Service After Sale At a Different Dealer?

[WhyNot]

Hi All,

I have been looking for the past 6 months at different 5th wheel rigs and had moved a Heartland to the top of my list and ready to purchase UNTIL!!!!

Here is what I found to be very sad and very harmful to PROSPECTIVE buyers, owners, loyal customers.

Looking for long term lets say I purchase a Heartland product and a few months maybe a year later my work moves me 300 miles away, or across the country. Pack up and move... All is well UNTIL !!! that new 5th wheel I purchased need warranty service!!!
Why you ask, well it is as simple as looking at any Heartland product brochure. The purchase is only guaranteed to be serviced back at the original dealer. Quoting Heartland " NO DEALER IS LEGALLY REQUIRED TO SERVICE PRODUCTS PURCHASED FROM OTHER DEALERS."

If you have not seen that just pick up any brochure that Heartland prints and look over on the back side!!! Heartland has covered their rears so if you need service you should drive it back across the country or 300 miles or whatever is not convenient to the CUSTOMER.

To me as a prospective buyer it wipes out all Heartland products. First and foremost Heartland must not want a prospective customer to find the best pricing on any purchase. All I heard from the time I started talking to heartland people was how customer oriented they are. What a joke that statement is. Secondly what if I must move. Has anyone thought about this.

This all came about because my local dealer wants $ 10000 more for the exact same unit with the exact same options as another dealer does. To my face the dealer told me he has no more room to deal he is at dealer cost. Then he put in writing that the dealership would not service a unit I purchased from somewhere else and said Heartland would not CARE.

So sadly I say that Heartland and what I believe to be a very high end product has dropped off my list. I just hope other prospective customers or as Heartland says "COMMUNITY, CONVENIENCE" only if you pay your local dealer whatever he wants.

Heartland Reps if you read this and are TRULY CUSTOMER ORIENTED require all dealers to service all Heartland products. Maybe if they service a few rigs under warranty service and do a good job the customer will think of that dealer when they are considering their next purchase. I understand that warranty service work is not paid by Heartland at full hourly rate, but to not have service after sales wherever you are is LUDICROUS. Wonder if that thinking would work for FORD, CHEVY, GMC, MERCEDES, FERRARI. Lets go small would it work for SONY, SAMSUNG

My journey continues to find my next 5th Wheel.

Thanks

David

 

[cookie]

Re: Hearland Why Not

Hello David.
Sorry to hear that you feel the way you do about purchasing a Heartland product.
I am kind of thinking that you are looking to purchase your first 5th wheel.

Years ago when we were shopping for a 5th wheel I had two different dealers of a different brand tell me that if I didn't purchase from them they would not do service on my rig. I repeat, these were not Heartland dealers.

Next I have to tell you that a few years ago while in Texas I needed some warranty brake work. The Heartland dealer there took me in the next day.
No problem having warranty work done at a dealer that I did not purchase from.

RV dealers are not the same as automobile dealers. It just don't work that way.

There are plenty of owners here that have made long distance purchases and have not problems with service from a not selling dealer.
I'm sure that plenty of them will chime in with their long distance purchase stories. Good and bad.

Peace
Dave

 

[Kbvols]

Re: Hearland Why Not

I believe you will find the same practice regardless of the brand. I appreciate Heartland for providing that information up front. Like anything some dealers get it and will gladly work on units regardless where purchased and some won't. I would be suspect of a dealer which took the buy here or no service approach.

 

[pegmikef]

Re: Hearland Why Not

I, too, live in Texas and unless you are near the large populated areas there are almost no Heartland Dealers and none in San Angelo. I bought my North Trail in San Antonio (200 plus miles) and when it needed warranty work and a recall repair, Heartland Service hooked me up with a local independent contractor to do the work. Cost me nothing. I have had only one problem with my Big Horn that I bought in Abilene (100 miles) and Heartland service just sent me the required part that I replaced myself and sent them back the broken part. All instances simply took a couple of emails to resolve.

 

[hcriddle]

Re: Hearland Why Not

It is sad that you would take a product off your list simply because you read something in a brochure and did nothing to check out what the reality is. If you had come to the forum and asked the question you might have found a number of people just like me, who went from Houston, TX to Michigan to pick up my Bighorn because I saved $15,000 on the purchase. I had a couple of warranty issues with it and took it to Lone Star RV in Houston and they fixed it under warranty even though I did not buy it from them.

