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Old 01-16-2017, 03:25 PM   #1
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Camping World: To Be Believed or Not?

OK, I'm going through the (I suspect) typical "newbie" routine of looking at various TT units at various dealers, including 3 Camping World locations, and several "independent" dealers.

At two of the 3 CW locations, I got the "sales pitch" (which, may be true, that's what I am trying to determine) that if I buy (presumably, a new) TT from a Camping World, then if I am on the road and have a problem, I can stop by any Camping World and get the problem looked at. Not for free, of course, but at least, because I will be part of the Camping World "family," I won't simply be told to "get lost."

So, my question is being posed to those of you who have purchased your RVs at Camping World locations, do you, in fact, get some sort of "preferred customer" treatment at different Camping World locations than the one where you bought your unit?

It seems to me, as compared to independent dealers I've talked to, the Camping World dealers have more "add-on" fees (e.g., destination charge, "documentary fee," etc.) that they add on to the bottom-line, negotiated price for the unit. The independents seem to more or less quote one, final, "out-the-door" price.

I'm trying to determine whether it's actually worth it to pay more at a Camping World for a particular unit than it could purchased from an independent dealer.

Thanks
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Old 01-16-2017, 03:32 PM   #2
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Can't comment on their "preferred customer" treatment, but as for the add-on fees, ALL dealers have those. Some just try to hide them, others will drop them if you hold their feet to the fire!

The only thing that really matters is the bottom line figure. Just tell all of them that's what you want and that you won't pay a dime more than the price they quote!

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!
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Old 01-16-2017, 03:38 PM   #3
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I would not want them to work on anything of mine!
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Old 01-16-2017, 03:48 PM   #4
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If you haven't already done so, you really need to do some research on CW. Most of their stores have a very poor reputation. You can find a number of threads here on irv2. Most educated and experienced campers tend to stay away from them. Far away. I buy odds and ends and supplies etc, but thats it.
I guess from what you are saying they won't work on anything unless you bought it from CW. Otherwise they tell a customer to get lost. Interesting. First I've heard it put that way. That in itself would make me want to go elsewhere.

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Old 01-16-2017, 03:49 PM   #5
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If you read through the posts here you will find a long littany of CW failing to live up to that claim. The local dealer I might say would do it if you went to the correct location dropped their affiliation.
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Old 01-16-2017, 03:51 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kaisooba View Post
I would not want them to work on anything of mine!

X2 plus I would not buy another MH from them do yourself a big favor buy some where else.
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Old 01-16-2017, 03:55 PM   #7
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Nice sales pitch. Now about their "family". If you take it to any CW you will be placed on a list. Those with the biggest most expensive repairs go to the front of the line. If any dealer anywhere had time open you will get in for repairs.
Regarding fees: if you don't see fee they are either built into the final price, or the dealer is discounting them as an incentive.
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Old 01-16-2017, 04:01 PM   #8
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Sales Pitch only

Though we did not buy our Palazzo at CW, they have worked on it several times with no problems, and serviced it once, and all with not much waiting...
while CW's are, as a whole, a brand, I have seen a lot of difference from one to the other, you may never know what you going to get, good or bad, at any of them until you try...

CW sales staff can certainly add this sales 'benefit' to their pitch, but I don't believe that I would buy a coach from anyone just because they might 'put me at the head of the list' for repairs, either...

if you are a 'weekend' RVr, never go too far or too long, and live near your dealer, then a good Local RV dealer is a good choice - they know you...
if you are, like us, full timing, or traveling extensively countrywide, then you might not worry about who you bought it from, but more who has many, many dealerships countrywide, like CW...
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Old 01-16-2017, 04:02 PM   #9
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I agree. I had Camping world do two things to my RV

Install an inverter: After the install I did a power audit to see which devices were on L-1 and which were on L-2 (50 amp) Both Air conditioners were on the same leg.. NOT RIGHT.

Oil change.. I specified Full Synthetic, they used regular Dino and failed to check one of the levels. (They did fix that one).

So they are zero for two on service, I've not been back since.
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Old 01-16-2017, 04:03 PM   #10
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Keep in mind, even if CW was good at service, you may not be anywhere close to a CW when you do need service. Many of us do most of our own service to get the quality and keep costs down. I understand that some RVers can't do the work or are best kept some distance from tools, and that's fine. Others just may not want to do the work and that's great as well, provides jobs at the service centers.

New or used any RV will require some service along the way. Some good folks use their credit cards as their favorite tool, sweet.
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Old 01-16-2017, 04:51 PM   #11
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I have not had any problems with CW to date. We've purchased two travel trailers from two different CW stores and both experiences were great. We bought our latest TT from one CW and recently took it to a closer CW for some minor warranty work and I had the wheel bearings repacked. Made an appointment, took it in and the work was promptly done.


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Old 01-16-2017, 05:09 PM   #12
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Although Camping World is a single company the stores are only as good as the local employees. I limped into Portland/Wilsonville Oregon Camping World about 3 years ago at 4:30pm, close to closing time. The staff stayed over to make me right and road worthy before they closed, an easy 1/2 hour past closing. I owe that team a great deal. It was not a Camping World purchase. Just nice people. There are plenty of negative comments going around about Camping World, and I do not doubt any. Personally, when purchasing an RV I would get the best deal possible from a dealer that has what I want. Forget service, that is a different department. Again, personally, I would not take my RV to a dealer for service, unless their reputation was excellent. There are plenty of local RV techs working hard to maintain an independent business to do what work is need. Happy Trails.
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Old 01-16-2017, 06:05 PM   #13
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I don't see any advantage in multiple-outlet businesses like CW. Rarely do the other stores treat you different than any other customer, even for warranty work. The many reports on this site about getting work done at CW seem to bear this out - buying there gets you no special treatment.

I've generally not had trouble getting RV service on the road anyway. Sure, there is often a waiting list at every dealership & shop during the busy summer season, but CW is no different.
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Old 01-16-2017, 07:04 PM   #14
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We bought a half million dollar (not what we paid but that was MSRP) coach from Camping World fully knowing that we would never, ever return to them for anything.
We've had a few minor "warranty" issues we paid an awesome local independent shop to fix. CW would have kept our coach for 6 months, not fixed it and we would have had 15 more issues than when we took it in.
The only reason we bought from them was the awesome deal we got.
Regardless of dealer don't believe any salesman.
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