Do you think the factory or dealer ever checks the units before delivery?

LSA376 · 04-19-2014, 09:59 PM

Just drove 1,000 miles round trip to pickup a new '14 37RB Seneca. I swear this unit has more issues than my traded '04 Bounder ever had. I wonder if the factory ever tests any of the systems before they leave the factory? Evidently the dealer sure didn't...

Unfortunately I lost trust in dealers long ago as after many attempts for repairs only resulted in the same issues never being fixed correctly. Now I try and do most repairs myself to "get acquainted" with the coach.

So here goes:

On the day of pickup part of the rear door trim piece was ripped off and laying on the bed. Dealer air nailed back together, never mind the original screws, finish nailer works just as good, eh?

Power awning head falling off main tube. This would have caused some paint/fiberglass issues if the head fell off. Unit was never attached to main awning tube, not sure how it held on.

On the road after the dealer shakedown....

Tankless water heater failed to light, entire trip home four of us using campground showers
Once home found propane line crushed during installation. Need dealer to send new hose assembly.

Once home went to dump tanks, #1 grey tank valve wouldn't open. Found pull rod bent under black tank piping and destroyed. Removed valve assembly, threaded and tapped new rod, re-routed and re-mounted assembly.

#1 grey tank fell out of mounts, was never installed correctly. Removed tank, remounted tank correctly and added supports.

#1 black tank drain piped uphill, doesn't drain. Need to re-pipe 3" drain.

House batteries dead within two hours, batteries 6 months old I'm sure they have been drained many times on dealer lot. Need replacing, I doubt I'll get anywhere with this one.

Outside stereo dead. Have 12VDC and ground all wiring correct, unit is dead.

Water heater door not lined up with exhaust, duct bent in water heater. Straightened sheet metal.

Used furnace first night, coach filled with smoke set off smoke detectors. Disassembled furnace, full of debris.

Coach has four water pump switches, one works. Still trying to identify problem.

Light fixtures hung crooked. Remounted fixtures.

Shelves in cabinets not level. Rebuilt shelves.

Furnace exhaust doesn't line up with door, bent assembly in furnace. Straightened sheet metal.

Carpet falling of walls at steps

Carpet frayed in cab behind seats

Window valences fraying

Electrical gremlins, found 1/0 ground cable hanging under coach and not connected to frame. Easy fix.

Electric combo lock shorted out, burned hole through interior panel of coach door. Dealer is sending new door, has to be painted once received.

These rigs are not cheap, I would think someone would take pride in workmanship before these hit the streets.

Sorry about the rant, if I complain to loud to the wife she will tell me I should have kept the bounder!

The chassis is great! My first diesel, love the Cummins, love the engine brake, 22.5 tires and suspension. I had done every power adder and suspension upgrade to the W-22 Workhorse and was very happy with it. The M2 blows it away!

Just wish the first impression was better with the Jayco side of the coach. Hopefully time heals and this will be a winner in the LNG run.

Tunce the traveler · 04-19-2014, 10:23 PM

From that list I would say NO!!! What does Jayco have to say about this?

Big Sky · 04-19-2014, 10:53 PM

I would have returned the unit. Jayco is a very good manufacturer and would back these issues, but there are too many to go through that and this is a very expensive model. Have you addressed this with Jayco?? I'm very interested in their response and would be shocked if you didn't receive a new unit or at the very least an immediate overhaul covered by them to fix and remedy all issues. Please let us know the outcome of your issues.

donellen30 · 04-20-2014, 09:18 AM

We had so many issues when we first got our Greyhawk, I was ready to go back to our old GeorgieBoy, but it had already been sold! Took the two year warranty period to get most of the bugs out. First trip out with ours and the ac unit did not work. New unit had to be ordered and installed. Entry way door had to be replaced because it wouldn't close. Too many other issues to even think about. Only responses I got from Jayco was to go take it back to the dealer! So frustrating!

Good luck.

Grumpy · 04-20-2014, 11:41 AM

You payed the dealer to go over that unit before you took delivery and unless that was fixed/working before you left he dealership I wouldn't have taken delivery. Every time I pick up a new unit the dealer's service dept takes an hr or so and goes through everything and shows me all is working correcty. They also have me do a full inspection inside and out to be sure there are no issues. You have a lousy dealer IMO.

bgermane · 04-20-2014, 08:09 PM

Had the same feelings when we picked up our Greyhawk. It's almost two years old now and there are still some lingering problems. Personally, I just got tired of it sitting in service, and gave up on some of the issues. After 16 mos, it had been in service for 13 mos. Maybe, that's what they are hoping for. I have tried three different dealers, and they're all about the same. Unit sits for at least a month before any work begins. One interesting note... All three dealers said the same thing about Jayco - they are super slow to respond to work authorizations. Typically 2-3 weeks. Maybe that's by design.

It gets frustrating. Every time we go out, something breaks, falls off, or stops working. Maybe that's just part of owning a motorhome. Despite all that, the kids are always anxious for the next trip. They don't care about any of those problems. To them, it's perfect.

Bluesky46 · 05-27-2014, 10:35 PM

Knock on wood here, but I have had a 2012 greyhawk 31SS since new and one minor problem was fixed promptly before taking delivery and a few other issues that came up after the first couple of trips and I took it to a jayco dealer closer to where I live and they treated me as good as I would expected if I had bought it from them in the first place.

