A Slight Wrinkle in Our Plans

Elkhart, IN          High:  91      Low:  71

Wel-l-l-l-l.....the plan was to leave last Monday. We were going to drop our rig off at Total Value RV for consignment. Total Value RV is seriously interested in helping a seller as well as helping themselves. Out of all the people we've talked to about putting our motorhome on a lot and let the dealer handle the sales, Total Value was the most fair and reasonable in their fees and percentage of the sale. They were the dealership where we bought our first motorhome, the Damon Challenger, and we've always had excellent service and salesmanship from them. Jenny, the service manager is terrific. Hank, the owner, is terrific. Ivan, his son,  was very straightforward with us when we went in to talk to him.  Dave Olson, is a terrific sales guy that works for them. They have always done great work for us in a timely manner and at very reasonable prices, and are very friendly and professional to deal with.

The wrinkle was, Sparky decided to call our insurance agent and double check that since we are no longer going to be driving our rig, maybe our insurance needs would change and our rates would drop from "full timers" to "part timers".  Wel-l-l-l...yes and no. Apparently, most specialized RV insurance companies do NOT insure your vehicle while it's sitting on a dealer's lot. No siree....no way, no how.. Everybody thinks you are covered when you are selling your rig on a lot because you have a full timer's insurance policy. YOU ARE NOT COVERED. ALMOST ALL RV AND TOW INSURANCE POLICIES EXCLUDE COVERAGE IF THE UNIT IS HELD FOR SALE ON CONSIGMENT. Sparky repeats--If you want to sell your rig by putting it on somebody's lot, your regular RV insurance does NOT cover this situation..You have to get SPECIAL insurance, an endorsement, or what some in the business call it "consignment" insurance--a special policy to cover the special circumstances the rig finds itself while sitting in a dealership lot. We have to cancel our regular RV insurance and buy a separate, whole entity different policy. It wasn't so easy to find and there weren't a lot of choices. Some companies won't do that "rider" extension or "special insurance" without you being insured with them in the first place. Progressive is one such company. Why your current insurance wouldn't feel more secure with the rig just sitting on a protected lot and offer a sub rider/attachment policy for such a situation is beyond us, but maybe it's because a prospective buyer might take the rig out for a spin and it's riskier to the insurance company even if it is sitting.

So, we get on the phone, do our internet research and we find a couple of places that will write a new policy and cover the consignment situation at the same time. We compared insurance quotes line by line, and TADA! We have our consignment insurance in place.  It's finally time to take our rig over to Total Value. Heading out of the Elkhart Campground this morning....Sniff, sniff.....

Eldy drove it next door to Total Value. It's time to say goodbye to the Tiffin...sniff, sniff.....(Sigh! I'm gonna miss it, too, says E.)  But he just dropped off the keys and was ready to go....BOO-HOO-HOO....

We did the final walk around with Total Value, and we said our goodbyes to our home of three years.....

Hopefully, it's a final goodbye, and we won't be returning to get it at the end of October. We hope it sells by then.....If it doesn't, then we will drive the Phaeton back down to Florida, and park it on consignment early November in Florida, waiting for the snowbirds to arrive and the RV market to pick up in FL. We'll see what happens......

We'll see you on the road in the car! A loaded car!