Thor warrenty question

Jacksonjack · 01-20-2018, 03:37 AM

I bought a Quantum PD31 in November. I took it out for an overnight dry run with the girl friend to check things out. The following weekend we went out again and took the kids for an overnight. When we got back home I parked it and the next morning went to level it and put the slides out. While putting the slide out I heard a popping noise and the slide stalled. I ended up having to do an override to get The slide back in . I took it back to the dealer on December 18th . They said they should have it back right after the 1st of the year. They still have the camper and I called last week and stopped by today. The story I'm getting is they are having trouble with Thor authorizing enough hours to fix it.
I'm sitting here thinking how can there be anything to debate ? A brand new camper that's only been used 2 nights ?
Is Thor normally this hard to deal with ? No one has said I've done anything wrong. Is the dealer playing me because they need an excuse for more time to get me fixed ? Someone once told me they will take care of cash customers before warrenty work cause they make more money and warrenty work is kinda held hostage.
Anyone have a good number to call to cut thru the BS ?
Thanks

wayneroe · 01-20-2018, 05:11 AM

(877) 855-2687 is the Thor Customer Service department for Thor owner's only. You will need your name and VIN number and you can speak with them direct.

steve76 · 01-20-2018, 05:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jacksonjack

I bought a Quantum PD31 in November. I took it out for an overnight dry run with the girl friend to check things out. The following weekend we went out again and took the kids for an overnight. When we got back home I parked it and the next morning went to level it and put the slides out. While putting the slide out I heard a popping noise and the slide stalled. I ended up having to do an override to get The slide back in . I took it back to the dealer on December 18th . They said they should have it back right after the 1st of the year. They still have the camper and I called last week and stopped by today. The story I'm getting is they are having trouble with Thor authorizing enough hours to fix it.
I'm sitting here thinking how can there be anything to debate ? A brand new camper that's only been used 2 nights ?
Is Thor normally this hard to deal with ? No one has said I've done anything wrong. Is the dealer playing me because they need an excuse for more time to get me fixed ? Someone once told me they will take care of cash customers before warrenty work cause they make more money and warrenty work is kinda held hostage.
Anyone have a good number to call to cut thru the BS ?
Thanks

I'm very disappointed with C.W. when I bought my Thor Freedom Elite from them last Nov. Sales people and finance person both told me that since I bought my rig from them and they have their service department which is very large right next door, that since I bought there, I would get preference in anything I needed done at their service department. I found out soon after needing some warranty work done, that was all a bunch of bull crap. I blame myself and I should have known better than to believe that. Found out that their sales even though C.W. named is not owned and run by same people as service dept. also advertised as C.W. Franchised I guess? I approached my sales person about this and he they do have "some" influence but could not "guarantee" any preference could be given and may depend on workloads of shop. Key word: guarantee. I did buy a entry level rig which is what I could afford and IMO, maybe since I didn't spend hundreds of thousands $$ might have something to do with it although it sure shouldn't.

Dippytwo · 01-20-2018, 11:10 AM

Call Thor customer service and talk to them. When I used to take my MH to CW I would have to call Thor to check up on them. I had caught CW in lies that way when they would say they are still waiting on parts or for approval (I have told CW that the parts they were waiting for were signed for a week earlier and who signed for them). If you are taking your MH to CW, you may want to find another place. I found a place that only services the MH, they don't sell any. They don't care if it's warrenty work or cash work, as long as they get paid.

TurnerFam · 01-20-2018, 01:38 PM

some dealers will 'shift the blame' in many ways in order to make them look better to you, but it's hardly ever the manufacturer that's 'holding out' and more than likely the dealer is backed up and trying to catch up.... your RV just happen to be at the end of the list.

I don't make the dealer service centers out to be 'easy' businesses, as I'm sure they're not, but I would rather have my customer keep their RV until I find the time to repair it, not hold their RV hostage while I make excuses why it can't yet be repaired.

but also, to all of us owners, as a word of caution: DO NOT JUST LEAVE YOUR RV AT THE DEALER! make an appointment date to return with it, and EXPECT it to be repaired, without excuses. If dealers had to provide you with a 'loaner' RV while you waited for their repairs, these issues would probably not arise to these levels and you'd have your RV back quickly... just a thought!

