Spartan service

[clubmed98]

After the change in chassis supplier for most of Newmar line many of us were disappointed in loosing Spartan and after the last 6 months or so I would like to give an example of why many of us are so loyal to Spartan.

My coach has had an intermittent cruise control issue that has come and gone baffling techs and dealers. I will not go into the service history but it basically acted like a Toyota or sometimes all smart wheel controls would stop working. I never was in real danger as it would stop accelerating when the brake was applied or the cruise turned off but it was a pain and hassle never knowing from day to day what would happen.

So Spartan scheduled a visit to Charlotte at my convenience for Oct but last week they sent Scott, a great tech/manager out to my house in NH to work on the problem. He was great and put up with my questions for 2 days and made a temp fix to get me to Charlotte when they will ring the final parts to the puzzle out and I will get a 12 month service at no charge...that at least for me is great service and when and if I ever get another coach it will be a tough sell to leave Spartan.

Dirk feel free to also post to Spartan board but used Newmar per previous discussions of Spartan to Freightliner switch

[Lug_Nut]

I fully agree, Spartan's service is top shelf. The new Mountain Aire is an excellent designed coach. If I were in the market for one I would cancel the deal if it was to not come on a Spartan chassis. I think Newmar will be back with Spartan for thoses MADP and below, within two years. As is Newmar is ordering all the freightliner tag chassis with the rear rims all reversed, not the tag looking like a front wheel. That was a smart move that cost them extra. With Spartan it is and has always been standard.

No question, I was disappointed to hear of their intended change and still feel that way.

Peter

[Iron Man]

What is going to happend to the K2/Essex when they run out of ISM engines?

[Lug_Nut]

John, The ISM is no longer producted. It is being replaced with a smaller displacement ISX. Newmar will have to stay with Spartan on the K2 and K3 chassis as Freightliner does not produce a comparable chassis that big.

Peter

[GaryKD]

Guess I am in the minority on this, but I could care less about having a Spartan chassis. Or for that matter a Freightliner chassis. This all depends on each of our personal service experiences. The quality of the techs at Spartan has been great. The ability of Spartan to try and squeeze every dollar out of my pocket has also been superb. I know my chassis. I compare the recommended maintenance items with what my chassis needs. Every time I have been to the Spartan factory, for service, they always are recommending a bunch of this or that, that should also be done. It reminds me of how car dealerships worked in the last century. For those who do not know their chassis, all these additional services will provide a warm fuzzy that Spartan is looking out for one's best interest. The bottom line is I'm tired of this and no longer get service done at the Spartan factory. There are plenty of authorized Spartan service centers for me to have what I can not do myself done by the pro's.

I've crawled over, under and around both the Spartan and Freightliner chassis demos that they bring to various events. They are different. Is one better than the other? I do not have the skill or experience to determine that. Is Spartan service better than Freightliner service? There are those that would debate both sides of this issue.

I do know that my next coach purchase will not be decided by the chassis. After spending almost $8K of my money getting my coach raised from a safety hazard to something that is a pleasure to drive, Spartan is not at the top of my list for chassis manufacturers. After my experiences with Spartan, Freightliner may be a breath of fresh air.

I guess the bottom line is if you have an engineering background in chassis manufacture or can relate a deficiency in a Freightliner chassis, then state your case. Or maybe a macro view of a current Freightliner service differences with Spartan, provide the details. If not, maybe we should all give current Freightliner management a chance to prove themselves. I do not think Newmar is trying to shoot themselves in the foot by making decisions that harm sales. I do feel Newmar executives are trying to provide the best possible value for the target market they choose to service.

[allynne]

Right on Gary,

I had a DSDP on a frieghtliner chassis and it was just fine. Great ride and no problems. There were numerous Oasis dealers that catered to Moter homes, they provided electrical H/U's, free laundrys and family friendly waiting rooms.

I now have a Spartan chassis under my MADP. Few problems that were taken care of. One was a bad speedo that effected my gauges. Finally got it fixed at a Coach Care dealer. Several trips to the factory have been plenty pricey. Other then getting an alignment and having it weighed nothing they did I couldn't have gotten elsewhere. Oh yes the tech called me and said I was 2 gallons low on oil. I said No Way! I check my oil daily and knew it was down a qt or two, but still above the add line. I said add a gal. when I got it back it was overfilled by a little.

Still not sure who is a authorized Spartan service center. Some places I have been to advertise they are, but Spartan denies that. Where to go for serious service if needed?

I was sorry when Newmar dropped the Freightliner option.

Basically there is no difference between the two, it just depends on what you have. Both good.

Al Sawyer
'05 MADP

[Lug_Nut]

Just a brief explanation. By my saying I would not buy a Newmar without a Spartan was in no way a slam against Freightliner. FL makes an excellent chassis, and Newmar should also know, they sold them also. My point is really that Newmar left FL and went 100% Spartan. Spartan worked well and Newmar had little issues. That being said, if it ain't broken, don't fix it.
That's my feelings, but, once they have built on FL for several years then they may be the encumbant.

If you have a Newmar with a FL chassis, you have a great unit. At that time both were designed to fit the bill. I do not know about now.

Peter

[Skipper 05MA]

Anyone have knowledge on how many of the pre-emission engines are left for the K3?

[LindyT]

I don't understand Newmar's logic as of late. They downgraded the Dutch Star, introduced the Dutch Aire, now axed the Dutch Aire, seemingly(?) upgraded the Dutch Star and downgraded the Mountain Aire (for this year and beyond.) Geeeeesh.

I've driven or owned the FL, Spartan and Roadmaster. No offense or disrespect intended to anyone, but I wouldn't trade the Spartan for anything. I love it... and Spartan as a company is just awesome to deal with.

Did Newmar take ComfortDrive to FL then?

[Route 66]

Quote:

Did Newmar take ComfortDrive to FL then?

Yes.