Scratching our heads over this one

[sfreunds]

My husband and I test-drove a 2017 Sightseer 33c - it was our dream vehicle and really wanted to test-drive the rig. The RV dealership had the unit brought from one of it's RV centers in Phoenix to their center in Albuquerque. The unit drove very nicely. However, the air-conditioning in the dash did not work, nor did the read and side view cameras. These issues caused us to not buy the RV. We felt these were pretty significant flaws with the rig, especially a new rig with 2000 miles on it.

The dealership told us that it is common for RVs like this to have a couple of problems show up in the first few thousand miles - that things shake loose and need to be fixed. I thought this was odd. We bought a minnie winnie a year ago (love it, but want to already trade up to a Class A :-), and nothing like this happened with our minnie. More so, to have the dash air not working, nor the cameras...if these things are shaking loose, what does that say about the soundness of the rig overall? So we declined to buy the rig, and we declined to purchase anything from this dealer.

I am wonder how typical are these kinds of problems?

Thanks for reading, and thanks for any responses.

[LarrytheBear]

From my readings on this forum it is very typical. I don't have this personal experience because I have always bought used and the original owner has worked out the "bugs" (most of them) before I came along.

If you are determined to buy new, you need to buy from a dealer that you trust to work out the problems because there will be things that need to be fixed under warranty.

Good luck with your choice.

[Busskipper]

Originally Posted by sfreunds

My husband and I test-drove a 2017 Sightseer 33c - it was our dream vehicle and really wanted to test-drive the rig. The RV dealership had the unit brought from one of it's RV centers in Phoenix to their center in Albuquerque. The unit drove very nicely. However, the air-conditioning in the dash did not work, nor did the read and side view cameras. These issues caused us to not buy the RV. We felt these were pretty significant flaws with the rig, especially a new rig with 2000 miles on it.

The dealership told us that it is common for RVs like this to have a couple of problems show up in the first few thousand miles - that things shake loose and need to be fixed. I thought this was odd. We bought a minnie winnie a year ago (love it, but want to already trade up to a Class A :-), and nothing like this happened with our minnie. More so, to have the dash air not working, nor the cameras...if these things are shaking loose, what does that say about the soundness of the rig overall? So we declined to buy the rig, and we declined to purchase anything from this dealer.

I am wonder how typical are these kinds of problems?

Thanks for reading, and thanks for any responses.

If the issues are totally electrical - not that rare or bad, usually a bad ground wire - BUT - the A/C is a bigger issue as Dash air that leak out tend to be problems, again and again.

This is from years of owning a fleet of Vehicles - so - to be sure there are many more Winnies out there, shop a little more and don't be afraid to drive a little further - if the Dealer does not at least present the product working.... hard to imagine the way they might handle service after the sale.

JMHO,

[grtharris]

sfreunds, does not sound uncommon. If you do like the coach give the dealer a chance to fix it and tell you what they did to fix the problem. Winnebago changed the vendor on the dash air in April last year and had a few change over problems.
The cameras are probably just a loose video cable.
Also there are a lot more added on parts on a class A front end than a on a class C.

[bdpreece]

Very typical of a new unit. Also what I have found that the bigger the unit the more bells and whistles you have. Just more stuff that will break. If you expect to find a new unit with no problems you will be very disappointed. Quality control is totally lacking in almost all manufactures and we let them get away with it as the only other option we have is to never buy.

[sfreunds]

Thank you all so far for your comments. They are helpful.

I can appreciate that problems arise with new RVs - I get that. I guess I am in the same camp as Busskipper in that if the dash air conditioning is already not working, that could be a continued problem.

Being that the RV dealer knew of these problems for 2 weeks before we test drove the unit but failed to fix them...well, I agree with Larrythebear that we need to buy from a dealer that we can trust to fix the problem.

I guess we were really fortunate with our Minnie that we bought last year - a couple of loose trim boards, tight-sliding windows, etc. after 5000 miles - nothing substantial needed warranty work.

Again, thanks!

[SuperGewl]

Most dealers will not spend the time or money to fix a problem until the unit is bought. You yourself said the unit came from another dealer. So why didn't the original dealer fix It? Because it cost them money and they never know when the unit may end up somewhere else in trade. If you really like the unit do a walk thru put a deposit down with the stipulation that they fix everything you find before delivery and make sure the deposit is fully refundable and you have the right to back out the deal if they can't deliver. Put it all in writing.

[davismills]

I have a 2011 33C and it has performed well. I took the "eyebrow" hump off the dash and found a couple of the A/C ducts had worked themselves loose. Reconnected and no more problems.

In six years now, I've only had trouble with the rear HWH leveling jacks and a frig door that was sagging. I'd buy this coach again.

[UtahBolt]

We just bought a new 2017 Vista LX 35B in February and we have had a couple of minor and one semi-bigger issue (leveling jack blew out) with it and the dealer has been great getting it fixed up. They even told me to take it out, use it and then make a list and bring back in as issues are common.

Incidentally, we also test drove a 2016 35B because it was a little cheaper and that one had issues as we were driving it, the e-brake would not disengage so we backed away from that one immediately!

[cruzbill]

Agree issue is with dealer, not the unit. No dealer PDI upon receipt at the lot, obviously! And didn't the dealer's driver note the problems? Not good. Hope yo find a good dealer to deal with!

