Call Kurtis: Who's Responsible For My Warranty When Company Is Sold?

A Colusa man says he couldn't drive his camper because it was stuck in the pop-up position. When he says no one seemed willing to honor the warranty, it was time to call Kurtis.

He couldn't even move his Coachmen RV out of his driveway, much less take it on the road or under freeway overpasses because it was stuck in the up position. So why couldn't he get any company to fix his camper?

It's one tiny part, but it's created a big headache for David Harbison.

"It wouldn't come down, came down about half way and quit," says David.

In August, the lift system on his 2006 Coachmen Clipper broke so the pop-up tent wouldn't come down.

"I call it my boat anchor because I can't move it, I can't use it," says David.

David wasn't worried, considering it was under a limited lifetime warranty that covers just parts.

"First thing I did was contact the dealer I purchased it from," says David.

The dealer told him it no longer carries that line of RVs.

He then went to the manufacturer Coachmen RV, which told him to deal with its sister company, Viking RV.

Viking told David it sold that line to another company called Consolidated Leisure Industries.

But David says he couldn't get any of those companies to uphold his warranty and replace his broken part.

"I'm just getting nowhere quick," says David.

"I think you need to be careful who you buy from," says Stuart Talley, consumer attorney with KCR Legal.

Talley says when a company goes out of business or is sold, it's not guaranteed the new company will take on liabilities, like a warranty.

"It really depends on the terms of the transaction and usually the consumer has no control of that at all, which is unfortunate," says Talley.

CBS13 contacted Consolidated Leisure Industries and never heard back.

We did hear back from Viking RV, which told us they sold that line of RVs to Consolidated Leisure who they say should honor the warranty.

While Viking says it isn't legally obligated to fix David's camper, the company agreed to send him the replacement part, free of charge, out of goodwill.

Several weeks later, David got that little piece of plastic and his trailer was back in business. It can finally pop up and down again so his entire family can go camping.

"If I was close enough, I'd give the whole bunch of staff at Channel 13 big hugs," says David.

So all of this was over that little part. David says no one would sell him just that part, claiming he'd have to buy the entire lift system for more than $1,000.