I really hope your right but the biggest and most important problem will be when you need service. Those guys are the worst. Beware fo RV DIRECT/ ALBANY RV. Both have the same owner and there is no service after the sale what so ever. I hope you have better luck then my friends did.I'll be glad to pay a lil more for some good ole fashion service.
Two years ago, we bought our first TT by leveraging the Internet against two local dealers. We were a little nervous --being first time buyers. I took the local deal that was $550 more than Internet prices.
The salesman told me he's never been squeezed that hard --lol.
I told him its the wave of the future --better get E-savy.
In hindsight, should have taken the lower price. My first trip back for service was a pain. Second warranty item I just picked up from them and installed on my own.
Next time --lowest price wherever I can get it.
Chuck, Heidi, Jessica, Nicholas & Tan Puppy
2008 3/4-ton Yukon XL, Flagstaff 831BHSS
Equalizer Hitch and Prodigy
When I bought mine I looked at the RVDirect and their offer. I then took and emailed every Jayco dealer within 500 miles. All of the Dealers in SoCal quoted me over 16K more than RVDirect did, and told me they could get that easily with walk-in business, and "I wasn't serious about driving that far". Had a Dealer in AZ email me back at $1,200 more than the RVDirect price. I bought from the AZ Dealer as $1,200 was fair considering the additional cost to transport the unit to Arizona. Would I do it again, yes. I have 2 warranty issues, both taken care of by non-selling dealers.
I found when pricing their GOOD DEALS that both rv direct and lakeshore had left a lot of upgrades out,eg.filon vs high gloss,single pane vs dbl pane,plus a lot of little extras that really make the unit.I HAD TWO LOCAL DEALERS beat them by 5 grand ,same unit ,same options,i really question if some actually compare real apples with real apples,but get caught up in the GOOD DEAL SYNDROME.
ALBE wrote: I found when pricing their GOOD DEALS that both rv direct and lakeshore had left a lot of upgrades out,eg.filon vs high gloss,single pane vs dbl pane,plus a lot of little extras that really make the unit.I HAD TWO LOCAL DEALERS beat them by 5 grand ,same unit ,same options,i really question if some actually compare real apples with real apples,but get caught up in the GOOD DEAL SYNDROME.
I"m not sure I understand. When shopping for price, you have to tell the dealer what options you want. They aren't going to add in extra options if you didn't ask for them. If you get farther along in your pricing, Lakeshore will walk you through the manufacturers pricing sheet and go over all the options. In fact, Lakeshore informed me that Heartland had a promotion on the Sundance and that the solid surface countertops and hitch cover were free for a limited time. The local dealers knew nothing about it. I definitely got the feeling that Lakeshore was very on the ball with options and pricing compared to my local dealers.
And, yes, I compared apples to apples with my local dealer. Pricing out the exact same configuration, neither NorCal Sundance dealer could come within $5000 of Lakeshore, and that is including the $3150 I will pay to have the trailer delivered to my house. I ordered through Lakeshore. If the gap was within $1000, I would have gone with the local dealer. Maybe many dealers still think they can sell to ignorant walkins at high margins, but their days are numbered. The high volume dealers have a steady (and increasing in the case of Lakeshore) flow of sales they can count on. The high margin dealer will never know when they will sell the next coach. Which would you rather be?
That's great you got such a good deal. I would have preferred to buy local as well.
I took looked hard at the online wholesellers. I eventually bought my unit local. I don't think you can go wrong with buying a unit from a distance, but I really wanted the local service I would get from my dealer. I did pay a little more, but they did price match...you just have to work them a little harder.
I'm glad that I chose to go local b/c I have already had my unit back in for some work...very easy with my local dealer and not so easy with national wholesellers. That would be my 2 cents worth...try to work local, but if that is not an option or you have been treated unfairly, send your business else where.
Capt Skup wrote: We are shopping for a new Jayco Fiver and were most surprised at the price difference between the local dealers and companies like RVWholesalers and in our case, RVDirect. Not only the price is different, so is the way I have been treated as a customer.... When the local rv salesman was speaking, I kept having flashbacks to paint sealant, fabric protection, and undercoating.
We bought our Jayco from RV-Direct and would have gladly considered doing repeat business there, but they did not carry Heartland which is the unit we'd selected. Ironically four years ago with our Jayco purchase we also made an attempt to close a deal locally (different dealership) and were not treated well by that dealer either.
I agree with your flashback... with the local guy I began to feel liked I'd signed up for the wrong thing and stumbled into a time-share sales pitch!
I do think that the RVDirect and RVWholesalers selling model is fundamentally different and allows the salespeople to treat you better. I sure prefer it.
Not sure if you've purchsed your Heartland product. We got our Big Horn 3400RL from RV Price Busters in Springfield Ohio... they are the wholesale arm of Best Buy RV.
EH!
GeeksRUs
2008 Big Horn 3400RL
2003 F350, PowerStroke, 4x4, SuperCab, LongBox, SWB
RV Home Base @ Coyote Creek, Sundre Alberta
Earl E wrote: That's too bad. I always advocate for the local dealer but when you get jacked around that way then they get what they deserve. If it isn't too late I would sure try to get some kind of good service guarantee because you may run into problems. getting warranty work done. Many have no problems but many do, also.
This is the club the Local RV dealer tried to use on us. We bought our Hitchhiker from AK Recreation down in Texas and live in PA. The Locals were very upfront when I spoke to them about possible service. No way would they do it, if I brought it in they'd put it last on the list to do each day, so that rigs they sold that came in after us would move to the top.
When I needed warranty work (Atwood water heater needed some work) I simply checked the Atwood website found out who near by did work on those water heaters and contacted someone other then the local dealer. A couple of phone calls to Atwood to explain my issue with the local dealer and viola another vendor was authorized to so the work.
The folks who built our fiver know this practice is out there and also have been willing to authorize alternate vendors to fix things. The local RV dealer has no obligation to do warranty work. That said the factories have no obligation to make you go to the local dealer and will work with you to find the nearest vendor (dealer or RV tech) willing to do the work in a timely manner.
Mallo
PS a big thank you to Atwood and Ron's Mobile RV service while I'm at it.
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!
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