We have been looking for a used Class A DP for several months. I found one on RVtrader with the floor plan that we liked within our budget, a 2002 Bounder 39Z. Armed with the check list from the library and the info we've gleaned from reading on this forum, (thank you, thank you, thank you!!}we drove about 400 miles to the dealership (independent and very busy) to take a look at it. Hubby felt the roof looked great, the chassis, basement area, generator etc was in good shape. I had a few questions about the inside (how do the valences get water stains on them?) We spent several hours looking at it and trying things out. The test drive went great and it drove/road nicely. The salesman (he & his dad own the dealership) assured us that everything would be checked out and in working order. Since we had just started looking, we decided to wait.
Recently we saw another one in the same town, so decided to check it out. Called the dealership (large car dealership that have started selling RVs) and talked to the young salesman several times about the unit and that we would like to spend time in it, test drive it & check out. We had even called a place to do the chassis inspection the same day if we decided we wanted it. It was on consignment and he said he could get the service records on it, but not unless they felt like we were a "serious buyer", they didn't want to bother the owner. Called the salesman the day before we left, and got there early afternoon the next day. First look at the coach wasn't impressive. The basement doors were more dinged up and scraped, the frame had a lot of rust, and the area where the black tank was smelled and there was evidence of a leak. Speaking of leaks, there was a fresh leak under the engine area. New Bridgestone tires on it though. Inside, the floor has replaced with peel & stick tiles, poor job, but everything else was ok. Couldn't start the generator, had to jump the batteries, and the levelers hesitated and were slow. There were 2 areas on the roof that had been repaired, the awning moldy and there was a bow in the pole, even rolled up. Couldn't turn on any faucets, it still had the pink stuff in it from last winter, it had not been used all summer! The test drive was about as bad. The young salesman kept saying the seller was motivated to sell, make an offer, wonder why...
The young salesman was inexperienced in selling RVs, but did a good job in having us sit down with the owner of the dealership who I guess qualifies to answer questions because he has owned several MH's and just got a new $300,000. something Holiday Rambler that "needed work" on it too, nothing is perfect (and we knew that from reading here - thank you!). Their price was 39,000 for the unit but the internet price was 34,999 and he felt that was a good price. But since it was on consignment, it was as is unless the owner wanted to fix anything or lower the price. Since it was a consignment, the dealership wasn't going to do any prep,in fact recommend taking it to the 1st dealership that we went to for the dpi. Oh wait, maybe they could put water in the tank so we could see if the water pump, plumbing was okay. And if we wanted to make an offer, we had to wait for the next day to talk to another salesman(the son of the owner of the dealership) and was a good friend of the owner of the MH. But the good news was if they felt like we were a serious buyer, the owner would meet us and go over how everything works. Great. Hubby & I talked & told them we were going to think about it and would let them know the next day. The young salesman got a demo car (nice 2016 Edge) and drove us to our car. When we got out, Hubby pointed out that the back tire on the car was almost flat. We decided we were going to pass on this one.
However, we had gotten an alert that the 1st one we look at had a price reduction. We went to look at it again and meet with the same salesman. He was surprised to see us. We walked through it again and he went through not only the items that we had mentioned the first time, but also had a punch list of his own. He took the time to go on a test drive again, and took the time to drive to the place to drop it off for the chassis inspection. He told us everything that would done on the punch list, all systems would be checked and working, (I made sure to ask about the black tank, he said they make sure it is empty & clean, no gifts from the previous owner). The salesman said that in his experience, we are the 1st people to check out a unit so thoroughly, and he was impressed! So thank you! Make a long story short, we put a down payment and if everything on the inspection is clean will pick up next week. Such a different experience and soooo excited!
Almost done...we called the other salesperson and thanked him for his time but that we were not going to buy the unit. He asked if there was anything he could do to change our minds. Hubby was nice & polite and said no. Then the other salesman called, best friend of the owner of the unit, and asked why, what happened, the owner was motivated, and if he could sell the unit for $20,000 would we be interested. Hubby started out polite, but recapped the whole experience and as a little more firm in letting him know we would not be interested. Now someone else might have snapped it up and been able to fix it up and make it a great unit, but that is not what we were looking for. Hey, if there is someone that wants to do that, let me know & I can give you the name!
