NEW R.V NIGHTMARE!!!

[Buknob]

Hi Guys,

I Joined back in November sometime and was very impressed with this site and all the knowledge that one can give and receive, so I am looking to receive any info if possible.

Sigh.....here goes....

My wife and I bought a brand new 2006 Four Winds 5000 28A and spent a very long time saving for just the downpayment for this vehicle. We finally picked it up in early January and got to give it its maiden voyage on January 18th 2006. We were heading down to Jennings Florida from Toronto, Ontario with two other people to race my motorcycle, this is the reason why we bought the R.V so my 8 month old son can enjoy the luxuries of home while being at the race track and I would not have to travel with out them.

The ride down from Toronto was great, it took us 23 hours with all the stops and when we got to the track the R.V was everything we could have hoped for and more.

On January 23rd we packed up and left for home on the I 75 North with my son my wife and two other people, towing a 6'x12' trailer full of our motorcycles and gear. At 11:00 at night we reached a town called McDonough G.A where we stoped for some food and fuel. After fueling up I started my brand new R.V with about 2300 km on it (about 1700 miles) and it made some real strange noises. I shut the engine off and restarted it and the same noise was there,? like a belt was rubbing or something. We got out and checked under the hood and the noise got louder and louder so I shut the motor off and we looked all around trying to find out what the noise was. I then restarted the motor and the noise was now like a diesel engine, when it was not, I checked the oil pressure gage and there was no oil pressure, I immediately turned the motor off again and did not restart it.

I called GM Road Side Assistance and after being on the phone for almost 6 hours, yes 6 hours of being bounced around from one person that did not deal with this situation to another that did not want to deal with this situation to being transferred and put on hold and treated very rudely they finally sent out a tow truck to tow us to an impound lot where it had to stay over night in Locus Grove GA because the dealership was not open. Because there was no Hottel available we stayed in the R.V for the night and the tow truck then came back on Tuesday the 24th at 8:00 am to bring us back to McDonough GA where the dealership was. Once there the manager informed us that he would not even be able to look at it for at least a day or two.

Now the logistics nightmare begins, and remember I have my 8 month old son with me.

We could not rent a car to go home in because we had a trailer to haul and no rental place has a hitch that we could find on a car or pickup truck, we could rent a truck to tow the trailer but the only one that was available was a 26' Penske and it was only a two seater. So we rented a car and the 26' truck, but the problem was now that the car had to be dropped off at Pearson Airport in Toronto(10 min from my house) but the truck could not cross the border, so it had to be dropped off in Buffalo, NY.

After a 20 hour drive and dropping off the car and my family off in Toronto , which I wont tell you about the domestics we had on the way home, I then had to borrow a truck to go get my friends that were waiting in Buffalo, NY. After picking them up and trying to cross the border were we had to go threw a 2 hour immigration ordeal. We finally got in to Canada and after 34 hours of traveling and no sleep I finally got home.

But it's not over yet....

A few days later the dealership called and said that the Oil Pressure Release Valve was stuck open, and that was the reason we broke down. The part was warrenteed so after it was fixed I now had to fly to Atlanta Heartsfield Airport, rent a car to go to McDonough GA and then drive back to Toronto. Oh ya, no one could come with me so I did this by myself. You really find out your real friends in a crisis. Anyhow after getting back and totaling up my receipts I am out $2600.00 Cdn since this nightmare began. GM says that they are not going to pay for anything but the part that was fixed and the dealership that I bought it from says that they cant do anything about it. I e-mailed Four Winds Customer Support and got nothing, I called and got nothing. I can not find any help on this matter of being reimbursed. If the R.V had not broke down I would have spent about $400.00 to get home. I have contacted my Lawyer and he says I will spend 5 times that amount trying to go through court.

I apologize for the long description but I wanted who ever reads this to know my whole ordeal of what happened, and any advice on what to do would be greatly appreciated.This letter gives the story no justice as you would have had to be there to really know the nightmare I went threw.

