Lemon Law application? - Montana Owners Club

timbuktu78 · 10-21-2010, 06:32 AM

Has anyone dealt with applying the Lemon Law to their 5er? I bought mine in VA, which has one of the best Lemon Laws in the country, which also covers RVs. I am in the beginning process and wondering if anyone has already gone through this, what your situation was, and the outcome?

I will spare my story bc it is too long to tell here, but needless to say my 5er has been a nightmare for my family.

Thanks!

bncinwv · 10-21-2010, 07:25 AM

My personal opinionated response would be that it sounds like a question for someone in the legal profession.
Bingo

timbuktu78 · 10-21-2010, 08:25 AM

Already going that route, just wondering if any other Keystone owners on this forum have first hand experience with this process and might have some lessons learned from going through it.

boylanag · 10-21-2010, 10:50 AM

Have you contacted Keystone Customer Service, Team Montana, yet? If not, I'm sure that they want to hear of any problems.

footloose · 10-21-2010, 11:10 AM

If you are willing to tell us, what kind of horrific problems would lead to such drastic steps? You don't list your make or model. I think we would all be interested in hearing your story and your outcome. Good luck.
Sharon

timbuktu78 · 10-21-2010, 11:29 AM

I have contacted Keystone and they have actually been pretty good at authorizing the repairs, the problem is that many of my problems have been repaired by a couple of different dealers and none seems to be able to fix it. All repairs are going on multiple attempts. My warranty has recently expired. Since all of my problems happened while the 5er was under warranty, Keystone, so far, has said they will probably authorize more attempts to fix. One of my major issues appears to be structural. The nose of the 5er is flexing to the point that the exterior bottom portion of the nose is seperating from the coach. It was "fixed" but is actually now worse than what it was before. And I continue to weigh the 5er and I am not overweight, so that is not the issue. The other (less severe) are too multiple to list. But one issue with the toilet caused major flooding which resulted in over $6,000 in damage. It was "repaired" but still persists, but thankfully no flooding has occurred again yet. There is also another plumbing issue of a problematic leak in the basement that all but makes the basement unusable since there is constant water leaking into that compartment. I never considered pursuing the Lemon Law until I met someone recently with a 09 Keystone 5er that had many of my same issues, particularly the issue with the nose, that they ended up getting fully reimbursed for their trailer. I would LOVE to be able to be done with the issues and get another 5er. So far, my 5er has been in the shop for nearly three months out of the last 12. I am Active Duty and constantly deployed so it makes it really difficult to deal with and leaves a lot for my wife to handle. This is my second new 5er from Keystone and with the first, I had only a few bugs to work out. With this one, I just figured some have more bugs than others and kept rolling with the punches. But after 14 months of dealing with this, it has become a stressful situation and I just want resolution. I will take the 5er in one last time to the dealership with hopes everything will finally get fixed, but this will be the last time before I pursue legal action. I spent $50,000 on this trailer, and while I understand there will be bugs to work out, this has got to the point being beyond ridiculous and my patience are wearing.

footloose · 10-21-2010, 12:53 PM

Well, you have certainly had your share of problems. We hope you get complete satisfaction. Please let us all know the outcome. And, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!
Dick and Sharon

HamRad · 10-21-2010, 01:51 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by timbuktu78

Has anyone dealt with applying the Lemon Law to their 5er? I bought mine in VA, which has one of the best Lemon Laws in the country, which also covers RVs. I am in the beginning process and wondering if anyone has already gone through this, what your situation was, and the outcome?

I will spare my story bc it is too long to tell here, but needless to say my 5er has been a nightmare for my family.

Thanks!

Timbuktu78,
I found the information below regarding Virginia's Lemon Law. I'm no lawyer but it sounds to me as if there will be major limitations in your attempt to have the Lemon Law applied to your 5er.

