Negative: Great Outdoors Rv Superstore Fulton, NY

[trailhawk]

Steer clear of this place if your looking to buy a camper .I bought a used 2002 Flagstaff from them this winter that they listed on craigslist, it was in what seemed to be good shape at first and when I talked to a salemen on the phone he said it was in great shape . So I traveled up to look at it having put down 500.00 to hold it. When I got there they had it set up in their garage for me to look at the one bunk tent had about 25 small pencil sized holes in it and the other was fine I said I would fix them ,so to the next issue the counter top stove was missing and he said it was somewhere and he'd find it b4 I picked it up. Then I noticed that when they lower the top it had been in a hail storm and was dented all over and the fan cover was broken on a corner. The doors all had bungees on them to keep them shut ..Refer,hot water tank,cassette toilet etc. as well as the power cord door and gas plastic door were flapping in the wind and were broken. Another words pictures of damage weren't depicted on Craigslist like it was. As well as one zipper on a bunk side is broken and needs repair, so I was very upset but they have a non refund on dp so I was on the hook for 500.00. Later he told me they found the stove and it was in the camper as well as the shower head attachment but he couldn't find the controls for the heated mattresses. So I finally went to finish paying and pick it up and looked inside and there was the stove top it looked like it had been outside for weeks or months the top had a large rust spot on it and god knows if it works so I hooked it up and took it home ,also the spare tire was flat and they blew it up for me. The trailer was to have a NYS inspection and plate when I arrived but when I got there they said it had brake issues and charged me another 250.00 for brake repairs, so I was hot, on top of it I now have to change the entrance door lock because they couldn't find the keys to it. This outfit is a joke steer clear of this place. Once I got the camper home I ordered new tires for it as the one on it were dry rotting, sanded and sprayed the cooktop with high heat paint and cleaned the orafices, replaced all the plastic cord and gas covers ,replaced the entrance door lock and catch, put a new lock on the cassette toilet door, replaced the plastic latches on outside refer door, and the cam lock on the water heater, as well as the top lid of the fan. I will repair the tenting as the weather gets better. Seems as though they would have invested a few bucks and did this and bumped up the cost of the pup and had a happy camper rather than a PO'ed camper. I will never do business there again.

[SeaDog]

I'm gong to be honest it seems most of the problems are on your side for not walking away. As to the deposit if it didn't say non-refundable in the ad then they should have given it back or you should have said see you in small claims court. It seems you paid them to relieve them of a headache.

[KMP44]

Sorry to hear about your issues. Not surprising unfortunately. We bought our first camper there - a coleman pop-up and had issues with the service department. They did poor work and their customer service is pathetic. They were complete jerks over a $600 service job and as a result I will never buy anything there again. So instead of our current camper being a Flagstaff, we bought the Rockwood twin from Seven-O's. Night and day difference in how they treat customers. No idea how the Great Outdoors stays in business.


That is absolutely ridiculous that after you made a good-faith deposit and then the camper wasn't what you expected they refuse to refund the deposit. They left you in no-win situation.


At this point, don't let those idiots ruin your camping experience. We got 13 seasons out of our pop-up. Lots of great places to camp in a pop-up between the Adirondacks, the finger lakes, the thousand islands. Camping weather shouldn't be too far away.

[aquaholic3]

NO NO NO NO worst of the worst. I went there once to look at units. They were arrogant, insulting and not knowledgeable.The salesman ridiculed me for looking at other dealers inventory. Nephew and brother both bought there and were sorry they did. I agree, why are they still in business?

[DouglasReid]

If I were you I would call the NY State Attorney General's Office of Consumer Affairs. They are responsible for insuring consumers in their state are treated fairly. File an Official Complaint!

You were CHEATED out of your deposit by a fraudulent ad which did not point out all the negative issues on the unit.

Have a copy of the ad handy to send to the AG's office and all the particulars you laid out in the initial posting. If you have any other documentation about the transaction have that available too.

When the AG's office calls them to find out what happened Im guessing they will tell them it was a terrible misunderstanding and your refund is being processed.

Good Luck, Keep us posted!

[poppytoymaker]

You seriously paid the balance and took this thing home? How much was the whole price of this wreck?

[No more shoveling]

In 2011 we purchased our first Flagstaff 5er from them. Had to take it back a couple of times for service and lost months of camping for issues that should have taken at the most an hour to fix. We are very happy with the 5er as issues were minor and a couple of years ago we stopped back there to see what we could get for a trade in to a newer model with a different floor plan. The deal wasn't very good so we walked, at no time did we sign any papers. The only paper we saw was the one with our trade allowance on and what the new one was going to cost. About a month later we discovered that The Great Outdoors ran a credit check on us without our permission, when I found this out I was really pissed and only living about a half hour away I drove back up there and met with the salesman and manager and ripped them both a new A#$hole in front of perspective buyers. Don't know if they walked out but I did and will never go back.

