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Old 01-06-2017, 01:12 AM   #1
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Why I wont buy local!

Bought my new Roo in July from out of state. There's no Roo dealers around here. Went to my local forest river dealer All Seasons RV in Bend Oregon before the purchase to see if they would do warranty on it. The answer was yes but not on anything cosmetic I should have caught on a pdi, ok fair enough.. Called about the irv not working they said bring it in we'll check it out but then I dealt directly with irv supplier and they warranted it. Called in Sept about the slide out roller making grinding noise they said not scheduling any more service till January 1st to get caught up but call then to get in. So went in yesterday to get on schedule and was turned away because I didn't buy it there. This isn't my last rv purchase and I guarantee my future rv's won't come from them..

Thanks for letting me rant.. we love our Roo and wouldn't change a thing...
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Old 01-06-2017, 08:44 AM   #2
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We lived in NorCal and bought our Roo from a Midwest dealer.
FR found us 3 local dealers that would do the warranty work, since the local Roo dealers refused to do it.
Never had an issue during the two years of warranty coverage, other than having to be at back of the line.
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Old 01-06-2017, 09:42 AM   #3
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Originally Posted by bozeman View Post
Bought my new Roo in July from out of state. There's no Roo dealers around here. Went to my local forest river dealer All Seasons RV in Bend Oregon before the purchase to see if they would do warranty on it. The answer was yes but not on anything cosmetic I should have caught on a pdi, ok fair enough.. Called about the irv not working they said bring it in we'll check it out but then I dealt directly with irv supplier and they warranted it. Called in Sept about the slide out roller making grinding noise they said not scheduling any more service till January 1st to get caught up but call then to get in. So went in yesterday to get on schedule and was turned away because I didn't buy it there. This isn't my last rv purchase and I guarantee my future rv's won't come from them..

Thanks for letting me rant.. we love our Roo and wouldn't change a thing...
This is the same type of short sighted attitude I received from my local dealers. Now I buy exclusively from RVWholesalers and highly recommend them. They have a network of service providers that includes not only dealers from all over the country but also independent service shops and individuals that they will assist in getting you setup for warranty work with.
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Old 01-06-2017, 10:42 AM   #4
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I had the same problem. Bought my camper in Coldwater Mi, got a good deal. Called the local (30 miles away) dealer in Briudgeview IL. for some warranty work. Got a hard time from the one of the service dept guys about not buying from them but they made the appointment anyway. Drive the 30 miles to the dealer and the service department supervisor comes up and ask me where I where I bought it and I told him where I bought it. I told him I got in Coldwater Mi. and he goes "we can't work on it, were too busy". He had a very threatening manner about him. so I had to turn around and take it back home. Ended up losing a whole day of work on top of it.
I had contacted the Rockwood warranty office and they gacve me some places to call.
I tried a dealer in Pontiac IL. and they would not do the warranty work either but at they nice about it and told me that they make pennies on the dollar for warranty work and only did it a courtesy to their customer. I appreciated his honesty.
Rockwood found me a place to get my furance fixed, but it took a while.
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Old 01-06-2017, 11:19 AM   #5
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Didn't buy local, saved 23K, and my local dealer is so great for service I can't praise them enough.

They fixed my slides, black tank, kitchen faucet, and cabinet closure issue, all under warranty, no issues whatsoever...........and while there, they 'noticed' my Dometic A/C was leaking oil all over my roof and ruined it, and I am scheduled to take it in next week for a NEW A/C and an entirely NEW roof, all paid by Dometic, simply because of this dealer.

I'd love to buy from them. They are higher than a cat's back. But they work on anybody anywhere anytime, and are awesome at that.

I have learned that too many people do not ask their 'local dealer' (Some have lots of local dealers) about repair work before buying. And it's not all warranty......that's just a year (or 2). It's paid-for work later also.

But it's unfair to claim that dealers not fixing foreign-bought units is some kind of universal problem.
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Old 01-06-2017, 12:55 PM   #6
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When shopping for " stuff ", I always remember that anything mechanical will break or wear out over time, requiring service.
I won't buy a lawnmower from a big box store.
I won't buy a refrigerator , or any other appliance, from a big box store.
I won't buy a furnace or water heater from a big box store.
In other words, I value the service after the sale and I feel you do way better when you buy from a place where the owner's name is above the door. I'm also willing to pay a bit more for that peace of mind.
I bought my Shamrock from a dealer less than an hour away. They were nearly the same price as the wholesalers and they have an excellent service department.
Would they be as good if I didn't buy from them? Don't know and just glad I don't have to find out.
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Old 01-06-2017, 01:09 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by jking46 View Post
I bought my Shamrock from a dealer less than an hour away. They were nearly the same price as the wholesalers and they have an excellent service department.
Would they be as good if I didn't buy from them? Don't know and just glad I don't have to find out.

