Local Dealer vs. RV Wholesalers

PawPaw Bill · 04-07-2013, 08:25 PM

Hi, I'm new to this forum. My younger friends all call me PawPaw Bill. I don't have a Forest River product yet, but have decided on a Palomino Sabre 36QBOK. Love the rv and floorplan. My problem is this: I can buy one at my local dealer which is Bankston Motor Homes that they have on the lot for 47,000 and some change, or, buy one with more options from RV Wholesalers for around 40,000. I tried to negotiate with Bankston and got them to lower their price another 2000 but that is still 5000 above one with more options. They are giving me what I consider is a fair price for my bumper pull, and I know they are going to want to make money off of it. After all, they are in the business to make money. But to make a couple of thousand of off the trade in and then between 7 and 10 from the new one is unacceptable to me. I can buy the local one tomorrow but will have to sell mine before I buy one from RV Wholesalers. My question is this, Should I buy local and give more for it and have the dealer support for a couple of years or go to Ohio and save money up front? Any comments and/or help is greatly appreciated.

jtstromsburg · 04-07-2013, 08:37 PM

Went thru the same thing only i didn't like the trade price my local (90 miles away) dealer ordered me either. I bought a month ago from rv wholesalers and it went pretty smooth. We've spent 9 nights in our Sabre 34TBOK, including two on the 850 mile trip home. No problems as of yet, but a couple items i plan to call or email and ask about. I, like you, couldn't get over the $6 K in difference.

Good luck. Either way, you'll love the Sabre

Capt. Mike · 04-07-2013, 08:42 PM

Bill,

We just took possession of our second new tt in as many years, and went back to the same dealer.

INMO, it would make sense for you to deal locally, for a number of reasons:
1) the local dealer will take your trade-in. You could sell it yourself and go to Ohio, but how long are you willing to wait for the right buyer to come along?
2) delivery is, obviously, already included in the quote from the local guy. Is delivery included in the other quote, or do you have to add that?
3) having the local dealer support is a pretty good feeling.

I know 5K is a lot of money, but IMHO, in this case it might be money well spent.

You said you've already negotiated a $2K reduction with the local guy and he won't budge any further. If not cash, how about an allowance for some free "stuff" from his store? You know you are gonna' want new accessories for your new unit. What goodies is he willing to toss in in lieu of further price reductions?

Just food for thought. Good luck and congratulations, no matter which way you go.

**bikendan** · 04-07-2013, 08:56 PM

it would help if you listed where you live, since distance to RVW may be a factor.

rockport · 04-07-2013, 09:01 PM

I understand your dilemma, I tried to deal locally when purchasing our new Rockwood, was willing to pay a couple thousand more even, considering transportation cost. Could not put deal together and ended up ordering from RVW exactly the way we wanted it. Made the trip from Texas to Ohio to pick up 8 weeks later and camped our way home. The entire process went great and would not hesitate doing it all over again next time. I did sell our previous unit on craigslist, took about 3 weeks to sell.

Good luck

Randy

Heldapay · 04-07-2013, 09:12 PM

Your local dealer may not be willing to perform warranty work on a trailer bought elsewhere. Something to check into. That's assuming that you're buying new.

schrederman · 04-07-2013, 09:17 PM

I bought a new one last year from a dealer. I felt a tad foolish when I found out I could have bought it for about $6,000- less... delivered, from the RVW folks. I will probably trade up in a couple of years, and won't make the same mistake again.

