After that harrowing experience in New Orleans, that took a time off my life for sure, we had thought that our dreams for a motorhome were extinguished. Instead, what it did for us, is help us figure out what we really needed.
We had chose the Safari Trek because it was not as large as a typical class A motorhome but still afforded us enough room to live temporarily as we traveled cross country. The con was that it was still had many of the drawbacks of a class A. It was still too big to just park anywhere, and that meant it was going to require us to rent storage space for it. And when we traveled we were going to need a tow vehicle to get around our destination. Plus driving a class A is reserved just for me and that was rough with me always being the driver. This was ultimately going to be more trouble than we wanted.
Some time back we had noticed large conversion vans that were outfitted as self-contained campers, known as class B motorhomes, We really admired them for their mobility. We could park them anywhere and travel affordably since the MPG were in the 15+ range. They had a great deal of space in them we found out, complete with bathrooms and kitchens, and even a king size bed. We concluded that these vans would be a perfect fit for our travel needs. And so the hunt was on.
We found some that were close to our price range but most were a tad higher than we could spend without getting a loan. Especially for any newer than 1995. Which would not be terrible, just not something we really did not want to do. I thought maybe we found one down in South Florida where Sharon’s sister lives but after seeing some pictures I was not impressed and passed it up.
I scoured the internet looking through every RV used sales sites and Craigslist cities for the next 2 weeks, eventually coming across what I thought was a golden opportunity. It was an ad on Craigslist in Orlando for a 1999 Roadtrek that was in an accident and just needed some bodywork. The seller had listed that he had gotten a few quotes and that with the cost of the van plus repairs it was still below what we had budgeted, so that would give us some left over money to do some modifications such as solar panels and new mattress. Below is the ad as it was in Craigslist minus the actual dollar amounts…
$xxxx – 1999 RoadTrek 190 Vertile Needs Work this van is worth $xxxxx if its fixed but has been involved in a accident we had a couple estimates to have it back to normal the hole job will cost $xxxxx it still runs drives great just need body work clean title my loss your gain call 407-508-9401
The spelling errors should have been a red flag however I called as soon as I saw the ad. I was greeted by a fast-talking man with a Northern accent, maybe New Jersey or New York. He told me that he had several people coming to look at the van, but the first to put money in his bank account got it and that I needed to hurry up and decide. That was too big of a decision to make without seeing it. I asked for pics since he did not have any with the ad. He told me he could take some later that night but would most likely be too late as it is going to sell quick.
I felt a little uneasy about this guy and after what I had just been through in New Orleans, so I was going to be overly cautious. I responded by telling him I would have someone come out and look at it and get back to him about when I would come to see it. I knew a couple of people that live in Orlando and was going to have one of them check it out for me. However before I called any of them I thought of something brilliant, if I do say so myself :)
I phoned a nearby RV restration and repair shop and inquired with them if they offer a off-site estimating service. I was speaking to a guy named Bob that sounded very trustworthy. He told me it would not be a problem and it was fairly inexpensive so I hired him to go out and check it out that afternoon if he had time. I felt good about him having my back.
I called the seller and he seemed anxious about having them come out which got me anxious in turn. He then said he had estimates done already and when he quoted those estimates they were almost twice as high as he stated in the ad. I became very leery now of him. He was pushy and once again told me he had 10 people coming out that evening and that I am risking losing a great deal if I do not send him money asap to hold it.
He even brought up the fact that he was a pastor of a church and I could trust him. And he had been thinking about getting it fixed and donating it to the church as a write-off. I wanted to tell him what I was thinking but held my tongue. I was thinking to myself that Jimmy and Tammy Fay were pastors and look what they did. I think I may have even trusted him less after he had to make a point of telling me that. Again he told me he would send me a picture of it but never did.
It worked out that the body shop was too busy that afternoon and was not going to be able to get out and look at the van until the next day. I was more than willing to take my chances that it would not be sold before then.
In the morning I called him back up to see if the van was still available. He was was seemingly annoyed at me now, that I was wasting his time or something. He got pushier. I was not taking the bait. And once again his numbers about the cost for fixing it went up a bit. My hopes for this to work out were diminishing quickly.
Around 3 o’clock I got a call from the seller. The estimator had just been there and he told me that he quoted a rough price that was 4 times the amount he listed in the ad. He wanted to know right then if I was serious and without any money down he was needing to sell the van out from under me. He brought up a fact that even with the high cost of what he just quoted for the repairs, it would still be cheaper than what I could buy one for. Which was true, if the repairs only cost what he just quoted. But I knew better. Something smelled fishy to say the least.
I answered him with “that’s fine, you need to do what you need to do, and I need to do what I need to do. I am feeling way too much pressure from you and frankly no longer trust you. You have changed the dollar amounts several times and changed your stories about what condition the van is in. You never sent me photos like you said you were going to do. I am going to wait until I hear back from the RV shop, at which point I will contact you and let you know how I am going to proceed.”
I don’t recall what exactly he said but it was along the lines of “Alright, I’ll wait to hear from you later.” and we hung up.
I immediately called the shop to talk to Bob. He informed me that he just got back and was beginning to write up the estimate right then. I told him that he could save time if he thought the estimate was going to be the number the seller had just told me because that would be too high already. When I told him the seller’s repair cost quote, he chuckled.
This is the photo I got back from Bob at RV Collision and Restoration in Clermont, Florida. That is a major collision!
I was amazed but not surprised. I felt something awry from the very beginning, even if he was a pastor of a church. I think that statement from him was what really made me get uneasy early on. He was most certainly trying to hustle me and I was not going to be taken. I called him right back to kill the deal.
He instantly answered the phone “So are you ready to buy it?”
“No, I am going to have to back away from this.” I told him.
“What did the estimate come in at?” he asked shockingly.
“Let’s just say way higher than I am willing to pay. But I think you knew that already. I am very unhappy with the way I feel you misled me.” I replied, with a hint of disgust in my voice.
“I think they are trying to hustle you there, I bet if you bought the van and took it somewhere you could get it done cheaper. Hell if you just part it out you will make your money back.” he said as he was still trying to get me to buy the van.
Now I was getting angry. “I am not Sanford and Son and have no interest in running a junk yard from my driveway. I just was looking for a good deal for a Roadtrek and thought maybe this was an opportunity. I don’t know why I matter to you so much, you will have no problem getting rid of the van as you have several people lined up behind me to make a deal, or so you say. Good luck and I am finished talking to you. Good day sir.” and with that I hung up with a slight smile on my face.
Crisis averted.
I cannot believe what that guy was trying to pull. Thank god he was not the person I had dealt with in New Orleans, I would never of gotten my check back! He was a scheister!
We still did not have a vehicle but I was not giving up. We had just begun the search for reasonably priced class B vans. We just know something will come up and it will be exactly what we want, for the price we want. We just gotta have faith.
I know many of my readers have been wanting an update on the couple from New Orleans and the motorhome that died on me there. Unfortunately I do not have anything to tell you. I have looked online to see if they have re-listed it but did not see anything except the old ads where it was running fine. It is hard to look at the pics of that Trek. I am still scarred by that event.
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