A while back I posted this entry on mine and my wife's experience with Bella Auto Sales - a company in Florida that specializes in misrepresenting and selling used motorhomes over Ebay. I'm happy to report 3 separate people have contacted me to let me know that my blog stopped them from bidding on motorhomes from Bella Auto Sales, and hundreds of others have visited my blog using the search criteria "Bella Auto Sales", making my blog the first hit on Google with that search string.
Merry Christmas to everyone at Bella Auto Sales. It didn't have to come to this, but now that it has I couldn't be happier.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Personal Goal
It's not flawless, and the keyboard is fairly crappy, but here it is anyway. Bonus points to anyone who can name this tune.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
House [of smoke and mirrors]
Today I did something I haven't done in years. Today, I let my CFC membership expire. You see, for over 10 years I have had my credit card on file with the CFC so that when my membership was close to expiring, they would simply bill me for next year's outstanding balance. Today, however, I received an email from the CFC informing me that their attempted invoice was rejected because my credit card information is no longer valid. And, instead of the predictable-chess-fanatic-reaction of providing my new billing information I decided to take a stand. After all, I don't play in a lot of CFC-rated chess tournaments anymore because, frankly, chess doesn't excite me like it used to. Further, with my $40+ membership I used to receive a subscription to a great bi-monthly magazine; now, I only have access to a second-rate webzine that anyone with some knowledge of web design and a budget to work with could improve upon. Maybe that's part of the problem, though - there may be no budget to speak of.
I've been teaching myself how to play the piano/keyboard. Actually, this all started when instead of studying chess in order to prepare for the ECC May sectional I borrowed a keyboard from a relative-in-law and began to plunk away. I can't read sheet music, so I traveled to YouTube to find tutorials on how to play certain songs I was fond of. Prior to this I tried to teach myself to play guitar, but the learning curve with an acoustic guitar is a lot steeper than with a keyboard, at least for me.
Recently I taught myself to play a relatively complicated song, one where the left and right hands play independent of each other, and at times at varying speeds. I hope to be able to post a video on YouTube of me playing this song before Christmas. As of yet, I still can't play it without fucking up along the way.
My wife is sick tonight. I'm not sure of what the root cause is exactly: possibly from being exhausted from our recent trip to Texas, maybe from the air conditioning on that trip, or maybe because a lot of people become ill this time of year. In any event, she called in sick to work this evening. This may seem inconsequential because, after all, people do this sort of thing all the time. But, in her case it's different; in her case she had to find someone to cover her shift, which means that someone had to leave his family this evening so he can spend 12 hours at a Husky Oilfield Battery. Needless to say, she doesn't call in sick often.
My wife gets sick about once every year, and a strange thing happens when she goes under the weather: I feel needed. This is not to say that I don't feel needed in our day-to-day activities, but rather that when she's sick I go out of my way to help her, mostly because I know she could use the assistance, and also because I think she will appreciate my help. In return she cuddles next to me, as vulnerable as ever, and in that moment I realize how lucky I am. It's paradoxical, really: at a time when she feels the worst, my faith in 'us' is somehow affirmed and I feel good because of it. I've dated several girls prior to meeting my wife, some of which I saw for many years through thick and thin, for better or for worse, and in those relationships I had the opportunity to assist those girls when they, too, were vulnerable. In their time of need I never felt the same way about them as I do about Amanda. Perhaps that's because Amanda is the right one for me. Perhaps that's because Amanda is as independent as I am and any sign of weakness on her part is interpreted by me as an opportunity to help her, when normally my assistance would seem out of place. Perhaps I just don't know what the hell is going on.
I've been watching House lately, mostly because Tyler introduced me to it a few months back. At first I was put off by House's character and his wild theories that somehow came together out of sheer randomness to produce a solution to the problem. That's not realistic, is it? No one can stumble upon the correct answers through trial and error and magically tie all of a patient's symptoms together, can they? At first House's character seemed unnatural to me somehow. Fictitious. Fake. But, as I watched the series more I realized that House's humanity is as evident as his brilliance. His flaws are exposed for everyone to see and although he disguises them well with fancy diagnoses and a standoffish demeanour, House is as human as everyone else. You just have to look past the surface to see it.
