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Newmar warranty and customer service is top notch. We’ve owned our Newmar Bay Star since June 2015 and have had multiple interactions with regards to Newmar warranty and customer service. All of our interactions have been better than we expected (knock on wood). Read about our experiences so far with Newmar warranty and customer service.
Newmar Warranty and Customer Service
Update 6/24/16: We spent nearly three weeks at Newmar factory in Nappanee getting warranty and retail work done on the coach. You can watch a video about our experience below.
Newmar Warranty Experiences
Newmar offers a one year expressed limited warranty (transferable) and five year structural warranty (non transferable – available only to the original purchaser). The structural warranty covers “the steel/aluminum structure of the sidewall, roof or frame” and includes labor and parts.
Every Newmar coach is assigned a unit number. That number is referenced for warranty workand customer service calls. We were told the unit number also allows Newmar to track the specifics for that coach. That includes information such as the size and make of the generator, to the interior color palette. Each time we call customer service or make a warranty appointment we’re asked to provide that number.
To find a Newmar service center, we use this find a service center tool. As we travel around, it makes it easy to see where we can take our coach for warranty work.
Experience 1: Before we hit the road for full time RV life, we lived out of our coach for two months. This allowed us to work out kinks and take care of warranty issues. One month in, we had good list of items to be looked at. We called the closest Newmar service center and found out the earliest appointment was over a month out. We booked the appointment and continued to add items to the warranty list.
The main items we needed fixed: leaky shower faucet, censor fell off fresh water tank, seal around bathroom sink came off, replace dim LED light, replace piece of molding. The service center had most of the replacement parts on hand and took care of the work immediately. The molding had to be shipped by Newmar, which was sent overnight upon approved.
We appreciated the quick turn around on the warranty work approval by Newmar. All the items were taken care of without any delays that we were aware of. We brought the coach in on a Wednesday morning and it was ready Friday afternoon.
Experience 2: The RV needed alignment, not something a Newmar service center could handle. Newmar approved the warranty work over the phone and provided instructions on the reimbursement process. We located a truck service center, paid for the work, submitted the receipt via email to Newmar. The reimbursement check arrived about one week after we submitted the receipt. It was an easy and painless process.
Experience 3: Had our initial warranty appointment with a service center in Florida and so far so good. They were able to fix most of the items on the list and what’s left will need to be approved by Newmar. Once it’s approved, the parts need to be delivered and we will bring our coach back for a follow up appointment.
The main items we needed fixed were: readjust and secure the fabric in the awning, replace the front shade and motor, align the bay doors, reattach the shower lining and fix the door rattling. The part for the front shade can take up to six weeks so we will go back for our service appointment once that arrives along with the other parts.
Unlike our first experience, the service center performed all the work they could in one day. We do have to bring it back when the rest of the parts come in, but that will also be a one day visit. This is better than leaving our home and have to find a couch to crash on.
Tip: When you make an appointment with a service center, let them know you full time in your RV.
Newmar Customer Service Experiences
There are two ways to contact the customer service department: phone (800-731-8300) or email (customerservice@newmarcorp.com). The business hours are 7:30am-4pm EST and there is an after hours representative for emergencies. We’ve contact Newmar through both channels on multiple occasions and during off hours.
Experience 1: On our drive from Eagle, CO to Fort Collins, CO we pulled into the rest area at Vail Summit Pass for a break. The coach door didn’t want to open and once we were out we couldn’t close it. We called Newmar and the representative told us they could send out a mobile technician to look at the door if we are unable to close it. If we are able to close the door, they could make an appointment for us at the next service center. Fortunately, we had the tools to temporarily fix the issue and make it to the next service center.
We called around 10am and Newmar made an appointment for us at the next service center for the same day. The service center was expecting us when we arrived and looked at the issue right away. We told them how we fixed the door by adjusting the latch and they said it’s what they would have done. Since we fixed the issue ourselves, we ended up leaving without having any work done.
