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Ann n Gene · 11-03-2015, 06:55 PM

I am always Leary of a company with a history of financial difficulty and leaving new owners holding the bag. Check the used prices for a coach a couple of years old and see if it tells a story. All JMHO

2016 Cornerstone 45B
Formerly 2011 & 2013 Anthems and 2015 Cornerstone
2014 Lincoln MKT towed

TurboDaveTX · 11-03-2015, 08:31 PM

I went through considering a 15 Dynasty. While comparing list between two Dynasty coaches, someone fortunately bought it. My wife was happy and said she didn't like the Dynasty but the coach parked next to it, a 2015 Entegra Cornerstone. So I did a line by line comparison between the Cornerstone and the Dynasty list. Monaco was offering a big discount. Checking around, there were a lot of them sitting on dealer lots for a long time. What this means is when they released the 2015 Dynasty, they picked a high end coach number hoping to ride on Monaco's name, and found the supply exceeded demand and lowered the price which was unrealistic to start with.

This review process is an eye opener where items that may not be as evident to a prospective buyer focusing on fluff. The Cornerstone had two inverters, a 12.5 KW power plant, disc brakes on all axles, heat pumps on all a/c units, and a solid chassis not a cross between a Roadmaster and a Freightliner. The base list on the Cornerstone was less and the amount of standard items is way ahead of the Dynasty. I have owned two Monaco products and sadly did not consider Entegra in either previous Monaco purchases. They are trying to ride on the Monaco name, but the product is not the same product as the original Monaco. Check and compare the list. You will not buy a Monaco anything!

DeeGee · 11-03-2015, 08:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DSL417

If you've got the itch and can't wait, I don't know what to offer except most here looked at Monaco, Tiffen, American, Newmar, Winnebago, and Entegra. I think if you took a poll, you'd find most here obviously chose Entegra, but were equally impressed with Newmar, in terms of build, fit and finish, chassis, warrantee, and customer service. All, JMHO

What he said. We looked at all of those, albeit at the Pomona show on the Other Coast, and it came down to Newmar and Entegra. We don't regret the Entegra at all.

hogdriver · 11-03-2015, 10:39 PM

I used to own a Monaco and have nothing but good memories about it but I think today's Monaco's are not the same. My old Monaco had excellent woodwork and few problems but when we bought two years ago and compared the Dynasty to the Anthem or Cornerstone we felt more bang for the buck with Entegra.

The two year warranty is huge with Entegra. I bought my Monaco in summer 2002 then got activated in the Reserves and sent to Iraq for 12 mos. When I returned my warranty was up yet I had only taken one two week trip in my Monaco. When my coach was leaning severely to port I asked for a warranty repair after the 12 mos period and Monaco denied it until I discussed bad publicity and lawyers. They fixed it, but Entegra has been great about warranty repairs. IMHO it takes two years to debug a RV.

jenbeau1 · 11-04-2015, 07:59 AM

Susan and I owned a Monaco Knight. It was made almost one year before they found out they were in financial trouble and their quality went south. That Knight was a super motorhome! Very good quality amenities and it held up on really rough roads superbly. Then Monaco went into bankruptcy and ended up being bought and changed. The Navstar engine was supposed to revolutionize the industry, but we all know how bad a miscalculation that was! Now that they are owned by a major player in the RV industry, I hope Monaco comes back to their former glory. I know from talking to people who owned Monaco's when we were looking to buy the Knight, their customer service was much like Entegra's back in the day...ie very responsive and helpful. As I said, I hope they rebuild the brand.

Now we have our Entegra Anthem, and for me there is no comparison. It is everything we have ever wanted in a coach, and customer service has been beyond compare. We find service at Orlando RV to be lacking, but Joyce has been right there helping us out every time. If I were buying a MH right now, I wouldn't consider anything but an Entegra. I would recommend going to the Tampa show and seeing everything you are considering in one place. It doesn't get any better than that. Good luck and I hope you love whatever you decide to buy.

rvbusguy · 11-04-2015, 08:48 AM

I was at Orlando and Robin showed me a 2015 Dynasty he took in on trade at the Hershey Show. It had a higher msrp than the cornerstone!!

He was telling me that the previous owner had 2 anthems and decided to get this Dynasty for his third coach. 5 months later he now owns a Cornerstone. Said he should of never left the Entegra family.

FYI: The new person in charge of the Monaco/American manufacturers is the old person that was in charge of Entegra. Jim Jacob

He was most likely the reason why Tadd left, then came back when Jim was gone.

Robin was also convinced that the Dynasty is no more, it has not done well would be an understatement.

