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Old 05-29-2015, 07:41 PM   #1
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Local one-location dealer or Camping World?

We are considering quotes for a Sunseeker 2400W and a Forester 2401W. I know the Forester has some minor upgrades over the Sunseeker, but otherwise they are the same unit

The Sunseeker is a dealer with one location. The Forester is at Camping World, who has locations nationwide.

Will I get better service at a Camping World store while I'm on the road because I bought from a different Camping World location? And/or are there other benefits?
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Old 05-29-2015, 08:16 PM   #2
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That's very difficult to say one way or the other without knowing more about the local dealer. If they have been in business for a long time, have a stellar reputation, well kept lot and bays, attention to detail (which is easy to tell when you do a walk-through and see how much you can find that needs attention OR how well it was prepped prior to showing), a wide range of services with on staff tech's, etc. you might get a more personal touch and quicker turn around. With the caveat that dealers are notorious for being your best friend until you drive off the lot. If it's practical, try doing a drive by for a few days in a row. Are the rigs in line for service turning over or is it the same rigs in the same place every day.

On the flip side.. Camping World. Service may be more standardized, but not as "invested" in individual customer satisfaction. They know that in most cases.. once the rig is "repaired" you're on your way down the road and you just became someone else's problem. It's easier to get "lost in the shuffle" and processing things like warranty repair authorization may take longer. However, you probably have more recourse with CW if you are not satisfied. Any parts you might need are probably more likely to be in-stock or within a stones throw away.

As far as being a national company... I wouldn't weigh it all "that" heavily. What are the odds that you will break down within 200 miles of the next CW?

I might just be jaded though. The few times I've needed a repair it's always 50 miles to the next little town with a population of 2000, 1 repair shop in town, everything closes at 5, and it's 5:15 on a Friday night.

Definite +'s and -'s either way. Visit both.. pay attention to their service bays and overall attitude of their employees.

Then... go with your gut! I would say though that the greatest priority would be in choosing the rig that best fits your needs/wants. After all.. you're not planning on camping in a service bay, right.
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Old 05-29-2015, 08:32 PM   #3
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Thanks Yarome,


The rigs are the same with a different label. I know both of these places and I am fine with local service with either.


The question was more about service on the road. Although your standardized service, parts availability and recourse comments are valuable things to consider.


If we break down on the road its likely mechanical, so we are headed to the nearest MB dealer. But in the event we are on an extended trip and need other service I want to know if having a Camping World around would be beneficial. Seems like it would, just not sure how much weight to put on it.
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Old 05-29-2015, 08:44 PM   #4
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But in the event we are on an extended trip and need other service I want to know if having a Camping World around would be beneficial. Seems like it would, just not sure how much weight to put on it.
Just looking at having service done on your coach while traveling, you would probably have much better luck at CW over a FR dealer. It's not uncommon for a dealer to refuse work on a rig that wasn't purchased from them.

If that helps.
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Old 05-30-2015, 11:54 AM   #5
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Informed buyer

You may want to check out www.RV.net/forum/index.cfm 'Dear Marcus Forum'.

Read the comments under the topic Camping World RV Sales.
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Old 05-30-2015, 12:30 PM   #6
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Most RV Dealers will try to work someone in that is on the road traveling, I know the dealer I work for will. However, if you don't buy from your local dealer then try to take it to them for repair, they aren't to eager to take care of you. RV Dealers aren't like car/truck dealers, they are independent and don't have to service what they don't sell.
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Old 05-30-2015, 12:53 PM   #7
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...don't have to service what they don't sell.
Right, that's why I am thinking Camping World may be better while on the road since I did buy it from them, just not that location.
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Old 05-30-2015, 01:02 PM   #8
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I had the rare good experience with camping world but keep in mind they add a lot of fees. Be prepared to negotiate on those or factor them into your price. Smaller dealers are usually quoting you with pdi and documentation included. Cw charges for those services so they can advertise lower prices.


