Thor Forums

[Judge]

Originally Posted by TADix

The réponse was unreal: he said other than one garage in CA and the Thor factory, everyone else was about the same.

He continued with statements that I could either do it his way or end up waiting perhaps months longer.

His response is very real.... this is the industry as a whole. If you are new to the RV world, this is the reality and its unfortunate.

Someone recently posed a question about which dealer to buy from between two in his area. This was my response to that thread. I think you will get the point Thor Customer Service was making.


I have not purchased from either dealer but have purchased from different dealers in the past. I currently have a 2020 Magniude SV34 and here is my take.... but some of this advice will be dependent on your location.

Between personal experience and reading plenty of stories, it is safe to say that 90%+ of RV dealers are lacking in adequate customer service and technical knowledge when needing service after the sale. It is also safe to say that 90%+ of new RV's will need warranty service. It's also safe to say it often take weeks or even months to get an appointment and can take just as long to get the coach back.

All that being said..... I don't buy from a dealer for their service. I buy from a dealer for the best financial deal I can make and who I think will be motivated to resolve all the issues discovered during the PDI before I sign the paperwork..... and there will be issues uncovered during the PDI.

If you want warranty (and even non-warranty) service done right the first time, you will be well served by having the Thor Factory Service Center in Wakarusa, IN do your service. I've driven 6 hours one-way on two occassions to have them do work on my Magnitude and I would do it again.

All they do is fix Thor products... every day. They know the strengths and weaknesses of each model and how to fix things better than when the coach came off the assembly line. Dealers have a lot of turnover in their service department and they service dozens of makes and models and can rarely be an "expert" when it comes to servicing a specific model.

For small repairs, I have had Thor send me the parts (one of the reasons I hav stuck with Thor) and I have done the repairs myself because I know I will do a better job than most dealers and it will be much faster. For things I can't handle or major issues (like the issue I've posted about the Magnitude and Omni front cap flexing and separating issue, which you could experience), I have the Thor Service Center deal with it.

When you buy a car... or a boat.... or a snowmobile..... you may pay a little more for a dealer who you think will provide better customer service. When it comes to the RV industry, I think you are better off buying from the dealer where you can get the best deal and plan on getting your service from Thor.... or a shop in the area that is a true RV expert and cares about what they do.

You can throw all that out if you live to too far from Thor or you actually have a dealer locally that has a solid reputation for providing exceptional service.