Renewed Faith In Thor

[cbach]

Suffice to say, my patience was wearing thin between the dealer experience (not Thor's fault), initial warranty instatement (not Thor's fault), and so many unknowns with getting scheduled for service with Thor (again, not Thor's fault)...that is, until today!

Won't go into specifics right now, but quick call from Brian in their service department, and so many loads have been lifted from me that I feel good about buying it again

Probably a call that saved me $200K, as I was ready to sell it at a loss and buy another local brand money pit, or give up on RV's altogether

[Bob Denman]

Congratulations!
Restored faith is a wondrous thing...

[Judge]

Originally Posted by cbach

Suffice to say, my patience was wearing thin between the dealer experience (not Thor's fault), initial warranty instatement (not Thor's fault), and so many unknowns with getting scheduled for service with Thor (again, not Thor's fault)...that is, until today!

Won't go into specifics right now, but quick call from Brian in their service department, and so many loads have been lifted from me that I feel good about buying it again

Probably a call that saved me $200K, as I was ready to sell it at a loss and buy another local brand money pit, or give up on RV's altogether

If you are talking about Brian in the Wakarusa Thor Service Center, you have nothing to worry about. He will take very good care of you and go above and beyond based on my experience working with him last fall.

The entire reason I have stuck with Thor has been the general customer service and support out of Indiana. As far as I am concerned, dealers are a dime a dozen and have few experienced and quality service people who can get the job done right.

I made the decision after my first coach that I would only rely on the dealer for relatively minor things that I could not fix myself (I have fixed may things myself that the dealers should have fixed under warranty) and I would rely on Thor for anything major.

[cbach]

Originally Posted by Judge

If you are talking about Brian in the Wakarusa Thor Service Center, you have nothing to worry about. He will take very good care of you and go above and beyond based on my experience working with him last fall.

That would be him No excuses, no empty statements, and thanks to his understanding of the situation, I'm letting them have it until July. Seems a lot of folks that had appointments during the shutdown are just showing up unannounced, which has to be very difficult for him to juggle.

[Lt Keefer]

I will never understand why a customer is "happy" after driving thousands of miles to get initial quality issues fixed by a factory service center. The customer is out the cost of fuel and denied the use of their motorhome. Those things aren't high on my happy list. But then, I'm just someone that thinks people that buy entry level coaches should get a quality product.

[Bob Denman]

What does the term, "entry level coaches" actually mean?

[cbach]

Originally Posted by Lt Keefer

I will never understand why a customer is "happy" after driving thousands of miles to get initial quality issues fixed by a factory service center. The customer is out the cost of fuel and denied the use of their motorhome. Those things aren't high on my happy list. But then, I'm just someone that thinks people that buy entry level coaches should get a quality product.

It's true that there are a few issues that should have never left the factory, and a couple that should not have shown up so soon, but a couple are just the nature of the beast, being a house in a continual earthquake/hurricane. Have looked at many used high-end coaches lately, all of which have an equal number of issues and ongoing repair needs from constant beatings, so if $1-2M new can't solve it all, what can? Would 2400 mile door to door service from Thor surprise you? Would scheduling it in with Ford for chassis concerns while there be great service? I believe so and am happily surprised.

[Lt Keefer]

Originally Posted by cbach

It's true that there are a few issues that should have never left the factory, and a couple that should not have shown up so soon, but a couple are just the nature of the beast, being a house in a continual earthquake/hurricane. Have looked at many used high-end coaches lately, all of which have an equal number of issues and ongoing repair needs from constant beatings, so if $1-2M new can't solve it all, what can? Would 2400 mile door to door service from Thor surprise you? Would scheduling it in with Ford for chassis concerns while there be great service? I believe so and am happily surprised.

So Thor is picking it up at your house, taking it to the factory, fixing it and returning it to you? If so, that's good news.

[Lt Keefer]

Originally Posted by Bob Denman

What does the term, "entry level coaches" actually mean?

You tell me. When I bought my Hurricane two years ago and complained about the lack of quality I was chastised by numerous senior members for expecting too much from an entry level coach manufacturer like Thor.

[cbach]

Originally Posted by Lt Keefer

So Thor is picking it up at your house, taking it to the factory, fixing it and returning it to you? If so, that's good news.

Yes. Both ways were offered, but I'm choosing to pick it up there en route to another scheduled destination. They keep being nice to me and I'll end up coming home with a Tuscany

[dkoldman]

I can't speak to Thor's Customer Service because the Dealers I tried were NEVER able to get a brand new coach past PDI for me to agree to buy. I had to walk 3 times at the recommendation of folks on this site. But I know I did not have to deal with getting all of those items fixed after the sale as there was no sale. (3 freaking coaches.. it was heartbreaking not to mention time consuming) I don't know who is at fault there (Thor or Dealer)?

Then the 1st time I go 1,500 miles to Florida to see some other brand loaded with all kinds of information of what to look for and what not, I buy a new coach in 6 hours.

I am glad Thor is making amends for customer service in this case, but from outside looking in the Thor Manufacturer to Dealer process is flawed. Do the dealers ever inspect what they buy? Seems to me it is pretty easy to distinguish between Mfg defects and issues that occur while sitting on the lot.

... an example of issue I had with one brand new 2019 Thor Hurricane that I did NOT buy. The battery compartment flooring had already been rusted out and the hydraulic pump was covered from rust, presumably from an exploded battery? Regardless, between Mfg & Dealer; no one agreed to fix before the sale.

