Would you purchase new RV froma dealer far away?

[steveh326]

I keep scanning RVTRADER for my next RV for when the time comes. No local dealers have what I want in stock, however, they would be happy to order it for me.

If purchasing a new camper, would you consider buying from a dealer that was a couple hundred miles away? My concern would be warranty issues that needed to be dealt with by the selling dealer, and having to drag it all the way back for any repairs. I think I would consider buying a nice used unit from a remote dealer however since I'd be paying for work done to it anyway (or doing it myself).

If you purchase from a Camping World dealer will any other CW dealer do the warranty work? I don't know... How does RV Wholesalers handle warranty work? I'd like to find a nice creampuff used unit in the model I want, but Rockwood/Flagstaff made some upgrades in 2015 that I want to be sure to get so buying used is probably not an option unless I wait another year or 2.

[dustman_stx]

Originally Posted by steveh326

I keep scanning RVTRADER for my next RV for when the time comes. No local dealers have what I want in stock, however, they would be happy to order it for me.

If purchasing a new camper, would you consider buying from a dealer that was a couple hundred miles away? My concern would be warranty issues that needed to be dealt with by the selling dealer, and having to drag it all the way back for any repairs. I think I would consider buying a nice used unit from a remote dealer however since I'd be paying for work done to it anyway (or doing it myself).

If you purchase from a Camping World dealer will any other CW dealer do the warranty work? I don't know... How does RV Wholesalers handle warranty work? I'd like to find a nice creampuff used unit in the model I want, but Rockwood/Flagstaff made some upgrades in 2015 that I want to be sure to get so buying used is probably not an option unless I wait another year or 2.

I'm on my 3rd RVWholesalers camper- so we've clearly been very pleased with the prices and the service. In-laws, Mom, and Dad have all bought from them over the past few years as well. We are all right at 1,000 miles away. I will admit I was very nervous with the first purchase, but haven't regretted going with them a bit. I highly recommend you give them a shout. They have a nationwide service network and are able to get you service should you need it.

[OKI Marine]

Campers are campers. I think any dealer can work on it. I bought mine at a place that had the best price. The dealer that I take it to doesn't carry my brand of fifth wheel but they service it when needed.

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by steveh326

I keep scanning RVTRADER for my next RV for when the time comes. No local dealers have what I want in stock, however, they would be happy to order it for me.

If purchasing a new camper, would you consider buying from a dealer that was a couple hundred miles away

My dealer is 145 miles away. It takes me about 2 1/2 hours to get there. AND THEY SUCK. I went a few times and I'll gladly never go back. I have a couple of RV Service Centers in the area and mobile RV techs that I would use.

Originally Posted by dustman_stx

I'm on my 3rd RVWholesalers camper- so we've clearly been very pleased with the prices and the service. In-laws, Mom, and Dad have all bought from them over the past few years as well. We are all right at 1,000 miles away. I will admit I was very nervous with the first purchase, but haven't regretted going with them a bit. I highly recommend you give them a shout. They have a nationwide service network and are able to get you service should you need it.

I'd gladly buy from RVWholesalers.com. Their support here on the site has been impressive.

Originally Posted by OKI Marine

I think any dealer can work on it.

They can, but don't have to. For the OP, Forest River does not require any dealer to work on campers that weren't bought from them. It's not like car dealerships.

[mike.t]

Nothing beats a road trip!

[njcamper]

Originally Posted by dustman_stx

I'm on my 3rd RVWholesalers camper- so we've clearly been very pleased with the prices and the service. In-laws, Mom, and Dad have all bought from them over the past few years as well. We are all right at 1,000 miles away. I will admit I was very nervous with the first purchase, but haven't regretted going with them a bit. I highly recommend you give them a shout. They have a nationwide service network and are able to get you service should you need it.

I too purchased my 5th wheel from RVwholesalers and am very pleased. Plus they beat Camping world by 8000.00!!! And I got to order it custom the way we wanted it. I would recommend them and use them again.

[widogmom]

We were just faced with this decision...despite the far-off dealer's insistence that warranty work could be done at our local dealer, we decided to buy from our local dealer. It pays to have a relationship with your dealer and service department (popping in to buy purple or green stuff, odd parts, etc., doesn't hurt) and we were much more comfortable bringing our trade to the dealer seven miles away instead of 180 miles...you get there with your rig and they know they have you over a barrel. I think it depends on a lot of factors: are you going to be running back & forth with a trade, setting up financing, etc., and your timeline. Good luck with your search!

