Warranty repairs

[MKLupo]

We purchased a 2019 Heartland Mallard from CW in Wentzville, MO in November. After we got it home we noticed a couple of issues that needed to be addressed: 1) one of the speakers did not work. 2) The awning lights did not work and 3) one of the cabinet doors was not secure and it broke when we brought the slide out (we discovered this issue later). We took the RV back to Wentzville CW and they discovered that there were no wires attached to the speaker that did not work so they spliced a wire from the other speaker to make it work but you cannot change the sound from one speaker to the other, they are both on all the time. On the awning light they told us that we needed to use the remote to operate them but we did not have one. Our salesman got one from another rv and gave it to us. When we got home the lights still did not work and we called CW, they told us we would have to bring it back in and they would probably have it for a few weeks to get the approval from Heartland for the warranty repair. In the meantime we had heard horror stories about the service dept at Wentville CW so we decided to take it to Columbia CW. Columbia CW has now had the RV for over a month and when I called them today to inquire about the status they told me everything had been repaired except the awning lights, they had received the wrong part and were waiting for the correct part. I then called Heartland Customer Service and they told me that CW has never ordered the part for the awning lights and they were still waiting for the cabinet door.

Does it take that long for Heartland to approve warranty work and send parts?

What do you do if you are a full time RVer and this is your home (which is what we are planning to do)?

Well needless to say we are very frustrated and don't know who to believe.

Mike and Karen Lupo

 

[danemayer]

Hi MKLupo.

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum.

I then called Heartland Customer Service and they told me that CW has never ordered the part for the awning lights

Unfortunately, this is all too common. The dealer blames Heartland for taking too long when the dealer warranty coordinator never placed the order. It's also common to claim that it can take weeks to get approvals. Last I heard, routine warranty work was approved through an online system with no delays. If there's a delay, it's typically for an unusual problem where Heartland and the Dealer are discussing how to do the repair and how much Heartland is willing to pay vs. what the dealer wants. That's not the case with awning lights.

Cabinet doors take longer. Heartland has over time produced an enormous number of cabinet variations. It's not cost effective to build and stock every door shape, size, and color. So doors are custom made, which can add a couple of weeks.


Dealer quality of service varies tremendously. Some are prompt and do great work. Others not so much. Many of us prefer to use, with prior approval from Heartland, independent shops. Service is how they make a living. Most dealers make a living by selling RVs and the service dep't often has their time prioritized to assist in preparation and delivery of new units.

 

[MKLupo]

Thank you for the information. We did get a hold of CW after I posted this and they promised that they will do what they can to get the RV back to us within the next week even if they have to pay to have the part overnighted to them.

 

[kowAlski631]

Thank you for the information. We did get a hold of CW after I posted this and they promised that they will do what they can to get the RV back to us within the next week even if they have to pay to have the part overnighted to them.

When we had to have warranty or any other work done at a dealer, we ask them how long it will take for the part request to go to Heartland. Most times they say this afternoon or tomorrow morning. We will tell them that we have to call Heartland to check the status on something we ordered (our go to is an extra folding chair), and we'll check on the part status then too. Never had a problem with parts not ordered. We'd heard about lackadaisical repair facilities here and came up with our game plan. Trust but verify. Works for us.

 

[jerryjay11]

I stopped taking my camper to CW because of similar issues. As I am quite handy myself I have done many repairs myself. If I needed a warranty part I called Heartland service/parts depts and they would get the part to me within a couple days. I was also told by Heartland that I can use more local service and all I had to do was call HL first to verify approval and they would work with the local service. So the point being it is the dealer response that lacks any luster, not Heartland.

P.S. Your speakers are miswired by CW. Mine were miswired by Heartland. It took a bit of time to determine which wire (all wires should be present) was for which speaker, whether it was inside or outside, but I corrected it myself. I also had to deploy my wire type radio antenna that was still wrapped up inside the cabinet wall. Along with that I had to repair several coax connectors for the TV connections. My outdoor shower valve was leaking. Heartland got it to me in 2 days. The list goes on, but you got my point.