wholesaler price vs. local dealer price

I have never had a wholesaler beat the local dealer by a huge amount (never mind the free stuff my local dealer through in with the deal), and I just don’t believe these outrageous savings claimed by some… either these people are the worlds worst negotiators ever, or they are not comparing apples to apples, or they are deluding themselves in to believing this somehow by comparing purchase price from the wholesalers against the MSRP at the local dealer …

Your warranty is not like or even close to the same as the automotive warranty… you have a manufactures warranty with the mfg. not the dealer… the RV dealer is an independent business and has NO OBLIGATION to do warranty service on something they didn’t sell… none what so ever…

But hang this on the mfg. not the dealer they are the ones responsible for this… they could offer a nationwide warranty if they wanted to…

Most dealers will do it for the traveling public and hope others do the same for his customers in return… but he has no reason to go out of his way to service a local resident that thumbed his nose at his local dealer for to save money… chances are most of the things done under a new warranty the selling dealer was already paid to do in his PDI but failed to do…

Some of these low cost sellers require a nonrefundable deposit and payment in full when the RV leaves the mfg.… it is yours and hopefully all goes well but it doesn’t always… I don’t buy any big ticket item sight unseen… you can find horror stories about this in these forums…

Forest River says it best about your warranty and the local dealer…

Forest River Encourages You to Buy Locally

Forest River, Inc. strongly encourages our retail customers to purchase from their local dealership whenever possible due to the following factors:

Our Dealers are as a rule, independently owned and operated businesses. Outside of those customers they personally sold products to, they are not contractually obligated to perform warranty service on Forest River products that were purchased elsewhere. There may be an occasion that you would be required to return to the point of purchase to satisfy warranty requirements.

Although many dealerships will eventually service products not purchased at their place of business, they will usually take care of their customers and other Forest River customers who are traveling away from their local dealer as they would their own.

Local purchases allow a customer to establish a relationship with a dealer close to home. This relationship provides the customer with a convenient location for service and support from a "home town" professional.

They are ordering a new one for me...everything is same as larger dealer....just $1500 more.

Back in 2005 I got a price from RVW on a Rockwood I wanted to order, then told the local dealer I'd buy from him if he would match it. It was in February IIRC. He said he had to get a little more, about $500, and I said ok. He said come down and give him a down payment. When I got there, I watched his wife (small, family owned rv dealership) gripe him out for selling at such a low price! Pretty funny. But they typed it up and we had a deal.

Then a couple weeks later I decided I really didn't want the awning, so I called and he told me he would have FR delete that option and he would take that amount off the agreed price. Guess what, when the TT came in it was the original agreed price even without awning, and he would not budge. Guess he got the laugh on me, I was dumb enough to trust his word.

If I ever want another brand he sells, though, guess where I won't be buying. Scott's, Tulsa.

The local dealer most likely paid more for the trailer unless he has a special contract to take a certain number of trailers within a time period. The more you sell the cheaper you can buy them. Is the dealer doing the shipping or do you need to find a shipper. Also is there anything you are not getting in the 1500 less trailer. Is it being demo'd to you, will it have tv's, propane filled or a battery. I read once that the trailer someone got site unseen from far away was not as nice as the same model at the local dealer. For 5000 or more there is one answer for 1500 I would say there is another. Good luck.

All great responses! The trailer is a $22000 deal but I can get $1500 cheaper with shipping added from the "wholesaler"....I know that's technically not what they are. Of course I would rather buy local and probably will...I'm just curious to know if you as a buyer would ask the local dealer to match the price. In all honesty I think the local is fair with current price...just wondering if I would have a decent chance of saving more money or just leave it alone. Have any of you had a local dealer match the price of a large "wholesaler"?.

I bought our last 2 TT's from "wholesalers" and have been completely happy with them. Both have had warranty work with no problems. I saved a combined $17,000 over the local dealers best offers. If our local dealers had come within $1,500 of the wholesalers we would have bought local in a heartbeat.

I bought my TT in NC when we lived there. Moved to Florida and have found an authorized repair facility about 1 mile from my house here in Ocala, Fl.

I bought from a wholesaler last year (www.wholesalervclub.com) and had an awesome experience. I got a great deal and it was a smooth transaction. As far as warranty work, I can fix things better than the dealer can. I bought my last camper from Camping World. I was afraid to drop my camper off there because they would always make the problem worse or screw something else up in the process. There are other authorized dealers to do warranty work on your camper.

RV Wholesalers state on their site that they have repair facilities available. What do you do if you're traveling 500-1000 miles form your dealer and need work? How many people buy from a dealer in another town? I bought from a dealer 300 miles from my house. I get authorized work done at a local RV repair shop. What do full timers do? 99% of trailers are sold with a one year warranty. Chances of major warranty work being done in the 1st year is slim. Yes you hear about it, but of the 1000's of TT/5'ers sold how many are repeatedly going back to the shop? I'd take my chances. We've had 3 trailers bought new and only 2 needed any warranty work. One was cosmetic for a dinning table and the other was a small water leak in a Pex fitting. After the 1st year is up you have a unit you paid $1000's more for and no warranty.

Here's what I don't understand. How is the RV business any different then the car/truck business ?

I have a warranty on my truck that's good at any Ford dealer. They must honor the factory warranty. I've never had any problems getting service on any vehicle that I've bought at one place but needed service at a different location (warranty or otherwise). What happens when people move ? You don't just lose warranty coverage because you move from Florida to Idaho.

I am fulltiming. I have a new Ford truck and a new 5th wheel. It does not matter where I bought either because I may never ever be back to the original dealers where I bought them. But I do expect both manufacturers to honor their respective warranties wherever I am. And I'm not naive. I fully understand that I may not be first in line, but they better not try and charge me for a warranty repair.