Before purchasing an ex-rental RV, I read these forums to find out as much as I could, got bad reviews for one company but great reviews on another, and many success stories. Most of the warnings I heard were based on theoretical, rather than actual problems.
Well, I'm now finding myself in the middle of an actual ex-rental issue. Posting for advice at this point, and still hoping the selling dealer can help me out here. So here's the scoop:
- On November 22, bought a high mileage former rental unit from El Monte RV. (2006 Fleetwood Jamboree GT 31W with 100K+ miles.) Price was great, interior had been refurbished and looked almost new. It came with a 12 mo/12K mile "power train warranty" to ease my mind on any mechanical issues (in the first year at least). Service during the sale and even immediately after (fixing small issues that we discovered on the drive home) has been exemplary.
- On December 14, on the second day of our "maiden voyage" with the RV, we suffered a breakdown (on the Freeway in L.A.). We had accumulated less than 500 miles since our purchase, most of it highway driving.
- The symptom driving was a thunk sound somewhere below/behind me, and shortly afterward noticing that I was "coasting". Essentially the transmission seemed to be in "neutral" even when it was actually in other gears. Fortunately I had enough momentum to get me to the next off-ramp and out of the way of high speed traffic.
- Repair shop diagnosis has shown that the emergency brake booster (immediately behind the transmission, attached to the drive train) "disintegrated" and there is other damage to the transmission output shaft and other components in the drive train. Repair estimates are $3200.
- Good Sam Roadside Assistance was awesome in getting us to a safe spot Saturday night and a followon tow Monday morning to a repair shop. Nothing but good things to say about them. Not so much the warranty company...
- I am still trying to get the warranty company to acknowledge that I have a contract. They do not have the paperwork yet (apparently it normally takes 30 days to get to them and it's only been 27 days) even though El Monte claims to have faxed it to them Monday. I've faxed my own copy so they are at least starting some administrative wheels moving, although they won't authorize anything until they get it.
- Even if they do get the paper work, the warranty company is using the weasel language in the fine print to claim they cannot cover the repairs, since they claim the brake booster is not listed as part of the power train, and "damage to covered components caused by non-covered components" is not covered. (Nor is damage to non-covered components caused by covered components.) There's no proof that one portion of the damage occurred before the other, but that's their position. The repair shop is trying to work with them and escalate the situation for review.
In the meantime, I'm stuck without my RV (had planned a 4-week cross-country trip over the holidays that will now be undertaken in a cramped minivan) and trying to figure out who (if anyone) is going to pay for the repairs. My local dealer (which has given me great service and probably would repair it if I were local) has referred me to El Monte corporate, but I'm having trouble getting through to them on the phone. Working on an email to them right now.
Anyway, I'm interested in any advice more seasoned RVers may have in how I can try to handle this. By the "letter of the law" I'm probably SOL, but at the same time, El Monte RV has a reputation to protect and has been very helpful so far. I'm optimistic they'll try to help me out here. If they don't, you'll be the first to know.
I have looked into local "lemon laws" and while none cover used vehicles, apparently there is a law in NV that a power train inspection must be done (and given to customer) for a used vehicle sold with >75K miles. I'm pretty sure this was not done. I can (but have not yet) threaten to file a complaint with the DMV. Of course, there's also BBB and other means of posting complaints (along with this thread here). Anything else I might try?