You can see right through me, can't you?
I've been teaching myself how to play the piano/keyboard. Actually, this all started when instead of studying chess in order to prepare for the ECC May sectional I borrowed a keyboard from a relative-in-law and began to plunk away. I can't read sheet music, so I traveled to YouTube to find tutorials on how to play certain songs I was fond of. Prior to this I tried to teach myself to play guitar, but the learning curve with an acoustic guitar is a lot steeper than with a keyboard, at least for me.
Recently I taught myself to play a relatively complicated song, one where the left and right hands play independent of each other, and at times at varying speeds. I hope to be able to post a video on YouTube of me playing this song before Christmas. As of yet, I still can't play it without fucking up along the way.
My wife is sick tonight. I'm not sure of what the root cause is exactly: possibly from being exhausted from our recent trip to Texas, maybe from the air conditioning on that trip, or maybe because a lot of people become ill this time of year. In any event, she called in sick to work this evening. This may seem inconsequential because, after all, people do this sort of thing all the time. But, in her case it's different; in her case she had to find someone to cover her shift, which means that someone had to leave his family this evening so he can spend 12 hours at a Husky Oilfield Battery. Needless to say, she doesn't call in sick often.
My wife gets sick about once every year, and a strange thing happens when she goes under the weather: I feel needed. This is not to say that I don't feel needed in our day-to-day activities, but rather that when she's sick I go out of my way to help her, mostly because I know she could use the assistance, and also because I think she will appreciate my help. In return she cuddles next to me, as vulnerable as ever, and in that moment I realize how lucky I am. It's paradoxical, really: at a time when she feels the worst, my faith in 'us' is somehow affirmed and I feel good because of it. I've dated several girls prior to meeting my wife, some of which I saw for many years through thick and thin, for better or for worse, and in those relationships I had the opportunity to assist those girls when they, too, were vulnerable. In their time of need I never felt the same way about them as I do about Amanda. Perhaps that's because Amanda is the right one for me. Perhaps that's because Amanda is as independent as I am and any sign of weakness on her part is interpreted by me as an opportunity to help her, when normally my assistance would seem out of place. Perhaps I just don't know what the hell is going on.
I've been watching House lately, mostly because Tyler introduced me to it a few months back. At first I was put off by House's character and his wild theories that somehow came together out of sheer randomness to produce a solution to the problem. That's not realistic, is it? No one can stumble upon the correct answers through trial and error and magically tie all of a patient's symptoms together, can they? At first House's character seemed unnatural to me somehow. Fictitious. Fake. But, as I watched the series more I realized that House's humanity is as evident as his brilliance. His flaws are exposed for everyone to see and although he disguises them well with fancy diagnoses and a standoffish demeanour, House is as human as everyone else. You just have to look past the surface to see it.
You can see right through me, can't you?
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
An Unusual Homage
I realize it's been a while since I wrote about Danny. If you'd like to reread the previous entries they can be found here: Dear Danny, Time and Time Again, and Right and Wrong.
Danny's father always emphasized how important it was to attain excellence in high school because good grades and leadership roles were the ticket to University scholarships, and without external funding it would have been very difficult - if not impossible - for Danny to go onto secondary education. According to the government of Canada Danny didn't qualify for student loans because his father made too much money, but unfortunately for Danny, his father didn't make enough money to help him out with University. All of these details were explained to Danny immediately after he graduated from junior high, just before summer holidays started. As a result of his father's advice, Danny got a summer job and started saving for university.
Somewhere over those four summer months puberty hit Danny with full force, and while many kids were able to make the transition to adolescence relatively easily, Danny encountered a biological hurdle that affected everything in his life for years to come: acne.
Almost everyone has gone through a few breakouts in their lifetime, or has had to deal with unsightly pimples at inopportune moments, but for Danny the problem was on the verge of being unmanageable. I was away for most of that summer and hadn't seen Danny for close to 4 months, but when I finally did see him again on the first day of school I almost didn't recognize him. Both sides of his face were covered in large, red, boil-like bubbles, and when he got changed in gym class, I noticed his back was covered as well. Danny would later tell me that he had trouble sleeping because of the pain of laying down/rolling over on his back.
