It’s Friday night and I am engaged in my usual pastime - alone, online, and looking for my dream motorhome.
Getting close to 90 days out from moving into my RV, I am starting to feel the pressure. Nervousness about my house sale has me scaling back my budget.
To my surprise, I find a new listing about 225 miles away. It is almost exactly what I have been thinking I want – a 25 ft Winnebago Minnie with a rear kitchen, V10 engine, and E450 chassis. A 2003 with about 30,000 miles, this girl looks pretty good to me.
For the first time, I had this feeling, “I think she might be THE ONE”
I call my sister Joey at 6 pm, “I am driving to this dealership tomorrow for a test drive. It is the original one I wanted last spring and almost exactly what I rented in April.”
It is after hours, so I send an email to the dealership. On the road by 8:30 am, I call again to confirm when they open at 9:00.
“Do you still have the Minnie Winnie on the lot? I am driving from Austin to test drive it.”
“Yes ma’am”
“Okay, I am still south of Waco, so should be there by 12:30. See you then!”
I drive straight to the small dealership, spotting my Winnie among their limited inventory.
He gives me a tour, going over what I already know V10, E450 chassis, 2003 with about 30,000 miles. Guided by you guys, I ask about the tires. “Are these original?”
“I don’t know,” he replies. A skeptical look from me, “Well, probably.”
He stands around while I make a pretty extensive tour. I push and pull on everything, crawl up on the bunk, look for leaks (no front window on this unit!), stand in the shower, open every cabinet, check out under the dinette benches to see what I’d be contending with if I wanted to remove it.
“Okay, so can we take her out for a test drive?”
A hesitant pause from him, “Well, we limit our test drives only to serious buyers.”
Me, “I drove 225 miles to test drive this unit.”
He relents.
I pull out of the lot and onto the access road. Before we get to the onramp he suggests I make the turn to return to the dealership.
Me, “Oh, I’d like to take it on the freeway.”
Again, a reluctant acquiescence.
As soon as I get on the freeway, “You can exit here to turn around.”
Exasperated, “Why don’t you let people test drive your RVs?”
“Well, we do, but we only let people really drive on their second visit so we know they are serious. If you come back, you can take it for a longer drive.”
That was a bad first date.
***
Countup: Still in sobriety…
Countdown:101 days until I move into my RV!
Oh My God. Auto Mechanics class starts tomorrow!
20 Comments
There is nothing more infuriating than a condescending salesman.
One word for this post: Unbelievable!
You mean to tell me in this down economy that this RV dealership just turned down a sale over a flippin test drive? “Only for their SERIOUS buyers”?!! You are the most serious buyer they have probably had on their lot for months! He couldn’t tell you were serious from searching every square inch of the RV and asking about the tires?! This incident has discrimination written all over it. If I were you I’d be taking this a step further. Was this guy you spoke to just a salesman? If so, I would be asking to speak to someone much higher up in the company (regardless of how big or small this company may be). Don’t let them get away with treating you in this manner!! A phone call to speak to someone higher up will be sufficient. Don’t waste your time or money driving 225 miles (AGAIN) to be disappointed all over again. They don’t deserve your money. And from the sounds of the hesitancy and resentments in the mans voice….it’s probably his guilty conscience secretly telling you that the RV is a piece of sh** anyway.
Have fun at school tomorrow!
Aww thats a bummer. Why would nt they let you drive it longer as you (and the salesman) knew you traveled a long distance just to see it. What was your impression after the test drive that you were able to take? Any shimmy/shake in the steering wheel at hiway speed?
You cannot go wrong (IMO) with a minnie. I have one and that is what I live in FT for the past 2 years now. No troubles from mine and I am still in love with it. Mine does not have an overhead front bunk window either, and am glad.
Before I bought, I put 7000 miles on my car (car free now) looking for the right MH. 8 trips later I found mine 900 miles away. I always wanted the rear kitchen too, with the mindset that no matter what I had to have the cabover area since it was a class C so figured why shouldnt that be my bed? Well I ended with the 324v (rear bed) and am so glad that I didnt settle for a rear kitchen because sometimes you just wannna lay down and not climb up there. Then when it is hot, it is hotter up there! In my current MH the overhead houses the TV and cabinets with a small pullout bed that never gets used.
Minnies are good and I suspect that the one you looked at was a good one as well.
Good luck in your search and at first day of mechanics school. Congrats on your continued sobriety. Capt.
I am angry for you. THAT is ridiculous. You drove 225 miles for a joyride? I don’t think so.
I know it may be the one [sounds sweet] but my goodness I would’ve gone to the manager/owner and complained LOUDLY.
I really am flabbergasted at this. I can guarantee you if you had a male significant other with you there would’ve been no problems.
I hope their attitude improves or you find someone just like her somewhere else.
PS – just to mess with the salesman I would’ve thanked him, driven to McDonald’s, had a bite to eat and then returned.
Upon entering the dealership I would’ve said “I’m back. It is my second visit. NOW can I take it further than one exit on the hwy?”
I mean, really 450 miles in one day and you can’t drive it?
Sorry, I am still mad about this.
I found your blog by some misguided route due to the fact you were considering a Winnebago View. I own one. I see now your RV choice has changed. If it is the matter of $$$ then I understand. If not, I strongly suggest you reconsider and go with the Mercedes diesel. So many reasons to do so. Believe me, I never had owned a diesel before and was not a fan of diesels. That has all changed now and I love my View, smiling ear to ear everytime I am at the gas station.
Relax. This is going to happen a lot. Salesmen want you to think they are doing you a favor. And you have to hurry if you want what they’ve got, since it’s so rare and everything.
