Motorhome purchase mistake

[RonPatt]

Last week I saw an ad for a 2003 Fleetwood Discovery motorhome that my wife and I liked.
I contacted the seller who "offered" us a very generous trade in price.  Twice I asked the salesman
the manufacture date of the tires.  The first time he didn't reply.  The second time he told me they were
on the inside of tire and he would get his worker to check.

Friday morning we arrived at dealership to complete the deal.  The owner of the business reduced my trade-in
by $7,000 due to some issues with my unit.  The deal was still okay. 

We spent Friday night moving from old motorhome to the new one.  I used a flashlight to find the manufacture date
of the tires.  They were on the outside of the two steer tires.  The tires were 4302, or soon to be 11 years old.  They had
weather rot cracks in the sidewall just above the rim.

In North Carolina, this vehicle could not be sold in this condition due to safey inspection.  I cannot transfer the tile unit
unit passesd NC inspection.  I informed the salesman of this safey issue.  He said they would work something out.

It is now Wednesday and we are to travel back to SC Friday to pickup the unit.  I do not want my wife traveling in this RV
with the current tires.  Moral of story, don't believe of the "we do business like they did in 70's ".  Man I hate to be so cynical but
it appears in the this age that you must.

 

[catblaster]

" Moral of story, don't believe of the "we do business like they did in 70's ".

I remember getting screwed over in the 70's also. My new 72 ElCamino pulled to the right  but the service tech told me the new ones were made that way so if you went to sleep you would run onto the shoulder instead of a head-on..... ???

Hope it still works out for you.

 

[John From Detroit]

Whatever state the dealer is in (Other than confusion) report him to the department of Motor Vehicles.  He won't much like you and if he figures out it was you who reported him he'll never sell you so much as a light bulb in the future.. but then.. I don't think you will mind that or shop there ever again either.

 

[scottydl]

If you have a way to walk away from this deal, do it.  I'm sure the tire age is not the only thing they are hiding, whether purposefully or by omission/negligence.  They already docked your trade-in offer, which I'm sure was always planned.  It's a typical sales trick.  Hopefully you have not signed anything or given them any money yet...

 

[rjf7g]

I don't know how these folks sleep at night...how could you allow someone to leave your lot with unsafe equipment?  What scares me the most is the folks who wouldn't even know their first stop should be a tire shop!

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

They probably don't even think of it as unsafe. "Yeah, the tires are a bit old, but it's a 2003 and everything on it is old..."

 

[hes4all]

They probably don't even think of it as unsafe. "Yeah, the tires are a bit old, but it's a 2003 and everything on it is old..."

It's The Truth!
Learned my lesson on this a few times in my life!
Well put Gary!

 

[Icemaker]

They probably don't even think of it as unsafe. "Yeah, the tires are a bit old, but it's a 2003 and everything on it is old..."

Until I met you folks on this site...I would have agreed w/Gary's quote...
I have and do learn so much from this site..probably the best use of my time and the pittance invested I've  made in a long time...
Thanks to all for allowing me to play.

George
\

 

[RonPatt]

As someone stated, I probably should have walked away, but my wife and I love the coach and were given
a lot more on trade-in than we thought was possible.  My old coach was in bad shape and this is a big upgrade
for us.

The seller is replacing the cooling unit of the 4 door refrig at his cost.  He is getting tires replaced and we are
splitting cost. 

We had to leave it at the dealer to get the above items fixed.  I will update after we pick it up. 

Edit: Removed white space.

 

[SeilerBird]

As someone stated, I probably should have walked away, but my wife and I love the coach and were given
a lot more on trade-in than we thought was possible.  My old coach was in bad shape and this is a big upgrade
for us.

The seller is replacing the cooling unit of the 4 door refrig at his cost.  He is getting tires replaced and we are
splitting cost. 

We had to leave it at the dealer to get the above items fixed.  I will update after we pick it up. 

If you love the coach then you are doing the right thing and it sounds like the dealer is going to do the right thing. Please post some photos here for us to see after you pick it up.

 

[RonPatt]

Here are some pictures:

 

[jagnweiner]

Very nice!

 

[vlady daddy]

I notice your RV has slide topper awnings on the driver side but none on the passenger side. Any advantage with or without the slide topper awnings ?

 

[DearMissMermaid]

Looks like a lovely rig! 

There are always surprises when you buy used...  but when he negotiated your rig $7,000 lower was time to negotiate his lower too.

But when you fall in love it is real  easy to forget the details.

Salesmen seem to say ANYTHING to get a rig a sold.  It's hard sometimes to take your heart and love out of it and negotiate the brass tacks.

You moved in so quickly...  they knew they had you hook line and sinker... a little patience might have helped but I know the excitement! 

 

[scottydl]

GREAT looking rig indeed!  8)

Could you share some of the financial details?  How much you will end up paying for the Discovery, how much in trade you received for your old rig (and what was the year/make/model?), etc.  It helps others who may read this thread in the future know what's possible with used rig pricing.

I found the online ad for your rig from some quick Googling.  Dealer was advertising $73,900, NADA Guides doesn't list the 39T for 2003 but the similar 39S suggested price is $64,399 Average Retail and $53,499 Low Retail.  I'm curious to know how many concessions the dealer really made in your case. 

Fridge and tires (especially on a large DP) are two of the most expensive maintenance items on a motorhome, so it's great that you are getting both of those taken care of up front.

 

[RonPatt]

Looks like a lovely rig! 

There are always surprises when you buy used...  but when he negotiated your rig $7,000 lower was time to negotiate his lower too.

But when you fall in love it is real  easy to forget the details.

Salesmen seem to say ANYTHING to get a rig a sold.  It's hard sometimes to take your heart and love out of it and negotiate the brass tacks.

You moved in so quickly...  they knew they had you hook line and sinker... a little patience might have helped but I know the excitement!

I had been back and forth all week discussing the trade.  We arrived at the dealer at 9:00 am and did not complete deal until 5:00 pm.  We spend all
day looking over the rig.  Other than doing a better job of checking the tires, I don't know what else I could have checked.  I got on the roof, crawled
under the coach, checked for leaks, exercised all the appliances, etc.  More time would not have a made a difference.

 

[WILDEBILL308]

Congratulations on your new rig. Now go have some fun.
Bill

 

[RonPatt]

Congratulations on your new rig. Now go have some fun.
Bill

Thanks Bill, we sure plan to.

 

[buckstand]

PM sent Ron.........this same dealer pulled the wool over my eyes too, folks be careful when you "tread" up there, look very carefully!!!

 

 

[RonPatt]

PM sent Ron.........this same dealer pulled the wool over my eyes too, folks be careful when you "tread" up there, look very carefully!!!

 

Where is PM?