So in retrospect my BRAND NEW R.V broke down the first time I used it, and after a 2 day ordeal of getting home and then going back to Atlanta to pick up the R.V and then drive it home. GM, FOUR WINDS INTERNATIONAL, and? The COACHOUSE, have all told meto basicly "get lost"

Any input would be more then great as I have spoke to everyone that I know about this but no one has an R.V or knoledge that this forum has to offer.

Thx again

Chris

 

[Smoky]

I believe 4 Winds is owned by Thor and that is clearly part of the problem.  Thor is very bottom line oriented and has a reputation for being tight on warranties. 

Is the $2600 you are out just what you paid the dealer or are your adding in all your other extended travel expenses?  I am not clear on the amount that 4 Winds is covering.

 

[Buknob]

Hi,

The problem is that NO ONE is covering any costsnot FOUR WINDS, GM, or THE CHOACHOUSE. Gm says they will pay for the oil pump to be fixed, which they did.

Here are the reimbursements that I think I should be owed because my R.V broke down but the problem is who do I go after for the money?

Oil Pump Repair? ? $0.00?

Rental Truck -? ? ? $646.40
Rental Truck Gas? $305.36

Rental Car -? ? ? ? ?$225.00
Rental Car Gas -? ?$103.00

Airfair to Atlanta
to pick up R.V? ? ?$468.00

Rental car from
Airport? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?$105.00

Costs of gas to
go to Buffalo NY $140.75

Cell Phone Bill? ? ?$324.89

Loss of Wages? ? $200.00

Total =? ? ? ? ? ? ?$2518.40

Do you think it is unreasonable to ask for this money back? I paid good money for my R.V and would expect some customer support.

Thx

Chris

 

[Smoky]

Chris:

I may be mistaken, but I do not know any MH manufactuer, or chassis company that is going to reimburse you for anything but parts and labor.

You would need a special policy, I believe, to take care of all the travel and other indirect expenses.

 

[Frizlefrak]

Chris....sorry to hear you had such a nightmare on your first outing in your new rig.? Don't let it sour you on RV ownership though...there are a lot of good times still to be had with your machine, it was just an unfortunate set of events that happened at the worst possible time.

From a legal standpoint, the engine manufacturer (GM) has remedied the situation.? Duty owed = reliable engine.? Duty breached = breakdown.? Remedy = repair.

Unless it's specifically stated in writing that they owe you incidentals in case of breakdown, they don't.? The expenses exceed what most small claims courts would hear as well, which leaves you with filing a regular lawsuit, but it would be costly as most attorneys won't take something of this nature on contingency.

What really troubles me isn't the breakdown.....after all, nothing built by man is perfect.? It's the demeanor of the coach and chassis manufacturers.? 6 hours on the phone is inexcusable, as is being treated rudely (I'm assuming you were courteous to them despite the circumstances).? Even when they can't help you, they owe you the courtesy of decent treatment.

In your position, I might have considered just renting a storage room for the bikes and trailer for a month until I could come back and pick them up, then just flew home from the nearest airport.  Would have cost considerably less and saved you some time and aggravation, but that's water under the bridge.

Wish I had better advice to give you.?

 

[Tom]

I too am sorry to hear about the nightmare, but doubt you'll get your expenses refunded.

 

[Jim Dick]

Hi Chris,

I'm really sorry to hear about your nightmare but breakdowns do happen. You were not treated fairly by GM road service. I would protest to the president of that company though it probably will fall on deaf ears. Then I would drop their coverage and go with CoachNet. Many here have had good service from them and they go beyond just towing. They will also get technicians on the line to help with appliances, etc.

You will not be able to recover your costs from the manufacturer. They are only responsible for the vehicle itself which it sounds like they have covered. I know it's not what you wanted to hear but that's the way it is. Maybe you have some other insurance that might cover some of the costs.

Do not hold this incident against RVing! You will have some great times in your new coach and, someday, you might even laugh over this situation. I know the expense isn't funny but time has a way of changing one's outlook on the actual events.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Sorry to hear of your trevails - it seems as though problems like this always strike when you are least able to deal with them. It's one of the corollaries to Murphy's Law.

