We made a dumb decision

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Frizlefrak said:
OK, by how much?  What I'm getting at is will it cost more to back out of this deal than going through with it and chocking it up to experience?  If you hire an attorney, it's going to cost you money and time, and your deposit will likely be tied up until the issue is resolved one way or another....and you could still lose. 

Before the revelation that you could get the same coach for less money, you were happy with the deal, right?  You liked the coach, right?  And these other coaches that are less money....are they IDENTICAL to what you're looking at in every way?  You're buying a 3 year old RV....is it possible the cheaper ones are higher mileage or not in as good a condition?

Look....I'm not saying cave in and buy it....I'm saying weigh your options carefully before going down Litigation Boulevard.  It could wind up costing you more than you would save by getting out of the deal....and could tie you up from buying another coach in the meantime, and you miss the summer camping season.  We've all been there before in one way or another.....bought a big ticket item only to discover we could have gotten a better/cheaper/faster/prettier/shinier etc for the same money.  Live and learn. 

I'm gonna go against the grain here....unless we're talking seriously big money here, finish the deal, take your new coach home and enjoy it.



I'm sort of in this camp. I've made "emotional" decisions before too.
If you were happy with the deal initially, finish it. Go ahead and swallow the sour taste, and enjoy the "new" rig.
 
The price differential would have to be substantial to get into a legal confrontation with the dealer. Frizzlefrack pretty much summed up what I'm getting from reading about your problem, so I won't repeat.

While the sale is "not complete" until delivery, I don't think that necessarily means you can cancel without penalty. It appears you did sign a sales contract, you did make a payment, and you did agree to "No Cooling Off Period". Morally and ethically you are committed to the sale. Maybe there is a way to wiggle out of it, but it may not be worth the effort & cost.

It's also clear that you were originally satisfied with the price you paid, so maybe there isn't all that much to fret about.
 
Campfire RV said:
Yes, we signed the "Retail Installment Contract - Simple Finance Charge" while we were there. We're willing to pay for the couple items we asked them to add so they don't have to worry about losing anything.

A different perspective
Once you complete your paperwork, a bunch of stuff happens "behind the scenes".
The F&I person or title clerk will process your paperwork.
They'll send the lender their forms and they will begin to create an account for you.
They'll send your previous lender a payoff if you had one. This is a (possibly) large check coming out of the dealers operating capital, usually before they've even been funded for your new one.
They'll send a check to the DMV to cover licensing fees, but also the Sales Tax, which is likely thousands of dollars. Again, out of their own money.
They'll have to pay their lender for the full cost of the unit (their "floorplan"), often before they've been funded.
If you added any service contracts or even 3rd party warranties, they'll send these out to the respective companies, who will activate the contracts for you.
They've ordered and installed optional equipment for you and PDI'd the unit to make it ready to pickup.
This whole time, they're waiting on your new lender to pay them.

Also, you may have signed a "Delivery Receipt and Storage Agreement", which will likely void your "didn't take delivery" argument.

Being as you had a trade-in, are you sure that the deal wasn't good? It may be that you've found a better list price, but that dealer would not have been able to offer you the same trade allowance.

I asked about the Contract because if you sign a buyer's order and the dealer won't let you off, they're being unethical.If you signed the Installment contract, you bought the vehicle for all purposes moral and practical.If you take this to court, make no mistake, you will need to sue them. They will sell your trade in the mean time. You will be liable to make payments to the lender or they will report you delinquent on your credit report. And of course there will be legal fees. It will be messy.
 
This won't help Campfire RV, but maybe this will help others. This is why I always "Sleep On" large purchases before I sign any papers.

Frank Hurst
 
[quote author=Frank Hurst]This is why I always "Sleep On" large purchases before I sign any papers.[/quote]

... and why I always tell folks not to fall in love with the first RV they see, and to leave the check book at home.
 
I don't know how morally or ethically bound the dealer would be when trying to enforce the sale and collect their money. But it will be interesting to see what the legal beagles say. I'm especially interested in the legality, enforceability, morality and ethics of dealers having buyers sign the "no cooling off" clause.
 
I'm in the "we all second guess big purchases" camp.
Take the rig, enjoy it and live and learn.

IN EDIT:  I seldom make immediate larger purchases.  I definitely lost out on a few deals, but I always say, "it wasn't meant to be."  I only act instantly or immediately, if I know 99% its is a steal of a deal, because I have been looking and know the market on the item.
 
Frank Hurst said:
This won't help Campfire RV, but maybe this will help others. This is why I always "Sleep On" large purchases before I sign any papers.

Frank Hurst

Indeed.  I've made impulsive decisions before....they usually didn't work out great, and if they did, it was just blind luck.

