Coachman issue

[writerwithwheel]

I made the mistake of buying a 2004 Coachman from General RV in Akron.
I am a first time Rv'er but I did take someone with me who owns RV's and claimed they could spot any no-buy issues.

3 months later, I have replaced the front Brakelines,Calipers and pads. Over $1000

The entire cab over is dry rotted and has delamination issues.
An email to Coachman/Forest River has gone unanswered.
This year vehicle was involved in their delamination mess.

I found this out when the floor separated from the wall. They told me I could use the cab over for storage during travel since I wasn't going to use it for sleeping. That cost $500 to quick fix and will cost $5000 to fix it right.

I have replaced the starter and various other parts and pieces.
Other things I found broke after purchase are still waiting to be fixed. Drawers broken, Window Coverings Loose. Ect......
I have also had to replace a tire, have the alignment totally redone
and the gear box for the steering tightened.

I paid cash, so for now I am stuck with this thing. I am a full-timer
so it is my home on wheels.

I have well informed General RV that I think their actions have been Fraud and Deceptive Trade. I have received no response from them.
During the sale the salesman kept repeating the vehicle had no warranty and was AS-IS. They knew this thing had issues.

There were other issues they left me hanging with too.
They never emptied the holding tanks after testing.
They left the valve on the fresh water tank open.
They failed to repair other broken items they should have repaired.

I am hoping to park somewhere for the winter where I can work on the cab issues myself. At least enough to make sure it does not fall apart in the middle of a freeway somewhere. Unlike the generator exhaust that fell off twice before I made sure it was fastened securely with set screws.

If anyone knows how to get Forest River to help me with this, I would appreciate it. At least to fix the delamination issues. As for General RV, they need to be investigated and fined by several levels of officials.

[bsinmich]

As stated, dry or wet rot in the cabover is very common in class Cs. All of that unsprung and unsupported cantilevered weight is the biggest reason. Apparently your RV consultant wasn't aware of that. Coachmen makes entry level RVs and you probably got a great deal. The brake lines and repairs would not be visible to anyone without a complete inspection. The rot would have been very visible if someone had attempted to push up on the bottom of the cabover section with their hand. You should be upset with your cheap inspector, not Coachmen or General RV.

[nomad297]

This is not a "Coachman Issue". This is a "Caveat Emptor" issue.

Your thread title should be "(Your friend's name) is Stupid".

You certainly should not be bashing the good name of the manufacturer.

Bruce

[mgirardo]

writerwithwheels wrote:
I made the mistake of buying a 2004 Coachman from General RV in Akron.
I am a first time Rv'er but I did take someone with me who owns RV's and claimed they could spot any no-buy issues.

I think I'd be more upset with the someone you brought with you instead of the dealer or the manufacturer.

The dealer told you it was sold As-Is with no warranty (multiple times), so what exactly are you expecting from them? As-Is with no warranty means exactly that. It's a 10 year old rig. It is going to have problems.

As for the brake issue, even on a brand new vehicle, Coachman or the dealer wouldn't do anything for you. Brand new, that would be the responsibility of the Chassis Manufacturer, not the RV Manufacturer.

You bought a 10 year old Motorhome and unfortunately, it sounds like you got one that wasn't taken care of. If you read through this forum, cab over rot in 10+ year old Class C motorhomes is not unheard of.

It is unfortunate and is the reason I would never buy a used RV again. We bought a used Pop-up as our first RV. It was 9 years old when we bought it and it looked great. We actually opened it with the salesman for the first time just as it was being brought on the lot as a trade-in, so they have no time to try to cover any issue.

We sold it one year later in the same condition. I'm pretty sure that unit was garage kept. We considered ourselves lucky that we got such a nice pop-up for its age. We looked at plenty of pop-ups that were newer and older that were not in as good a shape as the one we bought.

-Michael

[colliehauler]

They told you as is no warranty and you bought it. It's yours. Coachman had a 1 year warranty that has long passed. You should do reserch before you buy not after.

[DustyR]

JJBIRISH wrote:
It is unfortunate but true the responsibility falls on the buyer when buying a unit like this… as you pointed out they stressed it is as is, so made no false representations…

Buying something like that should have been taken to a qualified shop for a professional inspection by a disinterested party… if that had happen you would be out a couple hundred bucks maybe but walked away from a bad investment…

A lot of people own RV’s for a long time but wouldn’t be qualified to do a thorough inspection like the one that was needed on the MH…

It is what it is… a as is purchase… sorry you had to learn this in such a harsh way…

X-2

Sad! but so true. Used unit at auction - let the buyer beware.

[JJBIRISH]

It is unfortunate but true the responsibility falls on the buyer when buying a unit like this… as you pointed out they stressed it is as is, so made no false representations…

Buying something like that should have been taken to a qualified shop for a professional inspection by a disinterested party… if that had happen you would be out a couple hundred bucks maybe but walked away from a bad investment…

A lot of people own RV’s for a long time but wouldn’t be qualified to do a thorough inspection like the one that was needed on the MH…

It is what it is… a as is purchase… sorry you had to learn this in such a harsh way…

[shadows4]

While I feel your pain, I must ask. Do you really expect Coachmen to do anything for you on a 10 year old unit? My 5er is a 2004 Coachmen. It has not been perfect but I knew it wasn't before I bought it. That is why it was in my price range, it was not new and it wasn't perfect. I don't think any manufacture would do anything for you on a 10 year old unit. JMHO.

[noe-place]

I can sympathize with you but as an "old" rv'er since the early 90's I can tell you that once you sign on the dotted line and they have your money, the dealers don't ever want to see you again unless it's for service. Sounds like these guys made sure you'd have to come back for repairs. Good luck...