Newmar, Too big to fail

[deaton]

Originally Posted by Mrb1ll

Maybe you should have bought a Tiffin. I’m second owner, eight years out of Warranty and they are taking care of small items still at their cost. Customer service is OUTSTANDING and they will always answer questions, walk you through issues, etc. Not once have I been asked when I purchased coach, was I original owner, etc. More than reasonable even if the HOTLINE is a little slow at times probably because they help everyone. Just saying.....

Yep, and I hear Tiffin won’t do paint or body work on a coach over four years old and after ten years, they won’t take care of you at Red Bay.

And then there is the issue of waiting months for an appointment at Nappanee versus no reservation just wait days to get in at Red Bay.

And if you have more than 3 or 4 items at Red Bay and are out of warranty, you get two techs for three or four hours and then back to the end of the line.

There is no perfect service deal, but at least Newmar, as evidenced by their new service facility, is giving it a good try.

We went into Nappanee for warranty work last June. Had a list with fifteen items and a one day reservation. They fixed twenty three items(mostly small stuff) and spent three days getting it done. Sorry to those of you who had your schedule disrupted by our extended stay. But we were very pleased with the work and our overall experience.

[tnedator]

Originally Posted by Stuart W

I also agree.
Respectful, detailed accounts of actual experiences good and bad with Newmar Service and production is a very useful subject. Pointing out voids in Service coverage is very important.
Staying close to the actual facts, avoiding speculation, if they did something good, mention them also, this is more likely to cause Newmar to take notice, IMO.

I have had several conversations with various levels of Newmar CS employees of the last 3 years, when I have asked the question about them following this forum, the universal answer was “ I do sometimes, but try and avoid it because I know we try really hard to take care of our customers, but what mostly gets attention on the forum is very negative and makes us out to not care, and it hurts to read the negative one sided accounts.

Does Newmar have room for improvement? absolutely! Let’s try and tell them what they can improve, but also tell them what they do right.

We know there is some monitoring/knowledge of the forum, since they asked IRV2 managers to take down any 2019 pricing documents that were posted before their official "on sale" date of May 11th this year.

[janelewbill]

We started with a 2007 Kountry Star, followed by a 2013 Dutch Star and now we have a 2016 Mountain Aire. All three have been in Nappanee for yearly service almost every year. You learn the routine. You make your appointment several months in advance, if a new issue crops up, you contact them immediately and ask that they add it to your list and you go with a prioritized list. They will try to get all the work done, but if they know your priorities, it makes for much less frustration on everyone’s part. It is very unusual that everything is not addressed, but at least I know if they just can’t get to everything, I haven’t missed something important.

We usually leave our coach because it’s often easier than waiting 3 or 4 days. We had about $13,000.00 worth of modifications done to our Dutch Star and they finished it in about 16 days. I was impressed with the quality of the work.

Our Mountain Aire was one of the first of the 2016s and the full wall slide was not properly braced on the back corner. They completely rebuilt it and also braced behind the refrigerator. I didn’t even know the problem existed. They said they just didn’t want me to have problems later.

To summarize, we have had nothing but great experiences with Newmar Factory Service.

[photobob]

Just a thought….. So many people are responding with multiple Items 10 -20 needing to be repaired under warrantee, or not. Also making annual trips to Nappanee for service.
Serious warrantee problems will likely best be repaired at the factory...… but really?

A local dealer should be able to handle most issues. This would make it easier to get difficult issues addressed at the factory.

Sounds like Newmar spends a lot of time fixing a lot of things that could be done locally.
Or better yet, buy a screwdriver.

I would probably think somewhat differently if I paid new prices for something that drops in value so fast. Another argument for not buying a new one. Someone else took care of any build issues .

