Often, visitors to this blog glance over the comment section. For that reason, I decided to post this entry which is a response to a comment from a Champion dealer in Utah. I do so in order to provide as much information as possible to potential unsuspecting buyers of Champion Genesis Redmand modular homes.
Much
of way you're saying it true. Certainly some of the repairs are easily
performed, however it all costs money. Re-plumbing an entire house is
not easily done, nor is it cheap. Having a modular home delivered that
was not built according to the plans that were approved by the County,
is not an easy, cheap repair.
Although many of the homes
discussed on this blog did come from the Champion Genesis Redman
Chandler Arizona plant, several did not. Until recently, the Champion
plant in Chandler Arizona was the only Champion facility claiming to
build homes that would meet the code requirements in California, hence
the choice of product was very limited. I say claiming, because
obviously they did not build anything of the sort.
Shoddy
electrical and plumbing installations performed at the plant are not
the responsibility of the customer or the contractor doing the
installation, they belong solely to Champion.
I have yet to meet a Champion dealer who does not have "reputable references" when asked?
Now
a question for you. How is the unsuspecting home buyer looking at the
Champion corporate website expected to know which plant produces a
quality product and which ones produce substandard products? Is there
anywhere on the website that states, "Champion Genesis Redman produces
substandard units at the Chandler facility, so please buy from another
plant if you want to get what you pay for?"
Taking it a step
further, we toured the Jefferson II on display at NAHB and were never
told about all of the problems. On the contrary, we were told that it
was an excellent product and that we should expect every Champion
Genesis Redman home to be of the same quality as the one on display.
Should we have expected that it only looked good on the surface! That
in the walls and under the floors, major parts were missing, poorly
installed or never installed at all???
Given; 1. that
purchase price of two identical modular homes from different Champion
facilities are the same and that one unit is from Chandler and the
other unit is from a different Champion plant, 2. the quality and
factory service is vastly different between the two, then, 3. so how is
it again that you "get what you pay for?"
I have no doubt that
you do your very best to provide your customers with a quality product
and a good overall home buying experience. The fact that you do not
purchase from the Champion Genesis Redman Chandler facility makes that
very clear.
Now, with more companies offering modular homes
throughout the West, particularly in California, potential buyers can
do their homework, including reading this and other blogs so that they
do not end up with a Champion Genesis Redman NIGHTMARE!!
9/25/2007 6:14 AM
Vivian wrote:
Question? I am about to purchase a champion mobile home model C11. The home was built in 2006. After reading your page I think I better ask some questions. Please advise me !! Reply to this
9/25/2007 6:33 AM
Mike wrote:
First, be sure and read the comments found in the right column from previous buyers of Champion products, particularly the last one by Bill and Mary. I am not sure you can ask enough questions to protect yourself. Determine which factory was responsible for building the home. Trying to avoid the Champion NIGHTMARE is like herding cats! Good luck with your decision, just remember, you can never ask too many questions or have too many answers.
10/6/2007 10:31 PM
Art wrote:
I am a builder who, over the past 15 years, has both constructed site-built homes and has completed modular homes. In the interest of full disclosure, my company has installed 18 Champion/Genesis homes to date among the 70 or so modulars we have installed/completed/worked on over the years.
I have found that a major factor in any customer's satisfaction is the completion process that takes place on site after the home leaves the factory. Huge issues can be created (or prevented/corrected) by the on-site contractor who may fail to correctly complete the roofing, HVAC, electrical, plumbing or cosmetic finishes. I have no knowledge of the specifics related to the experiences chronicled here; I would venture to guess that many of these horror stories find their roots in actions taken or overlooked by the installing contractor.
No doubt, mistakes and oversights take place on the production floor, but my experience with the modular manufactures with whom I and my staff have worked over the years (including Genesis) has been far superior to the experiences described in this blog. Mistakes, miscommunications and omissions have occured, but each was dealt with and resolved.
There are unscrupulous businesses of all stripes, construction included; I would however caution readers not to "throw out the baby with the bath water."
Though I may not agree with may of the conclusions drawn by contributors to this blog, I do concur with their advice that buyers must beware in any business transaction, and thorough research is critical prior to making a purchase as significant as a home. Reply to this
10/8/2007 3:45 PM
Mike wrote:
Art, I have no doubt that your experience is as you state and you can rest assured that our experience with the Jefferson II from the Champion Genesis factory located in Chandler Arizona is exactly as stated. The problems depicted in the photos along with the written descriptions are ALL straight from the factory and had nothing to do with the onsite contractor.
In fact, every sub on the job, framers, electricians, plumbers, HVAC, sheetrockers and painter shook their heads in disbelief at the poor quality of construction straight from the factory. Most all of these people have been in the trades 10-20 years.
Did any of your Genesis homes(using the term loosely) originate from the Chandler plant or were they built in other Champion Genesis facilities?
I strongly endorse modular homes, just not BS marketing and poorly built modular homes. I have recently watched a Guerdon modular home from setup to near completion. The home arrived structurally sound with no major problems. Minor problems were quickly addressed by the local representative and the factory, resulting in very happy owners.
We do agree that research is critical. We disagree however as to which modular home factories belong on the list when one starts doing the research.
There are so many choices to begin with, in good faith and fairness, Champion Genesis would never be on the list, right from the start.
10/8/2007 10:47 AM
jj wrote:
well we were thinking of a redman or a fleetwood---now i guess we'll go with fleetwood! LOL we've had several fleetwood mobile homes never a problem, and a fleetwood made motorhome-absolutley wonderful..... we never had heard of redman but really liked some of their models..we where actually looking into azchampion.com for our redman...but know i guess no way! you got any other dirt on az champion please email me is there any other brand besides fleetwood that you have heard good things about, like what about Laurel Creek homes? or what about factoryexpo that sells fleetwoods? thanks! Reply to this
10/9/2007 8:41 AM
Mike wrote:
As was mentioned in previous comments, both mine and others, Guerdon Homes builds a good home. Laurel Creek Homes, as I understand, builds good manufactured homes but only recently started to build modular homes out of their Arizona plant. I have heard more on the Champion Genesis Redman plant in Chandler Arizona, most of it is repetitive and all negative.
10/9/2007 7:18 AM
jj wrote:
what do you think of the plant that is located in Phoenix AZ? (factory expo building Laurel Creek homes)
(the chandler az factory expo does the champion,redman etc)
do you think the problem is to do with factory expo- or the actually modular companies? Reply to this
10/9/2007 8:51 AM
Mike wrote:
The problems I refer to are with Champion Genesis. Dealers have a choice as to who they to represent. Clearly, when one reads the comments from buyers around the country, Champion seems to care very little about making good on their products. There are many good modular factories offering buyers a broad spectrum of models to choose from and who stand behind their products, after the sale.
I really like their santa fe style made by cavco under the name of Durango. among alot of other models they offer. thanks again! Reply to this
10/21/2007 1:41 PM
Ron wrote:
We built two Cavico Durang homes and recieved a product that installed easy, had all its parts, and recieved great service. night and day between all our dealings with the Genesis product. Please have any who would like contact me by e-mail there is strength in numbers thanks.
is there any other brand besides fleetwood that you have heard good things about, like what about Laurel Creek homes? or what about factoryexpo that sells fleetwoods?
