Why I'm now an Entegra Customer for life

[motorhomeguy]

Speaking ONLY for myself, we have owned three Cornerstones. Each special ordered new from the factory. All well loved, however something was never quite right, spending so much money for something built with the same quality as the least expensive models. Yes we have been to the factory many times watching the building process, don't try to tell me there is a dime's difference in any of them... Flooring materials, counter tops, etc all come improved as the trim level goes up, but the build remains that same. t difference, but the coach on all of them are the same. Aluminum walls stuffed with insulation and strength built on many layers. All of them held together by 4-5 inch screws. After many years of looking, and mostly dreaming, we bit the ballet and a bought a pre owned Prevost that is 15 years order than our Cornerstone. OMG! There is no comparison on the two coaches. The Prevost's drives like a new one, still no rattles, no steering issues, it's like getting behind a new ultimate coach... The Detroit purrs like a kitten. To be totally up front about the change, there are two cosmetic issuers that we plan on addressing (carper to be switched out with wood floors, and we want to switch out the window valences out to a newer style). Otherwise with the exception of the electronics being outdated, this coach out drives, out maneuvers, out everything that is out there. My only regret is we did not build up the courage to stitch to a Prevost 20 years ago. My point here is simple for the few that might consider a conversion, do it. Look at a conversion. Kick the tires and drive a pre owned conversion (New if you can afford it). Being I'm here recovering from back surgery enjoying my week of cheap drugs I thought I'd post this plug for pre owned Prevost.

[FrankJ1962]

I bought my 2014 Aspire from RV One. Back then Don Strollo owned it and they made my experience very pleasant. RV One was bought out but the Strollo’s are still there. I tried to work with them on buying another Entegra a couple of times and something changed.

[dave&ginny]

Originally Posted by motorhomeguy

Speaking ONLY for myself, we have owned three Cornerstones. Each special ordered new from the factory. All well loved, however something was never quite right, spending so much money for something built with the same quality as the least expensive models. Yes we have been to the factory many times watching the building process, don't try to tell me there is a dime's difference in any of them... Flooring materials, counter tops, etc all come improved as the trim level goes up, but the build remains that same. t difference, but the coach on all of them are the same. Aluminum walls stuffed with insulation and strength built on many layers. All of them held together by 4-5 inch screws. After many years of looking, and mostly dreaming, we bit the ballet and a bought a pre owned Prevost that is 15 years order than our Cornerstone. OMG! There is no comparison on the two coaches. The Prevost's drives like a new one, still no rattles, no steering issues, it's like getting behind a new ultimate coach... The Detroit purrs like a kitten. To be totally up front about the change, there are two cosmetic issuers that we plan on addressing (carper to be switched out with wood floors, and we want to switch out the window valences out to a newer style). Otherwise with the exception of the electronics being outdated, this coach out drives, out maneuvers, out everything that is out there. My only regret is we did not build up the courage to stitch to a Prevost 20 years ago. My point here is simple for the few that might consider a conversion, do it. Look at a conversion. Kick the tires and drive a pre owned conversion (New if you can afford it). Being I'm here recovering from back surgery enjoying my week of cheap drugs I thought I'd post this plug for pre owned Prevost.

I have a friend who went from an American Coach to a Newell and he said the same thing. We've considered a Pevost but most are too glitzy for us. The cost really isn't that bad and very doable for a used one.

[wnytaxman]

Originally Posted by FrankJ1962

I bought my 2014 Aspire from RV One. Back then Don Strollo owned it and they made my experience very pleasant. RV One was bought out but the Strollo’s are still there. I tried to work with them on buying another Entegra a couple of times and something changed.

I talked to Mark Strollo before we sold our Aspire to see about a trade. They used to have fantastic deals but this time they weren’t even remotely close so we sold the rig outright and are taking a break from the RV lifestyle. I understand the horror stories of dealing with the Albany Store of RVOne. We have always dealt with the Buffalo Store and they have been great to deal with. Excellent pricing and service, but that was before RV Retailers got involved so I don’t know what their situation might be currently.

[Tegra]

Originally Posted by Tegra

In Aug of 2020 I purchased a brand new Entegra Anthem from a deplorable dealership in FL. who arranged for me to collect my new purchase at their store in Albany NY. The rig had not been properly prepared for delivery and in the 800-mile trip home we experienced multiple breakdowns that required support. The staff at Entgegra went out and above to assist me in every way possible during the weekend, while my dealer ranted about who's fault it was at Entegra that I was having all these challenges. The Entegra Tech even gave me his home number with instructions to call on Sun anytime after 2 as he would be in church with his phone off. Fast forward to Oct 2021 when my rig with 13K happy miles of memories was lost in an accident that resulted in it being totaled. This time I went to a great dealer with professional employees, NIRVC Where I ordered a 2022 Entegra Cornerstone. Again the people at Entegra, once learning of my situation went above and beyond to support me through the loss and soon to be replacement of my cherished rig. I can't believe how Sam Stein at NIRVC and Entegra staff Joyce Skinner and Ted Cook have made the loss of our prior rig and the purchase and build of our new one an absolute pleasure. If after purchase customer support is at all important to you when investing half-million plus toys, then I can't stress enough how important it is to work with the right people. You will find them at NIRVC and Entegra headquarters. I am now awaiting delivery of my new Cornerstone and have had regular updates from the factory and my dealer. So Entegra is my coach company of choice for the duration. I hope this helps someone else pull the trigger on an Entegra.

