The headline of the bikesellerz ad read: "1988 Mallard Winnebago Tioga 22K org mls! Nice! Rdy 2 drive!" He went on to represent the Motorhome as a reliable Ford 460 Engine on a John Deere Chassis, everything working except the dash air, having nothing but a few minor cosmetic problems, being museum quality, and as being only "30-31' (apox)". Jason also had 202 positive feedback and a 100% rating. Sounded good but this description contained some pretty significant misrepresentations.
Wrong size, the RV was actually 33 ft., the condition was hard used with significant undisclosed mechanical and electrical defects that caused the engine to catch on fire and total the RV before I could get it home.
When asked for a refund Jason refused and accused me of being crazy and negligent for driving this Rdy 2 Drive RV and then proceeded to threaten that if I left negative feedback he would take action for slander (this tactic of intimidation accounts for his 100% positive feedback rating, no doubt).
He continued to misrepresent the rig maintaining that he'd measured the rig himself and it measured less than 31 ft. (I then measured it myself and it is 33 ft.)
He maintained that the RV was in perfect condition until I drove it and that it was my fault that he hadn't let me know about how the options on the rig worked.
In the negative feedback he left against me he said the rig was a $12K rig that I had totalled. The fact is that I paid $10,605 for the rig and I didn't total the rig. Following are the details of the saga of buying a motorhome sight unseen on Ebay Motors, where the buyer takes all of the risks.
With a sense of false security engendered by Ebay Motors urging to "buy with confidence" and its promise of $20,000 motorhome buyer protection against material misrepresentation I bought the bikesellerz motorhome. After pre-paying my money as required to bikesellerz my dad and I planned to travel to pick up the rig a week later. At 6:30 P.M. Friday, July 29th after a day of driving 550 miles we finally found the bikesellerz lot.
When we first saw the rig we noted that it was not museum quality in appearance but old and faded. It also appeared larger than the 30-31ft Jason had advertised.
My dad made mention to Jason that the rig looked very hard used and Jason replied that the mileage was certified at 22,000 that if we decided we didn't like the rig he would give us the names of people who had expressed interest in it and we could try to sell it to them. No refunds in other words.
When at the bikesellerz counter I looked at the title and noted that the Motorhome was listed as 33 ft in length, larger than the 31 ft. Max I wanted and that the rig was advertised to be. I mentioned this to Jason but he seemed unconcerned. I said I had owned a 34.5 ft 1995 Damon Intruder earlier and that I could tell the RV he was selling me was indeed 33 ft. Not 30-31ft as advertised. He repeated that he would give us names of people to sell it to.
I asked Jason if he'd had the dash air fixed as he'd promised to do for close to the price limit I'd set for the job. He said his guys couldn't do it for that price but that I could run the roof air using the generator while driving.
In his walk through of the vehicle Jason showed us that the burners would light and handed us the keys. Other than pointing out switches and handing us the keys there was no other orientation to the vehicle. Significantly he made no mention of the unconventional park brake system on this rig. He later admitted to this in an email. I asked him if the rig was ready to take off in and he said, yes. I was effectively forced to accept an RV that had already been significantly misrepresented.
I drove out of Jasaon's bikesellerz lot without any problem and without disengaging the park brake which unbeknowndst to me was automatically on when the vehicle was in park in Jason's lot and could only be disengaged by pulling the brake release cable after the rig was out of park. I was driving the rig with the hydraulic park brake on without noticing any resistance. According to every mechanic familiar with this park brake that I have spoken with I should not have been able to do this. The park brake if functioning properly would be noticeably difficult to overcome while in drive. The "brake" light indicator on the dash was never lit.
As we drove some blocks from the bikesellerz lot I smelled something hot, a burning smell. However I attributed the odor to the refinery that I passed. After being turned away at the Lagoon campground recommended by bikesellerz I was again able to drive the motorhome with ease to Cherry Hills RV resort some miles down the road. I was able to back into a lot with ease and without disengaging the park brake. After plugging into shore power we tried to turn on the roof air that had been expressly stated to work in Jason's ad. It was hot out and we needed air in the hot RV but the roof air would not work at all.
