Gas and Diesel annual maintenance $ Differences?

[ohhwell]

Originally Posted by 2wiresdave

It sounds like a lot of folks make the "pilgrimage" because they want to. I asked this exact question on the Tiffin group and got a pretty straightforward answer. Most dealers should be able to perform any repairs needed from I understand.

Anyone care to comment on that?

What gas coaches are having few problems, or are known for high quality and high satisfaction. We are new to this, so I really don't know. We did look at some Thor Aces the other day...they seemed quite bit lower in materials quality and fit and finish to me.

Thor would NOT be one of the ones known for quality and lack or problems from the factory. Unfortunately, the entire industry seems pretty riddled with issues but I don't seem to hear too many complaints with Winnebago.

Once again, I would advise to stay away from Thor. Every now and then you will find someone championing them. One of their most vocal advocates on forum has started to change his tune since they are messing with a friend of his over a defective slide room floor.

This website has separate forums for the manufacturers. If you have some time one day, pop into them and get a feel for what the owners think. Read between the lines when necessary. It's obviously not a great scientific poll but you can get a fell for things.

[ahicks]

I think experienced class A owners will almost universally agree that dealing with dealer support is to be avoided if at all possible. One buying a new coach is often doing that to minimize this issue - and most find that trust misplaced. The fact there WILL be issues with that new coach should be assumed.

I think this dealer support issue is what drives many/most to become "available" for a lot of work they would have others do - if - that could be done reliably (done right the first time), on time, and at a price that didn't make you feel "abused". Unfortunately, many soon find out otherwise.

My point is, don't let some salesman blind side you regarding a particular manf's quality control. You're very likely going to be badly disappointed. To make that worse, dealer support isn't very likely going to make that fact any easier to accept. THIS is what drives many to make the "pilgrimage" back to where the coach was built.

[akeyzoo]

I could never do the pilgrimage. I live and work in CA. I can't go driving cross country, pay for all that fuel, to "camp" at a manufacturer. Would avoid that at all costs. That is why I would strongly consider slightly used and well inspected over new IN MY SITUATION. If you want to take the risk of having to visit the manufacturer, that's cool.

BTW, for gas class a's, I never seem to run into an unhappy bounder owner when I am out.

And ahicks' point is right, don't assume you are buying a toyota camry that will never need service or repairs. Either be prepared to take on minor to medium repairs and maintenance yourself, or pay and have the coach out of service.

Chris

[Coma]

This points to the logic of buying lightly used. The dollars lost in depreciation can be much greater than fixing up the issues of a used coach. You can also purchase maintenance contracts for used MH's so as to have peace of mind. If new is what you want, there is no substitute. There is also a lot of due diligence to be invested in used MH. Hence the value of this site. The upside is these are very robust systems, mostly, and can absorb some lack of care because we don't drive them 120k per year. This allows you to move up the food chain a bit to get more amenities.