New to her, but needs some repairs... Dealer obligations?

[gaymeadowsman]

We went with lady friend of ours to look at used 2014 travel trailer Tuesday on a local dealers lot. The trailer was used by an out of state constuction worker working here in Montgomery and traded in for a Motor home before the man left town.
Now granted we saw the camper three days after the dealer got it and they said it hadn't been gone over it other than when it was traded, but they had priced it and put it on the Website.
It is a 2014 Skyline Nomad 260, Rear Kitchen. and perfect for her and her tow vehicle. We all like they camper and she has made made good deal... BUT, we gave the salesman a list of fixes,
1.The power stabilizers are wrecked. They use a common screw, and the street side on both front and rear will not lower, rear curb side is bent like a pretzel, and front curb side jerks and "pops".
2. One of the Dinette bench backs seems to to have a broken frame piece(Easy fix, I could do it).
3. Break away switch has wires pulled out of it.(Another easy fix).

Should she(we) expect the dealer to make these repairs with out raising his price. I know replcing the stabilizers will runn over $1000.00.
My friend also thinks he should replace the Tv the the previous owner took out because it came with one from Skyline. I told Tvs are too cheap now and not to get greedy.

[B_O__Plenty]

Problem solved. Now you get to crawl under a whole new batch of trailers..

B.O.

[gaymeadowsman]

12-6-13
Salesman just call and told her that the dealership owner has promised the trailer to a "Family member". Not sure why it was even placed on the website at all if this is true. Heck, maybe he saw the list of things that need to be repaired(I only listed 3 here) and decided to take it to the auction.
Most used campers in rough shape only stay on his lot about 1 months then "Away they go!"

[gaymeadowsman]

I should let you guys know that my friend has 35 years in corperate accounting and bookeeping. She knows her way around that kind of stuff and wont be a push over
But when it comes to knowing what to look for on the trailer, as long as it's "PRETTY" she's happy, that's where I help, she wont talk to a saleman unless I help with the list. and I do crawl under them, God knows how many I've looked at in the last 3 months...

[gaymeadowsman]

@ dyb,The Break away activation wire is intact. It's one of the electical wires pulled from the back of the control(orange wire). I don't think the brakes would work if switch were activated.

[colliehauler]

Executive wrote:

dyb wrote:
I would be concerned about Brake system damage due to breakaway switch being pulled.

Why? It's just like hitting the brakes hard. No biggie...Dennis

If the wires are pulled out of the switch it would not apply the brakes. It would take the cable being pulled with the wires connected.

[Executive45]

dyb wrote:
I would be concerned about Brake system damage due to breakaway switch being pulled.

Why? It's just like hitting the brakes hard. No biggie...Dennis

[dyb]

I would be concerned about Brake system damage due to breakaway switch being pulled.

[JEBar]

tatest wrote:
If you've not yet bought it, everything is negotiable. Price is negotiable, fixes are negotiable, upgrades are negotiable.

You might get things fixed at the asking price, or the dealer might want more. Dealer might fix everything on an offer even lower than the asking price. But there is no dealer obligation to fix things at his asking price.

agree .... make sure that the agreement is in writing .... prior to signing the papers make sure that all agreed to repairs have been made, and that all systems/equipment that is supposed to be working is in fact working

Jim

[Huntindog]

The break away switch is a safety item. It may well be illegal for a dealer to sell it without it in working order.

The jacks retail for 1000.00... I was charged cost by my dealer for mine, which in 2010 was 416.00.
They can be repaired but it is labor intensive.
Probably not cost effective for a dealer to repair them.

I would offer to pay cost for them. They are a easy install.

[tatest]

If you've not yet bought it, everything is negotiable. Price is negotiable, fixes are negotiable, upgrades are negotiable.

You might get things fixed at the asking price, or the dealer might want more. Dealer might fix everything on an offer even lower than the asking price. But there is no dealer obligation to fix things at his asking price.

[doxiluvr]

You did not specifically say she "signed" a purchase order for it, so I have to hope she gave them a list of what she noticed was wrong with it and then tell them to go over the trailer and fix these specific items, get a list of everything they else they inspected and the results of thereof and THEN re-negotiate the deal and get some sort of warranty from them on it as after all it is a 2014 model. If she already signed to buy it, she is screwed.

[B_O__Plenty]

It all depends on the dealer and how skinny the deal is. If he wants to sell it at that price yes if not he may want more money. I can't see how two jacks can cost anywhere near $1,000 to fix. Not even close...Keep in mind if it's a USED 2014 there is no factory warranty on anything....All that applies to the original owner only. So the bottom line is it better be a really good deal compared to a new one...

B.O.

[powderman426]

harold1946 wrote:

Not all sales people are liers.

Quite true.
Its only the ones still alive.

If that price its correct, you might think about splitting the cost of repairs to the stabilizers.

[gmw_photos]

Assuming this trailer was really used as temp housing for a worker that was away from homebase,then we can probably make a couple of general guesses. The good news is it's almost new, so how much really "could" have gone wrong or be damaged ? The bad news is, it's unlikely it was "looked after" well. Face it, this guy was working long hours, and just needed a place to come to in the evening to shower, eat and sleep, so he could get up the next day and do it all again.
So, it's likely that there could be some things, like has already been observed that make it something of a project trailer. Which is fine as long as it's bought cheap enough, and the buyer is willing to either pay for the repairs, or is able to do them herself. Anything can be fixed, all it takes is the application of time, effort and money. Only the buyer can really answer whether she wants to mess with it. But again, as always, it really comes down to buying it for the right price.
She needs to look at it at least somewhat, as a business transaction, and as such, with the emotion out of it, then it either makes sense, or it's time to walk.
If it were me buying, I would lowball the seller, agree to take it as is, and plan do the repairs myself.
It's a buyers market out there.