Hope I can word this where it makes sense,If two dearlers sell the same brand 5th wheels(Forest River, etc) but both don’t carry same models and the one who does carry one you’re interested in isn’t close or is someone who has a bad reputation,can the other dealer get the 5th wheel from him for you? I know car dealers do this but they generally carry all models of say, Fords.

We asked the dealer where we bought our 5th wheel earlier this spring this very question. We were interested in the Forest River Flagstaff. The dealer who we trust and where we bought our first camper, sells Forest River Salem Hemispheres. He isn't allowed to sell the Flagstaff models. I don't know if that's the norm but that's what he told me.

I think it would be a safe bet that what you are asking would never happen in the RV industry. :(I imagine it could happen with someone like Camping World or other dealers with more than one location - maybe ?

Rv sales is no where like auto sales. Dealer trades is definitely not the norm. Will they? Maybe, but if they do expect to pay for the exchange.

Chains that have several store locations that each sell the exact same specific brands MIGHT trade among themselves. But independent dealers highly unlikely. Even auto dealers do not do it unless it in some way benefits both dealers.

Most dealers will sell online so you may be able to buy from the far dealer and then go to the close dealer for any warranty work. The manufacturer reimburses the dealer for warranty work. You would need to check with the manufacturer and dealers to see if that arrangement would work.

RV dealers & buying question | Good Sam Community

ol_Bombero-JC
Explorer
Jun 01, 2018
Mich F wrote:
I think it would be a safe bet that what you are asking would never happen in the RV industry. :(

I imagine it could happen with someone like Camping World or other dealers with more than one location - maybe ?

Simple answer = NO. (Never happen)

With the obvious exception as stated above (multiple locations for the same dealer).

OP: For best price - order the RV. "Shop" whatever you want to dealers all over the country, near and far. Always the *exact* same floor plan, options.

Find the best deal. Then re-contact dealers close to you to see if they will meet, beat, or come close to your best (benchmark) price.

Then you decide - travel(how far) for best deal.

If you are *only* willing to purchase something in a dealer's inventory, you are in competition with *ALL* of his potential "clientele" - no matter where you -or the dealer- are located.

Still "shop" it near and far, but be ready to "negotiate" - as well as sign on the dotted line "instantly", with deposit, etc. (Doesn't sound good, huh?)

However, if you are willing to *order* an RV - you are miles (and lots of dollars) ahead......and can nail down the best deal.

Simply stated, you are *not* in competition with other buyers!

Good luck.

:)
RobWNY
Explorer
May 31, 2018
bikendan wrote:
RobWNY wrote:

This is exactly what happened with us as I mentioned in the previous post. Wanted a FR Flagstaff, Bought a FR Salem Hemisphere. 5 ft. bigger and a different color but other than that, it has all of the same interior and exterior items.

The Rockwood line is the twin brand of Flagstaff.
Wildwood is the twin brand of Salem.

Potato Potahto. My point was that you can get a different RV that is very similar without sacrificing what you really value in the one you wanted in the first place..
bikendan
Explorer
May 31, 2018
RobWNY wrote:

This is exactly what happened with us as I mentioned in the previous post. Wanted a FR Flagstaff, Bought a FR Salem Hemisphere. 5 ft. bigger and a different color but other than that, it has all of the same interior and exterior items.

The Rockwood line is the twin brand of Flagstaff.
Wildwood is the twin brand of Salem.
RobWNY
Explorer
May 31, 2018
nickthehunter wrote:
Tell your dealer the model you are interested in at the other dealer. He probably has a line that is the same with a different "name" on the side (both FR products). That is how FR dealers get around the "territory" issue. The differences between the two competing lines will be negligible; essentially the differences will just be the color of the lipstick.

This is exactly what happened with us as I mentioned in the previous post. Wanted a FR Flagstaff, Bought a FR Salem Hemisphere. 5 ft. bigger and a different color but other than that, it has all of the same interior and exterior items.
ScottG
Nomad
May 30, 2018
Essentially, no.
Unless your local dealer has something to trade, the far off dealer with your rig still has to make a profit on that RV. He can't just sell it to the other guy for cost - there's no money in that.
Mortimer_Brewst
Explorer II
May 30, 2018
When we bought our Coachmen Chaparral, which is a Forest River product, we were told that we could take it to any Forest River dealer for warranty work. We had asked since our dealer is about 4 hours away. If you have the time and are willing to do some driving, you can a lot of $.
Lwiddis
Explorer II
May 30, 2018
They could but our local Chevy dealer for instance doesn’t.
nickthehunter
Nomad II
May 30, 2018
Tell your dealer the model you are interested in at the other dealer. He probably has a line that is the same with a different "name" on the side (both FR products). That is how FR dealers get around the "territory" issue. The differences between the two competing lines will be negligible; essentially the differences will just be the color of the lipstick.
WTP-GC
Explorer
May 30, 2018
Large dealers with different locations (CW, General RV, etc.) will more than likely do this. When we recently bought our new rig from General RV, they offered us this option. Even said that if we went to look at it at one of their other locations, they would arrange to have it transported to the location of our choice.
Toolguy5
Explorer III
May 30, 2018
the bear II wrote:
Most dealers will sell online so you may be able to buy from the far dealer and then go to the close dealer for any warranty work. The manufacturer reimburses the dealer for warranty work. You would need to check with the manufacturer and dealers to see if that arrangement would work.

That is what I thought. But I asked a dealer near me that handles Keystone models but did not sell the line I was interested in. They said the would not work on it under warranty. Said MFG were very difficult when warranty was involved.
Afte the warranty was up they said no issues.