Damon Challenger

[Steve2000]

Hello Friends,

I am from the UK but visit my girlfriend in Placer County CA for around 6 months of the year. We have decided to throw caution to the wind and buy an RV motor home. Apart from my girlfriends 5th wheel (which she wants to trade) we are completey new to motorhome RV'ing. We have looked around and we have seen an RV which matches our budget and has an attractive floor plan. This is the 2003 Damon Challenger 348. We are aware that the RV is an entry level coach, but have read/heard conflicting views from different dealerships. We were verging on buying one from Village RV Sacramento for around $78,000 (all in including 4 yr warrenty and tax) 20,000 miles, but after a few days came across one for $62,000 (all in) exact same year and model but 11,000 miles from La Mesa in Davis. When we looked at pricing guides, we saw that the 78k one was very top end retail, while the 62K was around mid range. Needless to say when we told the original dealership of our find, they were very sceptical of this coach saying all kinds of things against the coach and the dealership (typical sales tactics I am sure).

What I would like to ask, is first of all, can any one offer any feadback on the Damon Challenger 348 or similar, and whether they have experienced any major technical problems or bad warranty support. Are we buying ourselves into a big heep of trouble?

Secondly, has anyone had any dealings with the dealerships mentioned?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

[Steve2000]

Hello Friends,

I am from the UK but visit my girlfriend in Placer County CA for around 6 months of the year. We have decided to throw caution to the wind and buy an RV motor home. Apart from my girlfriends 5th wheel (which she wants to trade) we are completey new to motorhome RV'ing. We have looked around and we have seen an RV which matches our budget and has an attractive floor plan. This is the 2003 Damon Challenger 348. We are aware that the RV is an entry level coach, but have read/heard conflicting views from different dealerships. We were verging on buying one from Village RV Sacramento for around $78,000 (all in including 4 yr warrenty and tax) 20,000 miles, but after a few days came across one for $62,000 (all in) exact same year and model but 11,000 miles from La Mesa in Davis. When we looked at pricing guides, we saw that the 78k one was very top end retail, while the 62K was around mid range. Needless to say when we told the original dealership of our find, they were very sceptical of this coach saying all kinds of things against the coach and the dealership (typical sales tactics I am sure).

What I would like to ask, is first of all, can any one offer any feadback on the Damon Challenger 348 or similar, and whether they have experienced any major technical problems or bad warranty support. Are we buying ourselves into a big heep of trouble?

Secondly, has anyone had any dealings with the dealerships mentioned?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

[rhandley]

Hi Steve...

We had a 99 Challenger, which I thought was an excellent choice. Our model was the kitchen slide, the model number I don't remember. It was on a Ford Chassis and had the Ford Triton V10. Loads of storage, rode well although I did install a sterring stabilyzer. Aside from a small punch list, whhich I now know was normal in the rv industry, very little was wrong with the rig, and it gave my wife and I, 1 1/2 years of trouble free RVing. We traded it in the fall of 2000 for a new 5th Wheel, because we wanted more room than a single slide could provide. I have had dealings with the manufacturer. By far, Damon Corporation, at that time could not have been more responsive to our delima. Seems we were caught in a tornado in northeren Wisconsin while staying at a campground. We had damage to the rig and the dealership, we felt could not provide the body work service that I would demand. So, I made an appointment with Daman, and drove it to Indiana. The endshot, is that I would consider another Damon product, and I recommend the Challenger to you.

Compare the accessories between the two. Most dealers ordered the rig with 2 air conditioners, roof ladder, power jacks, am-fm radio, TV, etc... That may be the difference.

Hope this helps.

[Steve2000]

Many thanks for sharing your own Damon Challenger experience. I really appreciate it. I take all of your points on board, and your recommendation kind of fits in with our own gut feel about the Damons so that's reassuring. I have to be honest, I do like the 78k rig better. The interior has a more attractive finish and there are some better features for sure, but its like a $16,000 difference. One of the things that makes up a chunk of the difference is the extended warranty that the first dealer if offering. They are selling a $4000 4 year extention. They already said that they were willing to drop an extra $2000 off the asking price so it would make it slightly more competitive if I dropped the warranty.

I have read some of the mixed opinions in this forum about the perils/merits of warranty extension. From your own experience I guess you would recommend the extension right?

[rhandley]

I like the idea of an extended warranty on used, EXPENSIVE vehicles. If it was new, no. What your doing by purchasing an extended warranty is eliminating your "fright" at the prospect of a major fix down the road. I dont have one, but I know my rig: we purchased it new. I do, however buy Road/tow insurance before we set out each year. Good luck and safe travels.

[kayo]

I am writing this from our 2004 Damon 348 adn we love it! Full time, and love the floor plan and have met many other people that have problems with their "other " rigs that we cannot even imagine having. Go for it.

[Steve2000]

Just to let you guys know. We actually bought the first rig we saw. Even though it was more expensive, it had some better features like the double air conditioning, a power bank system, the drivers door, and was emaculate inside. Also, we did manage to get the dealership to knock a few thousand off the asking price (without dropping the warranty!) so all things considered, we are very pleased with our deal. Many thanks for your comments, and nice one Kayo. We hope we are as fortunate with your rig as you have been with yours.

Steve

[Oklahoma MR C]

If these are used? do not expect any help on failures with the Damon Corp. Damon DOES NOT transfer warranty to 2nd owners at all. They do not help even if they are aware of a warranty failure with previous owners that was not repaired correctly.

[rhandley]

I would suggest that you are misinformed. I had nothing but fantastic results from Damon Corporation, and I assure you, I am not alone. You must be the odd one out