How far would you travel for a deal?

[coolmom42]

IF you found a motorhome that was exactly, or very close to, what you want, at the right price, how far would you travel to look at it and/or buy it?

And how long do you keep on looking before compromising on your wish list?

I live in rural Middle TN, 50 miles west of Nashville. There are not many class B RVs for sale in this area, and none that are exactly what I want.

Now if I wanted a 5th wheel.... they are a dime a dozen, LOL.

[NCWriter]

bsinmich wrote:
When I just bought my Roadtrek I had to travel about a tenth of a mile. The seller lives in the same condo complex as me. You may not be that lucky.

Nope, not that lucky. We had to drive about five miles.

For all the people who write "Never see used B vans where I live," you may be surprised some day if you put the word out you're looking and keep your ear to the ground. We live in a very small town three hours away from any major city (Raleigh.)

After considering idea of a B for two years, we happened to comment on Bs to an RV service center guy near our house. He mentioned the brand name etc of one locally he'd heard was soon going to be for sale. We looked it up online and - lo & behold, found an ebay listing about to expire (all bids were below his minimum reserve) for that van in the next town over. Showed the owner's number, we called, drove it, snapped it up. The guy is well-established in the community, price was very fair, and we handled the whole purchase/transfer at the bank.

Best purchase we ever made.

[Neecies]

Like others, we did it.

2,563 miles each way is how far we went. The delta between the trade-in offer on my old B plus purchase price of the new one (also a B) in Ohio was $35K less than the best deal I could make in Washington state. And it was a great adventure.

A plus for the long distance buyer? Nobody can get you over a barrel. You can deal pretty hard when you're not face to face, and they can't make you come for anything less than a really solid, amazing deal.

[stan909]

I actually only drove 180 miles round trip to buy my current class b van. It was in Joshua Tree Ca. But really almost Twentynine Palms. My wife told me I could go look at it so I bought it. She was pretty mad for the first couple of days but it was a great price and if the seller hadn't been so lazy or less tech savy as to not post pictures it would have been gone long before I saw the listing. I say lazy though because he is in the car business in finance. My blessing. Wife loves it now.

[kendall69]

It's all about the math. After you figure travel expense, time, inconvenience factor etc. it either works or it doesn't.

Example: If a MY is 10 cheaper across Country and it costs 10K to get it then it's a wash.

Now for caveat. Lets say you live in Ca. and there is a deal in NY and it costs you the same amount to buy in NY as in CA. The advantage would be you buy in NY and get to travel back home and see the Country, and you ONLY have to drive across the Country ONCE - not twice ( back and forth )

Sorta what I did, I live in Ca., I purchased in Indiana, shipped all my camping gear to the hotel in Indiana, bought the RV and drove ONE WAY across the USA. So for me it saved me a week in drive time and many hundreds of dollars in fuel. So it was actually a WIN for me to buy across Country.

[stan909]

I think Europe to South Florida to Texas has everbody beat so far.

[Neverhappy]

South Florida to Texas to pick up a nice Roadtrek 190 class b (bought unseen from Europe ...glad I did)

[cjscotty]

We drove twice the distance, 170 miles, to Flagg RV in MA to buy our Winnebago Era 70X just bc we liked the dealer. Didn't get it yet as we ordered a different color. Have to say there were 3 other dealers closer, Flagg gave us the best price and even tho only one was going to match them, Flagg treated us the best. Let us drive several vehicles with no hassle, didn't even come with us, gave us food, etc. Drove a Travato, Pleasure Way FL, Winnebago View or Navion (forget) and Pleasure Way Pursuit. Felt very relaxed when trying to negotiate also. Also gave us a fantastic price on our trade. Very happy with them so far. If this changes will let you all know, as ours is on order. The 70X was not the one we thought we would get, but really liked the open feel inside and the seats, were more comfortable than a Road Trek we had sat in, or an Airstream. Loved being able to sit by the screen door in the second row leaning back, felt like heaven, the sun was shining in the big open door, and I was hooked. The only B we really liked better was the B Pleasure Way FL, which out of all we had driven on our quest for a new motorhome including a Road Trek at another dealer, had no rattles or sounds of any kind. But being $30-$40 lower, decided on the Era. When we get into retirement age, may go to the larger B+/C Winnebago View. They changed these for 2015 and put in larger windows over the camp side in the 24J and the 24V (24V had NO window previous) and they are so incredibly beautiful and open inside. I see no one right now making ones with larger windows and a more open feeling inside. Drove great too. But they were 10 to 20 grand more and we wanted to try B size. Kudos to Winnebago for their new designs for 2015. The floor plan also changed slightly in the 24J, love it.