But it is your job to intimidate the salesman, not the other way around. The good ones will quickly figure out if the standard bullshit isn’t working, and shift gears. The bad ones will keep pushing it.
Assume that salesmen are more desperate than you are. And make it so. Then you can quit listening to them, and make your inspection. Chances are that none of them know anything about the units anyway. They are only there to try and manipulate you into signing a check. After that, you’ll never see them again.
But mostly it’s not about the salesman at all. If they just come to understand that, they’ll be plenty intimidated.
What you are doing right now is narrowing down your choices. You are getting a better idea of what you really want. But even if you find it, you still have to find it at the right price, age, and condition. And then you want to have it inspected by experts.
The good news is that even when you do all that, you will still find that there are lots of good choices available over time.
Don’t get hung up on your “deadline”. The best tool you have in this struggle is the power to wait and look a little longer. Use it. Time is on your side. The perfect unit “for sale by owner” is waiting for you right now in somebody’s driveway just down the street. Maybe 4 or 5 of them. But chances are they won’t be for sale until April at the earliest, because the average owners just don’t believe anybody is looking this early. And they hate the hassle of selling even more than you hate the hassle of buying.
Shopping can be fun. Don’t rush it.
There is a huge hidden inventory of any type you are looking for, but you have to wait for them to come up for sale. In the meantime, you are soberly educating yourself on the details so you will recognize it when you see it.
You don’t want to jump on the first one you meet with the right number of tires. That’s not dating. That’s just hanging around in bars at closing time.
http://slopeofhope.typepad.com/.a/6a00e0098982228833012876dbad7a970c-500wi
Bob
Jen, DD likes to have support when buying a car, and asks Mom and Dad to go along with her to pick it out. Usually the salesman addresses me with question. I point out, sometime more than once, that he should talk to DD since she is buying the car and I’m not. Of course since she is small framed and youthful looking, I excuse them.
I read a posting over RV.net that listed the top C’s,
when you have a moment, look it up, it might give you some ideas, and on the other hand it might just confuse you.
Wear gloves when you go to your mechanics classes to protect you tender hands and nails (really all real mechanics wear gloves now days), and I think they should be hot pink!!!!
Love
JJ
What a total a-hole! OMG he wouldn’t have done that if you were with a guy, or were a guy. In fact, when Jim and I looked we had sales people crawling all over us to get us to buy. Pure discrimination, that’s what that was. Don’t you dare hand over your cash to those morons, I’ve never heard of anyone getting treated so crappy by a sales rep!
Wow, I hate to be treated like that. I guess it’s time to move on and hope the next dealer is a whole lot smarter then this one. I’m sure there is an RV out there for you. I’ll keep my fingers crossed it’s soon.
Chris
Thanks for the support (and the guidance on purchasing). I felt so confused by the experience, so I wasn’t really sure if it was just me.
To answer a few questions – it was the owner helping me. It was a family run operation.
I am still considering the View, but am not sure I can afford it. If I don’t sell my house, then I have to scale back my RV purchase…
Nice to hear from you all!
Jennifer
Some sales people are really as dumb as a box of rocks. If that happens again, ask to talk to someone else higher up on the food chain. You are the definition of “serious buyer”. Maybe you should arrive with $100 dollar bills sticking out of your waist band….hahaha!
I was shocked to hear this report on driving the motorhome for a test drive. The VIEWS are very nice, but the Winnebago is good too. Don’t let a sales man push you around like that. You deserve better. A salesman knowing a customer drove a long ways, should get much more than what you received. Keep on going, I love reading your blog.
WOW! What an arse. Misogynists lurk everywhere…and I am sure RV sales lots are laden with them. harhar.
Speaking of Winnie “Views”…they are NICE!!! I read they drive/park like “Bs” and get 15-16mpg, even on steep climbs! Sweet! (I also read that they need, every 10,000 miles, a 14qt synthetic oil change!)…which would be no problemo for a tech-savvy mechanics grad…!
http://www.rvtraderonline.com/find/listing/2007-WINNEBAGO-VIEW-23J-95882024
They sure are on the upper rung in price though. But I imagine they would hold their value longer than many others? Mercedes are fantastic engines.
But expensive to maintain/repair. (I had one…ouch!).
Will your class include diesel maintanance?
Good luck in class!!!!! XOXO LD
Stupid salesman, gotta love them. I would have told him there is no one else you need to consider this purchase with and how does he know you aren’t serious? My god, stupid people are rampant.
I remember when I was looking for a truck, and this salesman was adamant that I should ask my husband first about it (it was a rather large truck, an F350). When I asked to take it for a drive, he laughed at me.
He laughed!
I told him I don’t have a husband (my son was with me), I have a bank account that would shame his (I meant to pay cash for the vehicle as I had saved for it), and he lost a sale by being such a jerk.
Im glad I didn’t get the truck. He obviously didn’t need the commission!
Chalk it up to experience, you did good. At least you got the test drive.
Lots of motorhomes out there!!!
Be choosy!!!
I bought my 1996 25′ Minnie Winnie without ever driving it before buying it. I knew it was the one. Nothing else mattered. And it has proved to be the perfect fit.
Hey Jennifer,
Found this Winnie similar to the one you drove.
(*link removed*)
Steve
That is actually the one I tried to drive. ; )
Hey Jennifer,
Sorry for the link, my reading comprehension must be south of Waco, which is where I thought you were headed for the test drive. That was your location as you were driving to the test drive. Oh well. BTW, I really like the View. I love the fuel mileage but you have to be able to live lightly with the low ccc.
Steve
I appreciate your help! I was purposefully ambiguous about the location of the dealer because of my negative review….
Thanks for the feedback on the view.
Jennifer