Community Forums

Gordon Dewald · 01-26-2015, 05:10 PM

Every dealer and sale is local to some place.

I would check out the dealer (complaints, BBB rating, time in business, etc) to determine their average response to claims. If buying privately you can pick your poison when it comes to maintenance.

Since you will be travelling you will not be far from your 'local' dealer at some time in your travels. It might be sooner than you planned if the issue is serious enough but most of the little issues you will fix yourself or locally.

Arniem60 · 01-27-2015, 11:37 AM

Again, thanks for excellent info. Speaking of great prices...

Has anyone bought from RV Direct (e.g. Orlando) ,
Motor Home Specialist in Texas , Lazy Days Az/FL?

Comments?

Thanks

dvmweb · 01-28-2015, 12:23 PM

We bought "local", 120 miles away. Because of time constraints we were unable to go too far away.

2013 FleetWood Expedition 38B

billr1 · 01-28-2015, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wryly Blithe

I'm going to second what wallacerm said: dealerships have a sales manager and a service manager, and they don't schedule each other's appointments. The sales force will say whatever it takes to make a sale, including coercing you into believing that buying from them gives you some advantage in another department. You might get the first oil change for free, or some other similarly trivial offering, but after that you're just like any other customer. A service appointment is a service appointment; any dealership that bumps non-customers appointments to squeeze in a customer who bought from them is a shop you'd probably want to avoid in the first place.

When we were considering a new coach, I talked to the Service Manager and asked him about repair times and he told me it was company policy to service customers who bought from them first (even though he said he didn't agree with that policy). We did not buy from them, and bought a used one from someone else instead.

BPoland · 01-28-2015, 05:31 PM

When we bought our 2014 Newmar Bay Star we got the best at North Trail RV in Fort Myers FL. We live just outside of Baltimore, MD. The wife and I jumped on plane EARLY Friday morning, and was sitting at North Trail by 11:00. We did the PDI and bought the coach, and were set up in an RV resort about 2 miles from the dealership. By 11:30 Saturday morning, we hit the road headed North. By Sunday Afternoon, and 1,200 miles later, I pulled up in front of the house. The point being, don't let distance turn you off. It is doable. I was the only driver for that trip, and to be honest, it made for a couple long travel days.

As far as service is concerned, I have had two issues, The dash radio's display went out, and the sub woofer in the surround sound system stopped working. Newmar sent me the replacements and I did the work. For any work I cant do, there are independent RV service businesses that I will use.

ChasA · 01-28-2015, 06:15 PM

We drove our previous Sightseer 700+ miles from NC to Lazy Days in Florida to trade for our Journey. Overall a very pleasant experience.

Deny · 01-28-2015, 06:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arniem60

Looking to buy 1st MH.

I live in SF Bay Area. The prices on new MH seem to be
higher than if I bought from either other CA areas or even out of state.

I get the "impression" from local dealers if I don't buy from them
when my mh needs work (even for warranty coverage) I would be at the
bottom of the list .

So, from your experiences does it pay to buy from local
dealer if that means paying a few extra than not?

Thanks for your input.

Order exactly what you want, from the best Priced Dealer. We live in Fla, ordered Winnebago in Iowa-flew out & picked it up. The factory would do warranty work-but none was needed. Do not let a dealer work on your coach--Unless you have to. Do it yourself, or get someone good to do it.

Papa_Jim · 01-28-2015, 06:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mel s

My question is why "buy local" if you buy an RV to travel and camp??
If you always and ONLY intend to drive your RV around in your home town it MIGHT be a good idea... (but then why buy a RV)??

In and around my home town I always drive my car, (and then I drive it home...and sleep in the house).

I have seldom had a RV problem "locally"....nearly all of my "RV problems" have occurred when we were traveling... hundreds, or thousands, of miles from "home"... from the dealer where I bought my coach....and from the manufacturer.

Mel
'96 Safari, 136k miles

X2 !

Our used coach came into Canada from California. None of our local dealers/repair shops even know we have a coach. I do all of my own maintenance and repair work. But, on the road, I can find myself dependent on dealers or repair shops. It happened last winter when we were in California. Had to have the CAC rebuilt.

Jim

RodgerS · 01-28-2015, 06:39 PM

If these terms were imposed on a dealer when trying to buy , I am going to say, you are going to leave that dealer with just what you arrived with.........Your car
====================
That's how tragic this whole issue is. I purchased my used Mercedes for $15,000 in southern Cal and I go to a dealership in NorCal. I call Mercedes, they deliver a free new car for me to use and pick my car up, the work is usually done same day, worst case was three days.

An RV owner spends $250,000 on an RV and that darn thing can't be driven off the lot without a PDI, will have a long list of things to fix before it can be enjoyed, tends to fall apart before you get to your destination, may take weeks if not months to get repaired, and a trip, if not several trips, to Mt. Sinai to see the RVGods in hope of getting some help. And on top of that you have the horrendous new depreciation and more maintenance and repairs in one year than my Mercedes will likely require in ten years.

No wonder it must be a pleasure to just be able to dump the black tank.

One senior citizen I met at the donut shop brought his new Class A RV back to the dealership he bought it from who said they would put him in front of the line and take care of maint for any problems within two weeks at signing of contract. He had problem and two months later still couldn't get his RV in and fixed.

Now you know part of the reason I'm finishing up my Registered Technician certification first, before buying a bucket of bolts.

SteveLevin · 01-28-2015, 08:12 PM

Dealership might matter if it's a new rig. If not new, odds are you won't take it to them anyway... in the Bay Area most places are poor, to be honest. There are only two shops I would use at all, and out of the two I still drive an extra 45 minutes out to Livermore for service at R Mechanic.

If you want some moral support here in the Bay Area, feel free to PM me and I'm always happy to help.

Steve

Deny · 01-29-2015, 09:35 AM

I ran into a couple at a Florida Park last week. Their new Itasca was bought from their local dealer in FT Myers. The rear Window was not a perfect fit-so they had it replaced- Window did not leak before-but it does now.
The Gen "hunted" i.e.-rpm vascillated- Gen was pulled-adjusted-put back in-Not wired to the Plug, so Gen does not work.
The Coach has less than 1000 of their miles-and it lays around the dealer lot waiting for attention.

So Much for "Local Dealer" allegiance.