TX_Arvee · 05-28-2014, 08:26 AM

In short, NO.

**norty1** · 05-28-2014, 10:42 AM

Many dealers do.

Grumpy · 05-28-2014, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TX_Arvee

In short, NO.

Then you need to find a competent dealer. In the 37 years that I have dealt with my dealer I have never gotten a Starcraft or Jayco unit that needed work as soon as I got it home.

Rob_Fla · 05-28-2014, 02:03 PM

I agree, our current and our previous Jayco have been great.
They came from different dealers and the delivery was great on both, both dealer's demonstrated everything, only minor problems during years of use.
Whenever we needed a warranty issue fixed, the dealer got approval from Jayco the same day and repairs were done quickly.

bgermane · 05-28-2014, 08:38 PM

We bought ours through RVDirect. Wonderful buying process. The PDI was abysmal. And, of the at least 10 phone calls after the purchase, all went unreturned. I'm sure the dealer should play a larger role in the QC process, but there are some basic QC checks that I expected Jayco to make. Things like water testing the units with the slides open. That alone would have saved me nearly 16 months of upset. I agree with others that the dealers are responsible for checking everything out, but that doesn't mean Jayco can get away with shipping units and checking nothing.

**norty1** · 05-29-2014, 05:59 AM

The dealer is not doing you a favor. They get paid to do the PDI whether they do it it not.

namusmc65 · 05-29-2014, 07:20 AM

Wow I only thought I had problems with my new 2014 33.5RETS! I did sit down and take the time to write Jayco and letter. There response was they were extremely sorry about all my problems but their dealer would take care of them. I have worked with this dealer for 14 years and this was our third unit purchased from them. He went out of his way to correct the problems but the unit should have never left the factory with the obvious defects! If you go online to Jayco's site and look at the videos of the manufacturing process, you will probably see why there are problems. The employees are running from station to station to keep up with the assembly line process. That should tell us something right there. Quantity over quality. All the bugs are out of our unit but it took three trips to find them all. We still love it and all the campers want to come and take a look inside. They all love it.

McGarrett50 · 06-30-2014, 05:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grumpy

Then you need to find a competent dealer. In the 37 years that I have dealt with my dealer I have never gotten a Starcraft or Jayco unit that needed work as soon as I got it home.

Grumpy - Sounds like you've got a great dealer. I'm looking for one. Who is yours? Thanks.

prowlerb13 · 04-20-2015, 02:04 PM

I just bought a used Jayco Melbourne 29 d....the propane was on and when I turn it off it seems like it does not totally shut off. I know some propane stays in line I turned on stove burners and 15 min later they were still burning

The Logans · 04-20-2015, 02:57 PM

Take it back, and if they won't replace the unit, pick another dealer!

Grandpa · 04-20-2015, 06:23 PM

To the OP, those problems are just downright shoddy workmanship. You are experiencing everyone's worst nightmare in buying a motorhome! I had a similar, if not worse experience with a "high-end" Super-C. It took six trips to the factory to finally get everything resolved. We weren't able to take a single trip in the unit without something significant going wrong.

In my opinion with 35 years of experience of buying motorhomes, most of the manufacturers lack even basic quality assurance procedures during the build process. Their model seems to be to throw them together and let the dealer and customers sort out the problems. It's really a shame that they get away with as much as they do. No dealer should have to deal with the issues you're having. Most of those go right back to the workmanship in the factory. Just as in the auto world, we should be long past the days of the dealer needing to make a bunch of repairs to a brand-new unit.

Our Seneca is a little past due to be completed. I have to admit I'm a little nervous about what I'm going to get. Plus, I'm bumping up against a deadline for taking off in the new unit due to a serious family medical problem, so I'm really keeping my fingers crossed that we will get a great unit. The last thing I'm in the mood for is problems with a brand-new unit... Once I take delivery I hope I can come back and report that everything is fantastic.

Newbie31UL · 04-20-2015, 06:25 PM

We bought our Precept at Colerain RV at their Sunbury, OH location. We went through an almost 3 hour PDI. They of course wanted us to sign all the papers first before the PDI, I said no way, I never bought a house without an inspection first, it's not happening here either. They finally agreed. There were some minor issues (furnace and tankless hot water didnt turn on, air vent broken) that needed repaired, so we signed after the 3 hour PDI. It took the dealer a little over a week to get the parts from Jayco and it was fixed. I've had no problems with this dealer. Granted, this is my first Motorhome, time will tell.

I just had it out this past weekend and found a few more minor warranty issues I need to take to the dealer. (Both 12v DC accesory outlets don't work, trim piece falling off around door, tire valve stem in the wrong place-can't get to it.)

We are still waiting on the broken airvent cover to come in from Jayco, the furnace parts came in right away, I'm surprised it's taking so long on a small plastic air vent.

canadiankid · 04-20-2015, 10:39 PM

When we were doing our walk through I noticed a crack in one of the taps on the outdoor kitchen sink. It was funny to see the dealer get so embarrassed they had missed it. He was apologetic and sent someone to fix it as we continued the walk around. I've only spent one night in it so far but that's been the only minor flaw I've noticed.

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