Trusted motorhome dealerships?

Because you asked about "Trusted motor home dealerships", you will get answers from a few owners who had a satisfactory experience at a particular dealer.

In my experience, however, "Trustworthy Dealer" is an oxymoron!

My 2 cants.

Mel
'96 Safari

Camper Ken wrote:
Guaranty RV in Junction City, Oregon. Great selection new and used RVs, good sales people, excellent service center.

Unfortunately, we have had a different experience at Guaranty. They were unable to properly diagnose an ongoing electrical problem on four different occasions. In addition, there was always a mess to clean up when we picked up our trailer. Took the trailer to a different service center and within two hours the electrical issue was diagnosed and repaired. Service advisor didn't call when he said he would and turned rude when I told him I was taking my RV service elsewhere. We will never go there for service again.

wnytaxman;
The biggest issue's are: 1) Per the sales contract a number of items were written up on sales contract to be repaired or replaced, by the agreed time of delivery. That has not happened, and I am still waiting for them to honor thier agreement. 2) Per sales contract the coach was supposed to be gone over by thier service garage ie; oil and filter change, all other filters to be changed(air,fuel,water)repair the exhaust system. Check entire motor transmission/ driveline. 3) to inspect tires, check for defective/expired tires. 4) inspect coach and issue NYS inspection certifcate. the only thing that was done by time of delivery was an inspection.
We took the coach on good faith, with expectations that the dealer would honor his argreement. I've called many times leaving many voicemails, with no return calls. I've emailed them requests for updates as to when they will perform repairs, with no replys.
The DW and I took our new MH out on a 550 mile round robin, not exeeding the double nickle and went thru 120 gals. of fuel. Upon returning home I called and left messages(no response) fianlly took the MH into a cummins dealer to find that the filters were oem(it's a 2000 model yr)meaning that they never were changed. That's one of the reasons for the bad fuel mileage, another was due to a leaking fuel line,it was spraying fuel all over the top of the motor. 4 out of 6 tires are well past thier expiration date. This was relayed to me by cummins dealer after I explained all that was supposed to be done by the dealer. In short everything they claim is false, every promise they made has been broken.
It almost sounds in your last post that your in the business yourself. If you treat your customers this way, then I hope that someone would put the word out.
There has been many complaints filed by many people, they must have a reason for posting them, 21 in 12 mos. at the BBB site alone, an average of almost 2 per month. Send me a personal message and I'll produce documentation of the bogus work they claimed to have done, and documetation of repairs priced out to make the MH safe. Currently I'm looking at over $4,000.00 in repairs not including tire replacement to make it safe to operate. as far as the complaints just google albany rv / rvone compalints and you'll find many sites that people have voice thier conplaints
Again don't buy from Albany RV

stuplich wrote:

BTW, IMO there are also ONLY two kinds of RV owners:
1.) Those that did not pay a "fair price", and know it.
2.) Those that did not pay a "fair price", and THINK they did!

IMO, if the seller is happy with how much money he got, and the buyer is happy with how much he paid, then that IS a fair price.

The best buying experience we ever had was at DeMartini. They were fantastic to deal with, low-pressure, and just all-around good people.

The WORST shopping experience we had (because there's no way I'd ever buy anything from them) was at LaMesa RV. LaMesa was everything that DeMartini wasn't. :R

wnytaxman wrote:
No I have no personal stake at all. My experiences with the company have been directly contrary to what was posted. Granted I dealt with their Buffalo dealership, not their Albany dealership so I don't know what issues may or may not exist there. I have found the owners of the Company to upstanding and in my experience they have always been true to their word and have tried to please the customer whenever and wherever possible.

The poster stated that there was some action from the Attorney General here in NY and I could find no evidence of that. NY AG's tend to be very publicity happy so I'm surprised that if there is an issue that I would not be able to find it. Again, perhaps I did not search in the right place or with the right key words, but It would seem more than likely that an action against a large dealership would have gained a certain level of publicity.

My dismissal of the BBB claims is based mostly on experience. Anyone can lodge a complaint against anyone else with the BBB and the validity of that complaint may be nothing more than a disgruntled customer seeking something for nothing. What is telling is the nature of the complaint and whether or not it was resolved. We can't tell if the complaint is one of "I was supposed to pick up my rig at 10 and it wasn't ready until noon" or was it "the wheels fell off my trailer?" What is telling is the nature of the complaint and the resolution of that complaint or lack of resolution.

