CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — We have reported several Troubleshooters stories about people who buy something, say for instance, a vehicle, even though there's a sticker on the item that clearly reads 'AS IS.'
And as we've reported, 'AS IS' means 'AS IS.'
It's the subject of today's Troubleshooters report.
A disabled San Diego man bought a used RV, and signed paperwork showing he was buying it 'AS IS.'
Well, the refrigerator in the unit has just never worked right.
The man estimates he's lost hundreds of dollars of not only food, but his insulin as well.
So he called us for help.
Silver Juarez is disabled and lives alone in the used RV he bought from Ron Hoover RV's Laredo dealership in November 2022.
But Juarez says the fridge has never worked right and continues to freeze up.
"If you defrost it, it'll work for about 20 minutes, and then it does the same thing over again."
And when that happens, his food goes bad. Tortillas spoil. Jello liquifies. Butter goes bad. And perhaps most importantly for Juarez, his insulin, which he takes twice daily, goes bad too.
Juarez's daughter took him to Laredo to buy the used RV in November 2022.
He showed us the contract that she signed and initialed.
"When you bought it, anywhere on the trailer or in the transaction, did you see a piece of paper or anything that said AS IS ? Do you remember that ? No," he told the Troubleshooters.
Note that a top line on one side of the contract states " I understand this is an AS IS purchase. There is no warranty express or implied on the RV."
The next line reads "I understand what an AS IS purchase means. Both are initialed by Juarez's daughter.
"They diagnosed it. They pulled it out and they said it was freezing from the back," Juarez told Blake Anthony, vice president of Consumer Affairs for Ron Hoover RV by phone while we were with him at the RV.
The Troubleshooters called Anthony, asking if there's anything the dealership could do to help Juarez. That was on Friday, February 17th.
And after listening to Juarez's side of this story, of how technicians had tried repeatedly and unsuccessfully to fix the problem, and fully aware Juarez's daughter had agreed to the AS IS terms of the contract, Anthony still wanted to help.
And at one o'clock on Saturday afternoon, February 25th, just 8 days after speaking with Juarez and Anthony, Juarez sent me pictures of his new refrigerator being delivered and installed by a Ron Hoover crew.
His text message included the word 'blessings.'
So a big thank you to Blake Anthony and Ron Hoover RV for making this another Troubleshooters case closed !
We appreciate their help.