Bob

2011 Newmar Bay Star 2901 (purchased 2016) Full time, tools on board

[ewlee]

I stand by my original comments on Newmar, but to be fair all issues were resolved, it’s the poor communication and planning that give me pause and I’d like to enumerate here. The communications between us, our tech, the floor supervisor, and Ken Miller (Head of Service) was terrible. In times of change, a flatter organizational structure is usually better than one with many layers of supervision such as Newmar has now. In addition, I don’t think they have the manpower to support the number of coaches they are producing and still provide service to older coaches. I hate to compare Newmar to Tiffin but here goes. Tiffin is up to 13 coaches a day, does not make service appointments, and Tiffin has limited their after-warranty service to coaches 4 years or newer because they could not handle the workload. I hope Newmar is not headed down the same road.
Sitting in the campground for two days during my service appointment while no work was accomplished and conflicting stories of why was most frustrating. My 2 days of “No Work” was because 1 person in service was out and 1 person in paint was out. The person in paint was the preferred tech by the head of the shop (Paint supervisor) for my paint repairs and I agreed to delay paint until he returned per his recommendation, I have no issue with paint or their communication. As far as service, in the end Newmar did complete my original 2 items (install a window frame & paint repairs), 2 additional items (R&R charge bridge solenoid & reinstall a piece of stainless steel), and 1 recall item (Headlight operation) all within 5 of my originally scheduled 6 days. However, we were given different information on our days of service, told to be ready @ 6am and then told they could not get to us for the next two days, told they may not get to my extra 2 items, told the headlight recall did not include my coach then told oh yes, we are doing the recall. The only way I was notified was after I was ready to go at 6am or if I went over in the afternoon and talked to all levels as the story changed with different folks. No calls back from Ken Miller after issues had evidently been resolved.
The safety recall on the headlight operation was probably the most frustrating. Newmar or a certified repair shop had to do the recall. I contacted Newmar in May and told them I had the same issue that the recall was correcting but my coach was not on the recall list. My phone-in service tech pushed it up the line for resolution. I had the same equipment and problem that 2016 LADP coaches had, unfortunately 2017 coaches were not included. My floor supervisor said my coach was not included in the recall so I elevated my issue to Ken Miller. Originally, he said no, then he said that other 2017 coaches had been through service and nobody brought it up, then changed to maybe there is another bulletin covering your coach and then from our tech “I got the wiring harness and will be installing”. Never a call from Ken Miller closing the loop even after I had talked with him numerous times concerning the recall. BTW, I told Ken that I was a detail kind of guy and investigated/read all I can about issues concerning my coach. His response, “I guess we picked the wrong coach this time”, really?
My coach was in paint 2 ½ days and service for 2 ½ days. While in service they did replace a driver’s side window frame and R&R a window awning to facilitate paint. They also reattached a piece of stainless steel which they had reattached under warranty 5 months ago that had come loose again. In addition, they R&R the charge bridge solenoid that had failed. My add-ons took an additional 4 hours to complete. If Newmar is running such a tight schedule that 4 hours throws off the workings, then they are cutting things very tight or they are not interested in retail (non-warranty) work.
Bottom line, I do not know why things went off the rails this past week. I have stated my own thoughts but only Newmar can correct the issues. I like my current coach and if I were to buy tomorrow, I would go Newmar again. At least I know what I am jumping into and what to expect. BTW, a local dealer tried to install the window frame and couldn't and surly could not handle the paint issue.

[rogerray45]

We have been to the factory 3 times (2 different coaches) for service, once under warranty and 2 times out of warranty. every time we were very happy with the service
we received. Every time they repaired more items than I had scheduled. No complaints!

[bnsonger47]

Glad things were worked out. Communication, it seems, has become an art of the past, especially when folks are busy trying to cover themselves.

To be frank, the RV industry doesn't have enough service people that understand and can do a good job. That is especially true at an independent dealership where business is so seasonal.

However, you're primary complaint should be taken seriously. Communicate often and make sure it's the same message.

As well all have learned, waiting isn't an enjoyable thing to do. Surgery on a loved one is even worse.