[tatest]

If something hard to find, maybe 1500 miles, which covers most of the U.S. from my central location. In practice, usually less than 100 miles because I have relationships with dealers who will go find what I tell them I want. Farthest from home I've bought has been 900-1100 miles because that's where I was when I got back into the country and needed to buy the vehicle that would take me home.

For a B motorhome, the market puts me in St Louis (500 miles) or central Texas (not much closer). Most likely, I would go to Sportmobile and have the build me just what I want. That's Austin, about 600 miles.

If you are asking about how far I would travel to get a better price, I wouldn't. I don't price bicker. I tell my dealer what I want, what I expect to pay, and if I am realistic he can find it for me. That's his job, he's better at it than I am.

[coolmom42]

Arizona Kid wrote:
Lots of good well maintained Roadtrek here. Prices are usually negotiable.
Roadtrek International

Thanks for the tip! I appreciate it, am bookmarking the site.

[Arizona_Kid]

Yes I have!
Have you looked at the new units from Roadtrek?
Roadtrek trains all their dealers techs, they bring them to Canada for training.
Have you seen the new Etreks, and CS models from Roadtrek, they are only going to let factory trained people work on some of the systems. Just because you have never had a problem with service, that you think no one else has, is very narrow minded.
As the new Class B's continue to get high tech systems, dealer service will be more important than ever.
Ask Rt owners here, who have spent $150,000 and up, if they are going to be comfortable taking their Class B to a non factory trained shop.
It's great you have never had to wait months for service because a dealer was servicing his customers who purchased from him first. I hope this continues for you.
And they don't have to ask you where you bought your Class B, most dealers know who purchased a $100,000 B from them, plus it's all in the computer.

[Big_Katuna]

Arizona Kid;
Have you ever had a problem getting service on a unit?

I have had six RVs over the last 30 years and I have NEVER EVER been asked where I have bought the unit.

And you think RV techs are factory trained? Seriously?

[Arizona_Kid]

dspain1000 wrote:
I have traveled from Cocoa Beach, Florida to Baltimore, Md. Anoka, Minn., El Paso Texas, Columbus, Ohio , Atlanta, Ga. Detroit, Mich. to buy both new and used. Never really had a concern about warranty service as if it is under warranty the manufacture will get you service even if it is a local rv service that just sends the bill to them or you pay and get reimbursed. Our consideration is A. is it the specific vehicle I want and B is it the best deal on the vehicle I want. We always look at the distance as an opportunity to take a road trip.

Some things can only be fixed my a factor trained person, not just any local RV service place. There are people on here that have had to travel hours to the dealer they purchased from because they have a hard time getting, or can't get service from their local dealer. I won't name any names, they can speak up if they want.

[Arizona_Kid]

Big Katuna,
I was told by a dealer that if I didn't buy from them that I should expect a really long wait for service, and that's a fact jack, not an urban myth.
There are other people on this forum that have had a similar experience or worse. I doubt they are just saying that to promote the "urban myth"
I didn't say everyone would have this problem, but to check with their local dealer to see what to expect.
Just because you never had a problem doesn't mean the problem doesn't exsist.

[dspain1000]

I have traveled from Cocoa Beach, Florida to Baltimore, Md. Anoka, Minn., El Paso Texas, Columbus, Ohio , Atlanta, Ga. Detroit, Mich. to buy both new and used. Never really had a concern about warranty service as if it is under warranty the manufacture will get you service even if it is a local rv service that just sends the bill to them or you pay and get reimbursed. Our consideration is A. is it the specific vehicle I want and B is it the best deal on the vehicle I want. We always look at the distance as an opportunity to take a road trip.