Honest RV Dealers - Are there any?

all dealers are intrested in one thing,your money. so when buying a item know its value before you talk money . know what your doing and educate yourself on dealing. on that item.

Google reviews are very helpful. RvDirect (now RVONE I think) are about as close as I have ever gotten to a wholesale direct to buyer. They are a dealer but usually you have to know what you want and order. I've never bought anything from them but when shopping I found them to have the best deal up front and could pit other dealers against that number. They don't carry all brands and models.

What specifically are looking for in a deal? Cost, repair service etc?

No dealer is going to tell you what they paid and be totally up front if you are getting a good deal. None should take a non-refundable deposit, etc.

I did have a deal once years ago at a CW where I put down a deposit, found the same unit elsewhere much cheaper and CW refused to give back my deposit despite never ordering the RV I wanted or provide the terms I wanted. I had to get the States Attorney General involved and I promptly got my check back.

My most recent deal, I found the FW in our signature, put down a deposit while fully disclosing I needed to buy a truck. The dealer said no problem and could hold it up to a month. A week later he started hassling me and said his manager said he could only hold it a week. I assume they had interest in my unit. I found a truck a few days later and closed the deal with them only because it was a good deal and I didn't feel like starting over. And the FW we bought I simply couldn't find it anywhere within a 1000 miles and if I did it was much more expensive. But I didn't hesitate to let them know I knew what was going on.

In short, educate yourself and buyer beware. It's a seller's market right and they don't need you as a buyer.

Floridastorm wrote:
Is it possible to drive to the manufacturer's plant and purchase direct?

N0.

When we spent last winter in Florida, we went to several RV dealerships including General RV, Camping World, Lazydays and a couple of smaller ones. We also went to two small RV shows in Daytona and the big one in Tampa. No one wanted to do any kind of deals. We waited until we got back home and bought a new 5th Wheel where we got a much better deal. I think it's because Florida sells RV's year round where up here in the North, not many people are going to RV dealers looking for a new RV in snowstorms so they try to sell as many as they can from March-November.

Shorten the list, stay away from Camping World and right there you're ahead of the game.

We have purchased from Tri-Am and was satisfied. We sometimes buy parts from them, have had parts installed and never had any problems at all. Ryan Perkins is one of the owners and if you have any questions you need to talk to him. I agree I wouldn't touch Camping World with a 10' pole. Good Luck!

BurbMan wrote:
Shorten the list, stay away from Camping World and right there you're ahead of the game.

Agree. The worst experience we ever had even looking at RVs was at a CW.

But yes, there are dealers out there that care about the Next Sale. Because they know that our 1st RV almost certainly isnt going to be our Last RV.

lap527 wrote:
We have purchased from Tri-Am and was satisfied. We sometimes buy parts from them, have had parts installed and never had any problems at all. Ryan Perkins is one of the owners and if you have any questions you need to talk to him. I agree I wouldn't touch Camping World with a 10' pole. Good Luck!

I thought that Tri-Am was on the up and up as they have been in business for maybe 30 years here in Ocala. However, I did see some bad reviews lately, Also, they apparently are not dealing much in Class C's which I am interested in. I will possibly give them a try based upon your review.

If your looking for a better price and not worried about service after the sale there are wholesale dealers you could try, we bought our unit at International RV Wholesalers in Elkhart In. about 30 minutes from the factory and have not set foot back at the dealer. There is also RV Wholesaler and Jeff Couch in Ohio and Terrytown in Mi. I only mentioned this as you mentioned about buying direct from the factory. Now they will also deliver to you at a added cost and also it depends if they carry the brand you are looking for. Good luck on your search.

I haven't found a good dealer in my entire RV experience which is over 40 years. I have found some good sales people. On the other hand, if customers were more interested in good service versus cheapest price we might have some dealers that cared.Over the years we had 2 Sunlines.We lived about 20 miles from the factory so I could take them there if I had a problem. They were great. But they were sold to a holding company who planned to sell them for a profit. But the 2008 recession hit and the holding company liquidized the assets and Sunline was no more.As far as car dealerships,I have had mostly good relationships with them over the years. They seemed to care more about getting your service business and buying from them in the future.