We Are Almost Proud Owners of a GD Imagine and Have Extended Service Questions

[CardOneConcepts]

Hello everyone,

My name is Brandon and my wife Michelle and I are about to be proud owners of a brand new 2023 Grand Design Imagine 2500RL.

We are very excited to sign off on all the paperwork next week and eventually take true ownership of our new camper when the snow melts. My wife Michelle and I live and have been camping in the Upstate New York Finger Lakes Region with our two children Lily and Anakin (yes we are Star Wars fans) for over a decade now. We started out with a tent, then bought our first used Coleman Pop-Up Camper that we quickly outgrew and upgraded to a used 2007 Keystone Outback 25RSS. Fast forward an amazing 9 years later of priceless family memories with lots of RV learning along the way and so we are so thrilled that we have decided to purchase a NEW travel trailer. After a lot of research, footwork and shock at how many modern amenities I have been missing out on as well as plenty of standing in showers and sitting on toilets and watching countless hours of the RV Nerd on YouTube. I can say for a fact that we did not have Grand Design on our radar until the minute I walked into one. Ultimately from that point on I know we made a confident "Grand Decision" to go with a "Grand Design".

Michelle and I are looking forward to the years of camping and adventures that await us and we look forward to hopefully meeting some of you along the way!

So for my first post in this forum I wanted to pick everyone's brain on the extended service contracts we are now being presented with from our dealer that we must make a decision on purchasing if any at all when we finalize the paperwork next week. I can honestly say my wife and I have never purchase anything completely brand new before in our lives so I did not know how much weight an extended warranty carries over the factory warranties we will have when it cones to buying something new vs used.

Obviously it is always a good idea to get extra coverage if it makes sense and it is affordable and has always made sense to me when purchasing second hand. But I am not sure the same consideration goes for buying brand new?

I am curious what your general thoughts are on purchasing extended service contracts right out of the gate wit a brand new purchase.

I am more curious if anyone has any opinions or experience dealing with and working with the specific warranty company "RV Americare" that our dealer is offering to us for coverage.

Do you feel these kind of extended service contracts are worth it? Some of them seem a bit unnecessary?

Or just what your thoughts and or opinions are on this subject matter in general would be appreciated.

Or maybe you just want to say hi that is always welcome too!


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I am attaching a copy of the service contract for reference. And what the dealer is offering us for service packages and prices for them and I really would like to know if you think it is worth it or not for some of these?


View attachment Extended Service Contracts.pdf

• $4,057 dollars for the 5-year parts and labor service agreement
• $795 for the 5-year Coach-Net roadside program
• $595 for Tire and wheel protection
• $1,545 for the Appearance Pkg which is 5 years as well. I am told the Appearance pkg is a Dealer Installed Ceramic Coat that helps protect from UV rays, Bird dropping, and Tree sap. It makes it so you do not have to Wax your vehicle. I am not really sure this is a necessary option considering where we live we have always stored our camera with an RV cover in the winterized months and I don't mind washing it because that's a good way to inspect it and keep a close eye to detail.


I look forward to hearing your feedback on all of this and thank you for your time.

 

[NB Canada]

Imo say no to all of it
Waste of money

Take that cash and put it away and it will be there if you have a major failure

 

[Second Chance]

No, no, no. These are money-makers for the dealerships and you have to do barrel rolls to meet the requirements to keep them in force.

"Hi," and welcome to the forum.

Rob

 

[Hoopy Frood]

Those two have hit the nail on the head IMO. Those are huge money makers for the dealer and there are usually so many if's, and's, and but's that they can get out of fixing pretty much anything. Remember they only make money if they don't give it to you.

 

[FjClay]

$7k?? You can pay for a lot of repairs yourself for way less

 

[LanerC]

I have to agree with all of the above, I just dont believe the extended warranty works for your benefit. Ear mark half that amount for maintenance and repair and you will probably end up using it for fun add ons. Welcome and happy camping! The the ceramic coating isnt anything special, you will still want to use some kind of wax after a year or so.