The physical pain and discomfort Danny experienced paled in comparison to the emotional and psychological damage caused by his acne, though. Attending high school with a group of teenagers is hard enough when you're the skinny loner with anger issues, but when your newest flaw is exposed for all to see, there really isn't anything left to do but accept it. To make matters worse, in an effort to take on more responsibility within the school and thereby increase his chances for a university scholarship Danny had accepted the position of President within the Student Representative Council prior to his acne problems, so instead of being able to withdraw from social contact until his acne was under control, Danny was obligated to be even more outgoing than he ever had been.
I'd like to be able to say that Danny's condition didn't affect our friendship and that I stuck by him just like I always had before, but that just wasn't how it happened. Granted I was never rude to him and we still hung out occasionally, but ultimately I didn't help him when I had every opportunity and every reason to do so. Instead of spending more time with Danny to understand what he was going through and to delve behind the facade he constructed in order just to make it through every day of his teenage life, I took the easy way out: I left him alone. Despite his damaged appearance, I told myself, he wasn't treated any worse than he was before by the kids at school. I justified my actions further by noting that over the next two years of our senior high careers Danny became the top student in our class, where he routinely attained grades of 95-100%. In fact, in our Grade 12 year Danny was presented with a medal that was awarded to the student with the highest marks in the entire school division - something that no other student from Lashburn had ever achieved.
It's hard to admit, but the truth is that I let Danny down in what was likely the most difficult phase of his life. Danny was completely alone during those years, and although his academics soared during that time, the high marks were more of a coping mechanism than a prerequisite to a university scholarship. After all, when everyone looks at you like you're a monster, even studying mathematics and physics can serve as a welcome escape from reality.
Danny and I attended different universities, and over the next several years we lost touch until one night, out of the blue, Danny appeared on my doorstep at 3:30 AM on a Thursday. His eyes were swollen from crying, and his face - now acne free - looked like he had just been in a fight. After he came inside he explained that his mother had recently passed away and the regret he felt over not making the effort to reconnect with her after so many years. Danny went on to tell me that he had just finished confronting his father, and that when his father was not willing to listen to what Danny had to say, the situation quickly turned violent. Danny choked his father to within an inch of his life that night, but ultimately let him live and drove to my place in Saskatoon.
I did my best to console Danny over the loss of his mother, but it was obvious that his wounds were too deep to heal from reassurances alone. In his eyes I could see that for as much as he hated his father for isolating him from his mother, Danny hated himself even more for not doing anything about it. I offered Danny a place to stay for as long as he needed, but he quickly declined, saying there was one last thing he had to take care of before he could accept the loss of his mother. I did not want to prod too much, and so I left it at that.
Immediately before he left Danny shook my hand, pulled me towards him for a hug, and said, "Thank you Jamin, for everything. Things happen in life that are out of our control, and all you can do is do what you feel is right. Take care of yourself."
That same morning, on the way from Saskatoon to Lloydminster, Danny was killed in a car accident. To the police Danny was just another kid who fell asleep at the wheel, veered into oncoming traffic and hit a semi on a particularly dangerous stretch of highway. To me, Danny was a friend who paid homage to his mother in the only way he felt was right.
Rest in peace Danny. You are dearly missed.
Danny's father always emphasized how important it was to attain excellence in high school because good grades and leadership roles were the ticket to University scholarships, and without external funding it would have been very difficult - if not impossible - for Danny to go onto secondary education. According to the government of Canada Danny didn't qualify for student loans because his father made too much money, but unfortunately for Danny, his father didn't make enough money to help him out with University. All of these details were explained to Danny immediately after he graduated from junior high, just before summer holidays started. As a result of his father's advice, Danny got a summer job and started saving for university.
Somewhere over those four summer months puberty hit Danny with full force, and while many kids were able to make the transition to adolescence relatively easily, Danny encountered a biological hurdle that affected everything in his life for years to come: acne.
