“If your mother says she loves you, check it out!” That was a popular saying in my early days as a newspaper reporter.
It may seem kind of cruel, but what it means is, “Don’t believe anything until you have confirmed it with a second source.” Or even a third source!
That was a hard-won lesson in journalism. And it’s now a hard-won lesson in purchasing an RV.
I know RV salesmen are not always the most trustworthy people in the world, but still, I recently threw caution to the wind.
I thought I had done my due diligence by Googling complaints about a specific dealership and talking at length to the model’s representatives at the Tampa RV Show. I’m not going to name the manufacturer, but it is a small company with a good reputation.
Lulled into a false sense of security, I believed the RV salesman. I still knew enough to ask important questions. “Why did the owner sell her rig after only having it one year?” And “Why was it at the factory when it was posted for sale?”
It’s essential to try to figure out why a used RV is being sold. What you want to hear is something like, “The owner died.” That’s callous, but it’s reassuring. It means he went to his grave still in love with that wonderful, expensive vehicle.
The RV salesman’s answer was, “She traded up to the same model, three feet longer, because she wanted the dinette.” And the second answer was, “She poked a hole in it.”
Fast forward a few months. I found the owner while searching some old threads on my RV manufacturer’s owner’s Facebook site. And I found half a dozen of her posts detailing the many problems that had to be fixed.
She didn’t buy from the same manufacturer. She didn’t even buy an RV any longer than the one she had.
We talked. It was at the factory because it had water damage from serious water leaks. She walked away with a heart-wrenching $70,000 trade-in loss. She couldn’t take it anymore. It was in the shop more than on the road and that was not the lifestyle she had signed up for.
Two lies from one salesman. It’s my word against his. Tough luck.
Have I had problems? My slide has been fixed four times. My refrigerator died—for good (more on that here). Other than that, it’s been OK, but it’s taking me a while to shake the feeling my RV is haunted by its storied past.
I also violated one of my cardinal rules—don’t buy an RV built during Covid. There were too many staff changes and parts shortages and even more ways to screw up the build we all deserve. And I did it: I fell in love and didn’t follow my own often-spoken advice.
I sure wish I had had my reporter’s hat on before I bought my “new” rig. I should have asked more questions of more people. And now I think I should have gotten the salesman’s claims in writing.
What would it take to force the RV industry to allow the buyer to interview the former owner of a used rig for sale? That certainly wouldn’t suit the dealers—but it sure would be an honest way of doing business.
What do you think? Any advice on where I went wrong?
##RVT1120
Love leaves you blind.
I found the name of the PO of our class A on a piece of paperwork that was in the bag of owner’s manuals. I contacted him and was able to confirm everything we were told by our salesman. No problems with the rig and the PO had a couple of issues that were corrected under warranty. So far, we are very happy.
Same with us. The PO was very open about the rig and everything they told us matched what the dealer said.
The main thing to remember about salesmen are they are serving an apprenticeship for becoming a politician. If their lips are moving they are lying.
Bingo!
I found the paperwork provided to the original owner inside a cabinet of my current MH. I was able to call him and found out much about the RV I was contemplating buying. While he did give me much information he was somewhat vague on what had or had not been done.
I did purchase an extended warranty and it was a saving grace. The warranty has covered more than 3 times what I paid for it.
We pretty much paid top dollar for our 2005 GT jamboree when we bought it in 2006. It had been on the lot for a while but we went over it with a fine tooth comb and loved everything about it and still do. It had that new RV smell. My parents long term RV’ers, insisted we over paid but we have never felt that way. We still have the same RV which has close to 150,000 miles and just last spring did cost us $10,000 beyond the usual upkeep. Shortly after we brought her home I found the original owners name and contacted them. If I had been able to do this before we bought the RV it would have eliminated the arguments about over paying. They did indeed find the unit to be to small for them after just one trip out west. We received complete records as well as tons of information. Realtors try to keep homeowners from being involved in the sale of a house and RV salesman do the same thing. Of course anybody can and will lie but I feel when you are spending so much money the buyer should have the right to try and determine that for themselves.
I bought a 5 th wheel travel trailer in Council Bluffs Iowa at camping world and was
“ Tag Teamed “by 3 sets of sales associates as they are called, until I gave in and bought , Never again at Camping World
I made that same mistake at a camping world in Cedar Falls…never again.