[8.3Oilbuner]

Hi sfreunds; Well, I can't help but to agree with you. New and or used units. When the dealer gets in new stock or takes in a used unit, why don't they go through them and fix what is wrong? If the unit is new, fix things that are not right and bill the factory. Nothing like walking into a new unit that you could be interested in and it has parts missing or components don't work, really! In my opinion when you find stuff not working or missing, it sends me a kind of message about the MFG and the dealer. I agree with others that things can be fixed and this happens in the industry. But to me it sends a tone I do not like. I have looked at some used RV's that were, in my opinion, in better shape than new ones. I agree also that bugs have been worked out in used units which makes them more appealing to me. I just remember back in 03, stopping at an RV dealer in Sacramento to look at a coach on the way to Az. They knew we were coming to look at the coach. Stopped in to give it the go over and could not think of how many visible problems we could see. Went to pull up the kitchen counter extension up and it came off the cabinet wall in my hand as the screws and the bracket hit the floor. The salesmen looked at me and my wife and said, that doesn't look too good does it. I kind of felt sorry for him but, they have to sell them and when parts fall off in your hand it sure does not speak of quality which is sadly lacking nowadays. Got in our camper and headed to Az. If it's broken, fix it. No buts or etc. Just my two cents worth. Hope you find what you are looking for.

[pyoots]

This reminds me of my friend who took his wife fishing but forgot to insert the plug in the boat before launching. As he discovered the boat filling with water, he pulled forward to drive back up the ramp and wait for the water to drain. With the water gone, he started up the truck and headed home, explaining to his wife, "it wasn't meant for us to go fishing today."

Sometimes, it wasn't meant for us to make the purchase. JMHO

Phil

[Rossi6998]

If you like the unit, I would give them a chance to fix it. I would also use the problems as leverage to reduce the price. If you are not satisfied with the work or their attitude, than walk away. I'm sure a dealership would be more than happy to take your money.

Good luck!

[Sue46]

For a dealer to spend the time and effort to transport the rig from Phoenix to Alb. and then not have it fully functioning says to me to back away from that dealer.

We have been rving for 40 years and always buy new. I don;t recall any issues of any consequence with our trailers or our MH's. On these forums you only hear about the number of problems people have, not from the people who don't have any problems.

Keep looking, you will find your perfect rig.................

[BirchyBoy]

Our dealer told us that Winnebago required a full dealer PDI before purchase, and then we had to sign a form saying that we had inspected the unit and were satisfied. If you like the unit, offer a $1k deposit with the final purchase being made after the issues were resolved or refunded if not completed within X days. That gives the dealer some incentive to get it worked out with Winnebago.

[Forza Tom]

Originally Posted by sfreunds

My husband and I test-drove a 2017 Sightseer 33c - it was our dream vehicle and really wanted to test-drive the rig. The RV dealership had the unit brought from one of it's RV centers in Phoenix to their center in Albuquerque. The unit drove very nicely. However, the air-conditioning in the dash did not work, nor did the read and side view cameras. These issues caused us to not buy the RV. We felt these were pretty significant flaws with the rig, especially a new rig with 2000 miles on it.

The dealership told us that it is common for RVs like this to have a couple of problems show up in the first few thousand miles - that things shake loose and need to be fixed. I thought this was odd. We bought a minnie winnie a year ago (love it, but want to already trade up to a Class A :-), and nothing like this happened with our minnie. More so, to have the dash air not working, nor the cameras...if these things are shaking loose, what does that say about the soundness of the rig overall? So we declined to buy the rig, and we declined to purchase anything from this dealer.

I am wonder how typical are these kinds of problems?

Thanks for reading, and thanks for any responses.

Unfortunately your dealership is correct! The quality control function in the RV industry is done by the owner and the dealer.

I have owned 2 brand new Class A MH's one was a gas (Sightseer 35J) and The other a DP (Forza 36G). Both units came with several issues right from the start and then some issues that cropped up over the first year.

Unfortunately finding a dealer that can preform acceptable repairs is getting harder and harder.

Winnebago recently offered 3 year warranties on new units and I believe that this was due to the poor initial quality of their units. I believe that they have the highest quality in the industry which is a sad state of affairs.

All this said I would still buy one but you have to be ready to address the problems.

Most likely you will make at least one visit to Forest City, IA for service.

I would still consider the unit you passed on but have the dealer fix the issues you have already discovered before taking delivery.

Hope this helps.

[Forza Tom]

Originally Posted by sfreunds

Thank you all so far for your comments. They are helpful.

I can appreciate that problems arise with new RVs - I get that. I guess I am in the same camp as Busskipper in that if the dash air conditioning is already not working, that could be a continued problem.

Being that the RV dealer knew of these problems for 2 weeks before we test drove the unit but failed to fix them...well, I agree with Larrythebear that we need to buy from a dealer that we can trust to fix the problem.

I guess we were really fortunate with our Minnie that we bought last year - a couple of loose trim boards, tight-sliding windows, etc. after 5000 miles - nothing substantial needed warranty work.

Again, thanks!

My sightseer 35 J had and air conditioning problems in the first year I owned it. It was repaired and we never had another problem for the next 9 years.

[Forza Tom]

Originally Posted by Sue46

For a dealer to spend the time and effort to transport the rig from Phoenix to Alb. and then not have it fully functioning says to me to back away from that dealer.

We have been rving for 40 years and always buy new. I don;t recall any issues of any consequence with our trailers or our MH's. On these forums you only hear about the number of problems people have, not from the people who don't have any problems.

Keep looking, you will find your perfect rig.................

The dealer normally doesn't transport the unit. Winnebago arranges for a driver to take the units from the factory to the dealer. How much communication is made is anyone's guess.

[Sue46]

In the last 20 years we have bought a custom 5th, a Heartland 5th and a Winnebago Class A gasser. We had zero problems with the Heartland and the Winnebago, the custom gave us the most problems.

I felt the Heartland dealer was superior all around and we would have bought our MH from him but he didn't sell Winnebago and none of the ones he had met our requirements for floor plan. Really wish we could have given him our business.

[Sue46]

The OP said the dealer brought it to Alb from their Phoenix dealership, not Winnebago.