My experience with Newmar factory service

[Parkerrs]

You can call this the good, the bad, and the ugly if you want. I purchased a 2007 Kountry Star last May which had been sitting on the dealers lot since the last week of December 2006. It was ordered for the Tampa rv show and was pretty well loaded with all options. I didn't worry about the age as my old rig was a Newmar Mountain Aire 5th, which I also purchased after it had sat on the dealers lot for almost 2 years, it was a 98 which I traded in on the '07.

What I didn't realize is that two years on the lot in Northern Alabama is alot different than two years on the lot in Orlando, Fla.. I had the dealer do a fluid and filter change on the entire unit as part of the deal, but being used to a fifth wheel didn't think about the batteries, wound up replacing those myself this winter since they wouldn't hold a charge long enough. Well it hasn't been a big deal, the same as with my 5th there were items which needed addressing and were taken care of by warranty without problem. I live about 50 miles west of Atlanta so there is no Newmar dealer in the area. The recommended service center by Newmar is Cummins South and for the most part they have been great to work with. I had a few warranty issues they took care of and a few were what you would call lot rot from the hot sun.(brittle plumbing caps breaking on roof and bad batteries)

Well the right front leveling jack mount bent when leveling on the last trip out and Cummins didn't want the liability of cutting and welding on the coach due to all of the electronics and appliances. Fair enough I could understand their point and held no grudge.

I had heard here and other places how Newmar's factory service was great to deal with so I called and made an appointment for the last week of April. Since the second week of May the 12 month Warranty would be out I made a list of items which I really didn't want anyone else but the factory to tackle (cabinetry repairs from two delaminating wood areas) along with the jack. Everyone on the phone was gracious and helpful and made me feel good about the trip.

The morning after I arrived a technician was assigned to my unit and promptly met me at the rig at 6:00am. We made a list of items along with the list I had mailed on the pre-arrival work order which they sent. He assured me of no problems and took the unit while informing me it would be back for me to stay in each afternoon at 3:00. This was one of the GOOD things about factory service, you can stay in your coach at night and for the most part there is no waiting for approval of the repair or parts to be shipped. Which as we all know can take a week or two sometimes.

Now they had scheduled me for 4 days and the list was pretty long since I figured it would be my last warranty visit. I informed them I came up for quality repairs rather than quick repairs and since the list had grown ,and I needed to be back at my business for Mondays and Tuesdays, that I would fly home on Saturday morning and fly back on Wednesday night to allow them 2 weeks total. I figured that was as gracious as I could be considering the list. For the first day or so the job went well. The left front slide was making a loud bang when fully extended or retracted. They adjusted the large nuts on each side of the slide motor which cured this but somehow they felt the need to adjust the limit stops on the slide. These are the nuts on the threaded rods which stop the slides inward and outward travel. (this is some of the bad) Although the noise was gone the slide was now crooked when extended or retracted. They supposedly adjusted it three different times as I mentioned it each morning and never got it right. I finally gave up on this issue and after returning home took a tape measure and two 3/4 wrenches and fixed it properly in about fifteen minutes (jeez).

Next the cabinet's were repaired and they did a nice job. The problem was that while removing the cabinet and replacing it they put a 12" scratch down the one beside it and did nothing about it. I said something the next morning at pick up and they did repair this. The passenger seat had an intermittent problem with the power footrest not working (either sticking in the up position or in between) I had tested and traced and diagnosed it as a bad motor and told them. They concurred and removed the seat to repair this and a spring which had came loose in the seat back and was threatening to come through the cover. When they replaced the seat all of this was repaired but there was a 6 inch gouge like tear in the center of the headrest area (the ugly). Do you see a pattern here? Fix one item and screw up one or two more! This meant that the list just kept growing.

I will say they did a great job on the jack repair and the paid installation of the new Winegard Trav'ler. The cabinet repairs were good except for one area and this is another ugly which really had me steaming. When they replaced the delaminating plywood under the cabinets over the couch by the kitchen they had to remove them. As I already mentioned they left a large scratch down the side of the kitchen cabinets, which they also repaired after I said something. They also had to remove the crown molding in this process and when they replaced it one of the joints was not stapled back. The wood trim would move back and forth almost a quarter inch and wouldn't stay aligned. the next day I told the tech and he said he would take care of it. I figured he would tack, nail, or staple the joint. NOOOOOO! His cure was to get behind the joint and pack 4 inches on either side with an inch and a half of RTV and tape the joint till it dried. What the heck kind of workmanship is that?

