UGH, UMMMMMMM NOT A HAPPY CAMPER

[woodworker414]

Good morning to all. Took the Chateau to my dealer Tuesday for some warranty work done. When the Chateau left the factory, the duct from the furnace to the bedroom was not installed. The duct was laying on the floor in the drawer section of the bedroom. Easy fix. Just cut the hole in the wall and install the duct. But the dealer did not have the right color register. Now on order.
When in S. TX for the winter. I unlatched the tv. Its travel position is against the wall on the streetside of the cabover bed area. Swings out for viewing. Well the first time I unlatched the tv to swing it out the cable connector on the back of the tv fell out of the tv, with the cable feed stilled connected to it. The cable feed is the cable that brings the signal to the tv from the rv park cable system or the roof top antenna. Well no tv. Still had the one in the bedroom. I show the dealer the problem. They call THOR MOTORCOACH and explain the issue.My coach is still under warranty until next month. THOR MOTORCOACH says that this issue is not covered under warranty.
WHAT???????? REALLY??????? So I have a tv that does not work. And instlled in a coach still under warranty and its not covered. i DON'T UNDERSTAND. Needless to say, I AM NOT A HAPPY CAMPER. THOR MOTORCOACH let me down. Well my dealer, MBTHOMAS, in Lemay, MO, a suburb of St. Louis, came through. They said if I would pay $60.00 they would install a new tv. Well I paid the cost. Which I think THOR MOTORCOACH should pay. So the coach has a new tv. And late last year the motor drive gear on the awning broke when I was trying to bring the awning in while at home. I paid a $50.00 service call to have the dealer come to my house and remove the awning, since I could not drive the coach with the awning. THOR MOTORCOACH said they would cover the cost of the service call, well still waiting for that to arrive.
And the Fantastic fan motor went bad while in S. TX. A 3 speed motor, the dealer had a 1 speed motor on hand. The 3 speed motor is on order.

Hope the parts get here next week. I have a campout with my Good Sam chapter in 2 weeks. Next will be an oil and filter change on the V10 and the generator. Check the fluids, air in the tires and head on out.
Can hardly wait. Love being out there.
Y'all have a great day.

[Bordercollie]

Woodworker

Its my guess that RV makers rush the overall assembly process, don't do adequate in-process inspection and quality assurance, don't set aside sufficient funds to cover dealer fixes of factory defects and ship RV's to dealers with understandings about keeping repair costs down. Service managers coordinate fixes with factory personnel who are under pressure to keep repair costs down, service managers act helpless and blame the factory for not authorizing repairs. New owner is caught in the middle and may or may not get prompt and properly done repairs by the dealer. Not a whole lot different than new car dealer warranty fixes. Try to check out RV dealer's reputation for after-sale support before buying.

[woodworker414]

Hi Crasster. I usually buy used also. But I decided this time I would go with a brand new one. Knowing full well that there would be issues with a new coach. Well its not new anymore. I get to take care of everything myself. The only time I Wait now, is When I wait till I get the lead out of my backside and get moving. LOL. If I ever replace this one, I will probably go with a used one.

[crasster]

I hate being at the mercy of others! I typically don't buy new myself. All 3 of my coaches were used. I know there are still problems, but at least it is not at huge premiums on everything. I guess it all depends on how handy somebody is. I'd rather fix stuff myself then "call the dealer, wait, call mfg, wait, bring it in, wait, wait, wait......" then finally get a call one day "Hi Mr. ___ we finally got the cabinet handle in". LOL

[woodworker414]

Bordercollie. Its a wonder why would a builder offer a warranty, then decide not not to back up. I would think that they would be very concerned about their reputation, being know that they are true to their word. But maybe I live in a dream world. Where I come from you word is taken that you will back it up with aciion.

[woodworker414]

lfcjasp. I agree. I purchased my rig from a small dealer. A small family owned dealership. They have been outstanding in anything that I needed taken care of. They should probably teach the class of customer support to Thor.

