Greatlakes coach builders

[Marc]

I just purchased a Greatlakes H2. Let me begin by saying, this is one of the best done frames and body I have seen. The upholstery is awsome, almost looks like it came from GM. So why would I complain? well, lets start at the front. I had to replace the torsion bars cause they wer not heavy enough. the wheels were tilted in and on the bump stops. $700.00 and a day later I am back up and rolling and guess what you can steer it now. They said we do them all that way and will not stand behind it. I can't even get a call back. The second battery is inside the coach behind the B piller. Just try to service that. God forbid it should blow up. The control system is a discontinued MTG. It has a fuse holder that comes out with the fuse, that can't be good. plus all the buttons stick so you have to remove them to turn them on and off. Great lakes says, call MTG, MTG says take it out and send it in, RIGHT!! then they installed the rear panel from behind the upholstery, so if you have to remove it, you have to take half the coach apart. not to speak of the fact the clients can't read what the buttons are, so you have to listen to relays clicking nonstop as they press each one till they get what they want. The AC sucks at best. they put all the vents on the floor so the people in the back seat get cool shoes. No return vents. there are two of those electical eyes, that look like lightning, one doesn't work..the girl at Great lakes said you can go to wall mart and get them for $24.00...she is a peach. then i found that the reason it didn't work was because they put the bottle for the fog machine right over it and it had a crack in it. leaked fog oil all over the that and the carpet. Out of the 6 strobes only one has a bracket to hold it in. the rest fall in under the seat. God forbid don't ask for the low end sound system, it is lower than low end. It is a sound storm. one 250 watt power amp to power two very crude looking subs, not worth even turning on. About all it does is fill the holes when speakers go. Shall I stop now? The list ghoes on, so if you think about a great lakes contact me first.

[Dean Schuler]

Marc, Can you post pictures of your vehicle here please...

[Marc]

sure, if I can figure out how to do it. what would you like to see, the good parts or all the stuff that is wrong?

[Marc]

Well dean I have no idea how to post a picture, but if you send me an email at mvalverde@dc.rr.com I will send some. It is a gorgeous coach, they have the right Idea, yet no clue. ZERO customer service and don't stand behind any part of it. I even gave them the name of a builder out here in california that would do the warranty work.

Marc

[Dean Schuler]

All the stuff that is wrong. My e-mail is info@signaturelivery.com .

[Alimo]

You DID check the vehicle at the point of delivery ? Didn't you ? Depending on how long you have had it you can refuse it and claim your money back. If on the other hand you feel that it would be worth taking on the work to make it good yourself, don't expect the builder to help you, as can be seen on another posting about builders in general !

[Marc]

Oh I have no problem with the work, I'll do that. Cause as you must know most Limousines are crap at best, it's just how well they covered up all the goofs. It's the big ticket items like torsion bars. I ate plenty on it.

[Alimo]

You know, I have to ask myself this question every time I see a posting about bad coachbuilding on here, lets suppose an owner of a coachbuilding company went out and spent $100,000 on a new Mercedes car for himself, AND there were some faults on it when he took delivery, now here's the question : what action do you think he would take ? What type of service would he expect ? If he got told to take a hike, what do you think he would say ?
Lets get this straight, Limo's are NOT cheap cars and it sickens me every time I hear that companies have warrantees that always seem to finnish at their shop door, if we all keep taking it we'll continue to get the same sad sorry service, I say this to all on here, post your problems every time and name and shame the bad guys, the only way we will get the service we deserve is to take our business where the word SERVICE means after sales customer care and satisfaction.

[Marc]

You are so right, The problem is we pay the money and we need to get it into service right away, we don't have the time to deal with it like you would if it were a personal car not making your living. great lkaes says well if you want to bring it in we will fix it.. LOL well hell that 2500 miles or more. what does a car dealer do? You take it to any dealer anywhere. Coach builders should find places to do the waranty work.

[Alimo]

I just can't believe that they say they send out all their H2 conversions with substandard torsion bars and suspension that sits on the bump stops, its called a test drive on completion that is supposed to spot problems like this, when they lowered the vehicle to the floor for the first time even a small child could spot the suspension problem, just who do they think they are dealing with ? a load of dummies ? By the way here's a tip for your next conversion, go to Coil Spring Technologies for the correct spec springs, they have a great computer aided system for getting it right first time ( its always worked for me)...so far !