[EdDennis]

Maybe a more appropriate title for this thread should be “too small to wail”. We have been happy Newmar owners since 2014. We have been to the factory several times as we travel through the Nappanee area for other reasons. We like to get most items fixed here as the correct parts are in stock and we have had difficult experiences in other places. Newmar has taken excellent care of our rig for warranty items and non warranty items. They have consistently made time to take care of items that were not on the original list. They really care and are sincere and respectful in their communications and efforts. It appears you were well taken care of in the end and done one day early. In hindsight it might have been better to wait until you were done with your appointment before writing about it out of frustration… Newmar has the best of intentions and that is much more than most RV companies have in our experience. We have gone to other service places in the western US where it took us up to 6 weeks to get items fixed! I think one or two days of delay is most likely not such a big issue in hindsight when the emotions are a bit calmer. As to having frustrating and confusing results from conversations witch techs, teamleaders, etc.…an emotional conversation often does not bring the results we are hoping for. Let’s cut them a little slack. They are still the best in the industry and continually try to improve.

[janelewbill]

It’s kind of hard to understand your beef with Newmar. They promised you the coach in five days and they have delivered. The even finished your additional items. Had they not had to spend so much time listening to your beefs, they might have finished in four and a half.

My experience has been to take the coach in and wait patiently until it is repaired. I go directly to the factory, and have for 8 years with 3 different coaches, because I know that whatever the issue, it will be fixed promptly and right. I have been to several International Rallies and Tampa RV Shows where Newmar has brought in dozens of service techs to provide service there to help their customers who live a long way from Nappanee. Often, if it a little thing, replacing a light or some other simple thing, they will do the repair for free at those rallies.

I’m not knocking Newmar Dealers, but I have had a few bad experiences. Like the time we were out west and stopped at a dealer in Nevada with a sagging door. The tech put a 2 inch screw in the hinge and I found out that night it had gone into the next bin door. I had to remove the screw to get the second bin open!

That kind of nonsense does not occur in Nappannee.

Hope you have better experiences next time.

[nursecamper1]

Non warranty work. We have a new to us DSDP 2014. When we contacted Newmar about some upgrades and repair they said that they could not fit us in and recommened that we contact Pro Custom, a company in Elkart. We appreciated the referral and were very pleased with the care we received from Pro Custom. Their phone number is 574.217.0399.

[willipaul]

Originally Posted by nursecamper1

Non warranty work. We have a new to us DSDP 2014. When we contacted Newmar about some upgrades and repair they said that they could not fit us in and recommened that we contact Pro Custom, a company in Elkart. We appreciated the referral and were very pleased with the care we received from Pro Custom. Their phone number is 574.217.0399.

when did you contact them ? what type of work were you looking to have done ?i've never heard of them outright turning someone away.....making you wait awhile for an apt, yes....but not just saying we can't do it, go elsewhere....

[AITG]

Originally Posted by EdDennis

Maybe a more appropriate title for this thread should be “too small to wail”. We have been happy Newmar owners since 2014. We have been to the factory several times as we travel through the Nappanee area for other reasons. We like to get most items fixed here as the correct parts are in stock and we have had difficult experiences in other places. Newmar has taken excellent care of our rig for warranty items and non warranty items. They have consistently made time to take care of items that were not on the original list. They really care and are sincere and respectful in their communications and efforts. It appears you were well taken care of in the end and done one day early. In hindsight it might have been better to wait until you were done with your appointment before writing about it out of frustration… Newmar has the best of intentions and that is much more than most RV companies have in our experience. We have gone to other service places in the western US where it took us up to 6 weeks to get items fixed! I think one or two days of delay is most likely not such a big issue in hindsight when the emotions are a bit calmer. As to having frustrating and confusing results from conversations witch techs, teamleaders, etc.…an emotional conversation often does not bring the results we are hoping for. Let’s cut them a little slack. They are still the best in the industry and continually try to improve.

Sometimes a post tells you more about the poster than the topic....

[nursecamper1]

Procustom- we had 2 extra pantry drawers and a sirius external antenna installed. Contacted Newmar and ordered parts in March; had all installed in July @ pro-custom.