shipping an rv and not getting scammed

[TheRanchBarbie]

Hi,

I'm looking for my first rv and it looks like I may have to purchase one and have it shipped to me. How do you go through the sale process and get your rv delivered without being scammed? I'm uneasy about sending a large amount of money to someone who essentially could keep it and not release the camper to the shipper. How do you do this so the seller is happy and you don't get scammed?

 

Thanks

[Lou Schneider]

I wouldn't buy an RV without first inspecting it in person. Otherwise it's too easy to get scammed anywhere along the process, from the RV not being as described to having problems (odors, leaks, etc.) the seller "forgot" to mention, etc. Once you see it you can arrange the payment details and decide if it's worth getting it shipped to you.

[SWharton]

You are asking for trouble by not inspecting the trailer yourself and you are setting yourself up for a big scam. I would go look at it, if OK pay, change the registration etc. and then find a shipper.

[remoandiris]

I'd do similar to the above replies, except I'd find the shipper and have an idea of how soon the trailer could be shipped and how much it would cost before going to look at the trailer. I wouldn't want to be surprised with either a long wait or a high price after I bought the trailer...because then you are stuck.

[krob]

IMHO you are setting yourself up for a really bad experience. It's hard enough if you can look it over. Being a first timer you may not know just what to look for.

[TXiceman]

No way would I buy an RV without an eyes on inspection. Why not fly out and look it over with a local independent RV inspector. It would be well worth the money spent on the inspection and airfare.

 

Ken

[Kirk W]

Welcome to the Escapee forums! We will do our best to help you.

 

Since you are located in Houston, why not just buy locally? There are many dealers and consignment sellers in that area with a wide range of RVs, both new and used as well as every type available. The only way that I know of to buy an RV in another location without going there, and still be secure in the transaction would be to find someone who knows RVs and financial transactions to act in your behalf. And it would be a good idea for that person to be bonded as well.

 

We could probably give better advice if we know more about you and your preferences in an RV.

[TheRanchBarbie]

Welcome to the Escapee forums! We will do our best to help you.

 

Since you are located in Houston, why not just buy locally? There are many dealers and consignment sellers in that area with a wide range of RVs, both new and used as well as every type available. The only way that I know of to buy an RV in another location without going there, and still be secure in the transaction would be to find someone who knows RVs and financial transactions to act in your behalf. And it would be a good idea for that person to be bonded as well.

 

We could probably give better advice if we know more about you and your preferences in an RV.

I've been looking locally but haven't seen anything that fits my needs. What about having the seller take the rv somewhere that does inspections for me?

[Barbaraok]

What is it that you are looking at - maybe if you give us some specifics people can help identify some similar RVs that are at least in TX for you.

[GlennWest]

Have you checked with PPL motorhomes. They have a large inventory of consignment units.

[roger&debbie]

If you go to www.rvt.com you can click on Resources, there is a section on Fraud Prevention. There is also a section that says RV Links... this brings up Transport Companies and Escrow information. That being said I do not believe there is anything better than HANDS ON and through YOUR EYES! Everyone places values differently so what may be a "little thing" to say a PAID inspectior may prove to be a deal breaker to YOU! What area are you planning to ship to/ from... out of country or out of state? If you are wanting to start your RV adventure full or part time... START NOW... this is a really fun part of the experience! If you travel to check it out and LOVE it GREAT! If not... you just wasted a bit if time, but maybe the area is worth exploring anyway... start your adventure... but make it YOURS!

 

Happy Hunting,

Debbie

[SWharton]

I find it hard to believe with the number of dealers in Houston, San Atonio and Dallas, plus the Craigs List in each city that you cannot find an rv that meets your requirements. No matter where this one is located you need to make the time to do a hands on. There is nothing like sitting in an rv and imagining yourself in it day and night, several days of rain etc. What looks good on paper is many time not so good in reality. Sometimes just a 2' length difference is all that is needed, or the flow of the rv doesn't work out as you intended. The money spent on a flight will be well worth it in the end, possibly saving you thousands of dollars and lots of aggravation.

 

We are pretty much all counseling you the same, all with experience. You came to this site for some help in not wanting to get scammed. No matter what you do, if you aren't there for the transaction you could be scammed. If you have it inspected and it passes, you send the money, that still doesn't protect against a scam.

[LindaH]

 

 

What about having the seller take the rv somewhere that does inspections for me?

 

 

No matter what you do, if you aren't there for the transaction (and inspection) you could be scammed. If you have it inspected and it passes, you send the money, that still doesn't protect against a scam.

 

I can see a couple of problems with having the seller taking it somewhere for an inspection (without you being there, especially):

 

1. How would you KNOW that the inspection actually took place? Anyone can make up a fake inspection report.

2. Even if the RV was actually inspected, it would be done by the SELLERS inspector and, depending on how buddy-buddy they are, could you trust the outcome of the inspection report?

 

I'm with everyone else who says that you should PERSONALLY inspect this RV before considering purchase. If you can't do that for whatever reason, look closer to home. This can't be the only RV in the world that fits your needs, and there are a plethora of RV dealers in Texas, and probably nearby Louisiana, too.

