La Mesa RV

I bought this RV a few months ago and brought it home in February. We bought it brand new, first owners. It comes with a year bumper to bumper manufacturer warranty from Keystone that our dealer is supposed to honor because they have a Keystone approved service depart. They didn't. I have moved my RV twice, went no more than from Mesa Arizona to Camp Verde Arizona where my new RV TT sat for 2 months solid before we decided to take a road trip to help my father in Indiana who has brain cancer so imagine my worry nobody wanted to help me and or honor the warranty. I thought buying new would help me.

So here below is my story and I am sad I even have to repeat this but as of now I don't trust Keystone, and I absolutely do not trust La Mesa. After all my complaining and pushing things, the dealer now calls me almost a week later saying they have found a place that will get it in and work on it. I fear they will find a way to make this not their fault. Everything worked fine before and everything worked fine pulling out. I didn't get but one exit up from where it sat for 2 months and thankfully because my son was hungry we stopped at a sonic where the trailer started smoking and a customer saw it when I had stepped away and put the fire out, thank god!

The two people that jumped into to help put out the fire also had to remove everything from the brake box because they needed to disconnect any power from it because it kept breaking out in fire. So they did and had to cut two small holes to remove wiring that was still smoking and catching fire. The two men that jumped in worked with RV's and wiring in the past with electrical experience and clearly stated this was a manufacture defect in the way it was started and the way the wiring was under the floor being pinched.

Needless to say, we have been blown off and this is a huge hit on our insurance when the company told us to do the wrong thing and we are out hotel, we are out, food, clothing and more because we can't even get into our slides as there is no power to the rv to open them. Our insurance will reimburse us $1000 for hotel but really should they be involved at all? NO, the dealer should have done what was right in the beginning. That won't cover even one week of our hotel where our RV has sat already without being touched yet.

I have been told that not only is LaMesa RV known for their terrible customer service but how them not honoring warranty work is too. It isn't even week one and I have already reached $1200 in hotels already. LaMesa called us and offered to pay us a lump some to help with expenses but we had to sign off on all liability for everything else. Per J. ** who stated "he is the decision maker who can make things happen!" Obviously I am not releasing them from not honoring anything. I can afford to pay for my hotel loses, my food loses and my clothing loses and more. However, not many are in the same situation as me. This could financially ruin most people and it is not right.

The principle of the matter has me ready to fight with everything I have. If you are a company and you give a 1 year bumper to bumper warranty then you should be made to honor it no questions asked. My personal insurance shouldn't be held responsible where it will make my insurance premiums go up because I took a hit on a claim because of ** wiring from the manufacture Keystone who doesn't do good work. Below is the story I have been sharing everywhere in order to help anyone in the future from making the same mistake as us to not only avoid any manufacturing RV owned by Thor industries and subsidiaries but to avoid all La Mesa RV companies all over the US because they all blew us off and chose not to help till today which now seems odd. Thanks for reading my story below and sorry for repeating myself.

My Keystone RV Air Cruise 33ft bunkhouse was 2 months old, has only been moved once to get to Camp Verde and then once to leave Camp Verde 1 exit up before leaving town to eat. I shouldn't have faulty wiring that almost killed my family by catching on fire. Keystone RV needs to step up and do the right thing. My insurance company should not be covering manufacturing issues and I shouldn't be out of pocket for hotels because their dealers don't honor their warranties. First our dealer told us they just couldn't help and to call our insurance. We called many other Keystone RV service providers and other La Mesa RV dealerships in Arizona; all Keystone RV preferred service and body places told us they couldn't help and it would take 6 weeks to even look at it to give me an estimated time frame for fixing or figure out what was even wrong.

We had to go to a none approved RV service facility to get someone to look at it within a week. Worst experience and worst customer service ever from Keystone RV approved dealers and service centers. Did I mention if it weren't for the random act of kindness from a stranger seeing the fire and using an extinguisher my family might have died from the propane and gas tank explosion before we saw the fire. Might I mention had we not stopped one exit up this would have happened on the highway and would have exploded before we saw fire..

