New camper accidentally sent home with wrong family!

[Oaklevel]

This happens more often than we know even at car dealerships. The paper work
including registration is made out for vehicle " x " but ends up on vehicle "y". The new owner not checking drives off with the wrong vehicle. Vehicle Y is still new as it is not titled.

Not a big deal until someone finds out the are driving or pulling a vehicle that they do not actually own. Does not sound like that big of deal since the OP had not completed the deal (taken possession). I agree some freebees would be nice...... The trailer that was accidentally removed from the lot is still new.

I agree with a good PM along with making sure that there is no body damage. I had a friend total a brand new car on his way home a few years back.

[Oaklevel]

Originally Posted by CNYCamper

I'm missing something here, either because of my state (NY) or maybe my normal state of confusion due to advancing age. But here my dealer operates like a mini DMV and issued me plates and a temporary title (later replaced by a regular title issued by NY).
Sounds as though the OP is in Pennsylvania so maybe things are different. But does PA let you pull an RV without a plate dedicated to that RV? Also, if the camper had been in an accident while being pulled to that home, if its damaged while sitting there or in transit back to the dealer, whose loss is it? I.e., who right now owns this camper?

Right now it sounds like the dealer owns the camper, the OP had not completed the sale (Taken possession). The tags were put on the wrong trailer with the dealer not checking the vin closely enough. A bigger problem for the people that took the wrong trailer home. This is not as uncommon as you think.

[NavyLCDR]

Originally Posted by boondocking

Never ceases to amaze me why people think they need to be compensated for an honest mistake that did not cause a real problem.
It is so unfortunate what society has evolved into.

It never ceases to amaze me why people think there should be no consequences for negligence. But...at least the brakes on the trailer in question are burnished now.

[Oaklevel]

Originally Posted by NavyLCDR

It never ceases to amaze me why people think there should be no consequences for negligence.

I think that it never ceases to amaze me that people think there should be consequences for mistakes... Its sad.

[NavyLCDR]

Originally Posted by Oaklevel

I think that it never ceases to amaze me that people think there should be consequences for mistakes... Its sad.

If it was the truck that towed the trailer that was sent to the wrong person by mistake, would you take the truck with 500 miles on it?

[Qwkynuf]

All this "lawyer talk" cracks me up! You guys watch too much TV!

Lawyers expect to get paid for their time - every second of it. Depending on where you are and who you hire, you are looking at anywhere from $100/hour upward. You will pay them a retainer, which is a deposit on the amount of time that they think they will spend working for you (or a minimum). Every time they lift a finger on your behalf, they will bill time against your retainer. Usually in 15 minute increments.

You call him? That's 25 bucks. He sends you an email? Another 25 bucks (minimum). If there is court involved, they numbers go up. Way up.

A lawyer will sometimes take a matter on "contingency". In this case they will eat all of the costs up front, but will take a (large) percentage of any money awarded or settled. this can easily run from 30-60%, depending on what they believe the risk/reward to be.

For something like this, it *might* be worth finding a cheapo ambulance-chaser to write a demand letter on their law firm letterhead. It would cost $100-$200 and would constitute the lawyer's entire engagement. In fact, they would probably have one of their paralegals do it for them, and they would never touch it. You have to be absolutely clear what you are "demanding", and hope that the dealership doesn't just ignore you - because the letter imposes no legal obligation on the recipient.

In order to sue them, you would need to show a court that you had suffered a loss that a can be remedied through a court judgment. You could ask for additional punitive damages if the behavior of the dealership is particularly egregious. You could also ask for reasonable attorney's fees.

But in this case, what you would be saying in court is: "Your Honor, the defendant made a logistical error, which they immediately brought to my attention and attempted to reconcile. The value of the RV that I had planned to buy *might* be diminished slightly due to the fact that it sat in someone else's driveway for a few days. I am asking to be awarded the diminished value and my attorney's fees".

The judge is going to say "You can't suffer diminished value on property that you don't yet own. You have no standing to bring this suit. Denied. Next case."

And your lawyer still gets paid.

In reality, any decent lawyer would tell you that you are wasting his time and your money.

[quicky06]

You people do realize that all but the smallest of trailers are towed to the dealer from the factory right? It’s not like the tires have never been on the highway before.