You are in RV country, though. In my neck of the woods you'd have paid $3-$5K MORE than a place like RVWholesalers, even accounting for paying delivery. And it would be a serious crap shoot on whether or not you'd have decent service, no matter whose name was over the door.
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Old 01-06-2017, 01:22 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by BandJCarm View Post
Didn't buy local, saved 23K, and my local dealer is so great for service I can't praise them enough.

They fixed my slides, black tank, kitchen faucet, and cabinet closure issue, all under warranty, no issues whatsoever...........and while there, they 'noticed' my Dometic A/C was leaking oil all over my roof and ruined it, and I am scheduled to take it in next week for a NEW A/C and an entirely NEW roof, all paid by Dometic, simply because of this dealer.

I'd love to buy from them. They are higher than a cat's back. But they work on anybody anywhere anytime, and are awesome at that.

I have learned that too many people do not ask their 'local dealer' (Some have lots of local dealers) about repair work before buying. And it's not all warranty......that's just a year (or 2). It's paid-for work later also.

But it's unfair to claim that dealers not fixing foreign-bought units is some kind of universal problem.

What is the dealers name that is great?
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Old 01-06-2017, 01:33 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by bozeman View Post
Bought my new Roo in July from out of state. There's no Roo dealers around here. Went to my local forest river dealer All Seasons RV in Bend Oregon before the purchase to see if they would do warranty on it. The answer was yes but not on anything cosmetic I should have caught on a pdi, ok fair enough.. Called about the irv not working they said bring it in we'll check it out but then I dealt directly with irv supplier and they warranted it. Called in Sept about the slide out roller making grinding noise they said not scheduling any more service till January 1st to get caught up but call then to get in. So went in yesterday to get on schedule and was turned away because I didn't buy it there. This isn't my last rv purchase and I guarantee my future rv's won't come from them..

Thanks for letting me rant.. we love our Roo and wouldn't change a thing...


The dealers all stink for the most part, ran into that with Driftwood RV didn't buy from them so after they told me to drive the unit there, they decided they didn't want the work. I thought the boating industry was bad, RV industry is the pits with Most dealers and MFG's. I called FR and they said dealers just bc they sell their products don't have to do warranty work, and Driftwood has an arrogant service mgr to begin with...

I won't ever buy new again and if I had to mfg a part won't deal with most of the dealers out there, they all lie just to get $ and never ever stand behind what they say. I repeat Most not all and that is a shame.
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Old 01-06-2017, 01:36 PM   #10
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Originally Posted by jking46 View Post
I bought my Shamrock from a dealer less than an hour away. They were nearly the same price as the wholesalers and they have an excellent service department.
Would they be as good if I didn't buy from them? Don't know and just glad I don't have to find out.
Since you live in Indiana, where most RVs are made, no wonder your local dealer could match the wholesalers!
Those of us that live a couple thousand miles away aren't as fortunate with prices.
West Coast dealers not only jack up prices, they also inflate delivery costs.
So my 2007 Roo 23SS cost me $14,500, while local California dealers wanted $20,000 for the same exact trailer.
They dared me to drive to the Midwest if I wanted lower prices.

So I did.😆
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Old 01-06-2017, 01:50 PM   #11
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What is the dealers name that is great?
Moix RV
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Old 01-06-2017, 01:51 PM   #12
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Since you live in Indiana, where most RVs are made, no wonder your local dealer could match the wholesalers!
Those of us that live a couple thousand miles away aren't as fortunate with prices.
West Coast dealers not only jack up prices, they also inflate delivery costs.
So my 2007 Roo 23SS cost me $14,500, while local California dealers wanted $20,000 for the same exact trailer.
They dared me to drive to the Midwest if I wanted lower prices.

