Monaco Coach is bankrupt
Jenson Hagen
It seems the Oregon based Monaco Coach will not survive this downturn. Their most recent Chapter 11 filing means that nearly all employees have been sent termination notices. The company, which operates out of Coburg, Oregon just north of Eugene, appears poised to sell off the remaining assets.
Shares worth as much as $29.93 sold for as low as a shiny nickel this week.
Will new ownership come from outside Oregon? Will the company be completely scrapped? Will ex-employees struggle to find suitable employment around the Eugene area?
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7:00 p.m.
Mar 5, '09
Sad. The RV market is abysmal right now. As I noted yesterday, the NYSE had also delisted the stock, for the reason Jenson cites. I'd heard they'd laid most but not all off, but that shutdown was also an option. Sounds like it became the only one.
Mar 5, '09
I interviewed there not long ago and realized then that exec management and ownership was completely oblivious to the risks from the macroeconomy. Yeah, around $100K is real good money in Eugene, but remember that scene from "Titanic" when the young tycoon is trying to buy his way onto a life boat and the deck hand throws the money in his face?
That said, Monaco was a good employer. They offered great benefits to the people on the line, they paid living wages, but they caught a lot of crap for the layoffs they made. Liberals can't have it both ways. Monaco tried to do the right thing and killed itself in the process.
Mar 5, '09
No loss, except for all the employees, their families and vendors affected.
Mar 5, '09
Monaco Coach built a great product, paid good wages and hage pretty darn good benefits. Unfortunately their product was always a very high end, disposable income product. Minus the occasional touring band or artist that NEEDS such a coach, the rest were purchased by the very affluent.
I hope that they are able to weather the current economic situation, but have my doubts. Look for our friends at Harry & David to continue to fall as well.
Mar 5, '09
...then again, a reminder that one man's 'disposable income' (otherwise so often cited here as being a sign of an insufficient level of taxation) can be another person's 'living wages and pretty darn good benefits'...
Mar 5, '09
I recently went to a big RV show at the Expo Center and was dismayed that almost all the manufacturers so were oblivious to changes in the economy. Virtually all the motorhomes and trailers featured there were humongous. There was one cool motorhome that was decked out with solar panels and a lot of other green effects, and ran on biodiesel, but even it was longer than the average TriMet bus.
One would think that at least a few companies in the RV industry would have had some foresight, or at least niche marketing sense, to put out a smaller scale RV. I've owned several small vintage trailers made from the late 50s to the early 70s, most of which one can tow with an ordinary four-cylinder sedan. But at this RV show, nothing like that was available new.
Monaco wasn't the first major RV outfit to file for bankruptcy. There were great deals to be had at the RV show on certain brands, which were sold without warranty because the company was folding. More bankrupcties are looming.
Maybe it's time for a transit agency to snatch up all this idle inventory and put them to use for this idea: http://unconventionalfolly.blogspot.com/
Mar 6, '09
I'm glad they were good employers and paid good wages. Their product however, was emblematic of the giant financial bubble that was the basis for our economy and not something 99% of our population either needs or can afford.
Mar 6, '09
The reason I can loan my big brother all the money he and his little wife will ever need is that I understand the difference between a "want" and a "need".
Nobody NEEDS an R.V.
Sorry.
Everyone, especially at KXL, needs a teacher.
Mar 6, '09
Posted by: Kurt Chapman | Mar 5, 2009 8:12:39 PM
Monaco Coach built a great product,
Please elaborate/educate on any acceptable use for their "great product".
At least they won't be defrauding the courts, like Freightliner.
Why do you all hold the workers to a different standard than the company? Another bye for the hobby breeding? If so, how can you criticize what an RV does to the environment? It's nothing like an extra kid, not counting all the bad choices they inspire their parents to make.
Mar 6, '09
"Great product." Quality workmanship and you could get anything you wanted to pay for. Not my cup of tea, mind you, (I still camp in a tent), but great if you like that sort of thing.
Mar 6, '09
I bought one of their $250K plus rigs made in Indiana and the workmanship sucked! They did things in the assemby that labor should have been ashamed of. The warranty work must have cost them a fortune. Labor had it's head as deep in the sand as management.
Mar 6, '09
Don't be too hard on the RV industry. Many of us have been hit with financial ruin and live in our RVs. I live in a fifth wheel made by Monaco and love my little "condo on wheels". Needless to say, I don't travel as much, but this is the least expensive way to live. People living in RV parks out of necessity is increasing for the well off and the poor.