As long as nothing has been done to the trailer, I would specifically inspect the tongue for holes from a WDH, then it’s no different than when it was sitting on the lot when they looked at it.

At least the dealer is being honest and telling you what happened. They could have very well told you that it was damaged while moving on the lot and a replacement would be in in a couple weeks.

If someone else pulling the trailer an additional 500 miles is that big of a deal then wait for the new delivery and hope there’s nothing wrong with that one.

[tugboat369]

This could have been worse. If no one noticed the mixup then a year or two down the road one of the customers go to sell or trade the trailer in or has a accident then finds out that have the wrong trailer. Then there would be a real nightmare for all parties involved.

[lwalkplumb]

If it were me I would tell them I want to talk to the people that they delivered it to. If you are comfortable with their explanation and feel they haven’t used it, go ahead and take it. If you are not going camping right away why not wait for the new one. Life is full of mistakes for everyone.

[nomad297]

Originally Posted by CNYCamper

I'm missing something here, either because of my state (NY) or maybe my normal state of confusion due to advancing age. But here my dealer operates like a mini DMV and issued me plates and a temporary title (later replaced by a regular title issued by NY).
Sounds as though the OP is in Pennsylvania so maybe things are different. But does PA let you pull an RV without a plate dedicated to that RV? Also, if the camper had been in an accident while being pulled to that home, if its damaged while sitting there or in transit back to the dealer, whose loss is it? I.e., who right now owns this camper?

Not that this has anything to do with the OP’s issue, but to answer your question:

I don’t know if all PA dealerships are the same, but when I bought a travel trailer in PA, the dealer didn’t do any of the DMV/title stuff. I had to take a drive with one of the dealer’s employees, in her vehicle, to a Notary Public a few miles away where all of the title work was done and temporary tags were issued. After we got there, the dealer’s employee handed the Notary the entire file containing all of the paperwork involved with the deal while we both sat in the waiting room waiting for the Notary to do whatever a Notary does with this stuff in PA. After about twenty minutes, the Notary came back out to the front desk with a 30-day temporary tag and a few documents that she, the dealer’s agent and I all signed. That was that. I have no recollection of exactly which documents were signed there and I can’t remember if I had to pay the Notary anything or if all of that was included in the original deal with the dealer. The dealer’s employee and I then drove back to the dealership where the tag was handed to somebody to put on the trailer that was already hooked-up to my truck. The deal was done and I drove away.

I don’t know if it makes a difference or not, but there was no financing involved with my purchase.

Bruce

[nomad297]

As far as the mix-up the OP is dealing with; what’s the big deal? 500 additional miles on the road — who cares? if I was in the same situation, I would commend the dealer for catching the error and accept the wrongly-assigned RV with my only concerns being that nothing physical has changed since the time I agreed to purchase that RV. If a WDH has been “permanently” (holes drilled, etc.) installed onto the trailer tongue and it’s not the type the OP wanted, that’s not good, but most dealers install the same brand and model WDH on every trailer they sell without even asking the buyer what they want, so that’s probably not an issue unless, like I said, you wanted a specific type of WDH and that’s not what they have already installed.

I don’t understand the mentality of trying to take advantage of somebody — anybody — who made an honest mistake that has caused no harm. So many people look at things like this as an opportunity to get something for nothing, and this little mistake really is nothing. Give the dealer a break and thank them for catching it (so soon) and saving you from certain aggravation in the future. But I wouldn’t go into it expecting some sort of compensation. Why would I if there is no harm done? I’m sure the dealer feels like an idiot and is expecting some sort of fight from the OP. Surprise him and be that person we all wish everybody would be.

Bruce

[Jfkmk]

Originally Posted by Qwkynuf

All this "lawyer talk" cracks me up! You guys watch too much TV!

Lawyers expect to get paid for their time - every second of it. Depending on where you are and who you hire, you are looking at anywhere from $100/hour upward. You will pay them a retainer, which is a deposit on the amount of time that they think they will spend working for you (or a minimum). Every time they lift a finger on your behalf, they will bill time against your retainer. Usually in 15 minute increments.

You call him? That's 25 bucks. He sends you an email? Another 25 bucks (minimum). If there is court involved, they numbers go up. Way up.

You must live in a very inexpensive area. The last time I had to deal with a lawyer, it was $350/hr and they bill at .1 hour (6 minute) increments. Contingency to go to court was $2500 minimum.