But good luck and please keep us updated on how things go.
HamRad

"Lemons" (so called for the sour taste left in the buyer's mouth) come in all sizes and shapes. Most lemons have wheels, and technically, Virginia's "lemon" law -- the Motor Vehicle Warranty Enforcement Act -- is limited to automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, and the chassis of motorhomes. However, some lemons float (boats), others fly (aircraft), and even a third class includes defective houses and mobile homes. For the most part, the days of caveat emptor (loosely translated, "tough luck") are over! In Virginia, for a motor vehicle to qualify for a buy-back under the Warranty Enforcement Act, it must generally be no older than four model years, and have documented problems during its first eighteen months following delivery to the first owner or lessee. There must also be evidence that the manufacturer was notified within eighteen months from delivery. For owners or lessees of vehicles that do not qualify under this "lemon" law, there may still be warranty law rights under other statutes.

Virginia's Warranty Enforcement Act does not include boats and watercraft (such as jet skiis, etc.). Neither does it include the "coach" or living section of a motorhome. However the consumer with a boat or motorhome defect or malfunction is still protected under the Commonwealth's Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) and the Federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.

timbuktu78 · 10-21-2010, 04:46 PM

Thanks for the support! Will let y'all know how it turns out. Meanwhile if there's anyone reading this that has experienced this sort of issue, please chime in or PM me and let me know. I appreciate it!

sailer · 10-23-2010, 04:08 PM

I know on a car all the repairs have to be done in 1 state as you can not go to Virgina and next to Fl for repairs .. as I was hooked as I had 25 days in Wis on a Jeep and 27 days in Fl on the same unit and Jeep laughed at me as it has to be in 1 state so stay in Virgina for all your repairs ;;Thats all I know about the lemon law ;sailer

exav8tr · 10-23-2010, 05:35 PM

I have heard of folks who just mentioned to the manufacturer that they are considering going the lemon law route and have received satisfaction from just that. Seems some manufacturers do not want that on their records.....Just a thought that a registered letter to Keystone just may do the trick, then again, maybe not. Worth a shot??

HamRad · 10-23-2010, 05:46 PM

Phil,
Your post is no doubt correct but on the other hand the manufacturer may feel that their hands become tied once they get ANY hint of any kind of legal action. It is too bad that folks get pushed into such a corner. More often than not things could get worked out to everyones satisfaction if only there was more and clearer communications.

Oh, well it is what it is. I wish everyone the best of luck with this issue.

Dennis

clutch · 10-24-2010, 08:11 AM

Here is a long but interesting read about a Keystone sister product.

http://www.rv.net/forums/index.cfm/f...d/24324270.cfm

TYR · 10-24-2010, 08:53 PM

To the OP, I feel your pain. Our problems have not been as serious as yours; however, there have been many. We have a 2009 Montana we purchased last year, new off the dealer lot.

Our concern is with the lack of care the "little things" were put together . . . what about the "big things?" The major things that one cannot see?

Subpar construction/QA/PDI combined with subpar service has resulted in our fixing many things ourselves and/or just living with them.

Stripped screws, rough edges causing tube seal splitting/tearing, missing bolts, insufficient/poorly done roof caulking, a short "somewhere" in our landing gear that no one has diagnosed/fixed - to name just a few - are minor, replacement of shower head, kitchen faucet, fireplace, defective docking light, phantom leak in the basement with no apparent pattern or origin - minor, yes. But again, I'm tired of beating my head to a pulp getting one thing fixed only to have that have lead to something else being discovered . . . We just last week had more things repaired/replaced and we're done for now.

Being a cancer survivor, I'm a fighter, a Warrior; however, I'm tired of the stress of dealing with service people/dealers.

We love our Montana and hope that these are just humps to get over and that we have many years of a reliable rig. At this point, however, we expected a better quality unit. We purchased a Montana because of its reputation for quality, reliability and durability.

Keystone has been helpful to a point, but only after I said "I really don't want to have to go Lemon Law on you."

Certified/registered letters, emails and phone to offices of CEOs at Thor Industries and Keystone received no response, so good luck with that.

That's my rant and rave.

Cheers and good luck!

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