Five Star RV Center Five Star RV Not Trustworthy Henderson Colorado

We have had our eye on the Eagle Cap 1165 camper for about three years and were recently finally in a position to make a purchase.

In mid-June 2017, we visited Five Star RV Center in Henderson (Denver), Colorado, an Eagle Cap dealer.  We spoke to Bill Barton who explained to us the only model 1165 the company had in stock was a 2016 model.  Because there was a rather significant design change from the 2016 model year to the 2017 model year, we did not want the 2016 model.  We asked about getting a 2018 model and Bill told us Five Star would not have one until September, which was far too late for us.  In addition, Five Star's 2016 model showed signs of wear from having sat out in the sun for two years and having had numerous people traipse through it during that time.  Bill showed us a 2017 model 1160 as an alternative, but we were not interested in it because it has much less storage than does the model 1165.  When we left that day, we told Bill we might consider the 2016 model 1165 if the price was right.

After we left Five Star RV, I checked the internet for other dealers that might have a 2017 model 1165 and located several of them.  Bill Barton then contacted me and offered the Five Star RV 2016 model 1165 at a price significantly in excess of the price at which I had discovered I could purchase a 2017 model 1165.  I explained to Bill his price was not appealing because I could get a newer, less worn model for less.  We then purchased a 2017 model 1165 from an out-of-town dealer for more than $5,000 less than the lowest price Five Star RV offered us for its 2016 model.

On June 26, I telephoned Bill Barton and asked whether Five Star RV would install the tie-downs and air bags we needed to haul the camper we had purchased from the other dealer.  He said it would, but that the technician that did such work was out-of-town and would not return for two weeks.  On July 10, when the technician was back in town, I telephoned Five Star and had multiple communications with Bill Barton and Jay Trunkenbolz, owner of the company, about the specifics of our particular truck to enable them to order the proper parts to do the work.  During the course of those communications, Jay discovered for the first time that we had not purchased Five Star's 2016 model 1165, but had purchased the newer model from another dealer.

Between July 10 and July 26, I left multiple messages for Bill Barton in an attempt to schedule the work Five Star had agreed to perform.  Bill failed to return each and every one of my calls.  In addition, when I was able to catch Bill, he offered numerous excuses about why he could not schedule the work.  He also gave me conflicting information from one call to the next.  In late July, the excuse he offered was that the front tie-downs we needed were back-ordered.  On July 26, I asked to speak to Jay as the owner of the company in an attempt to get a straight answer about what was going on.  Jay repeated what Bill had told me about the front tie-downs being back-ordered.  He also told me he had four customers who had the exact same truck as we have and they were all waiting for the back-ordered tie-downs and that when a set of tie-downs finally arrived, he would have to choose to whom he would give them.  From the tone of his voice, it was quite obvious to me, even though he admitted we had been waiting the longest to have the work done, he would prefer other customers over us.  At that point, it became apparent to us that Five Star RV was punishing us for not having purchased its over-priced, older and worn model.

I then contacted the out-of-town dealer from which we had purchased the newer model and explained what had happened, including the fact that both Bill Barton and Jay Trunkenbolz had told me the front tie-downs were back-ordered.  The employee to whom I spoke went on-line to what he told me was a large, nationally known RV parts distributor and found it had 13 of the particular tie-downs we needed in stock.  I asked that dealer to do the installation and it was completed in a matter of days.

As a result of this horrendous experience, I could not possibly ever trust Five Star RV and will never do business with it.