The salesman will tell you "I have 4 other people looking at this rig...the time to act is now."  Nonsense....if he did, one of them would have probably bought it.  That's an old tactic to get you to make an impulsive decision.  Go home and sleep on it.  Can save you a lot of grief.

But I digress.  I think if the OP hadn't stumbled on a "cheaper" coach, he'd be posting pics of his great new RV a week from now, and having a blast with it this summer.  The sour taste in his mouth isn't the RV, it's the deal.  And here's why that shouldn't be the case...


NickB said:
A different perspective

Being as you had a trade-in, are you sure that the deal wasn't good? It may be that you've found a better list price, but that dealer would not have been able to offer you the same trade allowance.

When trade ins, financing, and options are involved, the priced gets juggled 6 ways from Sunday.  You might have got it $5000 cheaper at another dealer....and they might have offered you $6000 less on your trade.

My advice....Go in to the dealer, finish the deal, and enjoy your new RV.  Life is too short to waste it, and I think pursuing legal recourse on this (if there indeed IS any) is a waste of your time.  If it makes you feel vindicated, you can give the dealer the middle finger salute when you're driving off.
 
Frizlefrak said:
If it makes you feel vindicated, you can give the dealer the middle finger salute when you're driving off.

Best advice I've ever seen given on any forum, ever  ;D
 
Frizlefrak,
  I fixed it for you... ;D :p

Frizlefrak said:
If it makes you feel vindicated, you can give the dealer the middle finger salute when you're driving off warranty expires.
 
I agree with Frizlefrak.  The deal with the new one and your trade-in can be the difference on however any dealer wants to work it --- to get your business.  After all, if you don't buy from the original dealer, the next guy gets the sale and $$$.  The next guy has a lot to gain by telling you he can cut a better deal --- if he really can.

Go enjoy your new one.  Chalk this one up to a teachable moment.  My criteria is: "well, no one died so it must be okay." :D
 
Frank Hurst said:
This won't help Campfire RV, but maybe this will help others. This is why I always "Sleep On" large purchases before I sign any papers.

Frank Hurst


Exactly right.......I told our salesman that I have a firm rule NOT to buy any large purchase without sleeping on it first. His answer to that was other people were looking at it also. OK so if it is sold before I get back the I just lost out and the decision was made for me, if its still here then maybe we can talk since you had an extra day at the party to sell it and couldn't. Once they understand that you have a firm rule they become a lot more helpful......BTW we bought it the next day for an additional 20% off .

 
catblaster said:
Exactly right.......I told our salesman that I have a firm rule NOT to buy any large purchase without sleeping on it first. His answer to that was other people were looking at it also. OK so if it is sold before I get back the I just lost out and the decision was made for me, if its still here then maybe we can talk since you had an extra day at the party to sell it and couldn't. Once they understand that you have a firm rule they become a lot more helpful......BTW we bought it the next day for an additional 20% off .

Hey Will, we haven't heard from Tom Seiler for a while. Is he OK?
 
We met with a lawyer today and she said the contract we signed is just an agreement but isn't the actual sales contract. She said when we go back to the dealer to pick up the coach they will have us sign the true sales contract and that is the one we can't get out of.

I also emailed the dealer again today and they replied tonight and agreed to cancel the contract. We have to go to the dealer tomorrow to sign the mutual cancellation agreement and they will refund our deposit.

I appreciate everyone's feedback and I can honestly say it was a stressful experience and we have learned and fortunately didn't lose out this time. We will be sure to conduct more online research before going to a dealer and not let the salesman pressure us into a decision. I like the idea of going to the dealership and telling the salesman I will sleep on it tonight before making a decision, and no decision today.

Thank you everyone and we learned a very important lesson this time and I feel lucky, it won't happen again.
 
Glad it worked out well for you, but I can't believe that dealer. Apparently RV dealers aren't concerned with customer satisfaction and repeat business. I work for a heavy equipment dealership group and if we treated customers like that we wouldn't have any!  In this case we would have matched the price or got as close as we could instead of losing the business, and creating a bad name for yourself while you are at it!  I forsure wouldn't strong arm them to the point that the customer sought legal council!  Unreal!
 
Good for you, glad it worked out. Also when you start looking again, leave your wallet and credit card at home.
 
Thanks for the follow-up. Glad you got the outcome you wanted.
 
Well, that was a lesson about impulse buying that was learned inexpensively, if rather stress-fully.  Glad to hear the dealer ultimately came around and agreed to cancel without penalty. I suspect the boss man got involved and told the sales manager to back off.

Hope that better deal at another place works out for you.
 
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