I found the Open Roads RV (GA) website and saw that they had the RV we were intersted in purchasing. As we live in another state, all communications were done via texting and phone calls to the salesperson, "Eric".
In my first conversation with Eric, I told him that we were first time RV buyers; which in hindsight was a mistake as we believe that he knowingly took advantage of this. The RV in question was proffered as being "new". A subsequent deal to purchase the RV was made as was a date and time for us to drive several hours down to Georgia to take poseesion. We were told to expect a one and a half to two hour orientation and a walk thorugh of the RV.
On the date in question we arrived at their service center where the RV was being prepped and made ready for us to take possession. Upon our arrival we were told that they were behind schedule and that it would be awhile before it would be ready. One would think that they would have called us to let us know they were behind schedule so that I did not have to wait several hours in their sparse front office with no ammenities. Our salesman, Eric, who told us he'd be there to greet us was nowhere to be found. I texted him to let him know we had been there at the appointed time and asked him if he was coming by as he said he would. I received no reply.
The female employee at the front counter led us back to the service bay were we briefly saw that the RV was being prepped before the employee took us back to the front office to wait. The day was hot and humid with a severe rain and thunderstorm moving in. We noted that the RV was half in and half out of the seRVice bay. I asked why the RV was not all the way in the bay due to the pending storm to which no explanation was given.
finally, we were told that that the service technician was ready to do the orientation and walk through. Instead of the one and a half to two hours we were told to expect, the technician hurried us through the session in forty-five minutes, stating that he was hot and had a lot of other work to do on other RV's.
During the walk through the technician demostrated how to convert the sofa into a bed by sliding it out. When he tried to push the sofa/sleeper back into place it was hindered by the lower portion of the kitchen sink cabinet. He then dropped to his knees and tried to manually force it past the cabinet by slamming it with his hands. In doing so, he took a chunk out of the lower cabinet.
I was alarmed by his action and pointed out the damage he's done. He told us not to worry, that we could return at a later date and have the repair made under warranty. I told him that would require me to make another long round trip drive back to Georgia and that what he did was B.S. He offered no oppology, but said he would realign the sofa so that it would operate correctly. We also saw that the manufacture's sticker that covered the glass door on the microwave was still in place and asked that it be removed. He said he would do so after he realigned the sofa. My wife then left to make the drive back home as there was no need for her to have to wait any further.
After again waiting in the front office for some time, Eric finally arrived to say hello for a few minutes and then walked back to the service area. Moments later the thunder storm and rain began with a vengeance. It was then that Eric came back and told us our RV was parked out front and ready to go. He suggested that I "get going" as the storm was going to be severe. How coincidental that the RV was ready just after the storm began and I was not afforded the opportunity to due a good walk around of the exterior of the RV to make sure it was to my satisfaction. I asked that they bring the RV back into the sevice bay so it was all the way in and out of the pounding rain so I could do examine it. I was told that another RV was alredy in there being serviced and that all other bays were occupied.
I then left the dealership and began the long drive home. Shortly afer getting on the highway, i heard a series of loud banging noises. I looked over my shoulder and saw that the bathroom door was slamming back and forth against the kitchen sink cabinets. I got off the highway at the next exit and pulled into a gas station so that I could close the bathroom door. Upon doing so I found that the door was not aligned correctly and could not be secured in the closed position no matter how I tried. As I had no way of securing the door, I had to drive it with the door slamming open and closed until I had arrived home.
The following day I did a complete inspection of the interior and exterior of the RV. I found numerous dings and dents in the cabinets throughout the RV. The sticker on the microwave glass door the technician said he remove was obviously torn off leaving a majority of the sticky portion still on the door. He didn't even take the time to fully remove it. How unprofessional, to say the least!
In the garage section of the RV I also saw that the snap down tabs for the two piece floor to ceiling screen doors were never installed at the factory. When the window blinds on both sides of the garage were pulled down I saw that they were way off center so that a portion of the windows were not even covered.
The floor of the garage was dirty and had dried muddy boot prints on it. The floor had two significant dents on both sides of the garage as if something heavy had been dropped on it. All the D-hooks (tie down hooks) and the recessed area looked as if something corrosive had come in contact with them. I was unable to get them clean using different cleaning products and solvents. This in contrast to a photo I had earlier in the sales process requested Eric send me so I knew where they were located for future use. In his photo, this area was clean and shiny. I can only deduce that this was caused by the service technician(s) during the prepping phase and that they obviously didn't bother to clean the garage portion afterwards.
When I checked the control panel for the water and waste tanks, I saw that the grey warter tank was 2/3 full. I also saw that the generator had 51.5 hours of use. Why would the grey water tank be 2/3 full and the generator have that much use on it if this was a new and unused RV?
