Did we get ripped off? Give it to me straight. Grand Luxxe Residence Nuevo Vallarta

Though seemingly totally on-board with our timeshare purchase 10 days ago, my husband has now completely unraveled. I imagine there is no "going rate" for these places but here's what we got. LMK if we got totally hosed.

Grand Luxxe Residence in Nuevo Vallarta
Master Villa plus adjacent Jr. Villa unit to make 2 bed 2.5 bath
Corner location
Time classification: Red
2 weeks/year for $2200/week
Also, got an additional 10 year contract for an additional week per year
2 - for-1 massage
50% off greens fees
Equity trade-in for real estate of $70K

All for the bargain price of $85,900.

Gave them $21,745 down payment and had them take our Sol Melia timeshare off our hands for equity credit of $21,900 - about what we paid for it.

Should I start throwing up now? I guess we only had 5 days to rescind and didn't. I suppose I could just let them have the $21K and have my credit ruined for non-payment of the balance. Might be worth it versus a divorce. Not really kidding about that.

Well you paid more than most.

Not much you can do now but enjoy your vacations.

That place is gorgeous. We loved it when we stayed there.

If it comes to that, if your husband does not want to go through the rest of the commitment with the purchase of this timeshare, then walk away rather than risk a divorce. The "honorable" thing would be make good on the financial commitment but sometimes "honorable" is not everything...

Truth hurts... but yes, you guys paid too much for this.

sptung said:

The "honorable" thing would be make good on the financial commitment but sometimes "honorable" is not everything...

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I have to disagree - the Mexican timeshares sales people are known for being the most corrupt in the business.

First - go over your purchase documents with a fine tooth comb - and make a list of everything that is different from what you were told verbally. You will be shocked by what you find.

Then, based on the discrepancies that you will find, IMMEDIATELY, dispute the credit card payment for $21,745, and close the account, so no further charges can be made to the card.

Also - contact Profeco - the Mexican consumer protection agency.

DeniseM said:

I have to disagree - the Mexican timeshares sales people are known for being the most corrupt in the business.

First - go over your purchase documents with a fine tooth comb - and make a list of everything that is different from what you were told verbally. You will be shocked by what you find.

Then, based on the discrepancies that you will find, IMMEDIATELY, dispute the credit card payment for $21,745, and close the account, so no further charges can be made to the card.

Also - contact Profeco - the Mexican consumer protection agency.

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You are assuming there is discrepancy. OP did not indicate discrepancies, just buyers' remorse.

Denise has given you excellent advice. Take it.

sptung said:

You are assuming there is discrepancy. OP did not indicate discrepancies, just buyers' remorse.

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If they sit down and go through their Docs - there will be discrepancies.

I'll contact Profeco but what's the worst the resort can do to me?

2stinkers said:

I'll contact Profeco but what's the worst the resort can do to me?

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They can keep your $21,745 deposit. Disputing that should be your first priority!

DeniseM said:

If they sit down and go through their Docs - there will be discrepancies.

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Well maybe and maybe not. Yes they paid too much but all the things they listed will not have any discrepancies. They seem to understand what they bought.

Now if they would have listed as a feature the promise that Vidanta would guarantee a rental income that would pay for their maintenance fee, then yes, they will find that is not in the contract - but they did not list that as something they think they bought.

That said, I do suggest that they read the contract to understand what all they bought; they might find some positive features of Vidanta ownership that they didn't understand. For example, a lot of grand Luxxe owners have in their contract that you only pay the MF if you use it which is a huge benefit. I would look for those types of benefits as well as any discrepancies.

The bottom line, even if you paid too much, IMHO you have a great quality resort that will return great vacations for you and your family. We go 2 or 3 times a year and enjoy it immensely. In five years, my guess is you will have forgotten how much you paid but remember how much you enjoy it.

Mike

There is no timeshare that is worth $85,900 - they should pull out all the stops to get out of this.

IMNSHO, it is a disservice to newbies to frame this as an OK deal - it's not.

2stinkers said:

Gave them $21,745 down payment and had them take our Sol Melia timeshare off our hands for equity credit of $21,900 - about what we paid for it.
.

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DeniseM said:

If they sit down and go through their Docs - there will be discrepancies.

