Hello Everyone,Someone on the forums mentioned RV Direct to me for purchasing a TT. When we got the quote last night, I nearly fainted dead away. LOL How many of you have purchased from them and did you have any trouble at all? ANY cons at all to purchasing a TT that way? Anything we should know ahead of time? Can you haggle on the price they quote you? (Although, I don't know why we would! The price is amazing!) It just seemed too good to be true. Will be awaiting your responses. Thanks!

When offered a price too good to be true, it probably isn't true. You don't mention what type of TT you were searching for, but remember there have been plenty of floods and other catastrophes across the USA.

I priced both RV Direct and RV Express, and they weren't much cheaper than the dealer we ended up deciding to go through for our new Jayco.Retail is $34,161, and (prices are plus tax, title, plate) one was just about $23,000 w/ pick up in New York, and the other about $23,500 w/ pick up in Indiana. Living in Mid-Michigan, NY would have been a trip. Indiana not as bad, but still about 4hrs away. We ended up paying $24k (plus tax, title, plate) which also includes a Reese Dual Cam 1500lb wd hitch (about $700/shipped from Etrailer!). And while the local dealer didn't want to make the sale we are traveling 1/2 the distance it would have been to Indiana.What brand are you looking at? With most, it seems you should be able to negotiate at least 25% off msrp, if not 30%. If you subtract the Reese DC system, we got about 32% off msrp.... And that was without much haggling. Makes me wonder if we could have done better price wise???? LolWhere are you located? So shop around at your local dealers within a couple hrs away.Good luck!!!

I bought a unit from them several years ago - was a good experience. I'd rather buy from a local dealer, but none of the locals would get their pencil sharp enough. I saved around $6K. Did the deal by phone and email, then went to pick up the unit. We spent a couple of days in the area to check out the unit and get initial problems resolved, which they did quickly.Warranty service during the next year was done by a local Keystone dealer - was NEVER a problem even though we didn't buy from them. In fact the dealer I wanted to buy from was the same place I got warranty service.They didn't negotiate very much except for upgrading a couple of items and throwing in a hotel room for the night before we picked the unit up.They put everything in writing before the sale as to what the unit includes (options, colors, etc.). Review this carefully to be SURE you are comparing apples to apples with the prices you are getting from other dealers.I would have bought from them again for my present camper, but they didn't carry the line I was interested in. In fact, they were my first call.I would buy from them again.

My experience with RV direct was excellent. I purchased from the Buffalo location and saved more than 5k on the purchase. Local and other state wide dealers would not come close to their price so for me it was a no brainer. Transaction was great, trailer was perfect. I would like to have bought local but 5k was way to much to look past. They also gave me 3k more for my HTT trade than the local dealer was willing who really low balled me. The trade was basically what I could have sold it for so it made no sense to sell it privately. The overall deal seemed to good to be true but was not. I would buy from them again.

We made a "long distance" purchase once from a similar discount dealer (Holman RV) and had no issues. We did contact RV Direct but Holman had a better deal. If I were ever to consider buying new again (doubtful) I would probably use a discount center again...it was just too big of a savings to ignore!

RV Direct - Too good to be true? | Good Sam Community

Campin__Nana
Explorer
Jul 27, 2015
spoon059 wrote:
Campin'_Nana wrote:
spoon059 wrote:
Lets stop derailing the thread for him... please and thank you.

Her..... :D

SORRY!!!:S I don't pay attention to names all that often!!!

LOL! That's ok. Just trying to make everyone laugh. :D
Lantley
Nomad
Jul 27, 2015
Back on topic you can save 1000's buying from an out of state dealer. The prices are great. There Maybe issues getting warranty service from local dealers.
If you encounter a problem with warranty service you may get approval to use non dealer or independent service shops.
Beware of the warranty service issue it is real. However the savings is real as well.
In the end I still recommend buying local however if the local dealer will not come close to Wholesale pricing I would take the drive for the savings fully aware that there could be warranty service issues. Savings vs. warranty service is a gamble I would take in the end.
I have purchased out of state and I have purchase local. Using the out of state pricing as a negotiating tool with the local guy is your best strategy.
spoon059
Explorer II
Jul 27, 2015
Campin'_Nana wrote:
spoon059 wrote:
Lets stop derailing the thread for him... please and thank you.

