I know the answer BUT I cannot believe that these Rv places that take in an RV or buy one at auction don't pay the lot person 1/2 hour with a simple set of hand tools and simply go through the RV and tighten ,adjust and straighten up stuff..Unbelievable when we bought our new to us 2001 GS Sport a couple years back we had two pages of items we found that needed attention. Once they had the repairs done we did another walk through and once we both were satisfied, we signed on the dotted line.They don't want to put a dime more into it and are counting on the buyer will miss things that are wrong with it and then SOLD AS IS.. And when the people bring it back they just show them the paper work ! SOLD AS IS.Do to my back we sold the GS and now are looking for another MH with a bed instead of climbing up top over the cab. Today we did a 300+ mile trek looking at MH's both new and used.Every single used one we looked at from a 2015 Minnie Winnie with 17K miles on the OD had everything from the coach battery connections completely covered in corrosion, to fake panels between cub-bards being taped with of all things Blue painters tape and when you opened the doors the tape was sticking out everywhere , ac/heater vents screws hanging by a few threads from falling out. Cabinets hinge screws loose and the doors are crooked etc The older the MH the worse things got . I could understand a private party somewhat being like mentioned above maybe ?!, but an RV dealership doesn't even have the integrity to even halfway try . This was from big name outfit RV dealerships, not just the little ones with 20-30 RVs on their lots... Yeah I know a lot me included like to tinker and fix things , but NOT at what prices they are asking for these things tho !!

Its been discussed before. Something to the effect that RV dealers don't want to put more money into them than they must. They don't want to fix a cabinet door and then have some Looky-Lew come and rip it open again... then fix it and have someone else, then fix it and have someone else... etc. The same argument goes for cleaning. They figure no sense cleaning the RV and have a family wander through with muddy shoes and kids with grubby fingers. The other argument is some RV's don't sell as quickly and get taken to auctions. The dealer won't recoup any money he spent fixing/cleaning when it gets sold for wholesale.Another argument is the cost of having an employee go through each and every RV after each and every customer showing and fixing things that get damaged.Again, the argument is that once someone puts money down then the dealer will spend money cleaning and fixing whatever is agreed upon.I don't agree with any of those arguments, but that is how they have been explained to me. It seems to me that people would be willing to pay a little more for a used RV from a dealer if they walked in and it was clean and in tip-top shape... otherwise why not buy it from a private seller for thousands less?

I,D rather buy from a private owner MOST take better care of there rv,s . a dealer could care less about a used unit, and if a sucker comes buy they take advantage of them.

Sad but that's the way it is. It's best to assume nothing works and make sure everything is tested before signing the last piece of paper that makes it yours. Make a detailed list of what needs fixing and verify it was taken care of.

My experience is that RV dealers are flat lazy. How hard is it to take an RV in trade, for example, and spend some energy to clean it up before potential buyers come to look at it. One major turnoff is not keeping water in the p-traps and then getting a foul smell that turns away buyers. Loosing a sale over something so minor. Show me another business that doesn't make their product look as good as possible. Lazy.

Part of the logic/mentality is they want the consumer to bypass those dirty old used units and buy new.They don;'t want the used units to be too attractive to a customer looking to buy new.When I was buying none of the used units were appealing. I'm sure they were left in their dilapidated state intentionally.

When Your At The RV Dealership Looking To Buy | Good Sam Community

17 Replies

JiminDenver
Explorer II
Jan 02, 2015
Private or dealership, it didn't mater, they were all disgusting and in disrepair. The only exception was the dealer wanted far more for the same piece of junk in the same condition.

I had two dealerships tell me that it wouldn't take us long to clean up a rig, another suggest I fix some issues myself to save money. I own a company that cleans and fixes. I'd rather go to work, make more money and buy a new trailer than clean up a old one.
Gunner45
Explorer
Jan 02, 2015
We were really lucky with our dealership. The guy that did our walkthru with us was amazing. He said he would walk into the unit with a notepad and think about what he would want fixed. He fixed things that others didn't even notice.
kcmoedoe
Explorer
Jan 02, 2015
I have seen a whole lot of private sale items, cars, trucks, boats, rvs, etc. that the owner/seller hadn't touched to clean in what appeared to be years. And don't even get started on the condition of homes that I have been shown for sale over the years. It is not a dealer issue, it is a societal issue.
Oaklevel
Explorer
Jan 02, 2015
Still depends on the dealer...... Some do some don't........ our dealership's used trailers are all decent but People walking trough do cause messes some even use the toilets so they had to put signs & tape them closed. So they do a good cleaning when they are sold, but are clean on the lot (or start out that way). Nothing worse to look at a RV that someone messed in.....

The dealership was well for only one mechanic, two (sales / office) and the owner.
SH
Explorer
Dec 29, 2014
Went through this very scenario this past summer. Searched and searched for a nice used rig at several dealerships on the west side of WA state. The majority of the coaches shown to us were filthy. missing parts...some had ripped out ceiling liners and one even had a closet with dirty socks and underwear still in it.

Every dealer told us they do not detail a rig until they have an offer. This was not our experience 20 even 10 years ago but seemingly has become the norm in todays used market.

We gave up and started looking a units offered by private sellers (Craigslist) Night and day difference regarding the "cleanliness" issues. Still found some with problems but most were much more pleasant to view. Found a great rig at a fair price in a fraction of the time we spent traveling to commercial dealerships.

If you plan on a used rig...at least try a few private sellers and see how that goes!

Best Wishes!
PawPaw_n_Gram
Explorer
Dec 29, 2014
I've seen many very clean used units on the lot - at a dealer whose entire business is selling used units.

It's pretty simple - if the dealer sells new units - they focus on making the new units look their best, and don't bother with the trade-ins which almost always go to an auction within a month.

If the dealer sells used units exclusively - they want to make them look good and sell.
navegator
Explorer
Dec 28, 2014
Before we purchased our new unit we looked at a number of used RV's, I would open the unit and walk in my wife would smell one whiff and walk away, If the dealer had only cleaned the black water tank a little they probably would have sold us one, instead we financed a new unit.

I must admit the stench in some of them was a major problem, some where very clean except for the RV park perfume.

If I was a dealer, I would at least run some water trough the tanks.

navegator
kalynzoo
Explorer
Dec 28, 2014
There may be another point of view: If you are selling the RV on consignment the dealer will charge you to prep the RV for sale, make it look great, but since it is still yours even selling AS IS you have an obligation to disclose when asked, and not to hide faults. If the dealer owns the unit taken in trade or at auction, the dealer has no knowledge of prior faults. While prepping the unit for sale if a fault is discovered the dealer has an obligation to resolve of disclose the problem. So just don't look and see nothing. JMHO
IDman
Explorer
Dec 28, 2014
Evidently, they don't have to spend time or money fixing and cleaning units as people (you) but them "as is"!
FrankShore
Explorer
Dec 28, 2014
Lantley wrote:
Part of the logic/mentality is they want the consumer to bypass those dirty old used units and buy new.
They don;'t want the used units to be too attractive to a customer looking to buy new.
When I was buying none of the used units were appealing. I'm sure they were left in their dilapidated state intentionally.

Social engineering at it's best!