Follow up. My new Cornerstone is here and I took delivery last Thursday. Very happy with the purchase decision. Once again the folks at Entegra Coach proved to be a class act in the customer service area and NIRVC reinforced why they are the best in the business. Am starting to set her up, and get ready for our inaugural trip.

[Mr.Mark]

Originally Posted by Tegra

Follow up. My new Cornerstone is here and I took delivery last Thursday. Very happy with the purchase decision. Once again the folks at Entegra Coach proved to be a class act in the customer service area and NIRVC reinforced why they are the best in the business. Am starting to set her up, and get ready for our inaugural trip.

Ya gotta post some pics!!! Congratulations on your new coach!

I purchased from NIRVC in Nashville and had a wonderful experience. Never had a need to return until just now, almost a year later.

I have an appt. early May for a generator service and a drawer latch screw has become stripped.

Safe travels,
Mark

[Gary.Jones]

Motorhomeguy

You make some legitimate points. There are often strangely few differences across Aspire, Anthems, and Cornerstone for the difference in price. Some model years, the differences between Aspire and Anthem are damn small. Other vintages, there is damn little difference between Anthem and Cornerstones. There are times I wish I had bought an earlier year Entegra than the later vintage which I did buy as the fit and finish is better in the older vintage than it is in the newer model.. Its all difficult to figure out. For Entegra, IMO, the differences across models are usually in all the equipment you do not see easily with your eyes .... the differences are in chassis, foundation equipment, brakes, air ride, etc etc.

But, it simply is not fair to compare a coach that was built for a selling price between $450,000 to $750,000 with a coach built with a base price beginning at 1.5 to 2.5 million dollars and up from there. Those conversions are custom built, many systems unique to that builder. Everything is of a different level of manufacturing. An Entegra is a production assembly-line coach.... a Liberty is built one at a time to custom order. The comparison is oranges to asparagus. It makes no sense at all !!!

At the RV park I have been staying at, an absolutely beautiful Liberty coach came in a week or so ago pulling a triple axle stacker trailer. The stacker was custom painted to exactly match the lines and paint of the Liberty coach. My guess is that the owner actually had the coach and the trailer both custom painted at the same time. I was knocked out by the sight of that rig. My mouth was drooling. I'll bet he paid more than any new luxury car for the trailer and complete re-paint job.

Then I noticed that the owner never put out the slides. Thought he was gone. Nope, but a day later, still no slides out ! So I looked closer and the reason was that he had no slides in the coach. Well that changes everything! No slides... that told me that this moving Rembrandt was probably a 2000 to 2003 Liberty. Now, a no slide coach will never be one owned by me. The absence of slides changes my whole existence in the coach and it would not be something that I would ever chose to buy. For me, it would be like living in an elegant Greyhound bus. In addition, all that custom equipment in that Liberty is 20 years old, difficult to find replacement parts, and I would pay exorbitant repair bills () for repairs or I would become an well trained Liberty coach repair tech. Not what I want for me at this point in my life. But that is my choice.

My intention here is not to slam anyone else's coach but to make the point that with each decision we make, the decision comes with pluses and minuses. And we have to decide what really matters to each of us. We give up and we get with each decision. I've weighed the options many times, and I keep coming up with the same conclusion/decision.

Gary

[CLIFFTALL]

Please see post #1 and stay on that topic.
Thanks

[Stan Boddie]

Congratulations on receiving your new coach and preparing your coach for your upcoming trip. We too are very appreciative of Entegra and specifically Ms. Joyce Skinner and the entire service team. We replaced our 2013 Anthem with our 2018 Anthem, had trips to Middlebury for the two-year check-up on both coaches, and were exceptionally pleased with Entegra's service department and customer service. We too are Entegra customers for life.

[Neon8s]

Originally Posted by brobox

I echo your experience exactly except my first purchase was from the other deplorable dealership in FL. The past two have also been Ted Cook and NIRVC.
The delivery at NIRVC is a fantastic experience. Plan on spending 5 days on their lot and leave with a coach in perfect condition.