Her..... :D

SORRY!!!:S I don't pay attention to names all that often!!!
ol__yeller
Explorer II
Jul 26, 2015
Mountaineer42 wrote:
ol' yeller wrote:
What happens to all those folks who buy locally and then move to another state? Or what happens when you are travelling out of state & have a breakdown? Also how about a used RV that you buy from a private party and needs to be fixed? I think the opinion that dealers won't service anything they didn't sell is greatly exaggerated. I understand there is a difference in how a dealer is paid for warranty work vs service but any GOOD dealer would go ahead and fix the issue in hopes of gaining a future customer.

The issue here is WARRANTY work. The dealer gets a reduced rate from the manufacturer rather than the gouging rate they charge the guy off the street. They will service your rig but not for the warranty rate, unless you bought the rig from them. That makes your warranty pretty much useless.

I think I did acknowledge that there is a difference how the dealer is paid for warranty work vs service work. Dealers who use this practice will not earn my business either for warranty, service or purchasing a future unit. There are plenty of independent shops willing to take my or the manufacturer's money if repairs are needed.

As a second thought, I had a new TT that the local selling dealer was completely incompetent for any service. They also damaged my new TT 2 times backing it into stuff while it was being worked on. I guess one could say I didn't get a warranty either and I bought locally.
Campin__Nana
Explorer
Jul 26, 2015
spoon059 wrote:
Lets stop derailing the thread for him... please and thank you.

Her..... :D
spoon059
Explorer II
Jul 26, 2015
Mountaineer42, I apologize. I mistook mlts22's comments for yours. The basis of my point is still the same. I was originally replying to his completely false statement that you have NO WARRANTY. I've read your points, that is your experience, not the experience that TWO friends of mine have had after purchasing RV's online.

Again, a comment like "you MIGHT have trouble finding a local dealer to do warranty work" would be a truthful statement. Neither you nor mlts22 are saying that. You are both saying (or implying... same difference) that you get no warranty if you don't buy from a local dealer.

Not true. To prevent further derailment of this thread, if you wish to attack me personally and not further the topic at hand, please take it to PM. I believe the OP is still trying to figure out a solution. Lets stop derailing the thread for him... please and thank you.
4X4Dodger
Explorer II
Jul 26, 2015
Mountaineer42 wrote:
spoon059 wrote:
Mountaineer42 wrote:
My comments come from actual experience rather than your OPINION of the way things SHOULD BE.

So you had one experience that makes ALL warranty's invalid if bought at RV Direct? That's not an OPINION? Come on guy. I NEVER made any such claim! I responded to your thoughtless attack on mlts22 and provided a realworld example of what CAN happen.

I don't know why you had a problem... but 1% of RV owners having a problem does not affect the other 99%. I have never had warranty issues before. That's great but why then would you presume to be some sort of expert and dispute the experiences of others who HAVE had problems? I've had 2 friends buy Rockwood hybrids from RVWholesalers.com. Both of them had minor warranty issues that were handled by local dealers. Thank God they didn't know they had NO WARRANTY since they bought on line.

Your experience is yours. My experience is mine. Your comment was ridiculous. You could have simply said "My experience has been that I could not get warranty work done". That would have been virtually irrefutable and it would have been an honest statement. Instead you make a flat out false statement. My comment was "I tried every dealer for 150 miles around and every single time, the first question they asked was "Did you purchase out-of-state?" When I answered "Yes" they would flat-out tell me they didn't do work on rigs purchased out-of-state." So where is my ridiculous, flat out false statement?

Sorry you don't like me calling you out on it. No problem at all. I'm sure most people will be able to separate the nonsense from the reality and discard your rants. I have this thing in my brain... I can't sit idly by and watch someone spread complete WRONG information to someone trying to educate themselves. Maybe you need to go back and read WHO made the ridiculous flat out false statements! It was YOU who started calling mlts22 foolish and accused them of spreading FALSE information just because they mentioned that there could be warranty problems.

I agree with SPOON and think there is some other axe being ground here by some posters thus resulting in some very bad info being spread.

TO: MOUNTAINEER42 With due respect I think you should read Spoons text more carefully. He DID NOT call anyone foolish. He said and I quote: "This is foolish..." Meaning the idea or notion being discussed
was foolish. There is NO personal attack going on here. There is, "failure to read carefully" going on however..

All personal experience is by definition anecdotal when viewed in the larger context of all other same or similar experiences. In other words both experiences can be true on any given day. But that does not mean that there is a larger truth being expressed or proven.

Dealers are in business to make money. Warranty work is what keeps the wheels greased in the slow times. Additionally no dealer will remain a dealer long if they continue to violate the dealership agreement, which refusal to do warranty work is surely part of.

