Purchasing from a distant dealer

Hedgehog wrote:
We have a dealership that is 45 minutes from our house that we were looking at purchasing a brand new ordered fifthwheel from. This would be my third rig from this dealership. Well, today we went to a dealership 2 and a half hours away that had the same fifthwheel we are looking to order. I just wanted to see it before I ordered it from the local dealer. Well, the dealer that has a 2015 model of the unit I want to order gave me a price of $4800 cheaper than the ordered 2016 locally. So to be fair, I asked for a quote on a identical ordered unit from them. It came in $3300 cheaper. the local dealer keeps blaming the thorough service and a lifetime warranty on all there units for there higher price. After warranty, I do my own repairs for the most part. Would you buy local or save $$ and buy further away?

If the '15 is virtually the same as the '16 you want to order, why not save another $1500 and go for that one? If you're determined to get the '16 (different options or decor), give your local dealer one chance to come close to the other guy's price, and be vocal about reminding them that this would be your THIRD purchase from him. If they won't at least split the difference, walk out; they simply don't deserve your business. One of the reasons that I'm favoring Jayco right now, is that when you spec out a unit on the factory site, you get a factory MSRP; any difference from that is simply dealer add-ons and delivery. I'd certainly question a $5k "delivery" bill if the MSRP at the dealer level were hugely different than what Jayco shows, that's for sure. :-)

Lyle