We pulled out the next morning and headed back to Wyoming without incident, again with no resistance from the park brake. After 93 miles we pulled into the Evanston WY rest stop. I was on a hill and put the rig into park but the rig would only roll backwards down the hill. I tried several times to get the rig to park but it wouldn't.
I then searched for the standard parking brake and realized that the cable I thought was park brake was instead a park brake release only. My dad thought there was a transmission problem. We finally propped the RV against the curbing and searched the manual for the park brake info.
We then followed the instructions for engaging the park brake which was simply to put the RV in park and place one's foot on the brake and turn off the engine. The brake would still not engage. We were uncertain if this could be a transmission problem.
At this time it was Saturday afternoon. We were anxious to get the RV home to a mechanic we knew and trusted, knowing of no RV technicians open on Saturday afternoon in Evanston, WY.
The engine began to labor heavily as we drove on as if the transmission might go out not unlike a park brake providing resistance. Had the brake engaged while I was driving? I stopped at the next town and was able to park the rig by engaging the brake this time.
Saturday evening we pulled into a Rawlins campground and again tried running the roof air from shore power. The air ran cold for a few minutes but then we noticed the outlets which had worked before weren't working now. A breaker had flipped. We turned off the air and reset the breaker.
The RV seemed fine after this until Sunday morning at a Rawlins gas station. I pulled in to fill up the rig, seemed parked but I got to the curbside door and saw I was rolling backwards. Again I couldn't engage the park brake and we had to sit with a foot on the brake while we filled with gas.
I drove this day with the generator running and the roof air on. However the roof air would not blow cold and finally blew a breaker. As I drove into Wheatland Wy the engine began to labor again as it had on Saturday. I felt perhaps the park brake was causing this and I pulled the release. The laboring ceased and everything seemed fine.
We pulled into a parking lot in Wheatland, Wy but when I attempted to back up the rig wouldn't back. The park brake was on again. I pulled the release and the rig backed easily.
As soon as I placed the rig in park by stepping on the brake and turning off the engine it erupted in flames and the interior filled with smoke. I was able to chase down my dog and get out with him before the rig burned to a total loss.
My dad grabbed the fire extinguisher and opened the front hood. Wires like spaghetti were popping and sparking as smoke rolled out. The extinguisher did not work.By the time the fire dept. Arrived all was lost the rig looked like an open fireplace with flames roaring.
In addition to the misrepresentation of wear and size this RV had serious undisclosed defects from the bikesellerz lot.in a later phone conversation with Jason it was apparent that Jason had determined the rig was ready to drive simply by driving it a few miles from the auction.
When I asked for a refund and damages he attempted to brow beat me by claiming I was crazy and negligent for driving my ready 2 drive RV and then proceeded to say I'd prevented him from telling me about the rig's options by telling him of my previous experience of owning a motorhome. He even lied again about the length claiming he'd measured it and it was only 30-31ft. I went out the next day and measured the RV for myself. It was 33 ft. Long just as the title states.
Jason even lied in the negative feedback when he said the rig was a $12,000 RV which I had totalled. I only paid $10,605 for it and I did not total it.
It has become obvious that Jason finds it very easy to exaggerate. Another Ebayer from Salt Lake City who read my negative feedback commented "I've been over there to look at a couple of their rigs and honestly I'm not impressed. It seems that they do decievee when they represent their items. I'm sorry about your rig, but glad you are safe. Why don't you sue them for misrepresentation? Take care and God Bless"
Perhaps Jason is right. I think you have to be crazy to buy an RV on Ebay especially from fly-by-nights like bikesellerz. Only problem was I didn't know he was fly-by-night. He represented himself as having a regular retail lot which he really doesn't have. It's like a chain linked tow yard in an industrial park on the outskirts of town.
Since I am not a mechanic and don't even play one on TV it seemed like the wisest thing to do was to drive the rig home and have it checked out by a mechanic I could rely on. Looking back with 20/20 hindsight it's easy to see the rig was not fit to have been driven at all, not even out of the bikesellerz lot.
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