Why don't dealers care?

[Toybreaker]

In the market for an upgrade and been to ~10 dealerships the past week. The number of things I've seen on new and used rigs that would take someone 5 minutes to correct and make a sell much easier is mind blowing.
Trim hanging down, screens all cockeyed, trash, floppy faucets, doors that either don't open or close, the list goes on and on. They just don't give a care. They want to bs their way through, "oh we'll correct it all when it's bought". We all know they won't. Frustrating.
Is this just a west coast thing?
Hoping to find a private sell from someone that cared about their rig.

[theoldwizard]

Originally Posted by Toybreaker

In the market for an upgrade and been to ~10 dealerships the past week. The number of things I've seen on new and used rigs that would take someone 5 minutes to correct and make a sell much easier is mind blowing.
Trim hanging down, screens all cockeyed, trash, floppy faucets, doors that either don't open or close, the list goes on and on. They just don't give a care. They want to bs their way through, "oh we'll correct it all when it's bought". We all know they won't. Frustrating.
Is this just a west coast thing?
Hoping to find a private sell from someone that cared about their rig.

Too many buyers have "the fever" and are willing to overlook those things !

Goes a long with the general poor quality of most RVs.

[Iceclimber]

Answer, they don't have to. When I was in the market about half the RV's were repo's. One sales guy told me people were getting off the lot with no money down (not sure how) and never making the first payment. But I agree none of them seem to care. I bought private and just the smell inside alone had me reaching for the checkbook. That and it was about half price.

[edgray]

For some brands, the coach builder won’t pay for the repairs until it is covered by their warranty, which doesn’t become effective until there is a buyer. The dealer doesn’t want to “front” the cost of the repair, even while knowing the defect(s) are making it harder to sell. It is all about the $$$.

[BobGed]

A lot of dealers will put trade-in coaches they have taken in on their lot for X amount of time. If they don't sell to a consumer in that time frame they will then wholesale them. They would be out any time and money they put into any coach they wind up wholesaling.

What they will do is promise to fix items the consumer finds as a condition of purchase. Now whether or not they repair/replace everything can be another source of frustration.

[NLOVNIT]

Originally Posted by edgray

... The dealer doesn’t want to “front” the cost of the repair, even while knowing the defect(s) are making it harder to sell. It is all about the $$$.

Yep. Years ago, when looking at a used coach, pointing out things I saw needing fixed, the salesperson told me the dealer won't waste money or manpower to fix anything on the lot until a unit had a buyer.

[DRM901]

Originally Posted by NLOVNIT

Yep. Years ago, when looking at a used coach, pointing out things I saw needing fixed, the salesperson told me the dealer won't waste money or manpower to fix anything on the lot until a unit had a buyer.

That is the catch-22, isn't it? A unit with a long list of items, even though they aren't time consuming, don't get a lot of offers.

[oldmattb]

Like Iceclimber said, they don't need to. Year after year, people buy the stuff. I don't know why.

Wife and I have gone to new motorhome shows, and have found obvious defects in every coach. Doors off the tracks, piles of wood dust where the cabinets rub together, broken parts and trim. Mismatched panels, non-functional features... I think the well-maintained used RVs are better than the new ones. At least SOMEBODY cared enough to make it presentable. It really says something when I look at a coach that costs 10 times what we paid for ours, and I would not even be willing to trade even.

If buyers get tired of the abuse, things could change. What if the buyers simply refused to buy any RVs for six months? That would get the attention of the industry.

Real unlikely to happen, but action starts in places like this forum.

[Steverino]

My experiences with used rigs at dealers have been similar. Looked at a class C that was appalling cosmetically - but for the most part nothing that a good detail couldn't solve. The price was eye-wateringly high and the salesman made no excuses for condition.

Drove 3 hours to look at what appeared to be a nice gas A. I asked detailed questions on the phone before deciding to go see it. Upon arrival, tires were badly aged, there was obvious water damage inside (that was not pictured) and when I walked on the roof, it was very crunchy underfoot. Salesman professed complete ignorance. He was ignorant, all right - and we were pissed that we wasted a day on that fiasco.

I grew up in a small business family - dad sold & installed school & office furniture. I can't fathom running a business the way some of these people do. I couldn't look myself in the mirror.

[creativepart]

It’s not a West Coast thing.

As pointed out above, manufacturers won’t compensate the dealer to be proactive on new RVs and they will not spend more money fixing a trade-in that may be wholesaled anyway.

It’s extremely short sighted, but RV dealerships are run as threadbare as possible to make as much profit as possible. There are a few dealers where the owner sees that doing the right thing for the customer equals more profitable sales - NIRVC for one and Lichtsinn RV for another, no doubt there are others. But it seems most owners… like Markus of Camping World… focus on eliminating any extra expense to maximize gross profit. And since that attitude is working OK for the owners that’s what prevails industry wide.

Plus turnover in the sales department is massive. Many sales people don’t RV themselves and see RVs as units and customers as annoying fools. Sales managers like to hire those motivated only to sell and nothing else, ethics be damned. RV knowledge not needed and in fact not valued.

On top of that manufacturers, turn a blind eye and are happy to let dealers “do their thing” as long as product is moving off the lots.

[scenic route]

Every once in a while, we like to hit the local mall RV show here in Melbourne. The last one was in a light rain. Three new class A's had pools of water on the floors that came from seams in the ceiling panels...another one had water coming out of a bathroom overhead light fixture. A new class C had soaked carpets just fwd of the entry door and had mildewed.

Most units were not top of the line, but the build quality was subpar even for their level of stature. On a HR, the rear closet double door clasps would not latch. The vertical stanchion was so flimsy, it had to be backed up by hand to close one door before the second could be closed.

Over all...we'll just keep what we have, thank you very much!

[Gary RVRoamer]

Used car dealers learned a long time ago that clean looking vehicles sell quicker and for more $$, but Rv dealers seem to think that lesson doesn't apply. Of course, used car dealers apply some judgment too - no point in investing to spruce up a marginal unit.


I always thought that "fix it after the sale" was a way to minimize those costs - they only fix what the buyer identifies as a necessary repair. If the buyer overlooks something, that's time & money saved. That said, I've worked with a couple dealers who made an effort to bring the rig up to snuff, i.e. had a tech or "delivery manager" go through the RV with me and write down everything we saw that needed attention. Or even needed a check-up to be sure it was ok.

[Domo]

Quite frankly, I prefer to see a rig at it's worst. That way I know what has been neglected and how deeply to look for other issues.

[Toybreaker]

Good to know I wasn't just having bad luck with the dealers I was visiting. This helped me refine what I thought I wanted and how to find out next rig.
Some great ideas in here but like was said, highly unlikely the industry will change until the buyers demand it which again, won't happen.
Continuing my hunt for 8-10 year old, well cared for, class a from a private seller that cared.
BTW love this forum, you all are the best.