Warranty claim on a Brand New Camper?

[mtbbrewer74]

First off it seems weird for this to be a warranty claim. We bought a brand new Jayco Hummingbird from Camping World Gulf Breeze, Fl and during the walkthrough the LED awning lights would not work. They told us not to worry they would just fix it through warranty. They took a picture of the stock number and licenses plate, and told us it would be about 2 weeks to get the parts in. They told us to go ahead and take it with us, so we could use it. After following up with them they apparently dropped the ball, and nothing had been ordered. After playing phone and e-mail tag with them, they apparently are in the process of running the warranty claim. This all started when we purchased on 8-14-2018.

1. Is running this through warranty the right thing?
2. Anyone have experience with this service department?
3. How long should I let this drag on before I contact someone higher up?
4. If I have to contact someone higher up who should I cantact Manager, Camping World corporate, or Jayco?

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by mtbbrewer74

1. Is running this through warranty the right thing?
2. Anyone have experience with this service department?
3. How long should I let this drag on before I contact someone higher up?
4. If I have to contact someone higher up who should I cantact Manager, Camping World corporate, or Jayco?

It should have been checked and fixed before you even did your PDI, another typical "dealer fail". Yes it could be a warranty claim, but how do they know what the problem is? Could be as simple as a loose wire. You need to go.up the chain at Camping World, JAYCO can't do anything without CW's documentation.

[Marcm157]

Your story is NOT unique. There are many out there in your situation. Unfortunately, the thing to do would have been to insist on the repair being made before you took the RV off the lot. No dealer would have wanted to lose the sale over a lighting defect. Once you accept delivery, you lose your leverage.

I would contact Jayco directly and see if / when a claim was initiated and what the status of it is.

[Camper_bob]

It's a shame, but the others are right, it should be a warranty claim, and CW has to initiate and document before Jayco will pay for it.

The dealer I bought my TT from would have fixed it on the spot, on his own dime, to keep me happy. He has done it a few times for minor fixes or repairs just to avoid the hassle of a warranty claim. But I bought my MH from a CW (my previous dealer doesn't carry Jayco motorized) and would expect no less than OP's typical runaround from them.

Personally, I would probably just fix it myself (and improve whatever I could along the way) and wash my hands of the mess/inconvenience.

[mtbbrewer74]

Originally Posted by Camper_bob

Personally, I would probably just fix it myself (and improve whatever I could along the way) and wash my hands of the mess/inconvenience.

Hopefully it doesn't come to that, but I am sure I can do it myself. I just don't want to have to pay for the stuff.

[Woodworker]

Call Jayco and let them know how their brand is being, errrr not being represented very well. They may or may not make a call to the dealer to help nudge them

[WinnieView]

Originally Posted by mtbbrewer74

Hopefully it doesn't come to that, but I am sure I can do it myself. I just don't want to have to pay for the stuff.

Contact Jayco CS and ask for the parts, or an authorized 3rd party repair facility.

[Camper_bob]

You also could fix it and submit an invoice to Jayco for the cost of the parts. They have been known to pay the customer directly to cover parts that are self-installed (for relatively simple things) as part of their warranty coverage. They won't pay you for your labor, but at least the cost of parts might be covered.

[JaycoChix89]

A warranty claim is correct on this repair. New LED lights should not take more then a week to be shipped to them and about half an hour for repair/replacement.

[2edgesword]

As mentioned the best thing to have done would have been insist that the lights be replaced before you left the lot even if they can to remove them from another unit in stock. Once you sign the papers, pay for the unit and drive it off the lot it becomes a warranty issue with the associated delays and unfortunately all to often dealer delay tactics.

[Crossingover]

Guess you didn't get the memo about dealers being the last part of the RV build sequence. No worries, it will all work out with some patience and understanding on both sides.

[mtbbrewer74]

Yeah my bad for taking it. The buying process went so smooth that I just assumed the service process would also. I guess it is true what they say about assuming.

[Seann45]

You made 2 mistakes
1) buying from Camping World.. Not many have anything good to say about them
2) Signing the paperwork and taking it off the lot before they fixed it. Holding thousands back in payment is a great motivator in fixing these things.. I bet their repair shop could have fixed it in 10 min if you had made them fix it before taking delivery.

[mtbbrewer74]

They had us there for more than an hour trying to fix it, and then decided to order new parts. If they don't get it together quick I will find another authorized service center.