Looking at 2017 Octane 273 (Part 3)

[Octane2Go]

So we went back the second time. We got there early (10am). Executed formalities. We were glad to see that it was George that was going to be helping finish this up. Then we went back to get things done.

We started going over the lists that we had of all the issues that needed repaired and seemed to have them all covered. The dipping shelf in the kitchen was good to go. Drilled holes filled, etc. They still hadn't put any fuel in the gas station yet.

After reading the post on here last week about the fuel station I had really made the point that I wanted to get that checked. They hadn't done that yet. Not exactly sure why. They didn't say exactly. There were some half statements about this or that. I think the management was under the impression that I wanted them to give me a tank of gas. Not my intent. We discussed and I told them they could have the gas back as they can pour the gas in and pump it out, as long as it works. :-) They just put 5 gallons in it and the gauge worked and the pump worked so I was happy.

We covered all the other points and all seemed well. We actually found a few other things that need to be fixed and George was "Johnny on the spot" and fixed things up.

Again, never once making it seem like anything mentioned was an hassle.

Then there was a hitch.

I had purchased a E4 Equalizer. I have been told by multiple sources it was the best hitch to be had.

We knew there were some things that had to be adjusted with it as the last time we were there they had pointed out that it wasn't put together exactly right, etc. We didn't worry about it then as we weren't taking the trailer.

Now that we are going to put it all together we, well George, discovered that the bars were impeded by the catwalk that was on the front of the trailer.

After some back and forth we were stuck. I offered the idea that we do a trade. My E4 that was brand new for their new Reese Pro Series. The Reese is chain based and therefore fit and since the bars didn't slide back and forth there was no issue with it hitting the catwalk.

George was pretty quick about putting it all together. Got it all done and we were ready to start rolling. We were there about 3 hours and George even made sure we were set with the brake control, etc.

We are headed home and all said I think things are pretty good. I think all the things that we found were handled and I think we found most things.

I will do a different post on our over-all thoughts and some other points.

All said and done, I would recommend The RV Center in Columbia, IN. I think that says it in a nutshell.

[Octane2Go]

Well, my opinion has changed.

I don't even know if I can remember everything but I will at least hit the highlights.

We found more things wrong. There was a spout missing on the side. The fire extinguisher had literally fallen out of the wall as it was just screwed into the thin walling, not the stud. The antenna was coming apart due to a missing screw.

We scheduled to go back up to have things repaired. Basically we traded numerous emails with the manager of service about the list of items and what needed fixed. We also arranged to have a on/off switch installed for the battery to keep it from going dead as it normally does in about a week with nothing turned on. (more on that later.)

Finally we are a couple days away from our scheduled date to go up.

I called and said "I know this is probably silly but I want to make sure before we come all the way back up that you have all the parts, etc. Are we ready to go and do you have all that is needed?" They reiterated, "yes" we do have everything and we are ready for you.

We went back up.

We were waiting for someone to get us and go over the list and start the work. 30 minutes later we find they are already working on it where we parked it. Antenna is fixed (more on this later.). We were told that the fire extinguisher can't be fixed. If they move it where it goes into the stud it will be in the doorway. We were told to just stuff it somewhere. Then we were told that they didn't have the spout. Because I called it the extension they don't have the part. Even though I sent pictures. I guess other RVs have a part called an extension and even though mine doesn't they were confused. I told them that I am the customer, if I said it was a shoe or a shoehorn, it is their responsibility to ensure they know what is needed. They also figure out that the switch that they have, is the right switch.

Basically the trip is a bust. Later (just within the last week or so) we found that they didn't fix the antenna after all. The other dealer found that the tab that the screw goes into was missing so they couldn't have put the screw in. The other dealer also had no issue fixing the fire extinguisher quite nicely.

After reaching back out to the original dealer after, I found that the service manager no longer worked there.

I spoke to the new one. Explained (short version) all the issues we had been having. All I got was "we know we have issues, we are working to resolve them." That's it. Sorry about your luck.

All things being equal, I can't recommend The RV Center. While the price is better, I think it is because they are cutting so many corners that the service suffers.