Purchasing first travel trailer-- Problems at dealership, advice needed

We purchased some raw land for a vacation spot and future build, and needed a place to sleep on it so we went into the RV dealership to get a Viking 17BHS last week. We paid cash for it and the price was fine so we paid asking ($13999). Well when we went to walk through it a couple days ago, ready to pull it home, the water pump wasn't working. The technicians said they had just replaced the water pump and now it wasn't working. It's freezing temps right now. We were also told by the salesman that it was not weatherized. We are concerned about leaks at this point. And the reason we purchased brand new is because my husband is severely allergic to mold. We already purchased a carport for a trailer and everything so the idea that there could be water damage is scary.

There were multiple other issues during the walk thru-- someone spun the screws in too far under the kitchen window so two are almost poking through the exterior. The handle by the entrance door was loose and the screws were stripped so they said they'd have to do new holes. There was a scratch on cabinetry and the top corner of the bathroom door had a little damage. And there were two rusty screws on an exterior window. My husband read that rusty screws could mean water damage. Also the parts department guy told us there could be issues with toilet if it's not winterized, when he was giving us information on how to care for the trailer.

Basically they are giving us their floor model and we have no idea how long it's been on their lot. With all the issues we can see, I'm concerned about the issues we can't see. They said they will fix most of the issues but how would we know if there were leaking issues?

We have not take possession of it yet and I asked a lawyer what our rights were. He said we need to tell them that they can order us a new unit or refund our money otherwise we can sue for poor business practices/breach of contract for not delivering a conforming unit.

We tried calling in yesterday and they said they had no one who could make decisions in the office that day... So now we are going to call today and I'm sure they are going to try to convince us to take the basically "used" condition unit.

But we are all new to this so I am looking for feedback... Do you think this unit would be fine if they fix handle, water pump and a panel of cabinetry that someone scratched up? Or do you think we have reason to be concerned?
 

The build date will be on the sticker that is usually on the left side near the front, if 12 months or more, run.  Look at the code date on the tires, if over 18 months, run.  Look under and if you see rust from being towed on salted roads, run.  You are correct to worry about plumbing if it wasn't winterized, if that is the case, run.

Wish you had come to us long before this all took place. I would have your lawyer write them a letter explaining what will happen if they don't refund your money. They will probably listen to your lawyer over you. Keep us informed please.

You bought "new", it should look and work like new. Do NOT take the unit until you are fully satisfied as you may safety assume nothing will be fixed once you accept the rig.


Ensure the water tank is full and pump running. Have the dealer perform a load check on the battery with you present. Confirm operation of ALL systems. Have them run the hot water and fridge overnight on electric, then when you arrive (and they're still on electric) confirm the flame comes on for both when switched to gas. (For the hot water you'll need to run the hot water tap for a few minutes to get the flame to come on.)

Rene T said:

Wish you had come to us long before this all took place. I would have your lawyer write them a letter explaining what will happen if they don't refund your money. They will probably listen to your lawyer over you. Keep us informed please.

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Technically the unit is still "new" because it most likely has never been registered. Sounds like they sold you a "demo" unit that has been on the lot for a year or more. While selling it as "new" is not illegal, it is dishonest not to tell you that it was a demo and sell it to you as new.  You can try to get your money back, that will be the hardest part, get a partial refund of some money because  of the condition, or try to get the current unit brought up to your satisfaction.  But whatever you do, don't take delivery until you are 100% satisfied. Once off of their lot, getting a satisfactory resolution is way harder.

Ok, thanks a lot guys! We'll see what happens.

Is there any way for them to prove there are no leaks or water damage?

Don't give them any more money until EVERYTHING is fixed And inspected by you.

Once you drive it off the lot getting it repaired under warranty is a bigger nightmare. 

If possible I would get out of the whole deal. It doesn't sound like your are dealing with a good dealership.

Don't dismiss the used market. Ours was a year old when we got it and the previous owners barley used it.

And to answer your last question...They can prove no leaks...But they can't tell about water damage.

