OK The wife and I love the Jayco Pinnacle in either the ft bathroom model or the Kitchen pantry setup. My dilemma is this: The local dealer does not carry the Pinnacle model and when I downloaded a brochure and entered my e-mail address (my mistake) I had a local salesman e-mail me to say he had 'LOTS" of Jayco Pinnacle's in stock. When did I want to come see them? Well a quick search of his website showed one on his lot and not what I was looking for. I e-mailed him back and told him this and his response was "well we have a few on order."I have been to that dealer and they are small and way over priced on there other trailers. The closest dealer that actually carries the Jayco Pinnacle is about 350 miles from home. Now after many hours of research I have found an online company that beats anyone's price. They beat a show price by 8 grand and that was with more options added. My concern is that if I buy online and have problems what do I do about warranty work? I don't think the local place will help as they don't carry the line I want. Do I try to work a deal with the one that is 350 miles away so that if I have problems I can haul it to them? The online place sounds great and I would love a 'road trip' on the way home from picking it up so that is not a problem. Just thinking about the future. Have any of you dealt with a non selling dealer to get repairs? The local place does carry Jayco just not the Pinnacle line. Thank!Steve

We bought our Winnebago MH online. One local Winnebago dealer would not perform warranty work on a coach not purchased from them (actually against the Winnebago agreement they sign) but another about 20 miles away had no problem with it and have fixed several issues. 350 miles is pretty far for warranty work. You might want to ask the service manager of the local place to see if they have a problem doing warranty work on a unit bought elsewhere. I do not think the model designation would make much difference if they sell Jayco. I'd do it by email so you have a record of what they say although if they get hard nosed afterwards, I'm not sure I'd want to leave my RV with them! If there are any mobile RV tech in your area, you might want to check if they are authorized to do warranty service. Some are. Any time you buy a new RV, you are kind of rolling the dice. Most times the little nit-pick stuff is better just fixed by yourself. The headache of making two trips and not having the unit while it's being fixed makes that a little more palatable. Eventually it will be out of warranty and you'll be responsible for repairs anyway. At least you know it will be fixed right. Plenty of help here to guide you!

I would not worry about the service after the sale. If you need work, I am sure the factory will recommend a dealer that will be able and willing to do the work. Heck, my dealer went out of business about a month or so after I purchased my unit. Fortunately it has never needed a dealers service but if it had, I would simply find and call a self employed RV service person and have them come to me. They usually do a better job and the price is the same or cheaper than a dealer. I just had my refrigerator replaced last month right here in the campground by just such a mobile repair service. Great price and one day service! Called him on Monday, the fridge was installed and working great on Tuesday. :) Barney

Something of a cr@p shoot. If you never need warranty work, then no problem. But if you do, then you local dealer may put you at the bottom of their priority list when you take it in. After warranty work they would be more likely to accept, at full price. I would try the Jayco owners forum. Most likely there are owners there who have faced the problem.

You know, a good percentage of the people on this forum are full timers and they've never seen the dealer again from where they bought their RV.........We're in Alaska and I bought the MH in Colorado and I bought the TT in Idaho. Go where you get a good price and if you're not retired, make a vacation out of the trip to go get it.Bill

What if you buy locally, pay more then find out the service is terrible? That happened to me once. I now do most of my own repairs with parts supplied under warranty from the factory. I call them first, send a picture if needed and get the parts. If I can't handle the repair they will authorize a mobile repair service. i pay them and submit the bill for reimbursement. No more waiting 3-4 months for a dealer to screw up some simple repair..Save the money. Even if you have to pay in full for a repair 8 grand will fix a lot of things..B.O.

Dealer location VS best price? | Good Sam Community

garyemunson
Explorer II
Feb 04, 2017
We bought our Winnebago MH online. One local Winnebago dealer would not perform warranty work on a coach not purchased from them (actually against the Winnebago agreement they sign) but another about 20 miles away had no problem with it and have fixed several issues. 350 miles is pretty far for warranty work. You might want to ask the service manager of the local place to see if they have a problem doing warranty work on a unit bought elsewhere. I do not think the model designation would make much difference if they sell Jayco. I'd do it by email so you have a record of what they say although if they get hard nosed afterwards, I'm not sure I'd want to leave my RV with them! If there are any mobile RV tech in your area, you might want to check if they are authorized to do warranty service. Some are. Any time you buy a new RV, you are kind of rolling the dice. Most times the little nit-pick stuff is better just fixed by yourself. The headache of making two trips and not having the unit while it's being fixed makes that a little more palatable. Eventually it will be out of warranty and you'll be responsible for repairs anyway. At least you know it will be fixed right. Plenty of help here to guide you!
BarneyS
Explorer III
Feb 04, 2017
I would not worry about the service after the sale. If you need work, I am sure the factory will recommend a dealer that will be able and willing to do the work.