This experience demonstrated the value and quality of Newmar’s customer service. We reached a representative immediately, they provided options on how to resolve the issue and were able to get us a same day appointment at a service center.
Experience 2: While dry camping in Flagstaff, Arizona we experienced our first few nights of below 32 degrees temperatures. We called Newmar about how best to handle the below freezing temperatures in the Bay Star. It was a weekend and we ended up leaving a voicemail for the customer service department. We didn’t expect a return phone call until the next business day. To our surprise, Newmar called within a few hours. The representative stepped away from his son’s birthday party to talk to us.
It turns out we didn’t have anything to worry about with the temperature. The representative even chuckled when we told him our concern. Apparently he just spoke to a customer who was in a few feet of snow and didn’t have any problems. When the furnace is on, a fan pumps hot air into the bays containing the holding tanks to keep it from freezing. We ran the furnace and turned on the heat pad the few nights the temperature dipped below freezing.
The fact that we didn’t have an emergency and Newmar called us back within a few hours on a weekend was impressive.
Note: Newmar has an online catalog where owners can purchase products. We haven’t bought anything, but it’s interesting to browse and see what’s available and the cost.
We’re fulltime and when we bought our 2019 Dutch Star were led to believe getting service done wouldn’t be an issue. We just got a brake recall and tried a Platinum dealership in Florida – where we’ll be next – and were told the earliest availability is January 14th. Their website brags about being responsive and a warranty dealership. So far we haven’t been super impressed. Wondering how you’re doing now that you’re out of warranty?
Our experience with Newmar has not been good so far. Our coach has spent as much time in the shop as we have had possession. We have taken our coach out 4 times and each time we have to take to the nearest dealer for warranty work upon return to include emergency service calls. I question if Newmar has any quality control over units being released from the production facilities. I have written to the President of Newmar 3 times and to date have had no reply….a bit rude don’t you think. We have had 27 major items wrong with our brand new Canyon Star 3513 to include multiple issues with the large slide and I am afraid that Newmar is trying to simply outlast the warranty period. We actually like our coach but the product support from Newmar is marginal at best. Newmar Corp claims to have owners manuals but in reality they are technical manuals for repair technicians. Aside from the problems encountered, our Camping World technician that we regularly deal with does not have kind words for the Newmar products that he services which speaks volumes. All I have asked for from Newmar is to support warranty claims for items that were fixed, to work for the next year 12 months…and meet their warranty guidelines. I have been told that it is a calendar year from date of purchase no matter what or when my warranty issue takes place. So I guess if my slide continues to have issues that I will be responsible after the 12 months although it has had issues nearly every 2 months since we purchased. I would not recommend Newmar at this point. Interested in taking your money for the purchase but not for customer service.
Okay, I get that the majority seem to agree that Newmar provides good to very good customer service. That is important. What I don’t get is the frequent laundry list of issues by one customer after another. Perhaps their motor coach Service department should speak to someone in Quality Control- like is there anyone running the place on the assembly line? I notice these issues apply to other brands as well. How do you people have so much time to wait for parts, drive thousands of miles, all in the name of defective products? That is treasured time away from enjoying the main purpose of buying a pricey motor coach- exploring the world.
While I can afford a nice motor coach, and have a strong desire to buy one, I can’t imagine having one thing after another go bad, all of that time down, on a $400k purchase. Thank you all for your time. I have lots to think about here- specifically do I want a potentially $400k nightmare? I may just get that new Land Rover Diesel for $115k, decked out in total luxury with 29mpghw, and check in to Ritz Carlton’s and Four Seasons along the way. It appears it would save me a bundle of money and precious time.
Brock we actually went through the same line of thought you did before we bought our coach. It didn’t matter what brand we looked at you always read stories about people with these laundry lists of issues on their coach. That said, we came to the understanding that unless you’re willing to spend a LOT of money, these aren’t going to be built to the same quality of cars that are made in billion dollar factories where the same car is produced over and over again. Rather RV’s are more like homes – we have friends and family who have bought newly manufactured homes and they all have issues from the start. With a RV, now you have the added complexity of the “house” having to endure an earthquake every time it moves along with ever changing climates and many other factors that can affect the RV. There’s typically no reason to drive thousands of miles to get work done at the factory unless you want to like we did. Newmar is one of the better companies and when you’re getting work done they will overnight parts (assuming they have them – the one exception was a shade we needed which took a couple weeks, but we simply came back a few weeks later to get it installed).
