Purchasing motorhome on-line

[Ozeek]

We are looking at our options for purchasing a new Forester. I am interested in your experiences buying on-line--specific questions are: What is the best source? How long does it take from making a deal to delivery? Speaking of Delivery, I noticed that one source will deliver to your house for a cost--any experiences with having it actually delivered TO you vs picking it up? Do you get the same level of inspection, etc.--what if something is wrong with it? thanks so much for all of your advise and wisdom!

[Ozeek]

Oh sorry, I forgot to say that we want to custom-build it (might make a difference in timing of delivery)

[vwexpert]

I used DeMartini's online web page. The pricing and the deal was all done with e-mails. We did drive the 2.5 hours there to test drive one to verify we wanted that model and to verify our special order options while we were there. This is my 2nd RV purchased from DeMartini's. It usually takes 8 - 12 weeks to special order (unless your name is Sagecoachdriver and it will take FOREVER!!!)
Jim

[Boso]

Have bought six five have been bought out of town four out of state all have been new if you can save five thousand or more go for it but remember you make have to pay state tax when you register it in your own state my state has a maximum of 1500 plus fee's

[n-e-d]

I ordered my 2650s at Rvdirect which is Rvone now. I picked it up at Albany which was a 2 1/2 hour drive. We rented a car and the rental company dropped us off at the dealership. I bought online because the price was so outrageously low compared to the best I could find with the equipment I wanted locally. With that I expected that I would be on my own for service I had been told by the local rv dealer I would find it difficult to get an appointment for any work. This so far hasnt been a problem. Youll find that RVW has a following on the forum better than Rvone and I believe they sell Foresters. The usual quote for delievery is 8-12 weeks but as vwexpert mentioned this is just an estimate. All sorts of things may conspire against getting it when you should. Dont make any plans that hinge on a particular date you think you may getting it. Be patient. I really would caution you about the PDI. You should really do this at the
dealer. If you have any friend who is a RVer bring them with you. This is one complicated piece of machinery.Once you pick a model and options read the forum , search the forum for that model and make a checklist. Be prepared to spend a day or two in the area if this is a distance from your home. Make an appointment at the dealers for the next day before you do the PDI for anything that might be wrong. If you find things wrong when you get home are you prepared to do some fixits yourself? Do you want to add mods yourself?

[Ozeek]

THANK YOU all so much--this is very helpful--

[JimOneil43]

Originally Posted by Ozeek

We are looking at our options for purchasing a new Forester. I am interested in your experiences buying on-line--specific questions are: What is the best source? How long does it take from making a deal to delivery? Speaking of Delivery, I noticed that one source will deliver to your house for a cost--any experiences with having it actually delivered TO you vs picking it up? Do you get the same level of inspection, etc.--what if something is wrong with it? thanks so much for all of your advise and wisdom!

We are planning on purchasing a 3050S/3051S this winter and plan to buy from either RVDirect/RVOne or RVW. We live in Oregon and would have to drive to Iowa or Ohio, but saving from $15000 to $20000 is well worth it. Have seen good reviews of both of these sources. Can't wait!

[Sagecoachdriver]

Thanks VWExpert, I caught that. I wonder about postings on the forum claiming online purchase of savings $10,000-20,000. Are they not negotiating a good deal from their local dealers? From what I have seen, most claim to get 25-30% off MSRP at local dealers. On a $100,000 unit that's up to $30,000 off. Take off another $10,000 and that's 40%. Really, 40%? Plus getting things repaired under warranty is going to be an issue, FR recommends buying locally. Many dealers only service what they sell.

[allagante]

Well Sagecoachdriver,
I bought my 2015 3051S in June of 2014 in Ohio. It included every option full paint, 4 door frig, and so on except outside TV which I would never use and arctic tanks which would be a waste, if it is cold enough to freeze my poop I am not camping, beside if you are running the furnace the air heats around the tanks. This RV had a MSRP of just under $123K. I bought if for $74K which is 40% off. Had another quote for the exact same rig from Illinois that was only $1K Higher The local dealer's absolute best price was $90K plus they wanted $6K to bring it out from the factory. I ask if I could pick it up at the factory and they said no. I ask why their price was so high for something which they never put any money into or took into their inventory because it was a factory order which did not set on their lot for months. Their answer was they had to maintain their lifestyle. They said they would not do any warranty work or work on my RV if I did not buy it from them. So I ask the sales manager if he would put that in writing so I could discuss with Forest River why he would not service their product. That shut him up on make threats. So if anybody asks me about my RV or RV at all I tell them not to go to that local dealer and never do any business with that dealer.
So far as warranty work my dealer in Ohio has a nationwide service network to get repairs through. I never had to use it because their in house warranty department solved every problem I had as soon as they could get parts from Forest River. The problems I had during my year warranty were mostly cosmetic problems, wood grain dash which took months to get the part, I rejected the dash when I picked up the RV. The dealer called the factory about a hundred miles away, Brian was trying to find one to take off another RV in the line with same option while I was driving to the factory on my way home. When I got there they found out that all the RVs on the line with that option the part was on back order. There was a major problem with quality on wood grain dashes at that time. When the factory finally got a dash, they sent it to my dealer so the dealer could make sure there was no problem and my dealer sent it to me. The dealer ask if there was a Camping World near me, I said there was one about 5 miles away, so the dealer got a hold of Camping World and set everything up for them to replace the dash. I took it in and it took less than an hour. Other problems included a dented frig door, a chipped table, fan shroud cracked, pantry latch not working, and a few other cosmetic problems. The dealer got the parts one by one as they could get them from the factory as I discovered the problem and sent them to me or had the factory send them direct to me. I replaced these items because they were very simple 10 minute or less jobs. Another problem was the control board on the microwave went out. This was not a Forest River problem, it was manufacturer problem so the dealer got a hold of them, they sent a local service guy out to find the problem, it took a week to get the part, and service guy come back and repaired all at my home.
So warranty problems were not a problem before online. My next RV will come from that same dealer and I have sent several people to them to get theirs and they are all having the same prices and service I got.
This dealer does 2500 new RVs every year, I know the local dealer with lots in a couple of states do not do anything close to that. Probably because others like me will not do any business with them and tell others not to.
If somebody asks you who the biggest retailer in the US is you will probably say Walmart, that is wrong the answer is Amazon and they do not have a single store, all on line with best price and service. The world has changed the dealer need to get with the program like mine has.
Allagante

