I check MOTs website daily. They have some very nice Foretravels listed. I am curious to know what MOT does to these Motorhomes to prep them to sell? Obviously they have a wider visibility of those buying and I am sure they clean and polish as needed. What else do they do.... check systems serviceability, check hoses and connections and etc ? Can I assume that the motorhome is in top condition?
Thanks...Thomas
Well, I think it depends on if it is consignment or owned by MOT, but really that is a great question to ask them and let us know what they say.
Bought two coaches there, ( one MOT owned and one consigned) traded one in and sold on on consignment there and I would be speculation to answer.
On the consignment I sold, there was a MOT PDI, and I fixed a few minor things as a result, but couldn't tell you if that was SOP or not.
Most that have been to MOT ( including me) love the value the give us for the $$$ spent.
As Tim said, there is a WIDE range on condition of coaches on consignment. Some are immaculate, others.. I guess "neglected" is a good description.
Tim and Brett, Thanks for your response. I realize that I would need to go to MOT and inspect to my satisfaction. Does MOT do anything to those that are neglected, or do they just clean them and sell them.
I would most certainly ask MOT if there were known problems with a Motorhome when and/or if I buy from them. However, I am interested in the experiences buyers have had with MOT. Obviously you rate them high, others may not. I sold new and used cars for a while after retiring from the Army. I know that even the best dealers sometimes have problems. I would much rather ask here than be told down the road "Buyer Beware." I simply want to know what to expect. I can be contacted by Private message if anyone wants to.
Thanks to all,
Tom
Tom,
I do a LOT of mechanical inspections of coaches-- many at MOT. It is NOT a reasonable expectation for a salesman to know the mechanical condition of a coach on consignment. It puts both you and him an a poor position.
How many salesmen do you know who crawl under coaches with a torque wrench to check bulkheads. What kind of an answer do you expect a salesman to give you if you ask?
Agree with Brett. One needs to think of salespeople as realtors. They ultimately work for the seller. Yes, they can be good people and many are, but as a buyer one needs to do their own due diligence. You wouldn't have a realtor do a home inspection for you, right? Same thing.
Brett
I expect the salesman to know his product. That is not to say I expect him to crawl underneath. But, they should have an incoming inspection accomplished by certified Maintenance Techs to note serious problems. This is just good business practice.
As for comparing MOT to realtors...I don't know about other states but in NC the Realtor I go to represents me as the buyer
Tom
This simple question seems to have gotten out of proportion. I really only wanted to know if MOT does anything to a Motorhome that they sell if they find a problem and to what extent they may look for a problem.
Tom
Tom,
That is a really good AND really tough question. Yes, some sellers ask them to go through the coach they are getting ready to sell-- but most do not.
And, whether seller or buyer requests work, yes, I am comfortable with MOT doing the work IF it is stuff they do.
So, no paint work, no engine or transmission work, no suspension work, tires, etc. There are others in Nacogdoches who specialize in these other repairs-- Extreme, Bernard, Herman Power being a couple of examples.
Not trying to make this more complicated than it is, nor do I want you or anyone to have unrealistic expectations.
To use your automobile background as an example, yes, most dealerships check and recondition cars before putting them on the front line. But automobile consignment lots would be a completely different thing.
Brett,
Thanks. This is what I was looking for. If I use them I now know what to expect.
Tom
I sold a Fleetwood Discovery on consignment at MOT coincident with our buying our Foretravel from a private seller. MOT sold the coach within a week. In our case, the only mechanical work they did was to replace a fresh water pump (house pump) at my request. They may have done a bit of cleaning, but we did not pay for any cleaning or inspections. The coach was in decent condition, but neither we nor MOT inspected it. I don't think the buyer commissioned a professional inspection.
That was five years ago. I expect our experience regarding the sales experience was, and is, typical (except for how quickly our coach sold). I suggest the burden of appropriate inspection rests with the buyer in any purchase of a used motorhome.
This would akin to you taking Brett with you to find the right coach.
I *almost* bought a Foretravel from MOT last year. In my experience, the salesman was very up front about problems that might exist on a particular coach. The price is also a clue. If it sounds too good to be true, there is a reason. Stewart Canty was very good about explaining why two similar coaches had different prices.
They are also somewhat picky about what they take on consignment. It has to meet a certain level (unknown to me) before they are willing to take it on consignment.