No dealer is obligated to do anything and I have also had car dealers who said they would fix a warranty issue for me but since I did not buy from them they would put me behind any of their customers who might need work. I eve had one who kept my truck all day long to do a 15 minute fix on a recall.

I looked at the money I saved in the purchase price and figured even if I had to fix some things, I could fix a lot for $15,000. If it were a major high dollar issue I would have looked for an independent repair facility to do the work under warranty. There are a number of ways to get things done without going back to the dealer you purchased it from.

As far as Heartland customer service, I have never dealt with better anywhere. I recently had to go back to the factory for a major issue and they bent over backwards to accommodate my schedule and then went far above and beyond to make sure when my coach left their facility it was way better than when I brought it in. I will take talking to the people involved any day over what I might read in a brochure.

Sorry to be so long but I hate seeing people come on and make one post and it is to tell everyone that they should not buy a Heartland product. To make a blanket statement about a company or people you have never dealt with is not giving them a fair chance. I hope you might reconsider because there are numerous people on this forum who have had wonderful experiences with Heartland and its customer service folks and I am sure you will hear from them. Are they perfect? No but they do a tremendous job as far as I am concerned.

 

[WhyNot]

Hi all,

thanks for responding. No Dave, I have owned a few 5th wheels and no this is not my first dealing, but would like it to be not final high quality unit. I have been looking attending rv shows and talking to lots of reps and dealers.

To say

"Sorry to be so long but I hate seeing people come on and make one post and it is to tell everyone that they should not buy a Heartland product. To make a blanket statement about a company or people you have never dealt with is not giving them a fair chance. I hope you might reconsider because there are numerous people on this forum who have had wonderful experiences with Heartland and its customer service folks and I am sure you will hear from them. Are they perfect? No but they do a tremendous job as far as I am concerned."

I feel is wrong as you do not know the hours I have spent talking to people as well as still WAITING ON THE TEXAS HEARTLAND LANDMARK REP TO STILL CALL BACK. Been over a week and still no response. So Mr Riddle you are incorrect on me making a blanket statement, I have dealt with Heartland and have talked to the East Coast Landmark Rep ANDY and he was great.

As far as Lone Star RV and their Sales and service they are great. I know Scott in parts very well, and Gordon in sales. I will ask them this weekend if they will work on a Landmark if I was to purchase one.

As far as only reading what is on the back of a brochure .. if you read I had the HOUSTON Landmark dealer put it in WRITING that they would not service a unit I purchased from them This is their writing enforcing what Heartland has written.

I can work on my units and have changed out A/C's and gaskets and reseal as needed even rewire a plug or two, but while under warranty is a different story when a customer is spending nearly MSRP $ 122,000.00 on a unit.

 

[kakampers]

Been fulltime in Heartland products for over 8 years...have never had an issue getting warranty service ANYWHERE! !

That includes several Texas dealers who took us right in when needed!

 

[olcoon]

We live & purchased our 2011 Elk Ridge in Kansas City, MO. Delivery was in April, and in November/December we made our first long trip with it to Florida. While down there had an electrical problem, it would lose connection then regain it. Sometimes the microwave would almost sound like a telephone ringing the power was going on & off so much! Not knowing where to take it down there I called Heartland & explained my problem, they told me where to take it. We went there, and they squeezed me in & I had it back the next day and it was fixed with no further problems. Also I might add that the dealer I'd purchased it from had "worked" on it for this same issue twice & it was still doing this. I've seen numerous times on this forum where someone would purchase a coach over 1,000 miles from home, and if they couldn't get warranty work done at home, Heartland would arrange for a dealer in their area to do warranty work, or even make arrangements for a NON-Heartland dealer or mobile RV repair to do the warranty work. Also like someone else has said, I think it is standard in the industry where only the selling dealer is obligated to do the warranty work. I now own a Heartland, and we are looking to upgrade, and we WILL buy another Heartland, for a lot of different reasons.

 

[WhyNot]

Hi Ken,

Can I ask who in Texas took care of you.. I have been looking at the Key Largo which is no longer in production, so I am having to deal with stock that is on lots across the USA.

Thanks

David

 

[olcoon]

Just a thought, call a dealer-any dealer & tell them you have one of the coaches they sell, & tell them you bought it at another dealer & see what they have to say. A salesman will tell you almost anything to make a sale.

