New Engine is in and we are done with the Dealer, After talking with Lawyers

Yes, things got very ugly in the end. The mechanic was met with employee issues and rain delays… yes rain, and weeks went by. We were promised deadline after deadline and excuse after excuse. We felt we were getting the short end of the stick so many times here and we had no choice but to get a lawyer involved. Good thing too.

When the final day came and we were to come settle up, the dealer wanted us to pay nearly $7000.00!! Remember, our agreed amount was $2000.00-2500.00 the amount above and beyond the cost of the used engine. I had it in writing! (text message)

It got very ugly, he said you can take me to court and I, very sternly, told him I will! I said, the RV can sit here at the mechanics yard, I will continue to make payments and I will see you in court! I said I’ve already spoken to a lawyer (which I had) and they felt we have ample evidence that he had failed to deliver and we were entitled to a full refund. He stormed out with a barrage of profanity and hostile gestures and then 30 minutes later he called me and left a message apologizing and stating that since I have it in writing, he will agree to cover all the additional costs!

It’s all done now. It’s still not right, but it’s gonna have to be good enough and we will sort out problems in the future.

Chalk it up to a life lesson on how to handle tough situations and when to stop throwing good money after bad.

I have intentionally left his name out of our blog and vlogs. Just stay away from RV dealerships in Mt. Pleasant S.C. If you need to know who the dealership was because you or a friend are shopping in this area, email me!

I have many videos up about this on YouTube.

-Our Engine Blew up! How did this Happen?

Okay so, the smoke was added in editing but this is accurate for how it felt!

So to catch up quickly…

We bought an RV from a small dealer, and after about 2 months we learned it needed repairs that would involve months of time and salvage parts. The dealer then agreed to “exchange” our RV for one of similar value, this time a Winnebago Adventurer. All good right? Wrong.. The Winnebago needed a whole ton of cosmetic work but he assured us the mechanics of it were good.

Again… a lie!

Turns out we learned this RV was purchased at auction, turned in by Camping World. Ask yourself, “Why would Camping World send an RV to auction when they are one of the largest RV dealers and service centers in the nation?” Because they knew it was beyond reasonable repair... That’s why! So, that means when he told us it was “good” he had no knowledge to back it up…Despicable

So basically, at this point he agreed to have the engine replaced!

We agreed on a Jasper Remanufactured engine, this was going to be a little more money for us but the other option was a used engine and more unknowns. We were going to cover the difference, above and beyond the cost of the used engine. He told us this would be about $2000.00 to $2500.00.

But… The question is why! Why did the engine blow up? We will never know for sure but we have a few clues!

The dealer told us he would deliver it to us the day before our trip! We expected them to arrive at about 3PM. They didn’t arrive until about 7 PM. At around 5PM we decided to go pick up a pizza and we saw the RV parked at the local gas station. We went on to get our pizza (pre-ordered for pick up) and the RV was still parked at the gas station as we traveled back home! The fuel was not filled up, so why were they there? TO LET IT AIR OUT AND COOL DOWN! They knew it was bad, about to blow and they gave it to us ANYWAY!

Again.. why?

When the RV was billowing smoke we pulled it over and checked the oil. It was empty! The dealer told us they did an oil and filter change prior to delivery… did they? Did they forget to put oil in it, or only a very small amount? We will never know..

Anyway, we have no choice but to roll with the punches. Onward and upward.

New engine here we come!

Searching for an RV, sense of impending doom...

We are off to find our next home. Should be a very exciting time… Right?

Well, we are total noobs here and I guess it shows. We first fell in love with a Gulf Stream and even purchased it.

The dealer told us there were some final projects that needed to be completed and it would be a few weeks. We were told about mid February. Well, this was our first clue to the character of this small dealer. Come mid March we still had not heard anything and we started to do our own homework. The dealer had outsourced the labor, so we went straight to the mechanic shop (thought we’d cut out the middle man). The news was quite alarming. Apparently the coach had some aftermarket suspension parts that have failed and the manufacturer was out of business. The coach was not drivable and was going to take months to repair with salvage parts.

He then offered to put us in a Winnebago Adventurer instead! Obviously he had us over a barrel here so we agreed to entertain the Winnebago. We made a different trip all the way back to Charleston SC - about 2 hours- and got our first impressions of what we now call “The Winniebeast”.

She was rough! But we thought the bones were strong and the dealer assured us this was a good solid coach and he was going to make all the cosmetic repairs, after all, this is what their whole business was centered on.

Okay, this story is getting long, so I will speed it up. After months of (what we later learned were) lies and deceit he delivered the coach to us. Most of the “renovations” were completed.

I say “renovations” in quotes because it was so laughable! However, again, we were kinda stuck here and I knew I could redo all of his shortcomings.

But..

The next day, the engine blew up. Yep, it blew up! We had planned an 8 hour trip to Florida and 10 minutes into the trip the thing is billowing white smoke, the smoke alarm and carbon monoxide alarm are sounding and we nearly got stranded.

He apologized, offered to come get it and take it to the mechanic to sort out what was wrong and he gave us 1000.00 for our inconvenience.

While away on our trip, sitting next to a pool I got a call from the mechanic, what I already knew, the engine was dead and would need to be replaced… .

More about the engine in the next post!