Online wholesale RV dealers - any experiences?

[pookiebear38]

We're shopping for a new trailer and just wanted to ask if anyone has had any experiences with an online dealer. I would prefer a local dealer but the prices I've been offered from the online dealers are several thousand dollars different. As far as I can see, the dealer has several lots as well as the online business. We've looked at both fifth wheels and travel trailers. Thanks in advance for any help!

[GoPackGo]

I just sent you a private message.

[pookiebear38]

I'm comparing 2 units. The first is a Keystone Hideout fifth wheel. The closest dealer to me is an hour away which is not much in the grand scheme of things. The price difference after everything is about $3500, and I'm counting travel expenses to pick the new unit up. The second unit is a travel trailer we just saw yesterday, but through initial price difference is about $6500 before any negotiations have been done with the local dealer who has a lot 5 minutes away. The price I got yesterday was from the RV show in Dallas. I do prefer local for all the reasons listed plus just staying close to home, but my pocketbook says otherwise.

[ford_truck_guy]

When I was scouting my recent purchase , I got all my numbers online and in person...
When it was time to buy , I reached out to the manufactures representative and told him what I did , and that I was ready to buy. He then contacted my local dealer and said I was in fact ready , and told him the price I was quoted online... They matched it , with some help from the manufacturer . . The dealers and manufacturers have room to work with one and other . .
After thinking about it , they beat the price , because the money I would have had to pay to drive 800 miles 1 way to get the unit was all saved..

[nma33]

True, I gave the local guy several chances, the 42% off I got was well worth it to me, I convinced my buddy to purchase locally because there price was within $1,000, If my were I would have jumped on buying locally, but that 20k is in my pocket! lol

[djousma]

So for me, buying local is worth *something*, including a bit higher price. All RV's especially brand-new have quality control issues that require dealer to fix. You will always get preferential treatment at the dealer you purchased from. Including going to the front of the line when others have to wait for repairs. Is there a local dealer near you that would take care of you? Or is the closest one hours away? For me the after-the-sale support is important.

Now, if you are saving a significant amount, then yea, you gotta shop with your wallet. You can sometimes use that as leverage with your local dealer too, to come down somewhere within range. The thing is too, that these large dealers know you wont be back, so making money doing volume sales is their thing. the smaller local shops who dont move as many units have to be able to cover their costs, and make some money too(just not all of it on my sale alone :)).

[nma33]

I saved close to 20k on my MH purchasing online, The dealer RV One was terrible, but the Manufacturer was great, took care of all the issues that came up, not many but one serious one, Had a leak on the main slide, but all is well now. The sales part was ok, the delivery and trying to get a modification done was a headache, but like I said Jayco stepped to the plate and took care of better then I would have expected. So my bottom line is I would buy online again to save 20k! Good luck on your search!