I am SO green, I got scammed!

[Donna Gail]

I have been searching for a Class C motorhome since October 2019. There are so many brands and models out there that I actually created an Excel spreadsheet and inputted all the information, mileage, prices, gas verses diesel, etc to understand the what's and whys. I have been using RVT.com for my searches. A couple days ago, I found the PERFECT 24 foot diesel Class C that we could afford for $35,000. A real steal for a 2017 Thor Synergy, right? RVT got the seller in touch with me. All communication was done through text and email. The poor lady lost her husband due to a heart attack a month ago and it brought her bad memories so she just wanted to get rid of it and to also pay some personal medical bills for herself. All the red flags were there. I ran a vin# check and it did not match the listing. It was a 2016 nor a 2017 and is was not a CB24, it was a SP24, but it also had no liens, not stolen, etc. She (or them) said they also posted it on EBAY and Ebay was handling the payment transaction as well as the shipping. Long story short, RVT.com send me an email last night regarding a fraud alert for this listing. Talk about timing! I was supposed to submit a payment to Ebay and had not yet received the invoice. I texted the seller yesterday and told her I had not received the invoice from Ebay and also told her it was strange the pending transaction had a Jan 01 date and the links did not seem to be active. She said she would call Ebay. She returned a text saying Ebay was doing a maintenace and I would probably receive the invoice today. Thank goodness I received the fraud alert from rvt.com!!!

I just discovered this forum today. I have some questions I hope someone can answer:

1. Gas verses Diesel - Gas units are more affordable, but after much research I learned around 100K miles the engine may need rebuilt. Does anyone have an idea of how much an engine rebuild would cost? Since diesels seem to be max out our budget range, I thought maybe looking for a used gas RV, knowing at some point, the engine will need rebuilt and if I can afford that cost down the road.

2. What website do you use to check the blue book price of a unit in order to know if the requested price is reasonable? Low $ - High $

3. What website do you use to check the VIN#? I used BeenVerified for a fee, but not sure that is the best one. Seems to me the public should have free access to this info.

4. If I had known how to match up the VIN# with the owners name, presumably Briana Barker, I may have avoided this scam. Is it possible to match the owner to the vehicle they are selling to confirm it is indeed the REAL seller of the RV?

Any tips or things I should be looking for would be greatly appreciated!

Donna Gail

 

[murphysranch]

Holey Moley!!

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

Yikes! Glad you didn't follow through and get taken to the cleaners. A belated welcome to RVF and glad to have you here.

I would never purchase an RV that I hadn't seen in person and talked directly to the owner about. There's just too much opportunity for fraud. And, when talking to the owner, I would want to see a physical copy of the title. If I had an odd feeling about anything or wasn't able to see an actual copy of the title, I would simply walk away.

TJ

 

[AbdRahim]

I would never buy one that I did not drive and inspect myself. If buying used, I would definitely have and independent RVIA inspector go through it, in addition to making sure it had a clear title. I got scammed on EBay for a $50 item years ago. I did eventually get my money back, but never bought on EBay again.

 

[Donna Gail]

Lesson learned. I found where the scammer posted the exact unit AGAIN on rvt.com This time the city is NY, not KS. I notified the fraud dept tonight at rvt. Kinda makes me lose faith in the RV website that they did not catch this second fraud posting today.

 

[MapNerd]

I got scammed on EBay for a $50 item years ago. I did eventually get my money back, but never bought on EBay again.

Same. 2005, lost $600. Young solider stuck in the sandbox, wanted to get a new XBox 360 for my guys to have some downtime. eBay didn’t care. Didn’t get my money back. Never bought from eBay again.

@Donna Gailbe be very weary about buying an RV that doesn’t meet all of these criteria:
1. You, someone you trust or an independent third party your are paying to act as your agent has never laid hands on it
2. You have not had it independently inspected and received a bill of health (faults can help you negotiate a lower price)

Secondly, never pay for a large item such as an RV using EBay, money orders or cashier’s checks unless you are dealing with a reputable dealership.