 

[WhyNot]

LOL.... i have done that but I called service and the one manufacturer that was good was Keystone

 

[kakampers]

Hi Ken,

Can I ask who in Texas took care of you.. I have been looking at the Key Largo which is no longer in production, so I am having to deal with stock that is on lots across the USA.

Thanks

David

We dealt with Explore USA in Mesquite and Ron Hoover in Mercedes...we were just at the National rally and No body ever
Mentioned the Key Largo going out of production....it's one of, if not their biggest selling floorplan....find this hard to believe!

 

[dave10a]

I would not want the orginal selling dealer, Camping World Ocala, to service my trailer because they are nice/friendly but incompetent. I am fortunate to be able to do my own service while Heartland (and most other Mfgs) would send me the failed part while under their warranty. Heartland seems to be a reputable manufacturer, but there are others as well. When I get ready to trade my unit for a new one, I will consider what meets mine and DW desires and needs. Things I consider are good design, engineering, components selected and available from builder, flexibility to add/subtract options. Then I will not sign the check until I am totally happy with the delivery. Depending on a dealer in the RV world is a crap shoot at best. Manufacturers are out to make a profit and are prone to play politics with dealers to achieve that goal. That means they are not about to p--s off a large dealer like Camping World to make the customer happy.

 

[For20hunter]

Heartland is so great about their customer service they want the rise non-Heartland dealers to do warranty work for them. My rig is been in for warranty work twice on the road and neither were a Heartland dealer.

I have owned three other manufacturers products prior to my heartland. I've never had half the customer service with the others that I have had with my Bighorn!

Rod Ditrich

 

[scottyb]

I shopped the internet and got my best deal, but then I ended up purchasing mine at a local dealer, thinking I would get better service. I took it to them a couple times. The 1st was when the ATS burned up at 3 days old. They got turned it around in 1 day. Only cost me two r/t's at 120 mi each. The next time I took it to them, after sitting there for 6 weeks, I discovered it was due to a blundered repair from the 1st time. I no longer take mine to my dealer and I now put very little emphasis in purchasing locally. They were great at sales but not so much at service. I have explained my reasons to HL and they have agreed to send me needed parts, under warranty. If I felt it was something that I could not do myself, I would go the mobile repair route. BTW, this dealer sells many lines from multiple manufacturers, so it is assumed that you would receive the same level of service for the other manufacturers rigs as well.

 

[jayc]

We purchased our Grand Canyon from "the Houston Landmark dealer" and not only got an outstanding price, we got great service. I know for a fact that they will and do service units bought elsewhere.

 

[WhyNot]

Hi Jay,

Well if you were dealing with Ron Hoover... they changed their ways and as I have said I have it in writing from them. Just curious what did you pay for your Grand Canyon from them making it an outstanding price.

As for the Key Largo being one of the top two models it is and yes it is being freshened up and while they are changing thing they are not in production. Call and try to order one if you find it that hard to believe.

 

[WhyNot]

I would not want the orginal selling dealer, Camping World Ocala, to service my trailer because they are nice/friendly but incompetent. I am fortunate to be able to do my own service while Heartland (and most other Mfgs) would send me the failed part while under their warranty. Heartland seems to be a reputable manufacturer, but there are others as well. When I get ready to trade my unit for a new one, I will consider what meets mine and DW desires and needs. Things I consider are good design, engineering, components selected and available from builder, flexibility to add/subtract options. Then I will not sign the check until I am totally happy with the delivery. Depending on a dealer in the RV world is a crap shoot at best. Manufacturers are out to make a profit and are prone to play politics with dealers to achieve that goal. That means they are not about to p--s off a large dealer like Camping World to make the customer happy.

Exactly what I am trying to do.. Make a very competent decision.

THANKS Dave for your input

 

[szewczyk_john]

I bought mine, in Michigan, taking the chance that I might have issues getting warranty work done for all the same reasons the OP said. I did have two minor issues that I fixed my self and then my warranty was up. I didn't have to worry about it. Those two minor issues were plumbing issues and even if I did by local, I would have fixed them myself anyway.

I have dealt with customer support to order parts and ask questions and the did right by me.

 

[danemayer]

My journey continues to find my next 5th Wheel.

David,

Good luck on your journey.