Imagine how frustrating it must be to have a brand new RV, but the full year warranty expired while it sat on two different service center lots….and you have never even used it.
We have an update from Margaret B on her long ordeal with her Thor Ace motorhome. If you haven’t read about her problems, click here. She writes:
“Last Monday I picked up my brand new 2017 Thor RV for the very first time in 15 long, agonizing, and stressful months. Things have all been repaired to the best they can be at this point but my door does still have a couple of issues. It’s out of alignment but there is nothing further to be done. It’s still difficult to open and lock, and I can pull the base of the locked door away from the frame several inches.”
Margaret said she asked Thor repeatedly for a full PDI but the company refused.
“I had to pay for a full PDI since it’s clearly never had one with the list of warranty repairs it needed before it was even sold. Thor refused to cover this cost and offered a ONE HOUR payment, but since it takes over 5 hours, I had to pay almost $600 to have this done.”
Margaret said that she has been calling Thor repeatedly about getting a “new” full year warranty on her motorhome and she was told to contact them when all the issues were resolved and they would discuss that with her.
“So I have been calling them several times this past week and each time promised that the man dealing with my case will return my call and as of today that just has not happened.
“I just want to be able to drive off in my RV with what I signed for: a brand new undamaged RV with FULL year’s warranty that I was promised, NOT one that expired while it sat on two service lots for over 15 months.
“I loved my first Thor Ace back in 2012 but sadly this has not been my experience this time. I want them to keep their promises and stand by their word to make things right for their customers who go through this hell, which has made my journey in grief, with the loss of my husband, even more painful.”
Margaret says she will be the first person to happily post that they did keep their word, but that “sadly, as of yet absolutely nothing has been done. “I will not stop until they do as promised,” she said.
Update On My 2017 THOR Lemon!
Well I wish I could say things have all been resolved but that has not been the case at all. After my RV sat on 2 service lots for over 15 months before I could take delivery of it due to lengthy warranty issues and delays of getting parts and authorization from THOR I finally got to take my RV away on its first maiden voyage 16 months after signing my sales contract.
I have been at the RV resort for only one week now and already have another list of repairs. Bedroom doors continually come off the 2 bottom latches when driving which was already repaired. Toilet has a known issue where there is a sharp bend in the sewer pipe right beneath the trap and the sewer tank is all the way across the other side of my coach so I have a multitude of problems with the toilet burping contents back out onto the floor and walls and unable to make its way to the black tank which is another known THOR defect. Opened one of the kitchen drawers and see a large amount of water gathered in a utensil dish so after looking under the sink I see leaks in not one but 3 places which have already been replaced due to strain from the slide. Back ladders loose, All 3 brand new TVs THOR installed are outdated with no QAM tuners unable to accept cable stations and another known THOR issue and the list goes on.
I have exhausted all avenues with THOR customer service at this point as they no longer respond to emails or calls as promised. They were very sympathetic to this entire situation this whole time and instructed me to keep them posted and that they would make right once the RV was in my possession but once this happened the person helping all along was removed from my case and a very arrogant male said he was now taking over and told me in no uncertain terms all bets were off of them doing anything and that all my payments and storage and expenses for this RV while not having it I would have had to pay anyway so I’m tough out of luck…his words!
I have spent this past few days at the campsite mopping up toilet water, dealing with tanks and soaking up leaks under the kitchen sink so as I plodded through this mess an old saying finally came to mind “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results” I trusted THOR and did all they asked of me by waiting until I had my RV and they did not stand by their promise, I have exhausted all avenues with them at this point and after my months vacation here I will be filing suit with a Seattle Attorney as this has affected my health and stress levels not to mention the whole reason I traded in my RV was because my husband had passed away and was promised they would make this sale as smooth as possible…complete opposite has been the truth! I thank you for doing these articles on the Lemon Laws as there are many many people online right now that are going through the same with this company and worse where they ask you to wait and then they delay all warranty after many repairs failed again until your warranty expires and then they are very quick to let you know of this! I loved my first 2012 THOR RV and want to love this one too and enjoy it without dealing with lengthy lists of repairs and walking through water leaks and sewage…I held up my end of the buyers contract, but neither THOR nor the dealership at Sunset RV held up theirs!
