Question about special orders

[ToddD]

Anyone here know how special orders work between dealers and the factory? Is it similar to the car industry where the factory gives a certain amount and scheduled allocations to the dealer, or is it first come, first served with new orders submitted to the factory?

Looking at ordering a new Jayco soon and wondering about timing of delivery for the season. I figure our perfect window to avoid start paying for the unit while we are not using it, while also leaving time for any inevitable warranty work, would be late March, early April delivery, not Feb which is what the dealer is saying an order put in now would result in.

[CabinetmakerII]

We ordered ours in February and should have taken delivery in April. Unfortunately, it was damaged in transit and had to go to the body shop. The dealership delivered it to us in May...

[Ralph_Cramden]

ToddD wrote:
Ordered through Fretz in Souderton. Tipping factor was the major coincidence that the owner of the dealership will be my next door neighbor at our seasonal campground. Totally random for that to have happened, but at least I know whose door to knock on when something is not going right with customer service.

Besides making sure price was competitive, using a local dealer with mostly positive reviews (nobody is perfect), and taking delivery in the "off season", I'm not sure what other odds I could have stacked...

Well you should have no problems with Fretz from a sales standpoint. I negotiated with them heavily in 2012 and ultimatly did not buy, yet the salesman I was dealing with still calls me every so often to this day, just to shoot the shitt. I know many people who purchased there and do not remember hearing anything bad.

And as far as stacking the deck in your favor, unfortunately all you can do is cross your fingers and keep stacking, even with a great dealer. The big RV manufacturers are very competent at unstacking decks (they wrote the book on it), and putting good dealers in bad positions when it comes to warranty service.

[ToddD]

Ordered through Fretz in Souderton. Tipping factor was the major coincidence that the owner of the dealership will be my next door neighbor at our seasonal campground. Totally random for that to have happened, but at least I know whose door to knock on when something is not going right with customer service.

Besides making sure price was competitive, using a local dealer with mostly positive reviews (nobody is perfect), and taking delivery in the "off season", I'm not sure what other odds I could have stacked...

[Ralph_Cramden]

ToddD wrote:
Yes, it's pretty obvious "things have changed" in the industry regarding QC, however I am not naive to assume an RV will have same build standard and controls as a passenger car or truck.

And on top of that, RVs, like boats, have a limited operational season, meaning that any warranty work will have a double whammy vs a car.

I'm stacking the odds in my favor by allowing ample time for repair corrections to happen before the use season starts, regardless of the current state of the industry.

You may not have enough room for stacking odds and ample time may not be what you think it is for a whole host of reasons.

1- Every dealer, at least around here in PA, and most I read about here and other boards, has a permanent techs wanted shingle out.

2- I know of two local dealers whose service departments are booked out two months in advance, if not three.

3- Once they do get your unit in for warranty service they have to submit what amounts to a book report with pictures to the manufacturer, the info needs reviewed and approved, then once approved the dealer needs to order any required parts if they are factory only items. Then those need to be obtained and shipped to the dealer. The manufacturers use just in time inventory so there is a good chance they do not have the parts on the shelf. They will not pull parts from inventory if it could affect new unit production. That process can take weeks or months.

4- Every dealer I know of is overloaded with warranty work due to the shoddy shitt being pushed out factory doors in this current RV boom, and their techs spend more time prepping new units or conducting PDI's and turnovers than they spend repairing ones already sold. They already have your money, the new sale is more important.

5- Although a lot of BS exists on this and other boards, the multitude of current posts about wait times for warranty repairs are mostly true. Just drive by any storage lot that a dealer uses to store units in for service. Most people who buy in an area where the camping season is limited have the same idea. Get it in during the off season. that just compounds the service department backups.

Seeing you are from Philly, please tell me you did not order your unit from the idiots at Campers Inn?

[ToddD]

Yes, it's pretty obvious "things have changed" in the industry regarding QC, however I am not naive to assume an RV will have same build standard and controls as a passenger car or truck.

And on top of that, RVs, like boats, have a limited operational season, meaning that any warranty work will have a double whammy vs a car.

I'm stacking the odds in my favor by allowing ample time for repair corrections to happen before the use season starts, regardless of the current state of the industry.

[ol_Bombero-JC]

ToddD wrote:
Anyone here know how special orders work between dealers and the factory? Is it similar to the car industry where the factory gives a certain amount and scheduled allocations to the dealer, or is it first come, first served with new orders submitted to the factory?

Looking at ordering a new Jayco soon and wondering about timing of delivery for the season. I figure our perfect window to avoid start paying for the unit while we are not using it, while also leaving time for any inevitable warranty work, would be late March, early April delivery, not Feb which is what the dealer is saying an order put in now would result in.

"......while also leaving time for any inevitable warranty work....."

Maybe things have changed..:?

My 2006 Jayco (with 2 yr warranty) didn't need *ANY* warranty work.

~

[ChuckV1]

We were told at the Kz factory in Indiana that they build 5th wheels 12 units at a time from start to finish of each model. If you special order a unit it was mixed into the model line that you choose, thus you had to wait till that model was run ...

