Hello everyone: We purchased a new 2010 Newmar 3920 Class A gas powered toy hauler motorhome and took delivery 3/2010. My wife and I spent over a year doing research as to which brand we thouht would provide he best quality and service for our hard earned money and Newmar seemed to be the one for us. Long story short - very poor quality control at the factory level and also the dealer level which meant lots of minor and several major issues at and after delivery. Repeated visits to the factory, mistakes during repairs, missed or improper repairs, more returned visits, and lots of down time. Newmar was always plesant, friendly and accomodating during our warranty repairs but our patience has been pushed beyond any reasonable expectations.
Problems:
* Replaced rear end ring & pinion gear - extreme noise as we drove off the dealer lot.
* Replaced entire rear ramp door assembly - cracked when loading 1st motorcyle.
* Rear cargo tie down attachment strips in the floor improperly secured to floor. Screws missed floor supports and/or were stripped out. Had a motorcycle been tied down it would have fallen over!
* Driveshafts installed incorrectly after rear end gears replaced. No test drive by the factory after repairs. We went to pick it up and 5 miles down the road had to turn around and bring it back to the factory.
* Main slide out ruined the laminate floor during 1st week long use of the RV - entire floor had to be replaced.
* When we picked up the unit after the floor was replaced it was filthy dirty inside - thick dust even inside of the cabinets much less on all visible surfaces. Carpets were filthy - so bad Newmar then offered to clean everything free of charge. Nice gesture but more down time.
* Rear electric bunk beds inoperable upon delivery. Shouldn't the factory AND/OR the dealer check those before delivery to the customer?
* Rear cargo area side door (this unit has 2 entry doors) deadbolt lock could not be opened from the outside with the key.
* Passenger front brake caliper "froze" causing burned up brake pads. Caliper replaced but Ford refused to replace the brake pads! 7,800 miles.
* Failed rear AC unit - fan had to be replaced.
Many othe small problems which we expected with a new unit but the major ones were far more than the usual "bugs" that had to be worked out of a new unit in the first few uses. we are NOT full timers so these issues were from our few trips we could take during the first few months we had the unit. Literally only a collective 2 1/2 weeks of use.
Is this normal for Newmar? Is this because we purchased a lower end price unit rather than their higher end coaches? Did we just get a lemon?
I'd really appreciate other Newmar owner's experiences and any suggestions as to what you did that was successful in working with Newmar.
I have a friend that has been an RV tech for over 25 years and he was telling me at the Pomona RV show the Newmars don't seem to be built as good as they used to be.
Over the years I've heard about RV horror stories...the first year the motorhome was in the shop....maybe half the year...maybe more.
QC in RVs is, I guess, at best, random. Sometimes great, sometimes not-so-much.
Personally, I'm lucky. When brand new, maybe 15 minor problems, fixed by my dealer. So far....10 years old and 50,000 miles showing, the most major was the front transmission seal 900 bucks...and that had nothing to do with the MOTORHOME.
The motorhome industry, like everything else, is "cheapening" the product. Kind of reminds me of American cars in the 1960s, thru 1970's. Big, flashy, but the door just didn't seem to fit right. Or the chrome didn't match up. Then came the Japanese who showed Detroit how to make a quality car. Perhaps this is what the RV industry needs.
After the recession/depression is over, of course. Meanwhile....good luck.
jerseyjim wrote: The motorhome industry, like everything else, is "cheapening" the product. Kind of reminds me of American cars in the 1960s, thru 1970's. Big, flashy, but the door just didn't seem to fit right. Or the chrome didn't match up. Then came the Japanese who showed Detroit how to make a quality car. Perhaps this is what the RV industry needs.
After the recession/depression is over, of course. Meanwhile....good luck.
Quote: ..and that had nothing to do with the MOTORHOME.
Quote: As you can read some of these issues had nothing to do with Newmar. Appliances do fail as do all brands of chassis.
Ah, the usual excuse trotted out as if that somehow explains everything.
Last time I looked, my motorhome consisted of a chassis, couple of axles, a power plant, plus a box filled with all sorts of goodies ALL of which is specified and installed by the MOTORHOME manufacturer. Take any of these items out and it is no longer a motorhome - so everything that goes wrong IS to do with the motorhome.
