jeffj
Member
Would like to hear some suggestions or comments regarding our situation. Extremely long-winded but we felt it necessary to explain the circumstances that led us here.
A few weeks ago, we visited an RV dealership (let?s call it Lot A) about 3 hours from our home. They have a sister location (Lot B) about 1 hour from our home. We?ve been shopping around for a while and narrowed our search to a handful of RVs. We liked the Lot A sales rep and, if it worked out, wanted to buy from him.
After more research, I told the Lot A rep that I?d like to see my shortlist again but that we want to visit Lot B to do so. He was okay with that and we headed down there last Sunday. After leaving Lot B, I called the Lot A rep and told him that we are interested in a specific model: 2019 Thor Chateau 25V. Turns out the dealership has a 25V model on both lots.
He told me that we?d be negotiating for the RV located on Lot A (his), not the RV that we walked through on the Lot B. I inquired whether his Lot A RV was identical to the Lot B and he said "if it was not, he'd make it so." We began negotiating and we got them to come down $10K before lunch. We hammered all afternoon and into the evening and they dropped down $6K more.
The following day we wanted to see and inspect the negotiated Lot A RV. Before any papers were signed, we found issues and started making a list. That is when we realized that the RVs were NOT alike and the Lot B RV has $4000 more in options. To make matters worse, the condition of the Lot A RV is/was much worse than the one we walked through on Lot B.
Halfway through our inspection, we were interrupted and was told the finance manager is ready and we needed to get the paperwork done now. Reluctantly, we headed to the office and I informed them both they are not identical RVs and we have issues with this one. We compared the manufacturer stickers and sure enough ? we ended up negotiating on the lesser of rigs. After some arguing back and forth, we still felt we got a good deal and were willing to forego the differences. They said there shouldn?t be any problems making these repairs.
Anyway, we made a $5000 down payment and completed most of the paperwork. We headed back outside and continued our inspection now rushed for various reasons. That evening, I forwarded the incomplete list of deficiencies along with photos to the finance manager.
A variety of dropped balls on their part but ? yesterday I was informed the issues list had been submitted to the service department but they didn?t think they could complete all 17 items in time for our scheduled Saturday pickup. Two emails and left a voice message, but I haven?t heard from him yet today.
I believe since we are purchasing a "new" RV, certain items should be in very good, if not excellent, condition. The other items (not listed) are negligible and I can probably, although reluctantly, fix them myself after acceptance of vehicle. The items below are things we feel MUST be fixed before we accept the RV, however long it takes, as I?m confident that our repairs will be at the bottom of the list after we give them the final cash payment.
Repair slide topper, missing hinge, broken arm, ripped awning
Refrigerator should be cooling to 34? - 36?
Repair a 6-foot x 1-foot scratch/scuff on roof
Repair 2 x body scratches
Repair or replace linoleum floor (huge bubbles and serious scuffs)
Repair or replace inoperable entry door deadbolt
Replace two frayed bed cushions
Replace cracked toilet lid
Repairs could take weeks or longer. I want my RV, but should we just wait until all these items are fixed? I don't look forward to driving three hours only to find items still not repaired. Are we being unreasonable?
A few weeks ago, we visited an RV dealership (let?s call it Lot A) about 3 hours from our home. They have a sister location (Lot B) about 1 hour from our home. We?ve been shopping around for a while and narrowed our search to a handful of RVs. We liked the Lot A sales rep and, if it worked out, wanted to buy from him.
After more research, I told the Lot A rep that I?d like to see my shortlist again but that we want to visit Lot B to do so. He was okay with that and we headed down there last Sunday. After leaving Lot B, I called the Lot A rep and told him that we are interested in a specific model: 2019 Thor Chateau 25V. Turns out the dealership has a 25V model on both lots.
He told me that we?d be negotiating for the RV located on Lot A (his), not the RV that we walked through on the Lot B. I inquired whether his Lot A RV was identical to the Lot B and he said "if it was not, he'd make it so." We began negotiating and we got them to come down $10K before lunch. We hammered all afternoon and into the evening and they dropped down $6K more.
The following day we wanted to see and inspect the negotiated Lot A RV. Before any papers were signed, we found issues and started making a list. That is when we realized that the RVs were NOT alike and the Lot B RV has $4000 more in options. To make matters worse, the condition of the Lot A RV is/was much worse than the one we walked through on Lot B.
Halfway through our inspection, we were interrupted and was told the finance manager is ready and we needed to get the paperwork done now. Reluctantly, we headed to the office and I informed them both they are not identical RVs and we have issues with this one. We compared the manufacturer stickers and sure enough ? we ended up negotiating on the lesser of rigs. After some arguing back and forth, we still felt we got a good deal and were willing to forego the differences. They said there shouldn?t be any problems making these repairs.
Anyway, we made a $5000 down payment and completed most of the paperwork. We headed back outside and continued our inspection now rushed for various reasons. That evening, I forwarded the incomplete list of deficiencies along with photos to the finance manager.
A variety of dropped balls on their part but ? yesterday I was informed the issues list had been submitted to the service department but they didn?t think they could complete all 17 items in time for our scheduled Saturday pickup. Two emails and left a voice message, but I haven?t heard from him yet today.
I believe since we are purchasing a "new" RV, certain items should be in very good, if not excellent, condition. The other items (not listed) are negligible and I can probably, although reluctantly, fix them myself after acceptance of vehicle. The items below are things we feel MUST be fixed before we accept the RV, however long it takes, as I?m confident that our repairs will be at the bottom of the list after we give them the final cash payment.
Repair slide topper, missing hinge, broken arm, ripped awning
Refrigerator should be cooling to 34? - 36?
Repair a 6-foot x 1-foot scratch/scuff on roof
Repair 2 x body scratches
Repair or replace linoleum floor (huge bubbles and serious scuffs)
Repair or replace inoperable entry door deadbolt
Replace two frayed bed cushions
Replace cracked toilet lid
Repairs could take weeks or longer. I want my RV, but should we just wait until all these items are fixed? I don't look forward to driving three hours only to find items still not repaired. Are we being unreasonable?