While I respect respect your opinion immensely Chuck, I can tell you from personal experience that not all NIRVC Delivery experiences end with a coach in perfect condition! My recent 9 day experience rivals or exceeds any LD or RV one horror story - you may have had or heard . I am not ready to share that experience on this forum because Brett has assured me that I was heard ....but it is been almost 4 weeks since I left neither a happy or satisfied camper and I haven’t heard from any NIRVC employee- not sales associates, the Phoenix GM and SM, the Director of Warranty at NIRVC - all of whom were aware of the situation

[brobox]

Originally Posted by Neon8s

While I respect respect your opinion immensely Chuck, I can tell you from personal experience that not all NIRVC Delivery experiences end with a coach in perfect condition! My recent 9 day experience rivals or exceeds any LD or RV one horror story - you may have had or heard . I am not ready to share that experience on this forum because Brett has assured me that I was heard ....but it is been almost 4 weeks since I left neither a happy or satisfied camper and I haven’t heard from any NIRVC employee- not sales associates, the Phoenix GM and SM, the Director of Warranty at NIRVC - all of whom were aware of the situation

I will be very surprised after this post if you are not contacted. From experience I know what it is like to a receive a far from perfect coach that no dealer can correct. I received one on the delivery of my 14. It was not only refused on delivery after the dealer tried for 30 days before sending it back to Entegra. The coach spent an additional 6 weeks at Entegra and Spartan. We also made an additional trip back to the factory before our PDI. Entegra and Joyce Skinner bent over backwards to make that coach right that never should have been delivered in the first place. Going to the factory was my only solution, it worked out so well, from that experience I have since purchased 2 additional Entegras, both with excellent deliveries at NIRVC. Not knowing the entire story, but I do know that sometimes going back to the factory is the only solution. Part of my problem was Spartan and they had to "see" it.

[Tegra]

Originally Posted by Neon8s

While I respect respect your opinion immensely Chuck, I can tell you from personal experience that not all NIRVC Delivery experiences end with a coach in perfect condition! My recent 9 day experience rivals or exceeds any LD or RV one horror story - you may have had or heard . I am not ready to share that experience on this forum because Brett has assured me that I was heard ....but it is been almost 4 weeks since I left neither a happy or satisfied camper and I haven’t heard from any NIRVC employee- not sales associates, the Phoenix GM and SM, the Director of Warranty at NIRVC - all of whom were aware of the situation

Well, I think we will all agree that t is not a perfect world. I just took delivery of my 2022 Cornerstone Thursday the 10th and had it picked up Tuesday the 13th with an oil leak from the oil pan and timing chain cover. By the way, I'm still without it. Not happy at all! Truth be told NIRVC has some culpability in the situation, as they should have picked up the oil leak problem prior to turning the rig over to me on Thursday's delivery. Notwithstanding Sam Stein at NIRVC made every reasonable effort to address the problem as quickly as his control allowed. Mind you, I'm still very disappointed and frankly a bit pissed off, but the ultimate responsibility for my problem is Spartan manufacturing QC, not exclusively NIRVC's failure to properly pre-inspect my rig prior to delivery. In this case, I will cut NIRVC some slack given the Covid related short-handed situation the manufacturer and they find themselves in and the pressure I placed on them and Entegra to get my new unit to me ASAP. My overall feeling is that I am still dealing with the best that I have found out there in this Lux RV sector. Hope your situation corrects itself in a timely manner. I think NIRVC has the desire and intent to do so, even though it may be to some degree out of their hands.

[brobox]

Originally Posted by Tegra

Well, I think we will all agree that t is not a perfect world. I just took delivery of my 2022 Cornerstone Thursday the 10th and had it picked up Tuesday the 13th with an oil leak from the oil pan and timing chain cover. By the way, I'm still without it. Not happy at all! Truth be told NIRVC has some culpability in the situation, as they should have picked up the oil leak problem prior to turning the rig over to me on Thursday's delivery. Notwithstanding Sam Stein at NIRVC made every reasonable effort to address the problem as quickly as his control allowed. Mind you, I'm still very disappointed and frankly a bit pissed off, but the ultimate responsibility for my problem is Spartan manufacturing QC, not exclusively NIRVC's failure to properly pre-inspect my rig prior to delivery. In this case, I will cut NIRVC some slack given the Covid related short-handed situation the manufacturer and they find themselves in and the pressure I placed on them and Entegra to get my new unit to me ASAP. My overall feeling is that I am still dealing with the best that I have found out there in this Lux RV sector. Hope your situation corrects itself in a timely manner. I think NIRVC has the desire and intent to do so, even though it may be to some degree out of their hands.

I had the same leak on my 21 after arriving home. A few of us on the 605's have had the same leak that looks to be the timing cover, but it is the oil fill tube mount on the engine. They are plastic and warp. It is an extremely poor design by Cummins to save a dollar. Let us know if your leak is in the same area.
On my new coach just on the 600 mile trip home, I developed the engine leak, front end pulling to the right and a failed DEF head...all the problems of Spartan and Cummins. Sometime those problems will show up before arriving at NIRVC, mine showed up on the way home, it happens. With the complete overload at dealerships right now, it is a shame that they are getting hit with Spartan and Cummins problem, both of which they are not dealers for.

[MRUSA14]

Sound like this is a Cummins problem. Not every problem can be blamed on Spartan. This could have just as easily happened on a Tiffin or Freightliner chassis, or a Newell for that matter.