As I have not taken my CY3010 in yet for any warranty work. I was curious what length of times others experience when retuning their rigs for warranty repairs? I know there are horror stories and some have sat for months. But in general, how long should I have to wait to get mine back?
Average Length of Time an RV is in for repair at a Dealership?
- Thread starter TX_Clay
- Start date
jmgratz
Original Owners Club Member
It really varies on the dealer and your relationship with the dealer. Our daughter had her Trail Runner at Lone Star RV in Houston for 7 months and they had never even looked at it before she moved it to another dealer. BTW Lone Star was the selling dealer. It seems as though most dealers will put their customers before others and full time RVers who live in their RV before weekenders. Just remember the 'squeeky wheel gets the grease' so keep on top of it. Dealers will also lie about the status of the repair by using excuses such as we are waiting on parts.
Bob&Patty
Founders of SoCal Chapter
Clay, here's my advise to you. If you don't want to leave it for months on end....fix it yourself. HL will send you, depending on what it is, parts if you need them. Appliances have a different warranty so any RV service center can fix them. You can, however, call HL service and have them find you an independent (not a dealer) service center to have your coach repaired. So, you have 2 choices....fix it yourself or bite the bullit and just leave it until is is fixed. BTW, I hope the dealer is where you bought it.
JohnDar
Prolifically Gabby Member
Unless it's some sort of emergency (or you're a full-timer), take it to the dealer at the end of your normal "season," prior to the expiration of the warranty. If you need it back immediately, then any length of time will probably upset you. Even for non-warranty work, leave it during a period you won't need or want to use it, if you can.
For the few warranty repairs I have had done I just made an appointment to bring in my rig for service, about three weeks in advance. The dealer completed the work within the week and I had to come get it. They only had so much room on their lot so they wanted me to pick it up right away. The parts were order in advance.
danemayer
Well-known member
A lot depends on what needs to be done. If parts need to be ordered from Heartland or an appliance/subsystem vendor, dealers often take a couple of days to put the order in. It may take a few days for the supplier to process, and shipping is usually ground, so plan on a week. It's not unusual for parts to take 2 - 3 weeks.
For warranty work, I took our rig to Camper Clinic II south of Austin. Even though they don't sell Heartland RVs, they are in the warranty system. They were usually pretty good about turnaround time once parts were in hand.
For warranty work, I took our rig to Camper Clinic II south of Austin. Even though they don't sell Heartland RVs, they are in the warranty system. They were usually pretty good about turnaround time once parts were in hand.
TravelTiger
Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
Like others have said, depends on the dealer. If you don't mind taking it a little ways, I can recommend Blue Moon Mobile RV Repair. They have a shop in Carrolton, TX (suburb of Dallas)... I took my rig to them to avoid the travel charges of them coming to me. Very happy with their work.
I would not recommend McClains around the DFW area. Have used 3 different stores. PM me for details.
I don't have personal experience, but I have heard good things about United RV Center in Ft Worth.
I also think Pegmikef has had good service at Big Country RV in Abilene.
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jassson007
Founding Louisiana Chapter Leaders-Retired
I would not take mine anywhere for warranty work I couldn't do. I found a mobile guy to come to me and after I got approval from heartland for the repairs to be covered I paid him and heartland paid me back. To dang easy as far as I am concerned. Lol
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CycloneDave
Member
Two times to the dealer so far and it will be there in total probably month to a month and a half. In my case the shower stall is being replaced under warranty and Heartland will not ship out a replacement so one has to be custom made. God only knows how they will remove and replace a one piece shower stall without removing a wall or roof.
One of the water tanks had a crack in it also. Those things were not designed to be removed from what they tell me. They are fixing a long list of other items while they wait for the shower stall which is supposed to arrive before the end of the month so they say.
One of the water tanks had a crack in it also. Those things were not designed to be removed from what they tell me. They are fixing a long list of other items while they wait for the shower stall which is supposed to arrive before the end of the month so they say.The first time in for something other than very minor was a month or six weeks. Had a bad axle that had to be measured, pictures taken, sent to Heartland, new axle sent and installed. Then the dealer decided that there was something wrong with the other axle after comparing it with the new one. More picture taking, ordering and installation. All warrantee. Did the job right since absolutely no tire wear in the 15k miles since. Good service from Apache Trailer Sales in Everett, WA Took it in to have the bearings packed in the morning and was told it might be a week, which was fine with me. Got home after some shopping and received a phone call that it was done. Now that is fast!
caissiel
Senior Member
I made a career in planning. We operated our equipment 24/7 and cost 1000s for every minute of downtime.
I would mot wait a day for service.
