Where is QC and PDI

Effy wrote:
The past 3 vehicles we have owned; Ford F150 SCREw 5.4, VW Jetta and Honda Civic. NONE had any warranty issues. The Ford had 130k miles and runs like it's brand new, the Jetta finally had to retire at 250k miles, and the Civic is new and so far flawless. So no, I have never had or expected to have any warranty issues with my vehicles. I have read on this forum countless issues that really should be caught and fixed at the factory. When you buy a house he lender or permit for a new build requires an inpection. Sure there may be nail pops etc usually from use. But leaky windows, holes in the exterior walls, foundation faulty, shorts in electrical are all things that really should not end up happening in a home. These things seem common in RV's. Just sayin. We can't blame this stuff on "it's an RV". Most of this stuff is poor workmanship and lack of oversight and NOT the nature of the beast. Simply put, a majority of things that are wrong with RV's could have and should have been addressed before they ever left the line.

Have had recall issues with previous Ford Focus, previous VW Passat TDI and Jetta TDI, and current 2013 Honda Fit. My son has had nothing but lemon out of his Ford F150 ecoboost, and ended up taking a settlement. You have been very lucky!!!

The problem with the RV industry is the business relationship between the RV manufacturer and the RV dealerships. RV dealerships do not have the legal relationship and responsibilities to the manufacturers and customers that the auto dealerships have.

When competition forces them to straighten their acts up. Not until. They're happy with the acceptance each other can get away with it. Or unless the government passes laws allowing buyers to get reimbursed for time and loss. That will never happen.

At some point you would expect a builder to look at the cost of paying the dealers for repairs and the bad press they get and realize they could still make money by slowing the line down and doing better workmanship. The buyers would tell everyone that they see how they got a unit and it had only two minor flaws and it took the dealer a few hours to fix it. Slowly the industry would come around.

Back to reality...

The RV industry seems to be in the same position as the new car industry was during the 60's.

It was very common then for the dealer to sell you a brand new car with the instructions: "Drive it for 30 days, keep a list of what is wrong and bring it back in. We will fix it then."

The car industry has changed and quality control is much higher now. (Foreign competition? I don't know) Hopefully, the RV industry will follow.

Just look at how many airplanes have problems just out the door. ;-)

The past 3 vehicles we have owned; Ford F150 SCREw 5.4, VW Jetta and Honda Civic. NONE had any warranty issues. The Ford had 130k miles and runs like it's brand new, the Jetta finally had to retire at 250k miles, and the Civic is new and so far flawless. So no, I have never had or expected to have any warranty issues with my vehicles. I have read on this forum countless issues that really should be caught and fixed at the factory. When you buy a house he lender or permit for a new build requires an inpection. Sure there may be nail pops etc usually from use. But leaky windows, holes in the exterior walls, foundation faulty, shorts in electrical are all things that really should not end up happening in a home. These things seem common in RV's. Just sayin. We can't blame this stuff on "it's an RV". Most of this stuff is poor workmanship and lack of oversight and NOT the nature of the beast. Simply put, a majority of things that are wrong with RV's could have and should have been addressed before they ever left the line.

You need to spend some time in the transportation industry where brand new Class 8 tractors are purchased. You will find very much the same problems. My son is driving a brand new, just delivered, Peterbilt. He is experiencing much more down time not working because that brand new rig is broken down and in the shop. Every week it is at the Peterbilt shop. I know of two year old Peterbilt that has spent more time in the shop than it has on the road. Cummins can't get the engine's computer to work properly and can't find the problem. Even new computers have not solved the problem. Usually after a year, all the bugs are worked out and the trucking companies can begin to trust those "new" rigs. It is the nature of the heavy truck business.

Have owned 3 Thor Industries TT's now and pleased with each one. (Dutchmen Sport, Keystone Springdale, and Keystone Outback) Issues? yes, but minor. Expected issues? Yes.

So, when you purchase a brand new car, have you NEVER had warranty issues either?

When you purchase a brand new house (ok, even a used one), have you NEVER had some kind of issue arise after you parted with your (credit)???

Have you ever purchased a CD just to find out it had a scratch and you have to replace it?

Have you ever purchased a toaster and plugged it in, just to find out it did not work? A television? A radio? A Cell phone that went ka-put the day after you purchased it?

If you REALLY consider all the technology that goes into an RV, it's amazing that anything works at all.

100% systems for 120 volt AC power that works flawless with 12 volt DC power, that also works flawless with house lights, turn signals, refrigerators, you name it. Mix gas and electric appliances that can switch back and forth, water, plumbing systems, and then add an engine, drive shaft , suspension, and you name it (if it's drivable vs towable) you're looking at some very complicated and sophisticated technology inside any RV. Add to that televisions, radios, microwaves, stoves, ovens, and everythig else, .... well .....

The odds of "something" being missed in a PDI is not all that surprising.

Many items that get unearthed in an RV are found when they are actually being used. We had a miss-fit drain in the shower in our new Outback. Did anyone at the factory take a shower in it to determine if the drain was installed properly? NO! Would you expect them too? No..... Would you expect the dealer to take a shower? no..... The mistake was caught by ME, when I used it. And yes, it was fixed at the dealer under warranty.

Anyone who purchases an RV has a certain amount of responsibility also, you know. As the person making the purchase, YOU have the responsibility to thoroughly inspect the product before taking delivery and signing the bottom line and parting with your money. So, the responsibility does not rest 100% on the dealer or the manufacturer there, if you take delivery and then find something wrong.

Note: Let me correct that "responsibility". The manufacture and dealer have the "responsibility" to stand behind warranty work. But if you take delivery and something is not right, YOU had the responsibility to discover it, just as much as the seller did too. Don't blame the seller after the fact, if you've not done your part first. If you don't like the product, you don't have to purchase it!

It's really odd to me. Last year my buddy was shopping for a new TT so I accompanied him to a bunch of dealers. No matter what the brand, they all had damage, scars and defects that were blatantly obvious. When ever I asked a salesman about them he would say "We'll fix anything that's wrong".
Some of these rigs just looked trashed inside. Why do they deliver junk like this? Don't they realize it's costing them sales?
He finally settled on a Arctic Fox but it too needed several repairs.

We stoped 1000 miles away from home on a whim. It was a discount place and the brand doesn't matter. We were there for 5 hrs and the walls thru was about 2 hrs. They had done the DPI before it went on the lot. We bought it and the point is if it wasn't as good as we wanted we wouldn't have left with it.