There are many RVs out there for today's world. They are smaller and lighter. RV shows have been for the full timer. The shows haven't changed much, but the products have.
Mar 6, '09
Monaco is just another example of reactive business planning. Communities need to begin to look at themselves and see how industry, government, education, and resources (people, natural, and financial) can be examined to determine the appropriate course of action for their economic future. As long as the four are working opposite, or not in concert with one another, we will continue to see big and small business fail without the support of the community. Discovering what it is that keeps a community moving forward is vital, and will create long-term financal sustainability.
Mar 6, '09
Comrad Hagen this Good news. We can only hope company is completely scrapped. We need green jobs. Not jobs that contribute to pollution.
Mar 6, '09
Please elaborate/educate on any acceptable use for their "great product".
"Acceptable use"?
Mar 7, '09
Vincent Please elaborate/educate on any acceptable use for their "great product". "Acceptable use"? B I think he means acceptable to those un-accomplished Oregonians who value their own deluded view of the world over other people's jobs, other people's standard of living and other people's general well being. In other words: "we don't need no stinkin family wage jobs when we can have minimum wage green jobs." That is why they elect progressives.
B
Mar 7, '09
I worked for Monaco at the Coburg plant(worked is the key word) I got laid off with the 2,000 other people the only ones that are left is the office people. They did pay pretty good for not needing experience to work there. It was a good company to work for I'll miss it.
Mar 7, '09
I just got laid off last Monday from Monaco. I can tell you the main reason the company failed is they did too much for the customer. That's right too much. Motorhomes that were several years old a customer could come in and get fixed for free. Many times I would look in the work history on the coach and there would be no history of the customers complaint and Monaco would fix it anyway. The customer would be in the lobby start bitching and get it free every time. Anyone that says this is not true is a liar.
Mar 7, '09
The problem wasnt in doing too much for customers. The problem was poor workmanship by employees. Having to return to have a job done over, is costly to the customer and the company.
I have waited for days for work that could have been done in three hours, instead of five days. It was not free, it cost me dearly.
A loyal Monaco Coach owner,
Mar 8, '09
I think that Monaco is going down like they deserve. I bought one of their jewels to treat ourselves to something new in an RV. It has been babysitting Monaco and Lazy Days ever since. I am looking for the dealer to go under also. I can live with their junk, but it looks like they poisoned themselves. Mad customers tell other customers and then money isn't spend on more junk. Then bankruptcy. I can't say I am sorry for Monaco. They bought their own ticket for this ride.
Mar 8, '09
As a long time owner I can tell you that person that worked there is right. Anytime a customer at the Wildwood Fl Service center started to complain they got it for free. Do you really think after 3 years you should still get something for free that was never worked on prior. If you do you are wrong. The techs, the service writers and everybody else were great. One person mentioned paying dearly. Come on. You stayed there for free, Your electric was free, your water was free, to dump was free. By the way your talking I'm positive everything was free. All you had to do was it was "always a problem" and you got it for free. You know it and I know it. Many times people recall the one or two bad issues and forget all the good things Monaco Coach is about.
Say it anyway you want Good Will killed Monaco Coach.
Mar 8, '09
Say it anyway you want Good Will killed Monaco Coach.
And their bell-ringers piss in a bottle for 1/2 the take!
Mar 8, '09
Posted by: karl | Mar 6, 2009 3:59:44 PM
Comrad Hagen this Good news. We can only hope company is completely scrapped. We need green jobs. Not jobs that contribute to pollution.
WunderBlunder doin' the Lars twitter again. Nuke it! He thinks you're soft compared to Kari and Carla that have learned to nuke whatever slimes out of his IP address on sight, and he's been too timid to follow-up. You have to stand up to bullies.
Tell your parents to send you to the Carribean for two weeks next year. It was nice your taking some time off. The orignal pseudonym is a reference to their sex life, no?
You tolerate that kind of comment spam and, guess what? Carshlock is emboldened to repeat his comment spam. Keep indulging and maybe you can get Terry Parker and Richard-less wonder to empty their copy buffers as well! What sense does it make to put a person's real name in the spam filter, but not blacklist an IP address that has done nothing but post pure comment spam, every time? WunderBlunder has never made any statement of opinion or taken a position on anything! He simply shows up, pastes in a statement from right-wing talk radio, and leaves. Do you think those flash ads that say, "What do you think about Sarah Palin? Click to vote", are real? If it has political content can you not see that it's pure spam?
