Community Forums

deanjeep · 03-20-2013, 03:18 PM

How many have had service done at Coachlight RV in Carthage Mo? I had an appointment for Tuesday morning and as of 4pm Wednesday afternoon they haven't even looked at it yet. It's been several years since I've had any service work done there and just wondering what others have experienced. Maybe I just expect too much.

palehorse89 · 03-20-2013, 03:26 PM

Hello Dean,Did you just drop your Coach off or are you waiting for it? Why are they unable to keep your appointment? have you asked?

DeBUSK · 03-20-2013, 04:08 PM

I was there Jan 13. Great work performed on my Gulfstream friendship. Even though not their product, they handled it SUPER.
Wayne (sales) Eric (tech) Steve (sales mgr) were very great. Eric was a super and polite tech. Took me to shop after unit fixed and walked me through the whole fix. P rice was about 1/3 of what we were expecting.
I had my Dutch Star worked on there about 5 years ago also. Same experience.
Larry DeBusk
Falls City, Ne

deanjeep · 03-20-2013, 08:45 PM

We live only a little over an hour away from them so I took our toad so that I was prepared to leave it with them. Talked to Steve this afternoon and at least they do have it inside and plugged in.

Drilldoc · 03-21-2013, 04:32 PM

Dean, I was just there and had great service. We had made an appointment about 2 weeks earlier with Steve, the Service Manager. Took the coach in Thursday morning, 3/14/2013, and stayed in the coach Thursday night at Coachlight's camp ground. Took it back to the shop Friday morning and they finished about one oclock Friday afternoon. Had 2 new slide out toppers installed, a 2 way switch installed for the interior steps, sorted out TV cable problems, replaced front TV with a new flat panel tv, replaced front and rear marker lights, repaired bedroom pocket door, and wired toad lighting to match up with coach, repaired back up camera and Trip Tek system and several other items.

I would have a heart to heart talk with Steve and see what he can do. I thought their service was exceptional and their techs were top notch.

MoBlue · 03-22-2013, 10:52 PM

I was treated poorly simply because I purchased my coach elsewhere. The service manager is the least professional service manager I've dealt with. The appointment took two months and then two weeks to complete relatively minor repairs. I literally had the owner tell me that he treats people differently who buy from him.

Route 66 · 03-23-2013, 05:14 AM

It doesn't make it right, but it's one of the dirty little secrets of the RV world. Many if not all dealerships operate that way. Their customers come first.

The first time I needed service I called North Trail. I was welcomed with open arms.

The second time I was refused service by North Trail because I didn't buy there.

When a dealer gets busy, they put you behind their customers or in my case, refuse service.

MoBlue · 03-23-2013, 09:06 AM

I understand to a point, however, car dealers don't do business in this manner and most RV dealers I've dealt with are much more focused on good customer service, regardless of where purchased.

Coachlights reputation in the industry was really built around their Newmar franchise. They have many followers who swear by them, Newmars purchased at their dealership that is, but Newmar headquarters should absolutely insist on all owners being treated equally!

I certainly believe everything you say about your experience, however, I had warranty work performed at North Trail in January and I had a very positive experience. I did not buy there. They set a standard that was the exact opposite of my Coachlight experience. I watched many RV's drive in un-announced over the two days I was there, non-North Trail buyers who were treated just as well as I was.

I'm sure many Coachlight fans will jump in, but for me, the next Newmar will be purchased elsewhere, regardless of price.

deanjeep · 03-24-2013, 04:39 PM

UPDATE: Steve called me Friday afternoon to tell me my coach was ready to be picked up. Precision Temp was fixed as well as the electric steps which had failed on our way home from Florida. I made arrangements to have the coach parked and plugged in at their campground with the furnace left on. As I told Steve this isn't the first time the PT is supposed to be fixed and I'd like to know that it will continue to work for a few days before I come to get it.

Well Saturday afternoon I decided to make a trip just to check that the PT was operating properly. GUESS WHAT??? Same old problem. Exhaust fan kicks on, burners ignite, 9 seconds later it shuts itself down. 30-35 seconds later it tries it all over again. 9 seconds- shut down. Over and over again and never any heat inside the coach. The thermostat shows that it is calling for heat in both zones 1 and 3 but the fans never kick on. It has burned 3/8 of a tank of propane in 24 hours going through this process.

As of Friday afternoon I still have not gotten any commitment from Newmar that they will help with this. My coach is a 2011 MADP and we are the second owner. The original owner lived in Florida and never used the PT for heat. We have had this issue with it since our purchase in Feb of 2012. We have had to the factory to be worked on, I have worked on it myself under Gary Wolfmeier's direction and now Coachlight has worked on it. I'm at my witts end with this thing and feel like at the very least that between Newmar and precision temp, they should cover whatever cost my extended warranty doesn't cover.

deanjeep · 03-24-2013, 04:53 PM

I guess I should also add that I'm really not upset with Coachlight. Yes they were a couple of days late getting it in to work on it but the work they have done has also been at the direction of Gary Wolfmeier (precision temp). It's just that this is the third time it's been worked on and supposedly fixed only to find out that it faults again the same way it has every other time.

Clayobx · 03-24-2013, 08:41 PM

unfortunately this not unique with RV life in general! It will most likely get s lot better as you learn all the gizzmos.

CJGJR · 03-26-2013, 12:00 PM

Tried to go down and look at a 2011 Essex one of the salesman owned and he had upgraded to a new King Aire. Was 20 minutes late getting there and they were closed up tight. SAT Afternoon. Called earlier to see if I could look at it. Said 'get her before we close'. Stayed at there campground that night and thought if it was there at least I could walk around it. NO locked up inside. I was interested because he had it built with a Silverleaf system instead of a E-Plex. This was last April . I believe they still have it for-sale.