One Winnebago dealers I encountered was saying they were not taking any new customers PERIOD. The other wanted to keep my RV for 3 - 4 months and that was not going to happen. In hindsight, I may call them again next week and tell them I want some work done (non warranty) I bet they may ask, how soon can I get it in?

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by AJMike

I referred to using a lawyer to get your rights and a lawyer does not have to see the agreement with the dealer. All he or she has to do is contact the manufacturer and verify that such an agreement exists. If it does and if the dealership is not upholding its end of the agreement it is in violation of its operating agreement and, I would think, liable. I am not a lawyer (for which I am thankful) so this is an assumption, but that is what I would think would be the case.

As to whether or not a non-selling dealer is bound by your warranty, I can not help but believe that a court of law would rule otherwise if someone went to the trouble to actually sue. If the dealership has an agreement with manufacture XYZ and that agreement specifies that the dealership has to provide warranty work and if you own an in-warranty vehicle in need of that work, then it seems clear that the dealership has to provide that service or be in violation of its agreement with the manufacturer.

Often people don't pursue their rights because doing so is a lot of trouble and I suspect that I would also be reluctant to actually go to the trouble of visiting a lawyer over something like this, if only because the cost would probably exceed what it would cost to fix an issue at another service location, but that does not mean that the law would not uphold your right. It would be interesting to see if any case law exists for such a case.

I doubt what you say has any legal standing. Some poor RVer could invest a lot of money legally and go through the courts only to wind up with a greater problem & fighting a lost cause.

Why do I say that? I am very glad you asked...

My son had a 2014 Camaro 6 speed that started having trouble with gears between 2nd & 3rd. We took it to one Chevy dealership who said it was not under warranty and would NOT repair. However, they stated they would repair if we paid out of pocket (about $4k). So I paid the check out fee. I called Chevrolet directly and they said they could NOT do anything to help unless car was at authorized dealership... So listening to what they were saying versus trying to fight them or sue them, we took took the car to another dealership. Our choice. The 2nd dealership had the exact same diagnosis and fixed it under warranty. Chevrolet's customer service called us a few times during this process to ensure all went well. Car has had no issues since. I never bothered or cared about what may have been going on with 1st dealer. FWIW, I didn't buy the car from either of the dealerships.

[AJMike]

Originally Posted by EA37TS

Look what just came in the mail today. Check out the top bullets on the left side.

Attachment 24236

It doesn't say how fast they will service it. Also, this came from my local dealer and not General's corporate office.

Disclaimer, the Freightliner document drive is not part of the flyer. I used that to hide my address.

I wonder if it has had anything to do with a drop in service due to COVID-19.

Here our local dealer, who generally tells me that they have a 2-3 month wait for service, sent out an email about a month ago saying that they were now doing remote service. Call them and they will send out a tech to your location to take care of your service needs. Right away.

I don't know if that is still in effect now, but it was then.

[JONJON]

Originally Posted by Banks732@comcast.net

Avoid General RV. They are absolutely the worst! We have dealt with them and they are not people persons and even Thor did not think much of them or the work they do. We ended up at Thor in Elkhardt with our Miramar and had work done and were very pleased with the professionalism of the people we dealt with there. We were assigned one person to work with on our unit over the two days we spent there. We stayed on their property, had water & electric. Would go back again if we need to for repairs.

** I bought a new Fuzion at the best deal I could find which happened to be in Virginia. Pulled it back to Florida and used it with very few issues until one day noticed a soft area when cleaning the roof. Further investigation discovered that when one of the roof AC's was installed, the corner of the unit must have been drooped on the roof and punctured a small V shaped hole in the roof membrane. So I am sitting with rotted wood on my roof... God knows how much hidden damage... Warranty period expired last month... this wasn't going to be good! Called and sent some pictures to General RV outside of Tampa. I was assigned a wonderful well trained awesome lady to work with me. She said "let me see what we can do on this" and said she would call me back. SHE DID CALL ME BACK like clockwork, that time and every week or so during the entire experience. General RV went to bat for me with the manufacturer, even though I was out of warranty. They ended up removing and replacing half the roof, replacing water damaged insulation, trim, ceiling... "everything"! The finished repair was perfect in every regard and I could not have been more pleased or felt more lucky to have found General RV in Seffner. My cost exactly ZERO! I didn't buy the camper from them, but I sure would next time! I know not all dealerships are alike and even different branches of the same dealership vary greatly. I recommend doing your research through any means possible to qualify where you take your RV for repair. Read reviews, talk to people. None of them can please every customer every time. Some are excellent... some are not. Trash talk a specific dealer location if you must, but not the entire company. There you go... that's my story.

[EA37TS]

Just saw my first ever television commercial for General RV’s Richmond location.