Palm Harbor warranty and Reputation vs Other manufacturers

[Andre and Tracy]

We are interested in purchasing a Manufactured Home as our first home on several acres near the Atlanta area if the land is available and affordable. We figure that this is a good way to invest in land and still be able to afford a nice home. We eventually plan on building our own home on the land in the future.

We have been very satisfied with the way we have been treated by the Palm Harbor Homes representitives but want to know more about thier reputation. From what we understand and have heard the quality of thier homes is very good and thier warranty and service is very good as well. We were wondering if thier prices and quality are comparable to other manufacturers that sell in our area.

We want to make an informed decision before we spend $100,000 + on Land and a manufactured home. If anyone has any information on Palm Harbors reputation as well as others we would greatly appreciate it. We are interested inlooking at other manufactured Home retailers in the area if thier quality and reps are as helpful as the Palm Harbor representitives.

Thank You in advance for any information you can give.

Andre and Tracy

[rmurray]

I am a regular contributor here...and to be fair I want to tell you that I work for Palm Harbor in GA...but that has not always been so...

I have been in the industry for almost 30 years...with PH only the last 9 months...

One fact I can attest to...I am stunned at the absolute obsession that Palm Harbor has with customer satisfaction....Everything about the company revolves around customer satisfaction....Most importantly is compensation of its management..service personell..even sales persons...all receive substantial customer satisfaction bonuses...The 5 year warranty (protection plan) is not matched in the industry...The Gold key service program has NO rival in the SE...

The PH story is long...let your sale person tell you it...be patient..listen..then compare with the others...Ask to see the new video about the PH's in this latest round of hurricanes..Watch that..you will not want any other..

[Bill Fry]

Murray,you sound like you have been totally Palm Harborized in 9 short months .

[rmurray]

Bill....

No question...I have owned a dealership...worked for other corporate retail companies (some who toot their CSI horn...but really it means nothing)..and for the last 7 years I worked for a local quality independent...

But none have rivaled the commitment to customer satisfaction as PH...This is the only company in the SE with factory...hourly finish crews who finish the customer home on site...fully 30% or more of their compensation is paid by customer satisfaction...after the customer has had the home for 6 months or more...talk about attention to detail...this is a whole different world..

In addition to the finish crews bonuses...all retail managers..sales persons..factory managers..factory QC persons...all receive CSI bonus money...sure helps put the attention on the customer...The last CSI company I worked for gave trophies...ok I guess...but does not help feed those college age money pits I have..

Even when I owned my own store I could not financially afford to reach that 100% customer satisfaction level...Some problems are just too costly for the independent dealer to sustain..

The only problem if there is one is time...Sales have been soooooo good in the SE that the plants we get our homes from are back logged for up to 3 months...With Saturday work schedules they have brought that back a little to a little more acceptable time frome..Success breeds different problems...pleasent problems to have for a business..

Time to get off my soap box...and get back to helping customers with info buying any home...there are many good ones out there..and knowledge is power..Your comments have always been great here...keep it up...

[David Oxhandler]

Check out the 2005 Grissim Report on the Top 25 Manufactured Home Builders. It offers home owner satisfaction ratings for the highest 25 volume builders in the country.

You will find it on line at www.mfdhousing.com/top25

[David Oxhandler]

Check out the 2005 Grissim Report on the Top 25 Manufactured Home Builders. It offers home owner satisfaction ratings for the highest 25 volume builders in the country.

You will find it on line at www.mfdhousing.com/top25

[John]

Just wondering why we don't see Hart Homes on this list? From what i have seen they are as good if not better than most on this list.

[David Oxhandler]

The TOP 25 list is based on who built the most homes. Hart builds a great product. They just were not in the top 25 volume builders last year.

[Robert]

The reason that you don't see Hart is that they are owned by Clayton.

[trmimo]

Hart is owned by Forest River, not Clayton.
Also, these are the 25 largest manufacturers who responded to the survey.
Manufacturers that don't respond to the suvey don't get on the list regardless of volume.
That is how a little company like Pinegrove makes the list.