Community Forums

Merrilee · 04-16-2015, 02:09 AM

Hi everyone,

I have viewed this forum many times as an owner, but never joined because I did not know enough to contribute. Now I am in a situation where I need to concentrate on my health as the result of the outcome of some tests ordered by my doctor. It makes sense to sell my Roadtrek, and I would like to do this in the least stressful manner.
I filled out a few forms online and was contacted by La Mesa RV in San Diego. What they have told me about buying my vehicle sounds okay, but they do not have a good reputation for selling/servicing RVs, according to complaints.

I found a thread here about La Mesa and wondered, has anyone here sold an RV to La Mesa, in any of their locations? Or know someone who has? I would really appreciate any information. Thank you,
Merrilee

Doggy Daddy · 04-16-2015, 02:29 AM

Your other options are to sell it yourself directly using the IRV2 Classified and others, or sell it on consignment thru CampingWorld in San Marcos or other RV Sellers.

Merrilee · 04-16-2015, 04:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doggy Daddy

Your other options are to sell it yourself directly using the IRV2 Classified and others, or sell it on consignment thru CampingWorld in San Marcos or other RV Sellers.

Thank you for your info. My situation is that, right now, I do not have time to make phone calls, compose ads, or anything. But, I have continued searching online and learned a few things that may be of help to anyone who responds to the numerous ads such as: "Cash for Your RV", "Sell Your RV Fast", "Sell RV NOW", etc.
These people all state that they will send someone, from FL or CA, to inspect your vehicle and bring a certified check or a wire transfer. They will even go to your bank and wait until your bank has verified the wire transfer has been received.
The scary part is that the law allows the sender to recall the funds, according to certain conditions, one of which is that they can claim that the funds were sent to you, fraudulently and that they knew nothing about it. Since some banks, such as Bank of America, allows wire transfers by computer, the person sending the money can claim that his account was hacked, someone stole his password, any number of things. If you have moved the money or used it, you will still be liable to the bank for the full amount.

I see these ads all the time, which makes me think that someone must sell their RV this way. But I sure cannot find any evidence of that. Well except for "personal testimonials" on their websites. You know by Kathy B. in Kansas or Bob J. in Missouri.

Since I have not been able to find a verifiable RV owner who sold their RV in this way, I was thinking that maybe everyone already knew it was a scam. If it was legitimate, people would be talking about it. They made me a good offer, only four thousand less than one RV dealer has it listed on his website, same year, same model.

Again, thank you for responding. Maybe as the day progresses I will hear from someone else, but now that I can see a way that I could lose all the money, I might be better off taking it to CarMax and selling for whatever. I am scheduled for surgery on Monday and then a long recuperation, if it is to be, so I need to do something in the next few days.

A bird in the hand...

Chiefbvfd · 04-16-2015, 05:44 AM

Welcome to the forum and good luck on your dilemma......

Medico · 04-16-2015, 07:04 AM

Welcome, glad to meet you!

MSHappyCampers · 04-16-2015, 07:40 AM

Welcome to IRV2! We're sure glad you joined us!

I would be very reluctant to let the place have it that obviously has bad customer reviews. Maybe you could get a good friend to handle it for you, using IRV2 Classifieds, RVTrader.com, etc.

Good luck and God bless!

Gary RVRoamer · 04-16-2015, 08:44 AM

I'm having a hard time imagining that Le Mesa wants your particular RV so badly that they will pay above wholesale value for it and go to the expense of sending someone to complete the deal besides. Since you contacted them directly, it's probably not an outright scam, but I would not be surprised if the final offer is substantially less than the initial estimate. Wholesale is probably about 60% of the NADA average retail - have you checked that?

Merrilee · 04-16-2015, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary RVRoamer

I'm having a hard time imagining that Le Mesa wants your particular RV so badly that they will pay above wholesale value for it and go to the expense of sending someone to complete the deal besides. Since you contacted them directly, it's probably not an outright scam, but I would not be surprised if the final offer is substantially less than the initial estimate. Wholesale is probably about 60% of the NADA average retail - have you checked that?

I agree.

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

**JohnRR** · 04-16-2015, 11:56 AM

Good luck with your outcome.

Merrilee · 04-17-2015, 03:40 AM

Thank you to everyone for your comments. I took the Roadtrek to CarMax and they told me their offer would be low since they do not sell RVs in their stores but would be taking it to auction. I said that was okay and they gave me a fair estimate, good for 7 days. A friend is going to follow me over there this weekend to finish the transaction. What a relief!
It is strange, though, that there is no information anywhere online about an RV owner even contacting one of these "Cash for Your RV" places, out of curiosity if nothing else. There are quite a few companies in on this, not just La Mesa, and if you google it, pages and pages of offers. Buying RVs from people for quick cash appears to be a lucrative business for RV dealers, yet all I could find online were comments about purchasing RVs from dealers.
Good luck to everyone and I hope to be back reading the forums, soon, armed with knowledge gained from experience!

ArmandV · 04-17-2015, 04:22 AM

I cannot comment on La Mesa RV's buying practices, but I bought my 2015 Minnie Winnie from them two months ago and I could not be any more pleased with them. For one, we made the sale for only $1,000 above my initial offer. Second, as I live in Los Angeles, I flew down to San Diego to pick up my motorhome and they picked me up from the airport. Third, they gave me an $80 certificate to spend in their parts and accessory store. Lastly, they let me use their landline phone (could have used my cell phone) to contact my insurer to get insurance coverage for my motorhome before I drove it home.

If there was anything more they could have done for me, I sure can't think of it.