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Most likely, based on what others have reported about similar deals, your Sol Melia timeshare will still be yours and you'll be stuck with the maintenance fees on it. Rarely are these trade-ins ever sold or transferred out of your name because they likely put you in contact with a third party who won't really sell your timeshare. Go through your contract and see what it says, if anything, about the selling of your old timeshare or transferring it out of your name. There probably is nothing about that transfer anywhere in your written contract.

DeniseM said:

They can keep your $21,745 deposit. Disputing that should be your first priority!

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Contact your credit card company. Someone reported that their credit card had a longer than 10-day rescission period for getting out of a contract made with a credit card payment. They were able to dispute the charge and get out of the deal with the credit card company's help.

Karen G said:

Contact your credit card company. Someone reported that their credit card had a longer than 10-day rescission period for getting out of a contract made with a credit card payment. They were able to dispute the charge and get out of the deal with the credit card company's help.

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Agreed - Clarification: You are not "rescinding" the timeshare purchase - it is too late for that.

You are disputing the credit card payment because the verbal promises do not agree with the purchase documents.

DeniseM said:

Agreed - Clarification: You are not "rescinding" the timeshare purchase - it is too late for that.

You are disputing the credit card payment because the verbal promises do not agree with the purchase documents.

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As I recall there was some time period involved with the credit card purchase. They may have called it a "cancellation" clause or something like that.

Karen G said:

As I recall there was some time period involved with the credit card purchase. They may have called it a "cancellation" clause or something like that.

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With all credit cards, there is a period when you can dispute any kind of payment. But this applies to all purchases - not just timeshares. Generally, it's 60 days after the charge appears on your statement.

You are disputing the credit card payment because the verbal promises do not agree with the purchase documents.[/QUOTE]

You are assuming that the verbal promises do not agree with the purchase documents. I am quite certain that the all of the features in the original post will be in the contract. You might be right that there are other discrepancies, but all I am saying you are suggesting to get Profeco involved when you really don't know the specifics of what was promised and what is in the contract.

Mike

You are assuming that the verbal promises do not agree with the purchase documents.

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I am absolutely assuming this, because the Mexican timeshare sales people are notorious for promising one thing, and putting something else in the contract.

That is why I wrote:

First - go over your purchase documents with a fine tooth comb - and make a list of everything that is different from what you were told verbally. You will be shocked by what you find.

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*Karen has already pointed out the most obvious flaw which IS listed in the first post. They turned in another timeshare as part of their down payment, but we know from previous reports that this timeshare will never be transferred out of their name. So now they have 2 timeshares and double MF.

DeniseM said:

There is no timeshare that is worth $85,900 - they should pull out all the stops to get out of this.

IMNSHO, it is a disservice to newbies to frame this as an OK deal - it's not.

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This is probably worth some discussion. I assume the price is actually $64,000 assuming they actually get you out of the contract with the other timeshare. Regardless what else you do, you need to make sure you get out of the other MF unless you actually want both.

So what is a particular timeshare actually worth? There is actually a couple of ways to look at it. Certainly, the obvious is if you can buy a specific TS on ebay for basically zilch - than that is what it is worth - no more; no less. To be Honest, I'm not sure the price of the villa on resale or whether they can even be found. If they are available, then that is what they are worth. Does anyone know this?

Assuming they are not available except through the developer, then the price is what someone is willing to pay for that quality of a timeshare. We have several friends who have traditional timeshares; we take them to the Luxxe; they take us to theirs. Frankly, I would rather stay at home than spend the week at theirs; so to me owning their timeshares are worth absolutely nothing to us. They always apologize for taking us to their exchanges compared to what they get at ours.

A couple of weeks ago during a trip to Houston, we took my nephew and wife out to dinner for his birthday. We took them to a great steak place in Houston; the price was outrageous but worth it for us - and they will remember it for years. What does that have to with our villa? Everything, actually. We always take family and friends and they always get one of the best if not the best vacation of their lives - same for us. The resort is top notch, the golf courses are top notch, and the service is top notch. The experience with our family and friends is priceless to us as that is why we own.

With all that said, I think 2stinkers (cool name) could have gotten a better price although I have seen people pay more than that. The key is what to do next; the conventional wisdom on this forum is get out of it at all cost and go buy something cheap on ebay.

My suggestion is to make an evaluation of what you really want from the timeshare; if you want out - then follow all of the advice to get out. If you really want the villa, then I would raise your issues with Member Services and negotiate to get what you want. They will negotiate and have a lot of amenities to work with. As I said earlier, many of us have the no MF unless we use; you actually might have it - worth checking. I would certainly raise hell with them if they did not transfer the timeshare - unless of course you want it also.

