Hi all.
We have a 2021 381M we dropped off for routine servie and warranty work in mid-January. I was told the trailer would sit for a month before being worked on, and I had no choice but to leave the trailer with the dealer or I would lose my spot in the service queue.
Fast foward to late February. I get a call from a different service advisor than the one who checked me in back in January, and she tells me a rat had entered the trailer somehow while it was sitting on their lot waiting to be serviced and it had destroyed the water lines and chewed up the bathroom door. They said the rat was gone and they’re fixing the damage at their expense. I wasn’t happy but I suppose it is what it is.
Fast forward Friday, March 12th and the same service advisor calls again saying it turns out they were wrong and the rat has been feasting away inside the trailer the whole time. The HUGE rat got into the pantry, chewed up non-perishable food and the service advisor couldn’t tell me what else the rat got into. They ended up calling an exterminator to catch it. I asked if the rat got into anything else such as our bedding, clothes, couch and any of the drawers/cupboards with dishes. The service advisor couldn’t confirm and they would get in touch shortly with a full break down of what’s been damaged.
I decided I'd drive out to the dealer on Monday, March 15th to see the trailer myself (it's 100 miles each way hence not going sooner). It was pouring rain that day, and when I arrived, my jaw hit the floor. The trailer was not inside of one of the many enclosed service bays available at the dealership and the insulation in the underbelly was completely exposed and laying on the wet ground, wires and hoses were dangling on the wet ground, the exterior pass-through storage doors under the master bedroom were wide open with all of the untreated wood and wiring exposed with rain going inside, the hot water heater was partially pulled out from the side of the trailer and was already showing signs of rust, and our bedding, clothes, towels and various personal belongings were sitting in trash bags outside in the rain filling with water.
Inside the trailer it was obviously the rat had been all over. The master bed had no bedding, iPhone charging cords plugged in next to the bed had been chewed, the door going into the garage had also been chewed up, and there were holes in the master bedroom slide-out carpet underneath the closet doors where the rat had likely been going to and from the underbelly of the trailer. Not to mention there was visible rat droppings and urine in the carpet. The bag for my Virair air compressor was chewed through (unsure if the hoses or compressor are damaged) and even our Nespresso machine was chewed. There was a big pile of our personal belongings in the garage that either a technician or rodent exterminator had piled up and I didn't bother going through as I didn't have gloves and it was unknown if the rat was still in the trailer or not.
I told the service advisor in person on March 15th after seeing the trailer and walking through it that as far as I'm concerned the trailer is toast and we don't want it back. She nodded and said it's completely understandable, and would have management call me to discuss potentially buying the trailer back and getting us into something else.
Since then I have texted with the service advisor a couple of times explaining I have not heard from management, and we need to resolve this matter as soon as possible. The SA told me the trailer is still being worked on and their techs are rushing to finish repairs, and I don't see how that plays a role into this at all as I was crystal clear I don't want the trailer back and want our damaged items replaced.
A service manager (not a sales manager) did leave me a voicemail on April 20th, and I returned his call today (April 21st) and left a voicemail for him.
My wife and I are beyond frustrated with this entire situation, and the entire experience has been a disaster. Even if the dealer repairs the trailer and cleans it thoroughly, there will still be that asterisk mark on this trailer (sort of like the Astros winning the world series - yes, we live in Los Angeles lol) and no way will we get top dollar later when we sell and disclose the extensive repair. Not to mention the loss of use the past three months and thousands of dollars of damaged personal belongings.
Has anyone else had something like this happen? If so, what was the outcome with the dealer?
We have a 2021 381M we dropped off for routine servie and warranty work in mid-January. I was told the trailer would sit for a month before being worked on, and I had no choice but to leave the trailer with the dealer or I would lose my spot in the service queue.
Fast foward to late February. I get a call from a different service advisor than the one who checked me in back in January, and she tells me a rat had entered the trailer somehow while it was sitting on their lot waiting to be serviced and it had destroyed the water lines and chewed up the bathroom door. They said the rat was gone and they’re fixing the damage at their expense. I wasn’t happy but I suppose it is what it is.
Fast forward Friday, March 12th and the same service advisor calls again saying it turns out they were wrong and the rat has been feasting away inside the trailer the whole time. The HUGE rat got into the pantry, chewed up non-perishable food and the service advisor couldn’t tell me what else the rat got into. They ended up calling an exterminator to catch it. I asked if the rat got into anything else such as our bedding, clothes, couch and any of the drawers/cupboards with dishes. The service advisor couldn’t confirm and they would get in touch shortly with a full break down of what’s been damaged.
I decided I'd drive out to the dealer on Monday, March 15th to see the trailer myself (it's 100 miles each way hence not going sooner). It was pouring rain that day, and when I arrived, my jaw hit the floor. The trailer was not inside of one of the many enclosed service bays available at the dealership and the insulation in the underbelly was completely exposed and laying on the wet ground, wires and hoses were dangling on the wet ground, the exterior pass-through storage doors under the master bedroom were wide open with all of the untreated wood and wiring exposed with rain going inside, the hot water heater was partially pulled out from the side of the trailer and was already showing signs of rust, and our bedding, clothes, towels and various personal belongings were sitting in trash bags outside in the rain filling with water.
Inside the trailer it was obviously the rat had been all over. The master bed had no bedding, iPhone charging cords plugged in next to the bed had been chewed, the door going into the garage had also been chewed up, and there were holes in the master bedroom slide-out carpet underneath the closet doors where the rat had likely been going to and from the underbelly of the trailer. Not to mention there was visible rat droppings and urine in the carpet. The bag for my Virair air compressor was chewed through (unsure if the hoses or compressor are damaged) and even our Nespresso machine was chewed. There was a big pile of our personal belongings in the garage that either a technician or rodent exterminator had piled up and I didn't bother going through as I didn't have gloves and it was unknown if the rat was still in the trailer or not.
I told the service advisor in person on March 15th after seeing the trailer and walking through it that as far as I'm concerned the trailer is toast and we don't want it back. She nodded and said it's completely understandable, and would have management call me to discuss potentially buying the trailer back and getting us into something else.
Since then I have texted with the service advisor a couple of times explaining I have not heard from management, and we need to resolve this matter as soon as possible. The SA told me the trailer is still being worked on and their techs are rushing to finish repairs, and I don't see how that plays a role into this at all as I was crystal clear I don't want the trailer back and want our damaged items replaced.
A service manager (not a sales manager) did leave me a voicemail on April 20th, and I returned his call today (April 21st) and left a voicemail for him.
My wife and I are beyond frustrated with this entire situation, and the entire experience has been a disaster. Even if the dealer repairs the trailer and cleans it thoroughly, there will still be that asterisk mark on this trailer (sort of like the Astros winning the world series - yes, we live in Los Angeles lol) and no way will we get top dollar later when we sell and disclose the extensive repair. Not to mention the loss of use the past three months and thousands of dollars of damaged personal belongings.
Has anyone else had something like this happen? If so, what was the outcome with the dealer?
Not even including the rat damage, what the dealer did, and failled to do, in protecting your stuff, was pure negligence.