[grumpy0374]

Originally Posted by SeaDog

I'm gong to be honest it seems most of the problems are on your side for not walking away. As to the deposit if it didn't say non-refundable in the ad then they should have given it back or you should have said see you in small claims court. It seems you paid them to relieve them of a headache.

X2. Your first hint of trouble was them asking for a $500.00 deposit "to hold it".
It's a 15 year old rv that had probably been sitting there for who knows how long, and I'd bet that it would have been there without your deposit. There are thousands of older rigs that sit and sit and sit on dealers lots. Most dealers would wish a tornado would come thru so they would get an insurance payoff. If they took your deposit and there is anything on paper stating it's non-refundable, than it was on you.
If it's not in writing, than you should have been able to get your bucks back.
Grumpy

[clayart]

QUOTE=KMP44;1455734]Sorry to hear about your issues. Not surprising unfortunately. We bought our first camper there - a coleman pop-up and had issues with the service department. They did poor work and their customer service is pathetic. They were complete jerks over a $600 service job and as a result I will never buy anything there again. So instead of our current camper being a Flagstaff, we bought the Rockwood twin from Seven-O's. Night and day difference in how they treat customers. No idea how the Great Outdoors stays in business.


That is absolutely ridiculous that after you made a good-faith deposit and then the camper wasn't what you expected they refuse to refund the deposit. They left you in no-win situation.


As for dealers, I cannot say enough good things about Seven O's.

At this point, don't let those idiots ruin your camping experience. We got 13 seasons out of our pop-up. Lots of great places to camp in a pop-up between the Adirondacks, the finger lakes, the thousand islands. Camping weather shouldn't be too far away.[/QUOTE]

[fredhardy]

And you actually bought it ?!? Sorry, but I believe that was a big mistake.

[dustman_stx]

Originally Posted by DouglasReid

If I were you I would call the NY State Attorney General's Office of Consumer Affairs. They are responsible for insuring consumers in their state are treated fairly. File an Official Complaint!

You were CHEATED out of your deposit by a fraudulent ad which did not point out all the negative issues on the unit.

Have a copy of the ad handy to send to the AG's office and all the particulars you laid out in the initial posting. If you have any other documentation about the transaction have that available too.

When the AG's office calls them to find out what happened Im guessing they will tell them it was a terrible misunderstanding and your refund is being processed.

Good Luck, Keep us posted!

I believe this will fall under "Caveat Emptor". To the OP, the problem is that you were speaking in general terms rather than in specifics when getting information. You say the salesman said it was in "great shape"- well guess what, that means something completely different to other people. You needed to ask things like, "Does it have any hail damage?", "Are there any rips, tears or other damage to the canvas?" "Do all zippers work as they should?" "Are all appliances there and in good working order?" And so on. The big lesson here is to never put a non refundable deposit on a used unit that has no warranty. I've put non refundable deposits on several new units, but they have warranty and must be free of defects and damage to be considered such- so there's really little risk there. One particular area where I think you DID have a case to refuse paying was the brake issue. It is most likely illegal in the state of NY to sell any vehicle that must be registered without all safety equipment in good working order- in other words it must be able to pass a safety inspection for them to even be allowed to sell it.

[trailhawk]

Total was 1900 but adding nys inspection which they charge 100 bucks for and the 255 brake bill and it ended up to be almost2400 !

[poppytoymaker]

I ordered a brand new C with 10% down you gave them 30% sight unseen. Tough lesson, I wish you luck

[Shackrat]

Sorry to hear that you had a bad experience there. I purchased my Keystone there last year which I'm trading tomorrow for a Salem Cruise Lite 272RBXL. I purchased from the Manlius location and picked up in Fulton. I wasn't pleased with how their finance guy handled both deals; high pressure, obscure numbers, playing around with interest rates, etc. That part was pretty slimy feeling.

We had a great experience with our pickup last year. Your post concerns me. I would be happy to bring your situation to a manager on your behalf.

I'll be sure to report back tomorrow.

[wellcoman]

We bought a 2011 shamrock 183 from there 6 years ago, took 6 weeks to have it ready for us. This was a new camper. Went back after 4 years when we wanted to upgrade and the said it would take 6 for the camper on the lot to be ready(new camper). Will never go there again. Took 3 day for wilkins to have our new camper ready that they just got in 3 days before we looked at it.

[Shackrat]

Well, we picked up our new rig yesterday. Our second experience yesterday with Great Outdoors in Fulton was dismal compared with last year. Suffice it to say I am not happy and am digging for a major fight.

Warning... Long winded...

