Dealer only covers warranty work if you purchased from them?

[Jthamilton]

So some know we purchased our reflection 323bhs in Fountain Valley, CA and this week traveled back there to pick it up no bring it home to Colorado. Well we have a couple of warranty issues so figured we could use the dealer located in Grand Junction, CO. When I called to makes sure it was ok with Grand Design they said "no problem". I then confirmed with dealer what we needed and was told we would have to pay for it ourselves and that they only cover warranty work from customers who purchased from them! I called GD back and was reassured we would be reimbursed but he was as surprised as I was.

It doesn't sound like a typical practice but has anyone else ran into this from a "certified" Grand Design Dealer?

[Bamaman]

If the Grand Junction dealer doesn't want your business, see if GD will let you take it to another RV dealer closer to your home.

As far as I can tell, Grand Design pays their warranty claims better than many/most/other manufacturers.

[dloase]

I can't speak for others, but I purchased my 369RL from one dealer who GD dropped. I have it serviced by another dealer and have never had an issue with them not covering any warranty item. GD has been great with authorizing warranty work at another RV dealer closer to my house. They however decided they didn't want the hassle (the RV dealer not GD). So to answer your question, no I have not run into that from a "Certified" Grand Design Dealer.

[Scott and Jan]

That's crazy. They get paid from GD for warranty work. Warranty is only one year, you'd think they would want your business for the long haul. That wouldn't make a great first impression with me.
I know a great dealer here in FL, but that would be a long haul for warranty work. Lol. Hey, wait, that sounds like ....Road Trip!!!

[Jthamilton]

If the Grand Junction dealer doesn't want your business, see if GD will let you take it to another RV dealer closer to your home.

As far as I can tell, Grand Design pays their warranty claims better than many/most/other manufacturers.

Grand design was very quick to ok the initial job that I requested of them. I too did a double take when the service manager told me that. The only problem is that this is the closest without taking it to the front range. We will see how this goes today!

[Dave and Monica]

I don't believe that any GD dealer is obliged to do warranty work on a GD unit not purchased from them...not like the automotive industry. The threat of not providing warranty service or putting you last on the service list is mostly salesman rhetoric directing you to buy locally IMO. Their service department needs to generate a profit too and are seldom in the position to pick and choose the units they work on.

Dave

[Jthamilton]

A pleasant surprise this morning when dropping the camper at Centennial RV. The nice lady said they had discussed me and the camper and had decided to honor the warranty. They recocgnized I hadn't purchased it locally and that I needed to have somewhere to take it in the future.

I pointed out a few items, she then pointed out some issues that needed to be addressed that I hadn't noticed.

So far so good, we will see in a week or two!

[Abqscott]

That's crazy. They get paid from GD for warranty work. Warranty is only one year, you'd think they would want your business for the long haul. That wouldn't make a great first impression with me.
I know a great dealer here in FL, but that would be a long haul for warranty work. Lol. Hey, wait, that sounds like ....Road Trip!!!

We operate a large service and replacement company in a different trade. We too deal with the manufacturers of many different lines of equipment with our flag ship being one particular name brand. Most people don't realize that reimbursements for warranty work can be a lengthy bureaucratic nightmare and slow to pay. Most service departments charging 110-145.00 per hour barely break even or even lose money relying on sales of new units and the mark up for the new parts that dealers don't always get doing warranty work. The overhead needed to stay in business has never been higher with the ridiculous government and insurance requirements. That is not an excuse for not giving exceptional service on warranty work. After all, these dealers chose the business they are in. It sounds like GD does it much better, and with time maybe the dealers will recognize this and push GD work over others. Just my two cents worth.

[Jthamilton]

They did say thatnGD has been excellent to work with regarding parts and service. Consistent with what others are saying. GD response to my emails which were both at night occurred early the next morning both times, this alone impressed me!

[Canyonlight]

Scott--you shared feedback also communicated to me by our local GDRV dealer that I shared a few months ago here on this forum. So looking towards solutions to fix this RV industry warranty work service problem and not leave us RV customers left hanging on getting warranty work done by non-selling dealers, maybe you know, what has the auto industry done where any dealer is more than happy to complete warranty work whether they sold the vehicle or not ?

Dan