Descriptions of 'issues' can make a big difference

[Montana_3032]

Oh did 'Montana' have my blood in a 'boil'...

We dropped off the 5er for 'warranty work'...about 2 weeks ago..a long list but nothing 'major'..in the big 'scheme of things'..

The more important things..2 scratched 'doors' that were a result of the never ending 'cabinet doors FALLING OFF....FALLING OFF...' while in 'transit'...we have fixed them 'all'...but 2 out of 5 were scratched up after the 'fall'...our last trip even after checking...ended up in another door lying in the floor after arriving at our campsite..

3 of the daynight shades...are completely falling apart...either the plastic ends have come off or the 'middle' rod connecting the day from the night...have come separated from the 'shades'...we have been nothing but 'delicate' with the blinds from day one..

On delivery the glass panel of one of the 'French Doors'...was really scratched up...the 'replacement panel'...has since come in...

The 'dining' slide...stops during 'bring in' or 'bring out'...thanks to this site we have since learned 'why' after bringing the unit in...

After that is really 'minor' stuff that...yeah we could 'fix' it..but since it is still in the 'warranty' period and we have already fixed multiple things...and it is now pushing the 100's here in Texas off and on...we included on this list..

Wanna know how many things were 'DENIED' as Maintenance issues...ALL OF 'EM ...excuse me I thought we had a bumper to bumper warranty for a whole big year (rolling my eyes)...according to them...things like cabinet doors falling off are only covered as maintence for 3 months...now how often do people in the first 3 months get to take the 5er out??

After the 'dealer' called and told hubby everything had been denied as 'warranty' work...and he told me..oh talk about high blood pressure

He calls 'Montana'...and he learns...that the 'descriptions' from the 'dealer' were very very vague....after Scottie went into 'details' about what had happened or went wrong...

Customer service agreed to call 'warranty' and further explain...in detail the actual issues...and everything should be covered..

Now I'll give Montana this much...customer service did listen and 'understand'...and if they keep their word...well..then no harm done...

Have since learned make sure the 'dealer' takes notes in detail as to what is wrong on PAPER...we were very detailed in what was wrong but it was transferred on paper in less than a sentence...

But on the 'bad' side...this whole 90 day maintenance work vs warranty work is a complete 'copout'..

On the good side ... I do so love my 5er

[CountryGuy]

Adjustments, 90 days. SIGHHHH

But, doors falling off is NOT an adjustment, at least not in my book!

In our experience, had a shade that tore, after about 8 months, it was replaced, but they would not adjust the other shades. We were OK with that.

And, if the French Door was scratched upon delivery, that is surely a warranty issue, there should be no question about that.

Dealers can make a deal or break a deal. I shutter in pain when anyone says the word, dealer.

[Bill Hill]

My experience is that the larger the dealer, the worse the service seems to be. I just returned a screen to our LARGE So. Cal. dealer because I followed their directions on how/what to measure and of course, it was too big. This time I took the old screen and told, make sure it's this size, call me when you get it right!

[prariepoodle]

I am so sorry that you guys are having trouble with your dealers. We have always lived so far from ours that it was not a good idea to take it in for work.. We just did the work ourselves, but then I have never had doors fall off YET!!!! so I think I would be beating down there doors till they fixed things like I want it. Anyway let us know how everything goes and I know what you mean "I LOVE MY MONTANA"because I love mine also...

[Parrothead]

Summer
I sure hope you get things fixed. Dealers really make a difference. Our small dealer in Morgan Hill was very uncooperative after we went out the door. We haven't had any problems other than the flashlight but I wanted to order some stuff and they told me it would take 6 months. Yeah!

Bill Hill, I just looked up your profile to see where you live and notice you are in purchasing. Do you work for a public agency? If so, do you belong to CAPPO?
Happy trails....................

[harleyrider]

It as good you called keystone yourself and explained in detail of your problems.i`ll bet they approve it all.The after the sale for some of these dealers is dreadful.I just also had a day/night shade break.the little plastic thing that holds the string.It has holes in it where the string goes threw and is held in by a knot in the string.Lucky for me i just reversed the plastic thing and put the string threw a hole that wasn`t broke.I think it would be a good idea to have a few of these plastic things handy in case it happens again.i`am wondering where to purchase them??any one know???

[steves]

I hope Keystone starts addressing some of this sloppy quality.

I know all trailer manufactures are having similar problems and it appears to cross all levels of coaches including the high end ones. The biggest difference I have seen is that Keystone and their 90 day adjustment period and 1 year warranty is less than some of the other manufactures.

I purchased my unit in November and did not use it until January... When I called into keystone about a slide problem the 1st question they asked was I within the 90 day adjustment period. What 90 day period...I though I had a year on all problems. Not true! Anyway they covered fixing all my problems.I guess you should not buy a unit in the winter time unless you are prepared to use it right away and can thoroughly check it out.

I know that we hear mostly of problems on this site and not enough of all the good experiences we have with our Montana's. However, I hope Keystone wakes-up and takes some action and puts in place steps to catch most of the poor quality before the unit gets off the assemble line.

[sreigle]

When we took the factory tour back in summer of 2003 they told us they were building 17 or 18 Montanas per day on a single assembly line. When we took the tour again in May of this year they told us they had peaked at 35 per day but now have two assembly lines in different buildings so the build rate is now back to a reasonable level. I don't know if the 35 per day caused the sloppy build problems or not but it makes sense to me that it would. So hopefully we'll see this kind of problem diminishing. Not much help for those who bought during the problem period but hopefully those days are past. I guess we'll find out.

[Montana_70]

I have to second Steves comment about using a new unit. I am well versed on the kinds of problems that can occur as anyone, and whenever someone tells me they are going to buy an RV, I tell them make sure you buy when you can start using it regularly during the 90 day and 1 year warranty period. Don't buy it and park it. The more you use it the the greater chance you have of finding out what is wrong with it and the better chance you have having getting things done without having to fight. The odds of having problems are greater than the odds of not having them.

[jrgwdenner]

I think our unit was definitely built during the 'high' season. The things that were forgotten with our water connections were just carelessness. Now we're wondering what wasn't done to make our fresh water tank fall off. More connections that weren't completed? But we love our Montana, too, as long as they're as good in customer service as I've heard that they can be.

[Thunderman]

90 day period for adjustment? That seems like a foolish program if you have a 1 year warranty. Fortunately I have not had a major problem on our 5er. The few problems were taken care of by the dealer.
When I read about cabinet doors falling off and fresh water tanks
coming loose from their supports, I do feel lucky. The fresh water tank has received a number of negative comments as of late. As Steve mentioned, perhaps the 35 units per day has affected their quality control. With fuel prices being high and no lasting relief in sight, one would think the R.V. industry would suffer in regard to sales.
I would think Keystone would try to build a quality R.V. and back it up with the "best" warranty in the industry. Hopefully this would protect their future sales.

[tweir]

It appears there are two major issues here: (1) Quality benchmarks are not being met and/or adressed during the assembly and final inspection phase and (2)incompetent "service advisors" who may rely more on memory than upon documentation with probably only a cursory knowledge of RV systems. Does "Quality Control" cost money---of course, but warranty work costs even more. I think "Florida Native" sums up the industry mindset: folks buy & park; so the probability of "incidents" are lessened. I for one would like to see a comprehensive 3 year "bumper-to-bumper" warranty issued by at least one manufacturer---sales would go through the roof and be prepared to put your name on a waiting list. Could it be done? Of course. Will it be done? Not a good bet at this juncture in time.