[Chris-n-Dennis]

No see, No Buy. Plain and simple.

[Jimalberta]

Lots of good advice here. You would be wise to listen and heed.

[Smitty77_7]

Before ending up with our coach, I looked for about 7 months. (Not in a hurry, as we had our Bounder at the time, and were pulling up buying our retirement rig due to the slump in prices when the economy nose dived. Great for us, not so great for those that had to get out from under:)!)

 

I did a few overnight driving trips to inspect rigs. And one rig passed all of my phone calls, the pictures looked great, and the private seller sent me quite an email package of his scanned in receipt based maintenance records along with a his spread sheet of maintenance. I prepared a cashier check for the amount I was willing to pay (About $12K below his asking, he said he would consider lower offers when we talked.), took two days vacation, and flew to his location. Rented a car, drove to his property. As I got out of the car and started walking up to the coach, he came our of his house to meet me. Within a minute of viewing it, from only the drivers side, I could see it had delimitation, and had been in an accident on the rear with a poor repair. Turned to him and said "You just wasted two my vacation days, cost me money, and you're dishonest!". I was back in the car as he was stammering, and off his property in under 5 minutes. Back to the airport, rescheduled with fee my return ticket, and flew out the same day. (If it would not have taken me more time in vacation, and costs to come back, I would have taken this 'gent' to small claims court. Very little satisfaction reporting him to the places he advertised, and or the local District Attorney, which I did...)

 

Why the story? Pictures do not show the full story. In this case, I believe he used older pictures for the back left section that had been poorly repaired. When spending large funds for an RV, it is worth the investment to take the time to go look in person. And even then, if you feel it looks good, pay for a pro to inspect the house, and either CAT/Cummins/Detroit to inspect the engine.

 

Best of luck to you, and take your time,

Smitty

Smitty

[RV_]

I agree with all of the above. But let's put the shoe on the other foot. I sell a lot of things through Craigslist. Big items like desks etc, as well as computers and parts. I do not want a warranty headache and as soon as I put them in Craigslist I would start getting texts and emails asking me to accept not only my asking price, but will pay more if I can ship it to their agent. Now rather than explain how the scam works, the bottom line is I never get paid and they have my item before I discover their Money Order etc. is fake. As a result when I am the seller, I put in the ad, Cash only, in person only, no shipping no PayPal.

 

If I would not take a chance on a long distance deal with a single $100.00 item I sure would not sell a multi-thousand dollar item without the buyer inspecting it on my premises, and knowing that when they leave, they have a property line warranty. The minute they take it off premises they own it - no backsies.

 

I'm not worried about my item sold, if there were any problems I'd tell them up front and it would be priced accordingly.

 

I am worried about the idiots who drop, break otherwise, cannot figure out the technology or let their own self proclaimed expert brick the item. Or in the case of a vehicle screw it up (No oil/water/filters removed) and try to claim it was defective when sold.

 

Now if I would not take any form of payment but cash as the seller, since I am not a biz with repeat or multiple sales warranting that, why would they?

 

In any part of the US there are plenty of folks within a hundred mile radius that would buy anything and show up or have it for sale. PPL motorhomes in Houston has a lot of rigs. http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/ I've mail ordered parts from them several times. Very reputable.

[chirakawa]

It's quite possible that the OP won't be able to find a unit like they want closer to home. I ran into that twice in the past. Some brands are regional. For example, there are very few Bigfoot trailers outside the West Coast. I don't remember PPL ever having one. Bigfoot trailers are very unique, not another brand compares for size and construction type.

 

Another example is Lazy Daze motorhomes. Very difficult to find a good used one without traveling. Most are in California. PPL has only had three in the past two years.

 

I did buy an RV once that was over 2,000 miles away. First, I established a telephone and email relationship with the owner. Then, I hired a forum member to go over and take lot's of pictures. The forum member also gave me his impressions of the seller and the RV. Then, after I was convinced of the worthiness of the deal, I went and bought the RV in person. I would not have sent money and a prayer to California for the purchase.

[coachmac9]

Well, the OP can't say they weren't warned!! Great advice guys!!

[bruce t]

OK I'm positive you are all negative!

The world is not full of crooks. There are actually some honest folks out there. Yes there is a risk. Life is full of risks. But don't let negativity rule your world.

 

We've purchased 3 motorhomes sight unseen. All turned out to be above expectation. Luck? No. I just done my homework.

 

I can't speak for the OP. They need to know their comfort zone. None of us can know that. Everyday millions of folks buy on the internet. All sight unseen.

 

regards

[chirakawa]

OK I'm positive you are all negative!

The world is not full of crooks. There are actually some honest folks out there. Yes there is a risk. Life is full of risks. But don't let negativity rule your world.

 

We've purchased 3 motorhomes sight unseen. All turned out to be above expectation. Luck? No. I just done my homework.

 

I can't speak for the OP. They need to know their comfort zone. None of us can know that. Everyday millions of folks buy on the internet. All sight unseen.

 

regards

 

Okay, that's what the OP came here for. She's doing her homework. So, tell Barbie how to send $100,000 across country to pay for an RV and make sure she gets something in return for her money. Of course it can be done. Help her out.