 

[sande005]

Having now owned two different RV's over 10 years, both bought new:

1. I have NEVER needed a repair that would be covered by an extended warranty. It was either mfg warranty, a maintenance item, or something not covered (mostly things I did to it myself that caused work needing to be done).
2. Tire and wheel? There is already a good warranty on the tires themselves. Price out new tires at Discount Tire, etc. and you'll see that their price is 2/3 of the way there already.
3. Ceramic coating? Never. As a matter of fact, I am real lazy, and only wash my trailers about once a year. Have only waxed once. A 2022 Imagine just pulled into the site next to me today. Quality of finish, lack of fade, etc comparing my 2017 model to the 2022 shows no difference at all. Wash and wax if you like, but run away from the coating scam.
4. I DO like Coach-Net, and it seems to get slightly better reviews than Good Sam for road assistance. I got stellar service from them the one time needed. But both are a mixed bag, with each getting their share of bad reviews. Go online and see what their offers and service levels are for new owners, before committing to a package deal from a dealer. Make sure the coverage level is comparable, and what you want.

Since all tend to be very high profit centers for the dealer, they frequently can be negotiated down drastically. You may even be able to get for free, if you are prepared to walk away from the purchase (and they are something you really do want).

 

[Probe1957]

In this rookie's opinion, over the entire length of time you will own this RV, you won't even get close to spending $7,000 on repairs that would be covered by these ESCs. Just say no.

 

[Soundsailor]

Hello Brandon - [MENTION=53134]CardOneConcepts[/MENTION], welcome to the forum. Lot's of good advice here, avoid those add-ons. But keep coming back to the forum to keep us updated about your new coach and to ask for help if you need it, there are a lot of friendly folks here with plenty of RV experience.

 

[Overtaxed]

7K is absolutely ridiculous. I'd consider it at 1000, no at 2000 or more.

When you hear people talking about things breaking in an RV, most of the time they are relatively minor $$ issues to repair. There are some exceptions, if the walls delaminate, that's not a DIY repair, and it's very expensive to repair. But odds are good if that is going to happen, it will happen in the first year (or in the 20th year, long after any warranty expires).

Given how backed up and awful more dealers are, other than the ability to order parts that fail for free, I see almost no value in a warranty today. Sure, you have a warranty, our next opening for service is November. If that doesn't work, we can fit you in sometime in April 2024. That's a bit of hyperbole, but not as much as you might think.

 

[Whitexc]

Another hard no to all the add ons. Our dealership attempted to push this on us as well and ended up pretty much having an attitude when we stood our ground and were out the door for our original (reasonable per the times and market) pricing. They were disappointed they didn’t get the big haul on our dime. Shucks.

 

[EddieOB]

Brandon Welcome on Extended Warranties most are not worth the paper they are written on. most problems can be solved right here with the help of all these fine people. Stay completely away from Good Sam Service Plans . I had a Slide Problem with wiring and When Service Department when for payment they was told Good Sam does not cover Wiring. Well if they do not cover wiring we all are in trouble every component they call them in the Service World has a wire hooked to them. Save you money talk to the right people here and we can get you through doing your own repairs.

 

[JFF&KRN]

I will chime in here as well, first off, welcome and congrats.
I would NOT, NOPE and not even THINK ABOUT getting an extended warrenty.
We have been rving for around 20 years, four bumber pulls, now on our thrid fifth wheel. Some bought used and three bought brand new. Never in the 20 years have we spent as much as a warranty would cost. The largest expense was only a few hundred dollars. all the rest warranty covered. Keep in mind, documentaition for sure, GD will work with you on those issues you may have, they will take care of it, and if you have been doing for quite some time, you will be able to fix most little things yourself. And if you need to higher someone, seems you have the knowledge to oversee and accept or deny the repairs before you pay.
Put the cost, if nothing else some $$$ aside every month you make your payment, you will be surprised how much yo uwill save and even have some extra for a ealry pay off gift to your self.
Good Luck,

 

[Rabbit]

Like everyone said, “No to all.” I’m ashamed to admit I did once, but never again. From experience, the “ceramic” protection does not live up to the claims, and when it fails, the repair is only to buff out the dullness, which looked terrible on my tan fiberglass exterior unit (not a Grand Design by the way). I will add, however, Camping World agreed to paint the faded nose cap at its expense. CW generally treated us well.

