Don't you just hate a needless nightmare? I totally disregarded the old adage of buyer beware. I bought a used RV from Altmans Winnebago in Carson, CA over the phone. Two weeks after sending Altmans Winnebago a $37,987.76 check, I flew from Florida to California to pick up my supposedly extra clean RV that had allegedly passed a 100+ point Altmans Winnebago inspection.



While I was being shown the coach for the first time, an Altmans employee couldn't get the hood open. Finally he found the latch--that had been moved from its original position--and the left side of the hood fell onto the body skinning it. The hood bracket had separated from the body. Guess the Altmans Winnebago 100+ point inspection doesn't include opening the hood.

The problem wasn't just the hood falling off. When I stepped inside the coach, there was a large puddle of water on the dash and water was slowly dripping out of the entertainment cabinet. I went back outside to see if I could determine where the leak was coming from since a guy had just washed the coach. The front of the coach looked as if a blind person had tried to caulk around the clearance lights.

The service manager at Altmans Winnebago said it would cost about $150 to fix the hood and take two hours. He explained most of the cost would be labor. Since their shop was full, it was getting late, and I had the coach scheduled for a complete physical the next day in San Marcos, CA, I suggested I'd get it fixed the following day and agreed to pay half of the $150 for the hood repair, and I'd take care of the leak myself, since it was just a matter of finding the leak and caulking. I was trying to be fair and understanding. It was a used coach and Altmans Winnebago had priced it right.

Even though I could see the owner Joe Altman in his office, he had someone else give me the message that he wouldn't put a dime towards the repair because he had advertised the coach at a huge discount to move it. The thirty-day warranty I was promised over the phone suddenly turned into an "AS IS" agreement.

I asked, "What's the chance Joe Altman a/k/a Caligula will climb down out of his ivory tower and talk things over? I've traveled thousands of miles and spent a lot of money getting here."

I was told that wasn't going to happen and I could take the coach "AS IS" or reject it. I rejected it. Joe Altman then authorized a refund check, and I'm thankful for that because there was a bad moon rising.

On the way back to Florida, I thought about asking my brother who is an attorney to sue Altmans Winnebago and Joe Altman, but he's extremely busy so I'll just leave Joe Altman to some ambulance chasing attorney or some paranoid schizophrenic buyer who'll not even consider the option of suing Joe Altman.

The salesman who sold me the coach, George Murphy, is a nice guy and I do not believe he knew about the problems that the shop at Altmans Winnebago should have caught. In my opinion, George Murphy and everyone I met at Altmans Winnebago in Carson and Colton, CA could do much better than being one of the Joe Altman's puppets.

It's my understanding that Altmans Winnebago was run a lot differently when Dave Altman was in charge; but unfortunately, Dave Altman died in January 2009. Do yourself a favor, little Joe Altman, use your late brother or George Murphy as a role model and it just might save you more than money.

The bottom line--you can buy an RV from Altmans Winnebago for less than anywhere I know of, but do not take their word about the condition of the coach. Check it out in person. And if you go for the Altmans Winnebago Deal of a Lifetime, you can expect Joe Altman to act as if he's doing you a favor. Never mind that you're spending your life's savings.

There was some good come from all this. My brother who knows me all too well, on hearing this story demanded I donate $500 to Catholic Charities since nothing but some time and a few dollars were lost, which I did.