all I can say about all this talk about saving thousands and even 7000 on a 21 ft LW trailer is just talk...... I used the pricing of the Internet sellers and went shopping,,,, locally only one dealer out of 8 that I went to would not match there price.....bottom line is if you do buy from out of state dealers (good for you) that's your choice but getting A local dealer service you MAY be bad for you because its the local dealers choice,,,, BOTTOM LINE
* This post was
edited 05/14/08 01:24pm by an administrator/moderator *
trailerfolks>>locally only one dealer out of 8 that I went to would not match their price
You have 8 local dealers for a specific brand you were pricing? Were you trying to get a better price?
My experience is that local dealers, face to face, won't let you leave their shop ... let alone give you a price so that you can go shop at 8 other dealers.
That's why I liked dealing with RV Direct ... clean, quick, low price ... and yes, I saved close to $3,000 on a Jayco over my local dealer's best price. Since I picked it up at RV DIRECT's Des Moines (Iowa) RV dealership (one of Jayco's oldest dealers), right off Interstate 80 ... if I ever have to take it back (and I don't anticipate that) ... I run up and down I-80 about 10 times a year so it will be no problem.
* This post was
edited 05/14/08 01:31pm by I_rv2 *
I am curious, granite, about the contractual agreement you say the dealer had :"he was contracted by manuf. to be my dealer during warranty period-duh". I may have read some of your earlier posting incorrectly, but I understood you to say that you did not purchase your unit from this dealer. Does it say in your purchase agreement that any dealership who sells products from this manufacturer must honor warranty claims?
I do know, from first-hand experience, that not all manufacturers have such a contract with their dealers. Thor Manufacturing, for example, does not have such an agreement with its franchised dealers. They have the legal right to deny service. Whether it is good business practice or not is another question, but the legality of it is a fact. There is no implied contract either. No dealer is forced to service what they haven't sold. I'm not sure they are even required to service units they DO sell.
I don't need to be psychic to know the mfg. had a contract with the dealer not the individual, and allows for the exceptions... and is why the mfg. will only guide you somewhere else in these situations...
I suppose you think it is easy going through life like this...
if you only knew...
look I am not against discounters or dealers... these problems exist and all I have said is you need to know about them and in my opinion are the only one responsible to see to it you know about them... blaming anyone for not knowing when it has been a problem for some time is equivalent to saying poor me, in my book...
I have been on the forum for a few years and check it quite often... I find it amazing that of all the post I have read I can not remember reading one where a problem existed and the poster said boy I really screwed up... (another correction, there was one recently)...
maybe the answer is as simple as allowing local dealers to charge the discounter for the repair and let the discounter deal with the mfg. for reimbursement... that would be more fare to all involved... of coarse the discounter would now have to factor that into his cost and maybe not be able to undercut the established dealer system... ask your discounter what he thinks about that...
again if I have misspelled anything or use improper grammar excuse me... I am a simple man that has always had a job with my name on my shirt... I am not out to impress anyone or be popular and tell it as I see it... I am a equal opportunity poster and will offend everyone at least once if you hang around long enough...
anyway have a great day and a better camping season
Jack
I will be more than civil Les... I promise...
Love my mass produced, entry level, built by Lazy American Workers, Hornet
I'm not singling you out JJ - there is enough blame to go around to other posters as well - and for what it's worth, I'm a dealer advocate as I have expressed on many occasions...
Les
2000 Ford F-250SD, XLT, 4X4 Off Road, SuperCab
w/ 6.8L (415 C.I.) V-10/3:73LS/4R100
Banks Power Pack w/Trans Command & OttoMind
2006 Nomad 3150 Double Slide (Bunkhouse)
Hensley Arrow
Jordan Ultima 2020
From talking with my local dealer they love warranty work. Maybe they have a better deal when it comes to getting paid for the work. That being said any dealer that turns down income is nuts. Any dealer can do the same thing RVdirect does if they so chose, they then should not complain about pricing. Walmart coming in or Lowes or anyone else they all started small the kept expanding just like anyone else could if they chose to, they did not. And as others have posted rvs are not to hard to work on if you are little bit handy. And as others have also posted $4500 buys alot of servuce. Around me there are a couple of service places that repair RVs but do not sell them. They will also work with warranty claims. So to the dealer that will not give me the best price or do warranty work I would say you loss, not mine at all.
