10-14-03

To Vintage Campers.Com


Dear Dan and Company,

Am writing to let you know how pleased I am with the purchase of my 1948 Mobile Sportsman trailer from your Company.

As you know, I chose the sportsman as a restoration project because of the exceptional condition of the aluminum skin, and its convenient size (It had to fit INSIDE my garage).

It was quite an exiting day last spring when I arrived at your display lot to pick up my camper. After helping me get hooked up, your man gave me a grand tour of your business, impressive, as was the fact that he took time to do so on a Sunday morning!

So as to make the following a bit more understandable to those who don't know the full story, let me recount,

I left your lot pretty pleased; the first 50 miles of my 150 - mile journey went well. I started to notice the front of the camper bouncing up and down, but figured it was just a rough road; a little further on it seemed to get worse. At this point I was becoming concerned, I watched intensely in the mirrors at the bouncing trailer and suddenly realized that the truck was not bouncing!

I found a safe place to pull over and took a close look at the hitch, it seemed to be bent upwards (not a good sign). I peeled back the aluminum underbelly and found the problem.

Unbeknownst to either of us, the trailer frame was badly rusted and cracked in the area the tongue was attached to the frame The last hundred miles of the trip home was spent with recurring visions of seeing the trailer crashing into the ditch., and the tongue dangling from the truck!

Well, needless to say, I figured that since I had purchased the trailer "as is"
I was out the purchase price, and would have to start my search all over again.

Upon arriving home (the hitch held on, not sure how, but it did) I E-mailed to let Dan know what had happened.

I'm a reasonable person, and wasn't mad, (very disappointed, but not mad) the frame damage was hidden by the underbelly, (there was no way of knowing without removing it) so I simply wanted to let Dan know that he might want to add that area to his list of pre-sale inspections.

What happened next is almost unbelievable in this day and age.

Dan expressed genuine shock and concern over what had happened, apologized and without hesitation offered to "do whatever it takes to make it right".

Bear in mind Dan owed me nothing; he had a legal document, signed by me. And of course the trailer was more than 50 years old; some problems are to be expected.

After further investigation, it was determined that the entire frame would need to be replaced, Dan held true to his word and covered the expense to the last penny.

Dan's concern, honesty, and willingness to make things right, even at the expense of profit, is commendable! I believe Dan to be an outstanding businessman who cares about his company's reputation, and his customer's satisfaction, because of this, I have, and will continue to recommend Vintage Campers.com as THE place to buy a vintage camper.

Thank you for all you've done! Please feel free to share this letter with potential customers, and if anyone would like to contact me personally, you may also share my E-mail address.



Sincerely,
Robert Hesselmann
Urbana, Illinois