Where to buy in California - Montana Owners Club

Montana_3184 · 04-02-2005, 05:48 AM

I am looking for a new Montana but the closest dealer is Mike Thompson's RV. I have heard bad things about their service. Any other good dealers in the western states? Thanks.

D and M On The Road · 04-02-2005, 12:51 PM

Don't know where you are located at, but we drove to Reno and bought from Traveler's RV. They were very nice to deal with. The owner is usually around and his son manages the business for him. I was up there in September last year and spoke with the owner about the rally coming to the Reno area. I need to hunt down his card but I think his name is Dana. I remember him saying something about he is personal friends with the owners of Keystone.

Good luck to you wherever you buy from.

DHenry · 04-02-2005, 03:16 PM

I bought from Cousin Gary's in Redding. Jeff Erb was my salesman and he is great to deal with. Their service department is great.

Parrothead · 04-02-2005, 03:50 PM

tdager
Where are you in Calif.?

Montana_3184 · 04-03-2005, 05:08 AM

Im in Southern California but I dont mind traveling to get a good deal. When we were at the Pomona RV Show the salesman from Mike Thompsons were very pushy and unfriendly.

party of 5 · 04-05-2005, 10:01 AM

We bought from Mike Thompson's in Santa Fe Springs and it was the worse mistake I have EVER made. I am in N Cal nad have a good service center here, but the guys at Mike Thompson's werr horrible.

Montana_3515 · 04-05-2005, 10:53 AM

I bought from Thomson', in fountian valley, had a great salesman,and got a good deal. that was in 02. never had to use their service. I use paul everetts in fresno for service love my 3655fl

Parrothead · 04-05-2005, 04:12 PM

I've heard there is a good dealer around the Vista area but don't know a name. Maybe someone else knows of this dealer.

patodonn · 04-05-2005, 08:14 PM

We bought from M.T. in 03. Liked the sales folks, got a pretty fair deal, and delivery and immediate post-delivery service was OK. 6 months later, their Service Dept was a disaster. Their only interest was pushing new rigs out the door, and other than that, you were just in the way. I made an appointment in Oct for some work in late Nov. They had 9 days to do 1 day's work; they didn't meet that deadline, and didn't complete half of the scheduled work (not parts problems, just their own lack of coordination). Total lack of commitment to the customer, at least this customer. I won't go there again.

Stire's RV in Bakersfield did good work for us this past Dec and Jan. I can't speak re their sales folks, delivery processes, etc, but the service was very good, IMHO. They did what they committed to do, in the time they said it would take and did it right.

I have had good support from Keystone all across the country, and used 3 or 4 dealers for warranty work while full timing. No complaints in that regard, at all.

Just my personal experience and opinions.

tweir · 04-06-2005, 02:16 AM

I don't know of a dealer in Vista, but there is Beaudry's in San Marcos, just down the road from Vista on "The 78". I've never had a problem with Beaudry's service department, but some recent posts indicate long lead-times for parts & service.

Trailer Trash 2 · 04-06-2005, 10:52 AM

I also Purchased from MT RV in SFS, I got a very good deal as far as the sale of the RV they put every option they could on the 5er, I am very satisfied with that, but as some of the other post statements about SERVICE, it has a lot to be desired. one of the service writers is a scater brain, will not answer the messages put on the machine, and never gets it right, I reported that to the service manager and received a new service writer. the other thing is they are not as schooled on the Montana as well as they should be, Keystone will send a rep to keep them up to date on new changes and equiptment but it seems they either forget all that was shown them, or they dont take advantage of the schooling. some of there mechanics are are sloppy and leave dirty foot prints on the rug. But they did clean up there mess after it was pointed out to them, but it was on my time and I dont get paid from them for that.

