Honest RV Dealers - Are there any?

dedmiston wrote:
In my experience there's also a split personality with most dealers, where even if things went perfectly during the sale & PDI, the warranty service is absolutely hellish. My warranty experience from my last dealer was enough to swear I'll never do business with them again (suck it, Giant RV). It took them a full 20 months to finally complete the checklist of items identified during our 12 month warranty period.

One of the happiest life-changes for me was hiring a local mobile tech to come fix things instead of driving 90 minutes to the dealer and having them lie to me about how long they'll keep the coach for repairs. I'd rather pay a tech out of pocket to have things fixed immediately and correctly than to continue to pay the loan and storage for an RV that I can't use.

I had to pay for some of those warranty repairs to be redone correctly, but at least my guy fixed them right and fixed them correctly.

Did I mention how much I dislike Giant RV?

IMO - Giant RV in So CA ??

So. CA is chock full of dealers who have an ample supply of "walk-ins"
who want to buy it *NOW* !! (RVing / camping year round).

So....My last RV was a Jayco 5th wheel (before Jayco went Thor).
Jayco had a factory site listing all the prices for everything and anything (options).
Also, there is/was an "RV Wholesalers" in the US, who discounted those prices - only catch, you had to drive across country and pick it up.

Being well aware of the sales pitches, etc., etc. in So. CA - I e-mailed several (many) dealers all over the US - including: I was ready to "travel" for the best deal (ordering the 5th).

Drove about a thousand miles to purchase the 5th I ordered from Marden's RV in Montana. Went without a hitch (no pun). Had a two year factory warranty - which I never needed.

The PDI was done by a local mobile service. Stayed overnight on their lot, then a week at a local campground. Had an occasion to call the mobile serviced for (what I thought was a problem - it wasn't). They came out to the campground and showed me *my* operator error.

Marden's started way back when by the current owners father. It was just a "sideline" during the warm months.

Would I buy from them again? - Absolutely!!

I'll relate some of my experiences by/from/with dealers in So CA in another post. Some are humorous.....like the salesman I happened to ask for a brochure at the Pomona RV show on year. Had to show *him* where they were - he admitted it was his first day on the job.

Might add - when I was looking at floor plans at RV shows, the best way to *not* be bothered by salespeople: Be by yourself, tell them you are bringing the wife to the show the next day. If you need to "sign in" (really!!) - pick your best phony name, like Chuck Roast or?
List the business number for some business WalMart, Target, etc. as your home phone.

.