Question for those who bought their camper online

[Talonman]

Being in Canada I have become very used to making deals on email and sight unseen, I just drove back our X5 2950KM sight unseen.

I have no issues doing it at all.

[WFD]

Me neither....trailer that is on order is our 2nd one, and have bought 3 vehicles that way....but key is...I did a ton of research prior...in almost every case I knew more about the features with each vehicle/trailer than the salespeople did. I knew exactly what options were and were not available, and I had dealers send me a ton of pictures...I knew exactly what model I wanted. If you go into it blind and counting on salespeople to guide you through all of it, then you are asking for trouble.

Rick

[rhroll24]

ParishCamper, I don't think you mentioned the dealership yet, but the one I am familiar with that has a few dealerships around the country and one specific on in Orlando is RV Direct. Maybe there is another.

However, if it is RV Direct, I will let you know in about 10 days. I purchased a Sunseeker 3010 DS back in December. I now have a PDI date in Orlando for the 28th of this Month. Maybe I shouldn't have, but I did send them the final payment and they now have my money. We'll see how things go. You can bet that if things don't go well, I will have many negative things to say about them on this forum. As mentioned above, I'm betting that the dealership has a lot to lose if they get bad publicity. I'm also guessing that Forest River will work with us to help make things right in the end. So, honestly, I'm actually expecting good results. Before I bought, I did see quite a few posts form others that seemed to have pretty good experiences with RV Direct.

BTW -- I honestly think we should be fairly open on this forum about specifics experiences with specific dealerships. If they are good and treat their customers right, I don't think they would object. If they aren't up front and above board, I think we all have a responsibility to shed light on that fact ..

[bodzcampers]

Last summer we were considering trading up to a Park Model/Destination Camper. We decided not to because of career decisions ahead and the vagueness of not knowing what the next year or two will bring. Why buy something and just take a huge hit on depreciation? However, I found that local dealers matched or exceeded the On-line RV dealers.
Therefore, I would go with a local dealer. Perhaps our geography is a bonus. South central Michigan....close to Indiana.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by bodzcampers

Perhaps our geography is a bonus. South central Michigan....close to Indiana.

let me assure you, DEFINITE bonus!

[Musterers]

Hi can anyone help I have a 2005 Chev Lexington 210 ,I ..live in New Zealand and looking for a new sewage hose and replacement canvas for the Dometic awning and 2 small parts for awning, I have contacted a supplier but no response which I find common when I try to purchase something in the USA from here.
Any help appreciated
PS Love the camper I haven't seen another one here.

[WFD]

I don't think the OP was ever implying that online dealers will be cheaper. The OP addressed the process of buying online, or buying from a long distance away, therefore not seeing the unit, not necessarily just from the likes of RVW or RV Direct. In this day and age pretty much every RV dealer has a website and will attract some business from far away if the price is right. Many who have bought "online" have simply used the net in order to find the dealer of their choice and from there conducted their business over the phone and email...so yes, in many cases local dealers will be as good or better than the RVW's and RV Directs, and especially so if you live in MI, IN areas....that's exactly where many of us who have bought "online" have ended up...I am headed there next week to pick ours up!
Like one of the earlier posters stated...not exactly sure what is meant by "buying online". It may start online but usually ends up with personal contact from there....Not exactly ordering from Amazon.
Rick

[Talonman]

Originally Posted by WFD

Me neither....trailer that is on order is our 2nd one, and have bought 3 vehicles that way....but key is...I did a ton of research prior...in almost every case I knew more about the features with each vehicle/trailer than the salespeople did. I knew exactly what options were and were not available, and I had dealers send me a ton of pictures...I knew exactly what model I wanted. If you go into it blind and counting on salespeople to guide you through all of it, then you are asking for trouble.

Rick

A ton of research is not needed to know more than the person selling, my 8 year old has better knowledge than the bulk of sales people I have talked with.... Makes me mad when they lie and/or just say crap that is totally false, I often want to just walk up and say look I know more than you so just shut up and get me the keys.

[perryc]

I feel your apprehension. We just purchased our first camper in November from RVW in Ohio. We live in Georgia. I did a lot of research and asked a ton of questions both in person, on the phone and forums like this one. We had to put up $1000.00 deposit to get the ball rolling and electronically sign paperwork. I was sleepless for 6 weeks until the camper was delivered. This was the first time I had bought anything like this sight unseen.

The camper arrived on time and in good condition. The only problem I found was that the exhaust fan over the stove didn't work. RVW immediately set up an appointment for us to have it fixed and the only slowdown to the whole encounter was on the part of Forest River.

We have been extremely happy with the decision to purchase our camper this way. Saved a huge chunk of cash but there are tradeoffs. No face to face interaction other than with the delivery person. For warranty work it will cost you an additional phone call or two. The sight unseen aspect is probably the most unnerving especially with this being our first camper.

I would definitely not buy a used camper this way. Too many variables and too little recourse.

I can understand the need for a deposit but I do fail to understand the need to sign a purchase order if the camper will be delivered to a local dealership. It seems like that would be taken care of at the time of your pdi.

