Thinking about Buying an RV? PLEASE read before you do.

[cblant]

Giant Recreation World Winter Garden FL. or Giant Disappointment? Hurricane Irma devastated our house. Due to mold issues, reconstruction will take months to complete, leaving my family without a home to live in. The fix? The new 2018 Coachmen Chaparral 370fl from Giant Recreation World to live in while re-construction is occurring. After graciously offering to drive the RV to my property, I accepted. It is difficult for myself to do these actions myself due to being a permanently disabled first responder due to injuries received on duty. However, I would have rather hired a teenager with a new permit who recognizes some aspect of humility. The driver which transported the rv to my property hit a grape fruit tree while backing the rv. The rv received some minor damage (mostly scratches) to the left front side and to be honest, I felt sorry for the driver. I even tipped him $20 for his time because accidents happen. I called Giant Recreation World and spoke with the sales manager who informed me to call the next day and talk with Dennis the General Manager. My wife spoke with Dennis concerning the damages. During their conversation my wife asked me to pick up the phone. She told me he was being condescending and demeaning to her because he could not be bothered by our situation. After an introduction I was greeted with a blatant accusation that it was my fault for allowing his driver to collide with the tree with the sarcastic remarks that closely mimicked the attitude of my teenage daughter. I immediately was put on the stand to his questioning as he tried to figure out a hole in the story for which I would be liable for his driver’s actions.
At this point his nonexistent law degree ceased to be a factor and his tone became antagonistic. I tried to alleviate the tension with an apology for the frustration and how this issue could be resolved. His “solution”, was for me to drive the RV back to their location, and IF they have time, they will get to it. Apparently, the thought process was that camping outside our demolished home was more logical than trying to prioritize a paying customer with a legitimate concern.
I pray that no other individuals have to go through this. We have been able to save friends who thought of retiring and purchasing an RV from Giant Recreation World as they experienced the same red flags through the dealership showroom. It should be noted that in the Better Business Bureau they are NOT accredited. Although their estimated rating shows an acceptable rating, they currently have multiple complaints that are not resolved as well as approximately ZERO positive reviews. Learn from our experience so you don’t fall into the same trap. God Bless.

[ventrman]

Ron3rd wrote:
Nice first post. I smell a rat.

Have you taken a Bath lately?

[ventrman]

We had Problems with the Camping World in Savannah, GA giving us the runaround.
I sent an email to the CEO Marcus Lemonis. When we went in after I sent the email, we got a Deer in the Headlights Look.
After that they treated us like Family.

[Ron3rd]

jarata1 wrote:

Ron3rd wrote:

Twomed wrote:

Ron3rd wrote:
Nice first post. I smell a rat.

OR...the glass is half full. I see a new member off to somewhat rocky start who could use a little compassion in his situation.

Welcome to the forum...hope things go better for you. And thank you for your service.

The glass is half empty for me on this one. The cleaver wording makes me suspect. Nice cut and paste job.

You seem like a real nice guy Ron not

You're correct, I am a nice guy. Smart guy too.

[rockhillmanor]

After graciously offering to drive the RV to my property, I accepted.

Was it a Free delivery? If you didn't pay for it they probably are not responsible for the damage.Answer is Bull feathers

YES, they are responsible for the damages.

It was a company that delivered the RV, not a friend. The 'RV company' sent out a paid employee of the company. If he was incapable of dropping off the RV the company would not have sent him out. They are fully aware of liabilities and they had insurance on that guy. It was an accident and the company knows dang sure they are liable for the damages.

Get OFF the phone with them. Take pictures and GO down to the RV dealership and insist on talking to the General Manager and show them the pictures.

My guess is the GM was never told about it by the goon you are talking to now so as to cover his butt and that the GM doesn't even have a clue this has happened.

I'm sure they will pay and/or fix your RV once you get to the top of things. I.E. The General Manager. :C

[aguablanco]

cblant Hope you are in better shape now that you have a secure place to live. This should all work out to your favor if you stay on it.

OTOH, I see no reason for so many people to:
1) Basically accuse the OP of being a troll with absolutely no evidence.
2) Trivialize damage done to another's brand new unit. Probably wouldn't be so trivial if their own unit was involved.
3) Actually blame the OP for not providing enough direction to the professional driver.
4) Make excuses for the dealerships inexcusable behavior. Now we know why the dealers and factories have their way with us so often. We enable their bad behavior with our own attitudes and lack of demand for responsibility.

