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 🙂

[Plumber101010]

dougrainer wrote:
What makes you think they turn and burn on a hi volume??????? I doubt that based on what you state is their policy. I have been on Forums for 20 years and a LOT of the posters on this thread have at least 10 years. I have NEVER heard of this dealer when people have posted about various dealers they find on the Internet, like PPL and Motorhome Specialist and Lazy Days. This dealer has an excellent business model. They get their money and the customer has NO recourse especially if they hoodwink people from out of state. They have shown their lack of business principles and anyone that buys from them will also buy ocean front property in Arizona sight unseen, because it was such a GREAT deal:B Doug

Take a deep breath there Doug! LOL. I’m glad you’re passionate about things like I am though. I think 50 motorhomes a month and several hundred per month total is definitely considered the ranks of a high volume dealer 🙂

[Plumber101010]

Tires I just did a quick Google search under Class A motorhome tires and pulled up prices of $175 to $500. So just said 6 @ avg price of $400 is $2400. Wasn’t all that important but if they are more expensive than even more of a reason I need to move on! But I think the hitch should be pretty close. Welding shops are pretty reasonable and pretty cheap and I’ve had some pretty major work done on my vehicles and just had a complete custom winch bumper installed for $500 bucks but whatever again not that important 🙂

I think it’s been established it’s time to move on that’s the important thing!!!

[DrewE]

flownaksala wrote:
Are you able to see the maintenance records on this RV you are considering purchasing? If nothing exists that is another red flag. I think I would keep looking around until you find something you are really comfortable with purchasing.

I don't think you'll ever have maintenance records from the previous owner available at a consignment dealer's lot; certainly it would be the exception rather than the rule.

A lack of maintenance is a very real concern. A lack of keeping track of every record of maintenance is in my opinion rather less of a concern; some people (myself included) simply don't think it's worth the time or effort to carefully record every oil change or file away all the wal-mart receipts from air filters or write down the monthly generator exercise dates.

[AlaskaShooter]

Not sure where the OP is getting his Michelin tires from but a new set of their tires for my F-450 and F-550 pick-ups run in the $3,000.00 range. Larger coach tires run in the $600.00-$800.00 per tire range for 8 if the coach has a tag axle. Plus mounting and balancing. Figure around $7,000.00 for tires all said and done. For $2,500.00 you might pick up some 10 year old M's with some tread left on them. I personally only run my tires 6 years regardless of tread on all my vehicles.

A few years ago an acquaintance with a custom million plus dollar custom coach had it broken into and they thrashed the inside, the hydraulic slide entry door damaged to gain entry, lots of custom foreign woods used on the interior. Coach used to belong to a band. Coach started life as a mobile home for a band when touring.

So he decided to have a driver who worked for him at the RV Park he owns drive it back to the factory and fly him home to get repairs made. Driver looked over the coach and found the tires to be suffering from tire rot and declined to make the trip till the tires were replaced. 2 fronts were newer so they stayed. All rears, 6 tires had to be replaced. $5,000.00 later the road trip was back on.

[1968mooney]

Give them about 7 days and call back. It will be sold and you will no longer have to worry about it.

[Executive45]

I don't know what size tires are on this coach but I can tell you that your price of $2500 for 6 Michelin's is a bit off the mark even with the FMCA discount. Depending on the quality of the welder, making a 5000 # hitch so you can pull three times that much, well, $500 won't buy you much either. You seem to do your research but these are two very important safety issues that you need to research further. JMO...BOL....Dennis

[flownaksala]

I definitely would not purchase the RV unless they allowed my mechanic to look it over and me to test drive it. If it is really in good shape then they will be confident in the results. I am seeing some red flags with their behavior. I purchased my RV 10 years ago from Cruise America. They rent out their RV's until they have about 70K miles and then sell them to individuals after being refurbished. I was given a 1 year warranty on everything. This was a 30 ft Four Winds that had 83K miles on it. I've had no major problems with it. Some people let their RV;s sit for months or years which is a big problem. I take my RV for a ride at least once per month including exercising the generator. These motorhomes can require a lot of maintenance. I use Automotive Wolf Vehicle Care Software to manage the vehicle maintenance schedule and remind me when anything needs to be checked. It also keeps a detailed car maintenance log which is really important if you ever want to sell it. Are you able to see the maintenance records on this RV you are considering purchasing? If nothing exists that is another red flag. I think I would keep looking around until you find something you are really comfortable with purchasing.

