Thoughts of this dealers policy on possible purchase.

[Plumber101010]

2000 Newmar Durchstart
Model 3851
Length : 38
Chassis : Freightliner XC Raised Rail
Engine : 300 HP. CAT Turbo Diesel
Mileage: 100k

What I have learned in my research, having no hands-on with the purchase of a motorhome, has led me to believe that this is a pretty good buy. I love the fact that it has a lot of miles in combination with the fact that it looks show room new. That tells me it’s been tried and true, it’s been used about the average of 5000 miles a year, so hasn’t been sitting up anywhere and anything that has broke has been repaired along the line. Add in the condition of the exterior and tells me it’s been better than well-maintained. The interior has been partially updated, the carpet removed and tile put down and they also added lots of updates. But the condition of the painted exterior alone is what is selling me. It was obviously babied and cherished by its owners.

I would post pictures but suffice to say that based upon 30+ pictures and a 30 minute video, it’s really hard to explain how the exterior looks as it does, but it shines like a brand new silver dollar! So does the interior but interior can be renovated and re-done. The exterior is original!

My problem is with the dealer. Parkway RV Center Ringgold Georgia. It’s evidently a high volume, in and out dealership that has tons of turnover and a selection second to none. So I’m sure these policies have been put in force for a lot of good reasons and I see the logic behind some of it. I’m sure there’s a lot of Lookie Lucy’s in this business that drive them insane and never purchase. That said:

They have two prices. No haggle absolute firm price, don’t bother asking. That includes them bringing it into the service center and doing this ridiculous 5 billion point inspection that everybody claims they do, but in essence they just put a checkmark next to everything and push it out the door... and anything that’s wrong whatsoever, they will fix at their cost and the price does not go up for any reason. OR, pay for it and drive it off the lot and it’s all yours at a cheaper price to be negotiated on site. As is.

The problem I’m having is this. And I don’t know if this is standard in the industry. But I seem to be screwed no matter which choice. They don’t do any inspection prior on any units until they receive a nonrefundable $2500 deposit. Once they receive a deposit you have 7 days to pay the balance.

Unfortunately, it will take them 2 to 3 weeks (they are honest and upfront about this), to get it in line and go thru the service department to go through it so if something is found out after you pay for it in full, too late. Of course they’re going to fix it so it shouldn’t matter. But they will not let you take it on a test drive until you PAY for the unit IN FULL!!!

They will not allow anyone to take a test drive until it has ibeen through the inspection department to make sure it’s safe to drive, and because these inspections take longer than 7 days, that translates into meaning you’re going to have to pay in full before you ever get behind the wheel... but they always add that they just drove it 500’ miles when they purchased it and it drove great. Why they are able to drive it without a safety inspection but we cannot I’m not sure I understand.

Keep in mind its the same situation if you purchase it as is. You have to buy it first before you can even test drive it. To make matters worse, they give no warranty no matter what choice you choose. They have one of those 90 day extended warranties but that’s not the same thing. So if you choose the no haggle price and let them bring it through their center, you are basically not going to know if something is wrong until you really get on the road and drive it ia few hundred miles to only then find out they missed a few things. And at that point it’s too late.

I have spent 45 minutes reading the reviews and spoke to the salesman today. The reviews are mixed. 75% really good, 25% horror stories about how they paid the deposit, blah blah, couldn’t get it back, problems with the unit, there doesn’t seem to be any gray area with this dealer. It’s either raving good reviews or straight to a horror story. But their prices are really hard to beat and that is a really good thing.

I am tempted to drive down tomorrow morning and give them the deposit. But I don’t really know what I’m looking for. I can act like I know what I’m looking for. But I really don’t lol. However every bit of my gut feeling is telling me no matter how bad I want this particular unit after searching for months, to walk away because I don’t like the aspect that I can’t take it on a test drive even AFTER giving them a $2500 nonrefundable deposit!

Conversely, hundreds of people are doing exactly that and are very satisfied and leaving good reviews! I have come to trust this forum over all others I am a member of. So would like some input please 🙂

[road_glide]

Plumber101010 wrote:

road glide wrote:
17 years old and 100k....You will never find a Car, Pickup, RV, without some issues...