Where is the rest of the article? You didn’t add anything different then the original article?
Pb I just added the latest update as of June 10th above your comment sorry!
Thor is a public company……buy some of their stock when you buy one of their product.
If enough individuals do this and band together when one is having problems the group will have the power of ownership to hold the company responsible and can make a difference.
Beside Thor pays a quarterly dividend and the stock has doubled. Plus.
Ya, except Thor did $7.25 billion last fiscal year & I just don’t think there are enough RV buyers to buy enough stock to make a difference.
I think we are seeing the results of poor workmanship when manufacturers putting out so many units so quickly. Plus, the result when it the big guys buy out the ‘little’ guy – poor accountability or feeling of being responsible for quality workmanship and warranty.
What is a “PDI”?
Pre-Delivery Inspection or Instruction. Doesn’t matter what you call it…most dealers aren’t doing it. Or the person who does it knows less than you do about RVs.
I agree with Roy. If your unit goes in for warranty work, your warranty extends for time equal to the time it spent in the shop. Sounds fair to ME!
How Thor has changed. In 2005 we purchased a used 2000 Thor Hurricane 34K with 12,000 miles. The kitchen slide was making a noise and something had cut the flooring under slide. Part of the purchase agreement was that it would be repaired. They contacted Thor, was a recall and returned to factory to repair. Along with fixing the slide, Thor repaired or replaced 15 other items,received a repair order , all at no charge. Part of repairs was a bracing cage around the fuel tank, which I thought was close to ground. I contacted Thor with pictures and they also paid a local company to re-arch the rear springs at a $650 cost.. RV Manufacturers have really changed. We still have the unit and elected to remodel rather than buy new , just because of stories like hers.
Our REDWOOD 5th Wheel is made by Crossroads RV and is now owned by THOR!
The Customer service is horrible and I have given up on even asking for help from REDWOOD at all. I usually just fix the problems my self or call the manufacturer for advice.
THOR cares nothing about Customer Service.
But too, that is pretty much the entire RV industry today. They only care about turning a profit!
IMHO it is long past the time to employ an aggressive attorney and seek a remedy to your problems…..demand a full refund including taxes and registration fees plus additional payment for your loss of use and stress over this problem.
This RV industry is due for some tough “Lemon-Laws” with heavy penalties.
Sad a company that treats consumers so poorly is still in business.
Patrick is right they will not really pay attention until you sue. I’ve seen it many times.
Absolutely! An attorney is definitely in order. Emotional distress might even be a factor in a potential lawsuit. Thor obviously needs to be taught a lesson, and the author needs to be fully compensated. Lawyer’s fees and court costs should also be included.
Sounds like Margaret problems were systemic from the start. The issue with the door not fitting properly, was it like this before she signed on the dotted line to purchase the unit? Just curious.
Hi Bill,
Her door was damaged at the first service center, which ultimately went out of business, I think.
Deanna Tolliver
That’s what you get for buying a Thor buy from a reputable manufacturer like Tiffin that stands behind there product and has the founder of the company addressing people at rally’s
Regarding Tiffin: I recently heard that they are no longer interested in helping with or servicing their units now out of warranty.
I have a 9 year old Winnebago and have been pleasantly surprised with how helpful their service staff has been for my online calls.
That is not true, for owners with older RV’s, Tiffin will allow what they call an express bay with two techs for three hours. If an item can’t be fixed within that time period, they’ll schedule for another time slot.
Hi Roy. Yes, there are Lemon Laws in all 50 states (search Lemon RVs on our search engine to read a series we published over the last 3 weeks). To get anything done often requires the help of an attorney. And the Lemon Laws apply to all RVs, not just those with an engine.
There needs to be a warranty law of some kind that extends a warranty by any amount of time that a unit sits at a repair facility. In the case of a motorhome with an engine, wouldn’t some form of ‘lemon law’ offer protection as there is with automobiles ??