La Mesa RV

I purchased a 5th wheel in Yuma from Mesa RV. I was led to believe that it was made in 2011 but after further investigation, I find that this 5th wheel sold as new had been assigned a vin number in 2009. That also makes the tires almost three years old as they are also 2009. Also a form we received indicated the vehicle to be 34 feet long but it is over 37 ft. I believe this should be looked into. Thanks.

We have purchased several Class A motor homes over the years. This was the worst experience we have ever had. We purchased a 2007 used American Eagle, which new was a $500,000 motor home at La Mesa, Florida. They took almost a month to get the deal done. We received it the day before we left for home in Ohio.

We were in Georgia when the front TV came down. I caught it and had to hold it until we got off the road. It was held in with two plastic ties. At our first storm, the slide leaked in almost like a waterfall. We wanted a king-size bed so they rebuilt the platform. They did it wrong and it went up in the middle like a tent shortly after the TV incident.

During the rainstorm, rain water was pouring in the front windshield. We were also receiving coolant warning lights. The Trip Tek and compass don't work. All the main compartments leak. We received jack sensor warnings. We paid for a carpet sealer and the carpets were not even cleaned. The leather was never cleaned. The ice maker would not work. We paid for an external coating that was never done. The tray for the convection oven was missing. The monitor sensor panel didn't work. The TV box for the 3 TVs does not work. The cable TV does not work. Satellite only worked on front TV. Carbon monoxide detectors were dated 2003 and started chirping all the way home. There were no fire detectors. This was all on our two day trip home in April 2010.

We contacted La Mesa and were told to go to Elkhart and have it fixed. We went to Elkhart and paid $850 to fix the bed and $4,500 to water proof the coach. We put coach in storage until June when we went for a week to Chicago. We put out the side and it wouldn't work. We had a local repairman come out and he did a temporary fix so that we could go to Chicago. When we got back, we took the coach to him and found that all four motors were bad. One of the slide supports was bent. Teeth were missing on all the gears. The limit switches were set wrong so that the rollers were chewing up the side of the coach. It took until January 2012 until all parts were gotten and the items were fixed and almost $8,500.

We got to Florida in February 2012 and contacted La Mesa. They told us that they would pay for the carpet cleaning $200 and the bed $850 if we would sign a letter stating that we would never contact them again. This really builds confidence in the company. They never even sent us the things need to set up the Sirius radio as the promised. It is pretty bad when their representative tells us that we deal with him and sign the letter because nothing will be done unless he approves it. Great PR isn't it! I will be sure to mention at the Fleetwood Rally's and at every opportunity during the 3 months that we camp in Florida every year.

La Mesa RV is just another dealer that tells you what you want to hear in order for you to buy an item and then doesn't follow through with their commitment or information. We purchased a used 34' Fleetwood RV from them. Prior to finalizing the deal, we were told that the engine was a diesel with a caterpillar motor, which was a big selling item with my husband. We were also told that the microwave was both convection and micro in one. When we agreed on a price and signed the papers, we were told that the unit would go through a 140 item checklist and everything would be fixed prior to us taking possession. Foolishly, we believed them and took them at their word.

We were given a quick overview at time of possession and were told everything was in good working condition. We were also told that there were some cracks in the roof, which they repaired. My husband asked if the roof had been sealed and their reply was that they don't do those types of repairs there and that I will have to have it fixed elsewhere. My husband felt that was something he could do himself so we let that slide. Regarding the engine issue, they said they made a mistake. It was a Cummins unit. Those are in many units; so my husband bent again since they already had a large portion of our money and would not return it.

