Community Forums

Papaya · 04-13-2016, 01:05 PM

Hello from Canada.

I am browsing again for a class a motorhome and I know now again why I stopped that 18 month ago after my 1st attempt. I am browsing different online sites and one of them is ppl mh. I am the only one who thinks that they are a bit fishy? Why? 1st I brows and find something I would buy. Sending a request about details. Double checking and figure out that the tire sizes, model years etc. do not match. Second request - and the same "helpful sales person" starts to block any details. O.K. - "Is it possible to send someone to inspect the unit before I buy a ticket to Texas?" "No we don't do that bla bla ..."? I have no idea if the sales people at ppl mh are knowledgeable about MH or only doing it because they can't find a better job. (That's what I am thinking.)

Has anyone experience with PPL 1st hand? I am not asking people who "live across the lot". I'm worried that we fly down to Texas and the MH is a complete different model/year/ value etc. - or even worse - the mileage is manipulated too. I am paranoid?!

nbargolf · 04-13-2016, 01:22 PM

Don't know about the MH's but I have ordered parts through them and they deliver as expected. Just bought a Washer/Dryer combo through them at a great price. It was delivered on time.

moechester · 04-13-2016, 01:24 PM

I have dealt with PPL before. My experience is only with the Dallas/Ft. Worth location. I have never purchased anything from them but did look at a few motorhomes they had on the lot. My experience with PPL was positive. Staff seemed knowledgeable and friendly. I did not purchase anything from PPL. Ultimately, I wanted something different than they could offer. There is several large RV dealers in the south Ft. Worth area. If you are in the market to purchase make your trip a long weekend and look around.

Cranemec · 04-13-2016, 01:47 PM

Never dealt with them, but a good rule is to always follow your gut. There are too many other reputable dealers to buy from if you don't feel comfortable with this one.

barmcd · 04-13-2016, 01:59 PM

I have browsed their lots in Cleburne and Houston many times and actually did buy a travel trailer off their lot about 20 years ago. You are not buying from PPL, you are buying from a private seller and PPL facilitates that purchase. They generally have pretty accurate listings although their "condition statements" such as good, very good and excellent are subjective. They will let you take a test drive, but they make having an independent inspection very difficult. One of their "services" is making sure all systems work--for a fee. It's not an inspection like you most likely would like to have done. They won't move the coach or even provide shore power so you can have an inspector look at it. The service you receive depends on your salesman so try another if you haven't had any luck with your first one. One of their salesman pointed out some issues with an Alpine coach we were looking at in Cleburne and likely saved us a lot of money. Again, they are not a dealer and make no claims about the condition of any unit on their lot.

sprayman · 04-13-2016, 02:07 PM

they are a consignment lot, i would walk away, they do not seem cooperative.

You don't have time for that.

Jim

cb1000rider · 04-13-2016, 07:08 PM

PPL is a very large consignment presence in Texas. Some people report having good luck with them.

I'm in TX and was in your boat last year - looking for a solid Class-A DP. Here's what I know about PPL:
1) You can NOT tell the shape of the RV from the photos. I saw trashed RVs that looked great in their photos.
2) Their descriptions favor sale. And if you read the fine print "good" means something else.
3) You CAN get someone (on the phone) there to actually walk the RV and be your remote eyeballs. Their sales people want to sell you an RV, but can give you a better heads up than the photos.

Overall, I found a few DPs that were way off advertised condition:
1) Cig burns and smelled like smoke, although they had been cleaned.
2) Some were offensive to even enter
3) Very obvious water damage (rotten walls)

They get high traffic, so batteries are dead. You strike a deal and then get an opportunity to have the RV inspected (for a fee). The repairs are then negotiated. No test drives, no testing until contracts. Every single DP (without exception) was was completely offline when I was there.

I found that the DPs were by far the most abused and not-as-described bunch in the high season. Better luck with the non-motorized RVs.

I can't recommend a remote sale from your location. You'd need to be able to walk away. Texas is high heat, really hard on RVs. Be better to find one garage kept up north.

People DO report getting good deals from PPL and they do have a lot of RVs. They also list prior sale prices, so that's very helpful..

montyhp · 04-13-2016, 07:40 PM

I sent a cat technician to ppl to look at a bounder dp last fall. They couldn't get the Coach started and there was a Transmission error code that prevented the technician from further diagnosing without a lot of effort (at my expense). Needless to say i stopped the inspection right there.

I would be leery of consignment situations. Be patient and look for a private owner who has maintenance records and who had used the Coach consistently. They should let you have the Coach inspected by your own technician.

mhbell · 04-13-2016, 09:35 PM

Since they do take trades they must have a dealers license. I browse their RV's listed on line all of the time and have bought parts from them. Never had a problem. I plan on visiting there lots the next time I am in Texas both Houston and Cleburne.
Mel

FunGus · 04-13-2016, 09:54 PM

I made a deal and signed a purchase agreement on a 2008 Monaco DP there last April. The pictures looked good, the condition report was good, and I have the "helpful" salesman go out and do a walk-around on the coach for me with no negatives reported by him. I then drive over 1500 miles to go get my new coach and [moderator edit] That can't be the same coach my "helpful" salesman looked at and reported to be in excellent condition! Well, it was

severely checked paint, water leaks, bad tires, etc. The coach even had a small electrical fire while on the test drive! As it turns out it was my fault because it was easy to tell if the "helpful" salesman was lying, all I had to do was watch to see if his lips were moving!

NEVER AGAIN!!!

.

vtwinwilly · 04-13-2016, 11:34 PM

I've purchased parts from them several times. Always a positive experience.

I've also been to the Houston and Cleburne locations to look at coaches. As others have said, you really need to go there and view the units firsthand. The pictures and descriptions can be very misleading.

They do have some beautiful coaches there, but they've also got some dogs.

As for everything being off in the coach... I was at the Houston location a couple of weeks ago. My wife wanted to inspect a unit more closely so we found a salesman and he came out and powered everything up. Just had to ask.

H. Miller · 04-14-2016, 05:06 AM

We were into New Braunfels lot recently thinking of selling a MH. I mentioned to the salesperson it had a toad and then had to explain what a toad was!

barmcd · 04-14-2016, 05:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mhbell

Since they do take trades they must have a dealers license. I browse their RV's listed on line all of the time and have bought parts from them. Never had a problem. I plan on visiting there lots the next time I am in Texas both Houston and Cleburne.
Mel

Yes and they actually own a few of the coaches on the lot.

G-JLD9 · 04-14-2016, 07:08 AM

We are going to PPL in Cleburne and Houston this weekend. Since we need to be in Galveston on Monday we are leaving tomorrow and having fun looking at DPs all the way down. I have read good and bad about PPL but I think its going to be like any else, there is always good ones and bad ones on every lot. If I don't like what I see, I'm moving on.

What I have learned in the last 2 months of looking at rigs, is that my opinion of good is nothing like their opinion of good. I looked at a private party 2002 Dutch Star last Sat and they were asking 65k. It was on the high end to begin with and description was in stated as great with everything working, and maintenance routinely done. Very different when I looked at it, lots of tree branch scraps, checking on dark spots of paint, needs new tires(8 years old and weather checked), ball joint boots bad (Spartan chassis), tie rod boots gone, air leaks, rear air bags need attention, oil leaks, and trans out put seal leaking. There was more I found and didn't even ask to drive it because they were firm on there price. But the pics in the ad showed a whole different rig.

If you want me to take a look at a DP at PPL in Cleburne or Houston while we are there tomorrow and Sat, just let me know. I can do a quick look and tell ya if it is as described.

Jen