Diesel Mechanic Near Dallas

[garyde]

Jon, word of mouth is the great equalizer. Let's make a map of the good shops. With all of the regulations , licensing, Re-cycleing, Zoning, Filing, Fees, State & Local official hand greasing, which would be needed and required, who would be insane enough to open a shop in California?

[kenrobertson]

I've been following this thread with great interest ( admittedly somewhat self serving ). At Parliament Coach we have always promoted an annual service program for our customers, but have limited it to routine services and repairing of primarily the coach functions. We are currently getting bids to expand our service facility to include a separate chassis area with a 60000 lb lift. We have found very qualified chassis types and hope to be up and running by late summer. We would sincerely appreciate any and all imput as to what services and repairs you think we would need to provide. We are looking at being able to provide everything but internal engine and transmission repairs.

As you know, we value your imput.........there is no longer a nitrogen generator being tested at Parliament Coach.....thanks guys

Ken

[jello_jeep]

Ken, I think the thread is pretty much a handbook on what owners want. Probably top of the list would be FAIR pricing and a genuine feeling that unnecessary repairs are not being solicited, and that the stated repairs are being done at all for one thing, and being done in a proper manner for another.

Its a pretty sad commentary that many owners babysit the mechanic all day to prevent overbilling and the tech screwing around on your dime.

A close second would be standing behind the work done in case of failure.

I would think if you went out of your way to do those things, and got a reputation going, you would be wondering what to do with all the $$ floating in!

Good luck with the new chassis shop!

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Ken,

This is second and third hand, plus some of what I will repeat you have read on the forum already.

I know of no less than 6 owners who have recently taken their coaches in for routine service and have either been charged excessive prices, or who have had very unsatisfactory work, or both. Some of the problems went from a minor repair to a very serious problem necessitating major repairs, including damage far beyond the area repaired.

The guilty parties have ranged from Prevost Service centers (the named ones are Mira Loma, Ft. Worth and Nashville) to non Prevost facilities that have previously done excellent work at fair prices.

One converter was among the shops that had done expensive unsatisfactory repairs.

Several of the POG members, me included, do most if not all our own work. The jobs that I refer to are things I have done myself and I know others in POG have also done. They require a degree of skill, but nothing on the level of a master mechanic who gets into the bowels of an engine or transmission. They are what I would describe as routine maintenance items such as hub seals, air springs, curing the leans, replacing fluids and filters, etc.

There were more horror stories from the west coast owners than the east coast guys, but that might just be because I spent a week with the west coast guys.

The short version I am hearing is the owners want to pay a fair price for work done exactly right. Pretty simple. If an owner has a leaky hub seal all he wants is a new seal, installed so it does not leak and so he does not have to return. He only wants to pay for the actual hours of labor. He does not want to pay a fixed price that includes every possible problem. If it takes 2 hours and the mechanic hasn't spent half of them scratching his butt and drinking coffee, the owner is more than willing to pay the shop rate for the job especially if he doesn't have to return two, three, or even four times before it is finally correct.

How hard can that be?

Prevost in Mira Loma, and I presume all over the country now has fixed prices for jobs. That is fine as long as those prices are reasonable. But they are not. Oil changes with filters and a lube used to cost about $350 according to the owners I spoke to and now the going price is $750. Air spring replacement is now quoted at $500 per air bag. That's $4000 per coach for about $1100 worth of parts and 12 hours labor maximum. I can give other examples but you guys are probably already seeing this when you send a coach up to Prevost.

I gagged when I heard what one owner was charged for the replacement of two XL windshields. Volvo is out of touch. Their mechanics need to attend the POG seminars to see how a four figure windshield replacement is done in 45 minutes by someone who had never done the job.

If all converters offered chassis service the owners would clearly benefit. With the exception of panel replacement, paint, collision repair, engine overhauls or replacement and transmission overhauls or replacement all the work that needs to be routinely done on our coaches is simple relatively speaking. Ask any body that works on their own cars.

I know Liberty does this work, and there may be others that do it as well. I think it is a great idea so we owners have more choices, but especially if the pressure of competition raises the quality level of the work performed while keeping the prices in line with the actual hours spent doing the work.

[tdelorme]

OK, we all agree the Prevost service centers are currently delivering a level of service that in some cases is unacceptable. I'm sure there are many cases of customers who leave one of the Prevost shops and are happy with the work performed and the charges incurred. If there are some of those folks out there, I would like to hear from you.

Also, I'm going to stick up for Prevost Service in one area. As far as I know, Prevost will do everything possible to let the owner stay with their coach while it is being serviced. Very few shops these days will allow the customer access to a vehicle that is being worked on. Prevost not only allows the customer in the shop, they allow the customer to live in their coach at the same time.

So, Ken, if you folks can allow us access to the shop and our coaches while work is being performed, it would be a big plus.

[tdelorme]

Jan and I owned Foretravel coaches for many years, and I still know a lot of Foretravel folks and read their Yahoo message board. This was posted today and I thought I would share this guys experience at Parliament. MOT is Motorhomes of Texas.