Upon inspecting the exterior of the RV I saw that there were numerous areas that had paint and/or body moulding damage to it. There were several areas where the paint graphics had began to buckle up and pull away from where they had been originally installed at the factory.
I took approximately forty photos of all the damage described above with my cell phone so that the photos were all time and date stamped within 24 hours of my taking possession of the RV. This was done both to document the damage and to refute any possible claim by Open Roads RV (GA) that it was us who had somehow created the damage.
I then read the owners manual that came with the RV. At the beginning was a tear out form from the manufacturer that instructs the dealer to do their due dilligence inspection and note any damage or problems with the RV and sign off on it. They were also suppose to do a walk through inspection with the customer and note any such problems. Both the dealer and the cusotmer are then suppose to sign it before the customer taking possession of the RV. Neither of these were done or presented to us!
I called Eric at Open Roads RV (GA) and got his voicemail. I left a message letting him know about these omissions as well as my other concerns. For the first time since I began dealing with Eric during the sales process, he did not return this call or my follow up calls to him. Apparently, he could care less once the sale was made and he got his commission.
Later in the day I called the RV manufacturer's warranty division. During the converstation with a representative, I was told the following: 1) Open Roads RV (GA) had taken delivery of our RV from the manufacturer almost one year to the day before we had purchased it. 2) After they took delivery and inspected the RV, Open Roads RV (GA) filed two warranty claims to repair . . . wait for it . . . a misaligned sofa/sleeper that would not glide back into the correct position without being hindered by the kitchen sink cabinet, and another for . . . wait for it . . . the bathroom door that could not be securely closed.
The manufacturer's rep went on the tell me that although the repairs were approved and arraingments made for a shipping company to deliver a new door and sofa/sleeper to Open Roads RV (GA) that they never followed through on their end of it. After three months of no further action by Open Roads RV (GA) to facilitate the repairs, by civil law, the manufacturer had no choice but to close these repair claims and that they could not be reopened by either party.
To say that I was upset that Open Roads RV (GA) knew about these defects when they sold us the RV, and willfully neglected to disclose this as part of their due dilligence, would be putting it mildly. I called Open Roads RV (GA) and asked to speak with their general manager, whom I was told by the receptionist was "Sam", and that he was not available at that time. I asked that she give him my name and phone number so that he could call me back.
When Sam called me back and I confronted him with all my concerns regarding the condition of my "new" RV and about their failing to disclose known defects of the sofa/sleeper and bathroom door, I was told the following. Sam said he had no idea that there were any defects pertaining to our RV. I told him about what I had learned from the manufacturer's representative and asked him to explain his claim that they were unaware of it. He stammered and said he would have to check into it.
I told him not to bother as I had caught him in a lie. As to the condition of our "new" RV, Sam said the cosmetic damage I had documented was caused by potentail buyers while they were walking through the RV, opening cabinets and drawers. I told him that kind of damage likely was not caused by potentail buyers walking through the RV. I then asked him why the grey water tank was 2/3 full. When he had no plausible reason as to why, I sacrastically asked Sam if the dealership allowed potentail buyers to wash dishes and shower in the RV. Again, he could give me no plausible answer.
I then asked why there were 51.5 hours showing on the generator. He said that the service technicians run all their RV generators for one hour every week to keep them in good operating condition. I told Sam that although I was a first time RV buyer, this wasn't the first generator I've owned. I told him that, as he surely was aware, a generator only needs to be run for about thiry minutes a month, if not otherwise being used.
I then told Sam that it was my belief that our RV, which had been in their possession for one year, had either been taken to RV trade shows and/or possibly been used by an employee(s) for personal use with the knowledge of the dealership as either of these scenarios would explain the cosmetic damage on both the interior and exterior of the RV, as well as the grey water tank being 2/3 full and the generator having 51.5 hours of use.
Sam several times denied that either of these scenarious took place. About the fourth time I asked him to then explain how the damage and useage occured, he finally told me that the RV may have in fact been taken to different RV trade shows, which he admitted was a normal practice within the industry.
I asked him how the RV could be sold as "new" when it was actually a demo. He said it still was considered to be new and could be sold as such without having to disclose it to us. Sam said I could make arrangements with the service department so that warranty repairs could be made.
I told him I was not comfortable nor trusting that their service department could properly do the necessary work after observing their technician damaging the kitchen sink cabinet when he tried to slam the sofa/sleeper back into place during the brief orientation, along with their sloppy workmanship overall. He said that I could choose to take our RV to any authorized repair facility but asked that I send him photos of the interior and exterior of the RV. I did not do so, but chose to instead contact a consumer fraud attorney in the state of Georgia.