[woodworker414]

j-d, Pushing Mud Uphill. Yup, that's a good way to put it.

[woodworker414]

Hi Travelin2, Yes, I agree with what you wrote. No I don't have a big buckrig. But its big bucks to me. My price rig is probably the biggest part of the market. I just wish when you are told something, that people would keep their word. But as we know, that does not always happen. I guess the frustrating thing, is that I was told numerous times that the service call would be covered. Well it looks like it is not going to be covered. So I have decided to move on. But I am NOT HAPPY ABOUT IT. Will I tell other people of my experience yes.
As I have said I teally like my coach. Right now I am in FL till April for the winter. This is a very comfy coach to live in.'
Just disappointed in Thor.

[Bordercollie]

I am not surprised at RV manufacturers trying to slither out of warranty overage on a technicality or trying to BS a new owner. I imagine that stuff like this is more common with an entry level brand than higher end brands but you may pay more for decent after sale support. I think that big city high volume RV sellers are often less concerned about word of mouth about after sale support than they should be.

[Racine96]

OP, I was promised a check from Columbus in October for a night of lodging because they were one day late in finishing the work in my FW. I am still waiting. Good luck.

[lfcjasp]

3oaks wrote:

Bordercollie wrote:
After sale fixes take the joy out of owning a new rig. Owner is at the mercy of the manufacturer's Customer support person who must authorize all fixes parts and labor and reimburse dealer service dept.

And at the mercy of a sympathetic dealer who understands the customer's frustration. That is why finding a good dealer is sometimes more important than finding the lowest price on a new RV of any kind.

So true!!!

[j-d]

In the "organizational development" group I used to work for, we'd say that we could win the hearts and minds of the executives and the first line supervisors. It was the MIDDLE that was impermeable! And we had a term for winning the supervisors in the hope it'd influence the middle: Pushing Mud up a Pipe.

[Travelin2]

Hi ww414, Sorry to hear of your sad dealings with Thor. It's obvious that the middle management folks at Thor aren't doing their job. They have not got the message to the bottom tier people in their organization that we consumers deal with about the importance of after-purchase interaction. You can bet that the big boys(and girls) in the top floor corner offices at Thor cringe when a minor problem with a coach is handled in such a way. All the seminars that they sent their managers to for public sales relations was wasted money evidently. Your thread may be on the screen at the next a** chewing, 'er...meeting

[woodworker414]

Good morning all. I said I would info you of the issues I have had with the rig.
Talk about the tv replacement first.
I received a phone call from a very nice lady at Thor Mortorcoach about my comments on the tv issue. She agreed with me that the tv should have been replace under warranty. She told me to tell the dealer to contact her and she would authorize replacement of the tv under warranty. I did, and made the trip to the dealer and was given my money back. Now that is GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE.
Lets talk about the service call. I am still waiting for the check. The first check was sent to the wrong address. In the discussion with the lady, she checked and the said it had ben sent and I told her I did not receive it. She said they would stop payment on that check and send me another one. STILL HAVE NOT RECEIVE THE CHECK. I have called so many times. Been told that the check is there, the last person said it was being held up in accounting. What ever that means. Just put it in the mail. Heck my rig was only 6 months when the awning gear box blew apart.
So I guess I willjust have to write this off as an UNHAPPY experience with Thor Motorcoach.
Other than that, I REALLY LIKE MY RIG.
There customer tech support is just fantastic.

[mlts22]

woodworker414 wrote:
Hi j-d. yep, negative, for sure. I remember when going to school, business class, many many years ago. That a happy customer will tell maybe 5 people of their experience but that a UNHAPPY person will tell maybe 15 of their experience. Well I will probably tell 150 people.

Joe Girard wrote a book saying that on average, a person has 250 friends... and when happy, a person might mention to 1-2 people. When ticked off, all 250 will know.