[Smitty77_7]

I'm positive that when spending $150K plus (fill in your level of $$ comfort here), that due diligence is warranted. In the very least, as mentioned by others, funding an independent inspection by someone you choose.

 

I do trust the bulk of people I encounter thru life. Has this trust been a bad move on my part in the pat? Sure, I gave an example where I felt comfortable enough to fund the flight to where I thought I would go pick up our future coach and drive it home. (In this case, it would have been a better move for me to find a qualified independent inspector, and fund their set of eyes.).

 

I'm very glad that great examples are out their of non seen purchases of RV's. I suspect that a good size volume are like this. But if you're on the receiving end of a deal gone South, and it is a higher end purchase, it can really hurt...

 

Follow your mind, and your instincts - and in my case, I still ended up eating some funds. But, I admit that while being more cautious - I will continue to trust the bulk of the people I come in contact with... And, will continue to trust my instincts when not doing so in person.

 

By the way. For my other hobby, HiFi (Got Tubes!), I've bought and sold several high end components and speakers over the years. Usually via Audiogon, a few times locally via Craigslist. I developed a habit of insisting on talking to a seller before committing funds. As a Seller, I had one gent that was not able to talk with me due air travels. All of this via email. My radar went up. And some more searching, this time to the specific address he asked me to send the component, yielded multiple reports of problems on PayPal, and other payment methods, failures - after a higher end item had been shipped. (He was having the delivered items immediately forwarded to Europe, where he was apparently reselling them. I also on this one, called and talked to the local office of the FBI, due to Mail Fraud in this case. They said they had over 70 some on reports of higher ends goods being shipped, and then the payments drying up. PayPal is good, but for sure not foolproof in protecting a seller.)

 

That being said, this was only one time out of probably 60+ purchases or sells of higher end components, where anything came close to going wrong. Heck, some of my fellow HiFi junkies - have and are both email and phone call friends. So for sure, much more a positive then a negative experience. I've loaned and also borrowed, components from San Diego to the East coast with about four of these new loose friends. Just to share/try items in our systems to see if they were a good fit. Some ended up being a sell or a buy, others I or they just paid for shipping. A very positive experience.

 

So sure, trust others. But trust yourself first. And I stand by my opinion that at certain dollar levels - go the extra mile on buying anything (or selling) long distance and sight unseen.

 

Best to all,

Smitty

[bruce t]

Guys I'm not saying don't do due diligence. I just get annoyed when folks jump in and say 'you're going to get scammed'. Sure it's a possibility. But trust people. Make the phone calls. Talk to the seller. Talk to others who may know the seller. But don't simply ring all the alarm bells.

 

We purchased a top end, used, motorhome from a dealer in Texas. From Australia. Sight unseen. But I made phone calls. I checked up on the dealer with feedback from other RVers. There's many ways to pay someone but hold final payment until delivery. We paid for it with a cheque. Told the dealer that cheque would only be honoured when we were satisfied. Dealer realised that and knew he would only get the money if what he told us was the truth.

 

The worlds getting less trusting everyday. I know that. We teach our kids not to talk to strangers. We are in affect telling our kids not to trust anyone. You simply have to trust folks until you no longer feel comfortable. As I said each of us have a comfort zone. The OP needs to decide for themself what that comfort zone is without all of us scaring the %$#$ out of them.

 

regards

[RV_]

Amen Smitty.

 

If anyone takes the time to go to my website and the newsletters section, they will see I bought my first rig from Florida, and was just about to retire at Lackland AFB Texas, we talked, then I flew down and checked it out in person. Some issues happened anyway, like a failed refrigerator, did not happen until six months or so later. Second rig was on the Canadian border at the corner of Indiana and Michigan, and flew to both before committing to the deals. Two from online, and my last local but in Craigslist.

[Kirk W]

We purchased a top end, used, motorhome from a dealer in Texas. From Australia. Sight unseen. But I made phone calls. I checked up on the dealer with feedback from other RVers. There's many ways to pay someone but hold final payment until delivery. We paid for it with a cheque. Told the dealer that cheque would only be honoured when we were satisfied. Dealer realised that and knew he would only get the money if what he told us was the truth.

While what you say is valid and I too tend to trust people, each one must make their own risk assessment and that risk is very much effected by the level of knowledge of the individual. Since I know you, I also know that you have more than a superficial knowledge of both RVs and business dealings. I do not consider you to be the typical first time RV buyer, which the poster would appear to be. Before I would give Barbie more advice on how to do such a transaction, I'd want to know just a little bit more about her and what it is that she is looking for. Like most respondents here, I am a little puzzled as to what she is seeking, since it isn't available in a market as large as Houston? It is possible that it may be a specific brand name or even a specific RV, but in such case knowing that would make our advice much easier to give. The way that the question is stated leads me to suspect that we are dealing with a complete novice RV buyer. My advice to a novice would be very different from what I'd give to someone like yourself or to our resident RV experts. The fact that you may have made such a purchase successfully is no guarantee that Barbie can do so and her question indicates a lack of self-confidence which most experienced RV'ers do not share.

 

For those reasons, I would still advice her to seek assistance.