Complaint Review: Dan Gamels RV

On April 15th 2000 we purchased a 2000 Jamboree class C motorhome from Dan Gamels RV. The RV was new and we had ordered the specific floorplan. The RV arrived at the dealership and we were notified as we live around 3 hours away. At the time of purchase they sold us a MVP (Motor Vehicle Protection) contract. This is similar to the Permaplate they sell for cars. It covers the exterior of the coach for a long list of problems with the finish, like bird droppings, acid rain, etc.. At the time of delivery, the coach had 2365 miles.

We inspected the coach and found a few minor problems but nothing major or out of the ordinary. They took care of the minor items and we took delivery the next day. There were minor new coach type problems that we dealt with over the next few months.

One of the bigger problems that we had was that there was a split in the shower enclosure and it took them around a month to get the enclosure in and then they had the coach for almost a month fixing it. This was not a big deal at the time, but would later come into question.

Over time the coach began to fade. The strange thing is that it was not fading evenly. There were areas that were still stark white and others that were yellowing. I called the Dan Gamels Rv in Morgan Hill as it was closer to my home and they said they could buff the RV and even the color out.

They buffed the RV, but it did not lessen the color differences, but it did add a bunch of swirl marks. They said that there was nothing more they could do and I should take it back to the Fresno RV center and they could do more.

I took the RV back to the Fresno RV center. When I dropped it off, the service writer who had heard about my problem on the phone actually made a laughing comment when he came back in from checking the mileage and adding the number card the mirror about my "two tone" RV. Dan Gamels looked at the RV and called Fleetwood about it also. They said that they thought it was bad and that something should be done about it.

After having the RV a few weeks, they said that Fleetwood was not going to cover it. Fleetwood felt that the uneven color was a result of areas that were damaged and repaired and painted. Damage was not covered under the Fleetwood warranty.

Since I purchased the coach as what I thought was new and I have never had any repairs done, I asked about the MVP warranty covering the problem. They said that the MVP warranty would not cover it either, as it also did not cover repaired damage. I again told them that I had never had any damage or repairs. They said they would again talk to Fleetwood.

After having the RV for a month, they told me there was nothing they could do about it. I picked the RV up and started taking it to other RV dealers and repair places for opinions. The general consensus was that the coach had been damaged and then repaired.

One of the areas that had been found to be painted was the area behind where the shower is. There are dimples in the fiberglass that other places told me were the tips of screws that had been driven in too far and were about to break through to the outside. There is a blemish, and the theory of a few repair places was that when Dan Gamels did the shower enclosure repair, they messed up and put a screw all the way through. They did the repair and painted it to cover it up. Since the coach was brand new, we would not notice or know until a few years later when the fiberglass started to change colors from the sun.

After pressing the issue about the MVP warranty covering the problem, I was told they would give us $1000, which was the maximum benefit for the warranty. This was a shock, as they sold us the warranty for $1795! Who would pay $1795 for a $1000 warranty!?!? Then I also found out that the warranty is not valid for gelcoat fiberglass! The coach IS gelcoat fiberglass! The only part of the RV that is not gelcoat fiberglass is the nose. So they tricked me into paying $1795 for a $1000 warranty that only covered the nose of my RV.

After talking to more RV people and a fiberglass "expert" we have retained a lawyer. Dan Gamels has refused to fix the RV as of this point. The only way to correctly fix the RV is to paint the enitre unit, which will cost around $11,000. They have (verbally, nothing in writing) offered us $1000 from the MVP and $2500 from Fleetwood to go away and drop the whole matter.

We have also found others with a similar problem. It seems that Dan Gamels and/or Fleetwood find it OK to paint the RV's to make them pretty so you buy them, knowing that down the road when the fiberglass fades they have your money and your on your own.

All I can say is this:

DONT BUY RV's FROM DAN GAMELS OR FLEETWOOD!! They dont stand behind their products. There are other reports on Dan Gamels here with similar problems of them not standing behind their product, so why would anyone buy anything from them!?!?

Anonymous
California, California
U.S.A.