This is one of the vans I’m considering buying
Yesterday, I started my search for the right van for me. I drove to a dealership just outside Baltimore. It was a Tuesday, so I figured they wouldn’t be busy. I wanted some time to see lots of vans, lots of different makes and models and floor plans, and to take some time to sit in each one and decide if I could really live in such a tiny space. I arrived at just about noon and that could have been my first mistake. The receptionist was very pleasant and I told her what I was looking for. She called into the back and then said to me “Dana will be here to help you.” She couldn’t have been more wrong. Dana showed up, and it became clear almost immediately he was not the least bit interested in helping me. It seemed I had interrupted his lunch. Or maybe when I told him I was looking for a Class B to purchase in the upcoming months, he realized he wasn’t making a sale today and didn’t want to put the time or energy into dealing with me. Either way, he seemed to have a pretty bad attitude from the start.
He reluctantly walked me to a back corner of the showroom where I looked at an Axion. He told me on the way that he thought a Class B was too small to live in, and when I got inside the Axion, my heart sank. It was WAY too small, had a poor layout, and just had no appeal whatsoever to me. I immediately wondered if I had completely misjudged my ability to “live small.” This van was smaller than my bedroom closet, and not nearly as attractive inside. I sat and tried to think of questions, and I finally asked how long this one was. He told me it was 20 feet. I said “Your website shows 12 vans. Can I see some of the others with a different floor plan?” He responded “We don’t have that many in stock.” I told him I’d checked the website before driving over that morning and it showed a LOT of vans. He said “Well, we sold some. Maybe they just didn’t update the website.” I asked what they had and he sort of rolled his eyes and exhaled deeply like I was really being a pain in his ass.
Now this is where I blame myself. In hindsight, I should have immediately gone back to the receptionist who had been so pleasant, and asked if there was another salesman available. Maybe one who gave a shit. I didn’t. Instead I inquired about the Roadtrek Zion and asked if I could see that. That was the one with the floor plan I liked most. He said he thought they sold it and I asked about another model and he sighed and said “That’s all the way over on the other lot.” He grabbed a set of keys and I assumed we were headed to “the other lot” but instead he took me just outside the front door to show me a Coachman. When I got in, I was immediately relieved. It was beautiful, and so much bigger than the Axion I’d just seen. I asked the length and he told me it was 22 foot. It was definitely a luxury van, well appointed, with lots of bells and whistles, and a price tag to match–it was $30,000 more than the Axion I’d just seen.
When we got out, I noticed the Zion I’d wanted to see and it was parked right next to us. I said “There’s the Zion! Can I see that one?” He said he didn’t have the key (the key was inside at the front desk, about 100 feet away.) I said “That’s the one I am really interested in.” He told me it was exactly the same as the Axion I saw inside. I said “Are you sure? I think it has a different floor plan and is bigger.” He assured me it was identical except for the outside color. Again, I regret not growing a pair and telling him to please go get the key, or get me a salesman who would. But I accepted that it was the same and he moved to a different model and pulled open the back door, grumbling that someone left it unlocked and they shouldn’t have. I looked inside and it was nice, but not my favorite floor plan. I really wanted to see the inside of the Zion, and today, I so regret not being adamant about him getting a key and letting me see it. Instead I said “Can I go see the Axion one more time?” He said “Sure, go ahead.” I went inside the building and went back to take a second look. Yup. Too small. I had time to really look around because he wasn’t standing there tapping his foot like I was holding him up from something important. It had limited storage, no kitchen counter space, and was so tiny. It was really just a notch above a tent for a weekend camper. I went back to the front and the salesman was sitting at the employee break table with his buds. He wasn’t going to bother to get up except I asked for printed info on a couple of the models so I could go home and compare. He reluctantly got up and handed me the sheets from the brochure rack. I went home sad and angry and disgusted. I think I was as much disgusted with myself as I was with the dealership. I should have been more prepared. And at the first sign that this guy wasn’t interested in helping me, I should have gone to the receptionist and complained, and asked for someone who was interested. I learned my lesson. Next time I’ll be better prepared. I’m planning to pay close to $100,000 for my new home. I certainly have a right to expect that someone show me what I want to see. This guy didn’t tell me a thing about any of the features, how the heater worked, what kind of AC unit it had, how big any of the tanks were, what kind of inverter it had, etc. And I didn’t ask because he made me feel like I was bothering him in some way. I’ll be better prepared next time.
When I got home, I pulled up the website again. I looked at the specs of the Axion. It was 17 feet in length. (The salesman told me it was 20). The Zion was just over 20 feet and had a totally different floor plan. He had told me it was identical to the Axion. I think he showed me the tiny Axion first in the hopes of moving me up to a Class C motor home. He showed me one and I told him I wasn’t interested.
The good news is that I got my feet wet. I went and looked at vans. I saw some I could definitely live in. I saw some that were absolutely gorgeous (and expensive). I expected the salesman to show me all the features, explain all the hookups, go over the complicated electronics and the controllers. He did none of that and I didn’t ask him to. Shame on me. Next time I’ll have a list of questions. I’ll do my homework before and when someone tells me that an Axion and a Zion are the same, I’ll know better. I had to start somewhere. I clearly started in the wrong place, but I at least started. I’ll do a lot more research and go to the next place with specific vans I want to see and specific questions I want answered. I can do this.