YOUR RV HAS ITS OWN WARRANTY—AND LEGAL ISSUES

Warranties, sales and lease fraud, and deceptive practices in Ohio

By Judy Malmon

Recreational vehicles, which include motorhomes and trailers, have become a huge market in the states. Approximately 6.75 million households reported owning an RV in 2017, and the industry claimed sales increases of 15 percent over the previous year. And, contrary to what you might think, buyers are getting younger: more than half are under the age of 45.

With the surge in RV ownership has come all the accompanying things that can go wrong with an expensive auto purchase—everything from engine or parts failures to interior issues, like a wonky fridge or leaky roof. And while these may sound like vastly different problems, you can go to one lawyer for all of your RV issues.

While most of the applicable laws are the same as automobiles, the consumer warranties are considerably different, says Dayton consumer law attorney Ronald Burdge, who’s been handling RV cases for more than 30 years.

“Recreational vehicles are just fascinating—in terms of the clientele, the consumers who buy them, and the RV companies who do everything they can to keep from having any responsibility,” he says. “You’ve got pop-up campers that might only cost a few thousand dollars, all the way up to million-dollar-plus RVs. There’s also a tremendous amount of fifth-wheel trailers, with no motor or engine; you just tow it, and the average cost of one of those is around $125,000. It’s not a motor vehicle, but it’s still a consumer product.”

Interestingly, many states—though not Ohio—specifically exclude motorhomes from their lemon law coverage, making it necessary to file a claim under another consumer protection theory, such as the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.

“The reason that the Magnuson-Moss Act came about was because it was shown that the filigreed warranties people would get on a car didn’t actually give you anything,” says Burdge. In response to this deception, Congress enacted the federal legislation governing consumer product warranties. While the law doesn’t require that a specific warranty be provided, it does mandate transparency to the consumer, as well as enforceability of written warranty provisions. It also provides for fee-shifting, meaning that consumers aren’t on the hook to foot the bill for vindicating their rights.

“The RV industry has done everything it can in the last decade to make sure they minimize their actual legal obligations in the warranties they provide,” Burdge says. “In fact, I’ve often said that if you buy a new RV, you would actually be better off if you got no warranty at all—because state laws give you more legal rights than what these warranties provide.”

In addition to warranty issues, RVs can be subject to sales or lease fraud, as well as other unfair practices. Claims may be brought  under applicable state consumer protection laws, or under the federal Unfair, Deceptive, or Abusive Acts or Practices regulations.

“There are rights out there you can assert,” says Burdge. If you recently purchased or leased an RV and have a concern about either the vehicle or the transaction, talk to an experienced consumer law attorney who specializes in RV claims.

Link to the original article: https://www.superlawyers.com/ohio/article/your-rv-has-its-own-warranty%E2%80%94and-legal-issues/d642458e-d22c-408f-b8dd-24c4b0887db1.html

What is "limited" is your legal rights.

When you buy a new Rv and it turns out to be a lemon, you should get your money back. Why doesn't it work that way when Rv's cost a lot more than cars and trucks? Because most new rv warranties have a dirty little secret buried in the fine print. And it can cost you big time.

In fact, you would be better off with no written warranty from most Rv companies instead of the fancy but worthless written warranty you often get, buried in all that owner manual package of paperwork that you find in the rv after you drive it home.

Most of new factory rv warranties are now "repair only" warranties. That means the manufacturer only gives the buyer one promise - that they will fix what goes wrong if it is the factory's fault. That sounds okay at first, but what happens if they can't get it fixed right at all, in spite of weeks of trying on multiple repair trips back and forth to and from your dealer and maybe even other dealers? What then? Well, it gets worse.

Some of them, like many Thor rv warranties, now say that if they can't get it fixed then all you get is their promise to pay someone else to fix it. They even have a name for it; they call it their "back up" warranty.

Well if your Thor dealer can't fix the Thor rv, what makes you think that Bill and Bob's Rv Repair Shop in Podunk, Iowa, will be able to? 

Now, we aren't saying that Bill and Bob aren't good mechanics. Some independent rv repair shops are, frankly, even better than some rv dealer shops. But rv dealers have the advantage of direct lines to the factory help desk and can get attention and assistance that independent shops can only wish for. But if the factory can't get a problem fixed once and for all, and the factory dealer can't either, what makes you think that anyone else can?

So why do some rv manufacturers give you that "we'll pay someone else to fix it" promise? Simple. Because then if that other shop doesn't get it fixed, the factory can say "well we paid them to do it so now your fight is with them and not us." And you? Well, the big company sticks you in the wallet again.

The simple fact is that in most states if the factory did not give you any written warranty at all on that big, shiny new $100,000 + rv, your state law would probably give you an automatic 4 year warranty anyway. It's called an implied warranty of merchantability and fitness for use, and it would actually give you more legal rights and more protection than what the rv manufacturer wants you to have - and certainly more than many of them are now giving you. 

So this is one instance where the fancy-looking factory warranty actually hurts you - you get less than you think even though it looks like you are getting more than you need.

Fancy rv warranties from rv companies that won't stand behind them, and the lawyers they hire to write nice sounding warranties that actually don't give you much at all - and all the while they are making tons of money from building bad rv's that they sell for big profit with little warranties. Warranties that have a dirty little secret hidden within. Warranties that don't give you rights but spend their time taking away the rights you already would have.

Before you buy your next rv, insist on getting and reading a copy of the factory warranty. And don't buy an rv that only gives you a "repair only" warranty promise. Yes, maybe that means you don't buy a Thor next time. Or a Winnebago. Or maybe some other brands too.

There are some rv manufacturers that actually care about quality control and their customers. And then there are the rest.

What do you really get for your money?

Tell the dealer you want an rv that the factory will stand behind and will put it in writing in their warranty. And if the factory won't do it, then how come the dealer won't either? 

Tell the dealer that you want them to write on the sales contract that if their brand new rv is in the repair shop for more than 30 days in the first year then the dealer will refund your money. If the dealer won't do that, then what does that tell you about the quality of what the rv dealer is trying to sell you? It ought to worry you enough to go somewhere else.

If enough people demand a fair rv warranty and fair treatment, the industry might finally change and give it to you. But if no one complains, well, that's how they dig into your wallet and how you can be wasting your money.

If you get a lemon rv, we're right here. Helping rv owners get their money back is what we do.