Trying to find a used TT - a rant!

Have you looked on Craigs list? I'm sure a place like FL should have tons

tomkaren13 wrote:
Just a question or maybe a vent. We are looking for another TT. Have only one dealer near our home. So I have been doing an online search. Can't seem to get the information we need with out filling in a questionnaire or doing an online chat. Seems like they want our info but will not give us any without our full history. So call the dealer and ask basic questions such as length and price. Why do we not get call back or why is the information not on the website?
(Not to much out there by private party)

There are SOOO many RV's for sale in Florida. And just as many dealerships and not that many miles from east to west! :W

I am looking for a TT for a friend and I use Craigslist. Just make sure to scroll down and click on a city near you to search in.

You will also see a tab for dearer and owner. Leave both of these open and you will get dealership ads run by the salesman. THEY do respond to your email from the listing on Craigslist.

It's a new world out there. Phone calls do NOT hack it anymore when doing business. It's all emails now if you want a response.

And actually I think it's better because the dialog is all recorded now in an email and can be referenced and printed out as proof when needed. And gives them a record to stay on top of things. Where a phone call is a he said she said and notes scribbled all over!

Good Luck finding your RV.
I am presently located in west n central Florida and there's quite few nice ones for sales at good prices.

Similar experience here. Still getting emails from one dealer that is a 2hr drive away and wouldn't give me the info I was after.

Bought private party off craigslist.

When we were searching for our fiver, I did some preliminary work on ebay and rvwholesalers, lakeview rv and other places that have lots of choices online. When I had narrowed it down to a few different ones that I liked, I then started checking the local dealers to see if they had one of my choices.

I found one of the models that I really liked at a local dealership about 1 1/2 hrs away. DH and I went by and looked at it, but didn't really like it as much as I had thought. As we were leaving, a two year old used model was being brought into the dealership by an individual that was downsizing. He gave us permission to look at it with his "stuff" in it and we LOVED the layout. We put down a deposit to hold it, went home and put ours on Craigslist. We sold ours within a week, went back to the dealership to do paperwork and have a fifth wheel hitch installed and we were fifth wheel owners. We have finished up two complete camping seasons (+100 days each year) and still love it.

We saved our money, looked at new and used units and when we got serious, starting hitting Craigslist for the area about 100 mile radius. We also purchased a tongue weight scale (Sherline) because we had a Yukon XL 1500 and we wanted to be within the limits. We found a really nice unit with a slide that the owner claimed to have towed with half ton, tongue weight was excessive for our tow vehicle, scale saved us from buying something we would not be able to tow safely.... We ended up finding a used travel trailer in the classified ads in the local paper. Very short ad, 26' Terry. A couple was schedule to look at it and was no show, owner called us and set up time, we bought it.

The new thing with those "live chats" are they are not live, but a computer.. That's why they don't give any info or answer direct questions., you can tell quickly after playing with them a while.. Some are real people however.

Gsragtop wrote:
The new thing with those "live chats" are they are not live, but a computer.. That's why they don't give any info or answer direct questions., you can tell quickly after playing with them a while.. Some are real people however.

Really, wow!
I'm impressed I had no idea A.I was that advanced, after all I only have a BS on Computer Engineer, most of my credits for an MS in CompSci and 30+ years of experience.

The "live chat" thing is pretty cool but it just boils down to the same BS. No answer to your questions. Just the old, "would you like to come in at 10 or 1 tomorrow to look at it?"

I bought a new truck a few months back and was just blown away at the lack of any genuine effort on a dealer's part to help me out before I was on their lot. The same lady emailed me 3 times to try to make an appointment without answering a very simple question I had asked. That alone kept me from going to that dealership. There's a good chance I would have bought a 40K truck from them and they couldn't be bothered.

So many businesses these days have transformed to service above all else. It's funny how auto dealerships are the last to give in. It's like when you are spraying the pile of dog******off the sidewalk and there's that last piece just stuck in place and won't budge :)

Go to the rv dealers to find the style / floorplan / length you like. Then find the one to buy on craigslist from a private party and save at least 50% if not more.

I don't give out any information to online questioners! I'm not parinoid, I just don't play that game.

OP - take the advice of otheres here and fire up Craigslist. Select the city your in. You are wasting your time filling out online forms or chating through a website. My advice for CL is look at ads by owner only, then look at dealer ads only. If you see an advertised TT that sparks your interest at a dealer, use the phone. Check out http://www.rvwholesalers.com/ as well