Help - Used Motorhome Purchased Needs $10,000 Worth of Repair

[Tonk Mom]

Originally Posted by bodzcampers

I looked up similar RVs...the Shamrock about that old for sale...Most go for about 18k if that helps you feel better. So after putting in some repairs, you prolly still got a good deal (not counting customization and comfort items, of course). Continued good luck to you.

Yeah, probably, I guess. I do love the inside of it pretty much and it is nice an bright. If I were to buy now, I would buy a newer model most likely. I suppose until we use it for camping, I won't really know what I need and what I don't need in an RV.

[john3333]

I am sorry but it burns my a** when backyard mech's say you don't need to do this or that. For a manufactor to make PM recond's they spend big money in R&D they don't just pick them out of the air. But enough about that , as far as tires just make sure you get the correct load range for weight carrying limits.

[Tonk Mom]

Originally Posted by john3333

I am sorry but it burns my a** when backyard mech's say you don't need to do this or that. For a manufactor to make PM recond's they spend big money in R&D they don't just pick them out of the air. But enough about that , as far as tires just make sure you get the correct load range for weight carrying limits.

I don't understand the second sentence.

[TURBS]

Jill I tried to send you a pm but your settings are set to not accept pms.

Turbs

[john3333]

PM = preventative maintance requirements
R&D = research and development
Sorry start to use short forms when typing fast. On the tire question don't let some one try to sell you cheap tires that aren't rated for the weight of a RV. Tires should be load range "E" 10 ply at the least.

[great white]

Originally Posted by OldCoot

That may not be entirely true, but they are getting harder to find. It just seems like the good ones are being outnumbered by the shady ones. A person just has to "be on their toes" when it comes to finding good, honest mechanics. We have an excellent shop here called GMAX which is one of the best I've ever seen on honesty and work.

May be different in Canada, but that is not all that prevalent down here.

I find its not so much "shaddy" techs so much as it's "cookie cutter" techs these days.

Vehicles and the technology in them has advanced so quickly and is so varied it's difficult for a tech to be an "expert" on every vehicle system on the road.

They end up being trained on systems but not specific systems. This works fine as long as the fault falls into whats on a troubleshooting chart, but when it's not there they have a harder time finding it. The result is parts changed on spec, multiple come backs or many hours of labor over what the flat rate mitchell manual states.

The customer only sees a big bill and the first thought is "rip off".

For example: i am well versed on my diesel and how to repair it. I am aware and capable of procedures on my trucks injection system that are unique to my model and are not used anywhere else on any other vehicle. It's the way the truck is designed from the oem. There are several faults that is a tech is to follow the flowchart for fault finding, they would be replacing a $2000 pump instead of a $500 module. But you need to have specific knowledge of the specific model to know that. There are far too many models and types on the road to expect a tech to know that kind of depth on every vehicle, so you end up with the aforementioned "cookie cutter".

Now, thats not to say there aren't guys out there that are underhanded and will upsell or outright sabotage stuff. Thats the same in everything and everywhere. But, they're in the minority. Crooks are always in the minority. Ut when they do pop to the surface people scream loud and long so it seems like everyone is a crook.

Most guys aren't out to rip you off, they're just guys trying to make a life for their families like everyone else. The unfortunate fact of vehicle repair is that it is usually worse off than you think it is and everything from labor to parts is expensive these days. People don't like getting a big bill, but thats a simple fact of vehicle repair these days.

For reference, i was a carded "mechanic" but moved on to aircraft technician a longtime ago. I am also in Canada.

[lbrunning]

on finding a good mechanic. ask the people at the parts store for commendations. they deal with them all day and know what shops in the area do what best . there are good honest mechanics out there i know a lot of them in my area. the sad part is people tend to complain louder than they complement so all we hear a bought is the bad ones. good luck on the motor home

[Tonk Mom]

We now have new tires and new brakes. That one tire was 2005, not 1986 as my husband thought. The number was on the other side of the tire and he read something else on the front side. The inside tires were 2006 and were in very bad shape. The front tires are 2009 and are still on the vehicle.

The dealer (owner I think) responded to a post about this I made on another site and didn't seem to care much. The only thing he addressed was the Title/Salvage that we discovered last week. I can't remember if I told you about this. When two parts places could not find the VIN, we did a search and found out that it was a total/salvage.

Here is the link where we looked up the VIN:
https://www.nicb.org/theft_and_fraud_awareness/vincheck

This is our VIN: 1FDXE40SXWHAxxxxx.

