Lazy Daze Owners' Group

Ed & Margee / Steve:

Thanks for responding now to our call for help from a month ago - you folks are the only answer we received. The actual answer to our question is moot now since our almost completed deal for that 2005 MB fell apart literally at the last moment.

We responded to a classified ad and we asked many questions. We've been looking for an LD for some years, been in quite a few, and read endless discussions here and the old Forum ( jr member of each) so we are familiar w/many of the issues found in used LDs. The Owner disclosed that the MB had a number of fogged double-pane windows and we were desperately trying to figure cost of replacement and needed the thickness of the glass.
We reached a price adjustment with the owner based on our best guess in replacing all the house windows at a business in Oregon mentioned here in the Forum, sent a down payment, and flew 3,000 miles to perform a final inspection (and call in an expert if indicated) intending to drive it back.

We had also been told that the end cap corner joint at the rear corner of the over-the-cab projection (back of the passenger door) was slightly cracked and was minor and that Vince at the Mother Ship had advised the owner just to calk it w/a certain adhesive which he did.
Besides the expected minor cracked corner cap on the passenger side, on arrival we also discovered that the vertical end caps on each side in the FRONT (back of passenger & driver doors) had lost adhesion to the aluminum from the floorboards up to the over-cab corners to various degrees, and had been caulked by filling in the gaps (up to 1/4"-3/4" wide) between the lifted end caps and the the aluminum walls. One end cap was cracked to it's center a few inches above the floorboard back of the passenger door.

Then we found both of the REAR vertical end caps loose and not adhering in many places from bumper to roof on both sides. In most places a credit card could be inserted in the gaps, many times to the center of the end caps where the corners of the side walls and rear wall would meet. We decided that we couldn't take this kind of work on because health-, age-, and capability-wise we know our limits.

We think the Owner believed that in the FRONT, to keep the rain out, he could simply squeeze a large amount of sealant in the gaps where the end caps pulled away from the coach no matter how wide or how long the gaps and didn't realize how ugly or how short term that fix likely was . We also believe he didn't actually know that the REAR vertical end caps were near falling off as he seemed as shocked as we were to discover this. We sincerely believe he was an honest and honorable man.

In summary, this 3,000 mile trip was our Second VERY serious attempt at buying a Lazy Daze. The first was 1,500 miles also by plane (guess we at least got to see Louisville and Nashville that time).  --- So all told we've put in 4,500 miles in our quest for an LD  (plus many smaller trips) and we are about worn out.


Thanks again --  Steve & Karen,  Allyn, WA

In summary, this 3,000 mile trip was our Second VERY serious attempt at buying a Lazy Daze. The first was 1,500 miles also by plane (guess we at least got to see Louisville and Nashville that time).  --- So all told we've put in 4,500 miles in our quest for an LD  (plus many smaller trips) and we are about worn out.

Ed & Margee: Thanks for your condolences and your additional advice on seeking a Lazy Daze or a peer in that Class
                          - you are kind and helpful and it is appreciated!

Chris:      Thank you also for your general advice which we had already done in our due diligence.
                1. Most photos were posted in Forum Classified (2005 MB March, 2018 - Woodbridge, VA) and can be enlarged.           
                2. We did ask for and received closeups of the cracks in the Front corner cap behind the passenger door as well as 
                      the main fogged windows which had both been disclosed ahead of time.
                3.  The cracked cap could be easily sealed as Vince suggested to the Seller. The only fix for the cloudy windows was
                      replacement as agreed by the Seller, Vince, and myself. Since most were cloudy it was agreed that ALL house
                      windows should be replaced since the others would probably fog too and an adjustment to asking price was
                      also agreed to cover this replacement.
                4. We didn't see that the adhesion of the front vertical end caps had failed and it was not disclosed. The heavy
                      caulking under the loose edges was done AFTER the photo was taken and not disclosed.
                5. The failure of the Rear end caps adhesion also was not evident in the photos and was not disclosed. In fact I'm 
                      sure the Seller was as shocked as us when we discovered this!
                6. Maybe some of the hardcore experts in the LD Forum, whom I'm so familiar with after years of reading their
                    postings, could have seen these undisclosed problems by closely examining the photos (especially since aware
                    now of the problems). I didn't ask  Forum members to  take a close look at the photos of this MB because I got
                    the impression that advice if the Seller was a Forum member (even if recent membership was solely to have
                    access to posting a classified ad) was to be avoided . I've read many comments by members regarding price,
                    condition, and possible or real problems regarding LDs being sold OUTSIDE the Forum but when I asked , in the
                    past, about a Forum Classified LD my inquiry was not welcome.

                        - Steve