Purchasing rv without seeing in person
I have been looking on line for a class a and found one we liked in fla.The salesman of course seems real nice and says it will all be gone through and anything broken fixed. I received the contract ...
Forum Discussion
I live in Minnesota and bought my current rig from a dealer in Florida on the Gulf Coast...1600 miles away. First....I negotiated the contract language. The contract I was offered had all kinds of things in it like you are describing and I simply did a mark-up of what I wanted out or in and this dealer (a smaller one...not one of the big guys) was very accommodating to make all the changes I wanted exactly as I wanted them. That, in itself, gave me some comfort. After we negotiated all the price and terms, my wife and I drove our current RV there and per the contract terms, each party had right of rejection or renegotiation after reviewing the other's RV.
While you are negotiating, get rid of those stupid $699 fees a number of the big dealers try to charge for all the paperwork. The dealer I bought from provided a complete itemized list of all the costs from the State of Florida to transfer everything so I can tell you the actual cost was less than $100. These other dealers are making $500+ just on paperwork.
This dealership provided a CARFAX on the unit. While CARFAX does not tell you a whole lot, it should at least tell you if the unit was ever totalled and under a Salvage Title, which would be a huge problem. In my case, there actually was a very good history which clearly showed it was a one-owner rig. I knew exactly where it was purchased, when it was originally titled to the first owner, there were some recall maintenance items completed that were listed. Overall, the CARFAX, while not a complete history of the unit, was comforting.
I have to tell you that I was as nervous as a longtailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. I did find a couple of things that were immediately taken care of by the dealership. They found no issues with mine and the deal was done. I was still nervous about actually receiving the title. Legally the unit was mine, but having that paper in your hand makes the whole process of registering in your state possible. Mine did arrive within 30 days, as promised by the dealership, so in the end all was well and we've had no material issues with the RV.
Net, I would have NEVER purchased this RV unseen or under the terms originally offered. Too much money at stake. Personally, I don't trust anyone else doing my review either. I take my multi-page checklist and a pair of coveralls and spend hours checking everything from getting on the roof to crawling under the unit and inspecting every inch.
Now,if it's impossible to get there to see it, or if you have a disability such that you cannot do a thorough inspection yourself, then you'll have to do whatever you can to give yourself some protection. That would come through contractual guarantees and an independent inspection at a minimum.
Best wishes.
While you are negotiating, get rid of those stupid $699 fees a number of the big dealers try to charge for all the paperwork. The dealer I bought from provided a complete itemized list of all the costs from the State of Florida to transfer everything so I can tell you the actual cost was less than $100. These other dealers are making $500+ just on paperwork.
This dealership provided a CARFAX on the unit. While CARFAX does not tell you a whole lot, it should at least tell you if the unit was ever totalled and under a Salvage Title, which would be a huge problem. In my case, there actually was a very good history which clearly showed it was a one-owner rig. I knew exactly where it was purchased, when it was originally titled to the first owner, there were some recall maintenance items completed that were listed. Overall, the CARFAX, while not a complete history of the unit, was comforting.
I have to tell you that I was as nervous as a longtailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. I did find a couple of things that were immediately taken care of by the dealership. They found no issues with mine and the deal was done. I was still nervous about actually receiving the title. Legally the unit was mine, but having that paper in your hand makes the whole process of registering in your state possible. Mine did arrive within 30 days, as promised by the dealership, so in the end all was well and we've had no material issues with the RV.
Net, I would have NEVER purchased this RV unseen or under the terms originally offered. Too much money at stake. Personally, I don't trust anyone else doing my review either. I take my multi-page checklist and a pair of coveralls and spend hours checking everything from getting on the roof to crawling under the unit and inspecting every inch.
Now,if it's impossible to get there to see it, or if you have a disability such that you cannot do a thorough inspection yourself, then you'll have to do whatever you can to give yourself some protection. That would come through contractual guarantees and an independent inspection at a minimum.
Best wishes.