Almost everyone has gone through a few breakouts in their lifetime, or has had to deal with unsightly pimples at inopportune moments, but for Danny the problem was on the verge of being unmanageable. I was away for most of that summer and hadn't seen Danny for close to 4 months, but when I finally did see him again on the first day of school I almost didn't recognize him. Both sides of his face were covered in large, red, boil-like bubbles, and when he got changed in gym class, I noticed his back was covered as well. Danny would later tell me that he had trouble sleeping because of the pain of laying down/rolling over on his back.
The physical pain and discomfort Danny experienced paled in comparison to the emotional and psychological damage caused by his acne, though. Attending high school with a group of teenagers is hard enough when you're the skinny loner with anger issues, but when your newest flaw is exposed for all to see, there really isn't anything left to do but accept it. To make matters worse, in an effort to take on more responsibility within the school and thereby increase his chances for a university scholarship Danny had accepted the position of President within the Student Representative Council prior to his acne problems, so instead of being able to withdraw from social contact until his acne was under control, Danny was obligated to be even more outgoing than he ever had been.
I'd like to be able to say that Danny's condition didn't affect our friendship and that I stuck by him just like I always had before, but that just wasn't how it happened. Granted I was never rude to him and we still hung out occasionally, but ultimately I didn't help him when I had every opportunity and every reason to do so. Instead of spending more time with Danny to understand what he was going through and to delve behind the facade he constructed in order just to make it through every day of his teenage life, I took the easy way out: I left him alone. Despite his damaged appearance, I told myself, he wasn't treated any worse than he was before by the kids at school. I justified my actions further by noting that over the next two years of our senior high careers Danny became the top student in our class, where he routinely attained grades of 95-100%. In fact, in our Grade 12 year Danny was presented with a medal that was awarded to the student with the highest marks in the entire school division - something that no other student from Lashburn had ever achieved.
It's hard to admit, but the truth is that I let Danny down in what was likely the most difficult phase of his life. Danny was completely alone during those years, and although his academics soared during that time, the high marks were more of a coping mechanism than a prerequisite to a university scholarship. After all, when everyone looks at you like you're a monster, even studying mathematics and physics can serve as a welcome escape from reality.
Danny and I attended different universities, and over the next several years we lost touch until one night, out of the blue, Danny appeared on my doorstep at 3:30 AM on a Thursday. His eyes were swollen from crying, and his face - now acne free - looked like he had just been in a fight. After he came inside he explained that his mother had recently passed away and the regret he felt over not making the effort to reconnect with her after so many years. Danny went on to tell me that he had just finished confronting his father, and that when his father was not willing to listen to what Danny had to say, the situation quickly turned violent. Danny choked his father to within an inch of his life that night, but ultimately let him live and drove to my place in Saskatoon.
I did my best to console Danny over the loss of his mother, but it was obvious that his wounds were too deep to heal from reassurances alone. In his eyes I could see that for as much as he hated his father for isolating him from his mother, Danny hated himself even more for not doing anything about it. I offered Danny a place to stay for as long as he needed, but he quickly declined, saying there was one last thing he had to take care of before he could accept the loss of his mother. I did not want to prod too much, and so I left it at that.
Immediately before he left Danny shook my hand, pulled me towards him for a hug, and said, "Thank you Jamin, for everything. Things happen in life that are out of our control, and all you can do is do what you feel is right. Take care of yourself."
That same morning, on the way from Saskatoon to Lloydminster, Danny was killed in a car accident. To the police Danny was just another kid who fell asleep at the wheel, veered into oncoming traffic and hit a semi on a particularly dangerous stretch of highway. To me, Danny was a friend who paid homage to his mother in the only way he felt was right.
Rest in peace Danny. You are dearly missed.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Exciting Times
My birthday is September 12, and for my present this year my wife is flying both of us to Toronto for the long weekend! My good friend Andrew recently moved there to take his PhD, and in addition to enjoying some great food and drinks we will also be taking in some of the Toronto sights, as well as a Cirque du Soleil show (for which we have Tapis Rouge tickets!).
I'm also pleasantly surprised by the registration list for the upcoming Sasata Active tournament - 3 weeks away and we already have 16 people signed up. This is very encouraging: let's just hope the SCC can keep it going all year long.
I have an early flight tomorrow morning and we still have to drive to Edmonton, so I better get going. Good night.
