Walking Away

[Montana Brad]

I am sure there are buyers that have walked away from a purchase for many different reasons.Some of you may have read my posts or threads in the past and know I have been looking for a camping trailer on and off for a couple years now.This may seem like a long time but there are many reasons I have not purchased one.Of which I will not go into here unless people think its relevant.
So this spring I was quarantined at home.My wife and I came up with a plan which included buying a camping trailer.Be it known that we have looked at most trailers that would interest us and decided on a Bigfoot 21' after a couple months searching we found one in Canada.Doing our research we decided that the trailer was not quite the one.So with more internet searching and very deep digging we found exactly what we wanted.The trailer was in the US and according to the owner the trailer had been in storage for 10 years and not used.He was the second owner and he said the first owner had only used it a few times.All seemed well but we were second in line to purchase.The first deal fell thru so we had our chance next.
The seller was having the outside waxed and polished and he was delayed a couple days getting it done.Then he said that he was going out of town for 3 days and could not complete the purchase until he returns.On the evening of his return i called and said I would like a pre purchase inspection because I was buying from pictures only.He agreed to the inspection and I said the inspector would be there in the morning.Well the next morning the inspector canceled and said he would be there but had to schedule for two days out so I set that up.
The next day the owner calls me and in a very loud authoritative voice said "well you are going to have to decide on the purchase the next day when the inspector comes or not and buy it as is because YOU are impositioning me.He tells me he has been offered a thousand dollars more but will keep his word on the agreed price."I was paying full used retail and his asking price plus transport.
This call and demand really got under my skin.So the next morning two hours before the scheduled inspection I called the buyer and in one very short courteous sentence I told him I was not buying his trailer.
The right thing to do? Sometimes you just have to WALK AWAY.We are out the trailer and decided due to the Covid we will wait till purchase next spring.Getting our house ready to sell instead.
If you have walked away from a purchase and would care to share it in this thread feel free to do so.I wonder if others would had done the same as I ?

[Dan Meyer]

I don't know what I would have done. It sure seems like you did the right thing for YOU, and that is all that matters.

Best of luck in your search.



--Dan Meyer

[steve dunham]

We sold our 2013 Casita in the Summer of 2019
I walked away from several potential buyers cause I didn’t need their money that badly to put up with their unreasonable demands.

[J.D.]

ALWAYS repeat ALWAYS be ready to walk away whatever the deal! Sounds like the seller you were dealing with was a bit scammy too. Honest decent people don't "negoitate" that way.

[MyronL]

Think the guy was stringing you along from day one. You absolutely did the right thing. Sometimes when it smells like a fish, it's a fish.

[thrifty bill]

I always walk away if the deal just doesn't feel right.

On the other hand, if you are set on a Bigfoot 21, those don't come around very often. So on some deals, I just consider in the end what is best for ME: dealing with a flaky seller or walking. Some times I have dealt with flaky sellers, other times I walked. Some sellers are jerks.

[Civilguy]

Originally Posted by Montana Brad

I told him I was not buying his trailer.
The right thing to do?

Well, it's certainly exactly the thing to do if you don't want to own a trailer.

Beyond that, I evaluate it on a case-by-case basis. Sometimes I find that I have to step back and remember that my objective is only to accomplish some sort of a brief transaction with another person.

From there, I may or may not find that their behavior or some other is enough to make me walk away.

If I find them disagreeable, I try to remember that it's not like I'm marrying them and I go from there. But yeah, I've walked.

[thrifty bill]

Similar to Civil Guy, you are not looking for a new friend, you are looking for the right trailer. Some people say stupid stuff, irritate me, whatever. If the deal is right, I will tolerate something knowing at the end of the deal, I will never see the seller again.

The more common the item, and the less special the deal, the less tolerant I am. If my heart was set on a BF 21, then I would put up with some nonsense and work through it.

When I bought my Trillium long distance, I bought it sight unseen, sent the seller a non-refundable deposit, and started driving. That was the only way seller was going to hold it for me. Beyond the deposit, I knew I was going to be out my travel expenses too if the trailer turned out bad. So I took on significant up front risk. That is how it goes.

The other thing to consider is how long have you looked so far, and use that to estimate how much longer you are going to have to look to find another one. I can see comparing anything you find in the future to this one "that other one sure was cleaner/cheaper/better maintained/whatever". Hopefully the next one will be BETTER.

In my case, I had been looking for a Trillium for almost a year, and found two in that time, both disasters. The pictures of #3 looked pretty decent, but neglected, and it had been always stored inside. So I rolled the dice.

[MyronL]

I bought my first trailer sight unseen. It was out of state, clearly neglected, but at the time there on the east coast fiberglass trailers were very hard to find, and I took a chance. I could tell it was going to be a lot of rehab work but it was exactly what I wanted. I sent a check in the mail and arranged a pick-up date.

It was worse than I thought. The tail lights didn't work. No bill of sale and the owner wasn't home when I arrived. I had her number and when I called from her back yard all she said was, just take it. The license plates on it were 4 years out of date. I had no other plates.

Towed it to an auto supply store and the clerk kindly got the tail lights to work. Some duct tape secured rusty, flapping vent covers. I could only hope the tires wouldn't blow out on the road. Towed successfully some 400+ miles home, no incidents, hoping to not get stopped by the police.