PawPaw Bill · 04-07-2013, 09:25 PM

I live in Boaz, Alabama and its a 9 or 10 hr drive to Ohio from here. I really want to trade local and I like the Sabre the local dealer has, but, the interior is mocha and it doesn't have the rubberized pin box. I would rather have Cocoa interior and the rubber pin box at the price that RVW has it for. I tricked one out with almost every option and RVW had it for 45000. So I feel like I'm getting ripped by the local guy asking 45000 for one that doesn't have everything I want on on it and in a different interior color. I don't mind trying to sell my old camper for a while. If I can't sell it after a couple of months I may go back to the dealer at the end of the month and see if maybe he hasn't met his quota by then. If he hasn't then maybe he will be willing to negotiate a little further. I wouldn't mind the drive to save several thousand dollars and I've checked and there are 4 RVW authorized repair centers within 50 miles of me.

joelek · 04-08-2013, 12:36 AM

Find a RV dealer that will do a consignment sale on your existing RV. That may help it sell faster than trying to sell it yourself. Also the consignment fee you will pay is thousands less than trade in loss when buying from your local RV dealer. Magazines at RV dealers, Camping World, etc. have adds for consignment sellers in the back of those magazines.

PineForestCamper · 04-08-2013, 12:52 AM

Define local? Someone who is 5, 10, 50, 100 miles from home? What is local if you move as we are planning on doing in the next few years? We purchased a popup from one of the big "local" dealers in town 11 years ago. Over that 11 years we saw lots of turnover in staff and everytime we brought our popup in for service we didnt recognize the staff and they didnt recognize us. They also didnt care if we purchased the popup from them or not when they serviced our camper.

Last weekend we took delivery on a camper from RV Wholesalers and saved $3500 from what the same "local" dealer offered us as their best price. When I was out shopping I looked around for the salesman who sold us the popup and he no longer worked there. I told them that I had bought my popup from them years ago and that didnt seem to matter either. Salesman said he could go another couple hundred dollars down and that was it. So we purchased from RV Wholesalers instead. No regrets what so ever. I have all the confidence in the world that RV Wholesalers will find us dealers to take care of our warranty work when needed and no matter where I am! They sell hundreds of campers every year and almost none of them are "local" sales (they are located in a small town). I dont believe my local dealer could get me service as well when I move out of state!

**bikendan** · 04-08-2013, 01:40 AM

though i didn't buy from RVW, i bought from a dealer 2000 miles away. we went and got it ourselves and made a camping trip out of the drive back.

FR helped us find local dealers to do the warranty work. they found two that i had no problems with during the warranty period.
and we saved over $4000-$5000 from what the local Roo dealers were selling them for.

lswartz · 04-08-2013, 05:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PawPaw Bill

I live in Boaz, Alabama and its a 9 or 10 hr drive to Ohio from here. I really want to trade local and I like the Sabre the local dealer has, but, the interior is mocha and it doesn't have the rubberized pin box. I would rather have Cocoa interior and the rubber pin box at the price that RVW has it for. I tricked one out with almost every option and RVW had it for 45000. So I feel like I'm getting ripped by the local guy asking 45000 for one that doesn't have everything I want on on it and in a different interior color. I don't mind trying to sell my old camper for a while. If I can't sell it after a couple of months I may go back to the dealer at the end of the month and see if maybe he hasn't met his quota by then. If he hasn't then maybe he will be willing to negotiate a little further. I wouldn't mind the drive to save several thousand dollars and I've checked and there are 4 RVW authorized repair centers within 50 miles of me.

That is a really good plan. It sounds to me like you could be giving advice. Our used Award TT sold on Craigslist on the 3d day. We bought local with the dealer matching RVW, but were prepared & expected to drive to OH to pickup our new TT. I hope it all works out for you.

RvBill3 · 04-08-2013, 07:03 AM

We bought from RvDirect and saved $8000 over dealer who was 200 miles away anyway. No regrets at all. Several minor issues in the last year have been dealt with by dealing directly with FR warranty dept.

I believe RvDirect takes some trades. What about RvW?

I buy lots of stuff via internet. Have never had Wally world or others offer to meet price. Local RV dealers are going to have to step up with pricing or value added if they want to stay in business IMHO.

Char_n_Kath · 04-08-2013, 07:05 AM

Bill, after all considerations of price, travel, local vs. distant, etc. we purchased our Rockwood 2304 from RVW. They were superb to deal with and customized our unit to exactly the specs we wanted with a factory order. FYI, we live in Albuquerque, New Mexico, so the 1445 mile one-way distance was a bit further to drive compared to where you live. I would not hesitate doing business with RVW again.

