Dealer vs RVWholesalers

Rabidd · 08-22-2010, 02:53 PM

Not sure if this has been discussed here did a search and nothing exact. The Forest River statement on the back of advertising states that dealers are not contractually obligated to perform warranty service on Forest River products that were purchased elsewhere. They go on to state other stuff but if I buy out of state and I have an issue with construction what is one to do beg at the dealership you didnt buy from? If my dealer would come in close to what I can get elsewhere I would buy locally but they try and get the most they can from people that do not do any research on the price. If my GMC truck needs warrenty work I can get it done at any dealer so what is the real story behind Forest River statement to BUY LOCALLY from your hometown dealership?

**Herk7769** · 08-22-2010, 03:07 PM

This was discussed before, but I am not sure it was on this forum. (sorry)

You are correct that if you buy from someone else you may have trouble servicing locally. Howver having said that you may have trouble even if you did buy locally.

I paid extra to buy locally (armed with a quote from RV Wholsalers) and the salesman and I were able to make a deal we were both happy with using the quote as a starting point and not the MSRP like they wanted.
I also made allowances for driving out to Ohio to pick it up; staying at a local hotel till it was ready; paying the last minute "mandatory dealer prep" charges; paying the "hidden mandatory options" that were not in the original quote; etc.
So when I went in for work I expected to be handled fairly and was disappointed because the back shop was not very customer focused.

Just my experience, but there you are.

NWJeeper · 08-22-2010, 04:04 PM

I bought from RVdirect.com myself knowing full well that I would never take my rig to the local dealer because they are a bunch of idiots. To be fair I did try and make a deal with them first but they were treating my like I was buying a used Yugo not a 125K motorhome. When I had issues with my rig I called FR who was good at pointing me to other dealers in my area who might help but then I had no structural issues to contend with. My issues were small component parts and FR agreed to ship them to me and let me do the work. I prefer that as at least I know it was done right if I do it myself. Other items such as appliances and accessories can be fixed by any authorized service center for that manufacturer (Dometic, Suburban, Amana, etc.) you do not need a FR dealer for those things.

There is a small bit of a gamble there and some here have reported that their local dealers had no problem at all servicing a rig bought somewhere else. If it was me I would tell my local dealer that I had bought the rig before moving here for my chemo treatments and see what they say to that. Realistically what would FR do if you bought your rig in Tennessee and then moved to Oregon, make you drive your rig all the way back to the selling dealer. Hogwash. Personally I think there are federal laws against this practice and the issue could probably be pushed in court if it came down to a real problem but I am not sure.

My other issue is that a local delaer would have no problem working on the rig if it was out of warranty which I think is total crap. If you will work on it out of warranty you should work on it in warranty too! Since the warranty on RVs is only a year anyway it isn't that big a gamble.

**Herk7769** · 08-22-2010, 04:10 PM

Once again Jeeper hits the nail squarely.

Rabidd · 08-22-2010, 04:35 PM

I have to agree with you NWJeeper. I have a Rockwood pop up that I have had for 10years and have done all my own work. I guess it is a gamble anyway you look at it but you can save a lot of $$$$ else where. I will continue to work with the local dealer and see what happens. I can allways take a trip to Ohio.

Emptypockets · 08-22-2010, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rabidd

Not sure if this has been discussed here did a search and nothing exact. The Forest River statement on the back of advertising states that dealers are not contractually obligated to perform warranty service on Forest River products that were purchased elsewhere. They go on to state other stuff but if I buy out of state and I have an issue with construction what is one to do beg at the dealership you didnt buy from? If my dealer would come in close to what I can get elsewhere I would buy locally but they try and get the most they can from people that do not do any research on the price. If my GMC truck needs warrenty work I can get it done at any dealer so what is the real story behind Forest River statement to BUY LOCALLY from your hometown dealership?

We bought from RV-Direct & they say they have a network of service places. Never had to use them so can't say for sure. But saying that you will find that most items are warranted by the manufacture of the item not FR.

wayne1 · 08-22-2010, 07:30 PM

Just like auto dealers, they get paid from the factory for doing warranty work. Why wouldn't they do work on your RV if bought somewhere else? Turn down work?
Not likely

acadianbob · 08-22-2010, 08:29 PM

Our dealer is awesome!! I have nothing but good things to say about them. I've very happy I bought locally.

caper · 08-22-2010, 08:59 PM

You should buy locally to support your local people. That is the problem now. People do not what to pay a higher price so the start to purchase products. If everyone stopped purchasing the units from their local dealer the dealer would not be able to stay in business and you would have to go to another state to get repair work done. I do not know where you work but what would happen if the product that you produce was not purchased locally but from an off shore company would you still have a job?

NWJeeper · 08-22-2010, 09:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by caper

You should buy locally to support your local people. That is the problem now. People do not what to pay a higher price so the start to purchase products. If everyone stopped purchasing the units from their local dealer the dealer would not be able to stay in business and you would have to go to another state to get repair work done. I do not know where you work but what would happen if the product that you produce was not purchased locally but from an off shore company would you still have a job?

