If you're happy and you know it- your MD area dealer

[pearlbalt]

I'm beginning to lean more in the direction of a new RV purchase and the more I read on the forum, the more I realize that the quality of dealer service has a lot to do with how happy I will be with our purchase. The four local RV dealerships are Beckley's, Chesaco, Bay RV and Leo's. There are some in the York, Pa area and I would be willing to range further afield if I hear good things. Thus far, the people at Bay RV have been very responsive to my online queries. Any lowdown on their service/sales? Who should I avoid or better yet, who will make me happy?

[blsst16]

We bought ours at keystone rv in Chambersburg PA. I was not impressed with Beckley's. No experience with the others.

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[raceman005]

Bay rv gave my buddy the run around over tv, he called them they put him on hold, he could hear them talking about him,
I purchased mine from keystone rv in greencastle pa sales team was great. Service department sucks they dented sheet metal on my camper( haven't Seen my camper since November 9). Eventually had to get the general manager involved.....still waiting

[Shinny]

The RV show is coming next month to the MD State Fair Grounds in Timonium. There will be representatives from the dealers you mentioned, plus others. My two cents is go to the show, find a model you like and start talking there. I mentioned in your Muddled thread that I've had good and bad dealings with some dealers on your list. I think it will come down to how you feel about the dealer/salesman etc. We have friends that bought from Beckleys and were very happy, but they want to go to a wholesaler for their next purchase.

What ever you choose, I hope you are happy and have a great experience. Both in your purchase and camping

[ependydad]

BerksMont Camping Center in Pottstown, PA gave me a great price but were zeros when it came to service.

[pearlbalt]

It seems sad that while so many people were happy with sales pricing on their purchase, I have yet to hear of a single instance of people singing the praises of post-purchase service. I've been checking out the Better Business Bureau listings for RV centers and I've already checked one local dealer off the list due to the number and nature of complaints against them. I realize that the best trailers are those that never require the purchaser to see the dealer other than routine maintenance, but is there anyone at all who has good things to say about a service department once the deal has been done? The deep discouraged sigh you hear is mine to be followed shortly by the sound of my brain exploding from overload of too many choices based on insufficient information.

[Shinny]

Originally Posted by pearlbalt

It seems sad that while so many people were happy with sales pricing on their purchase, I have yet to hear of a single instance of people singing the praises of post-purchase service. I've been checking out the Better Business Bureau listings for RV centers and I've already checked one local dealer off the list due to the number and nature of complaints against them. I realize that the best trailers are those that never require the purchaser to see the dealer other than routine maintenance, but is there anyone at all who has good things to say about a service department once the deal has been done? The deep discouraged sigh you hear is mine to be followed shortly by the sound of my brain exploding from overload of too many choices based on insufficient information.

As I posted in your last thread, My experience with Chesaco for a Dometic Refrigerator recall was great on my previous TT. They took it in, fixed it and called me a couple hours later to come get it. I've had mixed dealings with their parts dept. I've been lucky enough to not need a service dept after my purchase in June 2014 of the camper in my signature. I bought it from Jeff Couch's in Ohio. I figured I would cross the service dept bridge when it was needed. I'm pretty handy and can work on it myself when my warranty expires. If I can't, I'll call around and get it in where I can. I too have read the horror stories, but didn't let them discourage my purchase as most posts on the interwebs are not positive, just people looking to fix their problems.

[ependydad]

Jim Donney's service center doesn't sell camper's, but I did have a good experience with them handling a Dometic toilet issue under Dometic's warranty.

[pearlbalt]

True that, Shinny! Unfortunately, people rarely post about positive experiences. Still, when you see a history of complaints against a business, with the same name popping up over and over in a negative context, I think that one would be wise to take that into account. As a firm believer in Murphy's law, I tend to worry and want the reassurance of working with a dealer who has the reputation of standing behind the product he/she sells. I don't want to be wasting time waiting for repairs because the dealership doesn't give a darn beyond making the sale. I have also heard that if you seek warranty service from a dealer who didn't make the initial sale, you go to the end of the line. That's another reason why I'm looking to buy local.

[pearlbalt]

Originally Posted by ependydad

Jim Donney's service center doesn't sell camper's, but I did have a good experience with them handling a Dometic toilet issue under Dometic's warranty.

I've heard some excellent things from friends about Charlie's RV and Camping Center in Randallstown. In fact, Keith spent well over an hour with my husband and myself, just talking Rv's and giving us the benefit of his advice on what we could tow and what we ought to look for. Unfortunately, they no longer sell, they just service rv's otherwise we would have purchased from him.

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by pearlbalt

I've heard some excellent things from friends about Charlie's RV and Camping Center in Randallstown. In fact, Keith spent well over an hour with my husband and myself, just talking Rv's and giving us the benefit of his advice on what we could tow and what we ought to look for. Unfortunately, they no longer sell, they just service rv's otherwise we would have purchased from him.

That's good to hear. I'll keep them in mind as I need service again.

[Shinny]

Originally Posted by pearlbalt

True that, Shinny! Unfortunately, people rarely post about positive experiences. Still, when you see a history of complaints against a business, with the same name popping up over and over in a negative context, I think that one would be wise to take that into account. As a firm believer in Murphy's law, I tend to worry and want the reassurance of working with a dealer who has the reputation of standing behind the product he/she sells. I don't want to be wasting time waiting for repairs because the dealership doesn't give a darn beyond making the sale. I have also heard that if you seek warranty service from a dealer who didn't make the initial sale, you go to the end of the line. That's another reason why I'm looking to buy local.