The fact of the matter, as it has been described, is that the dealership, by the actions of the driver it hired, damaged this man's property and then beat him up over it. Try some compassion and understanding sometime. It will make all our time on earth more pleasant.
RichH

[jrobert01]

Triker33 wrote:

After graciously offering to drive the RV to my property, I accepted.

Was it a Free delivery? If you didn't pay for it they probably are not responsible for the damage.Answer is Bull feathers

The driver which transported the rv to my property hit a grape fruit tree while backing the rv. The rv received some minor damage (mostly scratches) to the left front side

So nobody was helping him get it to the spot you wanted it?
You should have someone helping guide it into the spot.
Mostly scratches that are not deep can be buffed out. Have you tried that yet? Fault of scratches lays more on the person guiding the driver.

Yelp Reviews

BBB gives them 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

Other Reviews give 3 1/2 to 5 Stars

[rockhillmanor]

darsben1 wrote:
If it is insured call Your insurance and let them handle it. They are better equipped to fight the dealership. If you use your insurance you get to take it anywhere.

X2
File a report with you insurance company ASAP. Supply the RV dealership info and Your insurance company will go after them and they WILL pay your insurance company for the damages. You don't even have to get involved.

I just hope you had it insured before it left the lot. I would assume if you borrowed money to pay for it, it would have been a requirement from your loan company.

Good Luck. Just do NOT sit back and do nothing. That is exactly what they are hoping you will do.

[Triker33]

After graciously offering to drive the RV to my property, I accepted.

Was it a Free delivery? If you didn't pay for it they probably are not responsible for the damage.

The driver which transported the rv to my property hit a grape fruit tree while backing the rv. The rv received some minor damage (mostly scratches) to the left front side

So nobody was helping him get it to the spot you wanted it?
You should have someone helping guide it into the spot.
Mostly scratches that are not deep can be buffed out. Have you tried that yet? Fault of scratches lays more on the person guiding the driver.

Yelp Reviews

BBB gives them 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

Other Reviews give 3 1/2 to 5 Stars

[jarata1]

Ron3rd wrote:

Twomed wrote:

Ron3rd wrote:
Nice first post. I smell a rat.

OR...the glass is half full. I see a new member off to somewhat rocky start who could use a little compassion in his situation.

Welcome to the forum...hope things go better for you. And thank you for your service.

The glass is half empty for me on this one. The cleaver wording makes me suspect. Nice cut and paste job.

You seem like a real nice guy Ron not

[westernrvparkow]

Several things.
1) apparently it is only some minor scratches. Yes, it is a big deal to the OP, but I am reasonably sure the dealership is dealing with bigger issues. We really don't know the extent of the requests (demands?) the OP was attempting to place on the dealer. Perhaps they wanted the dealer to drop everything and fix those scratches immediately. While that would be great, it might be unreasonable if their shop is inundated with repairs necessary to make some RVs habitable for other people who need those RVs to live in due to hurricane damage to their homes.
2) If this dealership is so bad, and their BBB ratings and online reviews so terrible, maybe the OP should have done a bit of research PRIOR to making a purchase.
3) My skeptic and troll radar always goes on red alert whenever I see a post where the poster has to lay out the reasons they are in a special or unique situation. I would think a "disabled first responder" would be at the head of the line of people who would have realize others in Florida should be ahead of them in line for urgent repairs. And "disabled first responders" would also understand that people often do not act with patience and calm when faced with multiple problems and issues, as I am sure all vehicle repair facilities are encountering in the areas of Florida that suffered hurricane damage. Something about this thread doesn't pass the smell test.

[FunnyCamper]

you are in the right and they are in the wrong here 🙂
just take your time and work thru the BS of the stupidity and mean and get your legal rights to have your rv fixed. You will be fine, too bad you have to deal with a jerk but legally here you win. Just breathe thru the **** of it all 🙂

[GordonThree]

Sounds to me like the OP willingly accepted delivery of a damaged RV. Should be on their insurance.

[souraider]

While I disagree with the way you were treated...I would imagine the RV store has problems of their own in regards to the hurricane damage. It is probably a stressfull time all around. I would take pictures of the damage, keep all invoices regarding the move, and stay in touch with the RV store. In time when things settle down they will have no choice but to deal with you. You would probably be waiting a while if you tried to get it fixed now...imagine all body shops are swamped.

[westend]

I'd guess the best situation would be to call your insurance company, live in the trailer, and have all the work done on your site, if possible. Alternatively, coordinate closely with the repair people if the trailer needs to be moved. You could rent a different trailer for the duration of the repairs.

There is no way that the trailer would be touched, again, by the selling dealer if it was mine. His loss.