2022 - Newmar Quality Call to Action

[redbaron]

Thank you for the advice, both are currently available, so no wait either way. The new one has the Gerard awnings, but after reading about the issues on the forum with those not being properly attached I’m not sure they are “better “.
Used one is $100k cheaper as well.
Brian

The 22 Girard awnings are attached better than the 19s where. They use washers and proper size bolts.

 

[bpaikman]

Wow, thank you for your efforts to help keep our old baby Newmar's value. I'd not seen anything like this in our relatively cheap, entry-level coach from 2014, EXCEPT an 'inclusion' under the tile floor that bugs me. Something about the size of a bb pellet was under that tile when it was laid, and it's obvious. Strange that no one caught it.

 

[Rustymayes]

Thanks for posting this thread and thanks to the contributing posts as well. We are just starting our journey back to RVing after 25 years of large boat life. There are quality issues in any production vehicle, hence the price difference compared to custom built. I need to search for a similar thread for Tiffin I guess. My question is, does anyone here as a Newmar owner wish they bought the same trim level coach in Tiffin and if not, why is that?
Thanks

 

[redbaron]

Thanks for posting this thread and thanks to the contributing posts as well. We are just starting our journey back to RVing after 25 years of large boat life. There are quality issues in any production vehicle, hence the price difference compared to custom built. I need to search for a similar thread for Tiffin I guess. My question is, does anyone here as a Newmar owner wish they bought the same trim level coach in Tiffin and if not, why is that?
Thanks

Since posting my call to action I have heard directly from Newmar executives. They are paying attention, and making changes.

Maybe not as fast as I would like, and I am sure they are not addressing every issue at once.

My coach delivery happened several months after this post, and has many flaws that I had detailed. I reached out to my dealer who arranged a meeting with the executive team responsible for production, qc, and warranty.

The story is still unfolding and in progress, so I am not being very detailed on purpose, as I want to provide specific details with final outcome.

I am very optimistic that the final telling will be a positive story, even if it highlights failures and problems that should never have occurred.

 

[SteveMA]

Thanks RB. Hopefully your efforts will have an effect across the board that will make us more proud of our decisions.

 

[SherryB]

Thanks for posting this thread and thanks to the contributing posts as well. We are just starting our journey back to RVing after 25 years of large boat life. There are quality issues in any production vehicle, hence the price difference compared to custom built. I need to search for a similar thread for Tiffin I guess. My question is, does anyone here as a Newmar owner wish they bought the same trim level coach in Tiffin and if not, why is that?
Thanks

If buying new, I probably wouldn't consider a Tiffin due to them now being owned by Thor...Hopefully their quality control hasn't dropped to the level of many Thor RV's (not all I'm sure so please don't bite my head off anyone)

 

[AbdRahim]

The question I always come back to is where is the cost savings for Newmar when they have to pay a dealer to do all the warranty/pre delivery repairs on a poorly built coach? Wouldn’t it be much more cost effective for them to have solid quality control during construction and a thorough inspection before the coach leaves the factory?

Answer: apparently not, as many people fix stuff themselves or sell the coach and move on. There is enough profit to cover the few who are persistent enough or have the time to travel to the Service Center multiple times to get issues addressed. The dealers often try to avoid doing the warranty work, so this helps to keep the cost down as well. This is an industry-wide strategy that seems to pay off for the manufacturers.

My previous coach, not a Newmar required a major rebuild, which, thank God, the company did on their dime. I don’t know how much it cost them, but the shop mgr told me he had $15,000 in the paint alone, new roof and ceiling was likely another $4,000 or more, plus many other items. Mind you,this was only a $100,000 coach. It was in their shop all winter. I bet they still made a profit on it. The scary part is the number of people with similar complaints that were refused service.

 

[AbdRahim]

@turbopilot , I understand your position about canceling new orders. I don't agree that it would work.

For every unit sold, there are 2 buyers waiting in line. The demand is very high, and the supply is very limited. This is going to be true for at least 18 months.

Newmar will never hear about the cancelation. The dealers will have the unit reassigned within hours.

The only way to get newmars attention is to increase warranty claims drastically. Newmar needs to feel the pain of their poor quality control so that the only resolution is to fix quality during production.

Or with each cancelation, or with previous cancellations, the would be owner writes to Newmar to inform them of the cancellation, and why they cancelled. May help anyhow.

By the way, I love my Bay Star. Newmar has addressed and corrected all but one or two issues, and has treated me well. Would I buy another Newmar. Certainly, but knowing it takes two to three years to get everything right, I would not buy a new coach of any brand any time soon.

 

[Rustymayes]

Been in communication with a Newmar dealer and told him I was looking at Tiffin. He told me that he has a customer trading in a 2022 Allegro Bus 40 IP for a 2023 Dutch Star because of quality issues and issues getting them repaired to his satisfaction. That seems to be a huge hit to take in such a short period of time. I like that Tiffin is a privately held family builder as opposed to Newmar being owned by a conglomerate.

 

[NWIP]

I hate to break the news but Tiffin is now owned by Thor

 

[bpaikman]

We had looked seriously at Tiffin before buying our Newmar. We wanted a 35' coach, and I think Tiffins have MANY more user-friendly, creative, thoughtful design details. Newmar is amazingly lacking in some areas, although I realize that our coach isn't top-of-the-line.
For example, what brainless designer under 40 years old decided it was a good idea to have no electrical outlets by the bed? (I wear my watch to bed so I can tell time when I wake up during the night.)
I much preferred the Tiffin layouts, but my husband is oddly sold on Newmar - loves the idea of Amish craftsman. But every single Tiffin we looked at had peeling 'leather' upholstery, or it had been replaced by the sellers with unacceptable alternatives.
We finally happened to locate a Newmar that suited our purposes, and it seems to be working for us.