We recently visited the ShowHauler factory and were extremely impressed with their quality and feel like they have addressed many of the issues we’ve seen with other manufacturers and they are some of the safest RV’s out there. They even let us film the factory tour we did and walked us through how they are built – here is the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yhKVPxr3kk&list=PLpqJFyT0tg-KArTrXdNConyJ-tTN2wCtx They are in your $400k budget and completely custom coaches from the chassis all the way to the floor plan and tile you pick out (we’d be happy to give you our contact there, if interested email us at info (at) weretherussos.com).
So sure, you can by a Land Rover and bounce from hotel to hotel but that’s a far cry from the lifestyle of full time RVing. Sure there are issues and we may get sidelined for a bit but the benefits far out weight the issues we’ve run into.
Thank you so much for your detailed and thoughtful input Joe. I naively believed that quality control standards were much higher than they apparently are with motor coaches. I want to plan on leaving at 9:00 am on a Friday for instance- I expect a new coach to operate flawlessly after laying down $400K. I may still go an RV route but it may be a 2016 Thor Motor Coach Venetian M37, priced from $330k to $200k. Use it for two years, gain experience, and then turn it- sell it quickly at a price without getting hit too hard on depreciation, at least for my first RV. Then there is that Ritz Carlton route. True a different experience. Thanks again! I truly appreciate the wisdom from someone with your background.
You’re very welcome. To clarify our post a little, none of the work we had done at Newmar was critical except the windshield (which was cracked from a rock). They were warranty items we wanted addressed but nothing that would ever keep us from traveling. These are things like a rattle here or there or a piece of trim that needed to be replaced. You can also consider buying something used that has had the bugs worked out. Most of the factories give tours so I’d suggest trying to see a couple before plopping down any money.
So if you like sleeping in a bed that has a new person in it every night, have at it. I’ll sleep in my Newmar king size bed knowing it’s clean and bug free.
Our experience with Newmarket has been HORRIBLE! In fact, the first dealership has now refused to ever work with them, again! We have contacted several companies with mobile service. Each one refused to do the work, when they discovered we had a Newmar. Now, after finding another company willing to do the warranty work, they are reporting to us the same problems that the first dealership reported. A pattern is emerging of Newmar’s disregard. We have been patient waiting four winter months on Newmar the first time and now one month with the second time just for a confirmation. A pattern is emerging and it looks bad on Newmar! We have requested to be connected with a manager, again, we are ignored. Is Newmar purposely running out our warranty? Do they not care about customer service or ruining their reputation? I WOULD NEVER BUY FROM THEM, AGAIN.
Sorry to hear about your bad experience with Newmar.
This is information so important! Thank you for posting this. You guys have been an inspiration for me and my wife. We have been talking about full-timing for a year or two, in order to travel the U.S. and experience our national parks. I’ve been researching RVs to get a sense of what it means to do what you have done. There are so many uncertainties and things to consider that I am still on the fence about whether I would really full-time for a year or buy something smaller and just do shorter trips.
It seems, based on your post, that things frequently break or need to be replaced. I am wondering how much it would cost to maintain the coach after getting out of warranty. Any idea?
Alex – Thank you! So glad we can help and inspire!
Since we’re just coming out of warranty, we really can’t speak to what the costs might be like. It will also vary greatly between different RVs and how handy you are. I can fix most things myself so unless we have major issues, I should be able to handle most of it. Since we got our coach new, we were getting a lot of the small bugs resolved which will need to be done with any new RV (or house for that matter). Over time as those issues are resolved, there should be fewer and fewer things going wrong (or so we’ve heard).