Purchase process

[tnrzryd]

Years ago when we bought our first coach, a Tiffin, the dealer didn’t require us to sign the final papers and hand over our money until after the PDI and everything was fixed. When we bought our Entegra, the dealer wanted all the money before we even showed up for delivery. We refused and negotiated that so final payment occurred after PDI.

Just curious which is the norm these days? Hopefully, it’s pay after PDI and all is fixed.

[GeezerViz]

We put some money down but there was not any expectation to sign the final papers until we were happy with the condition of the coach. However we put the money down on 12/31 and we have not taken possession (or signed paperwork), or completed a walk through as the dealer is still waiting for parts. 4 weeks for parts is ridiculous.

[lowejug]

I personally think some sorta deposit as a good faith gesture is appropriate and shows as long as the coach is what its intended and represented to be its a sale but to pay in full up front until the coach is to your complete satisfactory is not wise.. too many dealers forget your name once they get your money.. there pages of horror stories on that subject.. final payments keep everybody doing whats promised in the beginning...

[Gasman 2]

Originally Posted by GeezerViz

We put some money down but there was not any expectation to sign the final papers until we were happy with the condition of the coach. However we put the money down on 12/31 and we have not taken possession (or signed paperwork), or completed a walk through as the dealer is still waiting for parts. 4 weeks for parts is ridiculous.

What part is it that takes four weeks to get? Is that Entegra?

Richard

[MoHoGo]

Our Anthem was the first RV we had ever owned. NIRVC spent two days on the delivery PDI and we were in the coach two nights. I finally had to go find someone to sign the paperwork and take our check. Their comment was we just wanted to make sure all your questions were answered and that you were happy with the coach.

[brobox]

Tom Just me, but I would not pay for a coach again until it is ready. I did that with my coach, never again and it was after the PDI. That would be explained to the dealer up front, if and when, we purchase again. It's dealer inventory until is is salable. A deposit I have no problem with.

[EMEdmond]

This thread is particularly timely to me as we are going to pick up our first RV in a couple of weeks. We put down a deposit when we ordered and after reading many threads like this I planned on having two days to check everything out but not staying in the RV before we actually signed up and then a couple of nights at the dealership after to make sure we hadn't missed anything and get used to how things worked.

Does this sound reasonable? I certainly hope we don't have an issue that takes weeks to fix, but we bought our coach in Montgomery AL and Redbay is on the way home so I guess we could stop there if anything major came up.

Thoughts?

Thanks,
Eddie

[Hayman]

Our Lazydays experience: We ordered our 16 Anthem with a trade and gave a $2500 deposit at time of placing the order with a guaranteed trade in price 6 + months out. When our coach arrived we refused refused to pay in full ( offered to put more down, refused by dealer ) until after our PDI and corrections completed to our satisfaction. The dealer reluctantly agreed , allowed us to start transferring our stuff but we could not sleep in our new coach until paid in full.

[brobox]

Tom, to add to my experience, take a long test ride. After paying for my coach, it had to go back to Spartan I believe 6 weeks out of the 3 months it was at the factory. A good part of that 3 months was Precision paint, not all Entegra. 90% of my bad delivery was chassis and paint. The paint we could visually see, but the steering problem was on the test drive and showed up the worst on a curved highway. The bolt on items from Entegra was nothing.

[jmcarter]

We did our initial PDI and slept in the coach one night before finally paying in full. They indicated "no rush" on the final paperwork. But then that was NIRVC-Atlanta and they are a great bunch to deal with.

[smlranger]

Originally Posted by emerkel

This thread is particularly timely to me as we are going to pick up our first RV in a couple of weeks. We put down a deposit when we ordered and after reading many threads like this I planned on having two days to check everything out but not staying in the RV before we actually signed up and then a couple of nights at the dealership after to make sure we hadn't missed anything and get used to how things worked.

Does this sound reasonable? I certainly hope we don't have an issue that takes weeks to fix, but we bought our coach in Montgomery AL and Redbay is on the way home so I guess we could stop there if anything major came up.

Thoughts?

Thanks,
Eddie

Your plan is similar to what we did when we purchased our last two motorhomes at a dealer. Both were one owner used coaches. We paid a refundable down payment (refundable if coach was not as promised), did a thorough PDI with tech, then paid for the coach. We then stayed two days at dealer to identify/correct any issues not found in PDI. In both cases it worked well for us. We were careful to check out the dealer before purchase.

[MisterT]

some of you bring up a good reason that dealers are very hesitant to allow you to 'wait' to sign the final documents - AFTER you have SLEPT in the unit. Once that happens, they can no longer sell this vehicle as a NEW vehicle if you do not follow thru on the deal.

once a dealer is burned this way, they probably won't allow it to happen again, no matter the price point or type of RV.

[Hit_the_Rhod]

Originally Posted by brobox

Tom, to add to my experience, take a long test ride. After paying for my coach, it had to go back to Spartan I believe 6 weeks out of the 3 months it was at the factory. A good part of that 3 months was Precision paint, not all Entegra. 90% of my bad delivery was chassis and paint. The paint we could visually see, but the steering problem was on the test drive and showed up the worst on a curved highway. The bolt on items from Entegra was nothing.

Just curious, when did your vehicle warranty start?

As I understand it, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act states, among other things, that if the consumer product is unusable for it's intended purpose during the warranty period, the time after it was pointed out to the seller, until it was once again made usable for it's intended purpose, is added to the warranty period.

So, the time the manufacturer/dealer has it, waiting for parts, or whatver, and the coach is not usable to you needs to be documented, and you should receive documentation (in writing) that the factory warranty is extended by xx number of days, or better yet, until a specific date.

To those who are more familiar with this, if I am in error, please set me straight. Plus, if anyone has had PERSONAL experience on getting their warranty extended (not your Mother's hairdressers part time cabana boy) I'd love to hear specifics!

[tnrzryd]

Originally Posted by tnrzryd

Years ago when we bought our first coach, a Tiffin, the dealer didn’t require us to sign the final papers and hand over our money until after the PDI and everything was fixed. When we bought our Entegra, the dealer wanted all the money before we even showed up for delivery. We refused and negotiated that so final payment occurred after PDI.

Just curious which is the norm these days? Hopefully, it’s pay after PDI and all is fixed.

An additional note, in both cases we ordered the coach. Put a non-refundable deposit of $5-10k down.