CamperTech wrote: Well, every time I post this someone gets offended and starts flamming me....OH WELL, I'm doin' it anyways!
Myself and several other NH dealers are taking a stand against the Internet RV dealers and refusing to do warranty work on units purchased from them. (The above mentioned company is one of them) The manufacturers don't pay enough on warranty to be worth the trouble, and knowing service could be difficult to get may discourage people from buying at prices that us dealers can't possibly compete with! It may also open the eyes of the manufacturers to remember the dealer network that has supported them for years before these wholesalers came along!
Let's face it, if you all buy from the wholesalers, the dealers you want to do your service are going to slowly die off. We just lost one (this week) here in NH.
Sounds like a business model problem. Basically your saying the brands you sell are******and you charge a premium for them knowing they are going to break and that you are going to have to spend time fixing them that you don't feel you are compensated for. So much for the warranty then.
Since you are a dealer be sure to post your name so that I and others will be sure not to bother you and waste your time.
I bought from RV Direct and found the transaction went well with a few glitches. They are associated or should I say part of a local dealer with three locations. It's about a 2 hour trip for me and I did have to take the trailer back for some repairs and unfortunately will have to do so again but that's a separate post.
I did contact a local dealer and they were way over RV directs pricing and were pushing another brand which I did not want. I contacted their service separately and they would not do warranty work for trailers they did not sell, even in conjunction with non-warranty work I was going to pay for. I think I'm glad I didn't buy from them anyway.
I think the caution here is can you get the repairs done in a reasonable fashion?
Another thing to consider. I'm a former small business owner. The wholesalers encourage you to go to your local dealers and check out what you want, then contact them for pricing. So the local dealer has to stock the rigs, furnishes the sales people to talk with you, keep the expensive service bays going, then looses the sale to the wholesaler.
I didn't sell RVs, but still had this happen to me over and over. I don't know what will happen in the long run cause we can't have it both ways indefinitely.
2008 Keystone Springdale 252
2004 Chevy Silverado, 5.3 L V8
Prodigy brake control and Equal-i-zer
Retired and traveling all we can!
I think the issue here is regional. Up north, closer to most of the plants, there are more wholesalers. Down here (Texas) it is not cost effective to buy from them unless you want to take a long trip, or the deal is so good that even with shipping you are better off.
When I bought my last TT, I went back to the dealer that I had just bought my 1st TT from (6 months earlier) and who I had paid to do a lot of upgrades to that unit. They totally tried to make me take it in the shorts. So, I left and started shopping. Talked to the wholesalers, and all dealers in TX. Well, there was a dealer in the state that matched the wholesaler (price before shipping) and crushed my local dealer. The total was a 5k difference on the deal on the exact same model/features as the one I tried to buy from locally.
The local dealer is doing service work on it as we speak. It cost me a one week delay in getting mine in because I did not buy it there, and this is their peak season for service. One week is worth 5k!!!
This is not be a knock on local dealers, after all, the dealer I bought from was local to someone. The last thing I want is for a lot of local dealers to go under, that would be terrible. However, like with everything else in a capitalist society, you must compete and adapt to get the business. Those who do will prevail, those who don't won't...
2007 Holiday Rambler Aluma-Lite 8310S
2007 Ford F-150 5.4L Lariat Crew Cab 3.55 Rear, Tow Package
Weight Dist Hitch, Single Friction Sway Bar, Prodigy Brake Controller
Me and My Better Half, with 3 Kido's 4 and under
2nd RV and loving it!!!
What I hope local dealers learn from this is to stop playing pricing games. Give us a firm and "good" quote at the start. Stop the back-and-forth game playing. I would probably buy locally even if their price was $1000 higher. After all, I could make up (most of) the difference by asking them for a free annual service or to install some aftermarket product with no labor charge. So there are ways that local dealers can better compete. But they just need to stop playing games, give a good quote up front without us needing to shove an RVDirect quote in their face, and to accept the fact that they don't deserve to get $5000 more than the wholesalers are selling for. Maybe $1000 more.
GBlack wrote: What I hope local dealers learn from this is to stop playing pricing games. Give us a firm and "good" quote at the start. Stop the back-and-forth game playing. I would probably buy locally even if their price was $1000 higher.
While I defend the need for local dealers to sell for more I do totally agree with this. I'll buy local but I won't play the game with car or rv dealers. I make a fair take it or leave it offer and that's it.
We purchased a new RV from RVDirect this past spring. We went to the shows in Boston and Providence but could not get the "local" dealers to match the RVDirect price. A difference of $4,000.
When we picked up our trailer they spent a few hours with me and answered all of my questions. A few items needed to be replaced as they were broken and RVDirect had them shipped to my house and I replaced them myself.
As far as repair work is concerned, most small things I will fix myself and already have. Given that after one year the warranty is over and any reapirs I pay for, I figure that for a savings of $4,000 I can have a lot of repair work done that I can't do myself. There is a local RV service facility close my home and they don't sell RV's but only do repairs. They are very helpful and I turn to them with questions or for repairs.
$4,000 is a lot of money to me and I would definetely buy on-line the next time that I am in the market for a RV. The warranty work is not of concern to me for the reasons stated.
You have one opportunity to raise your kids - go camping!
'00 GMC Sierra
'08 Rockwood 8317
Favorite Destination: Myrtle Beach, SC
I would like to thank the Dealers and Techs who frequent the board to give us advice and education. We need it. I would love to pay $1,000 over the price of RV direct and give the money to my local dealer. But when it is $3,000 to $5,000 over the price I've been quoted, I'm headed north. Competition is the Amnerican way. I'm sure RV Direct is not starving and is also making a profit. With only a one year guarantee, I think I'll take my chances and do some of the repairs myself.
I think it is ok to buy wherever you want to. Just do the homework first. After getting prices on the internet at the wholesalers, I went to the local dealer. He beat the price I got and I also got him to throw in some other extras. The last trailer we had we bought out of town and when we needed service locally, it just wasn't there. When we had a situation that should have been under warranty, the local dealer told me that I would have to go to the manufacturer because I didn't buy it from him, he felt no obligation to assist me.
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