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Well, I have no particular opinion on the IPO. Most people look at RV dealerships as something analogous to car dealerships, the make money on sales and service, with maybe some add-on sales in the form of a warranty or something. CW is attempting to create a much more comprehensive ecosystem of insurance, roadside, retail, and service.
Now... I bought my used Class A from CW and I was very happy buying from them. It wasn't a big sale but the salesman was helpful, all the stores I visited were low pressure, and their pricing tended to be competitive. Salesmen at the consignment lots were often flaky, disorganized, or unprofessional. Working with CW was at least straightforward.
So it's not a bad place to buy an RV, because they want to get you into their ecosystem. First thing I did was buy my hoses, etc in the store. I still like shopping their retail stores, although I go with Amazon when price matters. I did end up with Good Sam insurance, although that was a case of simply choosing the cheapest... all the candidates had good & bad reviews.
But I'd never consider them for service. There's a nationwide shortage of RV techs, and big operations like CW feel it the most. There are good independent shops and bad ones, but you can shop and read reviews. Likewise, there are good CW techs and bad ones, but you never know which you'll get. But is Lazy Days or any of the other big dealers any different?
A lot of people shop for RV's and expect the same service and dealer support as when they buy a car, but few if any RV companies can provide that profitably, except for the premium brands.
So as a consumer, I like CW as long as I know what I'm looking for and what to expect and what to avoid. As an investor, it's hard to predict whether their strategy will be successful, but it's an interesting new approach in a changing market.
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2003 Bounder 32W + 2011 Subaru Forester
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