Terrible Experience - EZ Living RV Braidwood, IL

[gjdy]

Just bought our 4th RV. We live in central IL and up until now always believed in buying local.

Our first RV, Dutchman TT, from Pontiac RV in Pontiac IL was a good unit, only took it back to dealer 1 time for a 1 hour repair, under warranty. We would buy from them again. (Slide issue)

Second RV, Salem TT, from EZ Living RV Braidwood IL, no problems - never had to take it in or even call the dealership back after taking delivery. (Minor issues, fixed ourselves)

Third RV, Jayco TT, from Four Winds in East Peoria IL, in twice for a couple weeks each time for warranty repairs, would buy from them again. (Slide issues, plumbing issues)

Now the bad news. After visiting these three dealerships again while looking for our next RV, we decided on a Forest River Vengeance Toy Hauler at EZ Living RV. Got an OK price, several thousand higher than internet pricing, but local. Got the TH home and found multiple problems, the worst being the condition of the roof. We were not allowed to climb on the roof at the PDI - "due to liability issues." EZ Living sent "their best tech" out to look at the unit. Tech says "this should have never left the factory or our lot like this, and its (the roof) not gonna last a year going down the road." He gave us a tube of self-leveling caulk, to apply as soon as it stopped raining, and said to get it back to the dealerhip as soon as possible. (Un-caulked holes, popped nails, misaligned/buckling decking)

We took the unit back to the dealership and that's when we finally met the owner of EZ Living RV, Mark Hadley. We were berated and ridiculed and told we were overreacting. Their "best tech" was no longer their best tech and didn't know what he was talking about, according to Hadley. Hadley told us there was nothing wrong with the roof, while admitting he had not inspected it, and further said, "it's not a warranty issue until the nails make a hole in it (the roof membrane)." It was downhill from there. In an email to Forest River, EZ Living requested reimbursement for 6 hours of labor to repair the roof. The roof repair appears to consist of hammering down protruding nails with a rubber mallet without first removing the roof membrane. In another email to Forest River, EZ Living complains about the quality of roofs on the Vengeance models.

(Other issues with our unit involve the heating and plumbing systems)

Most RV's come with some problems, so our happiness with this unit remains to be seen, but the quality of this dealership is blatantly apparent and sorely lacking.

Results:

1 We will not buy from a dealer that won't let us inspect the roof prior to purchase.

2 WE WILL NEVER BUY FROM EZ LIVING RV BRAIDWOOD IL AGAIN.

[gjdy]

Snowman9000 wrote:
I live very close to that dealership. In 3 hours I could be at the FR plant in the Elkhart area. That's where I would go. I know it is a big PITA to do that, and will cost a good bit in round trip (probably two trips) tow fuel and maybe an overnight hotel and meals, but you should sleep better if you do so.

We are communicating with Forest River. So far they have been much more helpful and respectful than EZ Living. They seem very interested in our experience with EZ Living.

[DownTheAvenue]

The RV industry is ripe for a quality manufacturer to build products correctly and RV dealerships that understand customer service.

It is the American automobile industry in the 1970's!

[gjdy]

riven1950 wrote:
We just bought a new TT. Last day we looked at it I told the salesman I wanted to look at the roof. He looked at me like I was crazy and said " it is a brand new trailer ", but he went and found a ladder 🙂

Good for you, and I wish we would have demanded the same or walked. Live and learn.

[gjdy]

midnightsadie wrote:
ez did not build your rv, the problem is the builder, cheap bad work. the rv should be sent back to the builder and you get to suffer without a rv till its fixed, OR find another rv and trade it off. EZ can only do what the builder tells them,or EZ is loosing money . and they won,t loose money.

The purpose of my original post was to show how we were treated by the owner of this dealership. Yes, most rv build quality is lacking, and we are withholding judgement in that regard for now.

The point I was trying to make is a buyer would be better off getting the lowest price possible from an internet dealer, than buying from EZ Living RV and expecting any kind of service or courteous response after they have the money.

[Snowman9000]

I live very close to that dealership. In 3 hours I could be at the FR plant in the Elkhart area. That's where I would go. I know it is a big PITA to do that, and will cost a good bit in round trip (probably two trips) tow fuel and maybe an overnight hotel and meals, but you should sleep better if you do so.

[gjdy]

gbopp wrote:

gjdy wrote:
We were not allowed to climb on the roof at the PDI - "due to liability issues."

I understand the liability issues but, if I could not inspect the roof I would have walked away from the deal.
It would have been a red flag for me.

Did you post this on RV Service Reviews?

Exactly what we will do in the future, and will be posting on service reviews in a few days, thanks.

[riven1950]

We just bought a new TT. Last day we looked at it I told the salesman I wanted to look at the roof. He looked at me like I was crazy and said " it is a brand new trailer ", but he went and found a ladder 🙂

[midnightsadie]

ez did not build your rv, the problem is the builder, cheap bad work. the rv should be sent back to the builder and you get to suffer without a rv till its fixed, OR find another rv and trade it off. EZ can only do what the builder tells them,or EZ is loosing money . and they won,t loose money.

[gbopp]

gjdy wrote:
We were not allowed to climb on the roof at the PDI - "due to liability issues."

I understand the liability issues but, if I could not inspect the roof I would have walked away from the deal.
It would have been a red flag for me.

Did you post this on RV Service Reviews?