tjZ06
New member
- Jun 9, 2021
- 968
- 1,148
New RVs are a PITA.
I've had a few, and every one ends up with a 10+ item "punch list" within the first few months.
This time around I rolled the dice without an extended warranty, and here is why... working with RV repair is a giant effin' PITA, even with the factory warranty it takes weeks to months for simple fixes... yes they are "free" but at what cost? Missed trips, headaches dealing with shitty dealer service writers, damage inflicted while at the dealership and your coach sitting out in the weather when it has a garage at home all have their own costs. I've found I can get most/all issues fixed in 1-2 days by mobile RV mechanics that would normally mean the coach sitting at a dealer for weeks if not months. I've actually had some success taking my invoices from mobile repair and getting the OEM or extended warranty to refund me.
Also, with this coach I hope repairs are going to be cheaper to fix in general, yet the extended warranty costs were pretty close to my last coach. The last coach was a '19 Mountain Aire on a Spartan Chassis (with Silverleaf) and a 11.9 ISX/Allison 4k. If a motor had went on the MA it's something like $30-40k for a new one. This coach is just on a GM/International 6500 chassis with a 6.6L Duramax and an Allison 1750. If this motor goes, it's something like $10k. If Silverleaf had big issues who knows how much that could be, vs. plain old (poorly done) traditional wiring in this one. The MA it had a giant full wall slide that housed the kitchen, bedroom cabinets/tv, recliners, dinette, lots of upper cabinets and was all real porcelain tile and solid hardwood cabinets etc. It was so heavy the slide mechanism was hydraulic. If something happened and that slide had to be removed for repairs it'd be a zillion dollars. This coach also has a FWS, but it's a good 10' shorter (as is the whole coach) and while it houses basically the same stuff, it's "toy hauler quality" construction and way, way lighter utilizing a traditional slide mechanism.
With warranties being around $10k for either coach, and this new chassis carrying a good powertrain warranty it just didn't add up. I've fixed prob 4-5 things myself and brought in an RV mechanic for a handful more (as well as having them swap from the shitty RV fridge to a Resi). I've still spent a tiny fraction of the warranty cost and never had to send the RV anywhere.
-TJ
I've had a few, and every one ends up with a 10+ item "punch list" within the first few months.
This time around I rolled the dice without an extended warranty, and here is why... working with RV repair is a giant effin' PITA, even with the factory warranty it takes weeks to months for simple fixes... yes they are "free" but at what cost? Missed trips, headaches dealing with shitty dealer service writers, damage inflicted while at the dealership and your coach sitting out in the weather when it has a garage at home all have their own costs. I've found I can get most/all issues fixed in 1-2 days by mobile RV mechanics that would normally mean the coach sitting at a dealer for weeks if not months. I've actually had some success taking my invoices from mobile repair and getting the OEM or extended warranty to refund me.
Also, with this coach I hope repairs are going to be cheaper to fix in general, yet the extended warranty costs were pretty close to my last coach. The last coach was a '19 Mountain Aire on a Spartan Chassis (with Silverleaf) and a 11.9 ISX/Allison 4k. If a motor had went on the MA it's something like $30-40k for a new one. This coach is just on a GM/International 6500 chassis with a 6.6L Duramax and an Allison 1750. If this motor goes, it's something like $10k. If Silverleaf had big issues who knows how much that could be, vs. plain old (poorly done) traditional wiring in this one. The MA it had a giant full wall slide that housed the kitchen, bedroom cabinets/tv, recliners, dinette, lots of upper cabinets and was all real porcelain tile and solid hardwood cabinets etc. It was so heavy the slide mechanism was hydraulic. If something happened and that slide had to be removed for repairs it'd be a zillion dollars. This coach also has a FWS, but it's a good 10' shorter (as is the whole coach) and while it houses basically the same stuff, it's "toy hauler quality" construction and way, way lighter utilizing a traditional slide mechanism.
With warranties being around $10k for either coach, and this new chassis carrying a good powertrain warranty it just didn't add up. I've fixed prob 4-5 things myself and brought in an RV mechanic for a handful more (as well as having them swap from the shitty RV fridge to a Resi). I've still spent a tiny fraction of the warranty cost and never had to send the RV anywhere.
-TJ
