Buying RV from camping world - Getting Service at other stores

[Bill N]

I guess I could say that with your CW complaints you are barking up the wrong tree.  What I mean is that Good Sam (and therefore Camping World) have a couple of internet RV forums (IRV and Good Sam) in which you can have direct contact with GS/CW representatives including the big cheese himself, Marcus Lemonis.  I have had a couple of problems solved there and, as they say, the squeaky wheel gets the grease, so don't hesitate to squeak on their forums where it will do best.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

What I mean is that Good Sam (and therefore Camping World) have a couple of internet RV forums (IRV and Good Sam) in which you can have direct contact with GS/CW representatives including the big cheese himself, Marcus Lemonis.

To avoid any confusion I will state that the two forums with "IRV" in their name, IRV2.com and irvonline.org are NOT in any way associated with Good Sam Club or Camping World.  Good Sam Enterprises operates RV.NET and Goodsamclub.com/forums

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

You should know that I bought a new TT in CW in Chicago last year, went to Houston CW with a couple of issues, but I was told that they could not touch it until after the first year, even when I have extended warranty.

I sense some confusion here. Your extended warranty won't apply as long as the factory warranty is in effect (first year) and it may be that the CW you were at was not factory-authorized for warranty service on your RV. Each CW location has separate RV brand sales & service franchises.  That said, most RV manufacturers will authorize any reputable shop to perform warranty work at their usual warranty reimbursement rates, so there really is no excuse for that CW not helping you out in a moment of need..

 

[RVRAC]

You are right Gary, the extended warranty does not start until the first year ends.  What I tried to share is that even when I bought all that CW sells for warranties, even when I was still under the fist year warranty, and although I was told by Chicago CW that I would have no problem in Houston, when the time came, it was not true. Actually, I had to wait until spring when I came back to the Chicago area and the dealer in Chicago serviced it.  I am just sharing what I experience and learned the hard way.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

I don't know why any other dealer would refuse warranty service, since the manufacturer is paying for it anyway. I was just offering one possible explanation why CW Houston didn't help.

Now it is definitely true that some shops already have their hands full servicing their own customers and put strangers on the back burner. That can be frustrating for any RV owner. However, waits of a month or more for any service appointment is common in the spring and summer months when shops are overloaded with work.

 

[Bill N]

To avoid any confusion I will state that the two forums with "IRV" in their name, IRV2.com and irvonline.org are NOT in any way associated with Good Sam Club or Camping World.  Good Sam Enterprises operates RV.NET and Goodsamclub.com/forums

Sorry, my mistake.  Too many forums on the brain.  RV Net and Open Roads (Good Sam) forums are the two I should have mentioned.  Don't know how I got IRV2 stuck in there.  But the point is still the same - taking a valid complaint regarding Camping World or Good Sam to one of those two forums is much more likely to get an official response than on this forum.  I go back and forth on CW.  Okay to shop in for accessories and parts but their labor rate of $129 per hour puts me off.  I have another local RV repair shop that charges much less and was an RV Tech with one of the larger RV dealers in this area for many years.

 

[4ducksrus]

We purchased our MH from CW in Portland, Oregon.  Since we live in CA we've never used them for service.  We do have a local CW close to us, but it does not do warranty work, just installs and from what I've heard...not great in that dept either!  So, that being said...I called Winnebago Customer Service and they gave me the names of several dealers pretty close to me that did handle Warranty work for Winnebago/Itasca.  From there it's been smooth sailing!  When we've had an issue, I've just called one of them, scheduled an appointment and on a couple of issues, had to get Winnebago involved.  But we've been satisfied with the service we've received.  Hope you find the right fix for you! 

 

[blw2]

Original poster here....
well we did it.  Picked up the MH Saturday!  Yipee.... but man what a tiring ordeal!
There were a bunch of stupid little problems that makes it pretty clear that the dealer put more effort into cleaning it up and putting tire shine stuff on, than they did in trying to make sure that the unit was ready....
stuff like the door handle latch that was loose and missing a screw!
There were a couple bigger issues, too.... such as The generator wouldn't start, and a couple other things.

They fixed everything that we caught in our longgg afternoon.  It took roughly 5 hours with paperwork and all....

Made us late for our first night of camping on Saturday night, but that's ok.


but then i found a whole bunch more silly things that i had missed.....
Stuff taht I won't likely worry with taking back to the dealer and just fix myself..... just don't seem to be worth the trouble
the accordion partiton door between teh bedroom and the bath has a friction latch with a small post on the jamb taht is supposed to go into a hole in the door, but they miss each other by an inch!  How......?????
Oh, and the little velcro buttons that are used to hang the cab privicay curtain all aong the top of the windshield..... every one of them is missing.  Looks like the headliner was removed at some point and they didn't replace them

So, fingers crossed that i don't need to return the unit for anything warranty because based on this discussion it's a mixed bag chance that I'll get get service.