So I did.😆
Ha! Me too! Local dealers tried to scare me by telling me I wouldn't get warranty work. With $5K in my pocket, who cares!!!!! In my 3 new units since 2012 I've had less than $2K total in warranty work done- which was all covered, btw- yet I saved around $12K total. I'll take that deal any day of the week!!!
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Old 01-06-2017, 02:28 PM   #13
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Why you should always buy local

Quote:
Originally Posted by bozeman View Post
Bought my new Roo in July from out of state. There's no Roo dealers around here. Went to my local forest river dealer All Seasons RV in Bend Oregon before the purchase to see if they would do warranty on it. The answer was yes but not on anything cosmetic I should have caught on a pdi, ok fair enough.. Called about the irv not working they said bring it in we'll check it out but then I dealt directly with irv supplier and they warranted it. Called in Sept about the slide out roller making grinding noise they said not scheduling any more service till January 1st to get caught up but call then to get in. So went in yesterday to get on schedule and was turned away because I didn't buy it there. This isn't my last rv purchase and I guarantee my future rv's won't come from them..

Thanks for letting me rant.. we love our Roo and wouldn't change a thing...
I am a dealer...Not Forest River. Hard for customers to understand that there is a nationwide shortage of RV technicians. That being said most dealers have had banner years in sales and are hard pressed to take care of THEIR own customers, let alone customers from other dealers. We dealers all know you'll buy numerous RV in your camping career, but its in our best interest to take care of our own customers don't you agree? And RV dealers dont have the same agreement with the factory like car dealers, so as a rule we dealers are lucky to break even when we do warranty repairs, so again ALWAYS BUY LOCAL FOR THE BEST OVERALL EXPERIENCE. Read below it may help you understand:
http://www.forestriverinc.com/buy-local.aspx
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Old 01-06-2017, 02:41 PM   #14
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Warranty experiences here in Calgary,

Bought the last trailer (Keystone Montana) out of province where the furnace quit the day after I brought it home. Keystone gave me the names of the local dealers but because I didn't buy from them none would take it in until the fall 4 months away. Contacted Keystone again where they authorized a mobile guy who fixed it a couple of days later on my driveway.

Had a slide out of adjustment where I did get an appointment in September. Didn't at the time say anything about it being warranty so when I dropped the trailer off and they found out it was warranty on a foreign bought unit their attitude changed. They wouldn't look at the trailer unless I paid the bill myself and submit to Keystone for reimbursement. I spoke to Keystone about it and they said the dealers are independent and had no control on what they do. Didn't get the trailer back for 3 months and Keystone did reimburse me but only because they told me to take the trailer to that dealer.

Neighbour who snowbirds in Arizona bought a FR Grey Wolf in Mesa AZ and brought it back to Canada where the power jack quit working. Contacted a local FR dealer where they saw it wasn't purchased there so they wouldn't take his trailer for a month and only if he paid for the work himself where he submits to FR for reimbursement. FR refused so he ended up fixing it out of pocket himself.

We got rid of the Montana and purchased the Sabre locally but all the issues that would have been warranty were minor so I fixed myself. Was easier to fix on the driveway myself than haul the trailer back to the dealer. There was one exception where the fresh water tank was falling out of those CHEAP light gauge metal straps so I braced the tank in place myself. We were going camping for a week so it was either fix it myself or forgo the camping trip.
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Old 01-06-2017, 02:41 PM   #15
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Buying local is a great idea but buying a RV is completely different than buying a car. I can get any model chevy or ford from my local chevy or ford dealer. Not the case with RVs. The nearest dealer for my RV was 175 miles away, definitely not considered local in my opinion. So my choice is buy something I don't want from the local dealer or look elsewhere and 175 miles might as well be 1000 miles as far as I am concerned. At that point the lowest total price gets the sale. And buying from the dealer 175 miles away still leaves me in the same situation if I need any service. Fortunately for me, the local FR dealer likes work even if I did not buy from him.
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Old 01-06-2017, 02:47 PM   #16
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Local dealers

