Location of a Forest River Dealer

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Chief409
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Location of a Forest River Dealer

Post by Chief409 »

The RV dealer where I bought my 30WBLE has laid off all their service people and it looks like they are history. It's Young's RV in Lancaster, CA.

So, are any of the RV dealers in Bakersfield selling Forest River products? I have a couple of minor warrenty items on the unit. Going down the hill to the LA area isn't a option.

Thanks,
Jeff & Terry
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rosey
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Post by rosey »

I was wondering how long it was going to take for the high cost of fuel and the state of the current economy to start affecting the sales of RV's and subsequent dealers going out of business..........I know that this dosen't answer your question, but do you know why your dealer is going out of business ??
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Chief409
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Post by Chief409 »

Nothing but guesses. Too large an inventory, sales down to start. A large portion of the inventory is high end Class A and 5th wheel units also. And I've been told the family which owned it had sold recently, and perhaps the new owners couldn't get the fianacing to stay in business during a downturn. I know in the parts store the gals told me things had really slowed down there the last time I was in just before Christmas.

This caught me by suprise though, Young's had been in business for at least 25 years, and the Service Dept was always busy. Reading the information in the Forest River Dealer locator doesn't give me warm and fuzzy feelings either. "Dealers who are not the seller are not required to honor warrenties on units sold elsewhere" or something like that. Sigh... It was nice having the dealer just 12 miles and 15 min away.
Jeff & Terry
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Post by Rob & Cathy »

Chief409 wrote:"Dealers who are not the seller are not required to honor warrenties on units sold elsewhere" or something like that.
That surprises me too. I always thought that the warranty was with Forrest Fiver not Cardinal.

Rob
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Chief409
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Post by Chief409 »

Here is the Forest River statement:

Forest River Encourages You to Buy Locally


Forest River, Inc. strongly encourages our retail customers to purchase from their local dealership whenever possible due to the following factors:
Our Dealers are as a rule, independently owned and operated businesses. Outside of those customers they personally sold products to, they are not contractually obligated to perform warranty service on Forest River products that were purchased elsewhere. There may be an occasion that you would be required to return to the point of purchase to satisfy warranty requirements.

Although many dealerships will eventually service products not purchased at their place of business, they will usually take care of their customers and other Forest River customers who are traveling away from their local dealer as they would their own.

Local purchases allow a customer to establish a relationship with a dealer close to home. This relationship provides the customer with a convenient location for service and support from a "home town" professional.

The opportunity for a thorough PDI (Pre Delivery Inspection) and product orientation is an additional benefit of buying from your local dealer. Further providing the opportunity for refresher courses or the ability to get questions answered much more conveniently.

For our Canadian customers, there are also requirements which must be met to bring an RV purchased out of the country to their home. Although not insurmountable, these requirements may involve such things as additional inspections and certifications, taxes and fees. Your local Canadian Dealer is a professional at meeting these requirements.
Forest River's goal is for all RV Owners to fully enjoy their RV experience. In light of this goal, and considering the advantages of buying local, we encourage you to be thorough when determining what product to purchase and which dealer to purchase it from as both are key to your ultimate satisfaction and the realization of your dreams.

I'll eMail Forest River and see what they say about warranty service when your dealer goes out of business. I'm sure this situation will occour again, perhaps they have a plan in place to deal with it.

However, in my case, unless it's something major, I'll have to deal with it myself. I can only find one dealer within a reasonable distance, and they are in Burbank, CA.
Jeff & Terry
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Luizianna

Post by Luizianna »

Next time I call out our rv tech...I'm gonna give him a hug!!! I am so glad we have not had to deal with dealers!!
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Post by Don Wilson »

Jeff,

The only dealer that handles Forest River in Bakersfield is Stiers Rv. They do not sell Cardinal and the salesperson I talked could not tell me if they were an authorized warranty facility. He suggested calling their service dept. on Monday the # 661-323-8000 Toll fee 877-385-2240. I do not have any personal knowledge about Stiers.

The other alternative is Victor Valley Rv in Hesperia who sales Cardinal and has a small shop but has a larger facility in Beaumont that handles warranty work. The Hesperia # is 877-721-8213. The Beaumont phone is 951-845-3131 and ask for Dustin, the Service manager.

You would think FR would have authorized warranty service centers after all the reason we bought the trailers is so that we can get away from home. It only makes sense if you are going to use it 80% of the time away from home you are going to need service away from the dealer where you purchased it.

Don
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Post by Chief409 »

Don,

Thanks for the information. I'll call the dealers you mentioned. I do hope Stiers will take the warrenty work I need done. I much prefer to go over the hill to Bakersfield vs dealing with the LA traffic.

Plus, I'm hopeing to get a prompt response from Forest River to the eMails I sent reguarding this.

I'm not upset with Forest River, however Young's RV should of sent a notice to customers about closing their Service Center and made arrangments to cover customer warrenty repairs to units they sold.