If you are looking for a new RV don't get a Keystone and for sure don't use La Mesa RV anywhere. They all dismissed us. What is worse is Keystone basically treated us with the same poor service and chose to make us do all the leg work to get them to still do nothing. They refuse to even call where the RV sits and get pictures. We have called our lawyer and they told us to watch what happens first, let the work get done and if Keystone nor LaMesa steps up and does what is right then we will go after them after the fact for failing to deliver on promised service through our manufacturing warranty contract. In the meantime, am I to spend my life's earnings and savings to get them to do what is right? I am very disappointed and I hope to keep others from going through the same thing. I hope this review reaches far and wide.

We took it to LMRV facility in El Cajon, whereupon our Service Advisor’s (SA) first remarks were that it was going to cost us $195 just to figure out the problem. Then he proceeded to dish a little verbal dirt on “The Brand” which led me to believe that the product, which LMRV represents, advertises and sells, was viewed with some derision. It seems a cultural disdain exists at LMRV that seems to have transmuted from our first service advisor to the next. We were so disappointed and unhappy at this attitude that we paid the $195 extortion fee, took the vehicle off lot and had the batteries replaced, under warranty, at a brand-recommended facility 125 miles away rather than deal with such a dismissive, unprofessional attitude.

Shortly thereafter, we noticed that our refrigerator began freezing everything. Then the gauge for the freshwater tank malfunctioned and a significant freshwater tank leak appeared. So, we took it back to LMRV in El Cajon. Now ten days after dropping it off, it seems that work on our rig has ground to a complete halt because the service advisor who told us it was going to be covered under warranty has moved on within LMRV and his replacement is reneging on that promise to cover repair under warranty. Our new SA said he is in communication with “The Brand” and they are at loggerheads as to how to proceed. We were given information on the reason for the warranty problems with the 2019 model.

Apparently, the agreement between LMRV and “The Brand”, for warranty work, specifically excluded the 2019 models due to business issues between the two organizations. The manager over the service advisors has instructed and is still instructing the service advisors to NOT provide warranty work for the 2019 due to the issues between LMRV and “The Brand”. As consumers of the LMRV products and services, we should not be victims of the dispute between LMRV and “The Brand”.

Since the day we dropped off the vehicle, nine days came and went with no communication from anyone at LMRV until we called yesterday, prompting a return call from the SA. All of this has occurred even though we purchased the Portfolio Protection plan. The extreme disconnect between how LMRV promotes the RV experience in its televised advertising and the reality of what one gets at the El Cajon service facility is as different as night and day. We think a serious internal review may be in order to address the customer service culture within your organization, at least how it relates to “The Brand” product. This type of cultural attitude can only exist in a company when either supported by, promoted by, or ignored by senior management. Which is it?

After the closure, Robynne took over – She said the batteries were fine, belts had small cracks but nothing serious, and the detector never went off so didn’t replace. They did fix the wiring to the microwave however, when I turned on the power at home, there was a humming….that now needs to be explored! Additionally, when we got the unit back, the dome lights won’t turn off! We now have found a great shop that said the belts DO have to be replaced and the batteries ARE bad!!

We were told conflicting stories – and now when I call, I hear them say “don’t listen to him, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about”! I completed a survey, which they acknowledged when I called; however, they just ignored what I said. Obviously, I’ve been labeled the “trouble-maker”. If I have anything to say, we will NEVER walk into that place again – and I will tell everyone I can to BEWARE OF THEM!! They want the sales and the add-ons, but won’t stand behind anything their people say – instead, they fire them or put them on leave!!

Needles to say, I am frustrated and angry. It is the fact that when originally questioned the sales department repeatedly assured my wife and I that this is the very situation which we were assured the plan covered. Lesson learned. Carefully parse all maintenance contracts before purchase. Sales personnel are not above bold face lies.

FYI, I will also be posting this complaint on Entegra's site as well. La Mesa's rep admitted this morning that the rig wasn't even touched for repairs at all until January 26th! Each entity has been blaming the other, all-the-while telling us parts have been ordered (when they weren't), repairs have been effected (which they weren't), and a service mgr. at La Mesa RV has even been let go in the midst of all this chaos. Consumers, buying an RV is only half of the experience. You have been warned. The back half, the servicing of your RV will give you heart palpitations. It is so frustrating!!!!