Sorry to be negative but if you read any of these caravan forums "why would you buy a Jaco?" Col P
Why not? We've had 2 Jaycos and cannot complain. Given they have the biggest share of the market, by a long way, of course they will have a bigger share of complaints. You wouldn't buy a Hyundai and expect Mercedes quality.
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Jenny and Barry
2009 Roma Elegance / 2013 Colorado. Permanent travellers 2011-2015 now just travel for 4-6 mths
We have managed a few parks now and in the last couple of years have managed one close to melb. We have seen just about every make come back thru here on their way to get things rectified
not sure about what particular makes but have heard some real horror stories . Jayco seem to be the horse that everyone wants to flog . I personally would not buy one but some folk don't have the big bucks .
There are plenty of Jayco knockers ( how many have actually owned a Jayco ?) we have previously owned three (2 vans and one motorhome) and have recently ordered a new Jayco motorhome.Would not stick with the brand if service and warranty have not been fulfilled to our satisfaction.
We have a 20 foot starcraft got it new in 2013 and have had a few issues with it. I am lucky enough to be able to fix most of the problems myself.
While I will never say Jayco are the best, I will say that our van is comfortable and good value for money.
There are a number of manufacturers that make caravans that do not have the after sales service of Jayco, and in fact make junk! We have never had an issue with spares or warantee work from our Jayco dealer.
Cheers
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Ex RAAF, now retired. EX Electrician/Teacher.
Homebase is Murray Bridge Tourist Park (in a cabin). New Horse.. 2020 Ford Everest Titanium, Jayco swan for touring.
I have only ever had one Van & that IS a 1999 Jayco Westport.
It's been fantastic. Almost 20 years & >200,000km.
Don't know what the current models are like.
If there was something really wrong with the product then it is unlikely that they would have maintained such market dominance over such a long period.
Certainly not the 'best' but in my experience they were & still are 'value for money'.
Don't know which is 'the best' though.
It's a bit like my one & only 4WD ... 1996 4.2EFI Patrol. With only 260,000km on the clock, the bloody battery died today. Bloody unreliable piece of !@#$.
(No, the battery is only 8 years old. Not 20 yo like the tug)
edit ... Oops sorry Jim. I hope that you can sort out your issues with Jayco & get back on the road.
-- Edited by Cupie on Tuesday 1st of November 2016 08:51:48 PM
-- Edited by Cupie on Tuesday 1st of November 2016 08:52:22 PM
Hey Jim, I wonder if you could just refresh me on the on-going problems you still have? Our warranty issues have been dealt with satisfactory by the agent. Some of the problems that I had, I dealt with myself, because I didn't think I would get a satisfactory job done. By bye and bye, we have a van, be it a bit big and heavy that meets our requirements.
Hi Jim, I hope you finally get some action from Jayco it's a shame that you have to threaten legal action to get a satisfactory response that's not the way that they need to go with their customers if they want to maintain their market share. I don't think that they are the only ones who build the odd lemon I have heard plenty of horror stories from owners of other vans (and cars) who have had a similar experience. The difference is in the response that people get from either the manufacturer or the dealer when they do happen to experience a build problem. The feedback I got when deciding what new van to buy was that Jayco did have a few more problems reported with quality but that was due mainly to the sheer number of units that they were building it was also suggested that their response to rectifying those problems was normally pretty good. In the end after a lot of looking, researching on forums, talking to owners etc. I chose to go with a Retreat but that doesn't mean I am not going to run into similar issues (touch wood) when it finally comes out of the factory on Friday.
I've just bought my second Jayco. My brother and sister purchased other brands, more costly and have had issues, including legal issues such as lead/acid batteries instead of sealed batteries, wrong wiring etc. At something like having 48% of the market in Australia, Jayco is bound to produce vans with some problems. But you can get a Jayco repaired by a Jayco Dealer in every state of Australia. Both my brother and sister had to use non dealers at their expense and reclaim the warranty expenses from the manufacturer at a later date. I know what my preference is!
I've just bought my second Jayco. My brother and sister purchased other brands, more costly and have had issues, including legal issues such as lead/acid batteries instead of sealed batteries, wrong wiring etc. At something like having 48% of the market in Australia, Jayco is bound to produce vans with some problems. But you can get a Jayco repaired by a Jayco Dealer in every state of Australia. Both my brother and sister had to use non dealers at their expense and reclaim the warranty expenses from the manufacturer at a later date. I know what my preference is!
1. When you are away from home. Lets start. Three days out on our trip We are in Broken Hill and We lose total 240ac power. We contact Jayco direct. Their Repairer has a three week waiting list.
You answer the Question.
Do you take the van to Victoria to the Factory. Take It home. Pay another tradie who will only fix it then and their For $$$$ And Jayco says we can go ahead and fix it to a maxium $200 without authorisation. Cash only or get lost. We pay the cash to not spoil our first trip. We are heading to WA. Do we divert to Adelaide at our own costs?
2.We are on the same trip. This time we are in Exmouth WA The water pump fails. We ring Jayco Direct for help. Take it to Carnarvon just a 800km return trip.
You give me the answer son. This is a brand new van on its first trip away. If you read your service booklet, Jayco has one main service centre down Perth Way. WA just happens to be the largest state.
Yes Jayco does have many service centres 90% on the East Coast of Australia.
-- Edited by Hey Jim on Thursday 3rd of November 2016 09:52:23 AM
-- Edited by Hey Jim on Thursday 3rd of November 2016 01:46:37 PM
-- Edited by Hey Jim on Thursday 3rd of November 2016 01:54:10 PM
Hey Jim, sorry to hear of your van troubles, you are not alone. Had a bunch of stuff go wrong on my new van too when I got it. Washing machine inlet failed and flooded the ensuite. A roll of plumbers tape fixed that. Never leaked since. I am much better off having fixed that myself than letting it annoy me to the point of spoiling my holiday. The water pump also died. I had them send me a new pump and I muddled through and put it in my self. Over and done with. A few other things went wrong that I couldn't fix myself. They had to wait a couple months to get fixed by a caravan repairer. At the end of the day I could have let it get the better of me to the point of hating the van etc, but made the decision to chill and enjoy everything else till problems got solved. In the meantime, I found a few nice spots to lay back and enjoy my life.
Hope it all gets fixed properly in the end to your satisfaction.
Cheers, John.
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"My mind is made up. Please don't confuse me with facts."
