One of the biggest mistakes I have bad over the years is not doing my homework when it comes to dealerships. When I started RVing there was no forums, just word of mouth. Word of mouth is good because they will either tell you about the best or worst of the dealership, but it is limited to the number of people you know.
Belonging to RV forums, you get the vast knowledge of all those that surf the net. Take advantage of it. Before you buy, as the question "Has anyone done business with ...........?" You should get a fair amount of feedback to make an informed decision.
Remember, the contracts you sign are your only evidence in most states, therefore; "Buyer Be Ware". Most states exclude spoken words from the contract, and your contract will also exclude unwritten promises. Unless you can get the salesmen to admit it in court, it is not admissible.
Currently the economy is in the tubes, therefore there are going to be a lot of promos out there, and good deals. Remember, "forwarded is forearmed". Happy RVing.
Sorry but I disagree with you. There are dishonest individuals in every occupation, whether it is sales, teachers, ministers, cops, Enron executives, etc. I know a lot of very honest sales people, myself included.
Sorry but I disagree with you. There are dishonest individuals in every occupation, whether it is sales, teachers, ministers, cops, Enron executives, etc. I know a lot of very honest sales people, myself included.
Sorry,
Too clarify,
No One should be trusted, especially someone trying to sell
Getting back on helping the First-time buyer: Whatever is being sold on the lot according the the salesperson is good quality (even if it isn't) because that is the only thing he has to sell and make a commission off of. If you are the average buyer, they salesperson will say that don't worry about it, it is covered by warranty, sign here.
The first-time buyer (and that is what we are talking about here) is surprised when he returns for warranty work after a week of checking out the coach and home, he has to wait 1+ months to get it serviced, and then 1+ months to get parts, and 1+ months to get it an appointment for the install. Summer is over, perhaps you can use the unit next year.
Case in point: If I wasn't an experience buyer the following would have gone differently.
I recently purchased a 08 Monaco Dip, and I added a few extra caveat's of my own to the contract, which were agree to by the dealership. I ended up exercising them to their disadvantage. My salesperson stated that the coach was ready for pick-up and in only three days after delivery to them they were able to do a complete PDI. I ask the salesperson, have you gone through the unit? Reply: Yes. Are you sure it is ready for pick-up? Reply: Yes. When I got there (1700 miles from home) we did our own PDI to their surprise which took us two days (motor coaches are much more complicated the trailers and 5th wheels). I spent another month there while they got parts. My caveat was simply, if not ready because of warranty issues, they were to pick up the lodging tab.
I thought that my salesperson was fairly honest, but at the end of the day he wanted his commission, otherwise they would have called me with the REAL PDI was complete, and I would not have to do one myself. In fairness, I did miss a few things myself, but were minor enough to disregard and fix myself.
My point is simple, even if you think you know the person, or your gut tells you it is ok, all buyers should remember to ask questions, trust know one when $$ are involved, and take on the responsibility of protecting your own interests and rights. No one cares more about you getting a fair deal, then you.
I think it's important to report positive experiences as well. We just purchased a used 1999 Travel-Lite Bantam 19' hybrid from Driftwood RV center in Cape May County NJ. The trailer was being turned in as a trade on the day that my wife was shopping in the dealership. We met the previous owners and got the lowdown on the vehicle from them. The dealership gave us a great deal on the camper and the hitchwork. They also walked us through set up and breakdown of the trailer, repaired little problems that cropped up during the demo, installed a new battery, set the camper up on their campground for us and brought my tow vehicle to the campsite when the work was done. We have to say that we were pleased with the entire sales and service staff from the RV center and the campground.
Sorry but I disagree with you. There are dishonest individuals in every occupation, whether it is sales, teachers, ministers, cops, Enron executives, etc. I know a lot of very honest sales people, myself included.
Sorry,
Too clarify,
No One should be trusted, especially someone trying to sell
something...
Since you are trying to sell us on the idea of not trusting folks trying to sell; can we trust you????????
So much depends on who you are talking to. If a dealer sells 500 RV's a month or 6000 a year and 5% of those customers are dissatisfied that means 300 folks are mad. If another dealer sell 50 a month or 600 a year, if 10% are unhappy he has only 60. So who is doing the better job???
It is harder on the big dealer simply because of numbers. You can please some of the people most of the time but not all of the people all of the time.
Tallyo
2007 Winnebago Adventurer
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revdon64 wrote: I think it's important to report positive experiences as well. We just purchased a used 1999 Travel-Lite Bantam 19' hybrid from Driftwood RV center in Cape May County NJ. The trailer was being turned in as a trade on the day that my wife was shopping in the dealership. We met the previous owners and got the lowdown on the vehicle from them. The dealership gave us a great deal on the camper and the hitchwork. They also walked us through set up and breakdown of the trailer, repaired little problems that cropped up during the demo, installed a new battery, set the camper up on their campground for us and brought my tow vehicle to the campsite when the work was done. We have to say that we were pleased with the entire sales and service staff from the RV center and the campground.
It is equally as important to report good dealerships throughout the Nation. Having both type of write-ups is important to us all.
Living in Central PA. I would like to chime in on my expereinces with the two large RV dealers in my area. I bought my TT from Ansley RV in Duncansville. Last year, I had developed a leak in the roof. I was scared and called them. They were not going to take the TT in due to their backlog of work scheduled but when found it was a leak in a new trailer, they immediately set a time and date for drop off and repair. My wife and I put together a list of small things that were going to need attention and they fixed all things wrong. The leak was a bad seal job when the awning was attached and they showed me what they did. They also checked all other openings and replaced the slide seals and resealed a window. The only part that they didn't get in a timely fashon was the cover to the skylight over the tub which they sent directly to me to put in (I agreed to this to not have to tow it back down to them).
On the other hand, my in-laws bought a trailer from Lerch RV and took it back for warranty work in the beginning of the season (April I believe) and they had it for 5 weeks waiting for parts to fix it. They finally got it back and the converter is not working properly. That department told them to bring it back and they would fix it while they waited...They took the TT to them last Sunday and called yesterday to see if it was done and they told them over the phone that "hopefully they will get to it today". We were going to go camping together this weekend and I don't know if we will due to them needing a converter replaced. I think that they are too busy with new customers and they have a sale this weekend to try to sell new RV's. I think that this is bad relations that they would rather sell new rather than fix a trailer that they sold new last year.
I am sure that they are a good RV dealership, but this just burns me that they cannot take the time to install a new converter, since I know it doesn't take but an hour or two.
dp
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