Monaco has been like a cat in using the majority of all their lives.

It will be fun to see what happens with them now

Guy & Helen
16 Cornerstone B

Gary.Jones · 11-05-2015, 09:34 AM

My first coach was a 2001 Monaco Dynasty tag axle and I found it to be a really great coach. The woodwork in that Dynasty set the standard for all subsequent coaches considered. It was amazing! It was better than even our newly remodeled S&B complete renovation kitchen. The rest of the coach was solid also. When we attended a Monaco Owner's rally in Albany, we spent a lot of time looking at and trying to drive one of the first two 2014 (?) Dynastys off the line and again, we were knocked out by the woodwork (cabinetry) of the Monaco and again we felt it set a clear standard against virtually anything we were considering. But, ............... we were turned off by its MSRP (which we thought was outrageous for what you got), and the glitz (which was over-the-top).

Worse, I was completely unimpressed with the attitude of the new company president and the designer team, and the team conducting the test drives (the later were a huge waste of time and failed commitments). At Albany, they had many forums for "the guys" and separate forums for "the girls", and everyone I talked to agreed that the Monaco people seemed completely uninterested in anything owners said about the new coach. It went in one ear and out the other. The president (I forget his name now) at least said that because he was touring all the rallies and conventions in the bus, he was amazed at some of the deficiencies of design in the first-off coaches (e.g., there were no cabinets or drawers in the half bath in our demo models), and I told him that no one should be allowed to design a coach until they had lived in one for at least 6 months. However, nothing changed, and when it was time to put our name on a line, we gave the Dynasty no consideration. I have not looked back, and maybe they have lowered the price and tried to get more competitive, but they had completely missed the mark with us. It appeared that all they considered was what the dealers were telling them they wanted (and maybe that is true for all).

Gary

gasman405 · 11-05-2015, 09:53 AM

I was part of the Monaco family also when we owned a holiday rambler. I would never buy another Monaco product. They went bankrupt and did not stand behind their product like some of the other bankrupt Rv manufacturers. They had a recall on the trailing arms that we were not told about. It cost me $3000 to replace them. My windshield was falling out. We bought this coach new at the Hershey show. Needless to say I now own an Aspire, and love it. I would never consider a Monaco product again. They lost me forever.

mel s · 11-05-2015, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gasman405

I was part of the Monaco family also when we owned a holiday rambler. I would never buy another Monaco product. They went bankrupt and did not stand behind their product like some of the other bankrupt Rv manufacturers. They had a recall on the trailing arms that we were not told about. It cost me $3000 to replace them. My windshield was falling out. We bought this coach new at the Hershey show. Needless to say I now own an Aspire, and love it. I would never consider a Monaco product again. They lost me forever.

gasman405
Very few coach manufactures are are as good as they once where.
In fact MH manufacturing, in all but few cases, has become a "corporation acquisition game" with few quality control standards and little concern for the wants and needs of the end user.

IMO "Monacos" have been Monacos in NAME ONLY since 2000.

BTW my Safari was "orphaned" in 2000, when SMC, (Safari Motor Coach) was acquired by Monaco.... then again when Monaco was acquired by Navistar in 2009 ... and yet again when ASV, (Allied Specialty Vehicles), acquired the rights to the "Monaco", "Holiday Rambler and "Safari" names from Navistar in 2013.

Mel
'96 Safari Sahara

Desertboyz · 11-05-2015, 11:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary.Jones

At Albany, they had many forums for "the guys" and separate forums for "the girls", and everyone I talked to agreed that the Monaco people seemed completely uninterested in anything owners said about the new coach.
Gary

Geez, talk about being out of touch. Separating the men from the women (who would only be able to contribute to fabric selections??). It sounds arrogant and a throwback to the 1950's.

And it looks the marketplace spoke. It is partially why there are big discounts to be found. It's what caught my eye after being completely sold on Entegra.

Hearing this information is really a turn off. We are 2 gay guys. What would have done with us? haha! Made us wear pink arm bands?

loisjop · 11-05-2015, 11:21 AM

I owned an Entegra when Jim Jacobs was in charge. All I will say is I'm glad he's at Monaco and Tadds at Entegra. Another reason I wouldn't own a Monaco. Noel

brobox · 11-05-2015, 01:15 PM

Another plus for Entegra. I owned a Travel Supreme that also went bankrupt. Entegra bought TS out of BK, but did not accept the warranties. However, they did service TS, gave phone numbers where we could get parts, gave CS over the phone and the service was perfect, they were all from TS and knew my coach personally, especially Jacob. Needless to say where we went when it was time to upgrade.