Plam Harbor

[ed]

Does anyone have an opion on Palm Harbor Homes?

[Crabby Old Mrs. X]

As stated elsewhere on this forum, my experience with Palm Harbor has been limited because of the forced sales pitch you have to listen to before you can ever look at the models. It DOES seem like they build a good house but do I really CARE if the door hinges will hold up 150 pounds? This is one of the "great" features they pointed out to me. And if the door only weighs 30 lbs (just guessing) why would it be necessary to put on a hinge that will hold up 5 times that weight? The hard sell doesn't work with me and I think there are other good quality houses out there (Clayton, Horton, for instance) that don't cost as much.

[rmurray]

Lots of home have these same hinges....This is one that we are trained to point out...They actually tell us to grab the door and swing on it..My whole 250 lbs...

My first question was like yours...why..if the customer is dumb enough to swing on the doors...they probably do not care about high quality homes..

I do point out that these hinges have pins that can be removed to take the door down...This might be handy someday...but door capable of holding 450 lbs (3 hinges)..make no sense//

[Lynne S]

Our first visit to a PH lot was very high-sales pitchy, but to their credit they showed up the floor plan we ended up with...a wonderful floor plan, but the combination of pressure, lack of information and pressure to use their financing turned us off. I called a second lot later and said I would only come in if they'd leave the book in the office and skip the *speeches* They did and we got down to bsiness quickly.
From what I can gather after having gone through the PH experience, the quality of the home is great, but, the sales person can make all the difference in how it goes. In our case, we had some issues that made it a less then positive experience and took some of the joy out of getting into our new home, but the home itself I don't regret one itty bitty bit!!!

[Teresa]

I'm sorry to see you have had a bad experience at a Palm Harbor dealership.
We are all not the same. We do not condone the treatment of our customers that way, and if you come in and at least give us your name and address and phone # ( I will not bug you). I will give you a key and price list to look at every home on the lot. We also have new products coming out soon. Alot of lots already have them. Please feel free to call. I'd love to show you how we treat our customers. Thanks
Teresa Crawford
Sales Manager
Tuscaloosa, AL
1-888-927-7256

[Not So Crabby Old Mrs. X]

I just spoke with both Ed and Teresa of the Tuscaloosa, Alabama Palm Harbor dealership and WHAT A DIFFERENCE it was from the two Georgia dealerships (Marietta and Braselton). They both stressed their dealership's emphasis on good customer service and letting the customer look at the models without the enforced sales pitch, so I guess I shouldn't have judged the whole company by two bad dealerships. I had assumed that the drill-sergeant routine was company mandated, but I see I was wrong. Not only that, but Teresa lives in a Palm Harbor herself - which is about the best endorsement you can offer.

[Charlotte Maness]

I have had similar experiences with P.H., one in Grand Junctin, Colorado, the other in Farmington, N.M. The one in Grand Junction all but took me by the arm and escorted me off the property when I told them I wasn't ready to buy, yesterday.

The one in Farmington, very willingly spent his time with me, even though I told him the same thing, answered my questions and walked through homes with me.

Farmington would be my choice.

[Crabby Old Mrs X]

I guess it's a question of the particular manager and the region. Teresa and Ed in Alabama are both FROM Alabama where Southern charm and good manners are still in effect. Marietta, GA is no longer a southern town, having been taken over by people from another part of the country a long time ago.

[John]

My expierence with PH has not been bad. I did sit through their presentation but that was good because I had a lot of questions to start with. It seemed if I went away from the presentation the sales person "will have to check on that". The salesman we dealt with took us through three homes than handed us the keys and said those were the three he thought we would like but feel free to look around at all the others. I look at construction and my wife looks at appearence and the PH are well presented, grass lot vs gravel, gives it a neighborhood look. I like the Austin homes because of the 8' side walls and upgraded features. I still tend to gravitate toward an independant dealer over a factory owned because they have different manufacturers and they are local. The independants I delt with are well versed on their competition where the PH factory site was not although he does stay in touch to see what I have decided.

[Lea]

I'm closing on my Palm Harbor home next week. I had a wonderful experience with the guys in New Bern, NC...well beyond what I had been led to expect from reading this forum. I did my research, with the help of "the book," and Palm Harbor fit every need I had at a really good price for an excellent product. I've done most of the business long distance...Maine to North Carolina....via email, and everybody, including the banker and attorney has been fantastic.