Manufacture vs Dealership

Manufacturers typically do not sell directly to the customer, with a few exceptions.... I have found that when buying, if you can get the manufacturers representitive involved, the process is much better...

We have had the rep involved in our last 3 with wheel purchase's , and was able to get a lot of extras.....

Back in "07" we wee looking at a KZ and ran into their East Coast Rep... She helped us get a great deal, and also we were able to switch out some windows for larger, sliders... The dealers will usually just say thats not an option.

Which manufacturers sell direct to the public?

gbopp wrote:
Which manufacturers sell direct to the public?

Right. The reason dealerships exist is to contractually sell units so the manufacturer doesn't have to build out the whole sales process. Dealers also have an exponentially greater customer reach than a manufacturing plant. With the exception of very few I don't really know any manufacture direct sales unless they are high end or small custom shops. And now that Winne bought Newmar and Thor bought Tiffin, the few direct sales they entertained are probably a thing of the past. And I would ask the bigger question, what's the advantage of direct sales? You can special order anything from a dealer, get add-on's etc. And I think dealer direct charges additional fees. Also not sure what it would do to future warranty work. Are you forced to return to the manufacturer every time?

gbopp wrote:
Which manufacturers sell direct to the public?

Luxe RV, and New Horizons are 2 that come to mind, there MAY be another, but more than likely not.....

If the manufacturer starts selling directly, then he is competing with his own dealers, which are actually his 'sales force.' The dealers won't stand for this and will drop his line of RVs.

There are obviously pros and cons to buying direct vs dealerships. I bought our Nexus used {with just 6,205 miles} from a large dealership but was an eyelash away from buying the exact same coach factory direct from Nexus until I scored our used coach.

I had spent several weeks researching and negotiating the custom build but upon finding the exact same coach in "as new" condition for thousands less the decision was a no brainier.
Buying factory direct works best for experienced RV'ers. First time buyers won't have a clue what features to look for which negates the best single reason for buying from the manufacturer that being the ability to get your coach custom built/equipped for your specific needs.

In 2013 when we bought our 2012 Phantom 23P Nexus was still factory direct only. Buying new would have necessitated two trips from Tucson to the factory in Elkhart, the first to tour and evaluate their facility and confirm their ability to produce the quality product I was seeking. The second would have been to pick up the unit after completing a thorough PDI and test drive before returning to Arizona.

I had made a tentative offer of $63,000 for the custom build with the two trips to Elkhart adding 3 to $5K in additional costs. We bought our coach at La Mesa RV in Tucson for $47,000 {$50K OTD}.

Over the next few years Nexus began to create a limited dealer network and to the best of my knowledge continues to offer both purchase options. On a cross country trip I had the opportunity to visit their factory twice for modifications and minor repairs. We toured their factory and were nothing but impressed. We spent 4 nights with hookups on the factory grounds for free and were treated like royalty despite not having bought from Nexus and our coach being out of the original warranty.

After 9+ years and 69,000+ trouble free miles if I was in the market for another coach I would definitely put Nexus near the top of my short list of manufacturers to consider.

As always... Opinions and YMMV.

:C

You either mass produce a lot of RV's to support a dealership network or build a smaller quantity of higher quality RV's and sell direct. Without a dealer network you reach a much smaller customer base so your product needs to be worth it for the hassle and extra cost. When you mass produce enough RV's to support a nationwide network, quality suffers. Higher quality RV's take longer so volume is less. You usually can't have both. Very few dealers, like Nexus, straddle the line, but there is always compromise. Most notably - like Nexus - is a very limited dealer network. They are growing however so we can wait and see as if the volume to quality correlation plays out. But as others said, there aren't any dealers that will tolerate skipping the middle man to buy direct. They will drop that line and manufacturer's know it - thus the manufacturer effectively shooting himself in the foot.

Most of the small fiberglass trailers (Escape, Scamp, Casita, Oliver), are sold by the factory - No dealers. The exception is Bigfoot...

ford truck guy wrote:

gbopp wrote:
Which manufacturers sell direct to the public?

Luxe RV, and New Horizons are 2 that come to mind, there MAY be another, but more than likely not.....

Class C Motor homes - LayZdays

As posted - mfgrs that sell directly to the public don't have dealers!
(They ARE the dealer).

*If* you can find a listing of genuine MSRPs directly from the *mfgr* (rather than what the dealer *claims* is the MSRP), you can find dealers who will offer genuine -verifiable- discounts.

RV's are simply not sold by dealers the same way cars & trucks are.

Cars & trucks in descending order = MSRP (ignore it). Dealer Invoice =
close to what you may pay. The dealer is still making a profit via Dealer Hold Over (extra $ to the dealer) you can find the amounts.

Lastly - True *Dealer Cost* - which you will never know unless the dealer is your dad! (maybe not even then)- True Dealer Cost will include rebates paid directly to the dealer by the mfgr for sales volume, etc.

:W

Many many American Coach Buyers go to the factory and order and take delivery there but the sale and paperwork, deliver charge etc added and are done by your Dealer.
.
This was a few years ago. I imagine is still done. Newmar and some others also