After reading the title of your thread my initial thought was $1000.00
I also believe it will cost more than 175.00 to drive an 8 hour round trip. Particularly if you include any meals or lodging.
What is it worth to you to have a decent relationship with your local dealer vs. having an adversarial relationship.
The dealer 4 hours from me is superior to my local guy. Better service better attitude. My local guy is marginally adequate. However the local guy still wins on simple logistics. My local guy was competitive on price
I do not want to travel 4 hours back to the dealer for anything. I want to be able to just go to the local guy for parts or info as needed.
While I do most of my own repairs I am a firm believer in, "It's not what you know but who you know". With that in mind knowing the local dealer and having a decent relationship has value vs. taking the drive or dealing via the phone.
I can take a short trip and pound on the counter at the local guy if I need to.
Hard to do that when the counter is 4 hours away.
None of this is important if you have a decent rig however the quality control in the RV industry is horrible. Buying a lemon in any brand is certainly a reality.
