My disappointment in Heartland

[RoadJunkie]

Well, had it not been for this an other forums, I would NOT have executed the PDI to the extent I did when taking delivery on my unit. I too crawled over, under, and around every part of my rig and formulated a comprehensive "punch" list of items that needed attention. I stayed on-site for 3 nights and checked everything from spring "U" bolt torque to wheel torque. I was prepared to stay for as long as it took to get things right, as well. Clearly my dealer was great during this process, and they also kept my rig from October to March without charge. Oh, and no additional charges were incurred for PDI nor installing my hitch.

At some point, we--as consumers--must take responsibility for ensuring to operational status of our rigs. As the OP has suggested this is frustrating, time consuming, and simply causes a lack of faith in the dealer and manufacturer; The air in your sails can quickly become exhausted when the process of repair does not go as planned or beyond your expectations. I, as others, have been in this position and it's no fun. To quote Forrest Gump, "That's all I got to say about that".

 

[Bob and Chris]

Winsurfer, I have to agree with mrcomer. The dealer I bought from treated me right on the delivery, fixed everything I found during the inspection in a courteous fashion and we left with our new landmark. Unfortunately, they closed up shop 30 days later. The most serious problem I had was a slam baggage door which I dealt with factory customer service on. I was willing to replace it myself and the factory sent me the replacement door, decals, struts, and was willing to pay a local shop to paint. I can only imagine your frustration with a new unit and not being able to enjoy it, but I think the lion's share of the problem was your dealer.

 

[Dave012]

So, he received a faulty unit, and didn't have the use of it for 3 months. Got fixed eventually by HL and the dealer, which is a good thing. From the comments above it is clear that lots of people have different opinions on might be or might not be at fault: HL, the dealer, the transporter, and the customer (I think we forgot to blame a supplier) and what if anything should be done about it. So, the customer is caught in the middle and I guess the lesson here is caveat emptor (buyer beware).

jmgratz was right in post 25 "I think we can beat this issue to death and never resolve it as everyone has an opinion on it." So this will be my last post on this thread.

Good luck to the OP.

 

[jbeletti]

Let's get final thoughts in on this one, then have a moderator close it up. Thanks everyone.

Jim

 

[jayc]

Winsurfer, I PM'd you last night, but since the thread is closing, what do you say to putting all these ill feelings behind you and come on over to Houston in October and have some fun? We're rallying in Spring TX-not that far from LA-on October 15-17th, so it's time to enjoy the trailer.

 

[jgall1941]

I am also kind of disappointed with the factory. I have a 2010 Edge that I bought new in April 2009. The first time we took it on a trip, I had to replace an axle, and then when we got home we had to get a new converter. While these were replaced under warranty with no problem, now all of a sudden I had to have the dealer recaulk the windows due to a couple leaking, watched while the bed plywood was pulling away from the wall, these problems had to be done at my own expense due to out of warranty and also not covered by extended warranty. Now my Edge is at the dealers due to while in storage and through some tough rain, the inside of my trlr was wet from a leak in the slide out. Dealer has indicated that the gasket around slide out is not installed. Also have to have the vents recaulked, the outside walls on the rear where wall meets has to be recaulked, all at my expense. Only have had this unit 1 1/2 years and everytime we go out we find a problem. I would think this would last a little longer than that. Wife is very upset, and said get it fixed and sell it, and she is the one who fell in love with it. Oh well, what can I do.

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

Closing thread per JB.