I bought my first RV (sob) out of state and saved a bundle. One (of two) local dealers told me they would not service anything they didn't sell. I called the (other) manufacturer and they confirmed that the dealerships are independently owned and while they are obligated to perform warranty repairs they can easily avoid the obligation by simply putting you on the back of the list forever. We decided to take our chances.
Our first warranty repair happened in Canada... I bought the part and fixed it myself for less than the cost of fuel to tow it anywhere.
At the end of the second year (sob had 24 month warranty) we had two minor issues. With some trepidation I called the other local dealer and asked for an appointment - after some hesitation the receptionist said "well, I can fit you in tomorrow morning or next Wednesday". When I dropped it off the service manager said "did you buy it here"... and I thought "oh no... here it comes". When I said "no" he said - "oh, I'm sorry.... then we don't have you in our computer - this will take me an extra minute here - can I have your address and phone number?"
We bought our Heartland out of state too to save $$'s.
Our first warranty repair happened in Canada... I bought the part and fixed it myself for less than the cost of fuel to tow it anywhere.
At the end of the second year (sob had 24 month warranty) we had two minor issues. With some trepidation I called the other local dealer and asked for an appointment - after some hesitation the receptionist said "well, I can fit you in tomorrow morning or next Wednesday". When I dropped it off the service manager said "did you buy it here"... and I thought "oh no... here it comes". When I said "no" he said - "oh, I'm sorry.... then we don't have you in our computer - this will take me an extra minute here - can I have your address and phone number?"
We bought our Heartland out of state too to save $$'s.
Snapper
Member
I dont understand these dealers positions. They are missing out on a valuable customer. With the economy the way that it is and RV sales down at least 50%, you would think that they would have you come in with open arms. I am a new North Trail owner and I purchased The extended warranty. I made several calls prior to purchasing my trailer 2 states away and asked the local dealerships if they would accept the extended warranty for service. three of the four said yes and indicated that they sell the same warranty at their dealership. This maybe a way to beat the long travel time to the original dealer. It all depends on how long you will own your current trailer. I think think this issue should be addressed with Heartland and the dealerships. This does not look possitive towards the dealership and Manufacture relations.
P.S I like my North Trail 28BHS alot. great product.
P.S I like my North Trail 28BHS alot. great product.
jmgratz
Original Owners Club Member
Some car dealers do the same thing. They will service you if you didn't buy your car there but do put you last in line. Since most of a dealers profit comes in their service department they are stupid not promoting service (my opinion)regardless of where you bought it. Their customer loyalty comes from good service since most people don't trade in their RV's like they do their cars. DEALERS...WAKE UP AND SMELL THE PROFIT...
Jim, Have you called Heartland service to see if they can put you in contact with a dealer that is closer to your location and is willing to help you? I have talked to Heartland about dealers being unwilling to do warranty work on units they did not sell. Heartland does not care for that business practice, they can discuss the situation with the dealers, but they can not force a dealer to service Heartland products they did not sell. I am not sure I would want a dealer working on my BH if the dealer was forced to accept the work. Good luck.
slmayor
Founding California Northern Chapter Leader
After a long conversation with the service manager at our dealer, here is his side of it. (keep in mind that like many dealers, they carry multiple manufacturers)
Due to the economy, they have laid off all but a few service guys. Just enough to take care of their own customers, with a little longer wait than usual. You might be able to book an appointment a long ways out if they have an opening, but no sure deal. They've already closed one of their three sales locations. You'd normally think that extra service work would help the bottom line. In their case, he explained that a lot of what they do for customer service isn't re-imbursed by the factories, so that comes out of their budget. In example, we had a few small things that they took care of for us without charge. Because the trailer was at the dealers at the time I would normally check the roof, I asked them to check and re-seal for me. They didn't charge for it. There are some items that the factories don't pay for after the first 90 days as well, so the dealers pick those service items up at their expense. I had no idea this was the case.
