PROBLEMS WITH THE DEALERSHIP

[Craig]

I just bought what will be my dream home. bought a 1941 sq ft Homes of Merit tape & textured thought the entire home upgraded everything, manufactured in Lake City, FL.
my problem is that the dealership called & spoke with my girlfriend & I twice about the paint that I picked out. they stated that the painter doesnt like Behr brand paint (which is what I picked out). they also stated it is more expensive that what they allow. My girlfriend & I both told the sales guy on the phone in two seperate conversations that we wanted to have it painted with what we had picked out. we would pay the difference in cost. the painter painted with a cheaper brand & different color anyway. ( by the way the painter did a terrible job) I talked to the sales guy & the manager of the dealership about the problem & told them I wanted it repainted with the paint that I had specified. (I dont feel like I am being unreasonable) the sale guy said they would would have the same painter come out & repaint with my paint but I would have to pay the full cost of his labor & for the paint for him to do it. the manager said they would would have the same painter come out & repaint with my paint but I would have to pay half of the cost of his labor & for the paint for him to do it. I do not feel it is my fault of the sales got misunderstood two different conversation or is just plain lieing. I am getting no where with this dealership. what can I do ? there was never anything in writing about the paint that I picked out. I just gave the sales guy the sample I got from Home Depot. I talked with the owner of the dealership yesterday. he stated he would talk with the sales guy to see what his side of the story is. I worry that now since I am having this problem. who knows what type of problems I will have if I need work under the Homes of Merit warranty if I have to go through this dealer.
can anyone reccomend what my next steps should be ?

[dave]

CRAIG:
I work at a homes of merit dealership and we frequently sell homes with factory installed tape & textured homes.It is not the normal policy of homes of merit to use anything other than a white finish coat of their choosing.It would certainly be unfair of the dealership to expect the contractor hired by homes of merit to foot the bill for anything more expensive than they are contracted to use.

Sounds like the dealership (salesman) made a promise their unwilling to keep and you made the mistake of not getting the promise in writng.

Homes of merit does excellent serice after the sale and should do so regardless of your relationship with the dealer you bought the home from but it would be very much in your favor if that relationship was a good one.

The quality of the present job is a different matter.We have had cases where the finish job was not satifactory with the customer and when their concerns were justified the job had to be done over.If you are going to have to repaint anyway(because you want a different brand of paint and a different color) just use their finish coat as a base.

Try to work things out with the dealership first but if you have to you can request your service directly from the factory.

[Craig]

When you state It is not the normal policy of homes of merit to use anything other than a white finish coat of their choosing. It would certainly be unfair of the dealership to expect the contractor hired by homes of merit to foot the bill for anything more expensive than they are contracted to use. what do you mean by normal policy of homes of merit to use anything other than a white finish coat of their choosing. the ceiling was painted in a white finish coat of their choosing. the walls were all blue nailed with no finish coat or taped. the sales guy did tell me that would be the way it would be delivered. so I have no problem with the drywall being blue nailed. the ceiling looks fine other than the overspray that the contracted painter got on it while painting the walls & the ceiling of between the 2 halves has a 8 inch dark line where he did not do finish the marriage line in the ceiling correctly. my problem is not with Homes of Merit. My problem is with Normandy Homes in Jacksonville, FL.
maybe I was not clear in my initial post. I told the sales guy before the home was ever painted the brand & color that I wanted. I gave him the paint sample from Home Depot with the brand name & color on the sample. I told him that if my brand & color was more expensive I would pay the difference in the price for the paint. the sales guy & painter used another paint brand & color anyway. the painter missed a lot of places on the walls (some places as big as 2 inches) where the home should be painted. but, he somehow managed to get a lot of paint on the cabinets, sheet vinyl floor & carpet. the painter the dealer contracted does very sloppy work. because he did the job badly the first time I just do not feel that I should have to pay the cash up front when the dealership is going to send the same guy out to repaint. why would I believe that he would do a better job the second time around. this is why I do not feel that I should have to pay for the same guy to come out & paint it again. I never had a problem paying the difference in price for the paint.
I even told the manager of the dealership yesterday that I would pay in full for the paint to be repainted. however, because it is not my fault that the sales guy & the painter made a decision on their own to change the paint. I do not believe that I should have to pay the labor also. I am trying to work with the dealership, but they have me by the b*lls & know I can not do anything about it other than take their bad service.
the sales guy & manager of the dealership are not going to work with me on anything now because I have made their last 2 days miserable by not just paying the additional $$$ to have their painter come back out & paint again.
you indicated that It is possible for me to get my service issues taken care of directly by Homes of Merit instead of going through the dealership.. how would I go about doing this ?

[rmurray]

I repled in a different area of these boards...but as I said there..you do have options...

First and formost...as hard as it is...try not to make yourself the customer from hell...eventually the dealer's human nature will kick in and you will get nothing from them at all..

Take a lot of pictures of the mess...take pictures of color samples taped to the wall for comparison...start communicating with the dealer in writing...helps keep tempers in check and you will have copies of what has been said..request all replies in writing..

You ultimate option is to fix it your self...and go to small claims court..all the pics and written communications will help then...

calm down...quit talking to the salesperson...communicate with the owner...give him/her a chance...move on..

[chase]

if you are in jacksonville, take the 60 mile ride to lake city. go to the factory and talk directly to the service department bring along pictures and even better a video of the problems . have you had the owner come out and look at your home? set that up and ask one question. IF THIS WERE YOUR HOME WOULD YOU ACCEPT THIS WORK? you have many other options rather than fix it yourself, first get the owner to look at it, 2, go to the factory direct, or 3. file a complaint with fla manufactured housing commission. 4. never again take anybodys WORD for anything , have it in writing. but the first thing that should occur is for the owner/manager leave the comfort of his office and take a trip to your home to see the reality of you complaint himself, that is not fair to you, the salesperson, or the contractor.

[Craig]

the owner met with me this week at the Jacksonville dealership & said he would have all of the problems fixed within 2-3 weeks & gave me $500.00 to hire my own painter to do the job correctly. its to bad the sales guy & the dealer manager didnt care enough about a paying customer before I got the owner involved. they could have taken care of the problem but refused to listen to me .

for all of those looking to get a new home in the future. make sure you get EVERYTHING in writing to save yourself the headaches I went through.

[rmurray]

Good for you...hope all works out well..