Just my 2 cents:  If you already gave them your money I would write them a registered letter demanding they order a new trailer or switch to an acceptable one on the lot without serious issues, or give you your money back.  It would be better to have the lawyer write the letter as suggested above.  If you haven't given them your money I would inform them that you are backing out of the deal due to an unsatisfactory product as demonstrated on the failed walk through.  I would ask your lawyer on this before refusing to pay and see if you would win if they took you to court.  Normally you have three days to change you mind after signing to buy.  however, I don't know how that applies to a defective product.  The winterizing thing is a BIG deal.  I sure wouldn't take delivery until it was proved to me that there were no leaks and everything was fixed and works.  Promises to fix doesn't usually work out so well after you take delivery and this doesn't sound like a dealer I would buy from. 

The quickest way to check for non-visible leaks is to put water in the storage tank and turn on the pump. Once water is flowing to all the fixtures, shut off the faucets and the pump should shut itself off shortly after. Wait several minutes to see if the pump cycles back on by itself. If it does, there's a leak somewhere. Hidden leaks usually show up as drips under the RV at some point, although the drip location may not be a good indicator of the exact leak location.

It sounds like your first rule with this dealership should be:  Document, document, document.  Dates, times, names, review of conversations, phone calls, any communication.  Through no fault of yours, you've already got off on bad footing with these people so guard yourself.  Which leads to the second rule: get your attorney involved, sooner rather than later.  You've already invested (or are about to invest) a sizeable sum of money so attorney's fees would be a minimal form of insurance.  It's a sad commentary on our society and the state of commerce nowadays, but often attorneys get things done that ordinary consumers cannot.

The next check you write that has anything to do with this purchase should be to your lawyer.

Don't do ANYTHING based on information from the dealer, or opinions from friends, neighbors, or the internet. 

$500 spent on your legal counsel could save you thousands.  Listen to them.

Salesmen tell you what they think you need to hear in order to make a sale.
Many times truth is a small part of that conversation.

You said you paid cash. But you didn't say WHEN you did that.
Did you write them a check?  Could you call the bank and stop payment on it?

Once you drive it off the lot it's your problem and it's value goes down even faster than a car purchase does.
So don't drive it anywhere. 

Where do you live? - City and State.

IF your not in a hurry - and getting your money back most likely won't be fast either, then maybe have them order you another unit.
However that might take 3-6 months.  And there is not a guarantee that another unit won't have problems as many new units do have problems.

Good luck and Please keep us informed of your outcome.

Welcome to the Forum!

I agree with all of the above.  The point I want to push harder is the camper SHALL NOT LEAVE THEIR LOT NOR ANY MORE CASH PAID until ALL flaws are COMPLETELY REPAIRED  to your satisfaction.  Right now, you are still a customer buying  camper.  They must complete repairs to get it off their lot and complete the sale.  Once the camper leaves the lot to your driveway, you become an owner requesting warranty service.  This is NOT a priority for them.

If the service manager can choose between service on a unit to close a sale and make $$$$$, or work on a non warranty job at $125/hour labor or do warranty work at half that rate, guess what gets done first.

grashley said:

guess what gets done first.

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If it gets done at all

We DID get all of our money back from the dealership! It wasn't pretty but we knew what to say based on these comments and a talk with a lawyer. Thank you so much for all the great feedback! The main take away we learned was to check the VIN of the unit we are purchasing because they walked us through a nice unit then wrote the paperwork on a worse condition unit. Then the sales manager outright lied multiple times and got very angry when we tried to explain the situation to him for the first time. Our salesman was the one who actually smoothed it all out and set up our refund.

Now we need to regroup and try again!

crysboro said:

Now we need to regroup and try again!

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With a different dealer I presume...  : ;D

Glad you got out of that deal!

Thank for updating us. So glad you got your cash back. What a painful experience. But, you've learned so much from it that you'll be so well prepared for the next dealer and salesman. Best wishes. Please keep us updated on your progress getting the kind of RV you want.