Pete'sMH · 01-20-2018, 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jacksonjack

I bought a Quantum PD31 in November. I took it out for an overnight dry run with the girl friend to check things out. The following weekend we went out again and took the kids for an overnight. When we got back home I parked it and the next morning went to level it and put the slides out. While putting the slide out I heard a popping noise and the slide stalled. I ended up having to do an override to get The slide back in . I took it back to the dealer on December 18th . They said they should have it back right after the 1st of the year. They still have the camper and I called last week and stopped by today. The story I'm getting is they are having trouble with Thor authorizing enough hours to fix it.
I'm sitting here thinking how can there be anything to debate ? A brand new camper that's only been used 2 nights ?
Is Thor normally this hard to deal with ? No one has said I've done anything wrong. Is the dealer playing me because they need an excuse for more time to get me fixed ? Someone once told me they will take care of cash customers before warrenty work cause they make more money and warrenty work is kinda held hostage.
Anyone have a good number to call to cut thru the BS ?
Thanks

In my experience, with my 2017 Freedom Elite, Thor was interested responsive and helpful every time I contacted them. I did not have anything major go wrong but I think Thor cares about customer satisfaction. I did not have to go in to the dealer for any repairs or service but I don’t think I’d leave my coach there and wait. If they could not give me a scheduled appointment time I’d go elsewhere. I live in Indiana so going to Thor directly would have been an option. Good luck.

Jacksonjack · 01-20-2018, 03:00 PM

There are several problems that put me at a disadvantage I think. I live in the country. I'm at least an hour and a half from the dealer. That makes it difficult for me to run it back and forth. I know when you leave something you are setting yourself up to be delayed . I would never do that with my car. I don't know if it's camping world or most dealers that treat customers this way. The other problem I had was they were the only dealer that had what I wanted. There is another dealer in the area that handles Thor but they never had any of the larger class C's. I tried to get my rig in with them but they said I would have to pay for my repairs then recoup my money from camping world. I didn't know that a Thor warenty isn't like a car warenty. With my car I can buy it at any Chevy dealer. And then get it worked on at any other Chevy dealer. I'm thinking I might have to "camp out" in camping worlds show room to get something done .

TurnerFam · 01-20-2018, 04:18 PM

and you don't have to rely on the selling dealer to get your warranty issues resolved, ANY rv dealer can do that.... just because you bought at CW doesn't hold you to only doing work with them.... a private/individual RV repair shop can handle it just as well.

Jacksonjack · 01-20-2018, 05:43 PM

I tried taking it to another dealer that sold Thor . They told me since I didn't buy from them I would have to pay cash and try to recoup my money from camping world ????? Doesn't sound like a good warrenty plan to me. This is the exact reason I will never buy an extended warrenty (whole different topic) if I didn't have a warrenty I would take it someplace close that I trust and just pay cash.

wayneroe · 01-20-2018, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jacksonjack

I tried taking it to another dealer that sold Thor . They told me since I didn't buy from them I would have to pay cash and try to recoup my money from camping world ????? Doesn't sound like a good warrenty plan to me. This is the exact reason I will never buy an extended warrenty (whole different topic) if I didn't have a warrenty I would take it someplace close that I trust and just pay cash.

Jacksonjack, didn't think to mention when I gave you the Thor Customer Service number that they don't work on weekends, but you could call them Monday morning. They can give you a status on any requests that have come from the dealer to them. Have your VIN number handy when you call. From seeing on your profile where you live, I think I know which CW you are working with. I shop there sometimes, but have never purchased an RV from them or tried to get service there. I bought my Thor ACE from another St. Louis area dealer - wonder if they might be the other Thor dealer you tried to get service from?

Jacksonjack · 01-20-2018, 06:24 PM

Yea , CW in Wentzvile and byerly in Eureka . I would rather have bought at Byerly but they just didn't have any or could tell me when they would get one

wayneroe · 01-20-2018, 10:31 PM

Just a couple of months after I bought mine I had a long "discussion" with the owner at Byerly. He was well aware of most of the problems with industry-wide service. He did deal with a couple of issues I had and service there has been pretty good for me since. They still have the issue of too much work for the number of technicians they have and the issue of not being able to order parts until they are working the job, because no two of them are the same and apparently there is no such thing as standardized parts/measurements on two supposedly identical motorhomes.

ablackburn · 01-21-2018, 01:39 AM

Welcome to Thor country! Six weeks to get a sink replaced under warranty. Been back twice for the slide. Each time it was in for 4 weeks.

wayneroe · 01-21-2018, 01:57 AM

I hear many people with all brands having those same issues. My dealer has several brands other than Thor and a lot of them are sitting in the service area for extended periods. Thor, nor any other manufacturer, can speed your dealer's backlog of service requests and they can't ship parts that haven't been ordered yet a few weeks after the RV was left with the dealer.

wayneroe · 01-21-2018, 02:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wayneroe

I hear many people with all brands having those same issues. My dealer has several brands other than Thor and a lot of them are sitting in the service area for extended periods. Thor, nor any other manufacturer, can speed your dealer's backlog of service requests and they can't ship parts that haven't been ordered yet a few weeks after the RV was left with the dealer.

