Thor Forums

[Beacher]

Originally Posted by acsnook

...I really do like the coach but for $80K, can't we expect better???

From a manufacturer's perspective it's actually a $8.5k Ford chassis, with an additional $15k of value added materials, (and labor for assembly, installation and inspection), before delivery to the dealership.

When a manufacturer contemplates and plans for the cost of quality it's inside of that $15k figure that all inspection and rework must be budgeted within. Not the $80k retail price, (part of that is the negotiable markup to the dealership from Thor corporate, and it pays for dealership marketing, delivery, dealership overhead, dealership salaries, dealership owner's profit, and the one year warranty).

It's all relative. When you are talking about a Prevost motorhome that retails for $1,500k. That's about $270k for the value added materials and labor that's added to the chassis. That leaves a little more wiggle room for "quality" inspection and rework before delivery to the dealer.

That's why a new commercial airliner that retails for $415 million dollars apiece, (Airbus A380), or a new military Lockheed Martin F-35 for $90 million apiece, the manufacturer can afford to have 100% inspection and verification of inspection for every single screw, rivet, and hose.