Yes I would have a job, no one buys anything from us, I work for the government. As for our USELESS local dealer I only wished they would go out of business. They are widely known locally for their absolutely lousy service, high prices and crappy sales tactics. Only thing that keeps them in business is un-knowing dupes that don't know how to buy an RV and keep paying the exorbitant prices they ask. People not buying local is not the problem in RV sales it is RV dealers that play games and act as if they are selling cars in the 70s If every one bought local then there would be no incentive to lower prices or negotiate a deal as most of these dealers have a monopoly for a 200mi range from where they sell.

Sorry Caper but you have it ALL wrong on this one.

LadyWindrider · 08-22-2010, 09:52 PM

For what it is worth:.... In a car dealership, warranty labor is only 70~80% of book labor. In other words, a 1 hour customer paying job, only gets you 8 tenths hour of warranty labor. Now, as a dealer, if I have paying customers all willing to pay full price, why would i take on work at 80% of price? Also, since you did not not buy from me, why would I want to do your warranty work, when I didn't make any money on the sale? As for working on your car after warranty, sure, I get full price plus parts. Do some math, are you going to work for full pay tomorrow, or are you going for 80% pay? How many 80% days can you afford at the expense of someone you couldn't make happy when they bought their trailer? And while the dealer only gets 80% pay, the mechanic still gets full pay, so, is this customer even worth it????

Please, no one take this personal!! Just have to sometimes wear the dealer's shoes. I don't know about RV dealers, but I do know about car dealers. When work is slow, warranty work is performed to fill in the gaps. When work is busy, the parts are on order, or so they say......

NWJeeper · 08-22-2010, 09:57 PM

I certainly see your point Windrider. However our local RV dealer (one of the biggest in the northwest) has a horrible attitude which drives the smart buyers away. Where will that get them in the end? I wouldn't take my rig to them for work durring or after warranty and word of mouth is spreading faster than ever with the internet. Some of these dealers might just make more customers in the long run if they didn't refuse the warranty work in the first place.

LadyWindrider · 08-22-2010, 10:01 PM

Sometimes that's either the gamble you take, or the price you have to pay. As for me, I try to bend over backwards for a customer, regardless, because if I can get your business and keep it, I will have a job. If I never get your business to start with, I have lost you forever. The ones I get and keep, tell two more, the ones I never get, get on a forum and I have lost hundreds......

NWJeeper · 08-22-2010, 10:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by windrider

Sometimes that's either the gamble you take, or the price you have to pay. As for me, I try to bend over backwards for a customer, regardless, because if I can get your business and keep it, I will have a job. If I never get your business to start with, I have lost you forever. The ones I get and keep, tell two more, the ones I never get, get on a forum and I have lost hundreds......

Now that's smart business and I am always quick to do business with someone who has your attitude for customer service even if you did charge more than someone else. How many times to we see someone come here singing the praises for their dealer just after the sale only to come back and totally trash them on their service? These RV dealers have a LOT to learn.

Emptypockets · 08-22-2010, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by acadianbob

Our dealer is awesome!! I have nothing but good things to say about them. I've very happy I bought locally.

Thank your lucky stars you have a good dealer. Some of us that live out in the middle of nowhere don't have that privilege.

Iggy · 08-22-2010, 10:26 PM

Unless you were buying a $100,000 motorhome I'd stick with the local dealer. I would still get a full quote from the other guys so you have some idea how much you can deal with the local dealer.

I did that and actually it came out the same price.
Oh the RVOnline guys don't tell you everything. They only take part of the state tax and not 100% like the local dealer does. When you apply for your plates/Reg you get hit with the rest. Make sure you have all the numbers.

NWJeeper · 08-22-2010, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iggy

Oh the RVOnline guys don't tell you everything. They only take part of the state tax and not 100% like the local dealer does. When you apply for your plates/Reg you get hit with the rest. Make sure you have all the numbers.

This isn't really true. RVdirect.com estimated our taxes, licensing and title fees using data available through our state. It was all rolled into the financing and they hit it on the head! Perfect. No extra taxes to be paid on delivery. Very smooth transaction.

Iggy · 08-22-2010, 10:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NWJeeper

This isn't really true. RVdirect.com estimated our taxes, licensing and title fees using data available through our state. It was all rolled into the financing and they hit it on the head! Perfect. No extra taxes to be paid on delivery. Very smooth transaction.

I spoke to them on the phone and theytold me that they only take 20% of the tax and when you reg it you pay whatever is left.

NWJeeper · 08-22-2010, 10:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iggy

I spoke to them on the phone and theytold me that they only take 20% of the tax and when you reg it you pay whatever is left.

That's odd because I was able to roll 100% of my taxes and fees into the financing. I believe I still had to pay it at the licensing office but RVdirect sent me the check for the amount to pay it and it was to the cent.

Iggy · 08-22-2010, 10:46 PM

Not worth going on with this.
Bottom line is what I said was make sur eyou have the true total figures when buying from them. That way you have something to compare to with your local dealer.

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