Didn’t quite follow you, are you saying that means it could be a good buy?

I'm saying be prepared to spend money. Not necessarily a good buy...
You are dealing with a house and car...there will be something that is not apparent and will need attention.
Units are not even perfect from the factory new.
I read on the forum once, everytime out on a trip, you will fix something or have to repair something....this is true for the most part...but wouldn't trade memories for anything...

[Plumber101010]

Jayhawk wrote:
Here is all you need to know:

https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/parkway-rv-ctr/ringgold-georgia-30736-5152/parkway-rv-ctr-william-billy-adams-they-cheated-us-ringgold-georgia-1122010

https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/parkway-rv-center/ringgold-georgia-30736/parkway-rv-center-horrible-customer-service-ringgold-georgia-1431945

https://www.bbb.org/chattanooga/business-reviews/recreational-vehicles-dealers/parkway-rv-center-in-ringgold-ga-17705/reviews-and-complaints

https://www.bbb.org/chattanooga/business-reviews/recreational-vehicles-dealers/parkway-rv-center-in-ringgold-ga-17705.

Run Forrest, Run

I almost hate to reply as it may keep the thread going when I think it’s already been well-established I have no intention of buying it. Mainly because of the tires which makes the price no longer a good buy anymore. In fact it’s not even a fair buy LOL.

But not because of the dealership. I still don’t have any problems with the dealership because I know firsthand that you cannot deal with the public for 50 years and not get a lot of weird customers. A LOT of them. Personally I like it when the owner is involved in the every day to day operations and he’s accessible.

But did you read those links you sent me fully to the end? You can’t just read the negative review, but the owner‘s responses as well. I’ve been self-employed for 30 years and I know firsthand how customers will downright lie on a review, and say anything they can to bring you harm, normally because they are seeking an unjustified refund and think that one will be offered in exchange for removing the reviews.

But I do believe it’s grossly unfair to highlight a companies negative reviews, while ignoring the other several hundred good reviews.

I also find it very rare that owners take the time to write such long responses as this one ALWAYS does. I don’t care what RV lot you go to, they are going to have bad reviews. It’s just the way it is. Every business has bad reviews it cannot be helped. What matters is whether the owner takes the time to respond to it, and how the owner reacts to it. I have found the owner in this case to be upfront and I believe what he writes because of the way in which he is writing it. But doesn’t mean he’s not adding his own flair and maybe making himself look too much like a saint... LOL

In short, I’m not buying this vehicle because I have any issues with the dealer now that we found out the down payment / test drive scenario is not the norm, but in fact the occasional situation and it all started to makes sense to me. It’s not a perfect world but I don’t think I have ever been to an RV lot and not read negative reviews no matter how good they are.

The third review you sent to me just doesn’t make absolutely any sense. These people got an approval from their bank, but when they called the dealer, the dealer said we’re not interested in doing business with you any longer??? When you read stories like that, it’s obvious there is a big gap somewhere in the story being presented and just doesn’t add up as there’s no reason a dealer will turn down a sale unless there’s something else going on.

I have never stepped foot on this business lot so I have nothing to gain or lose by defending them. But in general concept, one cannot just looked at negative reviews when someone’s been in business for 50 years. You have to compare it to all the good reviews as well 🙂

[time2roll]

Plumber101010 wrote:
gut feeling is telling me no matter how bad I want this particular unit after searching for months, to walk away because I don’t like the aspect that I can’t take it on a test drive even AFTER giving them a $2500 nonrefundable deposit!

Absolutely no possible way would I ever agree to this.

[Jayhawk]

Here is all you need to know:

https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/parkway-rv-ctr/ringgold-georgia-30736-5152/parkway-rv-ctr-william-billy-adams-they-cheated-us-ringgold-georgia-1122010

https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/parkway-rv-center/ringgold-georgia-30736/parkway-rv-center-horrible-customer-service-ringgold-georgia-1431945

https://www.bbb.org/chattanooga/business-reviews/recreational-vehicles-dealers/parkway-rv-center-in-ringgold-ga-17705/reviews-and-complaints

https://www.bbb.org/chattanooga/business-reviews/recreational-vehicles-dealers/parkway-rv-center-in-ringgold-ga-17705



Run Forrest, Run

[1968mooney]

Bruce Brown wrote:
Other than the crazy dealer practice IMO the price is also out of line. I think you could find a newer, equally as nice unit at a more customer friendly dealer.

