Picking up from MH manufacturer

OhhWell wrote:

Effy wrote:

gswcgi wrote:
Effy:
The reason it costs more for a factory pick up is that most manufacturers do what most dealers can't or won't do and that is have the resources available to fix anything that is not right with the rig then and there. Knowledgeable and dedicated technicians are on site to quickly diagnose and fix any problem. They have the parts and know how to get it done , dealers rarely do. When I picked up my new rig at Monaco there were 15+ things that needed repair/replacement and all were taken care of in two days. Try finding a dealer who can do that, has the parts and more importantly has the know how. Most dealers sell you the unit and hope they will never see you again once you drive off the lot. My prior RV was an Allegro picked up at the dealer and the PDI was a nightmare. I had to call Mr. Tiffin to get the rig fixed, that took weeks of aggravation to resolve some serious manufacturing issue. The dealer couldn't come up with a pair of pliers.

So you pay extra money not to have to wait on warranty work which is free and/or by a better tech. I guess if that's your thing and your pockets are deep then so be it. I have a great dealer who gets stuff done fast. Maybe not in 2 days but fast and if it's warranty - free. I never have issues with their work. At the end of the day the concept is still a little absurd. You pay money for them to fix things that would be covered under warranty otherwise, or shouldn't have been an issue if PDI was actually done in the first place. I mean let's be real, it rolls off the line and has issues that you pay money to have fixed. I call that warranty work. PDI should be free. Any issues should be fixed for free despite proximity to the dealer. And a walkthrough should be free. These aren't nuclear subs, they are RV's. Sorry, I still don't get it. To each his own.

What jumps out at me is that someone is saving quite a few dollars on the transport cost and you still have to pay more to pick it up yourself? I don't know if that's the dealer or the plant. There is value in dealing with the factory but man.... that much of a charge to pick it up yourself just don't seem right.

The "factory" Technicians are NOT that knowledgeable about repairing RV's. Yes, they Can repair cabinet and build type issues, but as for Technical knowledge, very few have that training. GOOD dealerships have trained Technicians. Factory Techs are TRUE part changers, because they have the availability of just changing out parts rather than fixing the issue. YES, I make this statement because I AM a trained Technician with almost 35 years experience and have met scores of Monaco/Tiffin/Fleetwood/Newmar/Jayco Factory Techs at the Factory service centers. They are all pretty good at repairing Build Issues, but very poor on diagnostics of appliances and problems that take a trained tech to see and fix. I have repaired countless RV's that have been "repaired" at the factory and it goes to show, that factory does NOT mean better grade of competence. As I pointed out, some of you FAIL to see, there IS a cost to factory delivery. I find it funny that you state they come OFF the line and then you want to be there for the items that need repair. Do you NOT think that there should BE NO items that would require factory repair AT THE FACTORY? Especially if you are picking up at the factory. There are literally thousands of new motorhomes picked up each month thru out the USA and almost 100% delivered at a dealer. There are NO major problems for the majority of these deliveries. Newmar would have a Technician spend 2 days prioe to the customer delivery doing the PDI (that is what you paid the $1500 for) and fixing any items found BEFORE you walked in the unit and then he would give you the Walk Thru. So, almost 3 days spent on the Factory delivery and that is what you paid for. If your local dealer cannot have your new unit ready except for minor trim items that may be special ordered, maybe you should NOT be patronizing that dealer. The general rule of thumb is simple, If they have "goofballs" employed, then that shows the lack of professionalism of the dealership. Usually, having "goofballs" means THAT is why you got that great price that beat your local dealer. DO NOT pay for competent Staff and you can cut corners and cost. Doug