On March 4th, we purchased the Salem Cruise Lite 272RBXL at the Syracuse RV show. It was not an impulse purchase as we went to the show looking to upgrade. Since we never make major purchases sight unseen, when we were writing the deal up, my girlfriend Jen asked the salesperson if we would be getting the exact same trailer and were told yes. I told her this way we would know exactly what we were getting without surprises. Out of excitement we took numerous pictures of our new trailer while at the show, especially the bathroom. Our salesperson even appeared with us in one picture.

When we arrived to pick up the trailer yesterday, one of their office managers told me I had to re-sign the sales agreement because our sales rep made a mistake and wrote down the wrong VIN. I asked, and was assured it was the same trailer and stock #. We began the inspection and right away I noticed many problems.

Methodically, one by one I outlined more than 18 problems; damaged grill, crooked refrigerator doors, missing trim, broken countertop, cracked cabinetry, significant scratching on almost all cabinet doors, etc. The demo guy did take the time to note everything down on the report and I took pictures of everything as we went along. After that was done I was sat down with a service guy who proceeded to go over the warranty then asked me to fill out another form listing the issues I found, which I did in details to the point where I ran out of room.

When the paperwork was finished he handed me the keys and told us we were done. This was the point where I started feeling very uneasy about the deal. I stopped him and asked what the plan was to address all of these issues. His answer? We will “bring these issues to the attention of Forest River” and “see what they would cover under warranty”. Still trusting, I got an assurance that they would make everything right even if Forest River didn't, so I left.

When I set the unit up in the driveway more problems started coming up; one side of the rear stabilizer wasn't moving, the power cable was caked in mud, there was a tear in the slideout seal, and the bedspread had mud on it. All told, I found 10 more problems. While troubleshooting the stabilizer I noticed a lot of mud on the underbody. Later, while on my hands and knees cleaning the bathroom I noticed the radius shower surround was so crooked it wasn't even sealing to the base. It was at that point I began to think it wasn't the same trailer as the show. There was no way I would have purchased a trailer in this condition.

I started comparing the pictures from the show against what I was delivered. The pictures told the story. The bathroom was perfect, no scratches, perfectly installed shower base and surround, cabinet doors all plumb and level, no glue globs on the mirrors, and a perfect kitchen countertop with no 1/4" gap in the edge banding.

Here's what I think.. First, I know we purchased the show trailer because at the end of the sales process, they put up a sold sign with our name on it. Secondly, I believe they changed the VIN # because they gave the show trailer which was in pristine condition to another customer, probably because of the condition of the unit I have.

In fairness, I'm giving Great Outdoors one last chance to make this right. Since the trailer was changed and the sales agreement altered with a new VIN, simply accepting repairs is out of the question. I've also alerted the lending institution, a local credit union of the problem since the VIN changed. I also intend to litigate if repairs are the only remedy they offer. I believe I have enough visual evidence to make a very strong case against them.

In the meantime, I strongly avoid doing business with them.

[KMP44]

Originally Posted by Shackrat

Well, we picked up our new rig yesterday. Our second experience yesterday with Great Outdoors in Fulton was dismal compared with last year. Suffice it to say I am not happy and am digging for a major fight.

Sounds about right for them. Out of curiosity, what is the date of manufacture on the trailer you brought home? Should be on the sticker on the front corner, street side?

[Shackrat]

Originally Posted by KMP44

Sounds about right for them. Out of curiosity, what is the date of manufacture on the trailer you brought home? Should be on the sticker on the front corner, street side?

I am going to look that up when I get home tonight. I will let you know.

I think the thing sat on the lot for a while too. Several of the exterior stickers were peeling, one of the minor issues I wasn't going to make anything out of.

I am so glad that I took pictures of the trailer at the show, with our salesperson, and with our name on the sold sign on the actual show trailer. If I hadn't I wouldn't have had much to stand on.

Thanks for the support!

[Shackrat]

So after receiving no official or helpful response today other than a "we'll get back to you" e-mail (no calls were returned) we decided to pay a visit to the East Syracuse to ask the Ed Carmer, the finance manager who wrote the deal and find out what was going on.

His response to us was very hostile and blunt. He told us they're meeting about this tomorrow and that he will not discuss the topic any further with us. I asked him for some more information and he accused me of calling him an a-hole. My response was that I had not called him any names, but if he somehow felt that I had, perhaps it was because he was perceiving himself to be one. At that point he told me that I was threatening him and asked us to leave. I refused to leave, told him at no point have I even raised my voice, and would not leave without knowing what is going to be done about the bait & switch deal. At that point he instructed someone in the office to call 911. We patiently waited for the police to arrive and escort us out.

We are now officially banned with the threat of arrest from the East Syracuse location. Great customer service towards someone who just dropped 30 grand on a trailer the day before. This isn't over! For anyone interested, I'm pushing social media hard to bring attention to these crooks. My Facebook page is facebook.com/RMCSteveW if anyone is interested in helping my cause.