I'm also pleasantly surprised by the registration list for the upcoming Sasata Active tournament - 3 weeks away and we already have 16 people signed up. This is very encouraging: let's just hope the SCC can keep it going all year long.
I have an early flight tomorrow morning and we still have to drive to Edmonton, so I better get going. Good night.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
1-min Chess
I'm not sure when I became good at 1-min games on the internet, but lately I hardly lose. For example, I just finished a 14 game bullet session with a 2450 on Chesscube. My rating to begin with was 2200, and after winning the match 7.5 - 6.5 I am now close to 2300, a personal best for me. It's possible my opponent was having a bad day, but the fact is I've raised my bullet rating 300 points in the last week. Even after logging on after a few too many beers I'm still holding my own on a regular basis, which never happens at 3-0 or 5-0.
I attribute part of my success to my opening knowledge - I can usually blitz out 15 moves of book in under 10 seconds. If my opponent knows the theory he will keep pace with me and get a decent position. If not, he is either low on time or has a poor game. Perhaps my style of play also has something to do with it - I always strive for the initiative in blitz, and in bullet the initiative seems to hold even more weight. Premoving is also important, but even more so is having a feel for when you should premove, and when you should wait 1 second more.
I'm finding 1-min a nice break from actually thinking, though. Bullet is all about intuition and the odd split-second two move calculation, and if I lose...well, it was only a bullet game anyway.
I attribute part of my success to my opening knowledge - I can usually blitz out 15 moves of book in under 10 seconds. If my opponent knows the theory he will keep pace with me and get a decent position. If not, he is either low on time or has a poor game. Perhaps my style of play also has something to do with it - I always strive for the initiative in blitz, and in bullet the initiative seems to hold even more weight. Premoving is also important, but even more so is having a feel for when you should premove, and when you should wait 1 second more.
I'm finding 1-min a nice break from actually thinking, though. Bullet is all about intuition and the odd split-second two move calculation, and if I lose...well, it was only a bullet game anyway.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Bella Auto Sales Hates Canadians
Buyer beware: do not purchase anything from Bella Auto Sales in Tampa, Florida! This company deals primarily in selling used recreational vehicles over Ebay, and the following article describes mine and my wife's experience purchasing a 1997 Four Winds motorhome in July 2009. If you don't read this review any further, the moral of this story is do not buy from Bella Auto Sales!
My wife and I decided to bid on this motorhome after doing some research into the Four Winds brand and the seller's reputation. Based on everything we could find online there seemed to be no reason for concern: Four Winds was a reputable company and Bella Auto Sales had predominantly positive feedback on Ebay. A Google search for "Bella Auto Sales" also didn't reveal anything out of the ordinary, and judging by the item's description and pictures on Ebay, the motorhome was in excellent condition and ready for use. My wife and I even purchased a CARFAX history report on the vehicle that confirmed the motorhome's mileage, clear title, etc. As a result we felt it was safe to place a bid on the motorhome, and when the auction ended we were the winning bidders.
We contacted Ben from Bella Auto Sales immediately after winning the auction and he instructed us on how we could place our $500 deposit through PayPal. We paid the deposit the next day and then started getting the necessary paper work in order so that we could import this vehicle into Canada. Several of the documents were provided by Bella Auto Sales, but we also had to pay $100 for a recall clearance letter from Ford.
The letter revealed an outstanding recall on this motorhome: a wiring harness needed to be replaced and this had to be done prior to the motorhome reaching the Canadian border. When we phoned Bella Auto Sales to have this work completed, we also asked to have this vehicle mechanically inspected by another dealership at our expense, so that we were sure this motorhome could be driven safely from Florida to Alberta, which is approximately 2300 miles. Ben had left for vacation, and so we dealt with Thomas instead. Thomas assured us he would have this done at a nearby Ford dealership, and for the next week we waited for Thomas' phone call.
When Thomas phoned us back he told us the motorhome had passed the mechanical inspection without any issues, but when we asked to see a copy of the inspection report he was unable to provide one. This was very suspicious, and so my wife did some research into the matter by phoning several dealerships in Tampa. She discovered that there was only one dealership (Gator Ford) that was certified to do inspections on motorhomes, and this was not the dealership Thomas had taken our motorhome to. My wife phoned Thomas again to ask him to have a proper inspection done, and he agreed to take care of it.