Charlie

**Herk7769** · 04-08-2013, 07:13 AM

I bought local and regretted it. My local dealer was a loser. Paid 4,000 more for the camper and they ripped me off on several repairs.

IMO, buy where you get the best price and sell your trade yourself.

RV Wholesalers has a warranty work network and should you need it they will hook you up. If you don't want to stay with the recommended "in network" repair guy, ANY local truck service place will do work on your camper.

QuietTimes · 04-08-2013, 07:52 AM

We spent hundreds of hours both going to local dealers and looking at internet dealers.

In the end we sold our pop up ourselves and got $2000 more for it that we were quoted for in trade.

And buying the camper from RVW saved about 30% on what we would have paid a dealer here in SW Ontario, Canada.

Ask for Kelly Tussing. He was great to work with. I wanted the wardrobe by the bed changed to a nightstand. This was NOT a listed option. He asked FW and the modification was done NO CHARGE.

So far (keeping in mind spring has only just happened here) we are happy with the unit. Have not had to deal with any warranty issues yet but lots have and the RVW network seems to work okay.

Good luck with your new purchase!

PawPaw Bill · 04-08-2013, 08:27 AM

My daughter is going to put my camper on Facebook today. Lots of folks around here are using that media to sell item. Usually they move fast because so many people see it on a daily basis. I will also put it on Craigslist this week. I have spent many hours on the internet and have gained too much knowledge to get ripped now. I was a camper virgin when I bought my first one and I got screwed. Now I know better but was hoping the local dealer which is 4 miles from me would be more willing to negotiate. Looks like I'm going to Ohio. One dealer up there takes trade ins and RVW doesn't. I will try the dealer that does also. Keep ya'll posted!

Lynkage · 04-08-2013, 08:38 AM

I bought local but would probably go the RVW way next time.

Warranty work is overated.

If you are somewhat handy, I have heard they will reimburse you for repairs, you should get that in writing though.

jeeplj8 · 04-08-2013, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by herk7769

I bought local and regretted it. My local dealer was a loser. Paid 4,000 more for the camper and they ripped me off on several repairs.

IMO, buy where you get the best price and sell your trade yourself.

RV Wholesalers has a warranty work network and should you need it they will hook you up. If you don't want to stay with the recommended "in network" repair guy, ANY local truck service place will do work on your camper.

I agree completely with Herk. Not a fan of my closest FR dealer (there are actually a couple in my area), they refused to even contact FR on our past trailer to see if something was warranty because they did not sell it.

However, I am not sure I am tracking the numbers with you. First off, you said there is a 5K difference between the local trailer and the trailer at RVW with more options. That is NOT a 5k difference, it is 7-10K difference depending on the cost of those options.

Most important - if the local trailer does not have an option you want on a new trailer - DO NOT BUY IT! No trailer is a good deal if it is not exactly what you want.

Finally, make sure you know what you can get for your trailer local on craigslist or whatever before you crunch the numbers. Sometimes you will find that your trailer is not worth as much on the used market as you might think. Many people simply cannot get a loan or have the cash for used trailers unless they go through a dealer.

Finally, like many people I did NOT buy local. We went about 6.5 hours away (still in state ironically) to a dealer who offered me a great deal. I shopped around a lot and have been happy with them. We actually planned into the cost the need to take it back two times for warranty work, and then put aside some money for having work done local, and were still thousands ahead of local dealer price.

QCCowboy · 04-08-2013, 12:27 PM

If you are looking at driving that far to purchase vs. a local dealer you might want to look at Cheyenne Camping Center in Davenport, IA. Great prices and they do take trades (granted you will get much less than retail value.) Just bought my 36QBOK from them and traded my old unit. If you want a conct there, PM me and I will send you information. Search this forum for them you will see several posts in the last few months.

You may also like: