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Old 03-11-2021, 03:18 PM   #1
NavyLCDR
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Default Frustrations with dealer, new trailer order

Venting, and hoping this doesn't happen to anyone else. On 2/13 I visited a dealer in Florence, Oregon. We knew we wanted a Vintage Cruiser 23RSS. They had the 23BHS on the lot with the Red exterior and Woody interior. We loved the combination of the Red exterior and Woody interior, and the dealer told us they had one that was already completed at the factory and was just waiting for the weather to clear up to be delivered and they thought they should have it the last week of Feb or first week of March. So we put down $500 refundable deposit and left very excited.

We sold our travel trailer and I got approval for 3.5% financing on the new trailer. Fast forward to March 1 and dealer tells me the trailer is still waiting at "freight", but it might be 6 weeks before they can deliver it. Wow, so delivery moved from 3/5 now to possibly 4/9? I know there are huge delays in building and delivering RVs, so, oh well..

Fast forward to this morning, 3/11. I couldn't stand it anymore and thinking I still probably would not get any answers, I called the Gulf Stream factory in Indiana. That was probably the best customer service experience I have had in a long time. A very helpful gentlemen informed me that my trailer was ordered on 2/26, it was scheduled to start build on 3/19. If everything went perfectly, which is very rare right now, my trailer would finish build in about a week, 3/26. Then final inspection and release, probably another week, 4/2 then go to waiting for delivery which would be out of Gulf Stream's control. Again, if all the planets aligned, we could expect delivery 4/16 at the earliest.

Further research revealed the dealer did not cash my deposit check until 2/24. I guess they were waiting for "buyers remorse" to kick in. They delayed ordering my trailer for 13 days, meanwhile telling me that it was already built and just waiting for delivery. I would love to cancel my order and go to a "less dishonest" dealer but that would set me back at least 3 more weeks, so I just have to ride this out, but I am furious!

If the dealer just would have been honest with me, I still would have ordered the trailer. I was fully expecting to wait 3 months. But I would not have sold my previous trailer and would have been camping right now. Also, I have a loan approval now that is going to expire, and I don't know if I will be able to get the 3.5% interest rate again.
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Old 03-17-2021, 12:45 AM   #2
lets go
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Hello I just ordered 3/13 from the same place in Florence we enjoyed working with the seller and felt that everything was on the up and up and am hoping I do not have the same experience as you have had , I was shown the build sheet for one they had on order already with all the options I wanted so felt good about the experience, gave them a deposit and now we are waiting .

All I ask is that they have it by July so they called their rep at factory an was told no problem but could not give a confirmed date as there is lots involved with getting one to Oregon especially with the weather
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Old 03-17-2021, 08:34 AM   #3
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Hello I just ordered 3/13 from the same place in Florence we enjoyed working with the seller and felt that everything was on the up and up and am hoping I do not have the same experience as you have had ,
What model did you order?
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Old 03-17-2021, 09:28 AM   #4
lets go
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I ordered the BT Cruiser 5245 motorhome
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Old 03-17-2021, 10:54 AM   #5
NavyLCDR
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Talking New dealer experience

Very cool lets go! I was going to say if you ordered a Vintage Cruiser 233RSS red with woody interior, you could have my trailer that was supposed to start building on 3/19. I'm cancelling mine today. Just one comment on the build sheet - that could be someone else's order and already be spoken for, but let's hope not.

My new dealer is in Spokane, WA, 445 miles away. We did some more shopping around and found a Sonic 231VRL by Venture RV that we think we are going to like more than the Vintage Cruiser. Perfect weight for our tow vehicle too. Dealer has 2 in stock. Negotiated a decent price, not the best, but decent. Also negotiated a surge protector and wheel covers as part of the deal.

This dealer has been so great to work with so far. I've actually had a lot of fun communicating with the salesman so far. I'd send him a request in email at 8:00 pm and he would email me right back! They have accommodated every request so far. We pick it up on Saturday and we're staying at a campground Saturday night half-way home!
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Old 03-17-2021, 11:43 AM   #6
lets go
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I am glad that things are working out better for you bummer that you had to go so far to get what you wanted I would have to go to Boise to find another unit like I wanted .

If you are like I am you researched everything and when you find what you want and looks like everything is going your way and then things crash you end up in a bitter mood and wonder if other sellers will be like that. The invoice that she showed me was for one they ordered for their own stock, I guess we will see but you giving me the idea of calling is something I will do down the road.
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Old 03-21-2021, 11:09 AM   #7
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Very glad to see you cancelled the first dealer. Lies should never be tolerated. We have had similar experiences ordering a new minivan that is supposed to be in transit but in real world, has not even been ordered yet by car dealer.

Considering the rush to push units out the door at every RV factory, I think you should spend at least the first couple of nights camping in the dealer lot or FHU at a campground near the selling dealer. You are going to have a list of needed repairs...hopefully a very short list. But you are more likely to get service if they have not cashed the check yet.


