# Three Years To The Day!



## kjdj (Sep 14, 2004)

Well found out Friday Dometic will not repair the referigerator they so proudly stand behind. The 3 year warranty date includes Saturday and Sunday. You see it died Saturday and I couldn't get it to the dealer till Monday morning. The warranty was up Sunday August 19th. 
I took it in because it stopped working a smelled like ammonia. 
Well for $1200 I can be allowed to own another Dometic.

$420 Plan B:
Has anyone delt with this company"ckickaroo"
The feedback is good. I was wondering if any Outbackers have done this repair.

Kevin


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## camping479 (Aug 27, 2003)

I looked into it a while ago when ours was not cooling very well and found rvcool. Looks like a pretty decent company and they give a good warranty on their refurbished cooling units. Doesn't look like too hard of a repair if you are reasonably handy.

Complaining to the right people might get you some results but unless you've had it inspected annually like it says to in the manual to keep the warranty in effect, you may get nowhere, but it's worth a try.

Good luck getting it fixed.

Mike


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## skippershe (May 22, 2006)

I would be going after Dometic right now like a mother bear! Can't you get your dealer to write up something stating that you tried to get in there but their service dept was closed??

I would not let this go without a good fight!









We have an extended warranty and I can only hope that ours quits within the next 6 years so we can cash in


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## Ghosty (Jan 17, 2005)

kjdj said:


> Well found out Friday Dometic will not repair the referigerator they so proudly stand behind. The 3 year warranty date includes Saturday and Sunday. You see it died Saturday and I couldn't get it to the dealer till Monday morning. The warranty was up Sunday August 19th.
> I took it in because it stopped working a smelled like ammonia.
> Well for $1200 I can be allowed to own another Dometic.
> 
> ...


Actually if someone at DOMETIC actually told you that .. then they are mistaken...

Call them back -- talk to another person -- ask them to talk to their legal represenative first and get back to you -- if they are falling on their sword that it was 3 years and 1 day and thus 1 day past the three year warranty they are WRONG -- -- contact the BBB and if that does not work -- then take them to Small Claims Court... there is not a judge in the world that is going to rule in their favor...

so call them back on Monday -- talk to them -- but not the same person you talked to before -- also -- PLEASE don't slam that person in front of the new person cause odds are they are going to be friends...

Warranty periods in most states DOES NOT include the dates that DOMETIC is not open .. last time I checked they were closed on SAT and SUN -- and has nothing to do with the dealer...


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## kjdj (Sep 14, 2004)

Yea the battle isn't over. The dealer called me Friday to let me know what Dometic said.

About the 3 or 6 year warranty read it very carefully. Luckly I did resister the product and had the 2 $140 yearly maintanance done. The dealer said I would have been really Scr_wed.

Dometic is all about "prove it". And I have the proof.


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## N7OQ (Jun 10, 2006)

I really like plan "B" this is one I will have to remember. I would not think twice about doing the replace on my fridge myself. If you smell Ammonia then be very careful removing the old guts because you have a leak. Protect your eyes and throat because Ammonia has a affinity for water and will seek out any moisture keep lots of water available to wash down any ammonia that might leak out. Thanks for the link nice to know there are more options when the fridge goes bad.


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## skippershe (May 22, 2006)

That's the spirit!!

Now, about that yearly $140 maintenance thing...had no idea about that! 
Has anyone else here had it done??


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## Ghosty (Jan 17, 2005)

OK -- I was wrong...

I don't think you are going to beat this DOMETIC thing...

I looked some stuff up on a database that I have access to and -- well -- these guys are good...

First -- they only cover EVERYTHING for 2 years -- after that - and until the third year -- they only cover parts and shipping -- you have to cover labor AT THEIR RATES and from THEIR TECHNICIANs!!!

Second -- You have to show that you had the unit maintained at least once a year by an authorised repair technician -- not Billy Bob down the street -- or the warranty is voided after the first 365 days..and currently their maintenance rates are about $140 a maintenance service call -- so in three years that would have already been $420 ... sp actually your Plan B is about the same price so you are theorectically out NOTHING..

Here is the complete pdf of the warranty --

Dometic Warranty from HELL

Sorry about getting you spun up -- I should have read the warranty first ...

But in my professional opinion -- nothing legally you can do -- and even if there is -- then you have to pay them at their rates for their folks to work on it...

But legally where they have you is the annual maintenance by an authorized DOMETIC tech -- if you don't have that then legally your fridge was out of warranty after the first year... (as all of ours are -







)

So the free marginal legal advice would be go with PLAN B!!


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## skippershe (May 22, 2006)

Well that news would take the wind out of anybody's sails









OK, so should we start a poll on how many here have actually had a 1 year Dometic maintenance service done??

If we haven't, I wonder if our extended warranty is void on future repair or replacement...


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## Ghosty (Jan 17, 2005)

skippershe said:


> Well that news would take the wind out of anybody's sails
> 
> 
> 
> ...


OK, so should we start a poll on how many here have actually had a 1 year Dometic maintenance service done?? I would bet ZERO

I wonder if our extended warranty is void on future repair or replacement... I would bet YES


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## FlashG (Jun 23, 2007)

I wonder how the Norcold warranty is written?

I have owned 10 RV's and never had any refer maintenance done. Maybe should have?

I did have an electronic board replaced on a used motorhome. Cost: $320.00

RV refers are way overpriced. IMHO


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## kjdj (Sep 14, 2004)

Ghosty said:


> OK -- I was wrong...
> 
> I don't think you are going to beat this DOMETIC thing...
> 
> ...


I love that marginal legal radio show!