PS: In my research I checked Las Vegas. The RV dealer listed there by Forest River states on their Web site "We have changed our format..." In other words they are out of the new RV business, and only sell used now. I wonder if they are still honoring warrenty repairs. As I'm scheduled for two trips to Salt Lake City this year, I thought I'd check. It appears checking on the dealers will be a part of trip planning now.
Jeff & Terry
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2012 F350 Lariat FX4 6.7 Diesel Dually, Crew Cab, LWB, 50 gal Transfer Flow toolbox/tank
2007 Cardinal 30WBLE, "the 'Bird", ONAN gen.
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Post by Olbird »

FR is real good at paying most any dealer to do the work you need. The key is to talk with any good service center to work with FR on getting paid. Tell them you will talk to FR if they can do your warranty work.

Its the FR dealers that becomes upset when you did not buy from them and want warranty work done, thats way FR puts that statment on their site.

If you contact FR they will work with you even if you have to pay for it and then get the money back from FR, but talk to them first and find someone good that will not cheat you or FR.


I did not have the best dealings with a local Oregon RV sales group, they know me and will never put me ahead of there local customer repairs needs but I buy other things from them and built a new relationship. They know all money is green and my money can pay a few bills too.

Have you guys noticed that Camping World is really getting into buying many dealers and selling RV's, you can bet they will be ready to give anyone service.
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Post by Mike Clay »

Camping World is also going into partnerships with some dealers we have one in Wood Village now. Some of these larger dealerships around here are owned by FreedomRoads Corporation.
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Chief409
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Post by Chief409 »

Perhaps we'll get lucky and a new owner will take over the ex-Young's RV Center. They were in business 44 years here in Lancaster, and sold Fleetwood, Holiday Rambler and Jayco in addition to Cardinal. The people who owned Young's until 4 years ago have set up business in Acton, which is around 25 miles futher south. I'll stop by there and see what they say.

Thanks for all the help. However with the way things are going, we'd best not take it for granted that our friendly RV dealer, either at home, or at our favorite destination, will be there tomorrow. People who had units at Young's for repairs got calls giving them 1 or 2 days to come get their property. I stumbled across that little gem on RV.net.

Plus I really feel for the staff. Some had been there for a long time, and it sure wasn't a Merry Christmas for them as the doors were shut on December 21st I believe. I don't believe they got any notice as I was there on the 15th and it was business as usual.
Jeff & Terry
U.S.N. Ret
2012 F350 Lariat FX4 6.7 Diesel Dually, Crew Cab, LWB, 50 gal Transfer Flow toolbox/tank
2007 Cardinal 30WBLE, "the 'Bird", ONAN gen.
The more I see in my travels, the more I realize there is so much more to see.
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Chief409
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Post by Chief409 »

I recieved a reply eMail from Forest River about warranty repairs. Here's a copy.

Hello Mr. Pelton,
If your dealer is going out of business you can use any Forest River dealer close to you. If you want me to help you locate a dealer close to you let me know your VIN # and I will see what I can do for you. I'm not sure If your near Glendora,CA, If you are there is a repair center called
J&L RV repair and they are very good repiar faucility. If you choose to use J&L their phone number is 909-429-2194 contact Joe/Aalma. If you wish to contact me personally, please feel free to do so. My contact Information is listed below.
Thank you,
Gary Myers
Forest River Inc.
Warranty Dept.
574-206-7621 phone
574-206-2484 fax
gmyers@forestriverinc.com

I sent a Thank You in return, and contacted Stiers RV in Bakersfield and scheduled a appt. after talking to them. It's 93 miles, but I'll do that any day in preference to dealing with LA traffic. I spent years driving around the San Franscisco Bay Area and moved to get and stay out of that kind of traffic, espescially when hauling MY trailer.
Jeff & Terry
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2012 F350 Lariat FX4 6.7 Diesel Dually, Crew Cab, LWB, 50 gal Transfer Flow toolbox/tank
2007 Cardinal 30WBLE, "the 'Bird", ONAN gen.
The more I see in my travels, the more I realize there is so much more to see.
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Post by Don Wilson »

Jeff,

Good to hear that you got rapid response from FR on the dealer issue.
Since you are going to Stiers they must be able to take care your warranty problems.

I have not been into the San Bernadino area and was not sure if the traffic was as bad there like it is in LA/ San Fernando Valley.

Don
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Chief409
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Post by Chief409 »

VERY prompt response. It's nice to get the kind of attention that I recieved from Gary Myers and Alana Duncan of Forest River.

Working for the Union Pacific Railroad I get down around San Berdoo often. With construction, accidents, etc. the 15/215 is no joy ride. I admit it's nowhere close to the 880 nightmare in the Bay Area. But driving there is not something I like to do pulling a trailer without knowing where the exits, lane closures and turns are. Then there's the surface streets...

And Glendora is just as far away as Bakersfield, now that I've thought about it.
Jeff & Terry
U.S.N. Ret
2012 F350 Lariat FX4 6.7 Diesel Dually, Crew Cab, LWB, 50 gal Transfer Flow toolbox/tank
2007 Cardinal 30WBLE, "the 'Bird", ONAN gen.
The more I see in my travels, the more I realize there is so much more to see.
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