[Plumber101010]

Well.... this entire thread could have been a waste of time! Which is really sad. A salesman just called on a follow up and I explained to him the situation and that without being able to take it for a test drive I just wasn’t even interested in making the drive down. Luckily it’s only about two hours from me.

He seemed shocked and said who said you couldn’t take it on a test drive? I said well...there are TONS of complaints about you not letting them take it on a test drive because of safety issues with having to get it inspected first and the rest of the story I posted. I said in addition, I already spoke with another salesman who reaffirmed that was the case!!!!

He said that’s absolutely incorrect. They will absolutely let you take it on a test drive first, and the only time they don’t is on Saturdays because they just have too many customers and too much business and they cannot afford to waste time with drives. But as long as you make an appointment beforehand, they will let you test drive it before putting out any deposit!!! SMH!!!

When I asked him about the salesman I spoke with yesterday and told him about all the reviews I read concerning no test drives, he said the salesman was new and MUST have misunderstood my question. He will have a talk with him. He had only been working there a week or so. But maybe thought I was asking about the test drives posted in the reviews and he said those were correct... it’s still a mystery to me but I will say at the time I spoke with him, I was unaware whether this was standard practice or not and spoke with him prior to posting my thread so I didn’t push him too hard on that issue. I just said I’m reading all these reviews about not being able to take a test drive without a deposit are those true? And the salesman said “yes sir”. Not knowing I let it drop there.

He explained the entire thing to me and was very nice about it and it actually makes perfect sense to me now!

Said that they go through around 50 motorhomes a month.. And they get 50 new ones a month. Out of the 50 there are many that have safety issues they know about. Maybe 15%. So the reviews that are posted concerning the no test drives were only on specific vehicles that we specifically knew had safety issues before hand because we do do a pretty decent check up on them on site before we purchase them and if we know beforehand or discover on the drive back home, which is normally what happens, that there are safety issues we won’t let them out on a drive until they go through our service department and at times, yes, that can take many many weeks if not months to process it if we don’t have anyone looking to buy it.

Our priorities are units that have already been purchased or have deposits and they get in line ahead of any units that are on the lot that we know need work but not sold.
And so the people come down and walk around and then say they want to drive it and we tell them no and they get extremely upset and post bad reviews!!!!

We explain to them the process, which of course is if you want to drive this particular unit, then put down a deposit, then we will put it in line to have it checked out first, but that can take longer than seven days which means you need to come up with the purchase price, i.e., the situation we discussed IS a possibility if the customer insist on purchasing the unit without first taking a test drive.

He did say that sometimes it’s very difficult he agrees, but they are an extremely high volume dealer with hundreds and hundreds of RV’s sold per month and tthe service department is only so big and they can’t waste a lot of time on units that are not sold and may not be sold for months.

Anyway...there you go. He also mentioned this was a one owner only and they did a Carfax check on it. And was from Texas.

And that at the time these units were not being painted as standard, but that this customer special ordered to have the paint job which was not common back then as well as other upgrades such as the frame upgrade. And that’s why you won’t see too many of them from the year 2000 that look like newer late models like this one does because back then they were all kind of “blah” with a few stickers and such that were predominate. That it was very rare to see a full body paint job on the 2000.

He also said there’s not much play with the as is price and it’s well worth it to bring it into the service department because you’re only talking $1500-$2000 to buy it as is and all things considered, you should use the no haggle price.

The only negative thing is, I questioned him about the tires since that’s not something they cover in the inspection process and asked him what the tread was like and how old they were. He said you are going to need new tires. They only sell them with the same tires they come in on and those tires have good tread, but are 9 years old.

Now with all that said, I have a decision to make. I know now I’m going to need to spend about $2500 on tires (I don’t play when it comes to tires and normally like a good brand like Michelin) and from my other post if anybody read, will have to change the hitch from 5000 to a 10,000 which means a receiver hitch and welding. So let’s say another $500. Assuming that nothing else needs to be done which is a bold premature statement, but assuming, I am now at $53,500.

Quick research found an identical match that had the “blah exterior” he was speaking of but only 63,000 miles for $37,500 with good tires!