Montana_1929 · 04-06-2005, 11:24 AM

Bought mine from Paul Everts in Fresno. Sale was ok, pre-insp was a joke. numerous problems that I had to point out. Then when ready to go most were still not fixed. Can't say anything about service since I haven't been back due to distance from me. Did go to Mike Thompson... Service sucked. they scheduled it a month out, then they had it a month, and only fixed (sort of) 1 of the 5 problems. Also when I was ready to hook up the batteries were dead and the main slide was partially extended about 5 inches. It was a real PIA experience. I'm now going to Whitny's in Simi Valley. We'll see how it goes...

surfrat · 04-06-2005, 01:50 PM

Bought mine at MT (2005)in July 2004. Nothing but problems, damage to out side, damage to inside, poor workmanship and major theft.

mike johnson · 04-06-2005, 02:01 PM

hello, we bought our's in martinez calif at east-bay rv. so far so good,real nice people and a convienent location.
mike&amy johnson
05-2955rl
semper-fi & good luck

Bill Hill · 04-06-2005, 03:46 PM

We also bought from Mike Thompson in Fountain Valley at the Pomona RV Show last October. My wife and I are pretty good shoppers (I'm a Purchasing Supervisor, my wife is just plain good!) so the sales part went pretty well. PDI wasn't bad, but could have been better. We found several items that needed fixing which of course meant bringing the rig back. MTRV is so busy that they schedule quite far in advance, and as others have noted, they'll keep the rig 2 weeks for 1 day's work. Our service writer is pretty good, but he still has to work within their system. We finally got everything done to our satisfaction, but it took 2 trips. For the time being, we'll continue with MTRV, but we'll be moving to Prescott AZ in 2 years and there's another Montana dealer there, time will tell if they're any better.

Montana_2753 · 04-07-2005, 02:51 PM

Bought my Monte @ Beaudry in San Marcos and have a really good salesman - Rick San Filippo. Have been going there for about last two years looking for just the "right" fiver, which I found in this used unit past December. Rick is no/low pressure. Felt deal was reasonable. Had some problems with the large slide-out after I got it to Q'site, but it was under Good Sam Warranty (60 day with purchase). Service writer (Jesse - great to work with) made arrangements for "transporter" from Tucson Beaudry to come out and tow it back to San Marcos because I didn't have a tow vehicle (cost was paid by Good Sam). Items fixed were: hydraulic pump/manifold (under warranty); pressure relief valve on water heater (which I asked them to replace and paid for), replacement of long day/night shade over dining table (which dealer paid for because it was ripped when I took delivery). As has been stated on other posts, the Quest DVD/CD/Radio unit quit playing CDs but I have decided to move Yamaha surround sound amp, Sony DVD player and a VCR from home into Monte, so that was not an issue. The service dept. is "backed up", which seems to be an industry standard. Fiver has been there since Feb. 28th and I'm scheduled to pick up Monday. Work is done except it seems Lot Attendant backed into something so ladder is being replaced. Some of the time was waiting for parts. Just had my 20foot travel trailer (bought from MT in 2002) in for service before putting it up for sale and it took two weeks to do. They also had to repair leak around TV antenna which they fixed for about $60 - $15 for patch material and $45 for labor. Will check into RV Lifestyles dealer in Q'site because that's where I'm going to spend most of my time when I "retire". If anyone has had work done by them I'd like to hear.

Bruce

tweir · 04-08-2005, 03:18 AM

I hope some of the dealerships and Keystone read about these incidents. Its probably the same for all of the other brands out there when going to a dealer who handles multiple lines of RV's. But, and this is a "big but", imbedded in the sales price is the "cost" for warranty service, albeit indirectly. It seems as though the dealerships have no problems with taking the cash immediately at the point of sale, but hesitate providing that "paid for service" at some time in the future. Sorta sad I think. Maybe I should post this on the "What I'd say" forum, but maybe Keystone would be wise to open several "Keystone Service Centers" in strategic places around the country; employing factory-trained (and more importantly factory-updated)technicians, a decent parts and logistics system coupled with handling warranty issues "on the spot" versus dealers-to-factory-to-dealers phone tag games as we the paying customers wait....and wait....and wait!Even for those units out of warranty, this would serve the company well by having quicker turn-around times and things fixed correctly the first time thus leading to a more loyal repeat customer base.

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