Cummins will not accept Good Sam Extended Service Plan

[ITSheff]

I'm currently park at a Cummins service center in GA with a busted generator needing $1700 in repairs. They are refusing to file a claim against the Good Sam Extended Service Plan. They claim this is due to them betting burned by Good Sam too often. Has anyone else had to deal with something similar?

I called the administrators and they informed me if I paid and filed for reimbursement, it would take 60-90 days.

Any recommendations?

[ducksface]

Post a copy of their repair estimate.
We'll tell you if they're jacking you on the cost also.
In the mean time get a second opinion on the repairs.
Call any other service center and ask on the phone if they'll take good Sam.

Your experience with the dealer you're at should have went exactly like this:
"I'm having generator problems. Do You honor the Good Sam warranty? '(OVER THE PHONE)
No.


How did they get so far as to diagnose?

If you won't send us their estimate, my suggestion is to pay them.
30 day billing on credit card, you're out a minimum card payment or two at worst before good Sam reimburses you.

[EA37TS]

What is busted on the generator? This is an Onan generator correct? You can take the coach to Camping World and let them fix it and file against their own warranty program.

Cummins is not required to accept Good Sam warranties, or anyone other than their own for that matter.

What kind of RV is this generator on?

[ITSheff]

I've attached the invoice.
It appears that the throttle flapper broke and was sucked into the engine. They want to replace the head, carb, and fuel pump(incidental). The genny is the Onan 4K less than three years old with ~1600 hrs. Unfortunately the Cummins factory warranty doesn't transfer so I'm out there too.

I originally went to camping world and was told that it had major internal issues and they can't do that. They directed me to Cummins who, during the initial appointment took the Good Sam info saying it wasn't a problem. Now that the generator engine is in pieces, they won't work with them.

This is on my 2017 Thor Freedom Elite 30FE.

At this point I'm starting to wonder if it isn't more economical to carry around two Honda 2000's. Seems like they use much less fuel and are quieter.

[EA37TS]

I have a nasty suspicion that what happened is they originally said yes and then when they went for the authorization Good Sam did not want to accept their estimate and wants to pay less for the repair and Cummins isn't having any part of that game.

It appears, Good Sam doesn't want to pay what the Cummins dealer wants for the repair. More than likely your issue is with Good Sam and not Cummins.

[ITSheff]

That was my thoughts too. Unfortunately I'm gonna have to play the reimbursement game. Oh well. It's no my first rodeo but it never seems to get better.

Any thoughts on the advantages of the integrated generators vs the portable ones? I feel like the portables are better in just about every aspect except storage. I was thinking I could probably build a frame to hold them in the existing space the Onan took up.

The Onans just seem to go through way more fuel. My only guess is the portables don't last as long.

[ducksface]

You have the right attitude and the facts.
It's all you can do.
Thanks for the invoice and the follow up posts.

Welcome ro the forum.
You'll need hard core, in writing, approval from good Sam for the work to be done, the work already done and the money amount.

You're doing it all as correctly as circumstance allows.
Good luck.

[tanman32225]

screwed by GS... I ran into a similar problem in Texas with a third party extended warranty.. For me the warranty company did not cover the
genset. Cummins was great to me. They tried to file but was told the genset was not covered at all. They discounted my bill, had me sign up with some
Cummins plan that gave me a big discount on my Cummins work and parts.

The parts were flown in overnight and put on as soon as Fedex arrived o Monday . They even offered us to stay on their lot for the weekend for free but only had a 30 amp plug.. It was Texas in the summer and hot hot hot. We could have only run 2 ac's and needed 6 it was so hot so we went to a state park down the road.

I think your beef is with GS and not Cummins. If they have been burned in the past you cant blame them for not taking your GS warranty.

Pay for it and try to get reimbursed. Good luck

[Laco]

I had GS policy on a DP I had some years ago. When the oil pump went south, it was towed to the nearest Cummins shop. Long story short, the R&R of the oil pump included a tear down to check for bearing damage, since the engine had run a little (idle only) with no oil pressure, no damage, and rebuild of fuel injectors that were leaking fuel into the crankcase. GS balked at the bill, Cummins negotiated with them, and eventually I wound up paying about $1100.00 that GS would not pay. Though not thrilled with GS, it sould have been a lot worse,

[GTM41261]

Maybe better to bite the bullet and replace the gen set. a new Onan 4000 is around $3000. 1600 hrs is a fair amount of time on a generator. What type of maintenance has it had?

[Lt Keefer]

If the bill is in fact more than 50% of the cost of a new generator and if 1600 hours is a lot for a 3 year old engine I would agree with the poster that suggested replacing it. The only thing good sams has going for it is the discount at campgrounds. Being a part of camping world, they're not worth a tinker's damn.

[dkoldman]

Wow so many places to start here.

1st Sorry about your ordeal, hoping to learn more about Onan and Good Sams who I am a member of but [disclaimer] I don't have any of their products or services.

#2. You said "They are refusing to file a claim against the Good Sam Extended Service Plan." Is it really that they want you to guarantee or insure payment if insurance does not pay? We have do that all that time at a Doctor's office or medical coverage. This is not a routine repair job and why should Onan get the shaft if Good Sams refuses to pay?

#3. When was the Generator last serviced? Whether warranty transferred or not, it is / was under 3 years old. If you can show where it was at an Authorized Dealer for service, it may weigh in on their covering a true defect.