[Marc]

I took it to Nova coach in redlands california to have upgraded torsion bars put on it. when i drove it in they said right off, that's not right. so they installed the right ones. made all the difference in the world. when i took it in for a wheel alignment, they ssid you need to address that before we can do anything. I couldn't steer it without both hands before I did that. with the original bars you could tell on the road that the only suspension you had was the tire pressure. By the way if you are looking for a good coach, check out Nova, they make a nice coach anyway you want it. Lionel is the owner, nice guy, and tells it to you straight. mind you he is not QVM, but have you ever taken a QVM Limo into a ford dealer? they almost laugh you right off the property. Tiffany is QVM. Once you drive out of the lot a happy Limo owner, you are on your own. they get to it when they feel like it BRING IT IN, LEAVE IT HERE.. Right!

[Rob at Tiffany Limo]

Originally posted by Marc:
I just purchased a Greatlakes H2. Let me begin by saying, this is one of the best done frames and body I have seen. The upholstery is awsome, almost looks like it came from GM. So why would I complain? well, lets start at the front. I had to replace the torsion bars cause they wer not heavy enough. the wheels were tilted in and on the bump stops. $700.00 and a day later I am back up and rolling and guess what you can steer it now. They said we do them all that way and will not stand behind it. I can't even get a call back. The second battery is inside the coach behind the B piller. Just try to service that. God forbid it should blow up. The control system is a discontinued MTG. It has a fuse holder that comes out with the fuse, that can't be good. plus all the buttons stick so you have to remove them to turn them on and off. Great lakes says, call MTG, MTG says take it out and send it in, RIGHT!! then they installed the rear panel from behind the upholstery, so if you have to remove it, you have to take half the coach apart. not to speak of the fact the clients can't read what the buttons are, so you have to listen to relays clicking nonstop as they press each one till they get what they want. The AC sucks at best. they put all the vents on the floor so the people in the back seat get cool shoes. No return vents. there are two of those electical eyes, that look like lightning, one doesn't work..the girl at Great lakes said you can go to wall mart and get them for $24.00...she is a peach. then i found that the reason it didn't work was because they put the bottle for the fog machine right over it and it had a crack in it. leaked fog oil all over the that and the carpet. Out of the 6 strobes only one has a bracket to hold it in. the rest fall in under the seat. God forbid don't ask for the low end sound system, it is lower than low end. It is a sound storm. one 250 watt power amp to power two very crude looking subs, not worth even turning on. About all it does is fill the holes when speakers go. Shall I stop now? The list ghoes on, so if you think about a great lakes contact me first. Sorry to hear of your problems. If you are ever interested in another limousine give me a ring. Thx Robrobbink@tiffanylimo.com

[Rob at Tiffany Limo]

Originally posted by Marc:
I took it to Nova coach in redlands california to have upgraded torsion bars put on it. when i drove it in they said right off, that's not right. so they installed the right ones. made all the difference in the world. when i took it in for a wheel alignment, they ssid you need to address that before we can do anything. I couldn't steer it without both hands before I did that. with the original bars you could tell on the road that the only suspension you had was the tire pressure. By the way if you are looking for a good coach, check out Nova, they make a nice coach anyway you want it. Lionel is the owner, nice guy, and tells it to you straight. mind you he is not QVM, but have you ever taken a QVM Limo into a ford dealer? they almost laugh you right off the property. Tiffany is QVM. Once you drive out of the lot a happy Limo owner, you are on your own. they get to it when they feel like it BRING IT IN, LEAVE IT HERE.. Right! Im sorry but i disagree for a QVM product to be honored you must first bring it to a dealer that works with the QVM program. They have to that is why they came up with this program to help limousine owners work thru problems that might occur. You see when you strecth a vehicle past the specs that ford gives the vehicles is unsafe. They put wieght restrictions on vehicles that the brakes and other vital fuctions can handle. thru testing QVM product is where they come up with these specs so it is proven fact. I owned and operated a limousine business for 5 years and all my vehicles where QVM from Tiffany Coachworks. needless to say i never had a single problem. but again that is just my opinion.robbink@tiffanylimo.com

[Dean Schuler]

I would recommend LCW over all others...Builder reps that post here should be talking about why their construction techniques are better, what type of rust proofing do they use, do they use the latest composite materials to have a lighter car ( a heavy car is bad ), type of charging & a/c systems, resale value, and references .

