Community Forums

brian-nicola · 06-17-2014, 04:53 PM

I agree on factory charging the freight and that amount isn't far off. Freight to have our unit from the Factory to BC was $3600 (remember these have to be driven by somebody+fuel+expenses). We've only had a few snags, some self induced, pleased with the PDI the dealer did. I'm sure all the manufacturers are different but I know some pay the dealer a flat amount to PDI and others pay nothing, the dealer just adds the cost in. Just bought a new Camaro ZL1, freight/PDI from Ontario to BC is $1600, but when I was looking at Z06 Corvette, I could have factory pick up for an extra $750 (over the freight cost), but that did include a museum/factory tour and once around the track!

Gary1965 · 06-17-2014, 08:15 PM

I believe that this whole conversation is about "owner comfort level", and not about what quality should look like. We can debate quality all day long, but at the end of the day, when you put a house on wheels, there are going to be problems. I took delivery from Lazy Days, and was real happy with how they do it. Not a lot of dealers have the same set up. Having said that, my next delivery is going to be at the factory, because of my comfort level. As someone stated before, they have everything there to fix literally everything on the spot. Also, I am not aware of Fleetwood or any dealer using this as a way to "advertise" their product.

2010 Fleetwood Discovery 40G

TommyJames · 08-28-2014, 08:40 AM

I just went through the VIP delivery on an American Coach Tradition and having not done the same thing with my prior coach, I can tell you that VIP delivery will save you weeks and weeks of tweaking a trips to the dealer for adjustments, and other small problems. The process takes three days and it's well worth the cost and distance from home. There are always tiny adjustments that you can't see or notice when you first take delivery that take time to discover and even more time to schedule someone to fix, especially if you live far from a dealership. Now that I've gone through the process, I will never again take delivery of a new coach without going through a similar process. What makes it especially efficient is that you get the people who actually put the coach together working on the tweaks so it all goes very fast and the parts are right there. While it's an expensive option, add up the cost of trips to the dealer and it becomes a good value. Yes, I wish they didn't need tweaks to begin with, but that's not the reality of any coach no matter who makes it.

Gary1965 · 08-28-2014, 11:43 AM

Tommy.....thank you for the feedback. My only question and concern is how do you know you have issues until you really get it on the road? This is the route I want to take the next time, but it also seemed to me that to get the bugs out, it needs some road time.

2010 Fleetwood Discovery 40G

Green D · 08-28-2014, 02:37 PM

Gary, your free to take the coach, drive it and use it for days and return for adjustments. At least it was that way when i bought mine, you will write the check before doing so but you don't have to sign out of VIP until your happy with it.

Eric

Gary1965 · 08-28-2014, 05:28 PM

Eric, thanks !

TommyJames · 08-29-2014, 02:03 AM

Yes, paperwork happens at the end of the first morning. From that point on it's your coach. They set you up for the night and you're staying on it. There is a lot to do. The punch list starts immediately and 90% of it is tiny stuff, but they can do just about anything in a very short time. In my case, since I flew in, I had to pick up bedding for the trip back to Seattle, so it's off to Ft. Wayne to load up a car with the usual stuff.

You also do your coach orientation on that first day and that too takes a long time. I was surprised by what I didn't know, so even if you think you know, they have tips and tricks to a lot of stuff. The first day is a very long one.

On the second day, I did the tour first thing. This place cranks out 100 RVs a week so it's chaotic with so many different RVs and coaches marching down three lines at the same time. The lines move according to size, so they move at different speeds. Now that they are building Monaco, it's right in there in line too along with Holiday Rambler and Fleetwood. The tour takes 2.5 hours they say, but it really takes closer to three hours.

By the time you return back to your coach, you start to notice things, little things that need attention and you start doing your road testing for any other issues. There are a lot of people involved, from carpenters, electricians, painters, etc., all working at the same time doing very minor stuff you notice when you're sitting on your coach for the first time. And the talent of these individuals is impressive. The second day seemed longer than the first.

Third day was mostly testing everything again, more trips to the store, and just final rechecks, before things wrapped up in mid afternoon. I'm writing this from a rest stop on the way home in the middle of Illinois, which is as far as I got before I was worn out. For the three days, I had no idle time, and a lot got done.

I'll give you one example of why I like the VIP process. As you probably know, they don't preinstall satellite boxes because of subscription issues, etc. I brought in two new boxes and they did the install, had them up and working and it's one less thing to deal with when I get home. I'm driving all the way back to the Seattle area, so it's a long haul.

In summary, it wouldn't matter who made it, there are going to be adjustments, there is going to be a lot to learn, and the entire process is a huge time saver. I feel like I know my coach fairly well before starting out.

One last thing. They don't have a lot of people doing VIP delivery so you have to schedule that way in advance. The team that manages the VIP delivery are individuals with decades of experience at ARG and they know their way around everything, so you're not going to stump them about anything. They are terrific people and will immediately get to any issues to make everything perfect. There is zero pushback.