Community Forums

SmilinJack · 03-07-2014, 01:28 PM

I'm considering buying a used 5th wheel that is on a deal's lot. Would I be out of line asking for contact information on the previous owner so I could ask questions about the unit? Will dealers give out that information? If you traded a unit in and I contacted you, would you be willing to give me "the good, the bad, and the ugly" about the unit?

I know lots of folks trade for new units or just want to "move up." I just don't want to buy a unit that was a headache for its previous owner.

Thanks in advance for your input.

Steve N Sal · 03-07-2014, 01:38 PM

I don't think it would out of line. The dealer we purchased our coach from asked if we would mind if a potential buyer wanted to contact us. I said no problem and did receive a call from the couple that did eventually purchase our previous coach.

jesilvas · 03-07-2014, 07:12 PM

Don't ask for the owner's info, but give them yours to send the to PO, so they can contact you if they want.

UFO Pilot · 03-07-2014, 08:11 PM

The buyer of my 1st MH called me after he had purchased it from the dealer. I don't know how he got my info but he put me in a bad position because of a major problem I had with the RV. Had he called me prior to purchase I would have told him of the problem but not after he already owned it.

I may be wrong but I didn't like the situation I was put in.

Walt Bennett · 03-08-2014, 06:16 AM

You can ask for it, but most likely they'll not give it to you. What you really need to do is thoroughly inspect it yourself (don't believe a salesperson that says they do this themselves - it's YOUR money, not theirs!) with slides in and out, does EVERYTHING operate, fresh water enough to check for leaks (and they won't like doing that either!), all appliances & electronics, and a lot of other things. If you're not familiar with RV trailers, RV Consumer Group is a good starting point - they cost a bit of money, but think of how much you're spending. I've had various types of RVs for over twenty years and still bought their package when we started looking for something that would cost us over $25k. I modified their checklist some, but the info they gave me had several things I'd never thought about.

wandering1 · 03-08-2014, 10:50 AM

I did that once and wouldnt do it again, there are too many whiners out there.

HicksRA · 03-08-2014, 01:48 PM

Some states, it's a public record. You can look the vehicle up by VIN# at places like publicdata.com and find the previous registered owner.

dsbike · 03-08-2014, 02:18 PM

Look in the rv for any paperwork left from the previous owner, there may be some info there. It is also possible that the rv was not purchased or traded at the same dealer that is now selling it. We found an owners info in the cabinet of a class A and gave him a call, got voice mail & left a message. He returned our call & seemed more than happy to talk to us.