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I had put this in the title line of a previous post and forgot to mention it.
When we purchased the travel trailer, it was done online. We had seen the trailer two months before, and the emails went from there. On the day of purchase, we had our walkthrough and explanation of all the options. The guy responsible for the PDI is not the salesperson. Hindsight is 20/20, and now I wish I had insisted on the salesperson attending. Why? There was really nothing she did for us other than make the sale. It could have just been an online website where you order and simply pick it up.
The guy who does the prep and PDI is Mexican, and we hit it off right away. We had seen him the day before, and we were quite frank about what we expected. He did a great job, and the RV was super clean, and I had my tools with me to test things along the way.
We agreed to the purchase, made sure the unit had plates, and we were told we would have to wait 4 to 6 weeks to receive the title, registration, and the tags. One is of no value without the other.
Off we went to Laredo for a couple of nights to really try it out and put it in storage until we returned to Laredo for our October trip. We had all of the sale papers and a temporary permit for 15 days of travel. I calculated that by the time we returned for our Gulf Coast trip, the papers, plate, and tags would be at our mailbox.
Arriving at the mailbox on Friday, October 5, in Laredo, there was nothing. I called our salesperson asking if she could send me a copy. She said she would leave a note on the manager's desk. This was on a Friday. Okay, we can't go driving 600 miles without these things. Now what do we do? Just think: Laredo police, border patrol, and ICE? Yikes!
It was 3 p.m., and I checked the DMV office hours in Laredo. They closed at 4:3,0 and we were about 15 minutes away. I found a parking spot and had Juan stay with the trailer. Off I went walking with Google Maps in hand. I walked into the office, which was the size of a closet. There were five very shady-looking people sitting there. I walked up to the window,w and the woman asked what I wanted. She said, " Honey, this is the parole office! Oops. I went out, turned the corner, and found a huge reception area with metal detectors and lots of security.
I found the office, and it was pretty busy, and I was worried I might not get served; after all,l the clock was ticking. I got a spot and began the wait. Called to window 6; the young clerk was very friendly. I explained what happened, and she was quite chatty, asking where we were going and for how long. She asked me to wait a minute and went to talk to her supervisor.
On return to the window, she had a new plate, registration, and the tags! Woo-hoo! It cost $6.60. Thanking her, I went back to the trailer and put on the new plate and the tag label. All legit now, we went on our trip.
Had we taken out a loan with the dealer and not refused the extended warranty, they would have bent over backwards for us. Paying cash, we were out the door and our salesperson, commission in hand, was off to the next customer. I received an email on Monday morning saying she was working at an RV show on the weekend and didn't get around to leaving a message for her manager. I wrote back, "Cami, don't worry, I went to the DMV, got a new plate and tags for $6.60. Thanks anyway." I haven't heard from them since.
Also, on our October trip, we found a couple of small issues, and I was regretting the thought of having to go back to the dealer. We can always take it to any Jayco dealer,r but then, because we weren't their customer, it could sit for weeks or even a few months. One was a leak we found one morning outside. It was running from underneath along the bottom trim. We took up one of the twin beds and found the issue. The nut that connected to the city water port was loose. Three turns and it was fixed. The other, the toilet bowl was not holding water. With a little research, I took out the seal and adjusted the ball valve. It works just fine now.
That's the story. I wasn't expecting much of anything from the dealer from the get-go.