But again, and if I am wrong somebody correct me, if I have read it once I have read it a billion times, these units can get several hundred thousand miles and if they sit up they degrade and deteriorate which can only lead me to believe that the more miles, within reason, the better. Not to mention the more miles, the longer the opportunity for things to fail and be replaced and or upgraded prior to me purchasing it.

Kind of funny if you think about it, this is the only industry where more miles can signify better buy!

But at $53,500 i no longer find this a great deal. Needing new tires was a MAJOR negative to me! That was asking price I wouldn’t have a problem but since they are firm on the no wiggle room no hassle firm price, it tells me I need to walk from it painted exterior or not 🙂

Thanks everyone once again for your excellent and in depth advice 🙂 much appreciated to have my hand held as I walk through this process!

[westernrvparkow]

I cannot believe this dealer can exist if those are their actual policies. I wouldn't give the dealer a second thought if that was the case. HOWEVER, I would bet the OP is quoting their policies thru the prism of some kind of online sales.
It appears the dealer is trying to avoid holding rigs for "Buyers" for multiple days or weeks and then have them back out for whatever reason. Buying a trinket off the internet is just different than buying a used vehicle. Photos are the creation of the photographer, not always an actual depiction of the truth (browse a single's website if you need proof). If I wanted that rig, I would get off my duff and go to the dealership. I would bet dollars to donuts that you would get to inspect the rig personally and take a test drive.

[lj2654]

Way to many dealers out there that will work with you and sell you a good motor home. Don't buy from a dealer that makes all the rules, and wants a big upfront nonrefundable deposit.

[valhalla360]

Plumber101010 wrote:


I’m long-winded and even then it’s hard to cover everything...

I wouldn't count on MH vs 5er vs bumper pull really meaning much in terms of reviews. It may simply be that the bulk of their sales are bumper pull.

On average (and there are always exceptions), MH & 5er tend more towards experienced buyers, so you may see more people who are able to find the issues ahead of time and avoid them or they already are experienced with how warranty work goes, so they are less likely to complain compared to a newbie when the rig is at the dealer for months waiting on repairs.

Of course, you see some comments that fit perfectly. In your first post, if you pay the inflated price they will fix anything, then in the complaints the dealer starts going into the fine print about what they do or don't cover.

Also, while you blew it off, you did have comments where people lost use of the rig for significant periods of time because the dealer put a low priority on warranty work.

Big doesn't necessarily mean better. Buyers will rarely buy more than once every 10yrs and I'd be willing to bet the bulk only buy once from an individual dealer, so snazzy marketing and claims that they will fix anything can paper over a lot of sins.

I have no idea if the unit is cherry or not, as I haven't seen it but if you don't know what issue you are looking for, a nice wax job can be lipstick on a pig.

If you can get them to let you take a test drive and bring in an independent RV tech to give it a once over, I might consider it for an As-Is deal still but I would definitely be very leery about BS claims that they are too busy to let you take it for a test drive or they will fix anything that's wrong.

[RayJayco]

May be a bit late to the game, however a simple Google search tells all that one really needs to know about this dealership...
parkway rv center ga reviews
Many bad reviews...

[jplante4]

Yes, just a quick check of RVT shows prices in the $30-$35k range. So, unless the dealer will do $10k worth of work, it's not worth what they're asking.

Look at it this way Louis. If you buy this and have a health issue or something else that forces you to sell it, you'll be in the hole.

OTOH, you want to used this rig in June for a trip and you're up against the time frame to do this. If they guarantee that the rig will be ready for your trip and part of that guarantee is that they will pay to fix anything that breaks while you're on the road, then go for it. I doubt they would agree to that, but it's worth a try. Anyway, it will tell you how well they stand behind their work.

[mike_brez]

Run its not even a good deal. Just for a baseline idea

[dougrainer]

What makes you think they turn and burn on a hi volume??????? I doubt that based on what you state is their policy. I have been on Forums for 20 years and a LOT of the posters on this thread have at least 10 years. I have NEVER heard of this dealer when people have posted about various dealers they find on the Internet, like PPL and Motorhome Specialist and Lazy Days. This dealer has an excellent business model. They get their money and the customer has NO recourse especially if they hoodwink people from out of state. They have shown their lack of business principles and anyone that buys from them will also buy ocean front property in Arizona sight unseen, because it was such a GREAT deal:B Doug