When we received a copy of the inspection report, to our chagrin we discovered there were several mechanical problems with the vehicle: all of the ball joints needed to be replaced, as did a stabilizer shock, brake pads/rotors, one tire, turn signals, horn, and the oil and transmission fluid needed to be changed as well. This vehicle clearly wasn't road-ready as Bella's Ebay listing claimed, and so we phoned Thomas to discuss.
Thomas wasn't authorized to have these repairs done, and so he phoned Ben for approval. When Thomas phoned us again we were told that all of the above work would be completed at Bella's expense, and so my wife and I decided to follow through with the purchase.
During the next week when all of these repairs were being perfomed my wife happened to come across an Ebay listing with our exact motorhome on it! Bella Auto Sales had relisted the motorhome for sale, even though we had paid our deposit and had gone through a lot of work to have inspections and repairs done. When we contacted Thomas about this he apologized and assured us it was an error to relist the motorhome, and that the listing would be removed ASAP. The listing was removed, but in hindsight we should have cut our losses at that point. Instead, we decided to go through with the purchase of the motorhome and so we paid for my wife's parents to fly to Tampa to pick up the vehicle and drive it back to Canada.
When my in-laws arrived in Tampa they discovered that the motorhome was not at all as described in Bella's Ebay listing. There were several cosmetic issues with the vehicle, such as the interior being very dirty and several items being broken and/or not working (such as the fridge and generator). The bigger concern was the smell/sight of mold inside the camper, and the shoddy attempts Bella had made to disguise it. The pictures below were taken by my in-laws - none of these images appeared on the Ebay listing, nor were any of these problems disclosed by Bella Auto Sales.
Upon realizing the actual condition of the motorhome, my wife and I naturally did not purchase it. Bella Auto Sales refunded our $500 deposit, but we were left with the bill for airfare/hotels to Florida and back ($2,000), vehicle importation documentation charges ($300), in addition to the money we lost on the exchange rate ($950 - the Canadian dollar increased by 6 cents between the time we took out the certified cheque until the time we deposited the cheque to pay off the loan).
My wife and I were obviously disappointed with how this turned out, and we left negative feedback on the seller's Ebay ID to reflect that (we later learned that Bella Auto Sales uses several Ebay aliases to sell their vehicles so that their negative feedback is distributed and does not appear in one place, making them seem more reputable). After leaving the feedback, though, we were prepared to put this whole thing to rest. That was until we received this phone message from Thomas of Bella Auto Sales.
Wait a minute...how are we thieves? What kind of thief spends over $3,000 of their own money to get nothing in return? Despite the fact that Thomas' phone message makes absolutely no sense, it did motivate me to write this blog entry and ensure that anyone who searches "Bella Auto Sales" will find my site, and will hopefully not purchase anything from this company.
I'm also contemplating creating a video of this ordeal to put on Youtube. Perhaps Thomas will read this entry and provide more incentive for me to follow through on that. I really hope he does.
My wife and I decided to bid on this motorhome after doing some research into the Four Winds brand and the seller's reputation. Based on everything we could find online there seemed to be no reason for concern: Four Winds was a reputable company and Bella Auto Sales had predominantly positive feedback on Ebay. A Google search for "Bella Auto Sales" also didn't reveal anything out of the ordinary, and judging by the item's description and pictures on Ebay, the motorhome was in excellent condition and ready for use. My wife and I even purchased a CARFAX history report on the vehicle that confirmed the motorhome's mileage, clear title, etc. As a result we felt it was safe to place a bid on the motorhome, and when the auction ended we were the winning bidders.
We contacted Ben from Bella Auto Sales immediately after winning the auction and he instructed us on how we could place our $500 deposit through PayPal. We paid the deposit the next day and then started getting the necessary paper work in order so that we could import this vehicle into Canada. Several of the documents were provided by Bella Auto Sales, but we also had to pay $100 for a recall clearance letter from Ford.
