Community Forums

Matt D · 10-14-2019, 06:39 PM

I’m sure not the expert on all things regarding dealers, but I’ve learned a few lessons.

The generator service isn’t done by the dealer. Only a very astute buyer would know, and ask for that to be performed.

The mileage is likely demo, test drive, fooling around miles. Subtract the distance from Middlebury to your dealer, and that is what they racked up.

If a dealer in Los Angeles were to order the coach, you automatically get a new coach with 2200+ miles on it.

Accumulating another 2000 miles over a year isn’t terribly surprising.

I’d pretty much forget about the possibility of the coach having been sold previously, but here is one way to check, assuming you don’t trust your dealer. Whenever a dealer sells a vehicle, they are supposed to provide the buyer’s name to register the vehicle with all of the major component manufacturers, such as Entegra, Spartan, Cummins, Allison, etc. This process continues from big pieces all the way down to the individual appliances within the coach, including TVs, Fridges, etc.

In addition, the dealer is supposed to apply for a Title at the time of sale. I know this doesn’t always happen with the crispness and precise timing that they extract funds from you, but that is how it’s supposed to happen.

As far as I know, the application for a Title is the cut line defining whether a vehicle has been sold initially, and whether or not it can be represented and sold as New, or must be sold as Used.

Games do get played at this point.

In this case, I think it’s fair to say you’ve learned some valuable lessons. Fortunately, none of these lessons will leave any lasting scars. My suggestion is to power through this small period of doubt, and focus on where you want to travel next.

Best Regards and congrats on the coach,

-Matt

aeneaus · 10-14-2019, 09:57 PM

Thanks to everyone for your replies. I appreciate the support - and the slap upside the head! Yes, I certainly should have asked more questions when negotiating with the dealer. Let this be a lesson to those (like me!) perhaps a little too eager to trade up.

So I had the generator serviced (and let's face it, it's a tiny fraction of the purchase price) and the mileage, well, it obviously didn't deter my purchase. I imagine most of that was travel to RV shows (the distances are greater in the west, you know!), and I'm as sure as I can be that it wasn't previously owned (however briefly) or a demo. All-in-all, it really is a lovely coach and we are delighted with it, and I suppose that is what ultimately counts.

Happy travels!

Butte64 · 10-15-2019, 05:18 AM

With that much usage you will want to make sure you have verified that every single thing works as it should. For example, it is easy to check if all AC units work but takes a little time to verify if all zones including floor heat work in gas heat mode. You also may need AquaHot service sooner than you expected.

RubiconTrail · 10-15-2019, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mwoodofd

Could have been a very short ownership from someone for many reasons (Health, upgraded to a different unit, or other reasons).

I don't know about other states, but in California, once a vehicle has been registered, by law it must be sold as "used".

Mr_D · 10-15-2019, 08:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wildtoad

I suspect as mentioned above it was taken to RV shows and used the gen while there.

Yep, very common to go to shows and run the gen.

jth camper · 10-15-2019, 09:28 AM

Enjoy the coach and move on.

jrugarber · 10-15-2019, 06:59 PM

Aeneaus,

I am not too proud to admit that I also purchased our 17 C/S sight unseen and purely on the strength of NIRVC's (Phoenix) reputation and professionalism in addition, with no accompanying maintenance records supplied, my naivete' was proudly on display.

I am fortunate that almost 13,00 miles later I have had no major issues, and just a few minor issues that were Operator "errors" with no resulting major impact!

I will say that with the help offered by many of the Owners i.e, Gary, Brobox, Cruzer, Matt, Flanz , Voltdoc, 757 Driver, and others too numerous to mention, you can usually, if not repair/fix, be pointed in the right direction to find a solution to your issue.
Congratulations on your purchase and Safe Travels going forward!

deaton · 10-15-2019, 07:27 PM

I too bought a 2017 coach with over 100 hrs on the generator. I didn’t catch it at the time. This was my third coach, so no excuse.

Yep, dealers don’t do maintenance on generators on the lot. For my 2020 unit, now on order, I’m doing factory pickup so that is one problem I’ll avoid.

aeneaus · 10-18-2019, 02:50 AM

Hi, all. I thought i would share with the group the response I received from Entegra when inquiring about the generator service. I hope that Brooke Houser doesn't mind me pasting her email reply (without edits):

"The dealer is responsible for keeping up with the maintenance once it has hits their lot. Entegra would be able to keep up with the hours that are on things once they are checked into the dealers lot. Some coaches are shown more to customers then other and it depends on how long it will sit in their inventory. The generator is Onan so it doesn’t have anything to do with Spartan. Usually the dealer would work with Onan directly if something is needing to be done. I’m sorry that it was over on the time that should have been serviced and I’m glad that you were able to get that done."

So there you have it. While Entegra has its expectations, I guess dealers are free to ad-lib. I'm not looking back but I will remember this going forward!