Beware of Quest RV Rental in Rockwall
On June 24, 2011 I rented a motorhome from Quest RV Rental in Rockwall for a week long out of state vacation. Within 24 hours I discovered several defects with the motorhome (non-functional kitchen exhaust fan, fresh water system valves that were inoperable, and an A/C unit that froze up several times a day), but none of those problems kept me from using the motorhome.
However, on June 26th the on board hydraulic leveling system malfunctioned, and the motorhome couldn't be driven (front wheels in the air). I called the Quest on-call mechanic, and he was able to talk me through resetting the system so I could raise the jacks and continue my trip. After spending the day sightseeing I ended up at a different park that evening and when I tried to lower the jacks to level the motorhome the system malfunctioned again, with the jacks stuck partially down. The leveling system went into an alarm mode, so if I tried to drive it a piercing alarm sounded continuously. So, the motorhome could not be leveled where it was, nor could it be driven. Despite nearly an hour on the phone, the on call mechanic was unable to talk me through any repairs.
On June 27th I spoke to Quest RV office manager Helen Fortier who confirmed the condition of the motorhome by stating "You can't drive it that way". The mechanic tried to locate a mobile RV service who could come repair the motorhome, but they were all booked for the next week. The mechanic ended by saying that he didn't know what to do. Quest never offered to send a mechanic to my location or to deliver a replacement motorhome.
I remained stranded in place until June 30 when I called Quest, told them I had to return to Texas the next day, and asked if I needed to call a cab, start walking, or what. It quickly became apparent that Quest had done nothing during the previous three days to effect repairs. Late that afternoon the mechanic called me, tried a different procedure, and we were able to get the jack system fully retracted and the alarm silenced. Although the motorhome still couldn't be leveled I was at least able to drive it back to Texas on July 1.
When I dropped the motorhome off with Quest I told Fortier to think about an appropriate refund and contact me the next week. The contract states that if the motorhome is "inoperable" for 12 or more hours on a given day, the remedy is to refund the daily rental rate for that day. The daily rental rate for the motorhome I was in was $289. Per the contract, $289 x four days of inoperability = $1156, or about half of what I'd paid. I was willing to settle for a $600 refund, or roughly 25% of the total rental cost.
On July 8 Fortier sent me an email offering a $150 refund. I called her and asked how she had arrived at that figure. She said they they were offering to refund the pet fee I'd paid to take my dog on the motorhome.
Despite numerous attempts, Quest has never budged from their $150 offer. Although Fortier admitted that she used the precise words "You can't drive it that way" they now maintain that the motorhome was never "inoperable".
So, if you ever decide to rent a motorhome for a trip, based on my experience, I'd suggest being very wary of Quest RV Rentals at 311 National Drive in Rockwall, Tx.