I don't blame you and I agree about the BBB complaints. That would make me go elsewhere too. I meant the negative posts for quality and problems people have with their camper. I was worried but relied on my PDI. The way I looked at it was this: If there were a ton of problems with my camper on the PDI, I would walk away if they wouldn't fix them right then and there. I was very satisfied and had a small issue that took 5 minutes to fix. They knew ahead of time that I was driving 10 hours to get there and return home so they really looked things over.
Don't fret it, it will happen and you'll know when it's right. Trust your instinct(s).

[Shinny]

Originally Posted by pearlbalt

I've heard some excellent things from friends about Charlie's RV and Camping Center in Randallstown. In fact, Keith spent well over an hour with my husband and myself, just talking Rv's and giving us the benefit of his advice on what we could tow and what we ought to look for. Unfortunately, they no longer sell, they just service rv's otherwise we would have purchased from him.

Charlie's inspected my TT when I bought it used. They were terrific to deal with.

Sorry for two posts, I tried to multi-quote, oops

[blsst16]

I should have mentioned it in my first post, but I have had good experiences with Keystone RVs service as well. I've had my hybrid camper in there 3 times for minor issues and they seemed to go out of their way to take care of the issues. One problem with RV service though is that it seems to take forever to get parts. It's not like the car mechanics who can get pretty much any part delivered in a day.

[brewjaz]

I do NOT recommend Camping World of Hanover, PA. They were great until I signed the papers. The "niceties" stopped there. The guy that closed the deal was downright RUDE after I declined their extended service plan! When I got home I realized they forgot to give me the papers for my electric brakes. I called the manager the beginning of October asking for the instructions/warranty for them. He said he'd look for them and e-mail them (???) to me. I haven't received anything yet.

Nope--I don't recommend Camping World of Hanover, PA.

[Skeetz]

We attended a few RV shows before we purchased from Triangle in Frederick, MD. They are a Chesaco dealer. Purchase went well except delivery day took all day! Our salesman helped with a couple of after sale issues such as getting a television adapter and a missing manual. Happy Traveler in Gambrills is closer to home so we go there for service, repairs, and supply purchases. Our first attempt at service and warranty work was a rough experience. But it was a learning experience and after a letter of complaint to the company president things went better. We learned that they are a small shop and not to expect the same service you get from an auto dealer. We now order parts in advance when needed and make an appointment to have them perform the work while we wait or leave the trailer overnight and pick up the next day. So far this is working well for us. I would purchase from this company again.

[wensguy]

We bought a Montana 5er in 2013.. Have never had any problems with service. If you go see Shawn Goddard. He's a great guy.

[dustman_stx]

Originally Posted by pearlbalt

It seems sad that while so many people were happy with sales pricing on their purchase, I have yet to hear of a single instance of people singing the praises of post-purchase service. I've been checking out the Better Business Bureau listings for RV centers and I've already checked one local dealer off the list due to the number and nature of complaints against them. I realize that the best trailers are those that never require the purchaser to see the dealer other than routine maintenance, but is there anyone at all who has good things to say about a service department once the deal has been done? The deep discouraged sigh you hear is mine to be followed shortly by the sound of my brain exploding from overload of too many choices based on insufficient information.

We've been VERY happy with RVWholesalers. We always get a great price and great service. I was very apprehensive about buying 1000 miles away, but, man, am I glad I did now. I would have paid thousands more for crappy service buying local. I browsed through the BBB entries for RVWholesalers one day out of curiosity. About the only complaints I found were people complaining about not being able to get a deposit back. WHAT DO YOU THINK A DEPOSIT IS FOR????? Some people amaze me. With that being said, I HIGHLY recommend RVW and suggest you check them out. The owner, David Durnell, frequents the forums and makes it a point to make sure everyone is taken care of and happy with their purchase.

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by dustman_stx

We've been VERY happy with RVWholesalers. We always get a great price and great service. I was very apprehensive about buying 1000 miles away, but, man, am I glad I did now. I would have paid thousands more for crappy service buying local. I browsed through the BBB entries for RVWholesalers one day out of curiosity. About the only complaints I found were people complaining about not being able to get a deposit back. WHAT DO YOU THINK A DEPOSIT IS FOR????? Some people amaze me. With that being said, I HIGHLY recommend RVW and suggest you check them out. The owner, David Durnell, frequents the forums and makes it a point to make sure everyone is taken care of and happy with their purchase.

If RVWholesalers carries the brand of camper for whatever I buy next- they almost definitely will have my business. Their customer service here has been outstanding.

And, similar to dustman- I spent the same amount of money "locally" but ended up with a dealer who was a big fat zero when it came to service work.

[jjd74]

Hello! Fellow Marylander here. We bought a coachman pursuit from chesaco this past summer. A lot of people (including Leo's RV) tried to steer us off them but truth be told they had the best prices. I can't speak to their service center but in our case we felt like our punch list items were more like KO list items so we took the unit directly to the manufacturer while still under warranty. Leo's keeps sending me emails, but never returned my calls. I guess when you don't look like you can afford to buy anything, they don't take you seriously. Best of luck!!