They decided to try the dealership one more time. Mr. and Mrs. Rodriguez drove back to the dealership through a rain shower, with more water leaking into the motor home. As with the three previous attempts, Mr. and Mrs. Rodriguez provided the service writer with a long list of problems. The service writer put them on a repair order.
The service writer said that it was going to take a while. By this time they knew what that meant. Twenty-five days later the dealership called and said their motor home was ready. It was not. On the first turn out of the dealer’s lot, they could feel the handling problem and hear the whistling noise. Continue reading Chapter 2: A Motor Home Lemon Story (page-09)
Mr. and Mrs. Rodriguez decided to drive back to the California dealership where they bought the motor home. They would visit friends and relatives while the problems were being fixed.
Motor home components manufacturers taking responsibility when your vehicle is a lemon.
They called the engine manufacturer, who said it sounded like the weight distribution was incorrect; therefore it was the coach manufacturer’s fault. The coach manufacturer took no responsibility for anything, and around and around they went. Meanwhile, the . . . → Read More: Chapter 2: A Motor Home Lemon Story (page-07)
Date: 5/30
Mileage = 5,330
Days in shop = 3
Total Days in Shop = 3
They drove to the closer facility in Abilene. They gave the mechanic their extensive list of problems, and he put them on a repair order. Two days later, the mechanic told them their motor home was ready. Mr. and Mrs. Rodriguez were surprised that it had taken such a short time to fix all of their problems. They asked the mechanic about the water leak, and he told them that he had just caulked the area of the leak. Continue reading Chapter 2: A Motor Home Lemon Story (page-06)
Their vehicle had what is called a slide-out, a room in the motor home that extends outward on rails to create more space inside the coach. The slide-out had several associated defects:
• Sometimes when they turned a corner, the slide-out extended on its own. This was very frightening, and certainly a safety issue.
“This vehicle was designed for that soft, cushiony feel, Mr. Rodriguez. Pretty cool, huh?”
Much later, Mr. and Mrs. Rodriguez learned the cause of this problem. The weight of the RV was poorly distributed toward the rear of the vehicle, causing the front end to rise. This caused the front tires to have poor contact with the ground, which made steering difficult and handling hazardous. Continue reading Chapter 2: A Motor Home Lemon Story (page-04)
“Just read these when you get home, Mr. Rodriguez.”
First Visit: The Defects
Mr. and Mrs. Rodriguez received their motor home in Nevada and drove off to see America. Four weeks and 5,000 miles later, water leaks and other problems forced them to stop in Van Horn, Texas.
Mr. and Mrs. Rodriguez decided to wait until they got back to Nevada to buy a new motor home. The salesperson said he knew of a way they could buy the motor home from his dealership without paying California sales tax. On the advice of the dealership, Mr. and Mrs. Rodriguez agreed to take delivery in Nevada, where there is no state sales tax.
“If ever the pleasure of one has to be bought with the pain of the other, there better be no trade. A trade by which one gains and the other loses is a fraud.” -Dagny Taggart Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand
An American Dream
Another great American dream: retire, buy a motor home, and see the country. Eduardo and Luisa Rodriguez worked hard all their lives. The children were living their own lives, and it was time for Mr. and Mrs. Rodriguez to enjoy theirs. They planned to sell their home and use part of the proceeds to purchase a motor home. Continue reading Chapter 2: A Motor Home Lemon Story (page-01)
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