longtrailer48 you bring up some excellent points, but I have a very hard time giving respect to a dealer who is charging a 2300.00 premium for his merchandise under the threat of no warr. service. Really, this is issue is dead. I am not going to ever do any business with the guy so my question has been answered. I am glad his business is doing so well that he can turn away customers. And by the way, not all KZ dealers share this view, I have talked to two service departments who will be more than happy to do my warranty work.
I tried the "Buy Local" strategy.
With the dealers I have around here-it doesn't mean anything to them if you buy from them or not, they are only interested in your money.
I had some problems with my old JayFeather that they tried to fix,and never got it right. I fixed some of it myself,and just dealt with the others until I decided to cut my losses and trade it in. Gave that same dealer that I had spent $20K with 2 years prior several chances to make a fair deal on a new trailer. It was painfully obvious they didn't want to deal with me after the 3rd or 4th trip over to discuss options,models and pricing. I called a dealer that was 100+ miles away and asked if they had a unit in stock and what the price would be with my trade. With just a simple phone call,and never having dealt with me before at all,they beat the local dealer by $6,000 on a new unit exactly the way I wanted it. No lies,no games,and no numbers manipulation to screw me on my trade-in. Needless to say,I spent my money with them,and the local dealer here can close shop and rot as far as I'm concerned-I'll not insult them by spending my money there anymore.
JL
2001 Lincoln Navigator 32V 5.4L V8/4R100 auto
1997 Ford Thunderbird LX 4.6L V8/4R70W auto
2005 F-250 Crewcab Lariat 3V 6.8L V10/Torqshift Auto
'06 Jayfeather 29Y-old TT
'08 Jayco Eagle 314BHDS-new TT
We had the same problem and as we were in the market of a 16' Airstream which is way out there in price range, I got really sick of all those dealers that kept asking me to make an offer, as I already explained to them what I could buy it for. Some of the dealers wanted over 50,000 dollars, Wow what a racket, we ended it all by just buying local, and it helps if they have had the trailer more than a few months as their bottom has fallen off which means they have to start paying interest on the trailer. I also think if you do your home work and figure on the fair market price, and have your cash or financing already figured out so you can make a solid offer. Than if you want after an agreement they can finance it for you if need be depending on how they are set up. Bought heavy equipment with the same method and always saved 10,s of thousands in some cases. We were lucky so far as the local dealer is rated very good to excellent. Its great for service as they just say when your coming through town drop by and we will work on it if needed. Good luck , CC
clokman wrote: longtrailer48 you bring up some excellent points, but I have a very hard time giving respect to a dealer who is charging a 2300.00 premium for his merchandise under the threat of no warr. service. Really, this is issue is dead. I am not going to ever do any business with the guy so my question has been answered. I am glad his business is doing so well that he can turn away customers. And by the way, not all KZ dealers share this view, I have talked to two service departments who will be more than happy to do my warranty work.
Yeah, I had a dealer who wanted $8000 more for the same trailer and claimed they absolutely had the best price! Obviously my respect for them dropped, but I just walked (politely) and purchased from the 'best bid' dealer. Warrantee work never was discussed. I had a most pleasant purchase experience and didn't let the "other dealer" get me ruffled. I think these purchases have to be without a whole lot of emotion and just let the numbers work for you. I felt the trailer was the same no matter who I bought it from (since it was a custom order) and I would find the best price and buy it there. Turned out my local dealer (90 mins away) was the one. Pretty happy about that! I feel that custom ordering is the best way because the dealer can sell for less. No flooring, repairs, cleaning, changing equipment, haggling etc. It's truly apples for apples. Again, best to you in your decision. Happy camping!
-Jeff
I lucked out I bought "local" 80 miles away for $600 less than Rvdirect.com. and that was the guy's "first Price, Best Price" There is a dealer right in town that I bought my last rig from and it came to me (used) with 3 tires with the belts poking through, propane tanks empty, inop furnace(showed me how the fan blew not if it actually worked on the show through) Although I should have looked better I found out later the tires were swapped before delivery to me so I through all trust out the window. The owners cleaned house and while shopping for my jayco we decided to buy a sunnybrook unit from this dealer. Then my Jayco guy called with the deal I went for on my jayflight after we put $100 down at the dealer in town. Well, They are giving me a hard time to get my deposit back so I guess what I originally thought about them sticks...
I consider my Jayco Dealer even at 80 miles away Local since I can drive 100 miles from him in 2 directions to mega dealers in larger areas that I could buy from but I just wouldn't feel right about buying it somewhere else and making them service it.....
Had a Nice Signature Made here, Resized it and it won't let me use it so whatever......
All is well that ends well. I was so impressed with one of those "short distance" dealers willing to cover my warranty work that I decided to talk with the sales department. They didn't have the exact trailer we wanted but they did have choice no.2..the Spree 261RKS, and they too were able to beat the local guy by thousands. They are only 2 hours away! We will be picking it up 6/14..what a Fathers Day gift. Thanks again for all the replys and help. Next week the real questions will start!
The first dealer sounded like they really didn't want your business. If you can save that much money, then I think the drive would be worth it! You could make it a little trip in itself!
2006 Hornet 28BHDS-Bunk House, Dual Slides
2006 Dodge Ram 2500 HD
5.7L Hemi, Factory Towing Package
Reese Brake Controller, WD Hitch and Sway Bar
Well this old thread has been resurrected! To update... we have been using the 261 all summer and love it. I have had 2 warranty items come up, a broken cable valve and a leaking anti siphon valve. I removed both items and shipped them to my dealer, who promptly returned new ones under warranty. So far my experience has been great. I am so happy that I did not pay the "ransom" to the local dealer!!
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