#4. How long have you owned and how many of the 1600 hrs did you put on it? My Onan has service call at 1st 50 hours and every 150 hours after that. That would be 10 Service calls in 3 years. If you had that much paperwork, I am pretty sure they find a way to cover or help you with the cost to repair without insurance? I don't think I would have made 10 service calls but if I was doing 550 hours / year on my gen set, I would have it serviced at least twice a year. If it was serviced, someone would have / should have noticed a faulty Throttle bottle due to poor idling etc.

#5 What would I do now? I call Good Sam and find out what they say. I am as nice as possible and throw myself to the mercy of their court. You can dump the Good Sams warranty later; but that is different story Regardless I take what I can get and move on.

#6 Assume Good Sams will do absolutely nothing. I then contact Onan National Customer Service Center and plea for their help. Tell them you are willing to pay out of pocket. If you are sincere and get the right person, they may cover the parts and force you to pay for all of the labor and incidentals.

Thanks for sharing your story. I think when dust settles you will want the genset fixed. If they say they replace for $3k and give you new 3 year warranty that would be intriguing but I think I just get it repaired expected to spend around $1,000. During interim, I will make sure my genset is serviced by Authorized dealer at least until after year 3. Good luck

[Travelin' Texans]

Originally Posted by ITSheff

That was my thoughts too. Unfortunately I'm gonna have to play the reimbursement game. Oh well. It's no my first rodeo but it never seems to get better.

Any thoughts on the advantages of the integrated generators vs the portable ones? I feel like the portables are better in just about every aspect except storage. I was thinking I could probably build a frame to hold them in the existing space the Onan took up.

The Onans just seem to go through way more fuel. My only guess is the portables don't last as long.

The advantage of the onboard Onan is;
#1 it already has a storage spot & connected to a fuel source
#2 it already runs all the appliances onboard your RV, can be started with the push of button inside & possible auto start when batteries get low
#3 a single portable capable of running everything will be very heavy to move around & store,
#4 it will require 2 smaller gennys connected in parallel to run everything, maybe everything, which will be harder to store,
#5 that pair will still use plenty of fuel that also has to be stored along with possibly an extended run fuel tank
#6 that $1700 won't buy a pair of Honda's with the parallel kit or fuel tank.
The only disadvantage I can see to keeping/fixing the Onan is waiting 60-90 for the $1700 reimbursement & dealing with headaches & Good Sams.

[EA37TS]

Another idea. Cancel Good Sam and use the refund to pay for the generator.

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by Lt Keefer

The only thing good sams has going for it is the discount at campgrounds. Being a part of camping world, they're not worth a tinker's damn.

I had to look it up....

"Tinker's-dam - a wall of dough raised around a place which a plumber desires to flood with a coat of solder. The material can be but once used; being consequently thrown away as worthless."

I bought a Good Sams membership when I first bought my new RV, I used it to get my initial insurance and the roadside assistance that came with it to get back home. Not knowing that Winnebago already included that assistance with new RV purchase Since then, I have gone with a new insurance policy at about half the price that includes roadside assistance My membership goes on 2 more years, so hopefully I will eventually find something that is worth a tinker's damn.

[ITSheff]

So, this POS "Warranty" won't cover or reimburse anything because the failure happened in the carburetor which is listed in their exclusions.

Looks like I'm gonna pay out of pocket and use the refund from cancelling this garbage "coverage".

Looks like "Good" Sam has lost yet another customer.

[ducksface]

Garbage is in the eye of the beholder.
Did you read your coverage before buying and again before trying to submit a claim?

Sorry for your trouble.
Unless you need the money to do the repair I'd rethink canceling the warranty.
Had it not been the carb you'd be all smiles right now.

What else doesn't the Warranty cover?

Just a thought.
Calm minds make smooth decisions.

Juujuu would smite me mighty smitefully if I canceled a warranty out of spite.

But
There's a recent post, which I captured as a later proof, where someone says they paid $20,000 for a five year warranty. THAT ONE I'd cancel so juujuu didn't get me.

[ITSheff]

I think one of the most frustrating part was talking to the administrator rep on the phone. He even rubbed it in a bit. He said that the carb was excluded but even if it was covered, they would only replace the carb and not cover anything because it's "incidental" damage. So basically they only cover the part that broke and none of all the other parts that break as a result.

[macdaddy1111]

Are there any decent Extended Warranty Companies??

We had Protective XtraRide on our 2017 Thor Vegas, Awning ripped itself off, wife just put it out for breakfastn hour later pulling it back in the motor bind up and ripped itself out.

Put in claim, DENIED!!!

1400 awing and lost of thousand bucks after canceling 5k Warranty Plan!!

[Mo_Mike]

Originally Posted by ITSheff

I'm currently park at a Cummins service center in GA with a busted generator needing $1700 in repairs. They are refusing to file a claim against the Good Sam Extended Service Plan. They claim this is due to them betting burned by Good Sam too often. Has anyone else had to deal with something similar?

I called the administrators and they informed me if I paid and filed for reimbursement, it would take 60-90 days.

Any recommendations?

Just a note on CUMMINS SERVICE. Our ONAN 4000 carb died right after the first year, less than 100 hours. Of course CUMMINS would not cover it under their warranty since "it was gas related". Bit the bullet for 820.00 (when I could have replaced the carb myself for 135.00 off amazon) However, after CUMMINS replaced the carb and adjusted the generator, it has never run as well or as quiet. Since THOR just installs, but apparently doesn't adjust them (sounds like wheel alignments)I am wondering if the generators should be adjusted and tested by CUMMINS after delivery (even if have to pay a fee) for long term satisfaction