Mar 9, '09
My parents own a Monaco. They bought the extended warranty. Since Monaco has filed for bankruptcy, does this mean that their warranty no longer exists? If not, are they entitled to any money back that they paid for the extended warranty?
Mar 10, '09
Extended warranty should be from an independent insurer. If the insurer is solvent your folks are Ok.
Mar 11, '09
I am the warranty Manager at an RV dealership in Quebec, Canada. Frank is right, extended warranty is usually from an independent insurer so no worry to have there.
One good thing to remember though is that the only waranty no longer available on the Monaco's RVs is the 1 year given by Monaco itself. All additional warranty given by Monaco's sub-contractor is still valid; like the appliances that generally have a 3 year coverage, the frame, axles and suspension between 1 to 2 years coverage, ect...
Go through the documents that you got when you purchased your unit, this will help you figure out what is still covered or not or take the model and serial number out of your appliances, furnace, a/c ect and contact there manufacturer directly.
Hope this helps.
Mar 11, '09
My wife and I just bought a new 2009 Monaco Camelot 42 foot motor home a few weeks ago. I just talked with the salesman at DeMartini RV in Grass Valley, CA, and he confirmed that Monaco would not approve any warranty work while they are under reorganization. He did say that most components are under separate warranties from the different manufacturers. He encouraged me to buy the "extended care" insurance program which is offered through a company called Prizm, which sounds like an excellent idea. Other than driving it home from the dealer, we haven't used the rig yet, so don't know if there are going to be any warranty issues. From what I understand, there almost always are some problems with a new rig. DeMartini has a good reputation and still has a full service department that can do any work on the rig. Only problem is we;ll have to pay them for it. One of the big reasons we went with Monaco is that we heard the stories of great customer service when you took your units to their Coberg plant, even years after the warranty had run out. We got the motor home for about 34% below MSRP. We thought we were getting a super deal. If we had waited another month, we probably could have gotten it for a lot less. Oh, well, such is life! Any comments? Thanks.
Mar 12, '09
MONACO YOU LET US DOWN AND THOUSANDS OF OTHERS. WEALL TRUSTED YOU.
Mar 13, '09
We bought a Monaco motor home from Turning Wheel RV in Ocala, Florida and took delivery last in May. Believing Monaco to be a high end, quality coach, to our surprise and disappointment, there was an amazing amount of sloppy workmanship in the coach we bought. We are now stuck with a motor home that still has warranty issues and Monaco isn’t picking up the tab.
We had two Bounder motor homes in the past and were well pleased with the quality of their workmanship and performance. The only reason we didn’t buy another Bounder was that all their floor plans have changed and we couldn’t find one that we felt we could live with.
My opinion is that somewhere along the way motor home designers lost their minds. In an attempt to make larger, fancier coaches they designed out basic practicality, particularly storage. The two 34-foot Bounder motor homes we owned in the past had more inside and outside storage than many of the much larger, fancier ones. Also as they made them bigger and fancier they also came with a much bigger price tag. Of course Fleetwood has also filed for bankruptcy too.
Now it’s sad to say that those of us who bought within the last year are stuck with products that are substandard to what they were in the past.
Mar 13, '09
I use to work for Monaco years ago. Between 96-99,. I remember how we started making just a few coaches a week, to later at the end making up to 15 coaches a week. Later, friends that still worked there when I left told me they were making at least 20 a week. Of course that all changed by the end of 2008. When I worked there, I always use to wonder who is buying all of these expensive coaches? Well obviously the rich and senior citizens or those people that sell there homes to buy one. But still, I use to think, how long can this really last? Then boom! the economy goes hay-wire and now luxery is not such a great thing anymore. It just goes to show that the finer things in life are not always as important than the simplicity things of life. I am truely amazed how this company never considered making cheaper or more inovative ways to build affordable motorhomes. I'm sure there's tons of reasons for the fall of Monaco, but I do believe that one of them could have been some degree of greed; demanding continual high profits and not to mention building more and more coaches a week; no wonder they went into debt.I'm sure management was not going to let up on thier salary being tampered with either. I have nothing againts the company in general, they were good to their employees and my heart goes out to them.