When I flew out there was some paint repair to be done. The paint was bubbling and wanting to peel at the corner joints of the entry door. I figured they could do paint work while I was gone since the unit would probably have to stay in the paint shop. When I returned the paint work was done and looked pretty good EXCEPT for the 10" run in the clearcoat going down the side of the door. Instead of sanding and re-clearing they simply shaved the run and buffed the heck out of it saying that was all they had time for in the remaining two days. There were also large brown spots, not mold, these were like a darker version of the gold paint appearing all over the front cap underneath the Diamond Shield. They replaced one small strip which had the most of it visible. When I asked the tech about all of the other places coming up he laughed, looked at me and said" You don't think they are actually going to change the whole thing do you?". There were also places on top of the front cap and on the top pieces between the roof and sidewalls which were becoming a bright hazy white. Evidently sitting in the Fla. sun and most likely never being waxed, the clearcoat was dead. The tech and body guy told me that it just needed a good polish and wax which they would be happy to do at my expense for just over $2K. Well I said no thanks and since things were multiplying ( fix one tear up two ) I decided to just get everything to a level where I could handle it myself and get out of there. After all I was on a limited time schedule.

By the way on the way home the whiteish areas of paint on the upper sections actually cracked and started peeling off. I had several palm size areas with the clearcoat peeled off. I have hand polished and waxed the coach after purchase and returning home and every 3 months thereafter with Meguires paste wax and polish products.

I located a VERY well recommended shop locally to go to. Appalachee RV Center, they are recently Newmar certified and recommended. These are the nicest and most thorough guys I've dealt with yet. They got with both Diamond Shield and Newmar and all of my paint is being repaired along with a complete new Diamond shield and a complete polish of the coach all under the two companies respective warranties. I am a very satisfied owner now thanks to these gentlemen and their working relationship with these companies.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing Newmar. I had the fifth for 10years with absolutely no problems after the first year of debugging and only two small things during that year. I figured this one just needs it's debugging and all will be good for a long time. I love the Newmar product and would be very hard pressed to change to another brand. I think I just got a Bad tech or scheduled in at a bad time for Factory service. I don't know, all I know is that it wasn't wonderful at all. Have any of you run into this type of thing at the factory or was I just the unlucky one? I would give them another try sometime if I needed to but it will be a long while before I get the bad taste out of my mouth.

I will also say that Newmar as a company has stepped up without a single complaint or problem to resolve the issues through Apalachee. Just their own service department couldn't step up and get it right.
Sorry for such a long winded second post.
Tommy

[GaryKD]

Hi Tommy,
I've been to the factory quite a few times. Almost all of the service incidents have been handled with outstanding care and quality. I've had one service call that was fix one thing and break another thing. They were all fixed before I left as I am retired and the only thing that will force me to leave the factory is snow!

[Parkerrs]

Thanks Gary, I figured that it may have just been one of those odd happenings. Just wondered if others had it happen.

Time was not on my side as I'm 45 and run my own business. I can get away sometimes, but other times it can be a hassle. This time right now it's hectic, I'm updateing and installing new machinery along with training employees.

The only other problem with the visit was my coach came back nasty everyday. Black bootmarks and dirty footprints everywhere. I guess if I had went higher up the chain instead of just dealing with the tech only, things might have gotten better. That's not my style usually though, I figure if you get the tech in trouble or anger him troubles can multiply exponentially.

Tommy

["007"]

Welcome Parkerrs to the Newmar forum & irv2.
Thanks for your posts to the forum and sorry to hear of problems at factory. Like Gary have been there multiple times with 3 different coach's and have had good service. My problems were with Friday or Monday miscue's by factory coach builders.
Dealers were no help in N.E. area so would go to Repair Center.
With that, couldn't even want something other than a Newmar, think I would be lost.
Enjoy the forums and do post often.