One point I might make is that during the winter you have to remember they use rock salt an chemicals on the roads back east an if your trailer is delivered during winter it may have all kinds of cud under it. Thus if your dealer dozen't wash the bottom side of your unit well you may have problems down the road from the salt an chemicals that didn't get washed off ...

Safe Travels

[Ralph_Cramden]

laknox wrote:
I'd like to know if anyone had a set of specs that they wanted and, instead of ordering, simply sent a fax/email to every dealer around to see what they could find and how close to their "ideal" rig they actually came?

Lyle

I had a detailed set of specs as far as color scheme and offered options. My problem was when we wanted a Rockwood Roo 23WS which was a new floorplan at the time there were literally only 5 in existence at dealers across the entire US, at least what I could find, and I spent days searching.

I've since found dealers love to order them In low on the options scale such as no factory toppers, standard flooring, standard manual jack etc, then attempt to sell them for top dollar. I have since met 4 other people with the same units who paid way more for less, with one guy even paying the mythical suggested retail price of $30K+

[lawrosa]

laknox wrote:
I'd like to know if anyone had a set of specs that they wanted and, instead of ordering, simply sent a fax/email to every dealer around to see what they could find and how close to their "ideal" rig they actually came?

Lyle

Yes my specs was a coachmen 261bh with a full wall seperating the master.. They dont make such an animal because dealers have to order it that way and they dont.. There was one at a dealer in AZ out of the 250 or so around the US...

None local. They are not going to ship a unit to you. If I wanted that unit id be driving to AZ from NJ..

Another thing is no dealers in NJ would order that unit for me without a big right up in cost... I found a dealer in PA that was $2000 lower then anyone around. 4 hours away...

I have been doing all warranty work my self.

The somewhat compansated me for my time and issues..

When my bath flooded they sent me a $400 back up camera
When I had the short going to florida they reimbused me for the battery on my truck that blew up, ( acid all over the place) and for a new alternator.

For all the screw heads they missed on the roof partially... They reimbursed me for 2 tubes of lap sealant...


Ordering it I also got the colors the wife wanted.

Cream color seating etc.. The others were ugly black mocha and some green truffle thing..

Most dealers order the dark stuff ( Ugly IMO)


But thats it. not many options..

I got sink covers free of charge.
Plus I ordered a 2017 model but because I missed the build date I got a 2018 model. Was delivered march or so this year.

Only other options was 15k a/c and 30 lb propane tanks.( I dont have)

Dealer ordered matching bed comforter..

[laknox]

I'd like to know if anyone had a set of specs that they wanted and, instead of ordering, simply sent a fax/email to every dealer around to see what they could find and how close to their "ideal" rig they actually came?

Lyle

[Lwiddis]

“We didn’t want that because it would be setting in the snow all winter at the dealer while we are making payments on it.”

I cannot understand not wanting to make payments while not using the RV and having no other RV expenses.

[bluie5]

We ordered our Jayco 29.5 BHOK and could have had a December delivery date. We didn’t want that because it would be setting in the snow all winter at the dealer while we are making payments on it. We were told that the next production run would be in March 2018 with an April delivery so we opted for that.

[Arcamper]

We ordered our Montana in March of 15 and it was built mid April 15. I was told by the factory that they run these by model number so when they ran our model it would be built. I got regular updates from a lady at the Keystone factory that were a nice touch. Shipping was done by them and they do not step up the ship order on a special order unit so it sat for 6 days until it was my dealers turn to get a new unit. I was very happy with the entire experience and would do it again. Our unit has been very good and never back to the dealer once. A couple of minor issues like a ceiling fan blade loose and some back ladder screws loose I took care of myself.

[Ralph_Cramden]

The factory can tell the dealer when the order is officially placed the approximate time when the unit will be produced. Those production runs are scheduled far in advance with a large manufacturer such as Jayco who runs off hundreds of units a month if not thousands. A few weeks after the order is placed they will know the exact date of production.

The variable is usually shipping from the factory to dealer. There are three ways that works. The dealer will have Jayco do the shipping and Jayco will use one of the independent transport companies. Depending on the industry at the time, that can result in delays. The dealer can contract with a transport company and then have more control over it, or some even send their own personnel to pick up new rigs. Expect at least two weeks at a minimum for shipping from production.

Personally I will never order another, I will pick from dealer stock where I can compare different units of the same floor plan. When the ordered unit arrives it's your unit, take it or leave it. If it happens to be the lemon then your in a pickle.

We received a Rockwood in Dec of 15 that was ordered in late Oct. It took about 6 weeks from order to delivery. The unit was junk and had many build issues, some big ones such as misaligned slides, evidence of water damage incurred during shipping, etc. Ultimately we rejected that particular unit and after much discussion with dealership GM and the factory rep, another was ordered late in Feb of 16 and was built early in April. It was delivered late April of 2016, had the build quality we expected and was purchased the end of that month. That whole process took 6 months.

Make sure your deposit is 100% refundable and get it in writing, signed by dealership management, not the salesman. They'll most likely not want to provide that. If you push hard enough they will.

Another thing is those production schedules have been known to change especially when all the orders start to come in from the RV shows held in Jan/Feb. If I had concerns about being ready for spring I would order sooner rather than later, when the money started flowing out would not be a factor.

Good luck.