General RV contracts

[Guest Ray Davis]

If you have bought from General RV in Salt lake or might buy from them you should probably read this.

https://www.fox13now.com/news/fox-13-investigates/fox-13-investigation-prompts-utah-to-look-into-potential-fraud-at-general-rv

Edited May 10, 2021 by Ray Davis

[John Haggard]

Something is fishy about this case.

 

I would wait and see the outcome of the investigation. 

 

Also

I was advised since the 60s 

Never finance a recreational vehicle 

 

Most of all

( Don't let the dealer finance your recreational vehicle. ) Easy can be disastrous 

Use your credit union or personal bank.

With a very Big down payment. 

 

[Guest Ray Davis]

I haven't ever financed an RV either but it seems most people do.   The article mentions sending the paper work to the buyers credit union so if fraud was going on the buyer and credit union were both negligent because the math and number of payments didn't match the total without a huge balloon payment that the buyer wasn't aware of.   The buyers thought they would be making 240 monthly payments but were actually agreeing to 119 payments with a balloon.   Some of the balloons were  large enough to bankrupt them.

I just want members and their family & friends to be careful.  Some of those friendly dealers & salespeople are not really your friend.   I don't have a problem with people financing their RV after all these things cost more than we paid for houses not long ago.   

[throgmartin]

There are many sketchy deals that have been done by dealers in the way of financing. 2 years ago Camping world got caught cooking numbers on contracts.

I would like to say that General by accident screwed up this one sales contract. But when numerous people are getting screwed by General RV like this then you have to start looking at their finance department and upper management at the dealers. There are many ways dealers can make money and more profit off the back end of a sale and they typically always center around warranties and financing. Blaming banks and credit unions or even the buyer really is not fair. It was the dealer who played the game and tried to get away with it. You should be able to buy an RV from a dealer who arranges financing all in a simple and straightforward process like it used to be done without having to bring a forensic CPA to the dealer with you.

NEVER trust a dealer and always take 24 hours to review the contract before signing. If the dealer will not allow you that time to look over the paperwork then you better be worried. Very worried.

I do know some people are able to pay cash and not finance an RV but for most people they are not flush with cash and have to revert to financing. Smart buyers who are flush with cash will still finance a coach at a low interest rate using someone else's money while investing their own money at a higher return. Do you really think Jeff Bezos of Amazon fame really pays cash for yachts and private jets ? Nope. He uses other peoples money at low interest rates, leaves his money invested at a higher return and then writes off the payments on his taxes. 

When we bought our coach we did a straight finance deal at a set interest rate for a set period of time. The contract was simple and straightforward. We paid it off early, reducing the interest we paid on the loan and never looked back. Unfortunately the way dealers are financing some RV's now days is a cat and mouse game. You have to take the time and really read through the paperwork and look for ways they could be zinging you. 

This entire fiasco is one more reason I despise RV dealers.