What is the definition of "local"?
The unit we wanted was sold by numerous dealers. Nearest was almost 2 hours away.
I independently negotiated with them and a dealer near the Indiana factory.
Guess who provided the lowest TOTAL cost to me? Yes, the one near the factory.
Arranged for financing with our credit union ahead of the purchase. We packed some "stuff" I plastic tubs and put them in the Pick-up bed to take to the selling dealer.
We used the "stuff" on the trip after the purchase to make a nice "circle trip" to get back home.
For warranty work, FR warranty office (for the brand) provided a list of authorized dealers. The have done the warranty work with NO comments.
Have fun.
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Old 01-06-2017, 02:51 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jking46 View Post
When shopping for " stuff ", I always remember that anything mechanical will break or wear out over time, requiring service.
I won't buy a lawnmower from a big box store.
I won't buy a refrigerator , or any other appliance, from a big box store.
I won't buy a furnace or water heater from a big box store.
In other words, I value the service after the sale and I feel you do way better when you buy from a place where the owner's name is above the door. I'm also willing to pay a bit more for that peace of mind.
I bought my Shamrock from a dealer less than an hour away. They were nearly the same price as the wholesalers and they have an excellent service department.
Would they be as good if I didn't buy from them? Don't know and just glad I don't have to find out.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tcdoughboy View Post
I am a dealer...Not Forest River. Hard for customers to understand that there is a nationwide shortage of RV technicians. That being said most dealers have had banner years in sales and are hard pressed to take care of THEIR own customers, let alone customers from other dealers. We dealers all know you'll buy numerous RV in your camping career, but its in our best interest to take care of our own customers don't you agree? And RV dealers dont have the same agreement with the factory like car dealers, so as a rule we dealers are lucky to break even when we do warranty repairs, so again ALWAYS BUY LOCAL FOR THE BEST OVERALL EXPERIENCE. Read below it may help you understand:
http://www.forestriverinc.com/buy-local.aspx
These are all good points and the main reason(s) why I bought my Coachmen local, even if I paid more for it. To know that if I have a problem, I don't have to drive 2-3 hours to have work done on it.

And before someone says I live in the middle of RV country, I live in the extreme southern part of the state and those factories would be at least a 3 hour or longer, drive just to get there.
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Old 01-06-2017, 03:05 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jking46 View Post
When shopping for " stuff ", I always remember that anything mechanical will break or wear out over time, requiring service.
I won't buy a lawnmower from a big box store.
I won't buy a refrigerator , or any other appliance, from a big box store.
I won't buy a furnace or water heater from a big box store.
In other words, I value the service after the sale and I feel you do way better when you buy from a place where the owner's name is above the door. I'm also willing to pay a bit more for that peace of mind.
I bought my Shamrock from a dealer less than an hour away. They were nearly the same price as the wholesalers and they have an excellent service department.
Would they be as good if I didn't buy from them? Don't know and just glad I don't have to find out.
Or...! You can learn to fix stuff yourself, buy from whomever has the best value and live with more peace of mind knowing you can handle what comes up rather than worry if someone else will stand behind it.

My old Roo had 3 issues that I would have considered "Warranty-able". Crud in my sink waterlines kept clogging the strainer filter. One radio speaker was completely dead, and the dining table light stopped working. Each fix was less than half an hour of my time, or approx. 1/100 of the time it would have took to hitch it up, drive to dealer, argue/negotiate over the claim, wait for them to schedule the work, etc etc etc, and 1/1000 of the aggravation.

Tim
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Old 01-06-2017, 03:06 PM   #19
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These are all good points and the main reason(s) why I bought my Coachmen local, even if I paid more for it. To know that if I have a problem, I don't have to drive 2-3 hours to have work done on it.

And before someone says I live in the middle of RV country, I live in the extreme southern part of the state and those factories would be at least a 3 hour or longer, drive just to get there.
The point is that dealers seem to be much more aggressive on price the closer they are to the factory. I bought my RV from RVWholesalers (3 since 2012, actually), which is almost exactly 1000 miles away. I have an independent service shop about 2 miles from my house. So, I saved thousands, get much better customer service than my local dealers are willing to offer and have better warranty coverage. Not to mention, the vast majority of "RV technicians" I've seen at many local dealers are young and inexperienced- I'd rather fix it myself than let them mess with it.
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Old 01-06-2017, 03:12 PM   #20
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I am a dealer...Not Forest River. Hard for customers to understand that there is a nationwide shortage of RV technicians. That being said most dealers have had banner years in sales and are hard pressed to take care of THEIR own customers, let alone customers from other dealers. We dealers all know you'll buy numerous RV in your camping career, but its in our best interest to take care of our own customers don't you agree? And RV dealers dont have the same agreement with the factory like car dealers, so as a rule we dealers are lucky to break even when we do warranty repairs, so again ALWAYS BUY LOCAL FOR THE BEST OVERALL EXPERIENCE. Read below it may help you understand:
http://www.forestriverinc.com/buy-local.aspx
Even assuming all you say above is true, it still is not a satisfactory answer.
This is all finger pointing between the dealers and the manufacturers, each blaming the other.
What's left out is the customer, who is caught in the middle, getting screwed.
I have never been involved in an industry where, contrary to the usual, the customer is almost always wrong.
BTW, your link didn't work.
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