Got camper inspected at camping world. Big mistake

Pawoodsman wrote:
Okay I was at camping woeld no third party If I would have had my mechanic do it , I would have just paid the Pa inspection fee plus any light bulbs etc. I bought this camper 1 year ago new from camping world and to charge me additional fees just to make a buck is wrong. And to those that say it's fair well you must have a surplus of cash to throw around.

No, I do not have "spare cash to throw around".

I DO "shop around".

You DIDN'T "shop around".

You DID use the dealer for YOUR "CONVENIENCE".

CONVENIENCE comes at an extra cost.

Have you ever looked at the price of candy, chips, coffee, prepackaged softdrinks in a "convenience store"?

Convenience stores CHARGE A PREMIUM PRICE as a "convenience" to you the customer compared to if you buy those items in a grocery store.

CW was including doing the PA inspection as a "convenience" to YOU. Inspections are not their MAIN reason for being, SALES and MAXIMIZING on those sales is the reason and main goal.

YOU chose, then you complain, then can't figure out why folks are not really all that sympathetic.. :R

I wouldn't ever consider taking any trailer (and I have several) to a RV/trailer dealer for something as simple and mundane as a safety inspection. Very easy for them to pad the bill by upselling parts and services you do not need.

Taking my equipment to a state inspection station removes the temptation for upselling things that are not needed.

Example, I once took my truck to the dealer(same dealer I bought it from) for a warranty item, at the same time the inspection was coming up.. I had them do the warranty AND the inspection.. They found all kinds of things wrong for that inspection.. I declined repairs, inspected myself, changed only what I found needed. Took it to a place I trust and let them have at it on the inspection.. They found ZERO issues and passed my truck.

Yes, the dealer charged me for the failed inspection and I ended up paying the second place full price, but I still saved $800 in supposed repairs (the repairs I made cost me $40 for a set of front brake pads) the vehicle dealer said was needed.

Consider it a dirt cheap lesson and don't repeat it.

mooky stinks wrote:
You didn't mention if they needed to do anything to make it pass inspection. You say "it looks ok to me". What does that mean? I'm thinking there's a little more to this story. BTW there's businesses charging for ppe everywhere now. Get used to it because it'll probably never go away.

It didn't need anything for inspection its a 2020 forest river I properly maintain it.

If they actually pulled two wheels to inspect the brakes you need to pull them again to inspect the CW work. Yes, it is that bad out there.

You didn't mention if they needed to do anything to make it pass inspection. You say "it looks ok to me". What does that mean? I'm thinking there's a little more to this story. BTW there's businesses charging for ppe everywhere now. Get used to it because it'll probably never go away.

Fifty bucks doesn’t sound excessive to me...inspection, paperwork etc.

Okay I was at camping world no third party If I would have had my mechanic do it , I would have just paid the Pa inspection fee plus any light bulbs etc. I bought this camper 1 year ago new from camping world and to charge me additional fees just to make a buck is wrong. And to those that say it's fair well you must have a surplus of cash to throw around.

NC I think I paid $12. But the vehicles I have registered in MD NEVER have to be inspected other than emissions every 2 years and diesels are exempt from that, $13. Also no property tax in MD yet.
Camping World just entered into a 3 year deal as the title sponsor of NHRA drag racing. They will make up that money somewhere.

Makes me glad I am in Texas. Lights work? Yep. Tire tread good? Yep. $7 please.
Takes longer to enter it in the computer and print the report for registration than the actual inspection.

Pawoodsman wrote:

CarnationSailor wrote:
OP said, "they Charged $41 on top of the PA state inspection".

So how much was he charged for the PA state inspection?

Was $71.11 inspection was $27 and some change. Not being cheap but in comparison to what mechanics charges is a big difference

Depends on just how they do the inspection.

Do they do it "in house" or do the send it out for a third party..

If they send it out to a third party, well the third party bills them prevailing inspection rate and cost, then the dealer ship must make a profit on this transaction and so they must now charge you more..

Many, many yrs ago I worked in electronic repair shops, cost of parts were doubled and I got half of the labor the shop charged per piece.

Example, a device that took 1 hr to troubleshoot and diagnose the shop charged $50 for that hr, Shop figured in that may need half hr or 1 hr to fix so they estimated to cust $100 plus parts. I got half of that LABOR if customer approved fix.

If you have not looked at labor rates shops charge for a while then you may not understand how that affects the final cost.

Most shops now days will charge $100-$150 PER Hr, Mechanic may get paid $10- $20 per hr of that rate.

Don't know about you but myself $10-$20 per hr is peanuts to work for when the shop charges $100-$150 per hr. But, hey, the shop must charge enough to pay for the building, power bill, heating bill, payroll costs, labor costs, phone bills, insurances and so on and so on..

It is well know that CW is not the cheapest place on earth to buy from or get service from.. But, you did agree to have it done there for your convenience. You paid for convenience and you got convenience. I do feel they did owe you (and I suspect they did give you that info) a full detailed estimate of ALL costs upfront before you agreed to go ahead with said service, at that time you can agree or disagree with any and all proposed charges.

Best to simply take it as a lesson and move on in life and for the next inspection take it to a regular State Inspection mechanic..

$50 extra does not really seem to be a "Big mistake".
CW actually got it done right?