As this is already a lengthy report, I will not go into great detail pertaining to my legal recourse. I will summarize it by saying that the attorney whom I consulted with, who, prior to going into private practice was instumental in drafting state law pertaining to both the Lemon Law and Consumer Fraud laws during this attorney's tenure with the State of Georgia and the Govenor's office. The attorney told me I had an excellent chance of prevailing in a court of law or in arbitration. As we all know, all it takes is time and money to do so. I was fired up and ready to do battle on principle alone, however, my wife did not want to spend the kind of money and time it would likely take to settle it; win, lose or draw.
It should be noted that the attorney did draft a letter to "Drew", the owner of the dealership. In his reply to the attorney, he claimeded that his salesman told us the reason we were getting such a "good deal" on the RV was because it had been in their possession for a lengthy period of time and that they wanted it off their lot. This was a bold face lie! Either his statement was based upon a lie that his salesman had told him or, the owner was telling the lie himself. Either way, it is completely untrue. If we had in fact been told that the RV was a demo; not "new" and in "new condition" and that it had been sitting on their lot for a full year, we would have gone to a competing dealership that had this same RV in their inventory. Whether it was a good deal or not, I would not have purchased this RV, or any other kind of vehicle, knowing that it was a demo and not what is was advertised to be.
The attorney we conferred with later spoke to an outside attorney for the manufacturer at a seminar that they were attending, who later spoke to an inside attorney for the manufacturer. My situation was relayed to the management and soon after the manufacturer's senior representative for their consumer affairs division contacted me by phone.
After I explained our situation I was told what had taken place was unacceptable to them as a company. It was explained to me that the company had no control over Open Roads RV (GA) as they are an independant dealer and buyer of the manufacturer's RV's with no legal ties to the company. They could not therefor tell Open Roads RV (GA) that they had to buy the RV back as it was sold under false ptetense, which is what I had wanted to do via a lawsuit or arbitration.
To the manufacture's credit they told me that, although they were only responsible for a couple of warranty items that needed repair, they would make any and all repairs caused while in possession of this dealership in order to rectify the horrible experience we had with Open Roads RV (GA).
The manufacturer's consumer affairs representative made arrangements to have a licensed transport company come to our home and drive our RV to their repair facility in Indiana to make complete repairs. This consisted of not "repairing" the damaged cabinets, door, exterior body moulding, paint and graphics, but of complete removal and installation of new cabinets, door, etc, as well as new paint and graphics so that there would not be any difference where oxidation had occured during the full year that the RV sat unprotected on the dealers lot.
As a courtesy, because it was obvious that Open Roads RV (GA) had not done so during the year it was on their sales lot, the manufacturer completely winterized the RV for us, including removing all the old moulding and trim around the doors of the cab, the body and roof of the RV and replacing it with new. This entire process was completed in a two week time frame after our initial conversation to get the ball rolling, so to speak.
The manufacturer, to their credit, agreed to reimburse me for my rental car, gas and hotel room when I drove up to Indiana to make sure all the necessary repairs had been done to my satisfaction. They also reimbursed me for my gas expense for the drive home in the RV.
Our RV is now in "new" condition and we are very gratefull for the thurough repairs and the timely support we got from the manufacurer! Kudos to them. Shame on Open Roads RV (GA). Do your own research and you will see other negative reviews about them. Not every customer of theirs gets screwed, but some do! Do you really want to take a chance with them when there are so many reputable dealerships to choose from? Be forewarned; Buy your next RV anywhere but at Open Roads RV (GA).
Thank you for taking the time to read my report. If any are in doubt about the details in my report, feel free to email me at [email protected] as I have numerous photos, to many to probably post here,
I can send you photos of all the damage as detailed above. Please include a valid email address, first name and a phone number so I know you are not a spammer or employee of the above mentioned RV dealership, as I have no desire to speak with them after the arduous ordeal that they put us through.
B.R.
United States#2Author of original report
Fri, November 30, 2018
I'll keep this as brief as possible and I will respond in no particular order to your comments. IMHO, your quick response to my posting and your verbiage would suggest that you could possibly be an employee of the dealership or in someway professionaly or personally tied to them as you come across as a little to incredulous for the average consumer who just happened to read my posting.
Should I have driven down to the dealership and inspected the RV prior to purchasing it? In hindsite, sure, you bet.That was on me. Why didn't I? Based on previous vehicle purchases I've made with dealers out of state and even further distances away from where we live, I did not. Why? because those dealers where ethical and dealt with me accordingly.