Last year, when I bought my previously owned Class B at an RV dealership east of Portland, OR, they would not disclose the name of the previous owner. However, they did provide me with a copy of the CarFax. I was able to get quite a bit of information on the service and repair from that CarFax report. I realize that this doesn’t help the used TT buyer but may help a motorhome buyer. Demand the CarFax from your dealer!
Better yet, if late model used, ask for a printout of all warranty repairs from the factory’s claims records. Every manufacturer has this information. I was able to get this on a 1 1/2 year old motorhome we were looking at. The dealer, a smaller private operation in Michigan, was helpful to get it. They probably wish they had not been. The MH had a history of issues…enough that I dropped it from consideration.
One can’t be naive when it comes to
salesman, politicians or any promoting their
views
Do your own research or deal with the consequences
Like Bob P said, “if an RV salesperson’s lips are moving, he is lying”. Also look to see if they are wearing a knock-off Rolex watch, Nike socks and Nike sneaks.
As a commissioned salesman for over 30 years, it’s hard to listen to these disparaging remarks about my profession. But after attending numerous RV shows and listening to some of the outrageous claims by the salespeople, I am more understanding of these beliefs. And it’s so unnecessary. I found that 1.) know your inventory. 2.) LISTEN to what your customer wants. 3.) Match them to the product that checks the boxes they have given you. I may not have grown rich, but was always on top for sales with a solid repeat business. There is no reason to lie and cheat unless you are selling an inferior product. And if that’s the case, you should move on…..
I don’t think the sales profession attracts liars anymore than any other role, they’re just more apt to get caught. (Let that one sink in)
So why are sales people so often caught lying? Because they interact almost exclusively with a larger group of liars – consumers.
I find most RV salespeople lack product or trade in knowledge and “ad lib” to compensate. Likewise, it’s just as common to observe consumers engaging in equally ad hoc statements delivered as “fact”.
Gotta love the human race!
If their mouth is open they are lying
That applies to all politicians too.
Write down what you have been told about the used RV on the sales order and have the salesman and sales manager sign that it is true and that your purchase is contingent on these true facts. I am not a lawyer so my free advice comes with a full money back guarantee.
Carson City jeep in Carson City Nevada is one of the worst at lying.
We traded for a new RV and tried to leave our records with the dealer, but he declined. We, too, wish we could find the new owner and talk about our former rig. What we did to it and why. Our Florida-based dealer wholesaled it to a Kentucky-based dealer. Apparently it sold fairly quickly, available on its website for less than a month.
Find out where the salesman has worked – we had a salesman that actually worked for a car dealer and knew next to nothing about RVs.
I have found that most RV sales people know next to nothing about RVs!
In all our years of buying RVs, we really only had one, from a small family operation, that had correct answers, or if he didn’t know, he said so, then found the correct answer.
I don’t go to multi-dealer RV shows. I did ONE a couple years back because I needed to actually talk to a factory rep. While there I was looking for an up and coming appliance upgrade and wanted to see one already installed. I talked with sales people from 5 dealerships selling about 8 different brand names. I got nothing but deer in the headlights stares and off they would go to talk with their manager. I actually had one manager insist that no such product existed for RVs. So I pulled up one on-line catalog on my phone, and asked “try again?”. He mumbled something and walked away.
I have begun to openly record on my phone any sales pitches. Haven’t bought a travel trailer since 2019 so I don’t know how an RV salesman would react. Bought a new roof for our home in 2021. Told the salesman, as we listened to his pitch and completed the paperwork, that I was going to record the conversation. I made it clear that if he had an issue with that, we would not be doing business.
Most would not allow themselves to be recorded. They don’t want to be caught in a lie.
It’s the same as when calling some companies. They can record the call, but won’t allow you to do it. I do it anyway since I usually cannot understand what these offshore people are saying.
BTW, I keep all emails when I contact a company, especially with a complaint.
If there was ever a picture of a ‘typical’ salesman, the picture at the top of this article is it!
Believe nothing of what you hear and half of what you see. It’s a liars world out there and I never trust ANYONE anymore. Be it cars,trucks,RV’s boats or a toothbrush. And after the current election cycle I fully expect things to only get worse.
Just had to inject politics in the discussion, eh? Pathetic.
It’s not politics, it’s going to be a fact of life.
Very sorry, Jan. 🙁 What a crook your salesman was!?! I guess recording conversations, video and audio, is one answer. I wonder what effect that would have? I hope that you have the kinks and problems largely eliminated. Happy new year and safe travels! 🙂