Deficiencies in my new BC

[Postie307]

Has anyone purchased a brand new Heartland product and experienced many deficiencies?
We are easy going people and don't let things bother us but we have 36 deficiencies. Isn't that a lot?
They are really major things such as the shower door gasket falling off, shower falling apart, living room floor creaking, blinds installed crooked, gas line not working, fridge leaking and food getting wet, water leaking and kitchen floor getting wet, lino lifting, tears in sofa, kitchen chairs falling apart, stereo not working, TV remote not working, drawers coming open during travel, doors not lined up and serious rub marks, water lines not connected, washer/dryer lines not attached and hanging loose - etc. Just really poor quality control. Our 5th wheel is a 2013 and we purchased it in September 2012 and nothing has to date been fixed. We also have really noticable scratches on the kitchen counter and the bathroom counter. We are not very happy about all the problems. Really poor product.

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

Re: Deficiencies

Postie, this seems like a unusually high number of issues for a new trailer. I guess my first question is what type if initial inspection took place when you picked up the trailer. The dealer is supposed to check all functions of the trailer and many of your defects seem to be something that should have been discovered prior to delivery. I agree though that many should have also been caught at the factory prior to departure but this seems very abnormal to me. Call Heartland ASAP and have your VIN handy to discuss these problems. Your dealer should be taking much better care of you.

 

[SJH]

Re: Deficiencies

I guess my first question is what type if initial inspection took place when you picked up the trailer.

I guess my question is why take delivery on something that does not meet your expectations. These types of threads are very difficult to address. I certainly do not want to make light of your situation and understand your disappointment and frustration. It seems that many of the issues (tears in sofa, lino lifting, scratched counter tops etc.) would have been obvious defects at the PDI when you took delivery and picked up your new rig. I personally would have left it at the dealer and refused to "sign off" on the deal. That being said, our BC has not been problem free but the issues developed long after we drove off the lot. Overall, it has been a very nice coach.

I sincerely hope your issues are addressed and you can begin to enjoy your new purchase!

Best Wishes!

PS I see you are from BC. We reside just across the Aldergrove crossing. Perhaps if you are in the area we can meet for coffee or something and talk RV.

 

[dbbls59]

Re: Deficiencies

Wow! Sounds like your dealer did not do his job. They should have fix most of these prior to delivery. No excuse for waterlines not being connected or gas lines not working. I would certainly call Heartland and see what they will do.

 

[readytohitheroad]

Re: Deficiencies

I disagree. I believe the responsibility is with the manufacturer and not the purchaser. Items on this post should have been taken care of at the factory before the product was shipped to the dealer.

This was not done and then the dealer also failed by not fixing them BEFORE the purchaser acquired the product.

The PDI performed by the buyer is the third line of defense not the first.

The transferring of responsibility to the purchaser, IMHO, is not appropriate. Especially since it appears that the factory and the dealer both failed in their respective roles.

 

[TravelTiger]

Re: Deficiencies

I disagree. I believe the responsibility is with the manufacturer and not the purchaser. Items on this post should have been taken care of at the factory before the product was shipped to the dealer.

This was not done and then the dealer also failed by not fixing them BEFORE the purchaser acquired the product.

The PDI performed by the buyer is the third line of defense not the first.

The transferring of responsibility to the purchaser, IMHO, is not appropriate. Especially since it appears that the factory and the dealer both failed in their respective roles.

Although I agree with the statements above that it is the responsibility of the Manufacturer, and then the Dealer, ultimately it is buyer-beware in the RV industry.

This would ALSO be the case if you bought a newly constructed home ... Trust me, I know. And not just cheap houses, high-dollar custom builds, too.... Although the home builder is responsible to build it correctly, and the city is supposed to inspect it before occupancy, YOU the buyer can end up with all kinds of issues if you do not hire your own inspector working in your best interest to watch the building process from start to finish and test everything before you sign off on the paperwork. Many things can "hide" from you, only to surface long after the sale.

The best defense is a good offense. I tell folks, please test your new RV (with a thorough PDI) BEFORE you take delivery, and be extra-vigilant during the warranty period. Trusting it's "good" is not an assumption we should make just because of the cost of the item.

To the OP, I am sorry you have to go through this. Contact Heartland directly with your issues. It sounds like the Dealer is lax with their customer service and attention to detail, so why bother giving them the chance to fix it?

 

[SJH]

Re: Deficiencies

The transferring of responsibility to the purchaser, IMHO, is not appropriate. Especially since it appears that the factory and the dealer both failed in their respective roles.

I don't think anyone is excusing the factory from producing a better quality rig nor defending the factory/dealer for the issues. My point was simply questioning why anyone would accept a new coach with such defects as torn couch, scatched counters etc. and then complain about it? Some issues may have occurred after the first few trips but I would think the couch and counter issues should have been noticed at pick up.

 

[ParkIt]

Re: Deficiencies

It could be a situation we had where the dealer had to make delivery quite a few states away after purchase. In situations like that, you can go over everything numerous times but PDI and the driver may not check everything as well as they should before it leaves the dealership. Once its in your driveway most drivers paid by the dealership don't make it easy to refuse the drop off - I spent 45 minutes on the phone with the PDI manager going over what they missed that caused some damage in transport all of which was worked out with the dealer as a credit to the purchase price.

 

[danemayer]

Has anyone purchased a brand new Heartland product and experienced many deficiencies?

Hi Rick and Ardeth,

I'm sorry you're having these problems and as Ray said, it does seem like an unusually high number of issues. Let me also echo his suggestion to contact Heartland directly to discuss how best to get this all corrected. The good news is that Heartland is very proud of their customer support and I'm sure they will be eager to help you. Give Heartland Customer Service a call at 877-262-8032 / 574-262-8030. Have your VIN # ready.