3b. Re: AC not running
Posted by: "John Lang" foretraveller@yahoo.com foretraveller
Date: Fri May 16, 2008 6:32 am ((PDT))

Hi John

This was a frequent/intermittent, almost chronic problem in my new
NImbus. MOT replaced the thermostat/comfort center and sent me on my
way. Problem continued intermittently until Parliament Coach in
Clearwater changed the circuit board in one of the roof A/C units and
tied down all the cables from the A/C units. Since January has not
missed a beat. Parliament did 3 add'l adjustments/corrections on the
coach at that time. Everything was done in 2 hours and they
cheerfully sent us on our way without a penny's charge.

Regards to all,
John Lang
Crossville, TN
07 Nimbus; 07 Cadillac SRX

[phorner]

Jon, very well said. I completely agree. We live full time in our coach, so repairs done right, the first time, is important to us. We do not have the ability to simply drop the bus off somewhere for service.

Also, since this is our home rolling down the highway, essentially with everything we own in it, the safety, security and reliability of the bus is close to our hearts.

My very first priority when selecting a service center is being able to trust that the work will be done correctly and in the same manner as if they owned the coach and were sending their family out in it.

With this in mind, I am more than willing to pay a fair and reasonable price to have the work performed. I expect the owner to make a profit. I want him to still be in business the next time I need service.

Lastly, the real test of any establishment is how they react when the inevitable problem raises its ugly head. Mistakes can happen. Unforseen problems can become apparent as the scheduled repair is being performed.

Any company can look good as long as things always work out perfectly. The best companies go out of their way to remedy these issues in an honest, fair and equitable manner.

It should be simple. Good work performed honestly at a fair price, while treating the customer with the courtesy and respect that they, themselves would like to be treated with.

No reason it can't be a win-win relationship.....

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Since this topic has arisen I checked with a local shop. I did not know if they wanted to mess with coaches since the bulk of their business is trucks.

As it turns out they do want bus business and they are changing their scope to include more than just engine and transmission work.

I know for a fact that the majority of the staff, both managers and technicians have experience in general repair and maintenance so they are capable of handling all of the routine service items such as lubes, fluid changes, filter changes, air springs, brakes, bearings, hub seals as well as engine and transmission work.

They will not do paint or body work. They will not replace windshields. They will not do tires or anything relating to alignments and that includes king pins for example.

I will be posing more questions and have more conversations with them before I post full information and give them a recommendation because I want to know how they will handle repairs to the repairs, access to the coach while it is being serviced. I also need to find out how they intend to support the coach since they have no pit. That means the coach will be raised on the individual wheel lifts thus preventing any access to the coach.

Right now they have no hookups.

Once we get done chatting and they have approved what i will post I will post the information for those who wish to consider alternates to Prevost Service centers or need a service facility in the Knoxville TN area.

If we can maybe we should create a thread that can be printed and carried along with us when we travel that lists information about various service facilities. I already know that this shop is first class and while they are not shy about charging for their expertise they work efficiently and are likely to be less expensive than Prevost. BTW, I have no bad feelings about Prevost, and virtually all my experiences with them have been good, but based on what has been posted here and discussed at rallies it may be a good idea as has been suggested to list alternatives.

[bluevost]

Ted,

I have been to Mira Loma several times for routine maintenance and lean issues, seals, etc. I have never left there feeling disappointed. When I call for an appointment, I have my list ready, and only schedule with two specific techs to work on my bus. I stay with the bus while the work is being performed. One day, two or three days, whatever. I also have a small notebook I use to keep track of what happens between 7:30 and noon break, and from after lunch to quitting. Time and parts are kept on the log. I have no problem if my service guy spends a few minutes helping another service guy, because I know that the other service guys will be helping my guy sooner or later. It all works out on time. Now some people would say you shouldn't have to keep a time sheet of your own, and maybe they are right, but when I get my invoice and the labor hours don't matchup, Prevost has never failed to correct their invoice.

Ken

[BrianE]

Ken has obviously dealt with Mira Loma often enough to specify who he can trust to work on his bus. He has also apparently come to the conclusion that it's wise to log their time. What about the average customer that assumes he will get a good job at a fair price? My only experience at Mira Loma was pretty dismal and included getting my own hands dirty just to get out of there.

By the way, I have no issue with the kids that work at Prevost. The problems are almost certainly training related and consequently point directly at Prevost management. In my case it's been a sad commentary because I have experienced "issues" at each of the 3 Prevost facilities I have done business with.

By the way 2, we purchased our coach at Parliament. The experience could not have been more pleasant. Between the low-pressure sales assistance we received from Steve Mitchell and the efficient service and patient explanations we received from Dan Romero, we wouldn't hesitate to be return customers. Dan incidentally, is the first person I call for mechanical advice. Whether it be house or chassis related, it has been rare when he didn't have the right answer, instantly in most cases.