The letter revealed an outstanding recall on this motorhome: a wiring harness needed to be replaced and this had to be done prior to the motorhome reaching the Canadian border. When we phoned Bella Auto Sales to have this work completed, we also asked to have this vehicle mechanically inspected by another dealership at our expense, so that we were sure this motorhome could be driven safely from Florida to Alberta, which is approximately 2300 miles. Ben had left for vacation, and so we dealt with Thomas instead. Thomas assured us he would have this done at a nearby Ford dealership, and for the next week we waited for Thomas' phone call.
When Thomas phoned us back he told us the motorhome had passed the mechanical inspection without any issues, but when we asked to see a copy of the inspection report he was unable to provide one. This was very suspicious, and so my wife did some research into the matter by phoning several dealerships in Tampa. She discovered that there was only one dealership (Gator Ford) that was certified to do inspections on motorhomes, and this was not the dealership Thomas had taken our motorhome to. My wife phoned Thomas again to ask him to have a proper inspection done, and he agreed to take care of it.
When we received a copy of the inspection report, to our chagrin we discovered there were several mechanical problems with the vehicle: all of the ball joints needed to be replaced, as did a stabilizer shock, brake pads/rotors, one tire, turn signals, horn, and the oil and transmission fluid needed to be changed as well. This vehicle clearly wasn't road-ready as Bella's Ebay listing claimed, and so we phoned Thomas to discuss.
Thomas wasn't authorized to have these repairs done, and so he phoned Ben for approval. When Thomas phoned us again we were told that all of the above work would be completed at Bella's expense, and so my wife and I decided to follow through with the purchase.
During the next week when all of these repairs were being perfomed my wife happened to come across an Ebay listing with our exact motorhome on it! Bella Auto Sales had relisted the motorhome for sale, even though we had paid our deposit and had gone through a lot of work to have inspections and repairs done. When we contacted Thomas about this he apologized and assured us it was an error to relist the motorhome, and that the listing would be removed ASAP. The listing was removed, but in hindsight we should have cut our losses at that point. Instead, we decided to go through with the purchase of the motorhome and so we paid for my wife's parents to fly to Tampa to pick up the vehicle and drive it back to Canada.
When my in-laws arrived in Tampa they discovered that the motorhome was not at all as described in Bella's Ebay listing. There were several cosmetic issues with the vehicle, such as the interior being very dirty and several items being broken and/or not working (such as the fridge and generator). The bigger concern was the smell/sight of mold inside the camper, and the shoddy attempts Bella had made to disguise it. The pictures below were taken by my in-laws - none of these images appeared on the Ebay listing, nor were any of these problems disclosed by Bella Auto Sales.
 | Notice the caulking in the shower. |
 | What is with that wallpaper edge? |
 | Trying to cover up mold with linoleum on the ceiling? |
 | Rust on Mirror |
 | Excellent condition? I don't think so. |
 | Mold growing on the seal between the truck cab and the body |
 | WTF? |
 | Significant bulging & delamination - suggests mold inside the walls. |
 | Filthy carpet |
 | Dirt and mold on top of door |
 | Broken curtain |
 | Broken table bracket |
 | Broken moulding |
 | Broken blind |
My wife and I were obviously disappointed with how this turned out, and we left negative feedback on the seller's Ebay ID to reflect that (we later learned that Bella Auto Sales uses several Ebay aliases to sell their vehicles so that their negative feedback is distributed and does not appear in one place, making them seem more reputable). After leaving the feedback, though, we were prepared to put this whole thing to rest. That was until we received this phone message from Thomas of Bella Auto Sales.
Hey Amanda, this is Thomas from Bella Auto Sales. I just want to say thank you for the feedback, thank you for being a thief, ungrateful person. I imagine all you Canadians are nothing but losers and that's why I hate dealing with Canadians.
Wait a minute...how are we thieves? What kind of thief spends over $3,000 of their own money to get nothing in return? Despite the fact that Thomas' phone message makes absolutely no sense, it did motivate me to write this blog entry and ensure that anyone who searches "Bella Auto Sales" will find my site, and will hopefully not purchase anything from this company.
I'm also contemplating creating a video of this ordeal to put on Youtube. Perhaps Thomas will read this entry and provide more incentive for me to follow through on that. I really hope he does.
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