RV maker sues over odometer discrepancy.

Byline: JOE HARWOOD The Register-Guard

Monaco Coach Corp. last week sued Eugene-based Romania RV, alleging that the dealership committed unlawful trade practices and tampered with an RV's odometer. Monaco is seeking $288,000 in the lawsuit filed in Lane County Circuit Court.

Call it the case of the low-mileage motor coach.

The dispute dates to January 2001, when Monaco finished building a LaPalma-brand coach at its RV factory in Indiana. The coach was driven from Indiana to Monaco's Coburg headquarters, where it was inspected and discovered to have a faulty dashboard shift indicator, according to the lawsuit.

The coach, built on a chassis manufactured by Illinois-based Workhorse Custom Chassis LLC, was sent to Romania RV, which had an agreement with Workhorse to repair its products.

Romania determined that the coach needed a new dash instrumentation cluster, including a new odometer, according to the lawsuit.

At the time Romania fixed the problem, the coach had 3,931 miles on it, the lawsuit said. The new odometer had zero miles on it, and Romania failed to notify Monaco or place a notice on the vehicle that the instrument had been changed, the lawsuit alleged.

In May 2001, an Oregon couple, David and Geraldine Turner, bought the coach from Guaranty RV in Junction City, which was unaware that a new odometer had been installed that did not reflect the vehicle's actual mileage, the lawsuit said. The coach at that time had less than 600 miles on it, according to the lawsuit.

About a month after their purchase, the Turners discovered that the odometer didn't reflect the actual miles, the lawsuit said. The Turners thought the coach had been built at Monaco's Coburg plant, then discovered it was built in Indiana, said their attorney, Carl Crowell of Salem.

"It takes a little bit more than 600 miles to go from Indiana to Oregon," he said.

The Turners last August sued Monaco for fraud and to enforce the warranty on their coach. The Turners asked for a new coach and attorney's fees, a total of about $120,000, Crowell said. Monaco settled the case in November, exchanging the Turners' 2001 LaPalma for a 2002 model with the same options, plus $5,000 in attorney's fees, according to court documents.

Monaco is seeking three times its actual damages, for a total of $204,633. Monaco is asking for $68,211, the amount it says it has been damaged by Workhorse's and Romania's violation of the Unfair Trade Practices Act, plus $14,758 in attorney fees.

"As a result of Workhorse and Romania's failure to notify Monaco, Guaranty or the Turners of the fact that the odometer had been replaced ... the Turners had claims for breach of warranty, unfair trade practice violations and odometer tampering," the lawsuit said.

Romania RV has since closed its sales lot on Highway 99 north of Eugene. Steve Romania, president of Romania Enterprises, could not be reached for comment Monday.

Romania last year merged with Kendall Automotive Group.