Community Forums

CARDINAL905 · 08-19-2013, 09:31 AM

Watch out for Clifford power, they have six branches I believe in the Midwest. Took my 40 Rexhall in for a non-working gen, was quoted 724.00 and the final bill was 1383 and change. Apparently they charge for the estimate and dont stick to their quotes. Bad belt, and they found a loose tensioner--said they had to pull the gen out of the coach for this service. Mike.

spritz · 08-19-2013, 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CARDINAL905

Watch out for Clifford power, they have six branches I believe in the Midwest. Took my 40 Rexhall in for a non-working gen, was quoted 724.00 and the final bill was 1383 and change. Apparently they charge for the estimate and dont stick to their quotes. Bad belt, and they found a loose tensioner--said they had to pull the gen out of the coach for this service. Mike.

OUCH sorry to hear this, what part of the country are they at?

CARDINAL905 · 08-19-2013, 09:52 AM

It was the St. Louis branch, they have 10 locations actually in the Midwest. Stay away !

Shadow520 · 08-19-2013, 09:58 AM

Here in MI they would only be allowed to charge 10% more than the estimate without getting your approval first.

Sorry you got shafted. Check with your state's DMV and see if they have similar regulations about marking up estimates. You might be able to recoup your extra charges through small claims court.

sc3283 · 08-19-2013, 10:39 AM

If the additional findings which made actual bill higher than estimate were truly bad and overlooked on the estimate...they are justifiable...BUT you should have been contacted prior for authorization of repair(only the right thing to do)..so you could decide..YES or NO as to repair.

After all you did take it to them as non working and you would be one MAD/UPSET owner if the additional items failed immediately or soon there after of the estimated repairs and rendered your newly repaired genny useless again.

So while it is upsetting the bill was higher than the quote...you can look at this on the other side of the coin too...the repair shop did fix everything they saw to be bad and did get you back up and running again.

So.....
bad with estimates? Yes
bad with contacting customer for additional repairs req'd? Yes
good with not sending a customer out with failing/bad parts? Yes?

CARDINAL905 · 08-19-2013, 10:53 AM

Well they charged me 315.00 for looking at it and putting a load bank on it, this to tell me that the belt was bad and it would be 724.00 to fix it. The Tech did call me and told me the exhaust would not go back together, he asked if I wanted him to take the pipe to a muffler shop to fix it---I said yes since it wont be usable without an exhaust, I expected another hundo or so but was charged around 270.00 for that exhaust issue. Then a 15.00 environmental fee to throw the belt away I suppose, and another 50.00 for misc supplies. Not the way I do business, just want people to know about Clifford power systems. I have filed a complaint with the BBB, and posted here to let people know about Clifford power. I think they see class a diesel pusher and say cha-ching !

HD4Mark · 08-19-2013, 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CARDINAL905

Then a 15.00 environmental fee to throw the belt away I suppose

Should have asked for all the used parts back then just tossed the belt in your trash at home. Those sneaky little charges grind my gears. Here in NY there is a $5 fee per auto tire for disposal. You can take them to avoid the fee. Then they wonder why there are so many tires on the side of the road.

Can we assume your generator is not on a slide? If it is then the price is outrageous to change a belt.

Generators are frustrating things. We repaired ours last April to the tune of a $1800 controller. We did the work saving who knows how much. Now it won't start again with a fault code that looks like it is the coolant temp sensor.

JacknKay · 08-19-2013, 02:08 PM

Ouch, I'm getting ready to take the rig to a genny shop to get some work done. They quote $125/hr. I haven't done it yet, so when I do go I will make sure they call prior to over charging me. I hope anyway.

CampDaven · 08-19-2013, 02:17 PM

I see $315 for testing it. You are stuck with that much.
Next is the $724 they quoted for the repair. Now it is $1039.
You okayed the next $270. And there are always incidentals.

I think there may have been a misunderstanding, but the charges seem to add up okay.
Confused.

PandK · 08-19-2013, 03:01 PM

I had the valves adjusted on my 75D Generac adjusted at a local Cummins facility 2 years ago. Cost about $1200 because the generator needed to be removed from the coach (I have a Rexair 39 foot). Replacing the drive belt is extremely difficult without removing the generator from the coach ( I have done that), don't think is is even possible to replace the tensioner with the generator installed. All that said the estimate should have been much better.
Will keep your advice on avoiding service at Clifford Power in mind.

sc3283 · 08-19-2013, 10:27 PM

the belt is not visible and able to be seen as being bad with anyones eye? I ask because I do not know. What brand genny.

Enviro fees?...we all have to deal with those if we take a vehicle in for repair.

$270 for exhaust? ..a man goes to and fro an exhaust shop..he may have made 2 trips or waited while the exhaust shop did what was required..so the repair facility had to pay his wage, most likely use a shop vehicle that uses gas, insurance, has repairs..then add the cost of the exhaust repair from the exhaust shop...and time and labor for the actual removal and install of the exhaust...sounds VERY realistic to me when you consider the "whole" picture.

Shop supply charge?...anyone taking a vehicle to a shop has to pay those charges.

Mr_D · 08-19-2013, 10:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CampDaven

I see $315 for testing it. You are stuck with that much.
Next is the $724 they quoted for the repair. Now it is $1039.
You okayed the next $270. And there are always incidentals.

I think there may have been a misunderstanding, but the charges seem to add up okay.
Confused.

That's what it looks like to me too.
Here in WA they have to give you a written estimate, then if it's going to be more than 10% over that they have to get your OK. But that's on cars, not sure about APU's in motorhomes.

gemini5362 · 08-19-2013, 11:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HD4Mark

Should have asked for all the used parts back then just tossed the belt in your trash at home. Those sneaky little charges grind my gears. Here in NY there is a $5 fee per auto tire for disposal. You can take them to avoid the fee. Then they wonder why there are so many tires on the side of the road.

Can we assume your generator is not on a slide? If it is then the price is outrageous to change a belt.

Generators are frustrating things. We repaired ours last April to the tune of a $1800 controller. We did the work saving who knows how much. Now it won't start again with a fault code that looks like it is the coolant temp sensor.

Different states have different laws. In Arkansas you pay the used tire fee whether you take it with you or let them dispose of it. MIght be similar laws in Missouri.

94-Newmar · 08-20-2013, 04:50 AM

I have heard stories of some techs able to do the drive belt and tensioner without pulling the genset. That's probably ok until (typically) a few of the mounting and housing bolts are seized, some break requiring drilling out & re-tapping, exhaust system bolts are seized or break off, etc etc. Pulling a genset is not an easy task whether it's a 300lb gasoline model or an 800lb quiet diesel. Having pulled numerous units for zero rotor speed, there is no way to determine whether the tensioner or the belt has failed until the mounting plate is off. However, once you've dropped it you replace both the tensioner and the belt since there is no other way to access either once it's together and in the mounted position. I understand your frustration with the final cost, but honestly, $1300.00 is not out of line at all for the work performed as you described above. Just my $0.02 cents worth.