[QUOTE=NavyLCDR;33321]Very cool lets go! I was going to say if you ordered a Vintage Cruiser 233RSS red with woody interior, you could have my trailer that was supposed to start building on 3/19. I'm cancelling mine today.
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Old 03-21-2021, 11:39 AM   #8
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That is terrific news. Congrats!
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Old 03-21-2021, 01:12 PM   #9
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As stated previously, do try to check everything inside and out, to see if everything is in proper working order. I wish I would have. I found that my antenna was not hooked up to anything, TV mount or radio. In finding this out, I called the dealer and told them I was pissed, as I paid for 'dealer prep' that should have found these issues. My salesman, who is less than trustworthy, upon asking, told me I could take the trailer to one of their other dealerships that were closer. I got the guys name to contact and the guy told me that they do not do warranty work on my brand, even though their other branches sell them. I called my salesman LIVID, and told him to figure out where the hell I am going to take my trailer for this warranty work as his suggestion was no good. I repeatedly told him that this should have been found during the dealer prep and that I am extremely pissed at what I have been finding out. The next day he messaged me telling me that they were sending a truck down to me from the dealership (2 3/4 hours away) and will bring it back when done. This happened and I am happy now. My salesman will not answer my emails, my messages or calls. I say screw him. It wasn't my fault that these things were missed. I now know where NOT to go next time.
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Old 03-21-2021, 05:24 PM   #10
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Picked up the Venture RV Sonic 231VRL yesterday. Everything worked at the dealership. Towed about 6 hours to our campsite in a terrible head/side wind. Very little problems with sway. I have WDH but no sway control (yet). Problems at the campsite:
1. Water heater on LP gas setting off CO alarm. Think it is manufacturing oil, problem is getting better, last cycle of water heater did not set it off. I can open a panel in the bathroom and see the water heater.
2. Several window screens not clipped in fully, and I broke 1 clip :-<.
3. One screw missing from ceiling vent fan trim.
4. Half way there right turn signal/brake light went out. Disconnecting/reconnecting 7-pin connector a couple times fixed it.
5. Leak at the fittings to the bathroom sink.

I can fix it all easily. 3 hours tow home Sunday.
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Old 03-22-2021, 06:33 AM   #11
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It seems that you had minor issues and were able or will be able to take care of them. It is still too cold for me to flush the water system to try any of those things so I guess I have to wait a bit longer to see if I have any repairs to be made. I will only use the shower and water heater twice, 3 times during the year so I really am not worried about that. Good luck
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Old 03-24-2021, 08:31 PM   #12
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Also just venting
We had very similar.Told us TT we wanted was'nt made anymore a 19csk woody, so we deposited $ on a red one, a First dealer sold out his business with our 500 deposit and told me that he is in Florida now, come and get it. I reported him to Att. general and called charge card company and they reimbursed us and will investigate.
Second dealer ordered our 19csk Woody that they still make and got it in about 5 weeks total delivered. Love it, BUT the bbq pit that hooks to rear bumper that he sold us for 395$ is junk and available at Walmart for 79$. And he will not answer me back about returning it, now it sits in garage sale pile. So don't get the factory sold bbq
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Old 09-10-2021, 04:10 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lets go View Post
I ordered the BT Cruiser 5245 motorhome
Did you get your 5245 by July as hoped? How long was the total wait and build time if you know it?

I ordered a 5240 on July 5th and am told it could be six months to a year. Two months gone by now and Monday I got a "no update yet" message.
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Old 09-10-2021, 04:20 PM   #14
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Just found your July 6th first outing post. Sounds like it took roughly 4 months and probably a month or so of build time. Hope your rig is trouble free from here on out.
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Old 11-01-2021, 05:56 PM   #15
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Originally Posted by RVingagain View Post
Did you get your 5245 by July as hoped? How long was the total wait and build time if you know it?

I ordered a 5240 on July 5th and am told it could be six months to a year. Two months gone by now and Monday I got a "no update yet" message.
Have you received any update yet? We ordered our in July also and was told 8-10 weeks and now we are told there is no update and won't even give an estimate. Not sure at this point if we should walk and settle for one on a lot or wait it out. We sold our old trailer and now have an empty camp site. lol
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Old 11-01-2021, 06:17 PM   #16
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Hello Chrissie:

We are still getting an update every two weeks from our dealer RV Wholesalers (RVW) and the next is expected tomorrow. We are still waiting for production to start and Nov 5th will be 4 months but that was expected. We will wait for several reasons (don't need it in winter, best value coach out there, Love the features and look) but I understand the wait is tough. I watch the same Youtube videos over and over again (kind of an inside joke with my wife now) to keep the waiting pains to a minimum.

I can say that we are very very happy with RV Wholesalers (https://www.rvwholesalers.com/) and if you or someone you know is looking for an RV I highly recommend looking into them on the Internet and Youtube.

It concerns me that you were told 8-10 weeks so I would investigate further for sure.

Good Luck,
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Old 01-14-2022, 12:55 PM   #17
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We are glad you have good experience with RVW. We just ordered a 5210 BT Cruiser and were told it would be 6-8 months. Also we don't need it this winter (or we just wont have it this winter). I wish we pulled the trigger on the sale earlier as we had been looking for a class c for the last 2 years, and already had a pre-inflation price and quote from them 1.5 years ago, but we still had our pull behind and were just slow on the trigger. Anyway we expect our 5210 sometime between June and August 2022. I do like the fact the NavyLCDR was able to talk with the actual gulfstream factory, and get updates from them. We are not there yet, and hope things go faster than expected.
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Old 01-14-2022, 12:57 PM   #18
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NavyLCDR - I hope your new unit is satisfactory, and we also just ordered a BT cruiser 5210- Delivery expected sometime in June thru August. We bought it through RV Wholesalers. They do seem pretty good in relation to so many other dealers we have worked with on other units. By the way, I was a Navy LCDR and now am a retired AF Major.. We are in Massachusetts.
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