I suppose I should have expected as much, but I got really, really stupid, and a bit lazy, and now, I am paying the price.
We recently purchased a 2002 Holiday Rambler Imperial from one of those dealers that does a lot of consignment sales. I won't mention names because I really don't want to get into a discussion of the merits or lack thereof of this particular dealer.
Anyway, we made an offer and accepted the owners counter offer. To be precise, it was $60,000 which at the time, we thought was a good price. Its a 41 foot 370 cummins ISL, and cosmetically, looks great.
Dealer had a long list of all the things they check and report on.
After we had a tentative deal, they informed us that the water system, the leveling system, the generator, the generator slide, the engine and the large slide out had issues. They said they talked to the owner, and informed her that it was her responsibility to make the repairs. She told them she would pay to have the coach taken to Cummins to have the engine and generator looked at since it was beyond the dealers ability to deal with.
When the coach was at the Cummins place, it was discovered that there wasn't anything wrong with either the engine, or the generator. The dealer simply didn't know what they were doing. (This should have been a heads up for me, but.........)
So with the engine and generator taken care of, it would cost $7,500.00 to replace the known bad parts of the leveling system, generator slide, and the water system, but that did not mean that any of these systems would actually work. The owner opted to offer us an additional $10,000.00 to deal with the issues ourselves. I was ready to walk at this point, but Peg really wanted this coach, so I took another look.
They wanted $2,5000.00 to replace the control box for the leveling system, but thought that one of the leveling pistons may be damaged, so wouldn't guarantee it. The water system was going to cost $1,500.00 to replace the Manablock, but again, didn't know if there was any other damage, so no guarantee. The hydraulic piston for the generator slide was going to cost another $1,800.00, with more of the same.
I am really wanting to walk at this point, but after some research, decided I could do most of the work for a lot less than the dealer was asking.
I didn't know anything about the leveling system at the time, so we decided to let them replace the control box and hope there was no further damage. I found a replacement Manablock online for $130.00 with free shipping. This is the same part they wanted $1,500.00 plus $150.00 shipping and a 3 week wait. I found a cylinder for the generator slide for less than $200.00 for the part they wanted $1,800.00, $150.00 shipping, and who knows when it will get here.
So, we told them to go ahead and order the control box for the leveling system. We got a "deal" on that. Only $2,200.00 for the part, and $120.00 shipping, and it only took 8 days to get it. This is for the same part I later found for less than $500.00 and $30.00 shipping.
Now, backing up a bit. The day we closed on the coach, was the third day of a three day thunder storm. We towed our fifth wheel trade in to the dealer, and discovered that we had to pull it through about 300 feet of pond they jokingly called their drive way. While we are coming in, one of their "techs" is leaving, and had a fun time splashing lots of dirty water onto the exterior of the fifth wheel. Then, during their inspection of our trade in, they had the audacity to tell me the unit was dirty. I will admit that our trade in was old, and both the interior and exterior showed it's age, but everything worked like new. Had a generator, solar panels, brand new 12 gal gas/ac water heater, four door fridge, and island kitchen. They lowered their offer from $12,000.00 to $7,000.00. At this point, I did walk, but they raised their offer to $10,000.00 for our trade in, and I got stupid again and accepted.
After the part for the leveling system arrived and was installed, I was informed it was working just fine. One of the pistons might stick from time to time, but no big deal. So, we took delivery and motored happily down the road.
When we arrived home after a short 20ish mile trip, the leveling system wasn't working. After crawling under it the next day, I discovered that all the air lines from the rear manifold had been cut. This is not something that might have happened on the way home, and the leveling system had been screwed up something royal. There is no way in Hell that this system had worked for a long time, and furthermore, the leveling system was part of the air suspension, and there are no pistons to stick, or be damaged.
OK, so I am totally aware that I screwed up buying this thing. Totally my fault. I should have crawled under it before I took delivery, but it was raining, lots of water on the driveway and such, but still, my responsibility.
My issue with the dealer is that they are either totally incompetent, or lying out their ass. I should have picked up on it, when they didn't know how to start the generator, or what the engine light meant. I should have known when they wanted to park and drop our trade-in, and the tech didn't know how to lower the landing gear, or open the fifth wheel lock. I should have known when they tried to tell me the on board propane powered generator was leaking diesel fuel. I should have known when they wanted $7,500.00 for parts and shipping for things I could get for less than a $1,000.00 without really trying.
After all is said and done, we still feel this is going to work out for us. I got the manablock installed, and no further damage to the water system. I can open and close the generator slide manually for the time being. I need to replumb the leveling system, but assuming no further damage, that should be do-able for under $100.00. There are a number of minor issues I need to address, but I have the time, and ability to correct them. Meanwhile, we have a pretty nice motorhome and plan on doing a lot of traveling with it. We bought it to make traveling easier than dragging that big fifth wheel around.
Sorry it got so long, but I just needed to vent a bit. My bad, I know
Ken Gasbarri
