We have our Montana 3725RL Fifth Wheel in the shop for the warranty work to be completed because officially the warranty ended on July 2nd. We had our list together and in before that date because the dealer couldn’t fit us in until after that date. They assured us the warranty will cover our concerns.
We brought it in 3 weeks ago for getting the counter top replaced in the kitchen slide because it cracked, fix the black tank valve that wouldn’t close properly and also prevented proper flushing, to repair a pocket door that was falling apart, to repair a power issue in our kitchen island, to repair a popping sound the auto-leveling system was making and to repair a storage bay door and check the roof. We bought a high end Montana to ensure the best quality.
That’s hogwash, sure, you get better cabinets, fancier lighting etc.. etc.. etc.. what you don’t get is a better build. They all are built pretty much the same, bull you say? It’s a fact, unfortunately so yes, it has a better frame, fully welded and it has a better suspension and fully insulated walls and roof and fancy AC units that are quiet and can freeze a mouses nads on the hottest days but the actual build quality is still staples and screws and the same guys who build the cheap ones do the same mistakes on the expensive ones.
So, where was I? I got a call from the dealer today, the rig is finally ready, no wait, they are waiting for two parts, the pocket door and one outside compartment door. The rest is done, what happened next had my jaw on the floor. The item they couldn’t repair because they couldn’t duplicate the problem, THEY ARE CHARGING US FOR THE TIME because the power didn’t fail in the kitchen island for the 20 minutes they spent trying to duplicate the problem, how did they duplicate the problem, by sitting there waiting to see if it would pop!!!! Did they actually test anything? NO!!!! But they are sure going to charge me for it!
Yes, you read that right, because they didn’t find a problem they can’t charge Keystone for their time under the warranty so they will charge me. They almost charged me for the black tank test but feel their “wording” on the warranty claim will get it paid by Keystone. Now mind you, they had to replace the black tank valve which was preventing me from flushing the tank properly so I guess I should thank my lucky stars that this was covered?!?!?
They wonder why the RV industry has a bad reputation? We give a list of issues the RV has, that the warranty covers, they never tell us oh, by the way, if nothing is found to be wrong we’re going to charge YOU for it. Well shit fire and save the matches I guess I should have broken the item to ensure it was covered?!?!?
I am going to the owners office tomorrow and I can guarantee you when I am done, if there are customers in the showroom they won’t be buying because I’m going to tell all of them this is what you can expect if you buy from this dealer. Unless of course the owner decides to not charge us for doing what they are supposed to do. I can tell you this, he will wish he never tried.
Imagine buying a new car and taking it in during it’s full warranty because sometimes it has issues starting and they tell you they can’t duplicate the problem so they are charging you book time for their efforts. You’d laugh in their face!
Keep in mind, we had the rig in before for this power issue, nothing was found and yet there was no charge, why the change? We’ll see tomorrow when I confront them. Tomorrow is going to be a make it or break it day for ever doing business with them again.
