Interesting Dealer Issue

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by Dennis Eddinger

First time I've heard of that. Been a Jayco owner 2004. My first one I bought in Ohio. Two months later I was in Florida and lost power to the front of the trailer. Called the local Jayco dealer and told to bring it in. Got there by 9:30 am. They called later at 4:00pm said it was ready and that we could come and pick it up. Wasn't charged a penny as it was covered by warranty.

The problem usually occurs when you buy out of state and then want your local dealer to do all your service work. Most don't have a problem when traveling or if you've relocated.

[thenne1713]

Originally Posted by Brobri01

When the next downturn in the economy hits, and these dealers no longer have people lined up the door, i suspect policies will change

IT IS AMAZING, how for a # of years, all industries saw the value of promoting Quality, whether auto, RV, healthcare, banking; yet now, so many forget? or has the flavor of the month changed? Is the word "quality" still used in any commercials?

[GraftonGuns]

Originally Posted by Crabman

They do need more mechanics,techs. The dealer I purchased from has been advertising openings for RV techs and other positions all season. But needing them and finding them........ As Mike Rowe has been screaming, not many want to take up trades anymore.

I have been a millwright electrician etc. for 35 plus years, and as a hobby I have always worked on among other things campers. I am now looking for a shop in my area to go full time on RV repair etc. There is such a demand, I think I will do well. I was in a local dealership getting a few things and overheard two couples who were looking for the dealer to do some non-warranty work on their tow behinds. Long story short, Those two jobs have turned into a dozen more........

[Crabman]

Originally Posted by GraftonGuns

I have been a millwright electrician etc. for 35 plus years, and as a hobby I have always worked on among other things campers. I am now looking for a shop in my area to go full time on RV repair etc. There is such a demand, I think I will do well. I was in a local dealership getting a few things and overheard two couples who were looking for the dealer to do some non-warranty work on their tow behinds. Long story short, Those two jobs have turned into a dozen more........

In the last few years 2 independent RV repair shops opened up here within 30 miles of me. One of them has just now begun selling RVs. Both of them have plenty of business and will even come to your campsite. I think you will do well at this.

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by GraftonGuns

I have been a millwright electrician etc. for 35 plus years, and as a hobby I have always worked on among other things campers. I am now looking for a shop in my area to go full time on RV repair etc. There is such a demand, I think I will do well. I was in a local dealership getting a few things and overheard two couples who were looking for the dealer to do some non-warranty work on their tow behinds. Long story short, Those two jobs have turned into a dozen more........

Originally Posted by Crabman

I Both of them have plenty of business and will even come to your campsite. I think you will do well at this.

Work up North in the Spring and Summer and head to FL, TX or AZ in the Winter and you won't have time to sit down. Work out an agreement with JAYCO and others to do warranty work too.

[backpack1953]

As has been stated all over this thread, the main objective is to sell in the RV industry from what I have experienced. There are some good dealers out there but seem to be few and far between.
Independent shops seem to be the way to go. I have found one in the Nashville area that did a great job replacing an axle under warranty. They are planning on opening up a strictly RV shop this winter or spring to be able to start doing more RV repair. We had set up an appointment based on when the axle was supposed to come in but it was two days late. They still had me in within two days of the axle being delivered and had the axle replaced in less than a half day.
Jayco will allow you to use an independent shop but the shop will have to agree to Jayco's labor cost or you will have to pay the difference.

[crockettlarry]

I'm in Nashville. Who may I ask was it , for my mental notes that I hope I never need?

[backpack1953]

Wallace Trailers in Franklin, TN. They're off Peytonsville Rd.

[mbell5263]

Originally Posted by Grumpy

But if you put "short term" or warranty only in front of "life long" customers you lose even more, and that's the big issue. Most who only want warranty could have bought from you to begin with, but went elsewhere.

As transient as people are today, that's not necessarily true. However, the service department has an opportunity to keep, gain, or lose customers. I have stopped doing business with 1 RV dealership here because of their poor service department. I have purchased now 3 travel trailers from one shop BECAUSE of their service department. They assisted with the repair of the rv I bought elsewhere and handled it well. The result, I just purchased my brand new Eagle from them. Had they refused to service my Cougar I would never have considered them.

[Crabman]

Originally Posted by mbell5263

As transient as people are today, that's not necessarily true. However, the service department has an opportunity to keep, gain, or lose customers. I have stopped doing business with 1 RV dealership here because of their poor service department. I have purchased now 3 travel trailers from one shop BECAUSE of their service department. They assisted with the repair of the rv I bought elsewhere and handled it well. The result, I just purchased my brand new Eagle from them. Had they refused to service my Cougar I would never have considered them.

A fine example of the point I was making earlier. You only get one chance to impress or turn off a potential new customer. the result could be a customer earned or a customer lost, for life.......

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by mbell5263

As transient as people are today, that's not necessarily true.

I'm not talking about someone who moved into the area, with an RV already owned. I talking about the customer who said "You want too much I'm going elsewhere" and then shows up begging for service. They had a chance to become your customer. They will probably go elsewhere again to buy the next time. 90% of the time if you're new to the area you will get warranty service with no issues.

That is the reason I've dealt with the same dealer for over 40 yrs. I get great pricing and great service with little to no waiting.

[Jab55]

When I was shopping locally for a new Jayco Class C motorhome, we have 1 dealer in Reno Nevada. We were honest with them and said we were looking for a deal and willing to travel out of state if necessary. We got the whole store that we would get red carpet priority service if we buy from them....and if we didn't we would never be able to get any service from them. Well pretty much at that point I decided I would never bring anything into that dealership for service. They could not get within 10K of our best price. They actually said with a straight face "you would travel out of state just to save 10K dollars"..... We did - We purchased from Dixie RV in Hammond LA. Flew out and made a mini vacation of it. Took 10 days and went to New Orleans, San Antonio and Flagstaff. I don't respond well to dealer threats that I will never get service.

[PapiG]

Good for you.

I agree with this practice.

Originally Posted by Jab55

When I was shopping locally for a new Jayco Class C motorhome, we have 1 dealer in Reno Nevada. We were honest with them and said we were looking for a deal and willing to travel out of state if necessary. We got the whole store that we would get red carpet priority service if we buy from them....and if we didn't we would never be able to get any service from them. Well pretty much at that point I decided I would never bring anything into that dealership for service. They could not get within 10K of our best price. They actually said with a straight face "you would travel out of state just to save 10K dollars"..... We did - We purchased from Dixie RV in Hammond LA. Flew out and made a mini vacation of it. Took 10 days and went to New Orleans, San Antonio and Flagstaff. I don't respond well to dealer threats that I will never get service.

[mbell5263]

Originally Posted by Jab55

When I was shopping locally for a new Jayco Class C motorhome, we have 1 dealer in Reno Nevada. We were honest with them and said we were looking for a deal and willing to travel out of state if necessary. We got the whole store that we would get red carpet priority service if we buy from them....and if we didn't we would never be able to get any service from them. Well pretty much at that point I decided I would never bring anything into that dealership for service. They could not get within 10K of our best price. They actually said with a straight face "you would travel out of state just to save 10K dollars"..... We did - We purchased from Dixie RV in Hammond LA. Flew out and made a mini vacation of it. Took 10 days and went to New Orleans, San Antonio and Flagstaff. I don't respond well to dealer threats that I will never get service.

For $10,000 you could pay to fix what few things are likely to fail during the warranty period. If you buy an extended warranty, just make sure it allows you to use independent repair facilities. That was an ignorant thing for them to ask you.