How long does dealer repair take

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Peggyy

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Joined
Jul 5, 2016
Posts
867
Location
Winter springs fl
How long does it generally take for a dealer to repair your camper ?  We took ours in three weeks ago for them to check for a roof leak and it is not ready yet    I felt like two weeks was realistic so not sure how much longer they will keep it.  I guess I am asking what you think is a reasonable amount of time for a repair
 
Hmmm...I took my RV into a local dealer for a chassis service it was a single day event. My last roof seal at the same dealer took two days. Most dealers are motivated by the money, some are not. Good luck, and I would take a trip to the dealer and put eyes on my coach.
 
Peggyy said:
How long does it generally take for a dealer to repair your camper ?  We took ours in three weeks ago for them to check for a roof leak and it is not ready yet    I felt like two weeks was realistic so not sure how much longer they will keep it.  I guess I am asking what you think is a reasonable amount of time for a repair

Sounds like you had a appointment. I would have been calling 5 days after you dropped it off and then every other day after that. Ever hear " The squeaky wheel gets the grease".
Did you buy it from them?
 
Yes we bought it from them and this is warranty work so they better not be looking for any money!  And the dealership is an hour from me so not easy to just pop by.
 
How long? It depends so much on the dealer and the problem. I've had (rarely) repairs within a day or so, and (again rarely) over a month. Sometimes it's affected by a wait (when under warranty) to get the manufacturer to approve the repair, though this isn't always the case. But, as Rene said, I'd be calling them periodically to check on how things are going, what the status is of your rig, or something similar.
 
Squeaky wheel for sure. We had ours in to fix some road debris damage and add a Maxxair fan. Scheduled appointment, started calling daily at 2 weeks, after 3 weeks we started reminding them of our upcoming trip. Still took 4 weeks! Note this dealer is well regarded, so I can't imagine how bad a poor dealer would be! I will note that ours was late May/early June so they were deluged with new units to get ready for sale. Service is lower priority than sales for them.
 
So your RV is sitting outside with rain leaking in?  You can't allow that to happen.
 
When you booked the appointment and brought the trailer in did you ask how long it would be before they could start work on it? Are you expecting preferential treatment? If they are busy you just might have to wait your turn like everyone else has to.
 
RV warranties are pretty much a joke which is why I always recommend to buy used. Buy used and hire mobile mechanics to do any work. Dropping off your RV and hoping the dealer gets the work done in the same calendar year is just silly. They don't care about you once you sign the papers.
 
Butch54 said:
When you booked the appointment and brought the trailer in did you ask how long it would be before they could start work on it? Are you expecting preferential treatment? If they are busy you just might have to wait your turn like everyone else has to.

Not sure how you think i am expecting preferential treatment?  I simply asked what was normal in how long it takes.  This is my first time to take it in for repairs. 
 
When we took ours in for warranty work they told us where it was in the queue and how long it would take to get it into the shop, how long to check on the reasons we brought it in, how long they would expect the manufacturer to approve the warranty work, and how long before it would be ready for pick up. Your dealer should have told you all of this right up front. Dates can shift a little bit due to parts availability, but at least you'd have a good idea how long before you'd get it back. I think ours was at the dealer for a couple weeks total.
 
It varies a lot by dealer and type of problem. We often hear stories here about repairs that took 3-4 weeks, or sometimes even more. Too often the RV just sits there without even work-in-progress.  However, I would say one week is typical at the better places, and 2-3 weeks at the rest.

Warranty work generally doesn't pay as well as retail repairs, so some shops put it at the bottom of their priority list. Conversely, the squeaky wheel typically moves up the list. Other people come in with "emergencies", real or perceived, and get quicker attention. Parts availability can have a big impact as well. Most RV shops have a main supplier, or maybe two. and rely on them to source everything. If they run into a delay, they often do not have anybody to quickly chase down a part, so time drags on until somebody has spare time to look. For parts unique to the RV, they may order direct from the factory, who in turn back-orders to their supplier, resulting in longer delivery times. The shop could have ordered direct from the source in nearly all cases, but they don't take the time to figure out who it is and put through a purchase order.

In short, your experience is fairly typical. That doesn't make it acceptable, though, and you should get on their case.
 
More than likely they will tell you they are waiting for parts, which they may well be. I waited for a part for my roof for 4 months because I had to fight with the REV Group because they said the damage was my fault, which it wasn't. But I didn't leave the RV with the dealer. I took it in, they accessed the damage, and I picked it up the next day and brought it home, and used it til all parts came in. Perhaps you should do the same. Tell them you are picking it up until they are ready to repair it. It's better to have it in your yard, then theirs!
 
Might be better to say "typical" rather than "normal". There is nothing normal about taking 3-4 weeks to do a one day job and more professional businesses would be horrified at the thought, but it's what typically happens at RV dealers.  :(
 
Peggyy said:
Not sure how you think i am expecting preferential treatment?  I simply asked what was normal in how long it takes.  This is my first time to take it in for repairs.

It was a question as some do like to jump the queue by playing the squeaky wheel. Glad to hear you're not one of them. 
 
I called them and they said it is finished!  Yea  but they have to enter it into their system and they will call when they have done that.  Hoping i can pick up saturday!
 
Peggyy said:
I called them and they said it is finished!  Yea  but they have to enter it into their system and they will call when they have done that.  Hoping i can pick up saturday!

It takes 2 days for a few of key strokes?  :eek: ::) :-[
 
Sounds like entering it into their system is their problem and they shouldn't need your RV to do that.  Go grab her!
 
I wouldn't sign anything or leave the premises until you are sure that the repairs are done and correctly. Have them show you what they did, if possible, and if required, demonstrate that the fix works. They should be willing to do that.
 
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