Anyway in over 20 years of RV ownership I have returned my unit once. We made a requirement list and an appointment and the repairs under warranty took 2 hours.
There is no reason for all this waiting and storage at the dealer, Any dealer doing it should be our of business. Or does not deserve business.
We should report all these shady dealers,
I would mot wait a day for service.
Anyway in over 20 years of RV ownership I have returned my unit once. We made a requirement list and an appointment and the repairs under warranty took 2 hours.
There is no reason for all this waiting and storage at the dealer, Any dealer doing it should be our of business. Or does not deserve business.
We should report all these shady dealers,
As we use our RV 2 to 3 weekends out of every month. I hate to have to leave it somewhere for 3 to 4 weeks. We purchased it from ExplorerUSA RV in Mesquite TX. Seeing we live west of Fort Worth, they told us we could use the one if Fort Worth for any warranty repairs. So far, HL Customer Service has been very helpful with information and even has sent me parts that ExplorerUSA RV was supposed to have ordered when we took delivery and didn't. Well, hopefully, I can resolve any issues myself and not have to "wait" on service warranty. Thanks for your replies. I do appreciate it.
JohnD
Moved on to the next thing...
If they tell you it will be more than two weeks, you either need to the them to go to H E double sticks . . . or find another repair shop!
danemayer
Well-known member
There are ways to manage the wait time. But they are all pretty dependent on having a good working relationship with the service people. They hear complaints all day long. It's rare for them to encounter someone who's nice and who is asking/discussing, rather than demanding. Which type of owner do you think is more likely to get more than "meets minimum" help?
Most dealerships have plenty of work stacked up and won't be able to look at your rig immediately. Ask what day/time they could start work and ask if you can make an appointment and bring it in at that time. Some will agree. Some won't.
Don't bother trying to get expedited service during or immediately after the dealer is having a sale. The techs will be tied up getting new units out the door so the dealership can get paid.
If parts have to be ordered, offer to pay for expedited shipping and handling from the supplier. See if the dealer warranty coordinator is willing to place an expedited order that same day. Next day air can be expensive, but it can take 2 or 3 weeks off the wait time.
After you get the RV back, don't forget that there may be a next time. A sincere thank you goes a long way. Adult beverages go even further.
Btw, in locations where business is seasonal, the dealer probably staffs to the off-season workload. That will leave him understaffed during peak season. I'm pretty sure long wait times are often a function of the staffing level and time of year. Staffing to the peak season demand would be awfully expensive in the off-season.
Most dealerships have plenty of work stacked up and won't be able to look at your rig immediately. Ask what day/time they could start work and ask if you can make an appointment and bring it in at that time. Some will agree. Some won't.
Don't bother trying to get expedited service during or immediately after the dealer is having a sale. The techs will be tied up getting new units out the door so the dealership can get paid.
If parts have to be ordered, offer to pay for expedited shipping and handling from the supplier. See if the dealer warranty coordinator is willing to place an expedited order that same day. Next day air can be expensive, but it can take 2 or 3 weeks off the wait time.
After you get the RV back, don't forget that there may be a next time. A sincere thank you goes a long way. Adult beverages go even further.
Btw, in locations where business is seasonal, the dealer probably staffs to the off-season workload. That will leave him understaffed during peak season. I'm pretty sure long wait times are often a function of the staffing level and time of year. Staffing to the peak season demand would be awfully expensive in the off-season.
pegmikef
Well-known member
. . . and it helps to be flexible. For example the service manager at the dealership I like and use told me that he really doesn't like to schedule appointments because he can't guarantee that he can meet them because, as Dan pointed out, the sales of the rigs take priority and the sold rvs automatically buck the line. It is unpredictable and depending on the number of sales can add a couple or more days to the original appointment date. The service manager does however, give me a "heads up" when he sees a slack time on the horizon and has scheduled me in within a day or so. This only works if you are flexible enough to respond fairly quickly.
JohnD
Moved on to the next thing...
Well . . . flexible goes both ways!
If you schedule an appointment to drop off your trailer, nothing should get in the way of the dealership delivering the unit at the scheduled done time, no matter what their sales department does.
Which type of owner do you think is more likely to get more than "meets minimum" help?
After you get the RV back, don't forget that there may be a next time. A sincere thank you goes a long way. Adult beverages go even further.
After being in the Automotive industry for 10 years as a technician, service writer and then a Service Manager in my younger side of life. I totally understand staffing and attitude. AND you are correct about bearing gifts when you pick up your RV. They will stumble over each other to get to it the next time you bring it in.
We will be talking to the dealer next month, shall see how it goes
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