I do know that it's tough out there and only going to get worse for these guys. I hope our dealer is one of the ones that makes it through as they have been exceptional to work with from the initial sale right through the end of our warranty. We've had to travel 2-1/2 hours each way, but the service and the way we were treated has been worth it. Quite frankly, we just got lucky as we had no inkling of what type of reputation they had.
Due to the economy, they have laid off all but a few service guys. Just enough to take care of their own customers, with a little longer wait than usual. You might be able to book an appointment a long ways out if they have an opening, but no sure deal. They've already closed one of their three sales locations. You'd normally think that extra service work would help the bottom line. In their case, he explained that a lot of what they do for customer service isn't re-imbursed by the factories, so that comes out of their budget. In example, we had a few small things that they took care of for us without charge. Because the trailer was at the dealers at the time I would normally check the roof, I asked them to check and re-seal for me. They didn't charge for it. There are some items that the factories don't pay for after the first 90 days as well, so the dealers pick those service items up at their expense. I had no idea this was the case.
I do know that it's tough out there and only going to get worse for these guys. I hope our dealer is one of the ones that makes it through as they have been exceptional to work with from the initial sale right through the end of our warranty. We've had to travel 2-1/2 hours each way, but the service and the way we were treated has been worth it. Quite frankly, we just got lucky as we had no inkling of what type of reputation they had.
randes
Active Member
I bought my BH out of state in May 2008 thinking I would be fulltime in less than a year and so it wouldn't matter about the hometown dealer's attitude. (They are about 40 miles away.) Well I'm still not FT yet, but every time I have needed any warranty work, I have taken it to a non-authorized dealer about 3 miles from my house and with prior approval from HL have always had the work done quickly. In fact they even mentioned how easy it had been to work with HL. Maybe I have just been lucky, but HL has always made it easy for me to get the work done!
Love to hear that Roy. A good example of Heartland being flexible and thinking outside the box (approving a competitor dealer to do your warranty work).
You've found a nice gem. Hang on to them
Jim
Love to hear that Roy. A good example of Heartland being flexible and thinking outside the box (approving a competitor dealer to do your warranty work).
You've found a nice gem. Hang on to them
Jim
Must be location, as in out of CA. Heartland told me to take my rig to another service department because of the lack of service I was getting from the selling dealer. Heartland chose the place and called them about it. Well time comes to drop the trailer off, everything went fine till that point. When the time came for repairs, Heartland denied some saying it was the selling dealers problem (That is funny I thought Heartland told me to take it to this dealer to get the problems fixed), time allotted to fix some of the items were not enough to perform the repairs, ex. same time to change out an electric awning as a manual one, yes mine was not right from day one (Flat Rate sometimes screws you, I was a mechanic and found out the hard way) plus some other items I cant think of.
These are my thoughts on warranty with Heartland and way the dealers don't really want to work on the rigs not bought from them.
The buyer calls Heartland customer service to either complain or to ask to take to another service department from where it was purchased.
Heartland agrees so you can take it in to where they choose, at least in my case.
Drop off the trailer for service then Heartland tries to screw them on the time it takes to repair some things. Being a mechanic in the past I have seen this, don't agree, but hey, why loose money on warranty work when you get paid off flat rate. I agree get paid for what is performed, some of the flat rate times, at least with cars is not even close to what it takes to repair and I am sure trailers are the same way. I am sure all the trailer service departments are like this with any manufacturer. Warranty work sucks to begin with then try to make money on it. A loosing battle.
Most of my items are getting fixed. Heartland really was not a lot of help on this, which is funny they knew of my problems with pictures prior to me taking it in for service.
The Heartland parts department though has been great to talk with on times for shipping, parts, etc. Always pleasent with me on the phone. Of course I am a drilling rig guy, so pleasent might be a little different for me.//heartlandowners.org/images/icons/icon6.gif
leftyf
SSG Stumpy-VA Terrorist
Having worked the rigs off-shore, and pleasant is different for us. *NOT* getting smacked upside the head is always nice. Getting smacked is the norm.
