Issues with Premier Freightliner

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Service review

Biggyniner wrote:
Hi all,

I briefly tried searching the forum but couldn't find anything about this, but have others been turned away for having a coach 10+ years old at Premier Freightliner?

I called Portland OR Premier Freightliner earlier in the week for an intermittent bucking issue under load. They told me first come first serve and to bring it in. No asking me how old it was and I didn't think to ask as I never heard of a dealership turning away their own brand for being too old.

So, I make the drive down and am told "nope if it's over 10 years old we won't work on it." The next nearest freightliner is a Premier too in Salem, about 45 miles away. So if I want an authorized dealership to touch it I need to take it to Albany Oregon ~75 miles away!

It is insane to me that a dealership will not service their own brand. I messaged Freightliner corporate and Premier's Service Manager. Freightliner corporate should update their website so it lists all Premier dealerships as not touching anything older than 10 years. IMO Freightliner should not allow them to sell or service rigs if they are going to restrict the age that they work on. That's a huge demographic of customer in a major metropolitan area they are turning away if they won't touch anything older than 2013.

Anyway have others had this issue? Any recommendations for good Diesel RV mechanic in the Portland Oregon area? Thanks for letting me vent...

johnhicks wrote:
Why didn't you take an engine problem to an engine shop to begin with? Cummins works on my 30-year-old engine and generator without quibble. They won't do any other chassis work, and I don't ask them to.

Your best bet is to find a good independent, but the search might be expensive.

The Cummins shop in PDX has lackluster reviews, or I likely would have.

Why didn't you take an engine problem to an engine shop to begin with? Cummins works on my 30-year-old engine and generator without quibble. They won't do any other chassis work, and I don't ask them to.

Your best bet is to find a good independent, but the search might be expensive.

Actually, I think you probably stand better odds of finding a good & fair independent shop. An independent has an owner who hopefully values his reputation and can make any decision he wants, hopefully in your favor.
Now we don't want a greasy hole, fly-by-night operation with vehicles parked all around that you know will never run again. We're looking for a shop that takes pride in the place. I like a mechanic that pretty much already knows what's wrong even before hooking up his computer. But, that's just MHO.

And btw, not a personal affront. Private customers are generally more finicky than commercial customers (not their money and they understand the cost of doing business better in general). So if a shop is full up with work, they’ll turn away the potential headaches before the guaranteed paychecks.
I can cite examples of if I go somewhere for something and introduce myself as Joe Blow, I don’t get the same reaction or service as if I say I’m Joe Blow with XYZ company. In fact I’ll do that sometimes and then when it gets down to it I’ll say it’s for personal use and not on the company PO.

Grit dog wrote:
While it seems “unfair”, OP, they did you a favor and you don’t even know it. Why people use dealership service departments outside of warranty or recall work, in general, I’ll never understand. Idk maybe the same reason they shop at Trader Joe’s and pay 50% more for the same hamburger and Raisin Bran than at a regular grocery? Whatever that might be.
Is the 10 year rule ridiculous sounding? Yup. Should they tell you ahead of time? Yup
But it is likely for a few semi legitimate reasons.
1. They are probably so slammed with repair work and lack of staff in recent years due to everything Covid and the govt blessed us with including a shortage of new vehicles and the great walkout of working age males, that this is an easy cut.
2. The vast majority of their work is with commercial customers where their work and charges aren’t questioned or if they are it is likely by someone at least somewhat qualified to understand and speak intelligently about the work in question.
3. Similar to #2, private customers, especially older people in older RVs are much more likely to be wishy washy, penny pinching and complain about the rates, parts prices and hours (since they’re generally sitting around complaining about the price of gas and cheese all day as it is). It’s just a hassle if they already have full books.
But, refer to the first part of my post and find an Indy shop. You have the same likelihood of getting good or bad service and a better likelihood of it not costing quite as much apples to apples.

Yea you are probably right about the odds of the same if not better service from an independent shop..

While it seems “unfair”, OP, they did you a favor and you don’t even know it. Why people use dealership service departments outside of warranty or recall work, in general, I’ll never understand. Idk maybe the same reason they shop at Trader Joe’s and pay 50% more for the same hamburger and Raisin Bran than at a regular grocery? Whatever that might be.
Is the 10 year rule ridiculous sounding? Yup. Should they tell you ahead of time? Yup
But it is likely for a few semi legitimate reasons.
1. They are probably so slammed with repair work and lack of staff in recent years due to everything Covid and the govt blessed us with including a shortage of new vehicles and the great walkout of working age males, that this is an easy cut.
2. The vast majority of their work is with commercial customers where their work and charges aren’t questioned or if they are it is likely by someone at least somewhat qualified to understand and speak intelligently about the work in question.
3. Similar to #2, private customers, especially older people in older RVs are much more likely to be wishy washy, penny pinching and complain about the rates, parts prices and hours (since they’re generally sitting around complaining about the price of gas and cheese all day as it is). It’s just a hassle if they already have full books.
But, refer to the first part of my post and find an Indy shop. You have the same likelihood of getting good or bad service and a better likelihood of it not costing quite as much apples to apples.

I avoid my Freightliner dealer if at all possible. The last time I used them, I called a day ahead and asked if they could change the four fuel filters the next day (I never drop it and leave it), the lady said yes. So I got there when they opened, helped them put the slide out to access the engine, showed them where to plug in their computer, waited all day in the waiting room and left at 4:45. Their rate, couple of years ago, was $150/hour, the bill was over $400 including a 10% charge for shop fees. I have since found a mom and pop who take appointments, do it in one hour for a third of that cost and encourage me to stay in the shop with the coach.

You would be better off at an independent shop anyway. Pretty much the same at Cummins. Personally, I would try a mobile diesel mechanic

I had the same problem last year at Premeir Freighliner in Dallas before I got rid of my coach. I made a stink about them not telling me on the phone before I drove out of my way. They finally relented and did the work, albeit poorly that I had to have re-done a month later in Las Vegas.

Their excuse was that on older machines, it's common to "find" other problems in addition to the reported problem, that ends up costing the customer a lot of money - sometimes the customer isn't prepared to handle the surprise and they end up wanting to leave without paying for the work already done.

I complained to Freightliner - Their answer was that because the service centers are indepently owned, they can set their own policies. I suspect that such a small amount of business comes from the RV side that they just don't care about it.

Doesn't make it right, but it is what it is...