Two days after purchase, we had made a commitment to assist our daughter on her move to Portland, OR. Approximately 200 miles north, something was banging on the roof, my husband got out on the freeway and climbed on the roof and one of the air conditioner's was flapping around and he had to tie it with rope and duct tape to keep it from flying off the roof and possibly injuring another vehicle or causing an accident if it did fly off. Our first use of the shower, turned on the faucets and all was fine for about five minutes and then the entire unit sprung a major leak. We took the unit apart and all the seals were stripped, which also should have been repaired prior to possession. The microwave, not only is it not a convection oven, but it only works for about two or three minutes before shorting out the entire RV including the lights. If we could have turned around at that point, we would have but we were committed to a date to be in Portland and continued on our trip. We stopped using the microwave, secured the air conditioning unit on the roof and my husband took the outside faucet off the RV and placed it in the shower so we could use it without flooding the entire RV.

Coincidentally, I received a call from La Mesa asking me to rate their customer service. I was honest and the representative became testy when I responded with 1 and 2 ratings with 5 being the highest.

Next day, we received a call from Jose, in service who instead of asking with concern about the issues, he was angry and asked why we didn't call them and bring the RV back in. First, his tone then angered me and then I continued to tell him that we were almost in Portland and couldn't just turn around and bring the unit back. I advised him as soon as we returned to Phoenix, we would be in touch and expected all issues to be taken care of. I was again advised that it was a used unit and there are no warranties and basically, he just continued with the fact that we didn't call and tried to cover himself.

I will be contacting their main office and hopefully, have some success in getting this RV fit to be on the road where we aren't holding our breath while driving it that something else won't happen; possibly brakes failing or God knows what else. We are honest people and probably too willing to take people at their word. Well, this is a lesson learned and we will not be so trusting the next time, especially placing our lives in someone else's hands such as those of La Mesa RV.

Once back in Phoenix, we will be looking for an attorney to assist us with getting these issues resolved. This was our large purchase for when we retired so we could travel around the US and see our beautiful country. Unfortunately, that dream has been diminished by their lack of concern and their only interest being the sale not human lives.

I am holding my breath every time we are driving it in fear that something else will happen. I thank you for anything that consumer affairs and better business can do to assist us.

I took a 45' Country Coach Motorhome in for service work. I had a water leak that was coming from refrigerator, and which was leaking large puddles all the way to the ground. I had a wheel seal that looked like it was out and leaking on the front right side; I needed to have it looked at and repaired if necessary. The dash A/C was not working and needed to have them check it out and charge up if that was the issue. They informed me that they could fix the water leak and put a shut off valve on for me. No big deal. I picked it up and they stated that they could not get the water fixed as the tech could not reach the line. (I took it to another repair shop and they fixed it in less than one hour as I watched.

They stated that the wheel seal was fine and did not need repaired. I drove five miles from their shop, went into an unrelated business, came out and I had a large puddle of oil running onto ground from the wheel seal. I had this repaired at another shop. They informed me that the air compressor was broken and needed to be replaced for approximately $1,485. I decided to wait until I came back from California as the three roof A/C units worked and I needed to leave on business. I then took it to a location for tires and they work on A/C too. They checked it, filled it with freon and it works great.

I had asked La Mesa if they could change out a curb bulb that I handed to service writer. He ended up doing this five-minute job for $65. I asked if they could dump my tanks and they said, no problem. I had no idea that it would be $65. I have had it dumped at other service locations and no cost to RV owner when they were getting work completed. So La Mesa RV changed the light bulb, dumped my tanks, tightened my screen door screen, replaced the shore plug end (would take 5-10 minutes but I was charged $104), checked A/C (failed to fix), checked wheel seals (failed to fix), suppose to fix water leak (failed to fix) and it was $698.

I feel that it should be about $150 worth of effort. After having the items repaired from another location, I went back to La Mesa and informed the service writer of the issues. He had me discuss with service manager. I informed him that I am a business owner and would want to know if I had this incompetent workforce representing me. I wanted to let them know the issues prior to going to owner of La Mesa. They gave me the card for another person to discuss this with at corporate (seemed like the card was a little too easy to find, like a lot must be given out). I will find the information to get this to the owner of La Mesa so he can review his operation in Mesa, AZ.