A car manufacturer and dealer network can't pull the wool over the buyer's eyes by claiming this or that part was manufactured by another company so it is their fault and the customer should go and get the OEM to fix it - so why is is that buyers put up with this sort of buck-passing by motorhome builders.
The OP is correct. All of those faults were faults in his motorhome. If he has anything to be thankful for it is that the deaaler/factory did get it all right in the end. Maybe if customers had to be reimbursed for their time and expense in getting the repairs done, the factory would make a bit more effort to get things correct the first time.
1 supplier issue (the A/C), 3 chassis issues, 5 Newmar issues - no, this is not normal. The good news is their working with you - and that is the best resolution, the bad news is they need to work on it.
Other than the chassis items (and that one is beyond their control) has everything else been fixed to your satisfication?
There are 24 hours in every day - it all depends on how you choose to use them.
Bruce & Jill Brown
2008 Kountry Star Pusher 3910
I would not say your experience is normal however the RV business as a whole leaves a lot to be desired. It is a far cry from the auto industry.
With that in mind my everyone should do careful walk through. The PDI is very important. Assume nothing works. Try everything possible. Every drawer, every switch. Every receptacle. Run and use everything possible before driving away. With a class A take a thorough test ride including a freeway drive.
Many are excited and anxious at time of delivery and fail to check everything. RV manufacturers do not get it all right the first time.
The PDI is the most important tool for the consumer. A thorough PDI will help avoid headaches and hassles down the road. Do the PDI make a list and don't pick it up until everything is to your satisfaction.
07'Duramax dually,12'Open Range 399BHS
Hawkshead TPMS,Hensley BD3,Killerbee exhaust brake
Blue Ox Bedsaver,air bags w/compressor
Arvika pin box bike rack,Bak Flip tonneau cover
5500 Onan LP,EMS-HW-50
14'Porta Bote w/8.0 Nissan
Vu Cube 2000,Splendide 2000S
Regarding the construction quality of my special-ordered Newmar Dutch Star, I made a big mistake. I assumed that it would be at least as good as my previous MH (a Winnebago). BIG MISTAKE.
I've had to fix several things that were put together in substandard fashion. To this day, I'm still fixing stuff. As we speak, I'm 4 weeks into fixing the roof (their first try at all-fiberglass roof). Why couldn't they just have copied the excellent Winnebago roof (my Winnebago was a 1995, the technology certainly existed)?
Amish workmanship? The cherrywood cabinets are good quality.
Chassis/driveline? Spartan did a very good job.
Willie & Betty Sue
Miko & Sparky
2003 41 ft Dutch Star Diesel Pusher/Spartan
Floorplan 4010
Blazer toad & Ranger bassboat
Most buyers use their RV for a few long weekends and a summer vacation - very minimal use often matches the crappy warranty and duration ! How many trips ( or nights ) does the warranty actually cover during a 1 or 2 year period ?
Would you buy a new car that was warranted for 20 nights and 5 trips per year ! ?
If your new car had to return to the dealer or factory for repairs numerous times , would you buy the same brand or be happy ?
An RV manufacturer places the fault on their vendor - WRONG !
Poor choice of vendor - lowest price item does not allow for quality !
Poor quality is just that - POOR !
American RV manufacturers are going down the same path as the autos - a foreign manufacturer will see an opportunity , and the US company will start to cry !
Soon , we will see the Gov. of Indiana and the Mayors of manufacturing towns on TV crying about lost jobs from company closings - no one will mention manufacturer cost cutting and poor workmanship .
In over 20 years I have NEVER heard any manufacturer state that they have done their best in either manufacturing quality or warranty service quality !
Tiffin , may be the best at warranty service , but that only covers the expense of problem assembly work . At least they are stepping up to the warranty issues .
It would be interesting to see the amount of money set aside by each manufacturer for the warranty process . This is a key part of each business plan .
Looking at the history of this board / forum for many years shows that this is not a new or unique trend !
As long as we accept and purchase junk , that is what we will end up with !
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