Community Forums

Swenster · 01-21-2014, 06:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MRUSA14

And you think this is limited to Lazydays?

Right, I know a lot of them are like LD. I have had too many bad experiences with LD. " Knowledge is good." (Learned this from watching Dean Fabor in the movie Animal House.)

redbaron73 · 01-21-2014, 08:27 PM

What is evident here is that no matter what brand, no matter what dealer, there are good, respectable, honest, trustworthy, reliable, and knowledgeable salesman, and, as Newton's Law of Inertia states, there is the opposite.

There is also the two buyers: those that research, study, and know what they want, and then those that need to be "sold".

For me personally, I prefer to do my own research, and verify the information from sources that know the right answer. Often this requires a few test questions.

I have learned to avoid situations where I would allow the salesperson to bash what I am looking at, or comparing. This means instead of saying "Compare your sidewall to brand X's sidewall", I ask "Tell me about the construction of this sidewall", and then more specific questions, and finally, where can I find the information you gave me in writing.

There is no advantage of letting the Mercedes dealer know that you are also looking at a BMW, until you have made up your mind which one you want. Even though these two cars compete, they are also very different. The manufactures have positioned cars that are similar in similar price ranges, but there is no way that they are going to adjust the price base on another brand. You get the best deal by getting dealers to bid on the SAME EXACT SPEC. There are so many subtle differences, that when you try to negotiate apples for oranges, the buyer will lose.

Trade shows are the worst, as they are very competitive, and often the worst is brought out because of the long hours, high traffic volume of "tire kickers", and many other factors. If you do not mention the "competition", then the salesperson is far less likely to, and you should have a much more enjoyable process.

This does not apply to just the RV / AUTO industry, but anytime you are buying any product. If the sales person doesn't have the technical background, ask him if the two of you can get with either the service manager, production manager, or some other expert to answer the specific technical detail, and always get the source of this information in writing.

As for North Trail, Lazy Days, MHSRV, and all the other dealers I have been to, I have personally had great experiences with these dealerships. My definition of a great experience is to be able to see the Motorhome in the floor plan I want to purchase, have the opportunity to inspect every aspect of it without pressure to hurry, and get the questions I had answered.

MRUSA14 · 01-21-2014, 09:16 PM

Great post! Lots of wisdom there, Red Baron.

FLSteve · 01-22-2014, 04:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redbaron73

My definition of a great experience is to be able to see the Motorhome in the floor plan I want to purchase, have the opportunity to inspect every aspect of it without pressure to hurry, and get the questions I had answered.

Good post redbaron73 ... I have never put my thoughts into words, but your definition of a "great experience" is very good. Living in SW Florida I have been to LD & NT on many occasions to do this very thing as they usually had the floor plan on-site that I was interested in at the time. I like doing my own research as well and usually just wanted to see, touch and feel what I thought I wanted. Where you actually wind up buying can be another choice once you know what you want. Personally I have bought all three (3) of my coaches from NT and from the same "no pressure" salesman (... who is no longer there). I had other options especially with the last one, but NT seemed to fit my needs the best and the $$ were in line with my other quotes. Entega has never come into play as we did not want to go over 40' ... so they were not an option for us.

Thanks again for posting your thoughts as you took the emotion out of it which is easy to have ... I have been there myself.

Steve

brobox · 01-22-2014, 05:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swenster

Right, I know a lot of them are like LD. I have had too many bad experiences with LD. " Knowledge is good." (Learned this from watching Dean Fabor in the movie Animal House.)

Tom,
I have also had a very bad experience with a bait and switch at LD and swore I would never go back. Through this forum I received the name of a very professional salesperson, Scott Hamilton, and gave them a try along with RVOne when we were shopping for our Entegra.

LD did start out way over price, but after two weeks they matched RVOne in price (it wasn't easy to get there) and I got 102 service bays close to home. I also learned that LD has had a complete management change from years past and much better in my opinion.

I also learned the Crown Club salespersons are the cream of the crop of their sales force. They are the knowledgeable and professional ones that have earned a private office and will not treat you like commission check.

This experience so far from LD is what I have never received from any RV dealer in all of the years I have owned RV's. I hope it will continue after the delivery.

camaraderie · 01-22-2014, 06:17 PM

Well, this was my first show and as a NON owner, my goal was to see as many of the units I'd identified as being suitible for us and ask the questions I had about each. I also had the opportunity to visit North Trails in Ft. Myers and LazyDays in Tampa and a Camping World near Savannah to look at specific coaches.
First, I have to say it was just an amazing show...Totally worth the 14 hour drive and totally overwhelming!
Second...I agree with the comments about brand bashing and sales people who knew less than I did about the coach they were pushing...let alone the competition!
Third...fortunately there were some good sales folks as well...and factory reps who were most helpful and assisted in getting my questions answered.

Since we're not buyers until the fall... we'll probably wait till the Hershey show to open my wallet so we can see the new model changes and maybe get a bit better deal on a 2014.
Can anyone comment on the relative size of Hershey v. Tampa? Just as big, 1/2 the size etc?

MRUSA14 · 01-22-2014, 06:24 PM

The Hershey show is comparble to the Tampa show in size.

wnytaxman · 02-08-2014, 01:27 PM

I started this thread about the bad mouthing of Entegra that I got from the North Trail salesman at the Newmar display at the Tampa show. Well I got an e-mail from North Trail with links to their various Newmar lines and the offer to be of service to me if need be and thanking me for taking a test drive in their Dutch Star and Essex to try out the "comfort drive" feature. So I responded that I was impressed with the Newmar but very unimpressed with their sales people. I then proceeded to tell my story about what happened in Tampa.

So today I got an e-mail from the sales manager at North Trail basically apologizing for the actions of his sales people and expressing that they had received an "adjustment" in what was considered to be acceptable sales tactics.

In fairness I wanted to set the record straight that North Trail did step up to correct the situation. Perhaps there is a change n attitude there. I certainly hope so.

MRUSA14 · 02-08-2014, 01:33 PM

I wouldn't let a bad salesman deter me from buying what I wanted. If need be I'd find another dealer. For me it came down to Mountain Aire vs Anthem. All in all, I thought I got better features for less money with the Anthem. Would have liked to have the Comfort Steer, but it did not seem to offset the Anthem's other advantages. Some day maybe Entegra will have Comfort Steer, and I'll trade up to that. I can't think of anything else that would make me give up my present coach.

hogdriver · 02-08-2014, 01:35 PM

I think that's a positive change!

wnytaxman · 02-08-2014, 01:54 PM

I wouldn't let one bad salesperson or two deter me from getting the rig that I felt best suited our needs, but I really hate to see any dealer/company/sales person bad mouth the competition. I have my own business where we have to compete with the chains like H & R Block and Jackson Hewitt but we have much higher professional standards that we have to adhere to and we just try to sell on our pluses, not the others minuses.

I have been really impressed with all the folks I've met who have worked for Entegra and even those who are owners of the various models of Entegras. I hope Entegra can come up with floorplans that will work for those of us who have to sleep more than two to make my decision easier. We'll see what the 2015 models have to offer.