As for the rest of the problems, he said, he is sorry if anyone at the dealership said they would do something because he won't (the GM had said that he would do something for us after my first call with him) ......his post made him look bad, especially since he said he doesn't shun people after the sale, yet he never bothered to phone us back to let us know what he found out about the title. Campers Inn is not a place I would ever recommend.

Yes, we should have checked better and yes, apparently we are ripe for the picking, but that does not exuse a dealer selling a vehicle with bad tires/brakes and telling us that it is good for a Cross-Country trip. The GM of the shop also told us that delamination was not a problem and most of their RV's have delmanination right now.

[OldCoot]

So how bad were the costs?

[jeeplj8]

You should be in contact with both your state attorney General and a private attorney. Failure to disclose prior salvage title in some states renders the sake null and void and subjects the seller to criminal penalty.

[Tonk Mom]

Originally Posted by OldCoot

So how bad were the costs?

We bought some of the brake parts ourselves and the guy at Tire Kingdom got the rest for us and charged $186 to install. My husband was going to do this himself, but after all the aggrevation and running around, it became too much (remember, he is disabled and has good days and bad). I think including parts at Tire Kingdom, it was round $300 and we spent a bit more than $100 at the auto parts store.

The tires we got are BF Goodrich and were a bit less than $200 each, installed. I think we got a fair deal on those as I compared prices. The guy at Tire Kingdom seemed much better than anyone else we have dealt with in this area. The total bill yesterday was a little over $1,100 (four tires/brakes).

I'm just glad it's over with for the moment. We wanted to do some more cleaning of the water tanks (we put stuff in them to get them even cleaner and they need to be dumped) and put on the vent things over the bathroom and another screen area and do some more mods, but my husband has taken pain killers and is down for the day.

The sensors are not working properly. We put on a clear part with a flush so that we can back flush the black tank and it is running clear, but the sensors show as full even when empty. We bought some stuff, can't remember the name, that is supposed to clean the sensors...we'll see.

[Phil57]

Other than the salvage title you are making great strides getting this road worthy. I assume the motor and transmission are good. I would not give up on the salvage title. This is a criminal act and needs to be resolved. I would push this hard but don't forget quality of life. You can drive yourself to the point that you hate the MH and take all the joy out of using it. Get your pound of flesh and hopefully some cash from this crook but start letting go and enjoy what should be a fun journey and fresh start. Hope your husband is doing ok. Living on pain meds is no fun.

[Tonk Mom]

Originally Posted by Phil57

Other than the salvage title you are making great strides getting this road worthy. I assume the motor and transmission are good. I would not give up on the salvage title. This is a criminal act and needs to be resolved. I would push this hard but don't forget quality of life. You can drive yourself to the point that you hate the MH and take all the joy out of using it. Get your pound of flesh and hopefully some cash from this crook but start letting go and enjoy what should be a fun journey and fresh start. Hope your husband is doing ok. Living on pain meds is no fun.

Thanks, Phil, we are definitely trying to do that. Luckily, I still love it, partly because the fabric inside is mauve/pinky floral and more feminine and usually I have seen brown fabric, so that in and of itself, makes it looks really pretty. We have also loaded a bunch of stuff (I am a kitchen gadget junkie) so that I can make an outside kitchen and not have to cook inside too much as I would prefer not to cook inside for various reasons.

[clancythecamper]

Ugh! So sorry you're having to deal with do much , but on the bright side you're much wiser now. I am wondering if there is not a law that says they have to disclose the salvage status to you. Maybe a local consumer services group? Tv station? Govt regulator? No point in mAking your situation worse, but maybe you could recoup some of the expenses of making it roadworthy.


Hang in there!

[Tonk Mom]

They said they had no knowledge...any maybe they didn't., maybe a prior owner fixed the Title Their attitude is what is most distressing. I know mistakes and oversights happen, but the way they are handling, or not handling this is the big concern. It is just very, very obvious that they care nothing of the customer personally or for their customers safety.

[clancythecamper]

Sure looks that way~~~

[KDHfan]

Originally Posted by Tonk Mom

They said they had no knowledge...any maybe they didn't., maybe a prior owner fixed the Title Their attitude is what is most distressing. I know mistakes and oversights happen, but the way they are handling, or not handling this is the big concern. It is just very, very obvious that they care nothing of the customer personally or for their customers safety.

I think it would be their legal responsibility regardless of their knowledge. Not much different than purchasing then reselling stolen goods. Just because they didn't know shouldn't clear them of their legal liability. "We didn't know" isn't a legal defense. I'd contact a lawyer ASAP.