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Old 05-30-2015, 01:02 PM   #9
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Camping World uses the idea that you can take your rig to any CW for warranty work as a big promotional sales pitch. What they can't guarantee is the quality of that work. This I have found out the hard way. Recommend the second year warranty from FR. Extended warranty is a crap shot. Read the very fine print and ask if they will use used or reconditioned parts versus new.
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Old 05-30-2015, 01:36 PM   #10
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Honestly, many dealership issues I see on these forums are related to camping world. Do a search in the dealer review section for both camping world and your local dealer to see if you get any hits. What is most important is service after the sale. Unless you are fulltiming I would want better local service. There are some good CW but they seem to be few and far between. My local CW took weeks to months for any repairs on our old TT. My local dealer is a member of rvwarranty forever program and provide awesome service.
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Old 05-30-2015, 01:50 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kcamper View Post
We are considering quotes for a Sunseeker 2400W and a Forester 2401W. I know the Forester has some minor upgrades over the Sunseeker, but otherwise they are the same unit
We just went through making the same decision and decided to go with our local Sunseeker dealer, Three Way Campers in Marietta, Georgia, over the local Camping World.

As you stated the units are virtually identical. The minor differences didn't matter to us especially since the DW wanted the Full Body Paint option. And I can add cedar to the closet!

There is no guarantee that you will be seen any sooner at CW if you bought your unit from another store...or even at your local store for that matter. Just like at any other big chain service levels may vary widely between locations. Read the reviews about CW's service and then decide.

Our local Sunseeker dealer is family owned and been around for a long time. We have bought travel trailers from them ranging from inexpensive small hybrids to expensive big trailers. We always received prompt service from them on any unit. Add in the majority of the local dealers staff, in all departments, has been their for years and that says a lot about a dealership. We went through three salesmen at our local CW during our research...

With our local dealership there was no pressure, no stupid pricing games, no give me a deposit today, no hidden fees, or other crap in the sales process. Our trade in was fairly priced, higher than I thought it would be, and the 2400W we ordered is with in ~$1,000 of the internet prices for a similar unit. Plus we ordered exactly what we wanted and there was no pressure to take one off the lot at another store.

I'm very happy with our decision to buy locally. Go with what you are most comfortable with...
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Old 05-30-2015, 01:57 PM   #12
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We bought our Sunseeker out of state thru rvdirect.com (AKA rvone.com. Had some warranty work done by a local Sunseeker dealer and some minor warranty work completed at a local Forest River dealer who sold only trailers. Also had to have warranty work completed on the Dometic air conditioner, I took it to a nearby Dometic service center. Again no problems from any of them. All work completed in about a week. Good luck.
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Old 05-30-2015, 03:35 PM   #13
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Dunno if this will help but when I bought my rig in NJ the dealer informed me that they were an independent dealer in the PRIORITY SERVICE group where EACH dealer agrees to provide priority service to another dealers customers as if they were his own. Including warranty repairs. If you have a problem on the road...you call your dealer who arranges service with them.

Didn't cost anything and there's a bunch of them so I think that is a pretty effective way for independents to compete with the CW pitch. Here's a link to the locations and you can follow others within the site to find out more.
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Old 05-30-2015, 03:48 PM   #14
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I agree with asquared. Buy from a local dealer. If you have issues on the road, your dealer or the manufacturer will help you out with an authorized dealer. I bought local and when I had issues on the road, my hometown local dealer and the manufacturer came to my rescue and fixed my rig in jiffy time. By the way, I have dealt with CW on many occasions, and have only good things to say about them.
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Old 05-30-2015, 04:12 PM   #15
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Bear in mind, FR warranty can be authorized repair by local mobil RV techs. Everything does not have to be big box dealerships.

These toys break and I am pretty sure if the jacks will not go up or slide is stuck OUT and you cannot drive it, you will not GIVE A HOOT as long as it is fixed!! Always nice to return home to your selling dealer, IF PRACTICAL!!

My selling dealer is 1500 miles round trip. Not going back! We bought at a show, had ours built to spec and had all minor issues corrected at last year's FR Rally in Goshen! You can find a way when needed! Frustrating, but there IS A way!