I hope this helps more than hurts! Good luck!

[Cowracer]

Originally Posted by bodzcampers

Last summer we were considering trading up to a Park Model/Destination Camper. We decided not to because of career decisions ahead and the vagueness of not knowing what the next year or two will bring. Why buy something and just take a huge hit on depreciation? However, I found that local dealers matched or exceeded the On-line RV dealers.

Some might... Mine didn't.

Even after I showed him the quote from RVW and told him if he cannot match that price I will go out on my phone and order one (well, actually 2, but that's another story) while sitting in his parking lot. He hemmed and hawed, and made vague excuses about inventory and overhead and whatnot, but in the end, he would not budge off his original price, which was nearly $4k more than RVW's delivered price.

that $4000 was worth the slight angst and uncertainty of doing it online. And after it was all said and done, I felt stupid for even worrying about it in the first place.

Tim

[ParrishCamper]

We bought from RV Direct. I did a lot of research prior to making a decision. I called local dealers around me and even though they sell FR products they would not special order the Roo. Which left me RV Direct who has a location in Orlando. We did go to the dealership to see the quality of the Roo before making the final decision. Only reason we didn't go w/ the local Orlando RV Direct dealership was because of the Sales Manager. I feel like I still have claws in my back to get me to purchase. The online RV Direct person we used was very friendly and never pushy. We got a quote from RVW but again I couldn't stand the pushiness. So far my overall experiance w/ RV Direct has been great. Anytime I call or email they respond right back. The only part I didn't like was signing all the paperwork and sending the final money before having the camper. But if I want my camper that's what has to be done. So today we sent all the needed docs to get our camper shipped.

[ParrishCamper]

rhroll24 - yes please let me know how your PDI goes. And any advise. Good Luck!!! And happy camping!!!

[ironj]

Originally Posted by ependydad

I wouldn't be comfortable doing this (Aliens).

I do kind of remember a recent poster saying the same thing about a chain dealership in Orlando (abducted). I think most of us said they were nuts for agreeing to it with a few votes of confidence from people who previously bought through the same dealership (me). If I recall, all went well (again).

My dealer is 145 miles away, so all of our communication started via email and then switched to telephone (send). I did mail a $5,000 deposit up to them to order the unit that I wanted (help). They called me on a Sunday to press me to send an additional deposit a few weeks before the camper came in (like hitting 1/2 the price of the camper) (call). I declined and told them I'd bring a cashier's check for the full amount after I got to see/walk through the camper (wmtire). I signed very little before showing up on pickup day (please).

(aliens)(abducted)(me)(again) .....(send)(help)(call)(wmtire)(please).......got it....but (like hitting 1/2 the price of the camper) dont fit....or i cannot decrypt that portion....LOL

Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Forest River Forums mobile app

[ParrishCamper]

Originally Posted by rhroll24

I now have a PDI date in Orlando for the 28th of this Month.

Guess what?? Got the call today and we set up our PDI in Orlando for 26th. I'll let you know how it goes.... Wish us luck!!!

[rhroll24]

Originally Posted by ParrishCamper

Guess what?? Got the call today and we set up our PDI in Orlando for 26th. I'll let you know how it goes.... Wish us luck!!!

Cool! congrats! I guess I'll now have learn first from you how it goes

[Susan C]

Yes ordered ours online from a dealer in Northern IN that is close to all the factories. Got an awesome price. We did do our research locally though over a 6 month or so period and knew what we wanted. Had to drive 2 1/2 hrs both ways to pick up. Thrilled with it so far.

[Trevor43]

Top Shelf people to deal with.

Originally Posted by bikendan

we bought our Roo from House of Camping, outside of Chicago, which was 2000 miles from us.
the only "online" we did, was finding the trailer. all the negotiations were done by email, phone and fax. so not sure what you mean by "bought online".

we did not sign anything until we showed up. i do think we put a $1000 deposit on it, but can't remember if it was refundable or not.

[Too Tall]

I purchased from
All Seasons RV
4701 Airline Rd.
Muskegon, MI 49444

I am 1100 miles away. Local dealer wanted 18,000. All Seasons price was 2800 less. It'll cost me about 1000 to pick it up but I'm still 1800 ahead. The 1000 to pick it up is just another camping trip, so I don't look at it as an expense anyway. I've never had any problem with traveling to buy a vehicle or whatever. I can appreciate those who are loyal to their local dealers, however. The experience has been great.

[WFD]

Too Tall...just got back from Muskegon last week...picked up a Rockwood 5th wheel from them...I was exactly 1100 miles away as well...all went well, trailer is still winterized and will be a bit yet before we can use it.

Rick

[Too Tall]

Originally Posted by WFD

Too Tall...just got back from Muskegon last week...picked up a Rockwood 5th wheel from them...I was exactly 1100 miles away as well...all went well, trailer is still winterized and will be a bit yet before we can use it.

Rick

That's awesome, I pickup a week from Monday. Looking forward to it. I'm dealing with Amanda. She's been great so far. Glad to hear I'm not the only nut to drive 1100 miles to buy an RV.