Forum Discussion

oblioandarrow's avatar
Jan 24, 2017

Maybe a terrible decision?

Hi there!
My boyfriend and I are young, and opted to purchase a 5th wheel for full-timing as opposed to finding a rental. We went through a large dealership for ease of financing. Three weeks ago, we found an RV that had the perfect layout. We put a down payment on it and scheduled a delivery (we don't have a truck and plan on it being mostly stationary) for the following week.
Two days before the planned delivery, I received a call from the dealership with the bad news that they had found a rotten floor in their inspection and couldn't sell it to us, but had another one in mind that they thought we'd love. They said it was older, but it was also cheaper.
Honestly, we were in a rush to get moved into it. We had only paid for half the month in the room we were renting and had time off scheduled for a road trip to bring back the rest of our belongings. So I told the dealership to go ahead with the inspection of the alternate rig. My boyfriend was able to go look at it, but I didn't have time.
We were living in the RV for 3 days when we got our first big rain (we're in the PNW) and the roof started leaking. Upon further inspection, we realized that the subfloor is moldy and who knows what is going on in the ceiling. After tons of argument with the dealership, they agreed to haul it back and fix it, but what I want to know is -
1. what can I feasibly expect the dealership to do? Will they be honest enough to admit that it's a total loss, if it's molded through?
2. If they refuse to admit the scope of the problem, do I have grounds to pursue legal action? I paid $900 for the inspection and I feel that it wasn't thorough at all (lots of other little things pointing to that).

Any advice would be appreciated. The rig is a 2001 Alpenlite Medinah.
  • :) Hi, when you first received a call from the dealer, at that point you should have just cancelled the whole thing. I would cancel now and demand your money back. They most likely will fix this trailer, but it will be done the simplest and cheapest possible way.
  • I agree with Scott. Don't trust the dealer. Get an attorney and get out now. Perhaps the dealer has committed fraud in telling you it was a dependable and sturdy TT.
  • Indeed a very hard lesson and I feel for you.
    First thing, STOP trusting that dealer. He probably got a better price for the original unit and sold it out from under you.
    Never trust a dealer. Period. No matter how friendly and sincere, they are out for their bottom line and not for your best interest.
    Expect what ever repair they do to be a patch at best. It will not be a total fix (which would cost many thousands of $) and you will likely having lingering issues with mold and rot.
    If there's any way, get out of the sale altogether.
    If you buy another unit, pay an independent inspector to check it out.

    I wish you the very best of luck.

    Scott
  • You are young. With age and experience comes knowledge. Sometimes painfully.
  • Sad, very sad story.
    I'll bet that I know exactly what PNW dealer you are talking about...
  • oblioandarrow wrote:
    I paid $900 for the inspection and I feel that it wasn't thorough at all (lots of other little things pointing to that).


    Was this a third party inspection??

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