[soricobob]

Dear Parkerrs how refreshing to read a realistic, true, and factual story about Newmar service. Although I have never had the honor of being there, I have always suspected they were not the perfect outfit often portrayed in this forum. I was tempted to go to the factory a couple of years ago, after moving from Florida-to-Arizona, and not having found a suitable Newmar service facility. You see, while still under warrantee my Essex could not be fixed by several Newmar dealers in Arizona, and it wasn't until I happened upon the Tucson, LaMesa RV dealership, that I found the service man (Joseph) and the tech (Scott) to take care of business. There is great satisfaction knowing a coach is going to be fixed correctly the first time you bring it some place, and when that does not occur one wonders if the investment was worth it. Thanks again for a well written picture of your experience.

[DandS]

Unfortunately, service work is a crap-shoot anywhere and any time you have to take your coach in. Have never used Newmar factory service but have read glowing reports on this forum until this one was posted. I have been at the factory a couple times and was impressed with the people building the coaches but never had any interaction with service techs. We are fortunate to have one of the top rated service dealers for Newmar here in this area and out of three or four visits, I was not completely satisfied only once. Guess it depends who works on your coach and his level of expertise with a problem. Actually had a tech @ North Trail RV in Fort Myers work on a slide problem with a hammer and two by four, obviously he didn't get the job done right.

[mbisson]

Thanks for the realistic info as I am bring my coach in on 7/26. I have a couple of things to add to my list, but I will call Phil next week, so he can be prepared for them.

[SX_RVing]

I've gone to Newmar for service twice. The first time, I can honestly say that it was a positive experience.

The main reason for both trips was a paint issue - the paint on the bay doors was bubbling. The first time (first year) they replaced the doors and repainted. The problem returned within six months.

The second trip was to address the paint issue again, and to address the coach batteries apparent lack of capacity (I've discussed this problem on another Newmar thread on House batteries). I was assured that I'd be 100% satisfied before I left the Newmar facility. They said it would take about one week to do the work. Being self-employed, I didn't have the time to wait, so I left the coach and asked they call me when it was done. It took almost two weeks.

Needless to say I wasn't really thrilled with having to drive to IN, rent a car, fly back home, fly back to IN, and drive home again. It was an un-necessary expense, and time investment, since they should have fixed it correctly the first time. When I asked if they would at least cover the cost of fuel, they indicated I should consider myself lucky that they were willing to re-paint a second time..... Way to guarantee customer satisfaction!!!!!!!

On the re-paint: this time they decided to sand the doors instead of replacing them. Someone at the paint shop got a bit over-exuberant with the sander and ended up beveling some of the trim around the lower bays. It's pretty noticeable to me, but maybe wouldn't be that noticeable to some else.

On the house battery issue: They consistently ignored the issue issue until the very last day, when I had return to pick up the coach and needed to get on the road. They then offered to replace the batteries at their cost of about $1700. They must have thought me an imbecile since I can buy new LifeLine AGM's for about $1000. To this day I can't figure out what they meant by "their cost".... It must be that since they are a high volume customer/dealer, they have to pay more for the same items!!

My problems were not with the Techs who actually worked on the Coach. For the most part, I felt they did a good job. And, I might add, they felt the batteries were a problem and should have been changed out. My problem was with the management trying to save a few bucks. In my opinion, that was short-sighted.... They may saved some money on a warranty claim, but they probably lost a customer in the long term.

It's too bad that Travel Supreme is no longer around. But then again, Foretravel makes a very nice coach too!

Sebastian

[read & learn]

We have been to Newmar every year since we had no luck with the dealer we purchased it from new. The first problem we had was he told us your unit will be built starting on Wed. May 3th, so we took time off to be at the factory from Friday May 5th to Tues the 9th. When we got to factory we were asked for our six number owner ID, we were never told about this # and we were also told that the Dealer had been notified that the unit was pushed back 1 week, four weeks prior. Working at the time and could not stay to see unit being built.
The 2nd problem was a oil leak which the dealer new about, but never told us about and this was after going to the dealer for yearly service which included a oil change and other work.
This story was a run around until I wrote a letter to the dealer and Newmar. Newmar had the whole problem resolved within 20 minutes of receiving my letter.
We now go to the factory each year for things that I can not do myself. This year after the international, will be at the factory for the replacement of all the fiberglass siding and total repainting of the Motor Home.
Newmar has always been fair about their charges and have always giving some type of discount when we ask for extended winter rates.
We will leave the MH there and tell them to call when done. Yes, we are now retired and full time 10 1/2 to 11 months per year. We come home August to mid Sept. each year for Doctors as we can not afford what our insurance pays for out-of-network service outside of the NJ-NY area.