One of the purchases I made was of a very limited edition CVO Harley-Davidson that I viewed on the dealership's website. The other was a Mazda 3i i viewed on that dealer's website. In both cases the salesman told me that there were no issues, damages, etc with the vehicles and that they were as advertised and and as depicted by their photos. Same as what I was told by Open Roads RV (GA) about the RV we was purchasing.
The difference? Both the Harley and the Mazda were shipped to us and upon arrival thuroughly examined . Both were in fact in mint condition and there were no issues whatsoever. I mistakenly believed that Open Roads RV (GA) was also going to be honest and ethical as well. Not!
As to controlling the weather? Of course they were not able to do so. That being said, there is something called weather forcasts and weather apps on smart phones. Could they have timed the RV to finally be "ready" when the storm hit? Sure, it was possible. Was it? Who knows for sure. What would they be willing to do to get a RV off their lot that had been sitting there for a full year? One has to wonder.
But again, they knew the date and time of our arrival and we were told it would be ready for us. Why did they not have the courtesy to call and let us know ahead of time? Hmmm . . . After the storm began why not pull the RV all the way into the service bay so I could inspect it before they brought it our front? Hmmm . . .
As to the law regarding any time constraints on warranty repairs the dealership filed with the manufacturer but for reasons unknown chose not to follow through on, I have no idea. I took the manufacturer at their word. That does not apply to the same warranty claims being made between the consumer and the manufacturer. As I explained in my report, the manufacturer took care of these warranty claims for us, without hesitation.
You stated that we had a case of buyers remorse. That is your assumption and is completely false. As stated in my report, the manufacturer went out of their way to make out RV like new. Something Open Roads RV (GA) should have done before we took delivery as they represtented the RV as being new and unused. This is different than being new and walked through by potential buyers as you seem to suggest in your comments.
As I also stated, Open Roads RV (GA) failed in their duty, as mandated by the manufacturer, to do an inspection and check list were both they and us sign off on the condition of the RV and/or note any and all damage or issues. That was just another unanswered question I got from them when I brought it to their attention. Again, why?!?
The bottom line is that since the manufacturer made our RV like new and unused, we have been very happy with it as I stated in my report. It has been put to good use since we got it back from the manufacturer. There is no buyers remorse as to the RV itself as it is exactly what we wanted. The only buyers remorse iwe have is that we did business with Open Roads RV (GA)!
Since joining a few RV'ing websites for RV owners, we have read of numerous post by others who've also had the misfortune of dealing with unscupulous RV dealers. Wish I knew then what I know now, but again, that's on me. Live and learn. Some dealerships are just there to get your money by any means as they see fit. It's money over morals.
Morals: Adjective: 1) Concerned with the principles of right and wrong behavoir and the goodness or badness of human character
There is an centuries old Chinese adage that states, "Do something right for someone and they will tell a hundred people about it. Do something bad to someone and they will tell thousands of people about it".
Robert
Irvine,#3Consumer Comment
Fri, November 30, 2018
I would bet that when you or your wife buy something even as simple as a shirt or pants at a store, you look them over to make sure their are no rips/tears..etc. You probably even try them on all BEFORE you pay for it or put it back on the rack. So of course it makes total since that as a "First Time" RV Buyer to spend 10's of thousands of dollars on something you haven't even seen. I'm not saying that they did or did not try to pull something over on you. I am just saying that if they did, you let them do it.
I would also question the "regulations" that disallow the Manufacturer from reopening the warranty claim. I would actually force them to let you know what this specific regulation is, as I could be mistaken but the only regulation they may be refering to is the Magnuson-Moss Act and I don't know if there is any such provision.
But this line is really just over the top...
How coincidental that the RV was ready just after the storm began and I was not afforded the opportunity to due a good walk around of the exterior of the RV to make sure it was to my satisfaction.
- Really? So now they are in control of the weather and timed everything just to keep you from looking at the exterior. By the way at this point it really doesn't matter if it was to your "satisfaction"..you already bough the RV. The time to do the Walk-Around would have been BEFORE you bought it.
As for the disclosures, you can not confuse or equate "new" and "unused". Every RV you will see is "used" to some level, but in legal terms since it was never actually sold or registered previously it is still considered a "new" vehicle. If you never asked how many hours it had on the generator, they really didn't mislead you. Now, had you asked and they told you it had 5 hours...you would probably have a valid complaint. Also, again unless you asked about any issues they have had, they may not need to inform you of anything.
All of this is a primary reason you NEVER buy something like this sight unseen.
You could have easily spent a few hours driving down before the purchase, look it over, and test drive it. So at this point it really becomes a case of buyer's remorse, and hopefully you can make your claims through the company to get the items repaired.