Experience with internet purchases

We start looking for a new 5th wheel in january
After a few weeks and visiting this forum we start looking from online dealer
Their price seemed better.
Luckily i am traveling a lot and was going just 250 miles from the internet dealer
I went there and visited them.
I found out that they are really good at online selling but person to person was not as good.
I am not saying that they are bad but not as good.

but the most interesting is that when i went and visited the unit i found out that the unit offered were not the same quality as the local

When i asked the question about who will fix problem and service it they gave me the address of the local i was already shopping with. What i learned is that the local will do the service but in busy time you will be served last as they always prioritize their customer

What i also found out is that the local can get you the same deal but it take at least 5 to 6 visits for them to reach their bottom price.

Just bought the RV today and went local. I feel the price i got is even better than the online but who knows

Also just to mention that in a 50 miles radius we have more than 20 dealers

I purchased a truck camper from Apache Camping in Washington, had them ship it to Alaska. They beat the local guys by well over 5k for the same camper, had warranty work done by a local shop. Thing is there are a lot of private shops that are authorized to do the work outside of your normal RV sales locations.

Northwood MFG had no issues with me picking a repair place and them footing the bill, all they cared about was if I was happy with their work. May very depending on manufacturer.

petey, we purchased a new TT from Lakeshore RV back in 2004 (wow so unbelievable to me that it's been basically 10 years now). It was a new Cherokee that we purchased off an Ebay sale.

Everything went smoothly, the Cherokee was exactly as advertised. I arrived their early morning, after inspecting the unit we did the paperwork as their guy installed the WD system, etc. We then went back out and they ran me through TT from front to back to make sure I understood everything.

Overall it was a good experience...no bad issues or anything. The Cherokee was a great TT, really the one our 4 kids "grew up" in. We only sold it to go to a double slide model, etc.

Hope this helps...and to go futher, we've made a LOT of big purchases off the internet (2 travel trailers and several vehicles). I'm from NW Ohio and have made these purchases in SW Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Wisconsin, Virginia, and New Jersey. I go where the best deals are.

There are no right or wrong answers… these are decisions and tradeoffs we make all the time, and we live with the consequences both good or bad of those decisions……

Wayne made decisions that worked for him…he made them informed and aware of the possible tradeoffs…
I made different decisions but price compared like Wayne also, but never considered traveling to buy…
I had confidence in my dealer, and his price thought higher was almost the same on total and final cost, because his price was all inclusive and the others were not…

2 different customers, 2 different dealers, 2 different decisions, 2 happy customers, and 2 happy dealers… exactly how everything should work…

bid_time wrote:
You are looking at a good 5 days of your time, or more. Figure out what that 5 days plus gas is worth to you then go talk to your local dealer. There is probably no way he can match the price due to shipping cost differences alone, but at least give him the oppurtunity to save you 5 days of driving. And believe me, once you have committed to 5 days of driving and all the gas, food and other expense along the way, there is no way you back out of the deal no matter what you find at the PDI. Now what is it really worth to not have to go through that hassle?

In my case I gave the local dealer a chance. I went to them first, listened to their spiel, then showed them the website listing for a trailer that was a step up in package for less than what they were offering for the base model. They did not want to deal so what would you do in a case like that. We are talking a couple grand. I still saved money on the trailer that I wanted.

As for the time / effort / gas - if you make it a camping road trip then that issue disappears. In my case it was 2 days to get there (only I drive). The way back was chalked up to camping mini vacation.

I do agree with you that you are less inclined to back out of a deal once you drove all the way, but that is whyt it is imnportant to buy from a reputable dealer and have lots of documented evidence / correspondence before pulling the trigger.

flash82 wrote:
Along the lines with buying locally...what if I live and buy a unit on the east coast then a few months later get transferred to the midwest. So I get denied by the 'new' local dealer because I didn't buy there.

Actually you could be but chances are you wouldn’t…

But why try to muddy the water buy trying to compare two entirely different scenarios … you can what if all day long just to be argumentative…

Obviously if you moved there after buying, you didn’t thumb your noise at the dealer during the sales stage… you are not a member of the crowd even being discussed here… you would also be an equal potential new customer as are all other locals… very different…

You would however be closer to the traveler, and someone almost all dealers try to accommodate in hopes other dealers reciprocate for their customers….

It is what it is… some dealers will only work on units they have sold because they have sold enough of them to not need more service customers, while other may have the time and facilities to welcome anyone…

Along the lines with buying locally...what if I live and buy a unit on the east coast then a few months later get transferred to the midwest. So I get denied by the 'new' local dealer because I didn't buy there.

I found a collector car several years ago that looked real nice and I made a deal on it thru the internet and phone. Cut a cashiers check and went to pick it up 700 miles away. When I got there the owner opened the garage and there sat the car. The only problem was the pictures I had been sent were old pictures as the car had a fire under the hood since the pictures were taken. After some heated words I walked away and drove 700 miles home empty. The seller insisted it was only "a minor fire easily fixed".

You are looking at a good 5 days of your time, or more. Figure out what that 5 days plus gas is worth to you then go talk to your local dealer. There is probably no way he can match the price due to shipping cost differences alone, but at least give him the oppurtunity to save you 5 days of driving. And believe me, once you have committed to 5 days of driving and all the gas, food and other expense along the way, there is no way you back out of the deal no matter what you find at the PDI. Now what is it really worth to not have to go through that hassle?

wmoses wrote:
To speak to the OP's question - I did buy an RV over 800 miles away (Peco Campers in Atlanta) but with the understanding that I'd get my $500 deposit back if I was not satisfied and decided to kill the deal. The dealer only brings in one or two of my unit at a time and can shift it if didn't want it so they were able to be reasonable. I kept in close contact with the salesman all the while and got everything in writing (emails mainly) and when it arrived we drove there nd got excellent service that day. Everythng was in good order and we took delivery that day withot incident.

As for dealers only supporting owners who bought from them - I am about to go through that experience with Ron Hoover here in Houston. So far the guys ws very good and professional on the phone, even after asking if the RV was bought from them. I will be sure to give public positive feedback if they deserve it afterwards and will tell/show them that I did so. The same goes if they screw up.

IMO, they need to realise that they have to rise above their small-mindedness and focus on appreciating their customers - whether or not they bought from them. Word spreads especially in this day and age, and if they suck they should pay the price and be allowed to dry up and blow away. Trouble is that won't happen if people keep buying from them no matter what.

While this all makes sense from a logical point of view, the problem is the RV mfg.’s haven’t been looking or willing to change to a national warranty like autos have… that is what needs to happen first to be equitable…

To a local dealer, it’s a local reputation with those that support him that makes a difference to a local dealer…

Under the current conditions If he has five bays and 8 or 10 locally bought units and one bought from afar in being or waiting to be serviced…
those local buyers have every right to be angry if they have to wait longer for their unit because the foreign bought one is being serviced while they are told they have to wait their turn…

Some dealers get away with it because there is a good chance the others either don’t know how the warranty system works, or don’t know they are waiting for the foreign bought one to be finished before they get serviced…

Actually a local dealer can get a bad reputation from his real local supporters if the word spreads and it encourages other local buyers to buy somewhere else the next time, while he earns your respect… he also knows his chances are no better at securing you next purchase than it was the last time….

He will normally warranty service a traveler in hopes other dealers will reciprocate for his customers, and his customers allow for it in hopes other dealers will reciprocate to… but there is no guarantee of that…