Community Forums

JFNM · 02-17-2016, 02:15 PM

Bill, in my limited experiences, the dealer does as little as possible. They may SAY they checked everything and it is working but it isn't. It is up to you to go thru EVERYTHING before driving off the lot. Yes, it takes time, money, and forcefulness. The dealers know this and bet you will give in before too long.

Also, I am no tax expert but if you buy in AZ you will pay AZ sales tax. You get a credit for this back in your home state but if your state charges less than AZ then you are paying more than you "need" to. Trust me, this can add up to many thousands of dollars - don't ask I how I know...

mojoracing · 02-17-2016, 07:39 PM

Today I went through three used coaches that we took in trade. Some of the things that I authorized to fix were very minor such as clips and loose window treatments. Sometimes I think I go overboard but guess what? Not a unit on my lot over 75 days old. Some things folks can deal with but water leaks, furnaces that wont fire or filthy carpet just doesnt cut it. I dont know how these dealers can look a customer in the face 2 days after they bought it and say "sorry, that furnace will be 300.00 to fix.

Notlad · 02-17-2016, 08:55 PM

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.

Hallelujah! A dealer with common sense. This past year I started researching RV's in anticipation of retiring in about five years and I was blown away by the almost universal practice of not reconditioning used units or prepping new ones before they are sold.

It makes all of the sense in the world to do it for the reasons you gave. Many decades ago I spent some years in the car business and we would have never dreamed of not making sure everything looked good and worked correctly on a used car on our lot or a new one for that matter.

I pass by a used motorhome dealership in GA every couple of months while on a business trip and sometimes drop in to look at their latest inventory. They have signs posted in the motorhomes that they are just as they received them (most if not all from auctions) and that they don't fix anything or clean until sold.

Even without actually trying anything out on a coach at the very least this results in very funky smells in most of them that make the first impression a bad one.

Clearly the psychology of selling has not reached the majority of RV dealers or for that matter manufacturers as they are culpable for apparently making it more lucrative for a dealer to wait until the new owner points out things wrong to make sure the unit is in good shape and everything works.

Can you imagine the dealer and brand loyalty if a customer picked up a motorhome that the dealer had thoroughly checked out and fixed any deficiencies BEFORE the customer came to pick it up?

barmcd · 02-18-2016, 07:35 AM

One of the best places I've found for good, used coaches is Best Preowned RV in Houston. It's a small operation and they do buy motor homes from auctions to sell. I don't think they have more than 6-8 motor homes on the lot at one time. They are picky about what they buy and then fix everything in the coach, replace the carpet with hardwood, and replace the tires if they are worn out or out of date.

Wbonsell · 02-18-2016, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JFNM

Bill, in my limited experiences, the dealer does as little as possible. They may SAY they checked everything and it is working but it isn't. It is up to you to go thru EVERYTHING before driving off the lot. Yes, it takes time, money, and forcefulness. The dealers know this and bet you will give in before too long.

Also, I am no tax expert but if you buy in AZ you will pay AZ sales tax. You get a credit for this back in your home state but if your state charges less than AZ then you are paying more than you "need" to. Trust me, this can add up to many thousands of dollars - don't ask I how I know...

Trust me, I have an extension PDI checklist which I will be going over extensively before I leave the lot. While I know the ins and out of the coach pretty well, I will ensue there is water in all the tanks to check sensors as well as verifying the water pump works along with everything else including the residential range, fridge and stacked washer dryer.

AZ sales tax is less than our home state of WA and WA reciprocates with AZ so we should have no issue with WA but may very well change everything to South Dakota after our condo is sold.

gseason · 02-18-2016, 06:39 PM

All I have to add is to remember you are the customer and it is the dealers job to make you happy. If a dealer is unwilling to do that go to another dealer or look for a unit from an individual.