Tell him where. That's all he is asking.

[Plumber101010]

road glide wrote:
17 years old and 100k....You will never find a Car, Pickup, RV, without some issues...

Didn’t quite follow you, are you saying that means it could be a good buy?

[Bruce_Brown]

Other than the crazy dealer practice IMO the price is also out of line. I think you could find a newer, equally as nice unit at a more customer friendly dealer.

[road_glide]

17 years old and 100k....You will never find a Car, Pickup, RV, without some issues...

[doxiemom11]

Just because they "say" they will fix everything doesn't mean they will. Even if they write it in the contract, they can keep putting you off, push the repair date out, re-schedule until you give up and fix it yourself or elsewhere. I would run from this. When we bought ours, we looked at it - tested all utilities, appliances, even hooked up to water to test plumbing systems - went for a ride, then a test drive all before we even discussed a price. There was no down payment made until we decided we wanted to purchase it. We then gave a down payment, they did a couple of repairs we wanted made and we came back a week later to sign the final papers, pay the balance and leave with the motorhome.

[Plumber101010]

For some reason everybody is a bit obsessed with their inventory. I appreciate everyone’s help with this. I truly do. But I think we’re beating a dead dog at this point it doesn’t really matter if they’re small medium or large 🙂

[dougrainer]

Except for a few Toy Haulers, ALL their inventory is USED. They have a TOTAL of about 113 total RV's and those are all used except for 2 or 3 toy haulers. Most of what I saw was junk at least 8 to 10 or more years old. I doubt they turn over 20 a month, and NOT 50 or more. WE turn 75 to 100 per month and are a medium size dealer. I think they are loose with the facts on their turnover. Doug

[westernrvparkow]

Plumber101010 wrote:

hoosiermark wrote:
Something just does not seem right. OP says salesman said they go thru 50 units a month and get 50 in a month and sell hundreds and hundreds a month. If you only get 50 units in, you would run out of units. Plus the fact that if they are that busy and the service department is that far behind it begs the question, why would you not expand the service department and the same with the sales department. I know in Indiana that is what the dealers would do to meet demand. Any dealer that would not be expanding to serve the customers must not be a good businessman. Walmart figured it out, give the people what they want where they want it. If I ran that business and was that busy on Saturdays, we would have more sales people to allow customers time to drive and buy, same with the service department.

Think you misread my post. Said they sell 50 MH and get 50 in, which makes total sense. And that ALL RV’s sold was several hundred. TT, FW, MH, Tent Campers... well sure you get the point lol.

Their inventory of all towable RVs total 41 units. You can't get several hundred sales from that.

[Ralph_Cramden]

Plumber101010 wrote:
I mean if they’re going to fix everything no matter what, LMAO!

LMAO here also at that sentence.....sure they are LMAO......are they fixing all that no matter what stuff prior to or after signing the sales agreement, and handing over the funds. Sure they are......sure they are.....

RUN!

I've dealt with quite a few RV dealers as I am anal when it comes to buying stuff. After talking with, or negotiating with, at least 50 different ones in PA and 5 or 6 different states around same, I have a list of 5. Three of which I partially trust and 2 which I totally trust.

Buyer beware.

[Plumber101010]

hoosiermark wrote:
Something just does not seem right. OP says salesman said they go thru 50 units a month and get 50 in a month and sell hundreds and hundreds a month. If you only get 50 units in, you would run out of units. Plus the fact that if they are that busy and the service department is that far behind it begs the question, why would you not expand the service department and the same with the sales department. I know in Indiana that is what the dealers would do to meet demand. Any dealer that would not be expanding to serve the customers must not be a good businessman. Walmart figured it out, give the people what they want where they want it. If I ran that business and was that busy on Saturdays, we would have more sales people to allow customers time to drive and buy, same with the service department.

Think you misread my post. Said they sell 50 MH and get 50 in, which makes total sense. And that ALL RV’s sold was several hundred. TT, FW, MH, Tent Campers... well sure you get the point lol.