Originally Posted by quicky06

You people do realize that all but the smallest of trailers are towed to the dealer from the factory right? It’s not like the tires have never been on the highway before.

And, the folks who thought the trailer was theirs probably towed with a lot more care than an RV transporter trying to get the unit to its destination as fast as possible so they can make a buck.

[dbarr]

Originally Posted by Jfkmk

You must live in a very inexpensive area. The last time I had to deal with a lawyer, it was $350/hr and they bill at .1 hour (6 minute) increments. Contingency to go to court was $2500 minimum.







And, the folks who thought the trailer was theirs probably towed with a lot more care than an RV transporter trying to get the unit to its destination as fast as possible so they can make a buck.

For any destination beyond 11 hours, you can bet that transporter slept in it! It’s already broke in![emoji23]
Are people really this uppity in real life or is it just the internet?

[KyDan]

Originally Posted by dbarr

For any destination beyond 11 hours, you can bet that transporter slept in it! It’s already broke in![emoji23]
Are people really this uppity in real life or is it just the internet?

Please READ what the original poster said-- it was taken home by another couple about 250 miles away. They said they haven't done anything to it but park it. It hasn't been registered so it's still a "NEW" unit.

A bird(camper) in the hand is worth 2 in the bush!
Take a good look at "your" camper when the dealer gets it back.
If it passes a thorough inspection/walk thru TAKE IT!!!
The one -that's supposed to come later from the factory- might not OR it might have different options or flaws.
Or it might not show up for weeks!!
Unless you've got buyers remorse and changed your mind I vote to take the one you bought in the first place!

[dbarr]

Originally Posted by KyDan

Please READ what the original poster said-- it was taken home by another couple about 250 miles away. They said they haven't done anything to it but park it. It hasn't been registered so it's still a "NEW" unit.

A bird(camper) in the hand is worth 2 in the bush!
Take a good look at "your" camper when the dealer gets it back.
If it passes a thorough inspection/walk thru TAKE IT!!!
The one -that's supposed to come later from the factory- might not OR it might have different options or flaws.
Or it might not show up for weeks!!
Unless you've got buyers remorse and changed your mind I vote to take the one you bought in the first place!

I would take which ever is most convenient....

[nomad297]

Originally Posted by KyDan

Please READ what the original poster said-- it was taken home by another couple about 250 miles away. They said they haven't done anything to it but park it. It hasn't been registered so it's still a "NEW" unit.

A bird(camper) in the hand is worth 2 in the bush!
Take a good look at "your" camper when the dealer gets it back.
If it passes a thorough inspection/walk thru TAKE IT!!!
The one -that's supposed to come later from the factory- might not OR it might have different options or flaws.
Or it might not show up for weeks!!
Unless you've got buyers remorse and changed your mind I vote to take the one you bought in the first place!

I agree, entirely.

Bruce

[koller1509]

Originally Posted by Homebrew

But the Vin# needs a name to become official when submitting to the DMV.

From what the OP posted, they did, but they used the certificate of origin belonging to the other trailer when they processed the paperwork. The plate and title are tied to that VIN#. They just prepped the wrong trailer, simple mistake that should have never happened but we are all human.

In PA if you buy a vehicle or trailer new or used from out of state, the notary is required by law to personally verify that the VIN# on the paperwork matches the trailer VIN#. But if purchased in state, it is up to the dealer to correctly match them up. Sadly it did not happen.

[nomad297]

Originally Posted by koller1509

In PA if you buy a vehicle or trailer new or used from out of state, the notary is required by law to personally verify that the VIN# on the paperwork matches the trailer VIN#. But if purchased in state, it is up to the dealer to correctly match them up. Sadly it did not happen.

You obviously have experience with this and know what you’re talking about. Is what I described in my post above about going to the Notary from the dealer the way it is always done in PA? What, specifically, does the Notary do while you sit in there waiting for them to get things done?

Bruce

[Cabinfever97]

Good thing some of the folks posting on this thread do not have a gallows!

[WanderMore]

I don’t think I would ask for a 2nd battery since the ones they install are the bare minimum. Considering all the RV things I have on my Amazon wish list I would try to go for about a $250 Amazon credit just for the aggravation. The dealer could probably write it off as a marking expense.