Once again, as a prior customer, my experience was not pleasant in the least, and quite the opposite of doing business with somebody who was concerned with customer satisfaction, or doing the right thing. As for you dismissal of an enormous number of BBB complaints as they might just be whiners, sorry but that dog just doesn't hunt. In an era of all types of online venues to vent, and the ability to do serious damage to a company, if you have been abused, I doubt that any of those complaints are trivial in the least. If you can go on a review site to unjustly whine, why would you ever take the time make a case to a body that will review and rule on the validity of your claim? Having done business with both of the giant "wholesalers" in the business, and bought a used diesel pusher from one of the giant mega-dealers, I can safely say that I would work real hard to find a private seller for my next purchase. The lies, broken promises, and BS seem to be SOP for most of the big volume outfits in this game.

No I have no personal stake at all. My experiences with the company have been directly contrary to what was posted. Granted I dealt with their Buffalo dealership, not their Albany dealership so I don't know what issues may or may not exist there. I have found the owners of the Company to upstanding and in my experience they have always been true to their word and have tried to please the customer whenever and wherever possible.

The poster stated that there was some action from the Attorney General here in NY and I could find no evidence of that. NY AG's tend to be very publicity happy so I'm surprised that if there is an issue that I would not be able to find it. Again, perhaps I did not search in the right place or with the right key words, but It would seem more than likely that an action against a large dealership would have gained a certain level of publicity.

My dismissal of the BBB claims is based mostly on experience. Anyone can lodge a complaint against anyone else with the BBB and the validity of that complaint may be nothing more than a disgruntled customer seeking something for nothing. What is telling is the nature of the complaint and whether or not it was resolved. We can't tell if the complaint is one of "I was supposed to pick up my rig at 10 and it wasn't ready until noon" or was it "the wheels fell off my trailer?" What is telling is the nature of the complaint and the resolution of that complaint or lack of resolution.

wnytaxman wrote:
Thanks, I must not have entered something correctly.

What I'm wondering is how many of those complaints were not handled to the satisfaction of the person filing the complaint. Any of us in business will always have some things that either don't go right or some customer/client that just can't be pleased no matter what. I'd be curious about the nature of the complaints and the level of satisfaction received by the consumer.

I Certainly hope you have no personal financial stake in this issue? I thinks it's beyond credible that you would suggest that somehow this level of BBB complaints is no big issue, as there may be resolved issues, or customers to blamed since they " just can't be pleased" Having a complaint every few years MAY be understandable, but when you are generating several a month and your level is climbing, clearly something is VERY wrong. I would also be curious as to how many problems elevate to this level, as compared to those customers that just got disgusted and walked away. On the other end of dispute escalation, it would be interesting to know how often the state AG is involved, and how many customers end up hiring attorneys? IMHO, I find that level of BBB complains to be a huge red flag. In full disclosure, I have been a customer in the past. I picked a Jayco up at this facility, but purchased from RVDirect. Bottom line, it was an experience I won't be repeating.

navvets wrote:
We are in between RVs now; trying to decide which way to go. We have looked at so many motorhomes by owner that have been such disappointments. You would think that if someone is asking 50K+ for something, that they would actually clean it up or fix obvious defects.

So, was hoping that maybe some of you could point us to a trusted motorhome dealership that you have had good luck with. In other words, for used coaches, did they sell you a good one? Were you able to negotiate a fair price? Did they back up maintenance promises, etc...

We live in the OK/TX area, but could go elsewhere if necessary. Thanks in advance for any opinions/ideas...

IMO there are ONLY two kinds of RV dealerships:
1.) Those that do not give anyone a "fair price".
2.) Those that are able to convince customers they got a "fair price".

If you are interested in a nice used coach here's one of the top rated dealers in the nation: http://www.kingscampers.com/

BTW, IMO there are also ONLY two kinds of RV owners:
1.) Those that did not pay a "fair price", and know it.
2.) Those that did not pay a "fair price", and THINK they did!

I bought my coach from Wheeler RV in Las Vegas in 2003 brand new. They told me make a list of anything that needs adjustment or repaired. I made a list and went back a month later and everything was taken care off. Even went there for the Caterpillar valve adjustment and they done an excellent job because this coach has not given hardly any problems what so ever. I drove in on my appointment and I was out the same day. Wheeler sold out to CW so I do not know how it is now.

Coach is still going strong. I do most of the maintenance on the coach, like change the oil and filters. Lube the chassis which includes the u-joints and a squirt to the engine fan bearing. Also includes the same for the generator. The generator has been flawless through ten years. The Caterpillar engine only repair was a Huei pump under warranty.

But now I have made some repairs or up keep on the coach myself, like I replaced the slide out topper with new material, and I also order a new CAC hose. It had been rubbing against the compartment frame. So I did not want to take a chance on it blowing up.

But Wheeler RV was good to me when I needed them.