[jjr4]

Tommy,
Sorry to hear about your poor service experience at Newmar.
We just came back from our first trip to the factory for service and could not be happier. Service did what they said, when they said. One exception was a part that did not come in time and so we will have it installed in August when we are back in the area for the International Rally.
Other than getting up at 5:00 every morning it was a painless experience.
Maybe we just got lucky?
Jeff

[Skipper 05MA]

We had an appt for May 17 primarily for paint issues. Todd Miller was our tech. and was great to work with. As it turned out Todd told us the paint shop was very busy but they would get us done on schedule (5 days). I offered to leave the coach and drive home. Todd checked and accepted our offer. We picked the coach up a week ago Thurs. Not only was the paint repair great, Todd was able to take care of other small items as time permitted. He also called or emailed regularly to keep me updated. Can't say enough for the service and communication. Sometimes if you work with people it pays off in dividends.

[allynne]

Parkerrs,

I have been to the factory for service numerous times with 2 Newmars and have found the service to been great, but less great in the past 3-4 years. Mainly it depends on the tech lead assigned to you. Devon and Alvin are super, Leander is one who needs to be watched for completed work. He has been replaced on the job after work and personality problems by two friends while having factory service. My experience with him was to make sure every thing that was supposed to be done was done and done properly.

He can be rather irritating personaly with a negative attitude, usally starting by saying it can't be done before doing it.

For what it's worth.

Al Sawyer
'05 MADP

[Parkerrs]

Sometimes if you work with people it pays off in dividends.


Skipper 05MA, I don't think that I could have tried any harder to work with them. I mean, come on, I gave them 2 full weeks rather than 4 days. I flew home and back, so for 3 days or more they didn't have to contend with bringing the coach out every afternoon for me to stay in. I was always courteous and nicely spoken, with the comments "nice work" on the items handled properly. I didn't rush or push whatsoever and always spoke with a smile and hand shake. I think that's about as much as you can work with anyone.

Devon Miller was assigned to my coach, but never contacted me or updated me on anything until calling me the last day to say they were done and the bill was ready!
I dealt with the tech who was assigned to pick the unit up each day. He gave me his phone# and extension, but never answered or returned my messages. The only time I got to speak with him was at pick-up and drop-off. After flying back in and finding runs 12" long in the paint repairs along with my cabinets haveing huge scratches from the repair to the one beside it, I awaited the tech the next morning and he didn't show. After an hour past the usual 6 a.m. I called the service department to see what was up or if they were running late and was very cordial and nice. This was the only other time I was in contact with Devon and he informed me that the coach was finished is why they didn't come. After nicely telling him there were problems with 3 of the repairs he sent the same tech to pick it up. I didn't hear from him again until like I said , it was done.

I paid them to install a new Winegard Trav'ler dish along with the tuners from Dish network. They didn't function for the external tv. I purchased a dual tuner to go in front for this. Finally on the last day the tech actually called me and said this just isn't going to work. I asked if I could come to the service bay to check it. He said yes and met me there, after checking how he had cabled it I seen it was right, but the outside tv didn't work. Easy, I picked up my cell phone, dialed the 1-800 # for Dish. In 5 minutes they explained the problem and the fix and it worked. The tech said " that's great because we have three others in for the same thing and couldn't get them to work either". GEE, why didn't they just call the tech line at dish?

I don't know what you mean by "sometimes if you JUST work with people" but I think I more or less bent over backwards to be agreeable and nice! I had little to no communication from the service department and no updates, including telling me that they thought they were done the first time, I had to call them.

Tommy

[Skipper 05MA]

Tommy I apoligize up front. My comment was not directed toward you...just a general comment. Sorry you got a bad crew. There are good ones there and I was relaying a positve experience we had. I too have been there before and had Devon and Leandra on different trips.