[JoeNanMinn]

We just made our first "long distance" purchase too. I was pretty nervous about it but all has gone pretty smooth so far. We live in MN and purchased a new 5th wheel from Cheyenne Camping Center in Walcott,IA. Found the postings they had on E-Bay of all places. When we got home and started using it I found a couple of things that I called them about. THey jumped on it right away, said they would handle it from their end and send me out the new items and asked if I could make the repairs/switch or if they should find a dealer near me to do it. I told them if they send me the parts I can do the work myself. In 10 days I had them in the mail and by UPS. When we picked up the camper from them thats how they said they would work any warranty or other claim issues. If something needs to be done by a dealer they will contact a dealer near me to arrange for what needs to be done. Our camper is a Forest River product and there are several Forest River dealers within 50 miles of us. These people bent over backwards big time to get our business. We drove 475 miles to get to them and pick up the camper. Why did we buy so far from home? Because they were $5,000 less than our local area dealers for the same unit. We could easily drive down to IA and back for that kind of savings. We had also found the unit we bought on RVT.com. If we hadn't bought this one then we were prepared to buy a used 2012 model from a private party that was listed on RVT.com. Like I said, I/we were really nervous about buying long distance too. But, after alot of research into the dealership, checking forums like this, we just jumped in with both feet and did it. So far it has been a good thing for us.

[Ecopco]

We purchased over 1200 miles away and saved nearly $6000 off of local dealer after expenses (plane tix, fuel, meals etc.). No nonsense. Just pick up the rig and drive home. I took our RV in for its 1 year fix all the warranty stuff to a local dealer and it was not a problem. They didn't even ask where I bought it. They called FR and got authorization and parts and fixed the issues. We regularly purchase our new vehicles out of state for the same reason. Some local dealers just don't or can't give you the best price. Local dealers do get our warranty and paid work so I guess they're happy.

[RSolera]

Flew from Atlantic, VA to Dayton Ohio to buy my new Solera. It had all the options and was cheaper than from RV Direct - and immediately available. Give Lewis RV a chance on any Winnebago or Forest River RV. Great guys!!

[edcronin01]

We purchased our new motorhome from rvdirect.com the PDI was very good. Picked it up in Des Moines Iowa about 750 miles from Denver. Local dealers were $15,000-$20,000 higher and keep wanting to sell up units in stock. We had minor warranty work done at local dealers not problem. Good luck

[Silverback Iowan]

Bought ours over a 100 miles away. 2 trips back and bad service, will never go back to that dealer again. Had to get problems dealer should have taken care of done at a CW because none of the FR dealers near will not work on it because we did not buy from them or dealers are bad and won't take to them.

[Big Vic]

I did...bought from RVW, customized it, had it shipped 2000 miles, and still saved a lot.

I think the local dealer warranty service issue is overrated. Many local dealers have poor service depts and you may do better with an independent RV repair shop that depends on good customer service. I fix most of my RV issues myself, but when brand new I had a minor repair done under warranty. RVW referred me to a local independent shop and FR paid the claim soon thereafter.

Some folks are lucky and have a local dealer that provides great service, but I do not think it is the norm.

[jeffrapp]

I think the answer is "it depends", and whether you are talking about warranty or out of warranty service.
In my case, I bought new from a dealer 600 miles away, because of a big price difference. Before buying, I asked if I could have warranty work done at another dealer, as I had no intention of driving 600 miles for warranty service. I was told that "I could have warranty work done at any Forest River dealer" (they meant any brand that Forest River Corporate manufactures; I have a Coachmen Prism).
That turned out to be not true. As an example, the nearest Coachmen dealer refuses to provide warranty work, because "the Dublin City Council has passed a law prohibiting them from providing warranty work on any RV not sold by them" (I'm not making this up).
I have had numerous conversations about this situation with various executives at Coachmen. The truth seems to be that Coachmen/Forest River(and probably most other RV manufacturers) cannot force a dealer to do warranty work. Some will, under certain circumstances. It's up to them.
As far as Wholesale Warranty, they claim to have a network of dealers that will provide service. I have had no experience with this.
The best advice has been given by other posts above: if you can, buy local, and establish a good relationship with the dealer. At the very least, speak to your local dealer before buying elsewhere, to determine what their policy will be about servicing your RV, in or out of warranty

[LinCarol]

We previously bought from RV Direct when we bought our motor home. No problems and they treated us great. We saved thousands over our local dealer even after including our travel expenses to go back and get it. (We live in Arizona).

We just ordered a hybrid trailer from Wana RV in Indiana as they had the best deal and good reviews. It is a great road trip that we are looking forward to.

[lynn brownlee]

Yes - Yes in deed, drove from Alabama to Detroit to get the best deal - drove 750 miles for 6,500.00 -

[bikendan]

We bought our HTT from a dealer 2000 miles away and went there to pick it up and drove back another 2000 miles.
We saved over $ 4000, even after trip costs, on a $ 22k MSRP trailer.
Forest River found us local dealers willing to do the warranty work.

[47chevy]

Bought mine in Buffalo NY-------live in the FL. panhandle.......no issues, Camping World did the warranty work , no questions ask

[JoanneL]

We bought ours 1 1/2 away each way and wouldn't do it again. The first year under warranty we must have made 5 trips.

[clicker1944]

Negotiated the whole deal including the trade in via text, email and phone with a dealer 389 miles from home. Beat the local price by 5 grand! Would do it again in a heartbeat. Local Forest River dealer would service with no problem even though they don't sell Shasta's.