The Saga Ends (Long Form)

wnytaxman · 03-22-2010, 07:57 AM

So a few of you have been following my saga of finding the "perfect" bunk house. We did our homework and looked and looked and looked. We test drove the Damon and got a first hand look. Low price and low quality so that didn't float our boat. We considered several other brands, but finally narrowed our choices to the Tiffin Allegro 38qba and the Berkshire 390bh. The two units had an MSRP of around $200k and appeared to be very comparable. We were impressed with different features of each one. Our search started back in September shortly before the Hershey/Harrisburg RV show. Not a lot of choices out there for 2010's at that time.

We had talked to several dealers, both locally and nationally on both units. Bottom line was somewhere between $90k-$100k with our 2007 Itasca in trade. Best on the Tiffin was a dealer in NC and the best on the Berkshire was our own Buffalo RV, also known as RVDirect and RVOne. Sadly if was before tax season and we were about $200k short of the $100k needed! So our wait continued until the $$$ started to roll in for tax season.

So last week it was time to either do it or drop it. We got in touch with our contact in NC and it was time for a shock. He had raised his trade price from $90k to $109k. OUCH! Well, his Tiffin was now out of the question. Our local Tiffin dealer is just a pain to try to deal with and they love to play the "make me an offer" game. Other Tiffin dealers seemed to be in the same area on price. I'm not sure if Tiffin raised their prices or what happened but, to paraphrase the old line, the fertilizer had hit the ventilator.

Buffalo RV had brought in a 390bh from their Florida location for us to see. Nice rig, but my wife was not real impressed with the interior. We went back out to check out the Tiffin and I wasn't overly impressed with it and apparently I'm not alone as that rig has been at the dealer's lot since late September. Apparently he really loves paying about $1200 a month in floor plan interest to keep that around. It is nice enough, but with the slides in the hall and bunks have a coffin like feel. Not something you want to put your kids in.

We went back out to Buffalo RV yesterday and got down to bottom line numbers with Mark Strollo, the owner. By the time we finished we ended up putting down a deposit on a 2011 Berkshire due here in Late May. That is not a misprint, the rig is a 2011. I was really impressed with Mark and his willingness to make it happen. If our experience was anything like what someone else could expect I would say that you should definitely shop there before you sign. Great people and a great deal.

cfsoistman · 03-22-2010, 09:02 AM

Congrats on your decision and congrats to Buffalo RV for getting you where you wanted to be. A 2011 already, WOW, did you notice if there's any new changes from the 2010 you looked at? May is not far away and you'll be out there enjoying it.

wnytaxman · 03-22-2010, 09:12 AM

Thanks Charlie,

I think the only real change is that the new emission requirements are going to be on the chassis. My understanding was that once the last of the 2009 Cummins were gone, then the 2011's will have the new (2010) emission standards which I was trying to avoid. That means that I may have to figure out where to buy urea for the urea tank, which most truck stops should be having pretty soon. My concern on the emissions is that it may be a new technology, but I'm told that Cummins has been using that tech for quite a few years in Europe. I'm not aware of any other changes, other than the price. The 2011's are supposed to be about $5,500 more than the '10's.

tmmar · 03-22-2010, 09:36 AM

Taxman,
congrats on the new rig. You'll be getting it just in time for the camping season. I'm shocked that you were able to work with Strollo on the deal. I tried on a number of occasions to speak with him on the phone and they would never let me speak with him. I felt that they really short changed me on my trade and wanted to discuss it with him and they told me that the number they gave me was it and that there was no negotiating. I guess it says something about being able to walk into the dealer and sit down to negotiate face to face. Can I ask what the bottom line on the 2011 was?
Thanks again and good luck with the new rig.
Regards,
Tom

NWJeeper · 03-22-2010, 10:46 AM

Contrats' taxman. We too bough our rig through Buffalo RV (RVdirect.com) and they were awsome. No trade as we had sold our rig to friends but their price just could not be beat. I venture to guess that they are really going for volume sales rather than huge profit on each unit like other dealers.

Can't wait to see the first pics. of your new rig in the campground.

wnytaxman · 03-22-2010, 12:44 PM

I just got off the phone with Buffalo RV and our rig will be a 2011 on a 2009 chassis. Apparently that is the desirable combination as most people do not want to pay the upcharge for the new technology. I'm one of those for sure.

BTW, NWJeeper, I used to live in three of the four corners of your fine state. I was in Renton, Spokane, and Clarkston. If I didn't live here in WNY I'd be in Eastern Washington or Northern Idaho.

Ed

NWJeeper · 03-22-2010, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wnytaxman

BTW, NWJeeper, I used to live in three of the four corners of your fine state. I was in Renton, Spokane, and Clarkston. If I didn't live here in WNY I'd be in Eastern Washington or Northern Idaho.

Ed

I'm with you. Although I am forced to live in Western Wa due to my job we will be moving to eastern Wa when I retire. The weather, fishing and traffic are just much more to my liking over there.

Names also Ed....

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