[Bob Denman]

I passed on a couple of coaches as well...
First: they tried to sell me an Outlaw 29-H with visuible damage to the flooring in front of the stove..
And then: they showed me an Outlaw 38-RB that had the celing falling down in the garage!
I call it all "Shoddy Dealership inspections"...

[cbach]

Full agreement of dealership failures, and am quite certain they don't even look at it until it's sold. It reminds me of GM back in the 80's/90's, as vehicles would hit the dealer with missing trim, mismatched seats, parts falling off, fitment issues, body damage, etc., etc. but dealers would inspect immediately and get it fixed before going on the lot.

[EA37TS]

Originally Posted by cbach

Full agreement of dealership failures, and am quite certain they don't even look at it until it's sold. It reminds me of GM back in the 80's/90's, as vehicles would hit the dealer with missing trim, mismatched seats, parts falling off, fitment issues, body damage, etc., etc. but dealers would inspect immediately and get it fixed before going on the lot.

Not always the case. I know of dealers that would accept a shipment of cars off the truck, swap the batteries for a smaller battery, then put the cars on the lot to sell. Inspections and new car prep did not happen until after the test drive and/or sale.

RV dealers are mostly the same. Some take the fact they own them to some degree and inspect the units and perform a minor cleanup before it is photographed and put on the lot for sale. Other dealers don't care and accept delivery, photograph and place them on the lot.

[Bob Denman]

Originally Posted by cbach

t reminds me of GM back in the 80's/90's, as vehicles would hit the dealer with missing trim, mismatched seats, parts falling off, fitment issues, body damage, etc., etc. but dealers would inspect immediately and get it fixed before going on the lot.

Yeah; about that...
We bought a 1984 Buick Somerset. (Cute car!)
But...
It had a missing weld in the floorboards, and leaked horribly when driven on a wet road...
And the Passenger's visor mirror (and the light!) was never installed.

[dkoldman]

Back to the OP about bright side from Thor. That is surely a good story. However I think the takeaway is that if Thor is focused on Customer; then new RV buyer should not have to fight or discern between Dealer and Mfg. The car comparison is not a good one because Ford owns their dealerships or have vested stakes with rules that Dealership must adhere to. RV Dealers sell competing products and don't respond the same.

I sum up this way for anyone wanting to buy a new RV, pick your personality.

1. Perfectionist - Buy from Thor dealer that has best reputation and likely the highest price. They will take care of you and you will love your Thor coach.

2. Perfectionist but want value - Buy best Thor value you can find and accept things will be broke, or need to be fixed, if dealer don't fix, don't get mad at Dealer or Thor

3. Perfectionist & DIYer - Buy best Thor value you can find and accept you will fix some things. Take to Thor to fix things you can't. Don't get mad at Dealer or Thor

4. Perfectionist & not willing to accept issues with new Thor RV - Don't buy a Thor go look at SOB. and repeat the guideline above.

5. Cheap & not willing to accept issues with new Thor RV - Buy a Thor and then go to Thor forums and bash an otherwise good company with thousands of very happy customers and RV Owners.

If none of the above works then go look at SOB and repeat the guideline above.


I did #2 Perfectionist but want value with SOB. It is a challenge because the Dealer I bought from is 1500 miles away, but I have found a local one that has worked out very well thus far. But I did some things to build relationship with local service dept like POSITIVE review on Google. That got their attention. Some folks think that by bashing they will get better service

[Bob Denman]

You forgot the, "Cheap S.O.B." category...
Our second RV happens to be a Tiffin because we liked the features and floorplan better: i fit our changing needs!

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by Bob Denman

You forgot the, "Cheap S.O.B." category...
Our second RV happens to be a Tiffin because we liked the features and floorplan better: i fit our changing needs!

I added the Cheap category. That would have been me 2 years ago when I 1st started looking. I was lucky to curb my expectation and focus on the right things.

With that said and in hindsight, we were very lucky to have had the issue with the Thor Coaches. The Winnebago we bought we dismissed it early on as it was too much compared to the Thors. But when started looking at the details and quality of material etc. it became obvious and when we had a price break in Florida we didn't let it get away. We paid less and got a lot more.

Simple things like separate easy access battery compartment, MCD black out shades around all the windows, fiberglass roof, wet bay with gray & black in same drain line, outdoor kitchen, 40" TVs outside, Bunk raise and lowers without touching the seats, very large shower, full side bed that does not flip up, full wall slide but fully functional when retracted, 12vDC circuit breakers, massive storage space, came with stainless steel grill with stand for outdoor kitchen, AV Cabinet, only 3 total keys, ignition, deadbolt lock, and trimark key that opens everything else from regular door lock to all compartments, hood etc. If that was not enough the dealer we bought from has a large indoor facility, out coach had been stored inside and with only .1 hr on the generator

[cbach]

I'm definitely a #3 for most things, as I can fix a lot of issues for the extra $100K it takes to move into a high-end version of the same unit. After hearing a story of a slide falling out of a new Prevo on its first trip, and speaking with a guy about his new American Tradition that was apparently falling apart, I guess my view of the industry as a whole changed a bit.

[EarlyRV]

From reading this forum, I was under the impression that you can call Thor directly for warranty repairs and they would send you the parts so you can fix it yourself or take it somewhere to have it fixed. I called this week and was told that I needed to go to the local dealership to get them to order the parts even if I were to do the work myself. Did I just get the wrong guy on the phone or has something changed? I called the owner number: (877) 855-2867


I need the Axxera radio replaced and the rear cover over the end of the awning is missing, which is apparently a common occurrence.