Learn from our Mistakes

Slow and Steady · 07-04-2017, 10:44 AM

We feel that we need to share our nightmare with anyone that might be ready to buy a new Jayco. First and foremost, we really like our 2017 29 RKS. The design fits us well.
But we need to start with last Jan. We had decided to buy our first TT. We were excited, and thought we did enough research. And decided that we needed to travel to Ohio to get the best deal. That was our first mistake. So we ordered our new unit. (and we did this after comparing prices locally) Well the dealer calls back and tells us that the production is way behind, and that they discovered that they had 2017 RKS in stock. So we take off. We arrive at 9 am for our walk through. We had explained that we have never owned a TT before and we need to learn everything, so time isn't a problem. That being said, we were shown the unit, and then told that they needed to put the Sway Bar system on our truck. And that we need to go into the business office and sign the papers. Second mistake. 40 minutes later, they give us our walk through. We were planning on 2-3 hours. 35 minutes later they said we are done. They hooked up our truck, and it was their lunch time, and we started down the road. We didn't go 2 miles and at about 45 mph, and we knew something was wrong. We pulled to the side called the dealer. They said well bring back, but everyone is a lunch. A little later, a service man made some adjustments, and we headed home. We drove about 200 miles and found a campground. We didn't disconnect. But also realized that most of the ceiling lights weren't working. The TV didn't work. And also in the bedroom we had separation where the seam for the wall boards meet.
And the heater didn't light. So it is in March and of course cold.
That was our next big mistake, we didn't turn around and go back to the dealer. We made it home late the next day. And of course called the dealer.
They only told us to contact our local Jayco dealer. And then told us good luck. We ended up calling Jayco, and they gave us two numbers to call. The first one indicated that they don't do warranty work for Jayco, because it takes too long to be paid. The second number was a Jayco dealer, and he was more concerned with why we didn't use him. We explained that we tried, but his pricing was about 15% higher. His response was that he can't compete with the larger dealers. And the then explained we was booked solid for service for next two months.
Sorry for making this into a book. But the long and short was that we did find an RV Repair Shop. We paid out of pocket. We have submitted the paid work orders to Jayco. But have not heard from anyone yet.
In conclusion, yes we take most of the blame, but we will do so much different the next time. We are still very excited about our 29 RKS, and yes have used it two times, and we are planning on our next trip now.
Hopefully someone will learn from us. Our dealer disappointed us over and over again. Yes we did save a few dollars, but if we could do it over again, we would have shopped for "excellent" service first and maybe price second. Good luck and enjoy.
Tom and Kathy
North Ga.

Ela1948 · 07-04-2017, 11:01 AM

Amen!!!! Everyone wanters the best price but experience has proven that a good dealer with experienced employees are worth more then a few bucks saved on purchase price. Been there and done that!! I have a dealer that I trust and I look no further.

**norty1** · 07-04-2017, 11:02 AM

Sorry you had so much trouble. It would be nice if like Amazon, you could send it back and get a refund. But in the rv world, a good relationship with a good dealer is the first thing I would look for because someday you know you are going to need them, no matter what make it is.

robkelly · 07-04-2017, 11:46 AM

Thanks for sharing, and couldn't agree more about the dealer relationship. Our dealer is small and doesn't carry much inventory so we've travelled to other dealers to look, and our dealer is fine with that as they want to be sure we know what we're ordering.

Marcm157 · 07-04-2017, 11:52 AM

For the record, I knowingly paid about 11% more to buy local and the dealer is just as uncaring. I do all my own work on my cars as well as my camper just to avoid the aggravation associated with dealers. I am fortunate to not have had any major warranty issues but avoid dealers like the plague.

Kahoneys · 07-04-2017, 11:56 AM

Just keep up contact with Jayco. They are very good but also very slow about repair reimbursement. I have waited as long as 6 months to get reimbursed but they always have come thru in the end!

Grumpy · 07-04-2017, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kahoneys

They are very good but also very slow about repair reimbursement. I have waited as long as 6 months to get reimbursed but they always have come thru in the end!

They must not like you,

I've never waited more than 3 weeks.

**Midnightmoon** · 07-04-2017, 03:41 PM

Slow and Steady, is the Blairsville in your signature Blairsville PA? If so, our local Jayco dealer down in Finleyville is seriously top notch. Not only were they easy to deal with on our new Jayco, they beat anyone's price including the mega dealers in Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana by $1000. Now, the trailer we purchased had been in their inventory for over 6 months, so maybe that made a difference. But I was shocked at their pricing and sales procedures.

Now with that said, I'm not sure if we are talking about the same dealer. But if we are, I'd be very disappointed to hear that they couldn't get you in for service sooner. My experience with them so far has been extremely positive and I would hope that they treated everyone the same.

Kahoneys · 07-04-2017, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grumpy

They must not like you,

I've never waited more than 3 weeks.

I am a stubborn brash Irishman!!!!

crtc_01 · 07-04-2017, 08:17 PM

We had some issues and our selling dealer is horrible, they tried to make me pay and take the trailer then bring it back. Water heater didn't work, I refused and they fixed later that day. Their fix almost burned down our trailer, another jayco dealer took care of us with no issues. We also had the slide rip the floor, our selling dealer made it worse with their fix. Long story short, jayco wouldn't offer any kind of buy back. They did authorize a dealer in town that doesn't work on jayco but form I have been told is one of the best for motorhomes and also does warranty work for another brand of travel trailers. They told jayco they would only fix it their way, which was taking the whole trailer apart, fixing the subfloor and then laying new lenolium front to back. Close to 8k and two weeks worth of work. Jayco authorized it.

Slow and Steady · 07-04-2017, 10:18 PM

Midnightmoon, we live in Blairsville Ga. And our closest Jayco dealer is over two hours away from our home. The dealer that we choose was in Ohio. It is one of the biggest Jayco Dealers. It was about nine hours from here. Sorry for any confusion.

**Midnightmoon** · 07-05-2017, 06:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slow and Steady

Midnightmoon, we live in Blairsville Ga. And our closest Jayco dealer is over two hours away from our home. The dealer that we choose was in Ohio. It is one of the biggest Jayco Dealers. It was about nine hours from here. Sorry for any confusion.

Thanks for the clarification. I'm so happy that we weren't talking about the same dealer.

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