I have started to write this review so many different times over the past month but as soon as I start to put how awful my experience was with Sunset RV and Sunset Chevrolet into words, I start to get frustrated, angry and hurt all over again. My only hope now is to help anyone avoid what we went through.
April 30th, 2013 my husband and I purchased a 2013 Prime Time Tracer 3200BHT from Sunset RV in Fife. Our sales rep, Larry Ryan and his sales manager, Russ W. made us feel confident regarding our purchase because they provided us with written proof from their parent company, Sunset Chevrolet, that our truck (2008 GMC 1500 Sierra Crew Cab 4WD 5.3L V8 with a 6-inch lift), has a towing capacity of 9500 lbs. However, on May 8th, we had to re-sign a new contract because apparently, we originally signed a contract that had a different VIN#. We were promised by Mark Harris that he would call us within 24 hours to let us know if the financing went through and at what rate. On May 11th, I spoke with the owner of both Sunset RV & Sunset Chevrolet, Phil Mitchell, who reassuringly promised me that Mark would call me back at 8pm sharp. As promised, Mark called with the good news that our financing went through and at a great rate. Ecstatic, we made plans for the upcoming Memorial Day weekend with family, went shopping for necessities and became members with K/M Resorts. Our first PDI (pre-delivery inspection) was on May 14th where I provided a list of things needing replacing or repair.
May 18th, we met Larry in Bonney Lake for our final PDI and were a bit miffed to notice that only a few things were taken care of from the PDI list. After the brake controller & equalizer bar were installed on our truck, we took delivery of our very first travel trailer and headed home to Port Orchard. During our trip home, we noticed the RPM's on the truck were consistently at 4000. Concerned, we contacted Haselwood GMC dealership (where we originally purchased our truck) to have our transmission looked at and, if necessary, serviced. When we told them the truck is towing a travel trailer that weighs 7400 lbs. they were stunned and informed us our truck's towing capacity is only 7500 lbs. They advised us that we should not only bring our truck in immediately but to not tow the trailer anywhere anymore. Luckily, we found a storage facility (Reliable Storage) available and open on a Saturday. Disappointed and angry, we parked our brand new travel trailer and made the necessary cancellations.
May 20th, my husband contacted Sunset RV over the phone to ask them about the discrepancy they provided. After being rudely told not only by Larry and Russ but also by their general sales manager, Kevin McDaniel, "we have been in business for more than 90 years so you don't know what you are talking about" and "if you don't like how your truck handled towing then you should either buy a new truck or remove the lift", we felt it necessary to seek out legal advice. Before doing so, we discovered the discrepancy while viewing the 2008 Guide to Towing (via trailerlife.com). The information Sunset RV provided was for 2012. We showed this to Kevin in person and he was speechless but surprisingly cooperative. He apologized for the misunderstanding and offered to sell us a comparable 2008 truck "at cost" with the proper towing capacity. Since we loved the trailer we decided to extend our budget a little more.
May 22nd, we were shown three trucks that were obviously listed above retail. Clearly, they had no intentions of selling us a truck "at cost". Exasperated, I contacted Phil Mitchell since he was so helpful in the past with holding his employees accountable. I was certain that under the circumstances, he would do whatever he could to not only save the sale of the trailer but also a potential sale of a truck. Instead, he said "at the end of day, I will be losing money". Slighted, I asked if he thought that was more important than losing a customer. Sadly, his response was "that is no way to do business". Before I hung up, I told him he was right, that is no way to do business.
May 29th, we rescinded the contract with Sunset RV and were denied any compensation for any charges incurred by this mistake such as storage fees and return shipping costs for items bought for the trailer. Russ showed us the payout check and said it was sent overnight to Bank of America to immediately close out the loan because the loan will not report as paid until 30 days after the payout date. At that point, we could finance another trailer. The very next day, they came and picked up the trailer at Reliable Storage. It is currently being listed as NEW instead of used on their website.
Today is June 21st and the loan is finally paid off and closed. We still have hopes in finding another trailer and still look from time to time and around July 21st is when my husband and I can finance another trailer so wish us luck and thank you for taking the time to read this. read more