The ENTIRE point to having a dealership network is to be able to service customers from all parts of the country and gain market share.

The entire point of BEING a dealer in that network is to take financial advantage from the economic benefits of more sales, service and warranty work on any given popular line TTs or MH's by a larger group of customers than exist in your local area.
Mountaineer42
Explorer
Jul 26, 2015
spoon059 wrote:
Mountaineer42 wrote:
My comments come from actual experience rather than your OPINION of the way things SHOULD BE.

So you had one experience that makes ALL warranty's invalid if bought at RV Direct? That's not an OPINION? Come on guy. I NEVER made any such claim! I responded to your thoughtless attack on mlts22 and provided a realworld example of what CAN happen.

I don't know why you had a problem... but 1% of RV owners having a problem does not affect the other 99%. I have never had warranty issues before. That's great but why then would you presume to be some sort of expert and dispute the experiences of others who HAVE had problems? I've had 2 friends buy Rockwood hybrids from RVWholesalers.com. Both of them had minor warranty issues that were handled by local dealers. Thank God they didn't know they had NO WARRANTY since they bought on line.

Your experience is yours. My experience is mine. Your comment was ridiculous. You could have simply said "My experience has been that I could not get warranty work done". That would have been virtually irrefutable and it would have been an honest statement. Instead you make a flat out false statement. My comment was "I tried every dealer for 150 miles around and every single time, the first question they asked was "Did you purchase out-of-state?" When I answered "Yes" they would flat-out tell me they didn't do work on rigs purchased out-of-state." So where is my ridiculous, flat out false statement?

Sorry you don't like me calling you out on it. No problem at all. I'm sure most people will be able to separate the nonsense from the reality and discard your rants. I have this thing in my brain... I can't sit idly by and watch someone spread complete WRONG information to someone trying to educate themselves. Maybe you need to go back and read WHO made the ridiculous flat out false statements! It was YOU who started calling mlts22 foolish and accused them of spreading FALSE information just because they mentioned that there could be warranty problems.
spoon059
Explorer II
Jul 26, 2015
Mountaineer42 wrote:
My comments come from actual experience rather than your OPINION of the way things SHOULD BE.

So you had one experience that makes ALL warranty's invalid if bought at RV Direct? That's not an OPINION? Come on guy.

I don't know anything about you nor the warranty issues you wanted rectified. Perhaps you had a crappy attitude and the dealers didn't want to deal with you. Perhaps you had some problem that wasn't a warranty issue and they didn't want to deal with you. Perhaps your manufacturer just plain has a crappy support network.

I don't know why you had a problem... but 1% of RV owners having a problem does not affect the other 99%. I have never had warranty issues before. I've had 2 friends buy Rockwood hybrids from RVWholesalers.com. Both of them had minor warranty issues that were handled by local dealers. Thank God they didn't know they had NO WARRANTY since they bought on line.

Your experience is yours. My experience is mine. Your comment was ridiculous. You could have simply said "My experience has been that I could not get warranty work done". That would have been virtually irrefutable and it would have been an honest statement. Instead you make a flat out false statement.

Sorry you don't like me calling you out on it. I have this thing in my brain... I can't sit idly by and watch someone spread complete WRONG information to someone trying to educate themselves.
GoPackGo
Explorer
Jul 26, 2015
Mountaineer42 wrote:
ol' yeller wrote:
What happens to all those folks who buy locally and then move to another state? Or what happens when you are travelling out of state & have a breakdown? Also how about a used RV that you buy from a private party and needs to be fixed? I think the opinion that dealers won't service anything they didn't sell is greatly exaggerated. I understand there is a difference in how a dealer is paid for warranty work vs service but any GOOD dealer would go ahead and fix the issue in hopes of gaining a future customer.

The issue here is WARRANTY work. The dealer gets a reduced rate from the manufacturer rather than the gouging rate they charge the guy off the street. They will service your rig but not for the warranty rate, unless you bought the rig from them. That makes your warranty pretty much useless.

I appreciate the fact that has been your experience. Unfortunately we just do not know how prevalent this situation really is. Even if we asked everyone on RV.net we still would only have a small sample size.

I do understand this can be a scare tactic - and I'll bet many dealerships want us to believe it's the norm.

I can only state my experience. I bought from a large wholesaler located 1000 miles from my home (at that time) in Florida and have had warranty work done twice, once at a dealership near my (then) home and then once when I was on the road in the middle of the country. There was no out of pocket cost to me.