Community Forums

brucev · 02-11-2016, 01:47 PM

I am far too skeptical of sales people. It doesn’t sound like you are asking for a full blown inspection, just that everything works which they should have done when they took it in on trade or after buying at auction. Sounds more like they want to get you there so they have a chance of selling you something after they get you on site. When I was looking for a used toad I made arrangements over the phone for the dealer to take it to a local Chrysler dealership and I paid the Chrysler dealership directly for the inspection. Turns out it had a leaking rear seal and I didn’t buy it. It cost be like $200 but it beat buying a vehicle that was going to leak all over my drive.

beaverfever · 02-11-2016, 03:46 PM

also a lot of dealers have consigned stock and are not going to invest their money in another persons rig.

TarheelGal · 02-11-2016, 06:15 PM

I guess we got lucky. When we went to look at the pre-owned motorhome we ultimately purchased, it was super clean inside and out. We did not contact the dealer ahead of time to discuss the rig, make an offer, or even make an appointment; we just showed up. Fortunately, it looked every bit as good as the photos on rvtrader, and we found nothing more than a few minor problems during the PDI, which the dealer took care of. They had even replaced the carpeting at some time prior to our seeing the unit! It was not a consignment unit, they owned it, which I am seeing from these posts does make a difference.

Some dealers are definitely better than others. We purchased from Independence RV in Winter Garden, Florida. They had excellent reviews, so we felt very comfortable buying from them.

V3600 · 02-11-2016, 07:17 PM

From my limited experience it appears that far too many dealers want to do as little work and spend as little money as possible. I was at Lazy Days Tucson and the used Class A's were filthy on the outside. Salesman said that it is too big a deal to try to keep them clean. Auto dealers, with acres of new and used cars, manage to keep them clean and in presentable condition.

mojoracing · 02-11-2016, 07:23 PM

I have worked for dealers in the past that did not recondition their used units until they were sold. This always bothered me. I currently run a dealership and the first thing I made sure of was that we recondition all our used units. Yes, cash can be tied up but a nice clean coach with everything working SELLS FASTER AND FOR MORE MONEY!!! I always tell my guys that I dont want to have to make excuses for a unit. Excuses cost me gross profit. When someone says, we'll take it if you fix X,Y and Z, those repairs cost money. When we recondition the unit, we know what our cost is going to be going in and price the unit appropriately. Maybe in the end the coach will cost a customer a bit more but i've found they will pay a bit more for a nice unit thats ready to go.

Brian W · 02-11-2016, 07:52 PM

Same at our dealership as Mojoracing. All used units get cleaned inside and out, and then a Pre-PDI is completed to identify any problems and get them fixed. It's easier to price the unit if you know how much you truly have in the unit.

Wbonsell · 02-12-2016, 09:04 AM

Thanks for all the replies. Seems the practice is to wash and clean, put it on the lot, advertise and develop some interest. Well, we are interested in this 2008 unit, but will have to solidify a deal with the down payment before they take it into their shop for a PDI. Coach appears to be in good condition, but I guarantee I will spend HOURS with the tech checking everything before I drive away.

Now to just figure out how much I fare negotiating the price. Also would like them to throw it a 1 or 2 year warranty. Wish me luck.

brucev · 02-12-2016, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mojoracing

I have worked for dealers in the past that did not recondition their used units until they were sold. This always bothered me. I currently run a dealership and the first thing I made sure of was that we recondition all our used units. Yes, cash can be tied up but a nice clean coach with everything working SELLS FASTER AND FOR MORE MONEY!!! I always tell my guys that I dont want to have to make excuses for a unit. Excuses cost me gross profit. When someone says, we'll take it if you fix X,Y and Z, those repairs cost money. When we recondition the unit, we know what our cost is going to be going in and price the unit appropriately. Maybe in the end the coach will cost a customer a bit more but i've found they will pay a bit more for a nice unit thats ready to go.

Where were you when I bought my coach. We need a dealer in SoCal with a little integrity.

Danielsand · 02-12-2016, 09:49 AM

My experience was the same last month. I drove 800 miles (one way) to look at the coach. Inspected it myself (I was a car dealer in my younger years). Told the dealership owner (I don't deal with salesmen) what I want him to fix, and the price I'm willing to pay after it's fixed. He accepted my offer, and I left 5K deposit in cash. This was the third trip to look at the stuff, and not the longest (drove to TX 1100 miles one way, with Prevost mechanic to look at Prevost, that was not described honestly). Drove for four hours (one way) through SoCal traffic to see a Vogue, that was described to be "like new", to find a POS that wouldn't even start.

It took three weeks to fix the stuff I asked for on the one I ended up buying (Aquahot, and the in tank fuel gauge sending unit). I drove 800 miles one way again, and paid the rest in cash. I expected to do minor stuff myself (rattling cabinets, adjusting cargo bay doors, front radio not working, detailing inside and outside), and considered this to be my "sweat equity".

It took me two days to detail the inside (came back like new), radio had the antenna cable unplugged (hence no reception), and all the bay doors/cabinets are fixed (only screwdriver adjustments were needed). Today I will lightly buff the outside, and lay a nice coat of carnuba wax on her.