Anyway, I thought I would throw a different perspective out for consideration.

Mike

TuG members have posted to the contrary

DeniseM said:

I am absolutely assuming this, because the Mexican timeshare sales people are notorious for promising one thing, and putting something else in the contract.

That is why I wrote:


*Karen has already pointed out the most obvious flaw which IS listed in the first post. They turned in another timeshare as part of their down payment, but we know from previous reports that this timeshare will never be transferred out of their name. So now they have 2 timeshares and double MF.

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There is more than one Vidanta owner who has posted that their trade in
is no longer owned by them .

I will add

*****
See my post (# 24 )

T-Dot-Traveller said:

There is more than one Vidanta owner who has posted that their trade in
is no longer owned by them .

I will add

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I would be interested to know the details if anyone cares to elaborate because we usually hear from people who ended up still owning the timeshare they thought was being transferred out of their name.

T-Dot-Traveller said:

There is more than one Vidanta owner who has posted that their trade in
is no longer owned by them .

I will add

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Thanks; I had thought I had remembered that also. IMO, making assumptions and recommendations without really understanding is not fair to the 2stinkers. They need to pause, read, understand, evaluate options and then act. To me, acting before truly understanding has never worked out well.

Mike

Karen G said:

I would be interested to know the details if anyone cares to elaborate because we usually hear from people who ended up still owning the timeshare they thought was being transferred out of their name.

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While I don't have any experience on this personally, one thing that is true for Vidanta contracts is they vary tremendously - I would believe that there are cases of both situations. All I am trying to point out is jumping to conclusions and recommending action without knowing the specifics makes little sense to me.

Mike

Vidanta trade in details

here are 2 threads:

Purchased Grand Luxxe yesterday , question - should I keep or rescind
started Nov 15 2015 started by TUG member Seema .

The OP bought with trade in and kept .
( and received good TUG advice to help make it a good buy - for them )

************

Post #8 March 2 2016
Need advice at Grand Mayan , Nuevo Vallarta .
The Tug Member- DrGuy- discusses how his traded in TS resorts were sold .

**********

I also had a PM conversation with a TUG member who exchanged into Grand Luxxe and was given a trade in offer( and did not - that visit ) to get rid of
Marriott's with total MF's over $6000 yr. The no go / no pay Vidanta addendum on a RTU - TS can be a tempting concept, and useful exit strategy when you get too old to travel .

Most Vidanta contracts can be transferred with all the good benefits / addendum to family ( children , grandchildren ) without a resale transfer cost .

If you are Vidanta and you get a high value Grand Luxxe sale why risk having the bad PR (at the swimming pool next year) ? - in a world full of $1 ebay disposals

While the " deal " may not be that much better than a no trade in "deal" - getting rid of high value and high MF resorts can appeal to some , and not everyone
wants to " do it themselves " .


There are others posts
and yes - it can depend on the " value " of the trade in .



There is also at least one TUG member who liquidates trade in TS in the bargains sub -forum . I believe I read that the TS's come from Mexican resort(s) - so (if my memory is correct) -
whoever/ wherever those trade in's come from - someone no longer owns what they no longer wanted .


< full disclosure - in 2006 we traded in a Canadian based TS to Grupo Mayan- AND STILL OWN IT - because it had limited resale ability through Holiday in Seattle Washington .> Today- I am happy we still own it .

FYI - We are quite happy at Vidanta's Mayan Palace and Sea Garden brands . Daily maid service and full towel service , great staff
( and yes I tip because the staff work hard so that we have a wonderful vacation ) my MF is $ 700 ( approx. )

Vidanta has great quality resorts at all their brand levels and Grand Luxxe is their most expensive and most luxurious brand .
AND the resort are not All Inclusive ( AI ) . I suspect the Sol Melia (trade in) may be AI .

I too feel that the OP - 2 stinkers spend time reading TUG , discuss together , and contact Vidanta Member Services and negotiate .

$ 21,745 is a lot to walk away from ,( but not worth a divorce )
AND there are also TUG posts were the credit card company decided a signed contract may mean that charges are NOT reversed .

.

If you want to see - RIPPED OFF - read the Valarta Gardens thread

Thread : In the Mexican Timesharing Forum

Beware of Vallarta Gardens - started Jan 17 2014
.