Like most FR products over competition. Only comparable for us was Thor. We stuck with a Cedar Creek, Silverback fifth wheel as it fit our floor plan needs for us retired folk 😉
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Old 05-30-2015, 05:27 PM   #16
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Camping World SALES, is a different animal from Camping World SERVICE. Sales will promise the moon, Service will make up the difference ((from the sale)). (I am a Good Sams Life Member so I know about the candy in front of the shop and bend over and grab your ankles in the back of the shop)
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Old 05-30-2015, 05:29 PM   #17
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Myself I'm not to sold on CW. I took rv to get a light replaced and a furnace fixed after 8 hrs. They finally got the light changed I went out to rv one of their so called technician had the panel and was pounding on the furnace when I asked him what he was doing he told it was probably a loose wire and he trying to get it to lite. Then tbey tried to charge me $318,00 for changing a light fixture. Needless to say it went downhill from. I already had the light fixture removed so all had to do is hook it up and put two screws in and replace the cover
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Old 05-30-2015, 07:35 PM   #18
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CW restated

I did not buy from CW; but we tried!
I believe CW suffers from fast growth.
As previous Good Sam Life Member stated; front end sales and service are worlds apart.
When you make acquisitions of existing family dealerships, you get the competent and incompetent. The latter may be relatives or long time employees with a sense of entitlement
( sound famiar ? )
I believe Marcus Lemonis has a good vision for growth and customer satisfaction. However, HE cannot be in all of these stores while running several major business lines.
The BAD NEWS is the economic growth has produced significant RV production increases, SERVICE demand has exceeded competent supply. I believe the building craftsmen are pushed past quality limits and therefore buyers suffer because of it! You cannot push a 90%
Unit and get 100% price point and EXPECT inadequately trained service personnel, supervised by stressed managers, to increase customer satisfaction. Car business tried it and failed miserably.
We, as buyers, need to not just whine, rather send letters to key FR execs on poor experiences. This puts the responsibility where it starts: ASSEMBLY LINE!
Without Willie G., Harley Davidson would have died long ago. He had the desire and foresight to FIX IT BEFORE IT LEFT THE FACTORY!!
We put a lot of hard earned $$$$ into our RV's and delivery of a problem free unit is not too much to ask.
Compliment those who help you at FR and COMPLAIN about shortcomings....
(Period).
I will be right in the forefront! Cedar Creek brown caps oxidize and fade. Mine did after less than 1 yr. YES, they stepped up, BUT, I am concerned it will cost ME if it happens "out of warranty" I want a 7 year guaranty so I do not have to shell out $2,000 at point of resale.
They will hear from me prior to the end of my FR warranty. I paid for QUALITY AND EXPECT IT TO LAST!
I would not consider a Cadillac if I envisioned the hood, roof, trunk lid to fade in a few years, WOULD YOU?!
In summary: production line and outsourcing QUAILTY!
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Old 06-01-2015, 08:59 AM   #19
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Beware of CW Added on Fees

We looked at CW at a trailer that was the upper end of our budget and advertised on their website at a certain price. We went there and really liked the trailer and the options on it. We went in to discuss price and there were all kinds of added on pricing including $3,000 in delivery fees which were explained as the fee for the manufacturer to deliver it to the dealer. I had already seen the paperwork in the trailer showing this at just over $1,000. We walked out and went directly to the locally owned dealership.

When we found one we liked with the local dealer I asked them how many fees on top of the quoted price - it was $0. The only added amounts were taxes and a very small fee to file your paperwork for the tag and title. Everything else was included in their stated price. With CW I felt like I was at a used car dealership and I decided I will never buy anything from them because of it.
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Old 06-01-2015, 09:17 AM   #20
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Yeah, it definitely is like a used car dealership. I just hate to throw a blanket over all of them because most are acquired and often the existing employees are kept, which could be good or bad. You can make the fees work for you as long as you negotiate your price assuming you will have 1k on top of it for fees. After my experience I would never encourage someone to purchase there, but if you are armed with knowledge and they have the unit you want...I wouldn't discourage it either. Everything else being equal I would choose a locally-owned dealership, but an informed consumer can make CW work with a little effort.

There are a few perks. The one year of free GoodSams is kind of nice even though you get the Coach Net. I do buy a lot of things at camping world so the discount is nice. My free year of TrailerLife is worth at least 2 bucks as well, lol.
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