I have also bought a new HTT and did not even look at the dealer I bought my previous trailer from. Why? They blew me off on a warranty service issue by not returning my call or my emails. I took care of it myself and never looked there again. I even gave negative feed back on a customer satisfaction survey they sent me and they did not contact me then either.
Les and Pawa, the "duh" was unnecessary, I agree. Yes, prior to this purchase I did contact the manuf. and was assured by them AND the local dealer that they would do the warranty work. This occurred a few years ago, and was probably just about the time that dealers began questioning whether they could find a way to fight out of state discounting. As a matter of fact, the local dealer gave me the initial warranty appointment without a hint of a problem. Suppose entire thing was also a factor of timing?
Anyways, that was my experience on this warranty issue for the original poster. That was all.
I bought our Rockwood from RVW. They are a full service dealer with full service service bays and a very well stocked parts and supplies department with very, very good pricing. They just happen to do a really good job at sales over the internet - just like any other dealer could do if they were smart at it... Enough of the free advertising. I'd buy from them again in a heartbeat.
what difference does that make... he is obviously a volume dealer to start with and is certainly smart enough to realize that running the a on-line discounter business is more profitable because of the lower cost to operate a internet business by eliminating the cost of the brick and mortar end of it... they are only a full service dealer to the portion of sales close enough to use it...
This is exactly the point. RVW is not doing anything any other dealer couldn't do. It appears to me they are serving a need of providing a low cost option to those who want one. Isn't that Capitalism at it's best? I have not yet found a great local dealer, many begrudgingly do lip service to warranty work and often the completed work is done half-ass anyways. I'm not saying you're wrong... If I was a dealer and it was my business model to be uncompetitive, and offer marginal service as well as refuse all other warranty work to non customers, that would be my choice. As a consumer, I'm OK with that, and that's why I bought where I did. Works for me. Other strokes work for other folks.
I bought our Rockwood from RVW. They are a full service dealer with full service service bays and a very well stocked parts and supplies department with very, very good pricing. They just happen to do a really good job at sales over the internet - just like any other dealer could do if they were smart at it... Enough of the free advertising. I'd buy from them again in a heartbeat.
what difference does that make... he is obviously a volume dealer to start with and is certainly smart enough to realize that running the a on-line discounter business is more profitable because of the lower cost to operate a internet business by eliminating the cost of the brick and mortar end of it... they are only a full service dealer to the portion of sales close enough to use it...
This is exactly the point. RVW is not doing anything any other dealer couldn't do. It appears to me they are serving a need of providing a low cost option to those who want one. Isn't that Capitalism at it's best? I have not yet found a great local dealer, many begrudgingly do lip service to warranty work and often the completed work is done half-ass anyways. I'm not saying you're wrong... If I was a dealer and it was my business model to be uncompetitive, and offer marginal service as well as refuse all other warranty work to non customers, that would be my choice. As a consumer, I'm OK with that, and that's why I bought where I did. Works for me. Other strokes work for other folks.
if it is your attitude that you have to compare rv direct with a uncompetitive dealer offering at best marginal service, at will only service unit he sold... I can see choosing a discounter...
but you put your spin on making it easily the best choice... you have indicted all dealers as being uncaring and incompetent...
I will say that is just plain and simply untrue...
if I were to put the spin the other way it would go more like...
I have a choice of buying from a discounter 1,000 miles away with no warranty, or my local dealer that will take care of any problems I have for the next two years free of charge... the dealer looks like the only real choice...
without a spin, and using real numbers, the choice is from a discounter at a reduced price of between $1,200 to $3,400... off of the price that the unit can be bought for from a good dealer...
if you live close to the location and they will service it there great... but if you have to have it transported or go 1,000 miles to pick it up, and then cover the registration and in state taxes, your savings are either gone or close to it...
even if you manage to end up with $1,000/$1,500 in real savings it may or may not be worth it... not everyone can or wants to repair their own new trailers no matter how easy it may be...
the problem of repairs away from home we all experience, but I suspect maybe more so on a brokered one...
in my case the relationship I have with my dealers pays off long after the warranty runs out, I have had this unit since 03 and I still haven't paid for a part... I have a new gas regulator that I mentioned I was having trouble with and was handed a new one...
maybe I am just lucky but I have a good relationship with three dealers close by and am comfortable with and trust all three...
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