Thanks for letting me vent! We are looking forward to being on the road in our new-to-us MH, and will wave when we see you!
Recently we saw another one in the same town, so decided to check it out. Called the dealership (large car dealership that have started selling RVs) and talked to the young salesman several times about the unit and that we would like to spend time in it, test drive it & check out. We had even called a place to do the chassis inspection the same day if we decided we wanted it. It was on consignment and he said he could get the service records on it, but not unless they felt like we were a "serious buyer", they didn't want to bother the owner. Called the salesman the day before we left, and got there early afternoon the next day. First look at the coach wasn't impressive. The basement doors were more dinged up and scraped, the frame had a lot of rust, and the area where the black tank was smelled and there was evidence of a leak. Speaking of leaks, there was a fresh leak under the engine area. New Bridgestone tires on it though. Inside, the floor has replaced with peel & stick tiles, poor job, but everything else was ok. Couldn't start the generator, had to jump the batteries, and the levelers hesitated and were slow. There were 2 areas on the roof that had been repaired, the awning moldy and there was a bow in the pole, even rolled up. Couldn't turn on any faucets, it still had the pink stuff in it from last winter, it had not been used all summer! The test drive was about as bad. The young salesman kept saying the seller was motivated to sell, make an offer, wonder why...
The young salesman was inexperienced in selling RVs, but did a good job in having us sit down with the owner of the dealership who I guess qualifies to answer questions because he has owned several MH's and just got a new $300,000. something Holiday Rambler that "needed work" on it too, nothing is perfect (and we knew that from reading here - thank you!). Their price was 39,000 for the unit but the internet price was 34,999 and he felt that was a good price. But since it was on consignment, it was as is unless the owner wanted to fix anything or lower the price. Since it was a consignment, the dealership wasn't going to do any prep,in fact recommend taking it to the 1st dealership that we went to for the dpi. Oh wait, maybe they could put water in the tank so we could see if the water pump, plumbing was okay. And if we wanted to make an offer, we had to wait for the next day to talk to another salesman(the son of the owner of the dealership) and was a good friend of the owner of the MH. But the good news was if they felt like we were a serious buyer, the owner would meet us and go over how everything works. Great. Hubby & I talked & told them we were going to think about it and would let them know the next day. The young salesman got a demo car (nice 2016 Edge) and drove us to our car. When we got out, Hubby pointed out that the back tire on the car was almost flat. We decided we were going to pass on this one.
However, we had gotten an alert that the 1st one we look at had a price reduction. We went to look at it again and meet with the same salesman. He was surprised to see us. We walked through it again and he went through not only the items that we had mentioned the first time, but also had a punch list of his own. He took the time to go on a test drive again, and took the time to drive to the place to drop it off for the chassis inspection. He told us everything that would done on the punch list, all systems would be checked and working, (I made sure to ask about the black tank, he said they make sure it is empty & clean, no gifts from the previous owner). The salesman said that in his experience, we are the 1st people to check out a unit so thoroughly, and he was impressed! So thank you! Make a long story short, we put a down payment and if everything on the inspection is clean will pick up next week. Such a different experience and soooo excited!
Almost done...we called the other salesperson and thanked him for his time but that we were not going to buy the unit. He asked if there was anything he could do to change our minds. Hubby was nice & polite and said no. Then the other salesman called, best friend of the owner of the unit, and asked why, what happened, the owner was motivated, and if he could sell the unit for $20,000 would we be interested. Hubby started out polite, but recapped the whole experience and as a little more firm in letting him know we would not be interested. Now someone else might have snapped it up and been able to fix it up and make it a great unit, but that is not what we were looking for. Hey, if there is someone that wants to do that, let me know & I can give you the name!
Thanks for letting me vent! We are looking forward to being on the road in our new-to-us MH, and will wave when we see you!