I could sell the coach for 10K over what I paid for it at this point (have offers already), but I won't (can't find another one like that).

I fully agree with the dealer that posted in this thread that he does "recon" (dealer slang) on the unit before it's offered for sale. Clean units without "issues" bring more gross, and sell faster. Questionable units can be sold quickly only to "roaches" (another dealer slang), and that's not the clientele I wanted to work with. Given,....I never sold RVs (I had VW, Saab, Subaru, Buick, and Isuzu franchise), and my philosophy was "low gross - high volume".

As far as "MHs for sale are filthy on the lot" .......it must be hard to keep the outside clean. I sold (mostly) new cars in the Southwest, and I had the cleaning crew coming twice a week (at night). It was a battle to keep them clean. And since the cleaners don't use any suds (and sometimes go cheap on the "dirt lifting agent"), I had to deal with swirl marks at the time of sale (buffing them out on the brand new car). That's why I suggest to my friends that are buying new cars, to request the dealer to run it through the carwash BEFORE the money is on the table. There are waxes/products that very effectively hide the swirl marks, until the car is washed for the first time. Since I also owned two car washes, I know how many times clients tried to blame the carwash for the swirls that appeared after the first wash. But I digress. Sorry.

Motor7 · 02-13-2016, 12:18 PM

I was hot on the trail of a Class A in AZ...it was at a Camping World. Since I was 2,000 miles away I put a deposit on it & had a buddy from Phoenix go over the coach for me. He found a lot of issues, glaring ones were the brakes that were barely functioning & de-lam in numerous places.

When I read the list of issues, the salesman said they would take care of all except the de-lam prior to me picking up the coach. Call me a pessimist, but I was not going to fly and buy based on their word so I requested my deposit back. It kinda ruffled their feathers, but imho sending that coach out on a test drive with faulty brakes is a really bad idea. The de-lam should have been mentioned prior to me putting a deposit down(I hate surprises) even though it would not be a deal breaker.

So, dealerships can continue to do business this way and waste a lot of their time and their customers time. Or, they can take care of the basic known issues prior to having folks come in for test drives. We tend to knowingly pay more at dealerships for the very reason that we expect certain things to be working on a coach. If they are not going to do that, then advertise them "As Is".

That being said, I did end up doing a fly & buy from Scott Motor Coach in Lakewood NJ on an almost identical coach as the one in AZ. They were completely up-front about everything and had already gone over the coach when they took it in on trade. We agreed upon a price prior to my arrival & after inspecting/driving it I wrote them a check for that amount. If I ever decide to up-grade, guess where I am going?....it ain't AZ

Gordon Dewald · 02-13-2016, 12:35 PM

I expect it would make good business sense from a profit view of the transaction. You will likely find less than they do. As well I wonder how many of the units will sit for a while and then be forwarded for auction.

Scottybdivin · 02-13-2016, 01:32 PM

I'm of the opinion that's it's not a bad thing to see an RV in it's raw state and before servicing. We drove 250 mi, took it for a test drive, and pulled oil samples. We posted a deposit contingent on, the samples, new tires, replace windshield, repair/replace fogged windows, and anything else that came up from PDI. Once the samples came back GOOD, we made the agreement, and scheduled a delivery date. I took a Newmar PDI list and we checked off every item. Everything had been done, except the fogged windows were not replaced. They asked us to take it home and give them a list of which windows needed to be replaced. I had it in writing, and we were to schedule an installation date after they came in. This went down as scheduled about 2 months later. Ended up replacing about 90% of the windows. I'm not sure if this is the way it should go, but it worked pretty seamless for us and only cost us one return trip.

smlranger · 02-13-2016, 02:08 PM

Seems to be standard practice. When we were looking at used coaches at a large dealer in NC (Tom Johnson), none of the used rigs were really prepped for sale. The primary reason the coach we eventually purchased looked pretty sharp was the dealer had spiffed it up to let some NHRA officials use it as an office for an upcoming race. We made the deal and had the officials evicted before they really had time to use it.

The dealer did not fully service the coach, replace the tires, and do a few repairs until we made the deal and gave them some earnest money. However, we planned to be there at least a week if we found a coach. We waited four days for them to get it ready, did the trade and stayed in a nearby RV park to make sure all was well even after the purchase. We found one additional item and they took care of that before we left.

Wbonsell · 02-17-2016, 11:40 AM

Well we did it and purchased our new coach. A 2010 CT Coachworks 35V Siena from LaMesa RV. I know the 35V very well and have been assured by a long time family friend with LaMesa that the coach is exceptional.

They did bring it from Yuma to Mesa and it will be available for my inspection next Wednesday. Still feels strange to be buying something I have not seen but I guess that does happen from time to time. The coach is now 350 miles from me so a long drive to pick it up. I do have assurances it will have a full gas tank for the drive back to SoCal and will be as ready to go as is possible. Tires are fresh as well as all fluids.

Very excited! Now to sell our very reliable and pristine old Bounder which now has 11,500 miles.