Heck, my dealer went out of business about a month or so after I purchased my unit. Fortunately it has never needed a dealers service but if it had, I would simply find and call a self employed RV service person and have them come to me. They usually do a better job and the price is the same or cheaper than a dealer.

I just had my refrigerator replaced last month right here in the campground by just such a mobile repair service. Great price and one day service! Called him on Monday, the fridge was installed and working great on Tuesday. :)
Barney
BB_TX
Nomad
Feb 05, 2017
Something of a cr@p shoot. If you never need warranty work, then no problem. But if you do, then you local dealer may put you at the bottom of their priority list when you take it in. After warranty work they would be more likely to accept, at full price.
I would try the Jayco owners forum. Most likely there are owners there who have faced the problem.
Trackrig
Explorer II
Feb 05, 2017
You know, a good percentage of the people on this forum are full timers and they've never seen the dealer again from where they bought their RV.........

We're in Alaska and I bought the MH in Colorado and I bought the TT in Idaho. Go where you get a good price and if you're not retired, make a vacation out of the trip to go get it.

Bill
B_O__Plenty
Explorer II
Feb 05, 2017
What if you buy locally, pay more then find out the service is terrible? That happened to me once. I now do most of my own repairs with parts supplied under warranty from the factory. I call them first, send a picture if needed and get the parts. If I can't handle the repair they will authorize a mobile repair service. i pay them and submit the bill for reimbursement. No more waiting 3-4 months for a dealer to screw up some simple repair..Save the money. Even if you have to pay in full for a repair 8 grand will fix a lot of things..

B.O.
Earl_E
Explorer
Feb 05, 2017
Obviously you realize the issue. On line can sell cheaper because they have no stock on hand and no service to worry about. It may well be one person and a computer. Will the on line dealer guarantee service nearby? If not, it is a **** shoot. I bought one trailer 250 miles away and had a horrible experience when I needed service. I bought another one, in an emergency, 2000 miles from home who guaranteed, in writing, that he would make sure any service was paid for by any legitimate service and he fulfilled that promise over and above the promise. I do believe that 90% of the time you get what you paid for.
goducks10
Explorer
Feb 05, 2017
I bought my 5th wheel 300 miles form home. Nearest dealers were 50 and 70 miles away. Got the better deal at the one furthest away. Only had one warranty issue that needed an RV techs work. Called my MFG and they set me up with a local independent RV repair shop. Might be different if you buy out of town and have a local dealer. The MFG may only let you take it there. You could also call Jayco and get their response.
golf_bears
Explorer
Feb 05, 2017
I certainly wouldn't worry about getting serviced locally. First of all your buying the RV so you can travel around this beautiful country not to let it sit at home waiting for something to break. Problems don't usually happen when your RV is sitting in the driveway at home. Things happen when your moving on the road and away from home. Besides most problems can be fixed by yourself if you're the lease bit handy with a hammer and screw driver. There are plenty of Jayco dealers and mobile tech all over the US if you really need them. Get your Jayco at the best price and forget the local guy. Go get your unit wherever and enjoy the ride.
Aridon
Explorer
Feb 05, 2017
I'll gladly pay my local dealer a slight premium to use him (2 points or so in addition to extra shipping if applicable). However if I can save 8k by traveling I'll go to another dealer. When it comes down to it, warranty work is for a very short period of ownership and most things can be fixed yourself.

If you're the type that is allergic to picking up a screw driver or going to youtube to disconnect and reconnect 3 cables and 4 screwed then an RV probably isn't for you and your local dealer will love taking your money and making you wait a month anyway.
colliehauler
Explorer III
Feb 05, 2017
Unless you only camp close to your dealer you would do the same thing as if your on the road. Remember your warranty is with Jayco, not your dealer. I use mobile RV techs if it something I can not fix.

That said I give my local dealer a chance to match price.