Buying from a dealer not local, any problems getting warranty work done locally

[teamam]

Guys, I am buying my 375RE from a dealer a few hours away for a couple of reasons. My question is has anyone had any problems with getting warranty work done at their local dealer if they bought from another state or location?

Brett

 

[premove]

We purchased our 369rl from a dealer two hours away. Not only are they hours away, but they went out of business. We had some warranty issues and found a local RV repair facility, not a dealer, and Grand Design has been working with them. So, yes Grand Design will work with local dealers or repair shops. Our experience is you must be proactive when not dealing with the dealer you purchased from and get involved with customer service at Grand Design. You must stay on top of the dealer or repair facility and customer service in getting things done. Yes, it is doable.

 

[teamam]

Wow, so it is not like buying a car and then having your local dealer do warranty work? I bought my Ram about 5 hours from my house and teh local Ram dealer is happy to do the warranty work.

 

[Cate&Rob]

Hi teamam,

If you scan through this forum (use the search tool in the upper right corner on words like "service", "dealer", etc) you will find that getting timely service from even your selling dealer is often difficult. Universal warranty coverage, as is common in the auto industry, just does not exist in the RV industry. I would suggest that you talk with nearby RV service facilities, before you arrive in their yard with a coach needing work. Another Grand Design dealer might not be your first choice. Grand Design has demonstrated that they will work with an independent service facility in your area, if this is where you can get reasonable turn around time on repairs. Sometimes, you have to pay upfront and submit your receipts to GD for reimbursement.

Rob

 

[teamam]

Thank Rob, I guess I was very naive about this and how it works. Thanks for the insight.

 

[teamam]

Well, just got an email from Grand Design and they have confirmed that their dealers do not have to do warranty work on trailers not bought at their dealership? This does not make sense to me, so if I buy in Virginia then move to Oregon the Oregon dealer who gets paid for the warranty work can say NO? Shocking and sad.

 

[teamam]

UPDATE: Local dealer who I wrote a while ago just wrote back and said they would be happy to do warranty work. Smart move as now we will go there even when out of warranty.

 

[C&H Conner]

teamam - Curious as to where you purchased your trailer.

We went to B Young in Portland to look at a couple different models. Got the brush off from a disinterested salesman so went elsewhere to shop. Ended up buying at a GD in Coburg although I can't say the experience so far has been top notch either. Guess we will find out how they close the deal on Friday when we do our PDI with them. They brought the trailer up from one of their stores in CA so the trailer is sight unseen. We will do an extremely thorough PDI so I hope they are as okay it as they say they are over the phone.