Do Pavlov ring a bell? Not really...but, a good right hook will!
I don't buy a word of it. Due to the economy my savings and retirement funds are now a LOT smaller than they were a year ago. What will an RV dealer do about that? (nothing I'd say... so I will do the same about HIS problems due to the economy and we are even there)
Now -- I bought a MOBILE product from a manufacturer with a NATIONAL network of dealers doing warranty repairs. I am currently sitting 1100 miles from "home" and 1600 miles from the dealership where I bought my RV - even with diesel at a bargain $2.569/gallon HOW could I justify spending the towing costs and time to return "home" to get (eg) a $500 problem resolved? One of the reasons any dealership can sell this product is BECAUSE they represent a manufacturer and I am counting on a warranty and repairs done nationally. This is REQUIRED for a mobile product and both the dealer and manufacturer must recognize this fact?
Now... if the answer was that for HIS customers they do extra service - OK. But to say that BECAUSE they do extra service they won't to any warranty is just bunk.
I've only run into this debate during pre-sales when someone was trying to justify their exorbitant margins. It's sad if this blackmail continues post-sales. The dealer network is participating in their own demise.... sorry that's how I see it.
Exactly right.
IMO, we will be seeing more factory-direct sales in the future for this reason.
I draw the same conclusion.
Though there are some interesting factors at work here. First - these are big ticket items and most people need to see them to make a purchase decision. I bought on-line twice but went to a dealer to see the floor plan first each time.
Also, we are planners and do everything we can to avoid EVER making an emotional purchase decision. However I know a lot of people who have bought or traded RV's on the spot at a dealership when they decide they love a unit and the sales person "makes them such a good deal they had to act immediately". As long as people keep doing that, dealers and "typical" sales people have a way to make money.
On the back end, there are also a range of people and preferences. If I can fix a problem myself I actually prefer to be shipped the part under warranty and just do the labor myself. While I'm sure there are many people who prefer to tow their unit to a dealer and wait as long as it takes for "turn key" warranty repair where they don't lift a finger.
A big part of my bottom line here is cost so whatever distribution model is used and however I get my pre-sales and post-sales service... I will be evaluating costs vs convenience and the other factors that go into a purchase decision and cost will a big factor.
I think the amount of info on the Internet has changed a lot and will continue to change distribution and sales models in the future.
Yes, no doubt, most folks, ourselves included would want to see it in person. However, that does not necessarily mean going to a dealers lot.
In combination with internet research, going to 1, 2 or more major RV shows is more useful to us than going to dealer lots as you can see more product in a more time efficient manner.
Even if we go to a dealer, we are looking for very specific configurations they don't stock anyway. So no matter what, it's going to be a factory-order for us.
I agree. We went to one show before our first purchase and two shows before our second purchase and the shows really helped us narrow down what we were looking for. Actually now that I think of it, we had a few questions about the floorplan we picked even after we'd seen it. We called the on-line dealer and he went on his lot with a tape measure to answer our questions. He said he would e-mail us pictures too.
We will probably buy from an on-line source again too.
out the car window
Member
We need to find a dealer in Vancouver BC Canada who will accept Heartland warranty work - have a new (late nov 08) BC. Have rang 6 dealers near Langley in Vancouver where we will be staying - no one will accept Heartland work now. Say they took to long to pay them and to many hassles.
Has anyone dealt with any dealers in this area or can suggest anyone we might contact please?
Need to get parts shipped to them - windows / blinds etc and they will not order until I can give them a dealer address to ship.
Thanks for your help
Le
Has anyone dealt with any dealers in this area or can suggest anyone we might contact please?
Need to get parts shipped to them - windows / blinds etc and they will not order until I can give them a dealer address to ship.
Thanks for your help
Le
have you tried Travelland RV 1800 513 9434 in Langleyhttp://www.travelandrvcanada.com/SERVICE.htm