I was recently told that if you need a good job, move to Elkhart, Indiana. They had 15,000 positions in the county that couldn't be filled, mostly in the RV and manfactured homes businesses. Goes a long way towards explaining a lot of the quality and service issues in this industry.

Jacksonjack · 01-21-2018, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wayneroe

I hear many people with all brands having those same issues. My dealer has several brands other than Thor and a lot of them are sitting in the service area for extended periods. Thor, nor any other manufacturer, can speed your dealer's backlog of service requests and they can't ship parts that haven't been ordered yet a few weeks after the RV was left with the dealer.

The answer I got when I stopped in this past week was that they determined the slide was built to large and fits into the hole to tight. That it was going to take a lot of work to get it fixed. That Thor was making them rewrite the request for warrenty work again . To be honest whenever called they never knew what was going on. Said they would have to check on it then didn't call back as stated.

I own my own business and can't understand how they can run things like that. Maybe I don't understand their business model. If you are paying techs to be there seems like you would want to get jobs done to make some money . I guess they get paid by the job or something .

Jacksonjack · 01-24-2018, 03:41 AM

And the story takes a shocking turn ......... after being told that I have a seriously complex problem that Thor is making them resubmit their request for warrentee work approval I called Thor customer service...... they said they haven't received a single request for Warrentee work from Camping World ! I told them my story and that how my RV has been sitting at Camping World for 40 days. They asked me if I would like to bring it up to Indiana to get fixed. I told them yes. They told me if I bring it up they will make sure I'm happy before I leave. To put together a list of everything I wanted fixed. I live about 6 hours away and have a friend that lives up that way so I'm going to take it up.
I'm heading up tomorrow morning to pick up my RV from camping world . I guess you can put me in the "Camping World Sucks" camp

wayneroe · 01-24-2018, 04:06 AM

Sorry to hear that, but not surprised. Hopefully Thor will take care of you. I had an interesting exchange with a Thor sales advisor a couple of days ago. I had gone to the Thor website to request download of brochures for a couple of different models, including the Palazzo, and floor plans. A few minutes later I got an e-mail from the Thor sales advisor (who knew where I live, I had to enter that info when I made the request). In his e-mail, he told me, "Our locate a dealer page will be able to find the 4 Palazzo dealers closest to you if a camping world is not a dealership you want to do business with." At no time prior to that had Camping World even been mentioned. I'm sure he knew from my address exactly which CW was closest to me and that I was aware of their reputation. It just happens to be your dealer.

steve76 · 01-24-2018, 04:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jacksonjack

And the story takes a shocking turn ......... after being told that I have a seriously complex problem that Thor is making them resubmit their request for warrentee work approval I called Thor customer service...... they said they haven't received a single request for Warrentee work from Camping World ! I told them my story and that how my RV has been sitting at Camping World for 40 days. They asked me if I would like to bring it up to Indiana to get fixed. I told them yes. They told me if I bring it up they will make sure I'm happy before I leave. To put together a list of everything I wanted fixed. I live about 6 hours away and have a friend that lives up that way so I'm going to take it up.
I'm heading up tomorrow morning to pick up my RV from camping world . I guess you can put me in the "Camping World Sucks" camp

If you haven't yet thought about it, I would definitely file a complaint against C.W. "with Thor" if it's at all possible. Let's face it, sure C.W. sells their product, but C.W. is giving Thor a bad reputation overall.

wayneroe · 01-24-2018, 04:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steve76

If you haven't yet thought about it, I would definitely file a complaint against C.W. "with Thor" if it's at all possible. Let's face it, sure C.W. sells their product, but C.W. is giving Thor a bad reputation overall.

In a conversation I had earlier today with a Thor rep, he said they can't control how a dealer handles his service program. They can call, talk to them, and try to get them to do right, but they aren't in control of them; sounded like what he was saying is a dealer can tell them to "kiss off" and there is not much they can do about it unless they decide to quit marketing their product through that dealer. I assume that would be a very difficult decision to make with someone as big as CW and the number of units they sell nationwide.

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