[n-e-d]

Sagecoachdriver Its all hocus pocus. Rv MSRP seemed to me to be whatever the dealer wanted it to be. Saw rigs with MSRPs ranging from $90,000 to $98,000 for the same optioned units with the sale price usually 20% lower. I was able to order mine exactly optioned as I wanted at $62,500. Rvone had a MSRP of $93,000 on it. At that price I was $7,000 lower than the closest Dealer walkout the door price without the options I would have wanted. Iwould be more concerned about the bottom line pricing than wheither Iwas getting 20% 30% 40% off. As far as warranty work I have done whatever I needed myself so far but Did my homework and there are 5 RV repair center within 20 miles of home. Even out of pocket I'm far ahead. It sure helps as I add tire monitors, max fans, vent covers, toad equipment and all the appliances DW needs when we rough it.

[Boso]

If I could have got a 3051 for 74000 I would have bought my local wanted 84000 and I offered cash deal just went somewhere else bought a 3050s but it was much less than 74000 loaded but it is a sun seeker not a forester

[allagante]

The MSRP numbers I used were from a Forest River options sheet. So if Sagecoachdriver does not like 40% off MSRP. Then mine was 21% less for RV 29.7% if you add in the $6K to bring it from the factory. This is $22K less cost than what the best deal from the local Forest River authorized dealer would sell for. Now from that savings you have to take the less than $1K for gas used during the shakedown/vacation run back from Ohio to Oregon. Get there was free flyer miles and the way home included part of the Outlaw hwy, Badlands, Black Hills, Crazy Horse, Mt Rushmore, Yellowstone, Devil's Tower , and other interesting things like the World's Largest Frying Pan I think was in Iowa. Which took eight days, when you are retired there is no need to hurry.
I have nothing but great things to say about my dealer, their warranty department, and Forest River and their warranty department which gave me a new outdoor portable table for my troubles of coming slightly out of my way by the factory to try and get a replacement wood grain dash off the line which it turned out they did not have.
Allagante

[Sagecoachdriver]

Looks like good deals, enjoy! As long as everyone and the DW are happy, that's all that counts.
We are going to do the PDI now and hope to bring it home with us.

[vwexpert]

Good luck Sage.

[aceinspp]

Well it sounds like ya all did your home work and got some good deals.
Enjoy. Later RJD

[Creativepart]

One thing to note. RVW's lowest price on a fully-optioned 3051S when I spoke to them was indeed $74,995. But that was only using their financing. Without their financing the price was $79,199. I bought the same model - with the outside TV/DVR/Stereo - for $79,995 without financing at a dealer 3 hours away. Saving the round trip cost from Texas to Ohio.

[allagante]

It appears that there are some good dealers out there. Wish there was a good one in Oregon not the crooks down the road. I did take RVW financing and got a $5000 discount. It was 20 years at 4% with $4K down from USA Bank which locally my bank could not match. So another win by buying on line. Did yours include full body paint along with everything else?
Allagante

[Creativepart]

Yep, full-body paint. See my avatar. Not everyone wants to get financing. So RVW's pricing isn't all that much lower. We found 3 or 4 new fully optioned 3051S RVs at $79-$80k around the country. We bought the closest one with the interior we liked the best. Luckily, it was only 250 mi away.

[JimOneil43]

Originally Posted by allagante

It appears that there are some good dealers out there. Wish there was a good one in Oregon not the crooks down the road. I did take RVW financing and got a $5000 discount. It was 20 years at 4% with $4K down from USA Bank which locally my bank could not match. So another win by buying on line. Did yours include full body paint along with everything else?
Allagante

Does the RVW financing require a minimum number of months before you can pay it off? We planned to pay cash for our MH when we buy it, but if we can save 5K by financing and then pay it off in a year, that might be the way to go.
Jim

[vwexpert]

RVW told me $4k discount if they finance. They ask you to keep loan for 1 year before you pay it off.