In the end, I felt very comfortable about the information I received.
Hope this helps,
Trent
Unless it has changed, MOT has three levels of coaches. IN MY WORDS.....the least expensive approach is a coach that they put on their lot and sell it "as is where is" but you will see in their contracts, unless you get one I have not seen, that they do not warrant the coach and such is not implied regardless of the condition. Now that is legalese and not the way they seem to behave, but it does protect them....my words...against someone buying a coach and the engine blowing up next month (very unlikely) and really no way they could know it. Or an electric motor, or radiator fail when you could not see it easily, as on a 2000.
As I understand, and I got into a matter where I had to understand, the least they do is drive a coach and see that the major things work. For example, you pull back on the retarder and it comes on, activates. You push the brake, it stops. But they do not pull all the brakes off and check slide pins or such. You get the idea.
Those prices I think appeal to a person who knows what they are doing, getting in to and feels they know enough, the price is right, they can fix whatever.
(Remember too: the seller sets the price on a consignment coach. I know dealers try to influence that, but in one I bought I had MOT negotiating with the seller, not the seller with me. Not the best way, as far as I am concerned for me, but common.)
(Another example. I looked at a coach at PPL. Terrible inside, just very dirty. I asked the salesman, what going on? He told me that for a small price, forget exactly how much, they would clean for the seller but seller not willing to pay. Really dirty.)
There is another level of coach inspection that MOT does, fixes things up. They have less wiggle room on the price and even then it does not cover very much. As I recall, not many select this. Influences price.
Then there was a third level, where we bought our third coach. Paid essentially what they asked for it. When we got the coach, there were pages and pages of things they found and fixed. They did a complete PDI (this is somewhat a casual term, varies by dealer, good if you can do much yourself. You.) These things had not been found by MOT before we bought, for MOT could not do all that level of looking into things until they knew the selling price.
This gets complicated for me to explain further, call me if want to discuss...send me a PM.
I think one key to all this for you is to know the general price/value of a typical year/model/condition coach. You figure that MOT knows the market, better than you. If a coach is seemingly quite cheap, there is a reason. I know a fellow asked our help. He found a coach from an individual. It was high price, outside the norm. I soon found it was well worth the above typical price, so my advice....just an outstanding coach, outstanding. And it has been, the buyer paid the price. Hope you understand what I mean, that for me, you cannot pay too much for a good coach, for that rare coach that in every regard exudes care, condition (hope you know what I mean....see that it needs very little work, has great bones, solid, records, maintainance, inspections)
I have rattled along too much already. Just ask MOT how they price, but my experience was very clear to me what they meant and how they arrived at the price. They are trustworthy, each salesman. But they do not know it all, cannot. So look yourself, hire some help if you need.
again, pm for call if want more detail
We have what is considered the top motorhome dealer in Wisconsin and I agree. When we traded our '97 class C in at Kings Campers I was so proud of how clean I had it and how everything was in such great working order. I walked the Service Manager around, bragging on everything.
The rv sold almost immediately! When we came back from TX in the spring the service manager told me how the exhaust manifold bolts pulled out of the heads and they went nationwide to find that kind of head as they were special.
I felt bad, both for the new owners and for Kings Campers.
My conclusions? Kings Campers couldn't have foreseen this problem, or even been able to find it in an inspection unless they were an engine/drive train inspector, They covered the repair 100% (on a 15 year old class C!), and last, but not least, even I didn't know about the problem when I traded the C in.
There are systems that can have problems that will not manifest themselves until long after a sale--- or immediately after one.
Like the saying goes: "Youse takes your chances"
All you can do is have someone like Brett Wolfe do an inspection, and then, during your first few trips try to relax, knowing you have a coach equipped with all kinds of things that can and might go wrong.
(When I or the DW hear a strange sound while traveling in our Foretravel GV we do say a silent prayer--it seems to help) ^.^d ^.^d
I just signed a consignment contract with MOT. they agree to detail the coach, inside and out, to show and advertise it, to make repairs needed to keep the vehicle running in a saleable condition (at the owners expense and after his approval). The owner must keep the insurance and the registration current.
I left a copy of my planned repairs with them, none of these were urgent OR needed to keep the coach running (example, the compass on the tank and electricity monitor screen did not work, the Bose remote was not working, etc,)