Community Forums

tekrsq · 11-09-2011, 07:40 AM

Has anyone had they rig serviced at this dealer ? What did you have done, and what was you feeling on their service ?

The reason I ask: I just had our new to us coach there for state inspection. They had it for several hours and eventually called to tell me they were failing it because (1) the wiper blades were bad (2) the collector bolts on the headers were losing..causing an exhaust leak, and (3) there was power steering fluid on the frame...which the inspector assumed the power steering pump was leaking. They did offer to change the wiper blades, but said the other stuff would have to be repaired else where,

I explained the power steering hoses were just replaced within the las month, and that was likely spilled fluid, and asked if he checked to see if it was actually leaking. The inspector told me no. If he had to check it, then I would have to pay a diagnostic fee. Since he saw fluid, he had to assume it was leaking.

I have a couple of issues here. If he would have looked at the hoses, he would have seen they were brand new, and hopefully had enough sense to realize the fluid was just spilled. If he would have checked the power steering fluid, he would have seen it was full, and there were no leaks. It would have taken him less that 2 minutes to do this. He also could have offered to tighten the collector bolts (its only 6 bolts). It would have taken another 3 minutes. If he would have done these 2 things and changed the wipers, I would have gladly paid for a little labor charge. But instead, I had to waist more of my time taking it back this morning for a reinspection. It took me a grand total of 15 minutes yesterday afternoon to fix all three items ( I just cleaned off the spilled power steering fluid).

Has customer service really gotten that bad ??

AFChap · 11-10-2011, 08:24 AM

Haven't been there, but you might check at RV Service Review for service reviews. And you can leave your own review too.

ottffss · 11-10-2011, 08:49 AM

As a fellow long long term VA guy I have found the use of VA inspections to be a perennial source of income for many service stations - in exactly the manner you describe. Most places dislike "having to do" inspections because it is a huge money loser.

I've had McGeorge RV (north of Ric) do one RV inspection and they did it right w/o any "issues." I was probably lucky.

Wiper blades are a common "fail" item as are light bulbs. Regarding the p/s - truth is, the inspector "kid" does not have to verify "cause" or "source" all they have to do is see the fluid to ding it. You can always call a state trooper to challenge an inspector but in your p/s case the fluid was there so you get failed. BTW - Over the years, I have called for a trooper several times - typically "won" but not always. It is a very time consuming process as you and the car must wait at the station for the trooper to finish his/her donuts on the other side of town.

Regarding the header bolts, though typically non problematic, they really were justified in not touching those. As you know, those bolts can be more than an "interesting issue" to tighten being susceptible to breakage, stripping and the like. That was a fair, though PITA, failure diagnosis. And yeah I hear ya, that return to re-inspect crap is a waste of time - especially when it took you all of 10 mins to get it all right and another 2 hours to get re-inspected.

BTW I have also frequently removed the rejection sticker and just gone to another garage. Over the years I found my pet garages that do slam-bam-thank-ya-man inspections and take my cars to them.

Dave78Chief · 11-10-2011, 01:00 PM

I always go to a truck repair faciltity that does state inspections. They have always been reasonable and fair in my experience. In Virginia, the vehicle to be inspected must be able to fit completely within the inspection stall. That means most car garages cannot inspect an RV do to size. Also truck facilites are much better equiped to deal with any issues. Just because you have an RV does not mean you have to go to an RV dealer.

Dave

tekrsq · 11-11-2011, 04:21 AM

Thanks guys, and all points noted !!! I know that "technically" he was right about the rejection. What REALLY {moderator edit} was the fact he offered no solution to my problem. If he was any type of mechanic, he would have known it was only a 15 minute fix to solve my issues (which I would gladly have paid for if asked) and send me out of there a happy customer. It certainly wasn't anything above his skill level, or the shop's capability. To be fair, on the re-inspection they did find a VERY small leak at one of the clamps on the brand new PS hose, but it was easily fixed with a tighten of the clamp, and it passed the inspection.

I have 2 friends that told me not to go there becasue of similar issues they have had with the service. Both refuse to spend another penny in there because of it, but I'm the type of person that likes "give you chance", so I went anyway. While I will likely never spend any more money on their service side, I can honestly say the people on the parts side have always treated me VERY well, and will continue to get my business.

Next year though, it goes to a truck shop for inspection.