Travel 1,700 miles to save $8k?

[deciccocpa]

We live in Florida and bought our last 2 campers in Buffalo, NY, saved $10,000 on the first and $13,000 on the second. Warranty service has never been a problem because dealers get paid by the factories. RV dealers know warranties only last one or two years while RVs need service work for a lifetime.

Research color schemes and options then buy where it makes the most sense for you. We planned a road trip around our RV purchase and that made buying an RV that much more exciting.

[azccj]

Last June I traveled from the Phoenix area to Michigan to purchase my 2019 Palomini. Saved over $3,000 and got to order the trailer with all the options I wanted. I wasn't to concerned with having warranty work done, as I like to fix my own stuff. This is my first TT and when it's time to upgrade I will happily travel out of state to get a better deal than I can get local.

[dagwood18]

I have traveled over 700 miles twice to buy a Toyhauler. Went to a couple local dealers to see if they would come close to the price of the out of state dealer and had no luck. The local dealers also refused to do warranty work. Saved between $6000-$8000 by traveling. I tried to stay local, but price difference forced me to travel.

[Bdlnky]

Yes we did this. When our local rv dealership in north western Kentucky gave us pricing, i knew we could beat it. I looked online and found colerain rv in Cincinnati (about 4 hrs away) they beat the out the door pricing by closer to $10,000 so it was a no-brainer. Im NOT worried about the “convenience” of taken it to the local dealership for service. (It will rarely break down in your driveway). Your probably going to be out on the road somewhere away from your dealership anyway. If your handy at all, you can fix small items that get much attention here on this forum. I do prefer to “buy local” when it’s reasonable, however, not to the point of being gouged. We did have to make 2 trips (purchase and PDI/pickup a week later) but overall it was a great experience that i do not regret....very happy

[deciccocpa]

MSRP on the unit I bought was $146,000 and I paid $97,000. That's 1/3 off retail.

I went online to find my best deal, then asked my local dealer to match it. Dealers near my home refused to go below $110,000.

I bought my RV through RV Direct a/k/a RV one. They operate several local dealerships such as Buffalo RV, Tampa RV, etc, etc. I went to Buffalo because they didn't have their Tampa location at the time.

I had no problem getting warranty service because dealers are paid by the factory. I told local dealers I bought my unit while traveling (which technically I did).

You local dealer may come close enough that you'll decide not to travel.

Start your price shopping on E-bay to get a better idea of what's available.

[t.simpson]

Originally Posted by deciccocpa

We live in Florida and bought our last 2 campers in Buffalo, NY, saved $10,000 on the first and $13,000 on the second. Warranty service has never been a problem because dealers get paid by the factories. RV dealers know warranties only last one or two years while RVs need service work for a lifetime.

We live near Buffalo and have traveled out of state to buy both of our trailers! We went to Montgomery, AL to purchase our latest. Why is it the best deal is never in your own back yard?

[jcwest]

Originally Posted by tomkatb

Need a good pdi. Make sure the rv has upgraded tires!

Prepare to spend a night nearby in a motel, just in case.

For 8k it will be a fun vacation going home. Have fun. We seldom travel over 300 miles a day.

Money fix’s everything. I’d do it in a heartbeat.

We have rv discounters and Couches rv here near Dayton Ohio. Coming here?

What he said. I live in central Mississippi and traded my 2011 Rockwood Windjammer 2102 for a 2018 Rockwood Mini Lite 2503S at Wana RV in Shipshewanna, IN not far from the factories. They have a good website (wanarv.com) and will answer questions on the phone or by email. I saved over $11,000.00 off MSRP and got a very fair trade in price for my Windjammer.

[quicky06]

I bought mine from Wanna. 500 miles. Saved $7k over the local” super duper unbeatable show special” . 6.5 hours each way. Drove up there after dinner on Easter and stayed in the hotel across the street. Did the pdi first thing in the morning and drove home. No issues.

Local dealer was pissed when he called to offer a better deal and I told him he took too long. Has been pissy for 2 years. Have to walk past him if I need a part.

Now I fixed the majority of things on my own. Just little crap. But I made a punch list with the bigger issues and took it back up and left it with them for 6 weeks as we had a trip planned in the area anyway. They fixed it in 3 days. Were the local dealer had a 2 month estimate before they found out I didn’t buy it there.

Funny story it took 30 hours to get there and back to drop it off with them. Hit the thickest fog in Indianapolis. Was doing 30mph on the highway with the semis. The it
Turned to freezing fog and snow pulling a 32 ft trailer and a dog for company. The trip there was
Actually not stressful. Drive for two hours. Find a truck stop. Nap for an hour in the trailer then repeat. Slept in. Wanna s parking lot for 4 hours then headed home. Was doing ok for most of the trip but had to sleep in the truck on my one stop on the way back. My dog was done with car rides for a couple weeks after that.

[TheWolfPaq82]

Wonder if they decided what to do. Been a couple weeks now.

[layjzay]

Drove a total of 2717 miles in ten days. $10000 savings at Couch's rv compaired to prices in LA, Loaded the truck up with all our camping supplies and made a vacation out of it. Spent a few days at Cedar Point and fishing on lake Erie. Great time and savings more than paid for the travel..

[garybeau]

I have done it twice. We bought a new rockwood mini lite 2.5 years ago from RV Wholesalers in Ohio. They have a nationwide dealer network that will take care of any warranty problems that you have since many of the local dealers won't touch your trailer if you did not buy from them. I used their network at the very end of my warranty to fix an electrical problem and they took care of everything. My wife and I just returned from RVW with our 2nd trailer that we bought from them as we upgraded to a Rockwood ultra lite. We went from Peoria Az and drove about 2000 miles each way. Saved almost $10k on this one minus the $2000 the trip cost so we are still ahead $8000.
Would do it again in a heartbeat.