Mar 13, '09
I use to work for Monaco years ago. Between 96-99,. I remember how we started making just a few coaches a week, to later at the end making up to 15 coaches a week. Later, friends that still worked there when I left told me they were making at least 20 a week. Of course that all changed by the end of 2008. When I worked there, I always use to wonder who is buying all of these expensive coaches? Well obviously the rich and senior citizens or those people that sell there homes to buy one. But still, I use to think, how long can this really last? Then boom! the economy goes hay-wire and now luxery is not such a great thing anymore. It just goes to show that the finer things in life are not always as important than the simplicity things of life. I am truely amazed how this company never considered making cheaper or more inovative ways to build affordable motorhomes. I'm sure there's tons of reasons for the fall of Monaco, but I do believe that one of them could have been some degree of greed; demanding continual high profits and not to mention building more and more coaches a week; no wonder they went into debt.I'm sure management was not going to let up on thier salary being tampered with either. I have nothing againts the company in general, they were good to their employees and my heart goes out to them.
10:54 a.m.
Mar 14, '09
There is a silver lining to all this. Monaco's owner was a leading contributor to Republican causes. Lots of money was donated to Kevin Mannix and his several quixotic campaigns. The records might reveal that Monaco contributed to Sizemore and other nut jobs.
Mar 22, '09
The Obama government has killed Monaco. By vasilating on the bank crisis, going from week to week saying they are going to do one thing and then the next saying something else, they are prolonging the crisis and causing the banks to be frozen in time. Without money this industry is dead and the longer the money problem goes on, the more will fail. Could this be what Obama wants???
Mar 22, '09
I worked for Monaco in Wildwood fl. I can only say that the entire staff from the office personal to the techs were only concerned that the repairs were done to customer satifaction only, no effort in quality was ever to be sacraficed. Monaco coach co. was the most rewarding employer I have ever experienced.I will forever miss my job and all the wonderful people I had the pleasure of working beside.
Mar 25, '09
I'm the dealer from Canada and yesterday we looked for requested axles warranty through Lippert directly, as usually done, and we got the "bad" surprise to being told that the warranty they give is to R-Vision, not the owner and that we needed to contact R-Vision. ah! ah!
They say that the warranty service they provide to the dealers and owner is part of an agreement with R-Vision. Did someone else had the same "surprise"?
Please let me know.
Mar 25, '09
I worked for Monaco for five years in the IS department and had contact with all segments of the business, here and in Indiana and Florida at times, and I can only speak to the quality of the employees and that was very good to excellent. I am sixty years young and now I am unemployed and because Monaco was their own health insurer I am also without health care even though I have paid all my COBRA premiums. What is wrong with this picture? It isn't the workers who deserve better. I can't say how this came to be as I wasn't at that level but I can say it wasn't because of the workers on the line and in service - they were always trying to make Monaco a better product. Someone should seriously ask how the workers could end up without health care insurance when they have done everything right?
Mar 28, '09
I feel for the employees. I got caught up in the automotive down turn in which no one appeared to care. Now, Michigan is will pay the price for not attending to business. Monaco Coach is the same mentality; the employees will suffer, but the management walked away with full pockets and lots of disposable income. In American Society only the workers get hurt.
Monaco was cranking out so many versions of the same thing with fit and finish problems, high warranty claims it is not a big surprise to those that follow manufacture trends. That is the real case with Monaco; the fit and finish just wasn't there, coupled with high warranty claims, and the rest is history.
I visited the Indiana Plant, and final inspection and test was substandard. The real inspection was left to the dealerships and customers. Not Good Business! The customer's time is valuable as well, and it should not be waiting for months for parts and service. That is what really killed the company.
Low warranty and repairs; good for business!
Mar 28, '09
As a former employee in Indiana, I agree, the units were substandard. Anyways, Monaco has screwed everyone out of any cobra benefits. Horrible people.
Mar 29, '09
We are full-time RVers and need to buy a new rig for health reasons. I have fallen in love with the 2008 and 2009 Monaco Monarch motorhome. Comments on this site sound pretty unfavorable but I wonder if similar comments would appear about other manufacturers if I could find comment sites for them. For instance, my second choice would be the Fleetwood Southwind. When we bought our Winnebago new 5 yrs ago, we drove it off the lot and have had no warranty issues with it at all. Comments here imply that this might not be the case with the Monarch. Any comments or suggestions about whether we should buy the Monarch if we can get a great deal and how we could deal with the warranty issue?
Mar 29, '09
i worked at the coburg plant and i will say that like any place you have good workers and you have bad ones.most of the time i found that the workers wanted to do the right thing but were not allowed to, production was the word of the day and the lack of individual accountability.i know of a few times that leads wanted to fire someone but not in this day of liberalism.after a while of seeing poeple who should be fired a person some times gets discouaged and loses there edge.