As per your questions, I don’t have any answers. I wish I did but I’m sure others here with more experience do. My best recommendation would be to visit a reputable dealership to just avoid the biggest risk being scammed out of a massive amount of money. Sometimes saving a buck will cost you 10. When scammers get a payday like that, thays start that laundering process immediately moving those funds out of the country ASAP and it is incredibly hard to get back, if your lucky enough to get it back at all.

 

[FL-JOE]

I suspect with RV sales spiking recently there will be more and more scams out there. I totally agree with what others have said about NEVER purchasing one without seeing it and the title in person. Also, keep in mind when buying used from a private seller that you still need to match up the VIN to the vehicle. Just because the paperwork looks good and some internet site claims it is a valid VIN doesn't mean that VIN actually belongs on that vehicle.

 

[Birdie66]

I have been searching for a Class C motorhome since October 2019. There are so many brands and models out there that I actually created an Excel spreadsheet and inputted all the information, mileage, prices, gas verses diesel, etc to understand the what's and whys. I have been using RVT.com for my searches. A couple days ago, I found the PERFECT 24 foot diesel Class C that we could afford for $35,000. A real steal for a 2017 Thor Synergy, right? RVT got the seller in touch with me. All communication was done through text and email. The poor lady lost her husband due to a heart attack a month ago and it brought her bad memories so she just wanted to get rid of it and to also pay some personal medical bills for herself. All the red flags were there. I ran a vin# check and it did not match the listing. It was a 2016 nor a 2017 and is was not a CB24, it was a SP24, but it also had no liens, not stolen, etc. She (or them) said they also posted it on EBAY and Ebay was handling the payment transaction as well as the shipping. Long story short, RVT.com send me an email last night regarding a fraud alert for this listing. Talk about timing! I was supposed to submit a payment to Ebay and had not yet received the invoice. I texted the seller yesterday and told her I had not received the invoice from Ebay and also told her it was strange the pending transaction had a Jan 01 date and the links did not seem to be active. She said she would call Ebay. She returned a text saying Ebay was doing a maintenace and I would probably receive the invoice today. Thank goodness I received the fraud alert from rvt.com!!!

I just discovered this forum today. I have some questions I hope someone can answer:

1. Gas verses Diesel - Gas units are more affordable, but after much research I learned around 100K miles the engine may need rebuilt. Does anyone have an idea of how much an engine rebuild would cost? Since diesels seem to be max out our budget range, I thought maybe looking for a used gas RV, knowing at some point, the engine will need rebuilt and if I can afford that cost down the road.

2. What website do you use to check the blue book price of a unit in order to know if the requested price is reasonable? Low $ - High $

3. What website do you use to check the VIN#? I used BeenVerified for a fee, but not sure that is the best one. Seems to me the public should have free access to this info.

4. If I had known how to match up the VIN# with the owners name, presumably Briana Barker, I may have avoided this scam. Is it possible to match the owner to the vehicle they are selling to confirm it is indeed the REAL seller of the RV?

Any tips or things I should be looking for would be greatly appreciated!

Donna Gail

No tips but I feel your pain and worse. I’m searching also with less than 6k and there are options but I don’t know which breaks is better than the other and I’m hitchhiking alone 200 miles minimum to check them out for first time Frightening ; the entire spectrum.
Best to you

 

[Jeff Billingsley]

Donna Gail, in answer to your question about gas engine longevity I believe that with the proper maintenance that you can reasonably expect to get 150,000 or more miles out of the current engines. I had a Dutchman 28' class A 454 Chevy and that chassis was very well built. In your search for a used unit look for owners who can verify the maintenance records of their rvs. I would be more concerned with units with very low mileage than with units with 75-120,000 miles on them.Good luck on your search. I sold my motorhome on a Thursday and found my new to me travel trailer that Saturday.