I bought my second fiberglass trailer sight unseen. Also out of state, even farther away, and it looked pretty good when I got there. Beautiful wood floors. But no bill of sale. I had legal plates from the first trailer, which I brought along. When I git it home that's when I found all the floor rot the owner had hidden with beautiful wood flooring. When I tried to register the trailer and get plates with no certified bill of sale my state made me jump through a million hoops.

Oh, and I bought my third fiberglass trailer sight unseen. But it was at the factory in Chiliwack.

[ZachO]

I guess it was the right decision if the memory of the seller would have spoiled your enjoyment of the trailer, or memory of the purchase.

I agreed to buy my trailer before seeing it. Drove from MT to Canmore AB with cash in hand (had fun counting it with a Canadian border agent in small, windowless room on my way up). But the seller was always nice. A youngish couple. They cooked dinner and the husband and I sat out in the trailer going over all the systems and signing paperwork while we ate. Definitely a pleasant experience. But like people have brought up- in the end, it's just a financial transaction. All the same, I'm glad that's my memory of buying my trailer.

[DarrylScamp78]

I purchased a Bigfoot 21 sight unseen, but with extremely thorough on-site 50 item inspection and more than a dozen friendly calls and texts asking details. I had been searching for a fiberglassrv for nearly four years. I was first in line of prospective buyers even 1200 miles distant, but I had to send $1000 deposit to hold it. Fortunately, there were no important surprises.
I suspect thats the reason realtors never allow buyer and seller to meet. Personality conflicts would complicate and end many home sales, needlessly.

[FlyGuy]

I think, given the circumstances you've listed, that you made a WISE choice.

[jokra]

This has been a difficult decision for me in the past and I have always insisted on inspecting the prospective RV in person and it was always the right choice for me. I now have a rule that I will only buy/look at it if I can reach it in less than a day. I found an Airstream about 10 years old in Mass near the Ocean. It was as described and looked very nice inside and out, but on closer inspection, the rivets looked like they had rusted and were about to let go. I explained the problem to the seller and we agreed to part ways. The good thing was that I wanted to spend a few days in the area by the ocean in good weather. The next time, I went to see an Award in Wisconsin which sounded good in the ad, but on close inspection it had a serious leak and I left it with the owner. I have learned through experience that I only buy "used" based on personal inspection.

[Montana Brad]

Like I mentioned it was not reasonable in price.I would have had 27k+ in a 2008.Will I find one again?Sure they are out there, so its not like I needed the last piece of food on earth.After I read the opinions on here, it really did not change my mind.I will still do the same thing because sometimes you have to stand up to what you believe is right and not let people treat you like crap.

[tractors1]

My favorite sale experience was when a buyer showed up with a cashiers check $1000 less than our agreed price (over the phone.) When I said the amount was wrong he said, but that's what you said over the phone. I said no, you agreed to the advertised price. Then I showed him the far end of my driveway..............



I sold my Casita to a much nicer lady the next day. At full asking price.

[steve dunham]

My experience was similar . A couple had looked at our trailer 4 times , once with their RV tech , each visit took 2 to 3 hours . During this period of time we had exchanged 23 E- mails , photos , phone calls and text messages
They finally agreed to the purchase and a date and time was set .
On the agreed upon morning he called and said he had a few minor changes to our deal - He wanted all 3 of the one year old tires replaced , the bearings repacked , the price cut $1000 and I had to deliver the trailer to his residence 100 miles away . So much for unreasonable sellers !!!!
I sold the trailer the next week for the full asking price and the deal took two hours total from start to finish.

Sometimes it’s the seller that just walks away and sometimes the buyer is the problem !!!

[NW Cat Owner]

Originally Posted by tractors1

My favorite sale experience was when a buyer showed up with a cashiers check $1000 less than our agreed price (over the phone.) When I said the amount was wrong he said, but that's what you said over the phone. I said no, you agreed to the advertised price. Then I showed him the far end of my driveway..............

Oooo, and you have a very long driveway!



I get that crap all the time when selling on Craigslist.

[Darrell in Al]

Follow your "gut" instincts! Best bet always if it's saying walk away... Walk away abruptly. Same thing being a seller. Many years back I had a wife and husband A## H#### "trying to buy" my Scamp that I'm not selling, to the point of them calling me around the clock and even tried to threaten me.. 😄 so I finally had to "explain" things to them. We're I lived at, what I did in my past and what I currently do. Then said come on up and try. I can be very stubborn and then some. I'm to dang old for drama, I don't think you probably need it either. Hmmm I've been "semi" full time living in it for just short of 10 years now. Now out in edge of a National Forrest 😁 on my own land. Life is to short to deal with crap from people who you don't even know.

[jcj380]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

On the agreed upon morning he called and said he had a few minor changes to our deal - He wanted all 3 of the one year old tires replaced , the bearings repacked , the price cut $1000 and I had to deliver the trailer to his residence 100 miles away.

Sounds like a couple of real estate deals I've had the "joy" to experience.

Being willing to walk away, and doing so if necessary, can save you a lot of grief.