Dangers of Unlicensed RV Consigners in the Coastal Bend

Do you live in the Coastal Bend area?  Are you trying to sell your RV?  Have you listed in on sites like ebay and Craigslist without success?  You may consider consigning it with a local RV dealer who can help you sell it quick.  Consigning is a great way to sell your used RV.  It takes the pressure off you, and you can relax while someone else does the work of advertising and showing your RV to prospective buyers.  While there are plenty of reputable dealers in the Coastal Bend who would happily help you sell your used RV, there also scammers lurking in the area.  If you decide to consign, beware of unreputable and unlicensed dealers who could turn your frustrating RV selling experience into a nightmare.   

Let’s say you list your RV on Corpus Christi Craigslist, and you get an email from someone in coastal bend area who says he can sell your RV at no cost to you.  You take them up on their offer without checking up on his credentials.  You still owe $10,000 in loans to the bank for that RV, so you want to sell it for $12,000 and make $2,000 profit.  This consigner sells your RV, gives you $2,000, and promises to pay the bank for you with the $10,000.  You go on your merry way thinking a huge weight has been lifted from your shoulders.  Not long after, you get a call from your bank asking why you haven’t been making your payments.  Turns out, that RV dealer never intended to pay the bank.  He pocketed that money, and now your RV is long gone—maybe not even in Texas anymore.  Your credit is ruined, you’ve lost $10,000, and you still owe at least that much to the bank. 

Maybe you don’t owe any money on the RV when you sell it through the consigner.  It’s still risky to sell through them if they’re unlicensed.  Oftentimes, these unlicensed RV dealers leave the former owner’s name on the title, so if the new owner happens to get into an accident at the cost of someone’s life, you could be held liable. 

A licensed dealer will not risk his livelihood on a scam like this. He would lose his license and be out of business. But if the dealer isn’t licensed, there’s nothing to stop him from taking your money and ruining your credit--or worse.  Before you consign with a dealer, make sure you do adequate research on them.  All RV dealerships in Texas should possess a Texas Franchise RV Dealers License.  The best way to confirm whether or not a dealer is licensed is to ask the dealer to show you a copy of that license or to contact the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles.  If you’ve fallen victim to some illegal scheme, and the RV dealer is licensed, TXDMV holds them accountable.  In fact, if you have any complaints regarding an RV dealership, you can click this link to file a complaint.