 

[lorend]

Welcome to the Forum Brandon. Great to hear off the lifelong memories you are making with your family. As for the extended warranties, they are truly a cash cow for the dealers. When we bought our fifth wheel, the warranty started at $4200 and the more we said no the lower the price got. I think the last price they offered was under 2 grand. Thanks to this forum I came across some wax called Collinite 845. I have always been picky about my vehicles and I am really impressed by this stuff. Easy on, easy off and does a great job. A lot cheaper than a ceramic coating.

 

[FL-Guy]

We bought an extended policy for our used 2021 22RBE. Eight years policy with $100 deductible which included tire protection. Got it through Americas RV Warranty for $2200. Exclusionary policy that covered all the expensive stuff.
We only used it one time they gave approval for the repairs in one day and covered the repairs without any problems . We had 2 waste tank valves/cables and an awning arm replaced . They let us use a mobile tech. Total bill was $1600 which they paid right away without any argument. they paid retail price for the parts and accepted the mobile techs time estimates for the repairs.
We wound up selling the trailer and getting a 2023 17MKE. The balance of the policy was transferred to the new owners for $50. Made a great selling tool for us. We're buying another policy for our 2023 17MKE.

The dealer wanted about $4k for a 5 year policy and another $800 for the tire coverage for 5 years.

Check out their website https://americasrvwarranty.com/ and you can email this guy for a quote Tyler Hurtt

 

[CardOneConcepts]

Thank you to all for your replies and advice. We will stay clear of the dealers service offers, I was already leaning that direction but you never know so I asked!

We have been busy cleaning out the old camper and prepping it for trade in. I can’t believe what we pull out of it until we had to!

We go in tomorrow to go through the walkthrough and I have an extensive PDI checklist to go through and I plan to take my time and even bring lunch and dirty clothes for crawling up and under!

We look forward to sharing our new journey with you and thank you again for your warm welcomes, advice and most importantly your time.

 

[JFF&KRN]

Thank you to all for your replies and advice. We will stay clear of the dealers service offers, I was already leaning that direction but you never know so I asked!

We have been busy cleaning out the old camper and prepping it for trade in. I can’t believe what we pull out of it until we had to!

We go in tomorrow to go through the walkthrough and I have an extensive PDI checklist to go through and I plan to take my time and even bring lunch and dirty clothes for crawling up and under!

We look forward to sharing our new journey with you and thank you again for your warm welcomes, advice and most importantly your time.

You are WELCOME!
Take your time.
Good Luck and Be Safe.

 

[dgcampbell]

I would say most of that isn't necessary but Murphy's law is still alive and well. We have a 337RLS and sure as the sun sets, when the crappy one year GD manufacturers warrant expires we have a problem with the Schwinn tech slide that ended up being about 3k to fix. We had the extended warranty but there's still a deductible. The warranty saved me a good deal of money but here's the rub. It took 8 months from the time I made the Appointment with a dealer and they charge $150.00 for every issue you want diagnosed and maybe the warranty will cover it, maybe not. The warranty company will try to find any way out of it. GD will tell you it's not their problem cause it's off their warranty and you just end up at the mercy of the dealer. Find a good one if you need help. In retrospect I'd say I was okay with the warranty because we had such a catastrophic issue and if you have a Schwinn Tech slide you are apt to, see all the post about those but I do agree that you can just set that money aside if you have it and pay out of pocket.

 

[ddepew]

No to all of it. Coach net is good, but you can buy it directly from coach net for $179/year not all that up front.