What differentiates between NEW and USED vehicles?

S

Sbdriverdon

Guest
Jurisdiction
California
My wife and I purchased a brand new, 2017 Thor Aria Motorcoach a couple weeks ago. During the purchase walk-through, I noticed the generator showed over 100 hours of use. When I questioned the salesperson about it he said that the coach was used at an RV show. I asked for a $50.00 gift certificate for their parts store due to the fact that the generator is to be serviced at 300 hours. They agreed and gave us the certificate. After we took possession of the coach and used it for the first time the following weekend, we noticed several items wrong with the coach (from the factory) that needed to be repaired. However, we also saw that the "black water tank" (toilet waste tank) was 68% full and we saw two stains on one of the mattresses. We came to the conclusion that this coach was used, and not NEW as sold. What differentiates between NEW and USED vehicles in California? Should this vehicle had sold as USED, and if so, what recourse do we have against the dealer? This coach sold for just under $300,000.00. Thank you.
 
A "new" vehicle is a vehicle that is titled to a consumer for the first time. You bought a "new" vehicle.

A dealer is allowed to sell a demo as a "new" vehicle.

Even "new" vehicles should be thoroughly inspected by the consumer before buying.

Had you done a more thorough inspection and uncovered those issues before buying you probably could have gotten a nice discount.

Too late now, although it wouldn't hurt to notify the dealer of your issue and see if you can get anything for it.

If not, you are free to expose the deal on Yelp or some other review site so that others may learn from your experience.
 
Agreed. Its new if it has never been sold.
They told you the vehicle had been used at a show but that didn't make it "used". That was your clue to do a thorough inspection.
A mattress stain and a full waste tank aren't issues for warranty repair, so unless there is anything more significant you might just notify them that you aren't happy about it and then let it go.
 
Sbdriverdon said:
My wife and I purchased a brand new, 2017 Thor Aria Motorcoach a couple weeks ago. During the purchase walk-through, I noticed the generator showed over 100 hours of use. When I questioned the salesperson about it he said that the coach was used at an RV show. I asked for a $50.00 gift certificate for their parts store due to the fact that the generator is to be serviced at 300 hours. They agreed and gave us the certificate. After we took possession of the coach and used it for the first time the following weekend, we noticed several items wrong with the coach (from the factory) that needed to be repaired. However, we also saw that the "black water tank" (toilet waste tank) was 68% full and we saw two stains on one of the mattresses. We came to the conclusion that this coach was used, and not NEW as sold. What differentiates between NEW and USED vehicles in California? Should this vehicle had sold as USED, and if so, what recourse do we have against the dealer? This coach sold for just under $300,000.00. Thank you.
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If you wanted to purchase a new vehicle, as I often do, ensure the mileage on the one you select is under 10 miles.

Another item I check is the length of time the engine has run.
If that exceeds 10 minutes, it fails my criteria check.

I call it the 10/10 rule, no more than 10 miles, or 10 minutes.
I've owned trucks, automobiles, and RVs.
I've been presented with the crap you bought, and that's the moment I walked away never to darken that dealer's door again.

Sorry about the way you were snookered, next time take it slow, inspect EVERYTHING to to bottom, inside to outside, and do it once more once, BEFORE you hand over your hard earned dough.

I'm very persnickety, and I buy what meets my expectations, without exception.
 
Many times at RV shows, the employees who travel to the shows will use the RVs that are taken instead of paying separately for a hotel. During your walk-through, you should have been shown how to use the panel that displays your fresh water, black tank, propane tank levels, etc. At that time when it displayed being 68% I would have requested that this be checked and taken care of before I would have taken delivery of the unit.

I believe that most dealers do try to take care of such things before a customer takes possession of their motorhome. It can get forgotten. If it causes a particular hardship, a phone call to your salesperson may result in another gift card of some kind. It never hurts to give it a shot.
 

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