Drove over 800 miles to pick up in Elkhart, was only $300 in fuel round trip at that time, would be twice that today, but would still drive that to save the thousands over dealers who don't want to compete.
Retired US Army
2000 Ford F250 SD 7.3 PSD, Firestone Ride-Rite™ air springs
2007 Keystone Laredo 29RL, Doran Pressure Pro and Metal Tire Valves, 16" Michelin XPS Ribs, Dirt Devil CV950 Central Vacuum, 2000W AllPower (Honda Clone), 4000/3500W Champion C46540
We bought our Heartland Big Horn from RV Captial Wholesalers. We have been very happy with our deal. We had it delivered from Ind. to AK and still got it for about $15000 cheaper than if we would have bought it up here in Alaska.
DH and I
2 teenagers
Buddy (dog) and Boo (cat)
'08 Dodge 3500 Megacab w/Cummins Diesel
'09 Heartland Big Horn 3400RE
we had the same issue out here in California. dealers out here not only want a profit on the rv but try and make a profit on the shipping.
we tried 3 Rockwood Roo dealers in the NorCal area. all were $4,500 or more over RVW's price. we were prepared to make a trip to Ohio until we found a great dealer in Chicago that had what we wanted and even a little cheaper than RVW. even with costs of the trip, we still saved over $3,500.
and getting warranty work done hasn't been a problem. i just called Forest River and they sent me to a dealership who would work on it. and one of them doesn't even sell any Forest River products!
i would have been willing to pay more for local service. but these west coast dealers are running a racket. i don't mind paying for their shipping costs but they have to come close to RVW or RVDirect's prices.
Dan- Firefighter, Shawn- Musician/Entrepreneur, Zoe- Faithful Golden Retriever, 2007 Chevrolet Avalanche LS, 2007 Rockwood Roo 23SS w/Equalizer and Prodigy, and 5 Mtn. bikes and 2 Road bikes
When shopping for our fourth RV, I was quoted a price from my local dealer that included $800 shipping ... and an additional $1600 that I couldn't figure out ... when I pinned down the salesman by saying I couldn't get the figures to add up and questioned the $1600 difference, he looked me in the face and said "The $1600 is dealer prep."
Well, to make a long story short ... I ordered my new Jayco from RV DIRECT ... first quote, low price, no nonsense, thousands less than the local offer and amazingly, NO SHIPPING CHARGE, if I picked up my rig at RV Direct's full service dealer, DES MOINES (Iowa) RV.
I'm getting so tired of all these posters saying RV DIRECT has no service ... it's just not true. RV DIRECT owns THREE full service dealerships ... check with JAYCO.
RV DIRECT's Des Moines RV is one of JAYCO's oldest full service dealers.
I agree with others ... shopping the internet and buying from afar is the wave of the future.
Particularly if my local dealer yahoos are packing quotes with a $1600 "dealer prep" charges.
And warranty issues? Well, we're usually thousands of miles away from home so "local" service means nothing to me.
Both Jayco and RV DIRECT have 800 numbers to help coordinate service issues ... particularly "on the road" issues. This is worth the price of gold. It doesn't mean anything to have a local dealer in Illinois when I'm broken down in Idaho.
Also, as others have mentioned ... Atwood, Norcold, Suburban, Carefree all maintain networks of authorized service centers in the US and Canada and will help you find service when their RV components have a problem.
Murgatroid wrote: I"m not sure you're in the minority. Using the high volume dealer pricing as leverage, it appears many were able to get their local dealer to match or get close enough. I think that's excellent and I hope more dealers come around. -steve
I received my quote from RV Direct (including shipping to my city) and went shopping. I never mentioned the online quote, but I knew this was my target price and was even willing to pay a little more.
The large Jayco dealer in Minneapolis wouldn't even come close. My small "mom and pop" Jayco dealer gladly offered to sell me my trailer actually a few hundred dollars below the RV Direct quote. And again, I never once mentioned the wholesalers price during negotiations.
I have read more than a few posts stating that local dealers can't match the online wholesalers price. I am proof that this just simply isn't true. It is a competitive market and dealers need to understand this. Apparently some do and some don't.
John, the lovely wife, plus the 3 kids. 2007 Jayco Jay Flight 31BHS - Parked at the Seasonal Site Previous setups...
2002 Ford Explorer V6 pulling 2000 Trail-Lite Bantam B19
1997 Chevy Blazer pulling small Coleman popup
I used the RV Direct price to get a really fabulous deal on my fiver that is due to be delivered next week. RV Direct would have let me pick it up at the Keystone factory, which is only 280 miles from home, but I found a dealer in Cincinnati, just 100 miles from home, who sold it to me for the same price. If he hadn't matched the price within a couple of hundred bucks - enough to make up the difference in gas for another 180 miles of driving each way - I would have just ordered from RV Direct. But he actually exactly matched the RV Direct price, so it really ended up saving me a bit, since that would have been another 18 gallons of gas each way.
It is a competitive market and dealers need to understand this. Apparently some do and some don't.
And I think this really sums it up. Use the local dealers and RV shows to narrow down what you want in the way of floorplan, options, and of course company. Then go to the internet to do your home work on; Price of unit, price of options from the dealer vs adding them in yourself. Get the best deal you can find then. Back to the local dealer to see if they can or will dicker to a price that makes sense. If not buy long distance if they will buy local.
There really is no one TRUE answer. For us, the local Nu Wa dealer can't and won't match what AK Recreation will do. The also won't do service, but for the 8K I saved on the deal (minimum). I can deal with having to find alternatives.
Your experience may and likely will be different.
Mallo
Eloise - 2000 F350 7.3 DRW XL, Reading Flatbed, King Ranch Leather, AIS, MBRP 4" Ex
The Chinese Princess - 2007 Hitchhiker II LS 32.5 LKSBG
Your Kung Fu is weak!
I did post our experience a while ago. The short and long of that ( I agree with many folks here ) use your local dealer as a showroom, and buy online our out of area. Our experience with local dealers here in Oregon was that they still have not gotten the point that their actual costs can be easily found online. Also keep in mind that RV Direct and RVW usually get large volume discounts and rebates that your local guy may not. Because of that the online dealers are interested in volume, and will sell for less. We ended up buying from a dealer a thousand miles away who matched the online offers we received and threw some extras. As it turned out ( I say the invoice) he got about $3K rebate from the factory. So in the end, he made the money, we were happy and saved a lot. I bet online places receive same kinds of rebates. Some day your local dealers will either learn the lesson or go the way your local family bookstore went.
Offline
, Shawn- Musician/Entrepreneur
, Zoe- Faithful Golden Retriever
, 2007 Chevrolet Avalanche LS, 2007 Rockwood Roo 23SS w/Equalizer and Prodigy, and 5 Mtn. bikes and 2 Road bikes
