I did the upgrade about two years ago. At that time, the parts were covered free of charge, and I only had to handle the labor. Bill Jenson approved the free parts without any issues. Back then, they even covered the replacement of all the side panels, including paint and polish. Good luck getting that kind of coverage today—I’d guess you won’t get the parts for free now.
I know this is a sensitive topic, but as someone who owns commercial trucks, I find it frustrating that we’re expected to be the R&D department for a high-end product like this. It’s disappointing to deal with issues like door handles, sway bar bushings, and a-arm bushings. I love my bus, but I don’t blindly accept every aspect of it. We avoid factory service centers because their costs are exorbitant—$700+ for an oil filter and chassis lube is outrageous.
I’m sure many of us feel the same way but hesitate to speak out publicly for fear of needing future assistance. It’s frustrating to face $1000 repairs for problems the manufacturer should have addressed. As Jon has mentioned before, we didn’t have the CFO write a check for our bus; we worked hard to own it, and the company should step up to fix the design problems we’re dealing with. I’ll step off the soapbox now, but reading about these issues definitely gets me riled up!