[Dean Schuler]

I am still waiting to hear the virtues of buying Tiffany from their rep...

[Rupert]

Dean,

what in particular is it that makes LCW your choice supplier? We hardly see any here in Europe (the continent - not the island part of it).

If your reply would not fit in this forum, please respond to office@amadeuslimo.com - thank you.

Have a nice Sunday evening,
Rupert
http://www.amadeuslimo.com

[Dean Schuler]

Rupert, Long experience with the stretch limousine trade. I have been to numerous coachbuilder plants to observe their techniques. Obviously I only purchase QVM these days but I would not hesitate to go to Craftsmen for a custom job. I like to check the quality of construction and the welds-type and how many. Material used-the new composites are super and make a lighter strong car. Heavy cars are BAD. Everyone boasts about great A/C, only a few really have it. Same with the charging system and rust proofing. ect. There are usually five builders I would buy from at any given time, LCW just happens to be it right now. They have exceptional veteran workers who know the business very well.
Originally posted by Rupert:
Dean,

what in particular is it that makes LCW your choice supplier? We hardly see any here in Europe (the continent - not the island part of it).

If your reply would not fit in this forum, please respond to office@amadeuslimo.com - thank you.

Have a nice Sunday evening,
Rupert
http://www.amadeuslimo.com

[Wade Randolph]

Originally posted by Rupert:
Dean,

what in particular is it that makes LCW your choice supplier? We hardly see any here in Europe (the continent - not the island part of it).

If your reply would not fit in this forum, please respond to office@amadeuslimo.com - thank you.

Have a nice Sunday evening,
Rupert
http://www.amadeuslimo.com

Rupert, Robert Logan of LCW recently stopped by my office with a brand new 120" 5-door car for my inpsection. From what I saw the car was very tight, seem very well built. I was very impressed with the customer documentation, including all schematics and owners manual on CD-Rom. Also each supervisor in the build of the car has to provide a signed checklist of the workmanship. I will definitely consider LCW for my next purchase.

[Dean Schuler]

Day 28 of waiting for Rob's reply. It must be a lengthy one to take this long.

[Jim30]

Reference to Tiffany, I have had mine for a year now and ZERO problemos other then some minor issues with an MTG part when I first got it. It's built well and is holding up great (knock on wood).

I have to agree with some of the ford dealers (in my local area), even so called "LIMO CARE" dealers don't even know what QVM means!

[Chicago Limo Drivers Needed]

My Great Lakes Build Trouble's
And they REFUSE to Fix Anything........

Problems found with the 220” Excursion

1) Vehicle was supposed to be completed before 12/28/04; it was not completed until 01/13/05. We were called on the 11th and were told that it would be ready for the 12th.
2) We were not able to serve a customer on New Years Eve resulting in a loss of business ($2200).
3) We were not able to have a photo shoot on 01/05/05 for a Bridle show magazine.
4) Drivers had to stay an extra day because the vehicle was not ready - 12th – 13th ($91.00).
5) Mastercom controls were supposed to be mounted over the passenger seat along with the stock DVD/TV housing.
6) 50% of the controls on the mastercom are not working (sound, glass, ECT).
7) Rear controls are not mounted in a position where they can be easily read or understood by clients.
8) There is a seam in the rear headliner where a chrome strip was installed to cover the seam. The chrome strip has already fallen off.
9) The rear TV’s are not facing the rear seats.
10) The drivers door is not aligned and the door sticks when the vehicle is loaded (frame flexing).
11) Weld and hammer marks are visible on the passenger side of vehicle.
12) The paint has been burned on the passenger side of the vehicle.
13) Rear dome lights are wired improperly. The lights are on when the door is closed and when the door is opened the lights go off.
14) No rum or vodka holders for the flask’s.
15) The interior pillar on the rear passenger side is not bolted in.
16) The trim on the driver’s side coach window fell off.
17) Wrong size glass holders.

And I also Have a H2 200" that I cant Steer

[Alimo]

It never ceases to amaze me how poor the service is for Limo vehicles costing around $100K, if you went to a car dealer that sold cars of that value they would be bending over backwards to make sure you were happy with your purchase before, during and afterwards and their main reason is simple, they want you to come back and buy again, when will the builders realise that one hit sales are not enough to make for a long term business and plan for the future by looking after their clients. Of course it would help if some had an idea of the word "Quality Control" shame that some don't seem to be able to find the words in their dictionary.