RVing is like any specialty "hobby" in that it is expensive. Dometic is made in Sweden after all


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## TDaniels (May 18, 2007)

On our first trip out this year with our "used" 05 25RSS our refrigerator quit working. I ran through all the trouble shooting in the supplied manual at the campsite and could find nothing wrong, after arriving home and doing a search on the net I found this site RV Mobile and found tons of useful information including a much better trouble shooting page than what is supplied. I discovered the Green powder under the burner area that they say is the telltale sign of the need for a new cooling unit. I called my local dealer that the trailer was originally purchased from by the original owner and wanted to pursue the warranty avenue. I received a call back informing me that since I was not the original owner that Dometic will not honor the warranty (trailer was less than 22 months old at this time). Long story short I purchased a new cooling unit and installed it myself in about 4 hours start to finish. Rv mobile was very helpful and had a good quality product. Hope this helps with the decision.

Todd


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## Thor (Apr 7, 2004)

kjdj said:


> Yea the battle isn't over. The dealer called me Friday to let me know what Dometic said.
> 
> About the 3 or 6 year warranty read it very carefully. Luckly I did resister the product and had the 2 $140 yearly maintanance done. The dealer said I would have been really Scr_wed.
> 
> Dometic is all about "prove it". And I have the proof.


Right on Kevin - I would not ease up either...I mean what do you have to loose? The old saying ... the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

Thor


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## Lady Di (Oct 28, 2005)

I think I'd TRY to nicely get them to do something. If they won't you aren't out anything. If they do - well, you win. This isn't the time to try to win 'at any cost'.
At least you have a 'plan B'.


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## BoaterDan (Jul 1, 2005)

This kind of crap really gets my goat. No doubt a few decades ago some bean counter at Dometic who didn't give a rat's patooty about customer satisfaction came up with this scam to turn warranty work into a profit center.

I'll bet they make 10 times on those inspections what they pay out for replacements. Remember that repair at their cost for the materials, and they still make money on the labor.

The likelihood of failure in the first year is probably so miniscule they aren't really warrantying anything. That isn't about standing behind the quality of your product. It's about pretending to have a 3-year warranty so you can make money off service. Plain and simple.

They should be ashamed.

I would have to wonder why there has not been some consumer protection law develop for situations like this. The consumer buys a turnkey solution including many sub-parts from a dealer representing a manufacturer/assembler of those parts. I would think the burden would fall on the manufacturer or dealer to handle the details. Auto manufacturers can't get away with a 1-year warranty on the water pump and a 90-day warranty on the starter and a 2-year warranty on the radiator, all only if you follow each suppliers twisted money-making inspection scams!


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## kjdj (Sep 14, 2004)

TDaniels said:


> On our first trip out this year with our "used" 05 25RSS our refrigerator quit working. I ran through all the trouble shooting in the supplied manual at the campsite and could find nothing wrong, after arriving home and doing a search on the net I found this site RV Mobile and found tons of useful information including a much better trouble shooting page than what is supplied. I discovered the Green powder under the burner area that they say is the telltale sign of the need for a new cooling unit. I called my local dealer that the trailer was originally purchased from by the original owner and wanted to pursue the warranty avenue. I received a call back informing me that since I was not the original owner that Dometic will not honor the warranty (trailer was less than 22 months old at this time). Long story short I purchased a new cooling unit and installed it myself in about 4 hours start to finish. Rv mobile was very helpful and had a good quality product. Hope this helps with the decision.
> 
> Todd


This is the info I needed! Thanks to all.

The dealer is working with Dometic I might get the Warranty fix after all. If I do the dealer claims 4hrs labor at $109/hr. and I get a whole new unit.
I gave the dealer specific instructions not to remove or touch anything and that I want an estimate first.

So I told Camping World if they want to make $450 on labor charges get me a warranty replacement. If not I'll take my $450 home and buy the part and fix it myself. Their Choice


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## kjdj (Sep 14, 2004)

Update.

Well I wish I didn't have to pay for a repair on a 3 year old refrigerator but I guess I'm getting off easy.
Dometic has decided to cover the cooling unit and I cover the labor.

So I'm out about $420 on a completely passive part that shouldn't ever need to be replaced.

It's better than $420 plus $1000 for a whole new refer.

So I guess I won. I think?


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## N7OQ (Jun 10, 2006)

kjdj said:


> Update.
> 
> Well I wish I didn't have to pay for a repair on a 3 year old refrigerator but I guess I'm getting off easy.
> Dometic has decided to cover the cooling unit and I cover the labor.
> ...


I'm confused, if Dometic is covering the cooling unit and the labor than way are you out $420?


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## kjdj (Sep 14, 2004)

You missed the "I cover the labor." In the second sentence.
The warranty is 3 years parts 1year labor.

73 Kevin


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## N7OQ (Jun 10, 2006)

kjdj said:


> You missed the "I cover the labor." In the second sentence.
> The warranty is 3 years parts 1year labor.
> 
> 73 Kevin


Ops missed that "I" OK makes sense now. Sorry to here about that $420 in labor, kinda of steep if you ask me. This way I do as much as I can.

73 
Bill N7OQ


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## kjdj (Sep 14, 2004)

N7OQ said:


> You missed the "I cover the labor." In the second sentence.
> The warranty is 3 years parts 1year labor.
> 
> 73 Kevin


Ops missed that "I" OK makes sense now. Sorry to here about that $420 in labor, kinda of steep if you ask me. This way I do as much as I can.

73 
Bill N7OQ
[/quote]

No problem Bill.

The Labor is $105/hr X 4 hrs.


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