I suggest you summarize your tale of woe and submit it to one of the RVing magaizines that features a "Hotline" for problems such as your.  They have a pretty good track record for getting compnaies to go beyond the basic warranty coverages in situations sucha s yours.  Try Motorhome Magazine or Good Sam (Highways magazine) if you are a GS member.  The big companies don't like bad publicity and often they see an opportunity to turn bad publicity into good by offering "good will" reimbursements.

Many of us carry extra insurance for situations such as this. Your Rv insurance may have some provisions for such emergencies (often called "trip interruption") and Roadside Assistance clubs or policies also may cover someof the costs.

The motorcycle trailer in particular made it both difficult and expensive for you to deal with the situation and I can see where none of the companies involved would feel any responsibility for that. I would think, though, that you may be able to get some reimbursement for the hotel and maybe even some rental car costs if you keep plugging away at them..

 

[Ron]

I too am sorry to hear of your bad experience.  Looking at your list of expenses I don not see even one expense that you would be able to hold them accountable for.  Like somebody mentioned the loaded trailer added to you expenses I seriously doubt you could hold anybody accountable for the expenses incurred do to having a loaded trailer to deal with.  Sorry but IMHO the only thing you might get from the manufacturer is a possible Good Will offering and I doubt this offering would cover all the expenses you listed.

 

[Sue/Al]

Did you check you Rv ins. policy ours has trip interuption coverage, and we would be reimbursed up to $1,000 , like for motel expenses etc.

 

[Bob McNabb]

Did you check you Rv ins. policy ours has trip interuption coverage, and we would be reimbursed up to $1,000 , like for motel expenses etc.

Most "interruptions" don't contemplate having to return home with multiple vehicle rentals, airfare and loss of wages. For personal reasons, you chose to take some unusual steps to accomodate your family. Even if you had insurance coverage for interruption, the insurer would disallow most of what you list as your loss. Virtually every insurance company (I'm an insurance broker) has guarded wording of their coverage that, somewhere, addresses "reasonable" about the expenses that they would consider.

 

[Buknob]

Hey Guys,

Good news!!

I spoke with a manager at G.M Roadside assistance and he assured me that all is not lost. As it turns out my GM chassis was built in the States, when I bought the vehicle in Canada there is something called a? DELAYED WARRANTY, which means that until GM gets the paper work from the dealership in Canada the vehicle is still considered an American vehicle (in GM's books).

So in Canada if you have a warranty issue above and beyond the factory warranty you can collect up to a max $500.00 in travel expenses, rental car, ect... to GM Canada not including loss of wages.

But in the States if you have the same problem you can put together a file for any amount and GM U.S.A will asses it as a claim and not max out what you can try and get back. They look at each individual situation and why that particular situation happend and they will work with you to come to an agreement.

So my Canadian Vehicle is still registered as being an American vehicle so I can go threw the American GM Roadside Assistance and might be able to get back some of my money.

The guy on the phone was really helpfull and sympathetic to my situation and sounded really sincere in helping me with this. He gave me an address in Massachusetts to send my claim to and he will put his own comments on the file of what happened and how I was treated by Customer Service.

The money situation is about 30% of my anger towards GM and 70% to Customer Assistance, after talking to Mark at Roadside Assistance and accepting his personal apology for the way I was treated, if I get no money back I will be somewhat satisfied with our conversation and his help with this claim.

I will keep you informed on what happens next and at the very least I am still excited to go on our next road trip to Mount Tremblant in Quebec.

Thx

Chris

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

That is good news, Chris.  I hope they come through for you.

 

[valleygeocacher]

Chris

You have outlined all the reasons for NEVER BUYING A NEW RV.

We always buy 3-5 year-old units because most of the bugs have been worked out and someone else took the first depreciation hit.

Most of our RV's (at least a dozen) were sold for very near our original cost. We've never had MAJOR repairs to do on any of them; only tires, radiator repair, and other normal wear-and-tear items.

On edit: oops, forgot the fridge that we had to replace on one Holiday Rambler.

Our friends Tom and Ruth, always buy new; in every case, their unit is down more than ours and fighting with the seller over weasling out of the warranty keeps them stressed out.