Bulletproof, Inc.

At Bulletproof Trailers, we pride ourselves on quality of work and accurateinformation conveyed to our customers.The customer brought a recently purchased, used RV to us in the peak of ourbusy summer seasonWe shuffle vehicles around constantly to manage the queue ofwork ordersWhen the
customer brought the RV to us, the engine battery was deadand hooked up to his jump-pack that he said he had to use just to get is started tobring it inHe was requesting work to be done on the suspension; however, wenever got to that point because the electrical system was in a failed state when hebrought it inHis jump-pack was no longer able to start the vehicle so we used oneof oursThe complaint indicates that our moving the RV around several times“caused the battery to run low.” If a vehicle has a normally functioning electricalsystem and alternator, starting a vehicle to move it around the yard, even “severaltimes,” would not make a battery run lowThe RV was clearly in a compromisedstate when it arrived, and our jump-starting the vehicle did not cause it any furtherdamage.While in our possession, we had technicians as well as the owner of Bulletprooflook it overOur auto mechanic assessed the engine electrical issues, and our RVtechnician looked at the RV coach systems and suspension issuesWe found a badconnection in the engine electrical system (it was either the starter solenoid or thestarter), a failed engine starter battery, as well as corroded and bad connections atthe engine batteryThis was the likely cause of the customer not being able to starthis RV prior to bringing it to usWe diagnosed these issues upon connecting ourjump pack to his unitWe have learned from other similar circumstances that thisparticular jump pack makes a whining or buzzing sound (as outlined in thecomplaint) when it is hooked to a bad or failing electrical systemWe fixed the badconnection for the customer and then attempted to charge his starter battery so hewould have an RV that started without a jump-packIt worked greatAfter chargingthe battery for a while, the RV engine started up just fineHowever, after letting theRV sit for a day it would not start again without the assistance of a jump pack,clearly indicating that the engine starter battery was in a failed stateWe chargedhim nothing for the 1.5-hours we spent working on and assessing the overallcondition of his RV.After looking over the rest of the RV, our owner called the customer to inform himthat an excessive overhaul was needed just to make the RV safeOn a scale of poorto-excellent, it was our professional opinion that the RV was in a very, very poorstate; it was in a borderline “failed” condition and was definitely unsafe(mechanically and electrically)For example, the engine was completely coveredwith oil; once we did get the engine started, it started smoking profuselyOur ownertold the customer to be very careful and that he should carry a fire extinguisheruntil he could get the engine steam cleaned if he decided to salvage the RV
In the complaint, the customer identified a value range on the RV obtained fromNADA at $10k - $12kThis range reflects an RV of that age in good workingconditionIn a conversation this summer with the owner of Bulletproof, thecustomer explained that he had recently obtained the RV for less than halfthose valuesOverall, the work needed was going to be very time- and cost-intensivegiven the age and state of the RVIt was our opinion at Bulletproof that the cost ofgetting everything fixed was going to be far higher than the value of the RV once thework was completedThe customer was overly concerned about the amount ofmoney needed; he indicated that since he had just purchased the unit, he was notinterested in putting that much money into the repairs and asked the owner’sopinion as to what he should doOur owner told him that his best option was to sellthe unit to someone who was interested in taking on the RV as an overhaul project,and to then use that money to purchase an RV in a more workable conditionOurowner also joked that the customer could alternatively “take the RV and burn it.” Weoften use this comment in jest as a metaphorical figure-of-speech to help a customertruly understand the gravity of the situation; in his case, we were trying to conveythat the repair-to-value ratio was too highMost people are completely unaware ofthe resources that are necessary to restore extensive deferred maintenance,especially with older units in which parts are hard to come by and need to be specialorderedThis customer gave no indication that he was offended by the comment ortook the comment in any other manner than the metaphor it was intended to be.Overall, we determined that the customer’s RV needed a full overhaul just to make itsafe and ready for him to use on a job siteWe informed him that we were at thepeak of our season and were not able to put the time or resources needed into a fulloverhaul (which the customer was not interested in paying for anyway)Ourworking philosophy is to not perform temporary (or “band-aid”) repairs leavingother systems unrepaired and sending an unsafe RV onto the road with our name onitThe reason being that in our past experience, when other failing systems on an RVfinally do fail, customers tend to blame the last mechanic who had possession of thevehicle even though those systems went untouchedWe have worked hard to avoidthis situation for the sake of our customers and ourselves, and opt for informing ourcustomers of all failing systemsThis customer clearly stated he was not interestedin putting the kind of money we estimated into a full resurrection of the unit tomake it safe, so we asked him to come pick up his unit since we needed the yardspace for paying customers.In the short time we had the RV at the shop, the only work we did on the vehicle wasto repair the broken connection in the engine electrical systemThe RV coachsystems run on another battery system; we never worked on anything related tothose systemsHence, any malfunctioning “small and large electrical components inthe RV” are likely a result of the state of the RV prior to arrival at Bulletproof ordamage after leaving our possession.Furthermore, we have no record of, or recollection of the customer contacting usafter leaving the shop indicating there was a problemReceiving a complaint via
email that was filed with the Revdex.com last week was the first we haveheard of any concernsTherefore, we never had a chance to clear up anymisunderstandings or discuss further actionIn twelve years of business, we havenever had a complaint filed against us, which is a strong indication of our customerservice philosophy and satisfaction.Finally, the complaint identifies inaccurate datesThese events occurred this pastsummer, not in December as the customer indicatedAdditionally, no 2nd contactwas made, and most certainly was not on December as indicated in thecomplaintWe are unsure why the customer waited 5-months to express hisconcerns or why he launched a public complaint with inaccurate dates a few daysbefore ChristmasThese actions do not match his desire for a “quick” resolution.We are not responsible for the malfunctioning systems in this RV unit, and arenot willing to pay for the repairs the customer is requesting
-BLR***, owner