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07-18-2015, 07:11 PM
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#1
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Member
Jayco Owners Club
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 31
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How did you purchase your fifth wheel?
Hello all, I'm new to the forum and doing my research for a new fifth wheel. I have been reading a lot of posts where folks call the factory and deal directly with a factory rep to make a purchase. The fact that you can get a 5er factory direct seams a little strange, but if it's true I'm only 5 hours away from the RV capital of the world. So here is my question: How did you pursue your RV purchase, Factory Direct, Authorized Dealer, Wholesale, The Big Box Store (CW), RV show??? Go...
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07-18-2015, 07:34 PM
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#2
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Senior Member
Texas Boomers Club
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Dickinson Texas USA
Posts: 1,274
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Most manufacturers only sell through their dealer network and most do not allow a delivery at the factory.
__________________
2018 Heartland Landmark Oshkosh
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07-18-2015, 07:49 PM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2013
Location: SW Louisiana
Posts: 630
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Salvage auction.
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07-18-2015, 07:50 PM
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#4
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Member
Jayco Owners Club
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 31
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JayC that's what I was thinking to, a lot of dealership contracts with companies I have dealt with clearly states no direct sales. But I'm sure there are exceptions to the rule.
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07-18-2015, 09:17 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 1,824
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I bought my toyhauler from a wholesaler - The Original RV Wholesalers - RV Sales, RV Parts, RV Dealer, RV Super Store Dealer, 5th Wheel, Forest River. I live in the south, so I had the trailer delivered. I was very happy with the process and the savings. I had a couple of warranty issues in the first year. RVwhosalers warranty rep helped me with the claim and the items were repaired locally.
I did not have any RV experience, so I have had to read the manuals and figure some things out. It was 2 years before someone showed me how to make my water heater run on electricity . Buying from a good dealer and getting a good walk-through should help with things like that. I'm just not sure it's worth 15-20K.
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07-18-2015, 10:31 PM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Huntsville, AL/Helen, GA
Posts: 1,555
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I researched fifth wheel trailers very carefully, and got on RVTraders.com. It's not very hard to figure out who the dominant dealer is in any retail market--one that's willing to compete for your business with a fair price.
I found my local dealer was unwilling to "deal" on price, as he wanted $8K more than the dominant dealer 175 miles away. I found another dealer with a great reputation that beat the dominant dealer's deal by $900--and he modified a stock order to my specs. and still delivered it in 3 weeks.
After watching RV websites for the last year, the quality of the dealer is also as important as getting a fair deal on the price. Don't deal with a dealer that's famous for his horror story lack of service.
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07-19-2015, 04:54 AM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Full-timers - Home is where we park it.
Posts: 4,722
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Quote:
Originally Posted by genxrainman
JayC that's what I was thinking to, a lot of dealership contracts with companies I have dealt with clearly states no direct sales. But I'm sure there are exceptions to the rule.
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Most manufacturers will not sell direct, but a few have customer service reps who will work with directly with a customer on custom features provided that customer is already working through a dealer. Of course, that's only true if the manufacturer is willing to add custom features in the first place - most won't.
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07-19-2015, 07:35 AM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Northeastern Nebraska
Posts: 969
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Went to the dealer told them how big of one needed then picked out one I could afford. If money were no object I would have chosen a different one but that's life.
__________________
06 forest river Cardinal 34 TS towed by 03 freightliner Columbia HDT 435 hp 60 series Detroit, 10 speed, 3:55 gears with full locker. 260 inch wheel base. I am a Father, Farmer, and A Trucker.
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07-20-2015, 08:22 AM
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#9
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Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Oswego IL
Posts: 2,387
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Some manufactures do sell directly to the customer and eliminating the dealer. These are usually the very high end units such as Forks RV. Forks RV builds the Continental Coach also there is New Horizons and Space Craft to name just a few. See the Trailer Life August 2015 issue; they have an article on buying direct from certain manufactures which are listed at the end of this article.
Jim
__________________
Jim & Jill
Sold: 2010 318SAB Cougar:New: 2016 Cedar Creek 34RL. 2008 Dodge 6.7LCummins the original 6.7L engine, w/68RFE Auto
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07-20-2015, 10:09 AM
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#10
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Senior Member
Country Coach Owners Club
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Alberta
Posts: 1,591
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One factor to include in your analysis is how you plan to manage warranty repairs/items. Dealers are less inclined to work on "non-sale" units (ie units that were not bought at their dealership), and are certainly not forced to do so by the manufacturer. Not a big deal for some owners who do most their own work and ignore a lot of the minor warranty items (just fix them vs taking back to dealer).
Some manufacturers will deal directly with the end user for warranty item (ie replace part but usually not labor); others won't even answer the phone from a non-dealer.
If you are planning to use the selling dealer as the repair shop, you may want to consider that as a big plus to buy at an authorized dealership.
If you do not care for any after sales service from a dealership/manufacturer, go get the best price where you can.
My thoughts.
Brian
__________________
Towr: 2007 Country Coach Allure 470 - 37 Sunset Bay Cummins 400 ISL, Coach #31563
Toad: 2016 F150 King Ranch - 3.5L EcoBoost 4x4 Supercrew (curb weight 4,775 lbs)
Toad: SOLD 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee (yes, it has a Hemi) (curb weight 4,720 lbs)
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07-20-2015, 04:12 PM
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#11
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Member
Jayco Owners Club
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 31
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Thanks everyone for the replies so far, great information!
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07-21-2015, 06:07 PM
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#12
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Member
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 92
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When we had issues with one dealer, the manufacture caught wind of it and contacted us direct. He offered to get us the unit we wanted and delivery it to the dealer of our choice. The dealer we use was great, we had several add on products and everything was ready within a week. We got the unit for about 20% off and got the hitch, camera, vented washer/dryer and labor thrown in. All dealers are different and all manufactures are different. We're happy this manufacture stepped in and helped us.
__________________
DJ
2016 Bighorn 3160EL
2022 RAM 3500 Longhorn Limited 6.7L I6 Cummins HO Turbo Diesel 4x4 MC SB SRW
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07-21-2015, 07:35 PM
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#13
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 1,048
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Made purchase price agreement with dealer by email, got pre approval from credit union at 2.39%. Took credit letter to dealership for pick up. No credit hassles and no long sales pitch.
__________________
2008 Tundra DC, 5.7L, Airlift 5000 Airbags
2013 Rockwood 8282WS
Signature Untralight Diamond Package
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